Chen Taijiquan, Old Frame, Second Form, Cannon Fist, Laojia Erlu, Section I, Movements 1-5: Descriptions, Illustrations, Commentary, Notes, Instructions

Single Whip (Dan Bian) [Chen Zenglei]
Single Whip (Dan Bian) [Mark Chen]
Single Whip [Jou Tsung Hwa]
Single Whip (Dan Bian) [Sim & Gaffney]
Single Whip (Dan Bian) [Chen Xin]
Single Whip [Zhaohua]
Single Whip [Mike Garofalo]
Choisissez Le Fouet
Single Peitsche
Escoja El Azote
单鞭 : Dan Bian

"Single Whip strikes a majestic pose.
Unobstructed are the mai luo passageways.
The spirit perked, the form alert.
Arms like a snake span East to West.
Attack the head; the tail swings to defend.
Attack the tail; the heads springs to counter.
Attack the center; head and tail jump to act.
Top and bottom and the four sides are thus guarded.
With the readiness of a stretched bow.
Where is the source of this ingenious posture?
Follow the backbone joints to its core."
- Chen Village Taijiquan Song
Translated by Sim and Gaffney, Chen Style Taijiquan, p. 72

"Taijiquan is like a bright mirror -
it reflects our physical and mental weaknesses,
we need to polish it constantly to see our true selves."

"The technique I have developed to work directly with my Grinch (inner critic) is first to acknowledge its reaction and then ask a question. For example, if my Grinch says, "That was lousy." I reply, "Yes, that's true, it was lousy. And, if there were more smoothness in my body, what would it feel like?" This is what I call the "Yes, ... And, ..." technique." By acknowledging the negative voice, we blend with it. We soften the negative blow by going with it and not resisting. Then we shift our attention by using the conjunction "and." Using "and" affirms that we can simultaneously hold our vision of how we want to perform without excluding our negative assessment. Asking the question leads our attention toward exploring the sensation of what we want to develop instead of fighting against our Grinch. ...
I do not delve into the content of what the Grinch has to say, but instead I choose to put my attention on the rush of energy in my body. From using the basic practice techniques, we know something about working with energy. When we feel the rush of energy or notice that we are tensing or speeding up, we can stop, focus on our breath, balance our energy field, feel gravity, and evoke our quality. When we stabilize and soften in this way, the energy can begin to self-organize in a way that allows us to deal with the situation more skillfully. ... Pause and feel any sensations that arise. A new perspective on the situation may come with the sensations."
- Wendy Palmer, The Intuitive Body: Aikido as a Clairsentient Practice, 1994, p. 48

"In practicing taijiquan, the requirements on the different parts of the body are: keeping a straight body; keeping the head and neck erect with mindfulness at the tip of the head as if one is lightly lifted by a string from above; relaxing the shoulders and sinking the elbows; relaxing the chest and waist letting them sink down; relaxing the crotch and bending the knees. When these requirements are met, one's inner energy will naturally sink down to the dan tian. Beginners may not be able to master all these important points instantly. However, in their practice they must try to be accurate in terms of direction, angle, position, and the movements of hands and legs for each posture. At this stage, one need not place too much emphasis on the requirements for different parts of the body, appropriate simplications are acceptable. For example, for the head and upper body, it is required that the head and neck be kept erect, chest and waist be relaxed downward, but in the first level of kung fu, it will be sufficient just to ensure that one's head and body are kept naturally upright and not leaning forward or backward, to the left or right. This is just like learning calligraphy, at the beginning, one need only to make sure that the strokes are correct. Therefore, when practicing taijiquan at the beginning, the body and movements may appear to be stiff; or 'externally solid but internally empty'. One may find oneself doing things like: hard hitting, ramming, sudden uplifting and or sudden collapsing of body or trunk. There may be also be broken or over-exerted force or jin. All these faults are common to beginners. If one is persistent enough and practices seriously everyday, one can normally master the forms within half a year. The inner energy, qi, can gradually be induced to move within the trunk and limbs with refinements in one's movements. One may then achieve the stage of being able to use external movements to channel internal energy'. The first level kung fu thus begins with mastering the postures to gradually being able to detect and understand jin or force."
- Seattle School of Chen Style Taijiquan

Standard Directional Scheme Used for Describing Chen Taijiquan Forms Used By Mike Garofalo Directional Instructions
Key	Clock Hour Direction	Compass Direction A

N 12	12:00 o'clock	North - Front Side of Body
NE 1	1:30 o'clock	Northeast
E 3	3:00 o'clock	East - Right Side of Body
SE 4	4:30 o'clock	Southeast
S 6	6:00 o'clock	South - Back Side of Body
SW 7	7:30 o'clock	Southwest
W 9	9:00 o'clock	West - Left Side of Body
NW 10	10:30 o'clock	Northwest

General	Links	Bibliography
Chen Blog	Old Frame, First Form	Cannon Fist
Sword	Staff	Saber
Spear	Pole	Ruler
Short 18 Form	Standing	Ball
Silk Reeling	Internal Training	Relaxation
Cloud Hands Blog	Cloud Hands Website	Yang Style Taiji
Sun Style Taiji	Green Way Research	Valley Spirit Taijiquan
A Beginner's Notebook	Valley Spirit Qigong	Cloud Hands Taijiquan Index
	Subject Index

Chen Style Taijiquan
Old Frame, Second Form, Laojia Erlu
Cannon Fist (Paocui)

Section I, Movements 1 - 5
A Beginner's Notes

Movements: One Two Three Four Five

Instructional Resources I Use

Research by
Michael P. Garofalo

Chen Style Taijiquan Old Frame, Second Form, Laojia Erlu Cannon Fist (Paocui)

Section I, Movements 1 - 5 A Beginner's Notes Movements: One Two Three Four Five

Instructional Resources I Use

Research by Michael P. Garofalo

Chen Style Taijiquan
Old Frame, Second Form, Laojia Erlu
Cannon Fist (Paocui)

Section I, Movements 1 - 5
A Beginner's Notes

Movements: One Two Three Four Five

Research by
Michael P. Garofalo