{"id":561,"date":"2023-06-06T18:57:09","date_gmt":"2023-06-06T18:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/norfolktaichiacademy.org\/?p=561"},"modified":"2023-07-07T10:57:30","modified_gmt":"2023-07-07T10:57:30","slug":"embrace-tiger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norfolktaichiacademy.org\/index.php\/2023\/06\/06\/embrace-tiger\/","title":{"rendered":"Carry tiger to mountain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What on earth can the name of this movement mean? The names of the movements are recorded at least as early as 1931, when they appear in Yang Cheng-Fu’s book “Applications of Taijiquan<\/a>“. The Chinese characters \u62b1\u864e\u5f52\u5c71<\/span> B\u00e0o h\u01d4 gu\u012b sh\u0101n<\/span> literally say: “Embrace tiger, return (to) mountain”. The tiger is a fierce animal: powerful and dangerous. The mountain is its home. Here the tiger stands for a fierce opponent who is sent back whence they came, but what is the carrying\/embracing about? The name has confused many, with some even speculating that b\u00e0o<\/span> might actually stand for its honomyn \u62b1<\/span>, which means leopard. There’s no evidence for this at all, and it’s not the character in Yang Cheng-Fu’s book (although this would have been dictated to a senior student).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"I searched the internet for \u62b1\u864e\u5f52\u5c71<\/span> and discovered this scroll by the Chinese artist Zhang Shan-Zi. The scroll dates from 1925, which is before Yang Cheng-Fu wrote his books. Zhang made many tiger scrolls including one bearing as its title the famous Chinese phrase “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The image makes clear the meaning of “embracing”, but is otherwise a bit of a red herring. The tiger tightly hugs a boulder on a steep mountain side to avoid falling. As Sun-Tzu wrote in ‘The Art of War’ (5th century BCE): “Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer”<\/em>. In the Tai-ji movement, the tiger is the enemy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How does this relate to the mechanics of the movement? First of all, remember that “Cross hands” is a separate movement: when we cross hands, we are not really carrying the tiger, even if this is a handy aide-m\u00e9moire<\/em>. Yang Cheng-Fu’s book says: “From the previous movement (Cross Hands), presume the opponent closes on me from behind at the right corner”. If the opponent is close, then the movement that follows is a trip. The right leg is picked up<\/em> and placed behind the opponent’s leg. Then we push him back and trip him over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is this like “embracing a tiger”? The answer comes when we look at Yang style Tai-ji. In Yang style, when we step to the corner the left hand falls and the right hand rises. Yang Cheng-fu describes two applications for this movement in his book. If the opponent attempts a strike with their right hand (or foot), then the raised right forearm wraps the attacking limb<\/a>. Then the left hand pushes them over. See the picture below.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Yang Cheng-Fu demonstrates one application of “Embrace Tiger” – although sadly not the one which gives the movement its name – blocking a right punch with the right forearm before striking with the left palm. From “Applications of Taijiquan”, 1931.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

So far, so good, but we still have not ’embraced’ our opponent. Yang Cheng-Fu describes another application: if the opponent attacks with their left<\/em> hand then after the block the (raised) right hand circles round the back of the opponent. We hug them close, with a movement that some have described as like scooping up a child, before the left hand, continuing forward, knocks them over with a push to the face or shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the meantime, after generations of oral transmission and evolution have obscured the meanings of the movements, it does no harm to imagine that when we cross hands, we embrace a tiger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What on earth can the name of this movement mean? The names of the movements are recorded at least as early as 1931, when they appear in Yang Cheng-Fu’s book “Applications of Taijiquan“. The Chinese characters \u62b1\u864e\u5f52\u5c71 B\u00e0o h\u01d4 gu\u012b sh\u0101n literally say: “Embrace tiger, return (to) mountain”. The tiger is a fierce animal: powerful READ MORE<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-move","category-taichi"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t