Monkey | ||
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The Monkey King
The Monkey King is a popular and well loved character in Chinese
folklore.
He possesses immense power but is extremely naughty,
playful and mischievous.
Discover
The character can be found in the classic story The Journey to the West.
An excellent cinematic example of The Monkey King is Jet Li's portrayal in
The Forbidden Kingdom.
Tai chi
In our school, monkey is the main animal used in tai chi.
All 5 animals have their place, but for us
monkey predominates.
Monkey is very hard to make manifest.
Fun
Monkey requires the student to have fun.
Taking yourself too seriously, being
uptight or macho is pointless.
Humour, playfulness and friendship are essential.
Many modern people struggle with this.
Finding monkey
The 5 animals are usually very easy
to see. The movements are large and obvious.
To some extent - bear, bird, snake and tiger could be identified by anyone
who knew to look.
But monkey is quite, quite different. Students always admit that they would never have noticed monkey until it
was pointed out to them and the full range of its potential demonstrated.
The way of the monkey is to play the fool.
While you laugh at his antics, he bites you from behind.
(The Silent Flute)
Hidden
Of the 5 animals, monkey is perhaps the hardest to locate, understand and
manifest.
It resides in the small, innocuous transition moves, which most people
dismiss as being 'between moves'.
You must remember that tai chi is not some final postural structure. It is
the movement itself.
There are no 'transition moves' as such, no moves for monkey to hide
between.
Monkey qualities
• Inventive
• Improvisational
• Quick-witted
• Inquisitive
• Innovative
• Problem solver
• Self-assured
• Deceptive
• Manipulative
• Cunning
Applying monkey
If you find it hard to locate monkey in the form, you may find it even
harder to apply it.
Monkey is extremely subtle. It is
yin in nature - passive, evasive, understated,
indirect, cautious.
The applications typically involve withdraw,
and assume an excellent grasp of jing.
Should you use too much force,
monkey will not work and you will be clumsy.
You will fail and be compromised.
Sneaky monkey
Most of monkey takes place on the rear leg, in a rear bow or
false/empty/cat stance.
This is similar to bird, except that bird is high and often open, whereas
monkey is always low and closed.
Monkey has no real strength. It cannot commit
powerful blows.
Advantageous
Monkey is an opportunist.
It takes advantage of your opponent's aggression
and force. His complacency.
The power comes from sneak attacks that disrupt
the centre and offer a brief opportunity for punch, elbow, slap, seize or
knee.
Monkey skill
Becoming adept at monkey is entirely relative to your ability to understand
the nature of the skill.
This may sound obvious.
However, having a sense of monkey and knowing monkey are two
different things entirely.
Once you can see what monkey is about and
can manifest monkey in your form (discreetly) and in your applications
(covertly), you are in a position to really explore this
skill.
Variety
Monkey's scope and purpose extend much farther than you may initially
imagine.
You have a surprisingly diverse range of possibilities at your disposal.
The key to becoming adept at monkey is jing and smallness. Never reach out,
never commit. Stay small.
Be humble. Be sticky.
Let your attacker come to you.
Concealing monkey
The presence of monkey in your tai chi should not be advertised.
Keep it hidden.
Stealth is the very essence of monkey.
Monkey is quiet, unremarkable and shy. There is no show of
power, strength
or speed.
You should be the only person to see monkey in your tai chi.
Your partner
should be entirely unaware of its potential. Concealing monkey is to your advantage.
Monkey
paws
Monkey paws could have been called anything.
Yet it wasn't.
The name is important; it is deliberate.
If you perform monkey paws without embracing the nature of monkey, your
training will be incorrect.
Watchful
Monkey paws requires the students to pay close
attention to their training partner. Feel what is taking
place. Look for
mistakes.
Help them recognise and overcome tension and
resistance to change.
This is not a fighting set. It is
a learning tool. It serves to
eradicate self-consciousness.
Monkey attitude
Monkey is not evil. It is just a little naughty. It likes to cause chaos and
mayhem.
You must learn to laugh.
At yourself. At life. At other people. At society.
Emotional authenticity is vital.
Sifu Waller
Although our instructor can readily
manifest all aspects of the 5 animals, he really feels that monkey is the
most important for tai chi.
It stops life from becoming too serious.
Sifu Waller is exceptionally playful at home.
This is reflected in his application of tai chi. He could easily use
brutal, sadistic methods and cultivate machismo. He chooses not to.
Instead, we have a lot of fun...
The Prince of Wu took a
boat
to Monkey Mountain.
As soon as the monkeys saw him
they all fled in panic and hid in the treetops.
One monkey, however, remained, completely unconcerned,
swinging from branch to branch -
an extraordinary display.
The prince shot an arrow at the monkey,
but the monkey dexterously
caught the arrow in midflight.
At this the prince ordered his attendants
to make a concerted attack.
In an instant the monkey was shot
full of arrows and fell dead.
Then the prince turned to his companion Yen Pu’i,
“You see what happened?
This animal advertised his cleverness.
He trusted his own skill.
He thought no one could touch him.
Remember that!
Do not rely on distinction and talent
when you deal with men!”
When they returned home,
Yen Pu’i became a disciple of a sage
to get rid of everything that made him outstanding.
He renounced every pleasure.
He learned to hide every distinction.
Soon no one in the kingdom
knew what to make of him.
Thus they held him in awe.
(Chuang Tzu)
Page
created 4 April 1997
Last updated
16 June 2023
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