What does "Si Liang" mean (the true meaning of "Si Liang" in Tai Ji Chuan)

A passage in Wang Zongyue's "On the Biography of Taiji": "The sentence" Check four or two to dial a thousand pounds "is obviously not a victory; If you can observe the shape of the crowd, what can you do? " The first sentence says that "a small force can melt away a large force, obviously it can't be won by strength confrontation", and the second sentence says that "an old man can still resist the enemy, which can never be achieved quickly".

As we all know, no matter what genre of Tai Ji Chuan, books, magazines, and teaching, it is based on the classic saying "four or two dial a thousand pounds" to resolve the storm of opponents. Even foreign soldiers use this classic theory flexibly to defeat the enemy.

However, some people wrote a book saying that "four or two dialing a thousand catties" was a mistake of copying "four or two dialing a thousand catties", and the mistakes of "dialing" and "pulling" almost led the spread of Taiji astray; Also said that the word "dial" is very important, I don't know how many people who study hard in Tai Ji Chuan have been delayed.

In fact, the connotation of Chinese vocabulary is very rich. Ordinary people will say "flick" instead of "flick". You should know that "pull" is a one-to-one top resistance, which violates the boxing principle of "don't push and don't lose". The strength contrast is one to one, so how can it be saved, let alone "four or two". Judging from the connotation of the word, "La" is a word in the opposite direction to "Dao".

The connotation of "dial" is broad. The opponent's direct attack, as long as it is horizontal, regardless of up and down, left and right, is a "dial." Going straight into the horizontal direction can really "four or two".

Anyone who has studied trigonometric functions knows that "sinα= opposite side/hypotenuse"; Then, hypotenuse = opposite side /sinα. When α→0, sinα=0. The hypotenuse (direct force) is equal to the opposite side (transverse force) divided by sinα (that is, divided by zero). That is to say, although the lateral force is small, the infinite direct force can't resist it. This is the truth of "four or two".

For example. As we all know, the wires stretched on two telephone poles are not straight even if they are broken, and there will always be a little drop due to their own weight. This is proof.

"Dial" really conforms to Tai Ji Chuan's principle of "no loss, no top". It is necessary for us to study what "top" is. Now it is defined as: the "direct reverse resistance" with the opponent's movement direction is called "top". I don't think there will be any objection to this. Obviously, the direction of "dial" and the straight direction are "vertical", so it is not the top.

The author of the book also misinterprets "the intention is not to use force" and says: "Taiji Chuan advocates not using force, and opposing the use of force is its principle. It will never go back on its word and put forward the theory of' four or two thousand pounds'. The so-called' winning more with less' will destroy his principles by force. " He also said: "Tai Ji Chuan advocates replacing strength with weight."

First of all, read Yang Chengfu's explanation of "meaning is not hard" in "Ten Essentials of Taiji Biography": "Taiji Biography talks about clouds: meaning is not hard. Practicing Tai Ji Chuan's whole body loosening won't make him weak, and then he can go into battle lightly. When you get what you want, your blood will flow, and if you practice for a long time, you will gain real strength. I explained it as: "To practice Tai Ji Chuan, you should have a sense of being ahead (pay attention to your opponent's intentions and what you want to achieve), don't make clumsy efforts, but make clever efforts to defeat the enemy."

Yang Gong pointed out in particular that "real inner strength" can only be obtained through "long-term practice". Yang Gong's "inner strength" refers to a person's inner energy, and also refers to his ultimate energy at a certain moment, which will gradually increase in the process of "long-term practice".

Taiji legend "guide inner strength, don't be clumsy". Only two people collide and squeeze, and at the moment of "dialing", the internal energy can be transformed into a striking force. Therefore, for individuals, it is accurate to shift power with intention.

Secondly, let's discuss the issue of "Tai Ji Chuan advocates replacing strength with weight". This proposition itself is wrong. Weight itself is power, so weight is also called gravity, which is the universal gravitation of the earth to objects, making objects produce centripetal acceleration pointing to the center of the earth, and pressing objects to the surface is gravity. Weight is a narrow word, pointing to gravity, while force is a broad word. Attraction (gravity), elasticity, inertia force, waves and impact force, etc. It's all strength.

In fact, people who really practice Tai Ji Chuan don't need strength. Gravity is used to push, elastic force is used to "bend endlessly", inertial force is used to tread in the air, and wave impact force is generated by inch strength, so there is no such thing as "replacing force with weight". Don't generalize and easily deny the classic works of predecessors.

Since ancient times, innovation is a natural law, and so is Tai Ji Chuan. Otherwise, there would be no factions of Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu and Sun. However, only on the basis of inheritance can there be innovation, and only a few smart, hardworking and healthy people can achieve something. Ordinary people inherit the rules and practice properly, so that many years later, China people don't know what Yang Chengfu's Taiji Biography is, and its cultivation and martial arts.

Authorized reprint from China Wushu magazine