Wu Yu Hsiang's Four Character Secret Transmission

[origami_itto]

What do y'all think of this.

Four Character
Secret Transmission
(attributed to Wu Y�-hsiang)
Spread . To spread means that we mobilize our ch 'i,
spread it over our opponent's energy and
prevent him from moving.
Cover . To cover means that we use our ch 'i to
cover our opponent 's thrust.
Check. To check means that we use ch 'i to check
our opponent's thrust, ascertain his aim,
and evade it .
Swallow . To swallow means that we use ch 'i to
swallow everything and neutralize it.

These four characters represent what has no form and
no sound . Without the ability to interpret energy and
training to the h ighest perfection, they cannot be
understood. We are speaking here exclusively of ch' i.
Only if one correctly cultivates ch 'i and does not damage
it, can one project it into the limbs . The effect of this on
the limbs cannot be described in words .

[twocircles13]

I think it probably goes along with physical practices that help one perform this taijiquan better.

[Appledog]

What do y'all think of this.

spread - cover - check - swallow

We are speaking here exclusively of ch' i.

Well I think it's a progression. And I think it is interesting that he chose the modality of a four character secret. This suggests that there are other secrets of a similar nature and that they would be common enough that in order to be accepted as a contribution at the level he is purporting it would be passed along with other such "secrets". These aren't really "secrets" by the way but the kind of "gokui" that Jigoro Kano mentioned, which is hard to explain. I've mentioned the Wu family six character formula (I like the word 'formula' better than 'secret transmission' but it's close). I've mentioned some taoist ones before. Here's one from our school;

* 合 見 松 凝 恩 感 內 修 圖
* hé jiàn sōng níng ēn gǎn nèi xiū tú chéng
​* harmony sight relax condense grateful internal connect hologram success

This particular formula refers to a poem or song written about the process. The final character 成 (chéng, or "success" is omitted for various reasons, such as making it more taoist by having nine words instead of ten.)

So here's an example of a short one.

* 步息一
* Bù xī yī
* Walk, Breathe, "one".

A caution, these are not understandable at first glance even though the brain naturally tries to make connections the point of these formulas is that they cannot be understood without the corresponding explanation. That is not because of secret keeping, but of convenience. Like a dvd cannot be watched without a player, a lot of them like the first one mnemonic devices. Made up, invented, by the teacher -- like a poem, and represented only his understanding (or "contribution") and not any kind of ancient knowledge. Why? because besides the major ones, like "jing, qi, shen, ..., ..." etc. people like to make up short 4 character or 5 character formulas. I think it's a Chinese thing. Like Chinese idioms. It's "easy" to remember 4 words and then they can be explained or "re-remembered" later. In these cases one word is really representative of a whole body of knowledge, perhaps a few sentences, perhaps a few pages worth of knowledge. In this way a master's knowledge could be easily transmitted from generation to generation in just a few words. It makes oral transmission easier.

So I think Master Wu was trying to make a contribution and he did it in the style of the time.

It would be really interesting to know what other four character formulas are out there!

[nicklinjm]

I am a complete beginner in Wu(Hao) style, but just from conversations with my teacher(s) my understanding is that the 4 Characters are v specific techniques / strategies within Hao style, not really present or emphasised much in other styles (although Dong may be an exception as he actually studied Hao style first).

Also I think the translation of the 1st Character (Fu 敷) as 'spread' is pretty misleading.....it's actually the word for when you apply a gauze / thin film over the skin (used for facial masks ironically enough), so the idea of it is that the opponent feels as if his arms / body are lightly covered by you, in a suffocating way.

If you contrast it with the 2nd Character (盖, cover), that is much more active than number 1.

Also for Swallow (tun, 吞), the commentary on it from, say, Wu Wenhan, makes clear that in order to practice this method you have to allow the opponent to enter and even get a strike in in order to 'connect' to his force (jie jin). Obviously as you get better at it his strike should not actually hit home.

FWIW, YMMV, etc.

[Bao]

Source? Who wrote the comment below the four characters?

[Trick]

posture and mental outlook, even the one of small statue will seem bigger and intimidating to those who are confronted.

if one can ”spread” the other three no need.

[origami_itto]

Source? Who wrote the comment below the four characters?

It's from Douglas Wiles "Tai Chi touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions"

[Bao]

Source? Who wrote the comment below the four characters?

It's from Douglas Wiles "Tai Chi touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions"

Thank you, I didn't remember he had this passage. I already found other translations.

Wile:
"These four characters represent what has no form and
no sound . Without the ability to interpret energy and
training to the h ighest perfection, they cannot be
understood. We are speaking here exclusively of ch' i.
Only if one correctly cultivates ch 'i and does not damage
it, can one project it into the limbs . The effect of this on
the limbs cannot be described in words ."

But I think this one by Peter Lim is better:
These four words are formless and soundless. Only one who understands strength and achieves the finest stages can know the meaning of what has been said here about Qi. Only one who cultivates his Qi correctly so that it spreads to the body's four limbs will be able to respond to the soundlessness and formlessness of these four words.

You see Wile separated the sentences so this hangs loose: "We are speaking here exclusively of ch' i." He wants to emphasize that it's about "qi".

Peter's translation's full sentence: "Only one who understands strength and achieves the finest stages can know the meaning of what has been said here about Qi."

"Energy" in Wile's and "Strength" in Peter's is translated from "jin". So my interpretation would be
"Only one who understands jin and achieves the finest stages can understand the Qi as here described"

So the key is to develop Jin, which means skilled, refined movement that doesn't rely on Li (clumsy force based on muscle tension).
So when you have developed jin, first then you can "cultivate the Qi correctly so that it spreads to the body's four limbs."
And then you will be able to "respond to the soundlessness and formlessness of these four words."

So from my understanding, Yu means that Qi is an expression if jin.

You can also compare with Peter's translation of the 4 words:


"To Spread is to circulate the Qi in my body, to spread it upon his strength so he cannot move freely.

To Cover is to use my Qi to cover the point of his attack.

To Confront is to use my Qi to match his approach precisely.

To Swallow is to use my Qi to receive and transform his power completely."

I think this is also a bit clearer. Wile seems to have added a little by himself, or have a more loose translation.


However, "Qi" doesn't necessarily mean energy, it depends on the context, which is why I don't like Wile's text.
Sometimes the exact meaning of Qi and similar characters are more diffuse and not so lucid. Sometimes "Qi" just mean "movement."
As the Jin is what you need to have Qi, I would guess Yu Wuxiang with "Qi" actually mean "skilled movement through the use of Jin".

My interpretation might not be as exciting as one with "mystical energy qi", but it is more practical and applicable.

[Trick]

maybe xingyiquan's four antenna expressions are related to those 4 in the OP?

within this text - https://brennantranslation.wordpress.co ... -elements/

[everything]

yikes man. we can do qigong and cultivate qi and it has nothing to do with martial arts. if you are not sure you can "cultivate qi", it's better not to have the brain "fill in the gaps".

[origami_itto]

My interpretation might not be as exciting as one with "mystical energy qi", but it is more practical and applicable.

I don't really believe in "mystical energy qi" myself, but what I feel here lines up with my experience with seizing.

There are places you can touch someone when they are trying to push you that just route the force back into them, and at a certain point you can do it from the point of contact itself. It's not about anything mystical or magical, it's about tuning the senses and developing the right body method.

And I don't mean it's like being stiff and immovable. You can do that too, just be strong and stiff and rooted and they push and push and push and you just resist that.

This is more like if they're trying to push they get unsteady.

This is kind of like that, maybe an expression of it?

The formula is xin-yi-qi-jin, and we can attack at any point in the chain.

THis speaks to attacking the qi. I think qi here is closer to prioproception and interroperception. Like joining with a weapon, it becomes an extension of our body, there's nothing magical about it, it's just how our brain works. We have nerves in our body itself so it seems a bit more intimate but its all just conveyed back to the brain as external input. Our sense of US can expand and contract. This is all well documented science, as is the difference in how we address objects physically depending on how we think about what they are and what we are doing, as is our ability to determine what is happening to something we are holding even we aren't looking at it.

This whole 5 element array of senses tells us about the world and about us and about our place in the world and how we interact with it.

So, that's the long part.

The TL;DR is that you join with them, they become an extension of you the same way a sword does when you grip it.

Then when they stir to move you can interpret where they are trying to move and you can spoil it. If it is a weak line you can just stop it, if it's a strong line you deflect it, in any case whatever they try to do you are actively undoing and the end result is that they are seized or severely hampered in their movement.

The last part of this is that pretty much in every movement there is a point in your body that you aren't even aware of that has to move and simply doesn't have a lot of strength behind it. The most glaring example of this would be somebody putting their finger on your forehead when you're laying flat on your back.

A big part of the training for me is finding those points and learning to get around them, address them with more strength or in a way that draws the strength from somewhere else. The corollary of that is that it gives an implicit understanding of how to find and exploit those points in others physically and psychologically to induce double weighting and seizing.

[everything]

it seems more prudent to keep "qi as qi". and do "soft MA as soft MA". at least for a while.

it's not really that difficult to "cultivate qi". and it's not really that difficult to "do soft MA". (at least to low or intermediate levels).

it's really, really difficult to do "IMA". imho ymmv.

[origami_itto]

How many lifetimes must one train to produce an actual effect on an noncompliant human being with this soft ma approach, everything?

[everything]

lol.

continues to stand on soapbox

for "soft MA", you can just go down to local judo or BJJ and be "good" (whatever "good" is within your athletic constraints/talents/background) pretty darn quickly! (no, you won't be able to defeat Fedor, a former Russian national judo/sambo champ).

the way some people "reject internal" here, may as well do that.

for "internal", I'm 110% sure most of us will never get it in multiple lifetimes. this is sad but true. in our little narratives, a lot of people think they "got it", and everyone else here didn't "get it". this is more sad than realizing you haven't quite got it. if it were easy, we wouldn't constantly lament taijiquan has disappeared or claim "find a good teacher" (as if that is easy) or constantly think the real stuff is "fake" or "physics" or "fascia" or some such nonsense. for the very few people genuinely interested and not leaping ahead of their own ability/level, we should still talk about "internal" lol even if we cannot get there

[origami_itto]

I mean I think focusing on what one can do as a result of your training is a good thing to do, not reaching past into some theoretical realm but nurturing the roots that will become the branches.

Qi tricks and what not may be possible but if so are as attainable to most as the ability to perform The Biles.