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Bernard Kwan wrote:
Hi Chris,
It's been a while.
Yes I believe the Tai Chi ๆคใๅฑฅใๆ" ใๆใๆกใๅใ่ใ้ are more technically related in that these are applications. The 8 energies you mentioned above are interesting in that last two ๅ & ๅ are similar to the opening and closing of Taichi ้-- and ๅ.
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The Japanese is a more literal "division" or "separation" - the Kanji for "open" in Japanese is the same as in Chinese.
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Bernard Kwan wrote:
ๅผ - leading - this is a common concept in Taichi - as in leading into emptiness - apologies but I think pulling is too strong a word
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It can also mean "draw", but maybe in light of the paired force it's more like "stretch" (that would be a very loose interpretation of the literal meaning).
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Bernard Kwan wrote:
ๅผ - what you translate as loosening, this character not commonly used in Chinese martial arts but perhaps this is the Japanese way of expressing the concept of "Song" ้ฌ or relaxation?
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They can both be used for "loosen" or "relax", which would pair with the first one.
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Bernard Kwan wrote:
ๅ - what you translate as congealing - perhaps the corrollary here is ๆฒ or "sinking" or being connected using whole body power - just speculating here?
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That one I don't have in Japanese - I meant "congealing" as in "stiffening" or (maybe) "fusing".
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Bernard Kwan wrote:
่งฃ - what you translate as melting - I disagree with the translation as this is more unravelling as unravelling a knot, I am having trouble finding an exact match but loosening may perhaps be a better translation here rather than above- perhaps this is sensitivity to escape from joint locks or in wresting. Again a guess.
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"Unravel" is probably closer - I was thinking in terms of pairs with the above term.
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Bernard Kwan wrote:
I have to defer to your experience and authority for the Japanese somewhat as I know for a fact that Japanese Kanji do not always have the same meaning as the Chinese Hanzi, especially for modern Japanese. But for such characters, more classical contexts the meaning is usually similar or has an older classical Chinese meaning rather than the modern Chinese meaning.
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I haven't come across much in detail about how Ueshiba specifically interpreted each individual term, so a lot of the above are best guesses. There's probably more buried somewhere, I'm coming across more all the time.
Also, keep in mind that this is all very unpolished - I just started working up some passages that interested me for my own and my friends usage.
Aside from the technical references themselves, how would Chinese describe the basic attributes of each energy?
Best,
Chris