A Rose by any other name?

 JULIET:
      What's in a name? That which we call a rose
      by any other name would smell as sweet;
      So Romeo would, were he not Romeo called,
      Retain that dear perfection which he owes
      without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
      And for that name which is no part of thee
      Take all myself.                                  Wm Shakespear Romeo & Juliet

A Rose demonstrates the universal spiral, does your Tai Chi?

In Shakespeare's lyrical tale of ill fated lovers, Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet meet and fall in love.  As members of two warring families, they are doomed from the beginning.  In the extract above, Juliet tells Romeo that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention. In Tai Chi Chuan this is also the opinion of many a student, and regrettably some teachers. In this article I shall reveal something of the occluded meanings, of some of the names of Tai Chi techniques, and hopefully some reasons for their preservation.

Every style of Tai Chi Chuan has, as its primary means of solo practice, a hand form. The traditional styles (of Tai Chi Chuan) that have emerged, were at first only distinguished as people noticed significant differences in the practice methods of subsequent teachers, and therefore named the style after that particular teacher, Yang, Wu, Sun etc.

One of the features that changed with the development of the different styles was the order of the techniques, which technique was performed in conjunction with another; this may simply be a result of a teacher finding applications (self defence techniques) which worked well in that combination, it is also the reason why techniques in long-forms occur in varying combinations.

Another obvious development, perhaps more significant, was the changing names of some techniques. In some cases this may be a matter of dialect, or class / education related speech idiom, in others it pertains more to the way the technique is conceived and this is where I finally get to the main point of this article:

 What is the purpose of the names of the techniques in the forms?

To begin with lets look at some fairly obvious examples `Step back to beat the tiger `, in this case the term tiger refers to the ferociousness, of the attacker, Similarly the technique´ Draw a bow to shoot an arrow at a tiger´ indicates a similar ferocious intrusion, but this time against a classical double handed strike as seen in many Shaolin forms or Goju Ryu Kata. The tiger theme is developed further in the form with Step back to ride the tiger´ in this technique, the performer is responding to a number of fierce attacks by a skilled opponent, who attacks high and low in close combination.    Different responses are indicated against similar types of attack, indeed most techniques may contain several applications against differing attacks. The tiger theme continues in the sabre form for example where the association of the tiger with being low, and having a long back is significant in `Chop the tiger´as is the sudden nature of a tigers spring in `Hungry tiger leaps the stream´.
Some times a name appears simple and straightforward, this may be because the original term has been changed or indeed forgotten over time, or simply lost in translation. Such an example would be `Parry and punch´ which appears obvious, however its Chinese term (perhaps not the original?) is more informative; Bon, Lam, Choi, respectively indicate an upper parry, lower parry, and punch. Perhaps of most significance here is the term `Parry´ rather than `Block´, as the latter is more than somewhat out of line with Tai Chi Chuan techniques, yet frequently shown in demonstrations by those who do not understand that a block stops the opponents incoming energy, while a parry diverts it and allows you to make use of it.

In `Grasping birds tail´ we are being given more than just the advice of what kind of attack to expect, and how to meet it, but also the level of sensitivity that is required in the situation. This technique contains the four primary techniques of Tai Chi Chuan, Peng, Lu, Ji, and An (ward-off, roll-back, push, and press) and as such is an adaptable technique often used to enter inside an opponents guard. The bird is the opponent, who is quick and flighty, or changeable, you must be swift to grasp the tail of this bird, but if too forceful, you will be left with nothing but a handful of feathers, instead you must be sensitive to every change in the opponent so as to counter it before it begins.

There are other kinds of information hidden within the names of techniques, sometimes not in the most obvious names (many if not all techniques have multiple names) or in the name for the inner techniques (the form within the form) for example `Unity posture´ is also known as `Embracing the one´ and alludes toward the use of this posture in standing meditation amongst other things, whilst the stars of the eponymous `7 star style´ posture and similarly named pushing hand technique is a reference to the astral constellation Ursa Major, reflected in the shape of the performer, this constellation is of great significance in Taoist schools, and may often be seen engraved in to the blades of old weapons.

Speaking of weapons, the forms for the various weapons are rich in cultural references, both `Li Gwong shooting an Arrow´ and `Pui Kung cleaving a snake´ are direct references to historical events, and persons associated with Tai Chi or its weaponry, whilst ´Taking off the boots while drunk´ ( a means of extracting a sword from a stricken opponent amongst other things) is an indirect reference to the famous poet, swordsman, and drunkard, Li Mu Bai, not surprisingly one of those characteristics is usually missing when he is portrayed as a hero as in the film “Crouching tiger, hidden dragon.” yet ´Retrieving the moon´ may also allude to the same character and (missing) characteristic.

So, cultural heroes, historical (and hysterical) events, descriptions of tactics, opponents tactics, mind set, technique, meditation, mysticism, alchemy all are hidden within the names of our techniques, it’s a fascinating game of discovery, thought provoking and informing as well as inspirational. If after all this you still wonder of what use are all these archaic names and martial references to you? Consider this; the names are pneumonic, you can always just create a story that helps you remember the form….In the beginning there was absolutely nothing, then as the Tao divided in to yin and yang, the 7 stars appeared in the night sky, and I lightly grasped the birds tail, with a single whip I threw it into the clouds, waving my hands as I did so. I bent to pat the horse on high and turned to face left…..

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