TAIJI SPEAR METHODS ACCORDING TO CHEN YANLIN

Posted on J une 30, 2013

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PART NINE of Tai j i Compi led: The Boxi ng, Saber, Swor d, Pole, and Spar ri ng

by Chen Yanlin
[published June, 1943]
[translation by Paul Brennan, June, 2013]
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TAIJI THRUSTING POLE

[While in Yang Chengfus 1931 manual such exercises are explicitly termed as spear () techniques, the word
chosen in this book () instead represents the unbladed spear-shaft, and as it is also a different character from
the usual word for staff (), hence pole.]
Taiji Boxings Thrusting Pole is also known as Stick & Adhere Pole, or Thirteen Dynamics Pole, the
thirteen being spreading, covering, flicking, chopping, tapping, thrusting, deflecting, raising, coiling, leading,
sliding, and severing [although there are only twelve in this list]. As one of the major practices in Taiji Boxing, its
energies of sticking, adhering, neutralizing, seizing, drawing in, and issuing are the same as with the bare-handed
postures, it is likewise extremely subtle, and the practice method also divides into solo practice and partner
practice.
Once your skill is deep, the pole is just like a hand, and the power of your whole body can reach straight to the
tip, just as though mercury is being sent through a tube. When issuing, it reaches the tip, and when withdrawing,
it reaches the tail.
These thrusting pole exercises, in practice and application, contain the methods of both the halberd and long
spear. Those who nowadays treat it as though it is entirely based on the long spear are actually incorrect,
indicating a lack of understanding as to the effectiveness of Taiji Boxings thrusting pole. The Yang familys
thrusting pole is very famous, Yang Luchan having even used it to help put out a fire, which is a truly remarkable
thing to hear of. (See Part One, Chapter Two: Brief Yang Family Biographies.)
When you and an opponent face off with poles, whether seizing him or sending him away, it is all the same as
using hands. Once an opponent connects with your pole, he immediately loses his initiative and has been hit just
as if you were issuing with your hand, and he will typically not understand how it happened.
Alas, this depth of skill is already lost these days, but to consider the practice methods, there are several, which
divide into the Solo Thrusting Pole Method, Two-Person Level-Circle Stick & Adhere Thrusting Pole Method,
Two-Person Vertical-Circle Stick & Adhere Thrusting Pole Method, and the Two-Person Moving-Step Four Stabs
to the Solar Plexus, Leg, Shoulder, and Throat. These are each described below so that connoisseurs of martial
arts will be able to preserve them, preventing them from being lost all over again.
Brennan Translation
It is recommended that you use poles made of waxwood, related to rattan, which are produced in Henan or
Shandong. They have a flexible hardness as well as a hardness of substance and are not easy to break.
They were long ago used as the handles for spears and halberds. They were of two types, a greenish black and a
white. The best was the white variety and with its outer skin left on. The highest quality came from choosing from
stalks more than thirteen feet high, rooted as a pair, in which the lower three feet was without sections [of slight
coloration], and upward from that point were sections evenly spaced. To cut a pole from such a stalk was
considered a ready-made pole, and if such a pole was used regularly and stored properly, then after many years, it
would redden in color. Adorers of such things often treat them as antiques, for unfortunately these kinds of poles
are rarely seen nowadays.

SOLO THRUSTING POLE METHOD

1
Taiji Boxings solo thrusting pole exercise is very simple. There are only three parts to it: spreading aside (or
deflecting), covering (or urging away), and issuing (or thrusting / stabbing). When practicing with your left
foot forward, your right hand holds the tail end of the pole and your left hand holds the middle. Your feet are
spread apart, making a posture between a bow stance and a horse-riding stance. Your whole body is relaxed and
your headtop is pressing up forcelessly. This is the starting posture.
Spreading:
Your right hand sinks down as your left hand shifts up, the pole tip going to the upper left. The weight of your
body is shifted to your right leg. Your eyes are looking toward the pole tip. See drawing 1:

2
Its application is to deflect aside an opponents weapon as it approaches your body.
Covering:
Both hands, dependent on your waist and thighs, cover downward. This action contains a small circle due to
the turning upward of the back of your left hand and your right palm, the reverse of the spreading posture [in
which the back of your left hand and your right palm turn downward]. The weight is evenly spread over both legs.
Your eyes are looking toward the pole tip. See drawing 2:

3
Its application is to urge away an opponents weapon as it approaches your body.
Issuing:
Continuing from the covering posture, your right hand, going along with your waist and thighs, shoots the pole
forward. The tigers mouth of your right hand is now upward. Your left hand makes no action, the pole sliding out
within the palm. In other words, as your right hand issues the pole, your left hand is used only to prop the pole up.
Most of the weight is shifted to your left leg, but not all of it, for fear that it will not be easy to switch to
withdrawing, and also that you may overcommit forward. Your eyes are looking toward the pole tip. See drawing
3:

Its application is to stab to an opponents solar plexus, throat, or shoulder.

When issuing, your headtop must be suspended and your body must be upright, your chest must be contained
and your back must be plucked up, your shoulders must sink and your elbows must hang, your waist must lower
and your hips must loosen, your tailbone must be centered, and energy must sink to your elixir field.
It is entirely a matter using the power of your waist and thighs rather than your hands. (If you only use your
hands, the pole will not be able to exhibit any shaking.) Make sure to use the power of your whole body, from foot,
to leg, to waist, to spine, to shoulder, to hand, all the way to the pole tip. When issuing power, it starts from the
tail end of the pole and shakes straight to the tip, as though there is quicksilver coursing through it.
After issuing, withdraw to again be spreading, thereby returning to your original condition, then after
spreading, again cover. These three postures can therefore be practiced in a cycle.
This type of solo thrusting pole exercise is the easiest way to develop internal power. While it is nothing like the
endless flourishing postures of Shaolin, it is nevertheless not an easy task to become skillful at it, and so you must
be sure not to look upon it lightly.
When your right foot is forward, use your left hand to thrust the pole, just as when your left foot is forward it is
your right hand that does the issuing. It is good for your hands to be alternated with each other. Both sides must
be practiced, otherwise your left hand will have no power and you will be unable to have a rounded fullness.
You must understand that within the art it is the bare-handed practice that will develop the musculature while
it is the weapons training that will strengthen the sinews and bones. Therefore in the practice of Taiji Boxing, once
you have reached a competent level in the bare-handed training, the weapons training (such as the saber, sword,
pole, etc.) then has to be learned.

Note: Due to the space on the page, the pole in the drawings is shorter than it would actually be.

TWO-PERSON LEVEL-CIRCLE STICK & ADHERE THRUSTING POLE METHOD

1
This exercise trains sticking and adhering, as well as the fundamental skill of thrusting, and contains the three
energies of spreading, covering, and issuing. Its practical functions are vast, and it can assist the development of
power in the lower back, having the same effects as in the level-circle stick & adhere pushing hands exercise. The
techniques divide into four postures: stabbing to the shoulder, to the throat, to the solar plexus, and to the leg.
The shoulder-stabbing posture:
Two people stand facing each other (A, dressed in grey, and B, dressed in white),
each holding a pole, each stepping out with his left foot, each using his right hand to send out the pole.
A uses his pole to stab to Bs left shoulder. B goes along with the incoming momentum, sends his pole upward
to deflect until As power has been spent, then changes to covering. See drawing 1:

2
After covering, he returns a stab to As left shoulder. A, now being stabbed, changes to spreading outward (i.e.
deflecting), then changes to covering, then changes again to issuing (i.e. stabbing).
Both people spread, cover, and issue, alternating back and forth, recycling the exercise indefinitely. It is the
same if the right foot is forward and the left hand is sending out the pole, except the stab will then be to the right
shoulder.
The throat-stabbing posture or plexus-stabbing posture can also be done like this, except the hands will have to
deal with the whole square, and so it is slightly different. [To clarify, when dealing with a stab to a shoulder, it
needs only be deflected to the upper left or upper right, but in the case of the throat or solar plexus, being more
central targets and of slightly differing heights, more attention must be given to all quadrants: upper left, upper
right, lower left, lower right.]
As for the leg-stabbing posture, it can be separated into fixed-step and moving-step.
The fixed-step method:
Both people stand facing each other, each stepping out with his left foot. A uses his pole to stab to Bs left knee.
B goes along with the incoming momentum and sends his pole to the lower left to deflect. At the same time, he
lifts his left foot at an angle [i.e. to the upper right] to evade As stabbing tip. Once As power has been spent, B
returns a stab to As left knee. See drawing 2:

A, now being stabbed, sends his pole to the lower left to deflect. At the same time, he lifts his left foot at an angle
to evade Bs stabbing tip. Both people practice deflecting and stabbing to each other, stabbing and deflecting.
The moving-step method accords with the above. When B, being stabbed, deflects with his pole and lifts his left
foot at an angle, he then takes a half step across to the right side. At the same time, he advances a half step with
his right foot and stabs to As knee.
Then A, now being stabbed, deflects with his pole, also lifting his left foot at an angle, and then takes a half step
across to the right side. At the same time, he advances a half step with his right foot and stabs to Bs knee.
Both people are rotating in a circle. They turn and deflect, deflect and stab, recycling indefinitely. It is the same
with the left foot forward and the left hand sending out the stab.
While the poles are winding in a circle around each other, so too are both people spinning around each other on
opposite sides of a circle. When these exercises of stabbing to the shoulder or to the leg are able to be done with
increasing depth of training, then the circling [of the poles] can shrink and the poles can touch without making a
sound. Otherwise the skill will become shallower, their circle will become larger and start to develop corners,
resulting in the poles constantly smacking into each other noisily.

TWO-PERSON VERTICAL-CIRCLE STICK & ADHERE THRUSTING POLE METHOD

1
This exercise compensates for the insufficiencies of the level-circle method, which can only make a horizontal
circle and not a vertical one, and is thus sometimes not adequately applicable and may be easy for an opponent to
take advantage of.
Practice method:
Both people stand facing each other, each stepping out with his left foot. A uses his spear to stab, right-handed,
to Bs left knee. B goes along with the incoming momentum, lifting his left foot and sending his pole to the lower
left to deflect. See drawing 1:
2
B waits for As power to be spent, then sends his pole coiling upward [and over] to make the covering posture. See
drawing 2:

Upon being covered, A takes advantage of the momentum and withdraws his pole, coils a circle, then stabs again
to Bs knee. B, again being stabbed, lifts his left foot, again deflecting to the left and coiling upward, and again
covers downward.
To sum up both roles, A focuses on stabbing or issuing, while B focuses on neutralizing and covering. If A wants
to neutralize and cover, he can take advantage of the finishing of Bs covering energy by sending his pole upward
and coiling it around to cover Bs pole. B, now being covered, accordingly uses his pole to stab to As left knee.
Now A is in the role of neutralizing and covering, while B is in the role of issuing with the stab.
If the right foot is forward, the left hand will stab in the same manner, except the stab will be to the right knee,
and both people will do the coiling in the reverse direction.
One who has reached a high level in this thrusting pole exercise can, in the moment of coiling and covering,
cause the opponent to be guided rearward by his connection to his own pole, leaving the ground and soaring away.
It is the same trick as issuing with severing energy in the pushing hands.

TWO-PERSON MOVING-STEP FOUR STABS TO THE SOLAR PLEXUS, LEG, SHOULDER, & THROAT

1
These four pole techniques share the same aim as the moving-step pushing hands, that your upper body and
lower, while neutralizing or issuing, are to move as a single unit. Since the hand methods, body methods, and
stepping methods are all crucial, to train to the point of skillfulness is not an easy task. Yet if you do wish for depth
of skill in the thrusting pole techniques, it cannot be attained without deeply studying this four-part exercise.
Practice method:
Both people stand facing each other, each stepping out with his left foot. A sends his left foot out another half
step, his right foot following forward, as he uses his pole to stab to Bs solar plexus.
B at the same time retreats his right foot a half step, his left foot also withdrawing a half step, as he uses his
pole to cover and urge away As pole. See drawing 1:

2
A, now being covered, steps his right foot forward to the right side, his left foot then stepping forward, making a
side-angled posture (i.e. A inclined toward Bs left side), while withdrawing his pole, coiling it around, and
stabbing to Bs [left] leg.
B at the same time retreats his right foot, withdrawing his left foot, as he sends his pole to the lower right to lift
away As pole. See drawing 2:

3
A, now being lifted, steps his left foot forward, his right foot following, to be directly facing B, while sending his
pole coiling to the upper left and stabbing to Bs [left] shoulder.
When B is about to be stabbed, he retreats his right foot, his left foot withdrawing, while sending his pole
coiling upward to cover and urge away As pole. See drawing 3:

4
A, now being covered, again steps his left foot forward, his right foot following, while coiling his pole to the right
rear to neutralize and spread away Bs pole, then stabs to his throat.
When B is about to be stabbed, he retreats his right foot, his left foot withdrawing, while coiling his pole to
cover and urge away As pole. See drawing 4:

When A completes his four stabs, he then switches to retreating and B switches to advancing. After B has
neutralized As stab to the throat, he steps his left foot forward, his right foot following, while coiling his pole
upward and stabbing to As solar plexus.
A at the same time retreats his right foot, his left foot withdrawing, while sending his pole coiling upward to
cover and urge away Bs pole. The rest of the postures are the same as above, except A is to be read as B, and B to
be read as A. Once B has completed his four stabs, he then switches to again be neutralizing and retreating, and A
switches to again be advancing and stabbing. Both people do their four actions, advancing and retreating,
recycling the exercise over and over.
It must be drilled until waist and thigh, hand and foot, advance and retreat, and attack and neutralize are
unified. And when both poles are making contact without the slightest sound or pause, that is best. When
practicing, you must pay attention that your internal power does not get interrupted, your spirit expresses with
potency, your movement is nimble, and your posture is without any awkward sluggishness. Your body is to be
balanced upright, your chest contained and back plucked up, and your headtop pressing up forcelessly. Energy
ascends and descends, one moment sticking to your spine, one moment sinking to your elixir field. These are the
crucial factors.
This is the beginning method of practicing these four techniques. When skill has deepened, then you no longer
need to be particular about the sequence. Whether to the solar plexus, leg, shoulder, or throat, the stab can be
issued to wherever you please, and the one who is neutralizing can do so according to the stab. Ultimately,
whether attacking or neutralizing, advancing or retreating, all can be done without a set pattern.
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[continue to Part Ten: two-person set]
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Brennan Translation
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