Doctor Luce Condamine (who oftentimes reminds me of “Minnie the Minx” or is it “Minnie the Moocher”?) recently gave me a copy of the October 2004 issue 5 of the French martial arts magazine “Dragon” in which she was featured, teaching Tai Chi Chuan to children. There was also an interview of 79 year old Yang Zhen-duo, 4th generation master of Yang family Tai Chi Chuan and son of Yang Cheng-fu. Usually these old boys give fairly anodyne answers to sycophantic questions, or so I thought.
The final question and the answer it received were killers; what follows is my translation:-
‘DRAGON: “Your father, Yang Cheng-fu died at the age of 53. Under what circumstances?”
Yang Zhen-duo: “It followed an accident due to medication. My father found himself in South China in Canton. He was a big strong man. He weighed one hundred and thirty eight kilos (more than 300 pounds)! Because of the heat, he was perspiring profusely. This perspiration gave him a kind of eczema at the level of his genitalia. In Hong Kong this causes fungus on the feet; it is a well-known malady. His nephew proposed that he use the normal medication used for the feet, so he was given the product to put on his genitalia. The result was catastrophic. The product, which was in fact toxic, caused a swelling of his genitalia. He was urgently taken to Shanghai (a considerable distance), but medicine was not as developed as it is today and no-one was able to save him.”
As Luce pointed out, there is an element of the Oedipus complex about all this where sons want to “kill” their fathers and do unspeakable things with their mothers, but even if the story is true it shows that gross stupidity has existed in the Yang family for at least two generations; on the part of Yang Cheng-fu in believing that foot ointment is appropriate for rubbing onto the genitalia and on the part of his son, Yang Zhen-duo for relating his father’s ignominious end in a magazine interview. I hope my own son has something better to report when the time comes.
On another note I was asked a couple of good questions recently about forms. In Paris I was asked if the hand form I taught was of 108 movements. There are totally 119 techniques named in my teacher’s books. However, these names do not include techniques such as Extend Arms, Vanguard (Pioneer) Arms, Single & Double Hands Seize Legs, Break Arm Style, Separate Arms, Tiger Embraces Head, White Snake Spits out Tongue etc. These unmentioned techniques can be found within other techniques and constitute what is in effect an “inner form” and in many cases, including within my teacher’s own school most instructors never mind students are ignorant of the names though in some cases they might know the relevant applications of the movements. These names and applications were only taught to a dedicated few.
Many unnamed techniques no longer exist for many Yang lineage practitioners – for example “Separate Hands” and “Drape Body” occur a number of times in Yang lineage long forms, which suggests that they are techniques of some importance. However, it seems that only my teacher’s lineage and that of Wu Jian-quan actually name them.
In Nottingham I was asked why we did not use the Chinese names for the techniques. During a class lasting 1-2 hours I normally want to cover some tui shou, some san shou and some weapons training as well as hand form and so we normally just drill the form. However, the old practice in the Far East was for the teacher to announce the name of each technique before or as it was being executed. There are a few problems here, the first being that many students, including Chinese are not aware of the cultural allusions in a number of names. For example, “Step Back to Beat The Tiger” is a reference to a story in the novel “The Water Margin”, while Seven Stars refers to “Ursa Major”. There are many similar cultural references in pushing hands drills, weapon forms, Nei Kung etc. Another problem is the sheer number of names to be recited - especially if we include “inner form” names. Finally, it is difficult enough to learn Tai Chi Chuan in your native tongue without having to also learn Chinese terms, as I know only too well, having spent 9 years on a Hong Kong rooftop doing this very thing.
Names are both a short cut in that they obviate the necessity for a detailed mention of all the physical movements involved in the performance of one technique and they also often shed some light on how to do the movements described. When conducting camps and seminars, I often use this method of naming techniques before or as they are executed. Many common translations of Chinese terms are inadequate or misleading as for example, “Parry and Punch”. The Chinese term “Ban Lan Chui” refers to an upper level defence with the palm, a lower level defence with the palm either or both followed by a punch or punches. Indeed many well known Chinese masters fail to make these two defences.
When reciting names whether in Chinese or English it is more than a little helpful to know what the movements included in the name are actually for. Masters of old, like those of today had their limitations and even made a few mistakes. So do remember that foot ointment is for the feet. Don’t rub it in.