How do you unlock the hidden meanings of the classics?

[SPJ]

So I was told to recite classics without really knowing what they mean.

I was told to practice the moves right everytime.

Only after sometime, the meanings of the classics start to reveal to me.

The classics are written in poems, or colloquial songs.

There are applications, principles, and theories in them.

Understanding them holds the keys to everything.

I was told to write journals as well and put my understandings of theories, practices and apps in poems, too.

So practices, understandings of classics, and then new insights from practices are recorded in notes and journals.

This is a 2 way street. Practices and theories. Apps and techniques.

How do you study and learn the classics?

[K.Brazier]

Hi SPJ,
What classics are you talking about?

Kevin

[GreenCloudCLF]

Classics like:

"Your skills are worthy of a General. You want to fight? Fight with me. One to one. Man to man."

[SPJ]

For each style or school, there are specific words or poems related to moves, techniques or skills. How to practice, develop the skills and apply them etc.

This happened in all professions or works in the old time.

The carpenter, fisherman, farmers, etc. All the trades have their own "trades secrets".

Yes. The classics are like the general. Personal skills are like the soldier.

[SPJ]

Mantis is popular in the northern China.

There were many and many practitioners. They added more forms. They also wrote addendum to boxing notes or sutra, Quan Jing.

For example, Bu Quan. If there is a "leak", we have to "patch" the "leak" or Bu Lo.

From several books, I found there were pages after pages of notes just for Bu Lo.

Every boxing method or move, there were so many interpretations added and tactics and strategy.

So I started to sort things out. Some I may appreciate over time, some is still beyond me.

It is fun but also a lot of brain storming.

[K.Brazier]

Hi SPJ,
Where in Mantis classics are pages of bu lou?
Generally there are 5 leaking hands:
1. raise and leak-ti lou
2. underside leak-di lou
3. rolling leak -gun lou
4. following leak- xun lou
5. body leak- shen lou

This is seen in Meihua and Taiji Mantis. It is very short, not pages. Undersdtanding is thru shifu teaching these essential mantis and methods.
These techniques often appear in the forms.
So there is no bu lou here, nor have I seen it in any manuscripts of PM. Would please direct me to where I sould look for bu lou?

[SPJ]

hi;

I have several books. Usually, at the end of the books or addendum, the authors will provide their interpretations of the forms or classics.

Bu Lo is a concept. I used it as an example.

[SPJ]

Here are some examples.

This is from Ding Zi Chen writings for Liu He Tang Lang.

There are 2 types of bottom Lou. Li Di Lou and Wai Di Lou.

1. If I use my right hand to hit the opponent's face from the outside, he uses his left hand going outward to block my right hand. I have an inside bottom or Li Di Lou.

"From the outdoor entering the mid level, patch the indoor leak."

2. If I use my right hand from outside to hit the opponent's face, he uses his right hand to move my right hand upward. I have an outside bottom or Wai Di Lou.

There are several hand methods to stop these.

I have the original Chinese texts. It is difficult to translate.

[SPJ]

Here are the texts.

Li Di Lou

Wai Di Lou

Maybe some one else on the forum may translate.

[K.Brazier]

SPJ,
Thanks for that clarification.

[7th gen yang]

Hi spj

through the classics I have found the answers to my many questions of Taiji, having unlocked many meanings and some have been very hard but each one that I do learn has been learned from doing the technique/shifu.

Some are very deep and have a very high percentage that you couldn't learn it without a teacher some are very easy. basically the classics are very helpfull and contain most secrets

Another style I studied poems are part of the cavity press method which contains the techniques timing of the strikes as well as the feeling of your opponent as each strike is done.