- 5 elements
- yin-yang
- hsing-yi 5 lines
- hsing-yi lian huan
- hsing-yi 12 animals
we worked through the 5 lines, lian huan, and dragon from yesterday. i also took advantage of the time to ask Sifu about the 5-element theory, which had been covered during my absence.
Sifu said that the 5-element theory was meant to be a learning device for students. in the solo form, which follows the destruction cycle, it helps remind the student about the general concepts and requirements in the movements. in the 2-person form, which matches the destruction cycle with the creation cycle, it helps demonstrate to the student how the techniques in each line can be applied.
he stressed this meant can, and not must. too often, he noted, practitioners get caught believing that the each technique must be applied to counter its specific counterpart as specified by the destruction-creation pairing. this is a big mistake, since it restricts the practitioner from understanding the principles involved.
Sifu reiterated the idea of yin-yang balancing that he's presented to us in previous discussions on combat applications. thinking about techniques, in the sense of trying to match a catalog of techniques in response to incoming technique, is a losing proposition in the context of full-speed fighting. it is better to simply react to whatever is given, and that this is facilitated by being able to sense an opponent's yin-yang balance and applying force where necessary (i.e., yang to their yin) and yielding to force where necessary (i.e., yin to their yang). the 5-element 2-person form just served to provide examples of this, and is not meant to act as a recipe requiring a fixed response to a specific attack.
Sifu said we should focus on the solo 5-element application. here, the 5-element theory is meant to help the practitioner understand the nature of the physics in each of the lines, and what part of the body serves (if only for purposes of mental visualization) as the origin point of the movement. from what i can construct, this is the correlation of elements to moves:
- pi (axe) : metal : lung--this reminds the practitioner that the physics of the movement is akin to swinging an axe down, with the contraction coming through the region of the body containing the lungs
- zhwan (drill): water : kidney--this reminds the practitioner that the movement originates for the region of the body around the kidneys (i.e., the fist starts from around the kidneys and the moves out)
- beng (arrow): wood : liver--this reminds the practitioner that the technique starts from the region of the body around the liver
- pao (explosion) : fire : heart--this reminds the practitioner that the movement should be visualized as coming from the heart and expanding outwards
- heng (horizontal) : earth : spleen--this reminds the practitioner extends out horizontally from the spleen
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