Elbow and Fist – Part 1

Quán bùlíxīn, zhǒu bùlí lē, quán bùlí zhǒu, zhǒu bù lí huái, níng āi shí shǒu, bù āi—zhǒu, zhǒu dǎ sìfāng rén nán fáng, shǒu zhǒu qí fā rén nán dǎng, zuǒyòu liǎng lèi zhèng zhòng yāng, yǎn dàoshǒu dào zìdé xuánmiào.

拳不離心,肘不離肋,拳不離肘,肘不離懷,寧挨十手,不挨—肘,肘打四方人難防,手肘齊發人難擋,左右兩肋正中央,眼到手到自得玄妙。

The fist always comes from the heart (intension), the elbow never separates from the upper body, the fist never leaves the elbow, the elbow never leaves the chest. Will prefer to be hit by ten punches rather than hit by the elbow once. The elbow can strike in four directions and the enemy cannot defend. If the fist and elbow both strike, the enemy will find it hard to block. Protect both sides of the body and the centre are important. Wherever you look, the hands will go, this is an advanced level.”

This is a Chinese Kung Fu poem. In Tàijíquán 太極拳, we use one hand to contact and feel our opponent’s energy. If we are further away, we will strike them with a kick, when we are closer – we will use the fist, even closer still – we will use the elbow and if our bodies are touching, then we will use the shoulder.

In Tàijíquán, and in Pào Chuí 砲捶 – Cannon Fist, we like to use the elbows. Hitting with the elbow will cause more damage than hitting with the fist, they can sometimes even be more powerful than a kick or the shoulders.

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