D_Glenn wrote:Appledog, In Chinese Chess ( 象棋 Xiangqi) there are 7 pieces: the General (將 Jiang), Advisors (Mandarins), Elephants, Horses, Chariots, Cannons, and Soldiers. Places on the board are the Palaces, Fields and the River.
In a checkmate the General flies across the board to capture the other player's General, a move called 飛將 Fei Jiang (Flying General).
Elephants (象 Xiang) have a limited movement and can only move if they're unobstructed, called having an open field (田 Tian) to move in. When the movement of the Elephant is blocked it's called 'Obstructing the Elephant's Eyes' (象眼塞 Xiang Yan Sai).
When one is so focused on winning the game/ Checkmate (飛將 Fei Jiang) they don't pay attention to the opponent’s Elephants and potential movements that they can do. Which became, the classic saying used in CMAs, “When one is so focused on the Fly in their face, they can't see the Elephant in the field.”, which is usually interpreted literally and with often strange meanings, since they don’t know where the saying came from.
In the Chinese Martial Arts it can be applied to what’s happening in the midst of a fight. But a lesser known meaning, is applied to practicing snd learning, where when you're only looking at the end product (the movement of your teachers hands and feet) you don't see the powerful movements of their body that are making the end movements of the hands and feet possible. Or you're so focused on the flashy movement of the hands you don't see the root of the hand's power - the spine and abdomen.
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Appledog wrote:If you can do it, picking up a few students to teach xiangqi or weiqi is a nice passtime when you are not training. Piano teacher is good too. It's something I would like to pursue but, time is always against us. But then if we do not take time, how can we ever have time?
I think I might, cautiously, get back into weiqi these days. You can meet a lot of friends with these games.
wayne hansen wrote:I wrote a similar thing on here a few years back
Bao wrote: If you focus on dominating the four corners, you will have an advantage and can more easily dominate the rest of the space. Remember also that there's a "four corner push hands". The name is there for a reason.
wayne hansen wrote:I wrote a similar thing on here a few years back
BruceP wrote:wayne hansen wrote:I wrote a similar thing on here a few years back
https://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php ... 1e8fcbab9d
origami_itto wrote:The only thing I'm aware of by that name uses the corners to refer to where the trigrams representing the techniques are placed on the pre-heaven bagua.
Bao wrote:origami_itto wrote:The only thing I'm aware of by that name uses the corners to refer to where the trigrams representing the techniques are placed on the pre-heaven bagua.
Why are exactly these techniques put at the "corner" of the Bagua? Because they deal with the corners of the body (yours and/or the opponent's)
Secrets of the Use of the Thirteen Postures
If we meet an opponent whose Ward-off
does not allow us to penetrate the circle,
By simply sticking and adhering it will
be difficult for us to make headway .
If we are sealed off by our opponent's
Ward-off, then we must try Pull-down
or split;
If these are successful, capitalize
immediately and without delay.
I control my own four sides and seek
gaps in my opponent's four corners;
After contact is made, whoever acts
effectively first will prevail .
The Meaning of Four Corners in T'ai-chi ch'iian
The four cardinal directions refer to the four sides of
the square, or Wa rd - off, Roll-back, Press and Push .
Before understa nding tha t the square can be made
round and the pri nciple of the infinite a l ternating
squares and circles, how can one expect to master the
techniques of the four corners? Because of man's four
members without and spirit within, it is most difficult to
acquire mastery of the square, the circle and the four
cardinal directions. However, w hen one begins to
commit errors of lightness and heaviness, floating and
sinking, then the four corners come into play . For
example, if because of half or partial weighted ness one's
movements are clumsy and incorrect, then one will
na turally execute the four-corner techniques :
Pulldown, Split, Elbow-stroke and Shoulder-stroke . Or, if
one is guilty of double-weighted ness, then likewise
four-corner techniques will appear.
With erroneous technique, one has no choice but to
use the four corners to help return to the framework of
squareness and roundness . Thus Pull-dow n, Split,
Elbow-stroke and Shoulder-stroke make up for deficiencies . Those who after long practice have reached
a high level of skill must also acquire Pull-down and
Split to return everything to center. In this way the four
corners have a supplementary function and compensate for deficiencies .
origami_itto wrote:If you look at the modern form names, they even refer to postures towards the corner directions as slant or diagonal, not corner.
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