單鞭 (dān biān) or single whip is so named in similarity to the Single Edged Sword “单刀” (dān dāo) and I believe it is a reference to the similarity between Sabre (or Broadsword) and single stick / truncheon techniques. Generally speaking the common Dan Dao is simply referred to as “Dao” while the larger versrsions are “Da Dao” or “Kwon Dao”. So “Dan Dao” or “Dan Bian” can be seen to mean a single weapon instead of one in each hand.
Came from the story “尉遲恭戰單雄信,「單鞭奪槊」救駕唐王李世民。” i.e., “Wei Cigong defeating Dan Xiongxin to rescue Tang Emperor Li Siwen with the move Single Whip while Capturing Spear”
The Wei was fighting Dan on horseback, when he suddenly let go of his long weapon, grabbed onto Dan’s spear with one hand, pulled out his short Iron Whip and smashed Dan in the middle of his chest and killed him.
Single whip in Tai Chi was most likely named after this. You can see the parallel in the stance (riding on horseback), right hook hand (grabbing the spear), and left palm (Iron Whip attack to the chest).
Bao wrote:Came from the story “尉遲恭戰單雄信,「單鞭奪槊」救駕唐王李世民。” i.e., “Wei Cigong defeating Dan Xiongxin to rescue Tang Emperor Li Siwen with the move Single Whip while Capturing Spear”
The Wei was fighting Dan on horseback, when he suddenly let go of his long weapon, grabbed onto Dan’s spear with one hand, pulled out his short Iron Whip and smashed Dan in the middle of his chest and killed him.
Single whip in Tai Chi was most likely named after this. You can see the parallel in the stance (riding on horseback), right hook hand (grabbing the spear), and left palm (Iron Whip attack to the chest).
origami_itto wrote:I was seeing a strong similarity with the various poses of Zhao Gong Ming.
This article on Zhao Gong Ming says that after he ascended to heaven as an immortal, the Jade Emperor sent him down to gaurd Zhang Dao Ling when he made the pills of immortality. https://dao-world.org/2021/04/25/genera ... gong-ming/
In heaven, he guards the cauldron where Celestial Master Zhang brews the golden elixir and dispenses it when it's complete.
So, like... if one were to be consciously designing a system of Taoist alchemy wound up with a martial arts discipline, I don't see how there is possibly a better folk deity to evoke at this point in the practice.
we've already done the four sealings and six closings and either just did or are about to evoke the buddha's warrior attendant that pounds the mortar, is that to prepare an ingredient for the elixir?
ThomasK wrote:I think it's interesting that the IMAs may have ritualism built into them as well.
everything wrote:Questions... for those sword breaker weapons, is there an outside-in, then inside-out kind of motion? where is the attacking contact point from the sword breaking weapon to the sword/hand/arm? is it a dis-arm type attack?
way more broadly, if people are fighting with swords, why does one carry around "anti sword" weapons (instead of being ready with one's own sword)? this is all too mind boggling. I've never been interested in so many of these weapons. people were crazily inventive.
particularly in an age where metallurgy meant swords got dull quickly and broke frequently.
everything wrote:particularly in an age where metallurgy meant swords got dull quickly and broke frequently.
hmm.... never thought about the dulling and breakage. crazy what humans were up to (and it's still bonkers. we really are the worst).
forgot how great that scene and entire movie are. so her weapon really has a "hook" shape, kinda like the single whip shape (although I think Sun and Wu/Hao keep an open hand)
One more detail: it's called single whip because it's a whipping motion, you do this big arc, then at the end you snap back in a small circle like you're cracking the whip. I don't know how to explain the physics of this, but I have practiced this a lot with a 30 ft long battle rope with another person holding the other end, when I snap, the waves' amplitude and frequency are different, the power a lot stronger, and the other person cannot hold on to it (he gets pulled suddenly to the opposite direction toward me at the end).
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