Tuesday Foundations: Six Sealing Four

六封四闭 Liù Fēng Sì Bì

  • Four closed, six trying to seal it off. Context of the function of the two hands.

Historical context

  • Taiji created around end of the Ming, beginning of Qing. Before, it was passed through verbal transmission: legends and teachers’ stories. One of the things Hong did was look at evolution of the name based on the sounds of the words. As many of the dialects are mutually unintelligible.

By sound

  • Can sound like ru feng si bi in some dialects. Another interpretation of this sound (如封似闭) changes the meaning to like closing and like sealing.

Another example, 白鹤亮翅 Bái Hè Liàng Chì

  • White crane spreads wings was before white goose spreads its wings. Local people in northern China use geese and dogs to guard their home. Goose is the fighter, dog has hearing and detects intruders. Possibly named because of the strength and shape of the goose wing when used to attack.

Ratio

  • Sealing and closing are essentially the same action of closing in, but one side is different from the other by ratio. Using the front kua, the back is 6 and front is 4. Needs that variation to create something - differentiation. If everything is the same it’s the same as there being nothing.

Cultural difference

  • Chinese culture has a totally different basis. Doesn’t make sense from a Western perspective.

3 lines

  • Three lines -> like a 3-gear vehicle. Front line, 40/60. Middle 50/50. Rear 60/40.

Perspective

  • Perspective change. Did not make any change but opponent thinks you changed. Or you make a change and opponent thinks you didn’t change.

  • Foundational exercises start with one principle: yin-yang split. Then it gradually expands this principle into the whole form. From one expanding to infinity.

  • Through the complexity, you go make connections and realize it’s all one.

Rotation

  • The object cannot rotate itself. It needs an outside force to make it rotate. It must move totally independently of the object.
  • A human cannot rotate because it has to come from an outside independent body.
  • In with elbow: when you do in with elbow correctly - that is the move. The rotation is just there. Don’t think about rotation, don’t think about anything else.

Basic

  • Finding the bone in the egg: Basic is basic. When you think it’s really deep, you are missing the point.
  • It becomes a problem when we add a restriction that he’s not asking us to do.

Homework

  • Homework is six sealing four closing. Next foundations class will do corrections.

Links

#timeline #taijiquan/jibengong