Re: seems like. . .

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: Greetings Show-Hong, : Great comments! This type of “seems like/not like” language is very common in the descriptive imagery of the art. For example, in Wu Yuxiang’s “Mental Elucidation of the Thirteen Postures”, we find, “The energy (jin) seems loosened (song) yet not loosened; about to expand, but not yet expanding.” Fu Zhongwen, in his description of the hand/wrist position in the posture ji (press), says that they “seem near, not near”, and elsewhere he states that in order to meet the requirement of continuity in the form, as one reaches end postures or “fixed points”, one 'seems to stop, does not stop'. Westerners seem to be uncomfortable with this type of language, but I think it is often the only way one can talk about subtle skills. As Zhuangzi’s wheelright said of his craft, “There’s a knack to it somehow, I can feel it in my hand, but I can’t tell anyone how to do it.” : There is sometimes a flexibility in taijiquan terminology that is not done justice in the received English translations. Your example of An is a good one. Translating this as Push does not quite capture the nuance of the Chinese, which can mean, “to place the hands on”, or “to make contact”. After all, in the An sequence, one first shifts the weight back – is this pushing? As one shifts forward, one is really “following” the opponent – is this pushing? There is also another instance of the “seems like” type of language in the posture sequence Ru Feng Si Bi, often translated as Withdraw-Push, or Apparent Close Up. Yang Chengfu’s description of this posture shows that the name really suggests a sequence where one first “seals” oneself off from one’s opponent (and he uses the image of cross-shaped fengtiao – sealing strips – to describe the arms’ placement), then “closes” the opponents “door” with An, hence, “Like Sealing, As if Closing”. : Take care, : --Louis : : : Hi Louis, : : My teacher seldom use the term "holding ball" although I know it is being used in modern Taichi teaching. People also jokingly refer it as "holding a water mellon". I have not studied the etiology or implications of this term. My view, intuitively, is that this is only a name for a posture that shows up frequently in the form yet does not have a name. Naturally it is called by something which is related to the posture vias visual or semantics means. : : It is my view that the same probably is true for most of the terminology and descriptions used in the Taichi literature. Since the inner workings of Taichi is not well understood and is even more difficult to put into words. I have found it easier to treat these descriptions as figurative speach and not taking them literally. I believe taking them literally or reading too much into the words more often than not will lead one astray. : : Therefore, I saw in your quotes “as though supporting a ball” and “as though embracing a sphere” the most important words are "as though", which I see as meaning "is like but is not". If one want to go beyond treating "ball-holding posture" as just a name, then the first reading of the name shoud be something like "it is like holding a ball but is not holding a ball". Same could be said of other posture names, particularly those that are also used for common movements or actions like "Ji" and "An". The Ji posture in Taichi is like Ji but is not Ji and An is like An but is not An. : : This is my two cents to share with you. : : Regards, : : Show-Hong

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