“Let the Analysis Games commence!!! (with Italicized quotes from the video’s closed captions).”
(1)Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. (Goethe)
Pushing Hands is an excellent method to go from (1) Knowing-to-Applying, from (2)Willing-to-Doing, as well as from (3)Doing-to-Being. For example, consider the nature of Breathing. I recall several of my Sifus being asked about Pranayama-style Breathing exercises, and they warned about such (left-brained/intentional) training. Instead, they emphasized “Wu wei” and “Ziran”—that is, allowing processes to flow, naturally. That is, “Don’t push the river”.
But…metaphorically speaking, how to get the river moving-with-power…and upstream? Another metaphor, an ancient Daoist one, focuses upon transforming/reversing the “natural” tendency of (1) “Fire” (Li/Yang) to rise, and (2) “Water” (Kan/Yin) to sink. With the fire under the water, as the metaphor goes, the water will be heated, and converted into steam. Master John Chung Li emphasized: ”It is not enough to learn the Form. One must master the Internal Work (Nei Gong)”. Sifu Li taught us the Nei Gong method of Zhan Zhuang (Standing). Some of us did the Gong for the recommended/required “1-Hour-a-Day-for-100 Days”, and have seen how “doing” converts into “being”. That is, the Gua (loin) acu-zone gradually opens up (after much pain-heat-sweat-steam), the Yang Qi goes down, thru the un-tense/Yin/Kong body, down to Earth via the Yang Acupuncture point in the heel, the Yin Qi rises from the Earth, up thru the Bubbling Well point at the ball of the opposite foot, and the breath deepens/slows down…naturally.
(2)So it seems that in all branches of industry, alternating currents—electric wave motion—have the sway. As in nature, all is ebb and tide; all is wave motion.(Tesla)
The video takes place one Sunday, at a weekly Pushing Hands gathering at Shanghai’s Xiang Yang Park. Most regulars here are old-timers, 90% men, generally non-competitive, using the culturally-appropriate etiquette of polite smiles/laughter. An ancient Chinese Morphic Resonance (Sheldrake). At various other sections of the park, there are other groups, other group-cultures, some quite competitive-aggressive-tense-external-egocentric.
On this Sunday, framed by the dramatic Red-Yang background, Yun is (discretely) showing me what I have never seen him do, before or since: the Yin-Yang of the round, continuously converting defense into an offense-move against his partner/opponent, using the Ba Gua-like circle-movements from the Form of Liu He Ba Fa (LHBF) . (NOTE: See below for INFO on LHBF.)
The Liu He Ba Fa (Hua Yu Tai Ji) “Five Word Song” emphasizes: “Arms and back should be round as if hugging”. Everywhere, in Boston, Florida, Chicago and Hong Kong, Master John Chung Li would say that often to his students as they practiced, though it would sound somehow like ”hugg-ling”. Back to the Five Word Song–consider the different feelings/meanings of “should be round” and…“will be round”. That is, the roundness is a natural result of a state of flowing “currents”, once the “water” has been converted to “steam”.
Master Yun embodies “wave motion” throughout this video. Actually, over these many years, I’ve never again seen him do Tui Shou like this. Yun here looks somewhat “competitive”, but in no way does he appear tense or focused on “winning”, as some sort of hormonal rush bloating the Ego. Rather, he is “Kong”: empty of tension…empty of ïdea…empty of Ï ”. Another song from the Five Word Song: “If one thinks there is a Method, then that Thought is in vain.”
As I interpret it, he is showing me/us/camera/history—showing us what can be done with Nei Gong and Kong. Years earlier, Yun had asked me why I was video-recording him/us. I knew what he knew—that many Tai Ji Masters were recorded by foreign folk-with-cameras, who then sold the videos, but did not share anything with the Masters.
Actually, years later I learned that the same rip-off had happened to Master Yun, when he was in the USA several years ago. I discovered this when I asked him about his LHBF lessons-on-DVD, which I had seen for sale on some USA lady’s website. He was totally unaware that someone was selling videos of his LHBF lessons.
So, years later, when Master Yun asked me “Why?”, I knew what he was asking about. I replied: “Lishi”—History. Yes. Not this generation, it seems. When Yun’s friend, Master Xu Guo Ming, brought him to California for Workshops, Yun got on the cover of some Tai Ji magazine, and I was expecting that we’d be seeing some future Jedi Knights eager to train with Oby Wan in Shanghai. But I didn’t see that happen much with these current generations, whether Chinese or foreign. So…that is why I see these video records of Master Yun as being for History— the 7th Generation.
But…back to 2018 and our super-3D “Material World”…in addition to telling Yun that I was/am shooting these videos for History, I also assured him that if I ever make money from his videos, he will be in charge of the money.
