GREAT-POLE BOXING: THE THEORY

Attributed to Wang Zongyue Wang &'t# (entury$

+ontaigue:
The following is all that we have from the original classics of Taijiquan or H'ao Ch'uan. Many have tried to translate them and have not done these classics and service or their writer! To write about this particular classic one must be well versed in the advanced areas of the art. !ou cannot lay this classic over basic form! "t was meant as a guide for those just beginning to understand the more advanced principles of Taijiquan bo#ing. "f you loo$ deeply into what is said %the fine print& you will uncover many great ideas not only about bo#ing but also about life in general. 'i$e the fact that most beginners never see the woods for the trees always searching for something better on the other side! (r thin$ing that they $now it all because they have been practising for fifteen years when in that small amount of time really $nowing nothing! Ta$e great notice of what )ang has to

say as it is his legacy to us all. *ut do not ta$e it lightly or thin$ that you understand it you will forever in your own training return to these words and find more and more hidden within them. " will place numbers ne#t to certain pertinent phrases and leave a commentary at the end as to my own interpretation.

The +reat ,olarity without poles is born(f negative and positive it is the mother . "n motion it divides "n stillness it unites. "t has neither over.reaching nor falling. short/ollowing contraction it proceeds to e#pansion. )hen men are hard " am soft . This is called 0running01 )hen " go along and men are turned . This is called 0stic$ing0. Move fast and the reaction is fast Move slowly and the reaction is slow. Though the metamorphoses be ten thousand (ne principle pervades them. /rom familiarity with the moves one gradually awa$ens to understanding power. /rom understanding power one by stages reaches spiritual enlightenment. (1)

T!"ung-yeu#$ %ate
A note )ro* Er%e

)ithout long application of effort (ne cannot thoroughly penetrate it. 2nobstructed draw up the crown3s power 'et the breath sin$ to the point beneath the navel. *e neither one.sided nor leaning 4uddenly conceal suddenly reveal. 'eft is full then left empty. 5ight is full then right insubstantial. "f he turns upward go higher "f he turns downwards go deeper. "f he advances press in closer "f he retreats draw out longer. (ne feather cannot be laid on one 6 fly cannot alight from one. 0Men don3t $now me " alone $now men (2) The irresistibility of the hero3s progress "s surely entirely achieved through this. This s$ill has many side schools. (3) 6lthough each one has its distinctive postures 6s a rule they don3t go beyond strong oppressing wea$ 4low yielding to fast. Have.force beating lac$.force and

Hands.slow yielding to hands.fast "s all from innate natural ability 7ot brought about through learning. 5efer to the phrase- 0/our ounces deflect a thousand pounds0 This is clearly not force3s victory. 5egard the image of the old man able to hold off a multitude.How could this be by speed accomplished8 4tand li$e a level balance 'ively as a carriage wheel . 9epress one side and the other follows. (4) )hen both are weighted they are impeded. :very time " see one of several years3 pure practice 2nable to manoeuvre and transmute "nvariably causing him by men to be controlled "t is because the fault of double weighting has not been reali;ed. To avoid this fault one must $now negative and positive 04tic$ing0 is 0running0 0running0 is 0stic$ing0. 7egative does not leave positive. ,ositive does not leave negative. )hen positive and negative complement each other

This then is understanding power. 6fter understanding power The more practice .the more s$ill. <uietly learning and e#perimenting (ne gradually arrives at following what the heart desires. (5) "ts root is to discard self and follow menMany mista$enly discard the near and see$ afar. (6) This is $nown as being out by a hair3s breadth 6nd going wrong by a thousand miles. 4tudents cannot but carefully distinguish. This is the theory.

@>. Here he is tal$ing about the other schools of martial arts that have come out of Taijiquan most have only ever ta$en the shell and not the internal part! "n other words they only e#ist for the fighting! A>. He tal$s about double weighted movements. *ut not only does he mean that we should not stand with the weight placed evenly upon both feet but also that we should not have equal <i in the hands elbows shoulders hips $nees. This can be ta$en even further to each of the si# organ pairs where we should also not have double weightedness. "t goes even deeper into that the sub.conscious and the conscious should also not be double weighted! B>. )e move in accordance with how the inner mind wants us to move and not because we have trained to move a certain way. "n other words we move because the 'attac$er' is moving and in compete accordance with that movement. C>. 2nfortunately many students are always searching for something better. 6nd even though they might have found the very best that there is they still loo$ and search missing out on what is in front of their noses!

Erle Montaigue's Commentary

=>. This means that we do not practice Taijiquan %H'ao Ch'uan& for the sa$e of doing Taijiquan! "t is only a tool that we use to gain other areas of learning li$e spiritual awa$ening and the ability to heal others. The fighting art is only an interim tool that we use to gain the upper levels of Taijiquan. ?>. This means that you as the Taijiquan practitioner are always in control of the situation whether it is a physical confrontation or a mind confrontation. !ou are grounded causing all bad <i to be drawn into the ground and not into yourself. *ut first of all to $now others you must $now yourself!