We are up to the end of Part the Wild Horse’s Mane, Ye Ma Fen Zong, which is followed by Liu Feng Si Bi and Single Whip. I haven’t found a video that shows the transition from Ye Ma Fen Zong to Liu Feng Si Bi. We left off in this position:

His weight is shifted to his left, and he is facing away from front (front being the way you face at the start of the form). The transition is as follows:

1. Circle counterclockwise to block down and to the right, while shifting to the right.
2. Circle counterclockwise again to block down and shift all the way to the left.
3. Ball-change to turn 180 degrees (to face front) and put the right foot where the left foot was.
4. Circle counterclockwise again to start Six Sealing Four Closing (Liu Feng Si Bi).

Follow Liu Feng Si Bi with Single Whip as usual. Now we’re ready for Fair Lady (or Jade Maiden) Works the Shuttle (or the Loom). Either way, it’s Yu Nu Chuan Suo, which is why I like to learn the names in Chinese: Jade Maiden, Fair Lady, Loom, Shuttle–these are just different translations.

We’ve got three video clips by Grandmaster Gohring for this one:

• Video 1
• Video 2
• Video 3

This move is so interesting. It occurs in so many different forms–the Yang 108, 24, 42, Laijia Yilu, and Laojia Erlu–which are all the empty hand forms I know. The Yang versions are all fairly similar, but the Chen versions in Laoia Yilu and Laojia Erlu are pretty different.

Yu Nu Chuan Suo in Laojia Erlu is this one, with the crossed wrists, four quick half-steps (we call them bamboo steps, but really, the name is ban bu, ban=half, bu=step) to stage right:

Fair Lady, Laojia Erlu

We are learning Cheng Jincai’s Laojia Yilu, which is certainly authentic, but it’s quite different from what the Chen masters in China are currently doing. For comparison, here is Chen ZiQiang (Fair Lady is at about 6:35):

Chen ZiQiang Laojia Yilu

In 42, we do Chen-style Ye Ma Fen Zong. The move as I know it does not much resemble what we’re learning in section four of laojia; it’s closer to what Chen ZiQiang is doing. But then, 42 is a modern form. Laojia is a very old form. The oldest! So it’s not surprising that it has diverged as it has been handed down by different masters over the years.

I left off at the end of section three, with Yan Shou Gong Quan. Next comes the Small Grab and Hit (Xiao Qin Da) and Embrace the Head Push the Mountain (Bao Tou Tui Shan). Master Gohring has made video instruction and demonstration for both moves.

Small Grab and Hit 1 (instruction)

Small Grab and Hit (demo)

And for Embrace the Head Push the Mountain. This move, by the way, is for when somebody grabs your hair! Also called Protect the Head Push the Mountain, but Bao does mean embrace.

Embrace Head Push Mountain

Bao Tou Tui Shan

These two movements are followed by Liu Feng Si Bi and Single Whip. This video shows how to get into Liu Feng Si Bi from the push:

Tui Shan to Liu Feng Si Bi 

Next up: Forward and Backward Tricks and Ye Ma Fen Zong, which I can’t wait to learn. I am hoping that the Chen Part the Wild Horse’s Mane is going to help me with 42-form. We’ll see.

I left off with the double jump kick, Ti Er Qi, but before I move on, I found some more supporting video by Master Gohring for the double jump kick, Ti Er Qi.

Now moving on: Protect the Heart, Hu Xin Quan (more literally, fist protects the heart). This move occurs in the Chen 38 (short form) and Laojia Erlu as well as in Laojia Yilu, and it’s a little different in each. What is in common is the backfist with the right, the pull-down with the left, and the fajin. Here’s some great instruction for Hu Xin Quan in Laojia Yilu:

Here is the Ti Er Qi/Hu Xin Quan sequence:

Next up is the tornado kick. Xuan is loop, circle or whirl. Feng is wind. Whirling wind kick (or foot). For us Texans, whirling wind brings to mind a tornado, so we call it a tornado kick. Here is the instruction:

More explanation of Xuan Deng Jiao:

The tornado kick is followed by a repeat of Deng Yi Gen, this time on the right and Yan Shou Gong Quan. So this whole section goes as follows:

Protect the Heart (Hu Xin Quan)
Tornado Kick (Xuan Deng Jiao)
Right Side Kick (You Deng Yi Gen) (pronounced dung ee gun, by the way)
Hidden Hand Punch (Yan Shou Gong Quan)

Finally, as a little video bonus, here is a more general bit of instruction about the Chen-style stance. It took me a while to figure out how to protect my knees while doing Chen, and this is a great summary that I will do well to study again.

We’d gotten up to the first Hidden Hand Punch. The next thirteen movements are exactly the same as the Chen 38, as follows:

Jin Gang Dao Dui (3^rd Buddha Stamp)
Pie Shen Quan (Fist Across the Body)
Qing Long Chu Shui (Blue-green Dragon Leaps from the Sea)
Shuang Tui Shou (Double Push-Hands)
Zhou Di Kan Quan (Looking at the Fist Under the Elbow)
Dao Juan Gong (Whirling Wind Arms)
Bai He Liang Chi (White Crane Spreads Wings)
Xie Xing (Oblique Form)
Shan Tong Bei (Fan Through Back)
Yan Shou Gong Quan (2nd Hidden Hand Punch)
Liu Feng Si Bi (Six sealing Four Closing)
Dan Bian (Single Whip)

Yun Shou (Cloud Hands) is slightly different: we add one extra repetition (left hand extended, step across behind with the right; right hand extended, step aside with the left). Then proceed to Gao Tan Ma (Pat High Horse).

What follows is a short kicking section, consisting of three moves: Pai Jiao with the right, Pai Jiao with the left, and a left sidekick, which I would have called Chong (it seems to be the same as the sidekick we did in Laojia Erlu. Here’s Grandmaster Gohring demonstrating the two Slapping kicks:

On some lists, the Pai Jiao is called Tsa (or Ca, pronounced the way Tsa looks), which is variously translated as slap, rub, or brush the foot. The side kick is called Deng Yi Gen (which makes it a heel kick, literally on one root).

After the three kicks, we repeat Shang San Bu (Advance Three Steps). We then punch to the ground, turn around, do a double jump kick, land and turn to the left. Here’s the video for these moves, with instruction:

For names and translations, the list on the Madison Chen Style Tajiquan website is particularly useful because it includes the Chinese characters. Here’s the list for the new material in this post:

You Tsa Jiao – Brush the right foot
Zuo Tsa Jiao – Brush the left foot
Zuo Deng Yi Gen – Kick with Left Heel
Shang San Bu – Advance Three Steps
Zhi Di Quan – Punch the Ground
Ti Er Qi – Double Jump Kick

Next up, Protect the Heart.