Pluck the Star Exhange the Moon

[Tainan Mantis]

I started off this article 'Pluck the Star Exhange the Moon' with the intention of showing the relationship of the description of a unique technique of the Bengbu form, namely Pluck the Star Exhange the Moon, to a military manual that has been required reading for the exams since the early Song Dynasty called Tai Gung’s Six Secret Teachings.

I thought that it was interesting since the book Tai Gung’s Six Secret Teachings also contains the earliest mention of Praying Mantis in a military context.


One hundred and sixty Spear and Halberd Fu-Xu Light Chariots [for repelling] night invaders from the fore. Each carries three Praying Mantis Martial Knights. The Art of War refers to them as mounting ‘thunder attacks.’ They are used to penetrate solid formations, to defeat both infantry and cavalry.

(wrote about last month in Two Thousand Years of Mantis Warriors (http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/Articles/2010/Mantis%20Warriors.htm)

Sad to say, that I have been so busy and the details of this article got away from me that I ended up having to cut the article a little short. I did not have the chance to show the connection between this month's article and the book Tai Gung’s Six Secret Teachings. Maybe I will save it for later.

What I ended up doing is try to show a relationship between technqiues that we of this era train and what was taught back when Sheng Xiao wrote his manual.
There is often a lot of conversation on what was Sheng Xiao Dao Ren taught and what did he teach. This because several schools of Praying Mantis list him as the student of Wang Lang. On going through his book and trying to connect what he did I came up with this month's article. Pluck the Star Exhange the Moon (http://www.plumflowermantisboxing.com/Articles/2010/Pluck%20a%20star.htm)

My belief is that in trying to connect our techniques of the present with those of the past the names of the techniques become very important.

[mooyingmantis]

Kevin,
I think that is one of your best articles yet! Thank you for sharing them with us!
Would you mind providing the Chinese characters for Pluck Star, Exchange Moon?

采 or 採 for pluck?

What character would be used for "exchange"?

Thanks in advance!

[Tainan Mantis]

Thanks, it is hard to tell what will be a good article until after the fact.
Here is the complete quote.


Shang bu shuang kun.
Zai xing huan yue.

The first line.
advance the step double binding. People often call this "Mantis siezes the cicada."

One of the points I wanted to make is that both Huang Hanxun and Taiji Praying Mantis called this technique "Double BInding" and not "Mantis siezes the cicada."

[Eric Hunstad]

Kevin,
Your posts are, without a doubt, the most informative, well written, and interesting of any on this forum. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and insight with us.

Eric Hunstad
www.OldSchoolKungFuNow.com

[mooyingmantis]

Kevin,
Thank you very much for the characters!

摘 = zhāi, not zai :)

Interesting insight on "double bind". I wonder when Mantis Catches Cicada replaced the term Double Bind?

[mooyingmantis]

In the Zhejiang Province Martial Method Fist Weapon Record we find the two patterns entitled:

Upward Step, Double Bind
Wipe Eyebrow, Peck Eye

This again confirms your emphasis on the use of "double bind" in martial literature.

[Tainan Mantis]

摘 = zhāi, not zai :)

Interesting insight on "double bind". I wonder when Mantis Catches Cicada replaced the term Double Bind?

Yes, same zhai as in Zhai Yao-The Essentials.

Mantis Catches Cicada didn't replace double binding in WHF's book.
He uses both terms at different points in the book.


Upward Step, Double Bind
Wipe Eyebrow, Peck Eye

From
A Discourse on the History of Praying Mantis Boxing in China for the Last One Hundred Years

I don't have that text, but I think I might have translated the 2nd line differently.

[mooyingmantis]

Kevin,

The characters that I translated as Wipe Eyebrow, Peck Eye are:

抹 眉 啄 眼 mǒ méi zhuó yǎn

Please let me know if you have a better translation. I am no Chinese language scholar and am always open to correction. :)

Thanks in advance!

[YouKnowWho]

抹 眉 啄 眼 mǒ méi zhuó yǎn

If you use 抹眉 (mǒ méi) then a palm edge chop to the throat can be a much nicer finish. You can even twist and break your opponent's neck. Not sure why you will need to attack the eyes at that moment.

[mooyingmantis]

If you use 抹眉 (mǒ méi) then a palm edge chop to the throat can be a much nicer finish. You can even twist and break your opponent's neck. Not sure why you will need to attack the eyes at that moment.

Not following u, can you explain in more detail?
LOL, I didn't create the form. Wish I knew who did though. :)

[YouKnowWho]

The "抹眉 (mǒ méi) - eyebrow mop" is to use your palm to press on your opponent's forehead and force his head to bend backward while you control one of his arms.

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/9629/changeyebrowmop1.jpg

It's difficult to attack his eyes from that angle. If you use the other hand and give him a palm strike on his Adam's apple, that could be quite "deadly" finish move.

[mooyingmantis]

YouKnowWho,

Now I understand what you are saying.

However, I don't believe 抹 眉 (mǒ méi) is describing the same action in Seven Star PM. I believe it refers to the action of the practitioners left hand drawing back as the right fingers strike forward.

I hope others will correct me if I am wrong on this. But that is my understanding of it.

Here is a link to the Seven Star version of the form where you can see the technique in question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_v4A2BZ6uo&feature=related

[YouKnowWho]

The words "抹眉 (mǒ méi) - eyebrow mop" has standing meaning in CMA. Here is the bagua style application. You can see the usage at 0.50.

http://www.56.com/u31/v_MTYyMzc2MDQ.html

We are talking about different moves here.

[mooyingmantis]

The words "抹眉 (mǒ méi) - eyebrow mop" has standing meaning in CMA. Here is the bagua style application. You can see the usage at 0.50.

http://www.56.com/u31/v_MTYyMzc2MDQ.html

I don't doubt that. But unless the form has changed in Seven Star over the years, which is possible, the move you describe does not occur between Double Bind and Peck Eyes in any of the Seven Star lineages that I have seen (HK, Taiwan & Mainland).

[YouKnowWho]

Look like you are talking about this move 29.取眼撩陰腿 - attack the eyes and kick the groin. I think 抹眉 (mǒ méi) is not a proper name for this move 勾手(Gou Shou).

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/wanda-walis/article?mid=127&prev=128&next=126

[mooyingmantis]

Look like you are talking about this move 29.取眼撩陰腿 - attack the eyes and kick the groin. I think 抹眉 (mǒ méi) is not a proper name for this move 勾手(Gou Shou).

http://tw.myblog.yahoo.com/wanda-walis/article?mid=127&prev=128&next=126

Yes, that is what Kevin and I have been discussing. As I mentioned above:

In the Zhejiang Province Martial Method Fist Weapon Record we find the two patterns entitled:

Upward Step, Double Bind
Wipe Eyebrow, Peck Eye

That is where I found 抹 眉 啄 眼 mǒ méi zhuó yǎn.

抹眉 (mǒ méi) may not be a replacement term for 勾手(Gou Shou), but I found the term interesting since I have not seen this in the set in my experience.