Old Frame First Routine (Lǎojià Yīlù) — 老架一路

1

Taiji Beginning Posture

Tàijí chū shì

太極初勢

Commencement, Taiji Preparation Form, Preparatory Stance, Starting Form

Tàijí qǐ shì, yùbèi shì, qǐ shì

太極起式, 預備式, 起勢

2

Jin Gang Pounds with the Pestle

Jīn gāng dǎo duì

金剛搗碓

Vajra Pounds Mortar, Guardian Pounds Mortar, Strong Man Pounds the Mortar

Originates from the Buddhist god Indra, who carries a metal pestle-like weapon called Jin Gang Chu, i.e., “gold steel pestle.”

金剛 is commonly translated as Buddha’s Warrior Bodyguard or Vajra. However, the use of 金剛 usually refers to someone who is very strong.²

3

Grab and Tuck in the Robe

Lǎn chā yī

攬插衣

Grab and Tuck Clothes, Holding Coat at the Waist, Lazily Tying Coat

Lǎn zā yī

懶紮衣

Many translations list this as Lazily Holding Coat or something lazy about it. There is absolutely nothing lazy about this movement. The original Chinese characters refers to “waist” and not “lazy.” The Romanized representation of these characters are unfortunately the same.²

4

Six Sealing and Four Closing

Liù fēng sì bì

六封四閉

5

Dantian Change

Dān biàn

丹變

Single Whip

Dān biān

單鞭

The lifting feeling is on the right wrist, top of head, and left middle finger.²

7

The White Goose Displays the Wings

Bái é liàng chì

白鵝亮翅

White Crane Spreads Wings

Bái hè liàng chì

白鶴亮翅

In Chen Village, there are no cranes but lots of geese. So it is always The White Goose Displays the Wings and never crane.²

8

Oblique Posture

Xié xíng

斜形

Step Obliquely, Oblique Movement, Step Diagonally, Diagonal Stance, Inclined Posture

Xié xíng

斜行

This movement is characterized by the inclined rotation of the body during the execution of the movement and thus its name, which when directly translated means inclined shape. However, when the movement is done, the body is NOT inclined. The right foot also has a hook feeling, unlike Single Whip.²

9

Embrace the Knee

Lǒu xī

摟膝

Brush Knee, Gathering at the Knees

Gathering at the knee requires the two hands to “he,” i.e. come together in a coordinated fashion, like a vise to grip or hit.²

10

Paced (Twist) Steps

Ǎo bù

拗步

Wade Forward, Three Steps Forward

Shàng sān bù

上三步

When written as 拗步, this is usually pronounced as Niu Bu and not Au Bu. Technically, this means twisted steps. So this can going left and right as you move forward.²

14

Covering-the-Hand Forearm Fist

Yǎn shǒu gōng quán

掩手肱拳

Hidden Hand Punch

The right knee points at the toes with the calf on top of the foot. Waist is relaxed. Thighs are “twisted” outwards to initiate the spiral rotation. The right fist is not closed tight. The moment of impact is about a tenth of a second when it meets the opponent, only then is it tight. Immediately after the jin reaches the fist and after contact, relax the whole body. Gong versus Hong. There are many write ups that have “Yan Shou Hong Quan” or “Dao Juan Hong.” The Chinese character for Hong is 宏 which is similar to 肱 (Gong). The difference is in their meanings. 肱 means upper arm, which I believe is what the form is referring to and 宏 means great or grand.²

16

Diagonal Body-Stroke Fist

Piē shēn quán

撇身拳

Draping Body Fist, Hit and Drape Fist Over Body, Rotational Body Punch

Piē shēn chuí

撇身捶

Depending on individual training level, (high, medium or low stances), the hand positions will be different. In high stance, the hands passes above the knees. In medium stance, the hands pass below the knees and in low stance, the elbows pass below the knees. In the final position, the right fist, left elbow and left toes form a straight line and the eyes look down the left elbow to align it with the toes. The left elbow can be used to strike an attacker’s elbow (in which case the right is pulling downwards) or hit soft part of the body. The right fist can also be a hit or a pull.²

17

The Teal Dragon Emerges from the Water

Qīng lóng chū shuǐ

青龍出水

Green Dragon Emerges from the Water

The character 青 means many things. It can be young, the color green or even the color black. When used in this context, it can also mean the dragon from the da qin mountain. The punch at the end is a straight punch and not a hammer fist like in New Frame. However, at this point, that punch can change form into elbow strikes or shoulder strikes.²

18

Push with Both Hands

Shuāng tuī shǒu

雙推手

Sometimes also referred to as double push palms (雙推掌). Like Six Sealing Four Closing, there is springiness in the arms when striking.²

19

Fist Presented Under the Elbow

Zhǒu dǐ kàn quán

肘底看拳

Fist Under Elbow, Elbow Meets Fist

Ideally the elbow hit the back of the head while the fist hits the nose. Both elbow and fist come together with the coordinated he jin (compression energy).²

20

Reverse with Spiraling Forearms

Dào niǎn gōng

倒捻肱

Step Backwards and Push with Arm, Retreat with Arms Whirling, Stepping Backwards with Turning Arms

Dào juǎn gōng

倒卷肱

23

Flash Through the Back

Shǎn tōng bèi

閃通背

Flash the Back, Turn Back Quickly, Turn Back Three Times

Sān tōng bèi

三通背

Since this movement is used to deflect pushes from the back, there is the quick rotation of the body to bring the left and right shoulders forward. It has also been described as a way to brush off kicks to the groin or to protect the knees which is also possible as that also requires the rotation of the body. The left that extends to the back serves as an antenna or a probe to sense the surrounding and also be used to strike the thighs or groin regions. If the left hands senses someone behind, then jump and turn back.²

27

Maneuver the Hands

Yùn shǒu

運手

Moving Hands, Use Hands, Cloud Hands

Yún shǒu

雲手

The Simplified Chinese character for cloud is 云(雲). It is very similar to the Simplified Chinese character word for moving 运(運). It is very likely that these characters got translated incorrectly and “Cloud hands” stuck as a name and that is a translation error. Waving or moving hands is more accurate.²

28

Feel Out the Tall Horse

Gāo tàn mǎ

高探馬

High Pat the Horse, Pat Horse on High Back

The hooking of the right foot is introduced in this movement. The right foot will make two turns before completing the movement. Avoid making too big of a turn for the first turn else the knee will fold in and the peng dang will be gone.²

29

Thrust with the Right Foot

Yòu chā jiǎo

右插腳

Slap Right Foot, Right Sweeping Kick

Yòu cā jiǎo, yòu pāi jiǎo

右擦腳, 右拍腳

The hands are for show. The top part of the foot “slaps” the hand and not the other way around. In some translations it is written as Pai Jiao, which led to people slapping the foot instead of the other way around.²

30

Thrust with the Left Foot

Zuǒ chā jiǎo

左插腳

Slap Left Foot, Left Sweeping Kick

Zuǒ cā jiǎo, zuǒ pāi jiǎo

左擦腳, 左拍腳

31

Kick with the Left Heel

Zuǒ dēng yī gēn

左蹬一跟

Heel kicks are directed to the slightly above the waist or to the kneecap. Eyes look where you are kicking.²

32

Wade Forward with Paced (Twist) Steps

Qián tàng ǎo bù

前趟拗步

Three Twisted Steps Forward

Shàng sān bù

上三步

前趟 means moving forward. It is unclear why these two characters were added in front of 拗步. It almost feels as if the intent is to move quickly forward which stepping left and right and then at the right moment punch down, which is the next move.²

33

Immortal’s Grappling Grip

Shén xiān yī bǎz huā

Immortal’s Embracing Grip, Punch to Ground

Jī dì chuí

擊地捶

The left and right arms need to be coordinated. The left fist will sweep downwards under the left knee and then back up to protect the head. The right fist will go up, as the left goes down, in a smaller circle to punch down as the left fist rises up. The use of this move has been unclear. Some say to strike the attacker’s foot while others said it is used to strike an attacker after you knock him/her down. It doesn’t matter since there is many uses for one movement. The important thing is to not expose your head to your opponent or he/she can take advantage of that.²

34

Kick with Two Feet Up

Tī èr qǐ

踢二起

Turn Around Double Kick, Double Leg Kick

As the name implies, both legs will have to kick up. The first kick is a fake kick and the second kick is the real one.²

35

Protecting-the-Heart Fist

Hù xīn quán

護心拳

Heart Protecting Fist

The Protecting-the-Heart Fist is a long movement. It is representative of the Yǐn Shàng Xià Jìn (引上下進) method of attacking. First draw across the top while inserting the leg underneath to be in front or behind the attacker. The two fists line up along the midline of the body. The right fist in front of the left fist. Some place the fists slightly to the right side of the body.²

36

Whirlwind Kick

Xuàn fēng tuǐ

旋風腿

Tornado Kick

Xuàn fēng jiǎo

旋風腳

This kick can be done at various levels. The key is to be stable when executing this kick. The left hand meets the inside of the left foot when the body is turned to the final position, 180 degrees and not sooner. The hand can hit the thigh, calf depending on your skill.²

37

Kick with the Right Heel

Yòu dēng yī gēn

右蹬一根

39

Small Catching and Striking

Xiǎo qín dǎ

小擒打

Small Capturing and Striking, Small Grab and Hit, Small Frame Grasping and Hitting

The “small” in this movement comes from the small frame. The grasping technique is very commonly used when attacker grabs the wrist. There is coordinated he jin using the back of the right palm along with the left hand (on top of the attacker’s hand) to lock the wrist joint. The complete execution requires stepping into the attacker to obtain space to rotate right arm while holding on to the attacker’s hand. The palm strike can also be a fist, aiming for the soft parts of the body and left hand can be used to protect the head after drawing the attacker’s arm away.²

40

Embrace the Head and Push the Mountain

Bào tóu tuī shān

抱頭推山

Cover Head and Push the Mountain, Protect Head Push Mountain, Push Mountain from the Head

The push is an upward push, so the dang goes down and then up along with the push. This is used to uproot the attacker.²

43

Forward Trick

Qián zhāo

前招

Cover the Front

The 招 comes from 招呼, to greet. It is like greeting someone who comes in front or behind you. The jin used here is horizontal jin so the strikes to the front and rear are along a horizontal plane.²

44

Backward Trick

Hòu zhāo

後招

Cover the Back

45

Part the Wild Horse’s Mane

Yě mǎ fēn zōng

野馬分鬃

The movement here resembles a woman using a hairpin to part their hair. It has to be pierced and then flipped over. This movement ends with palm facing outwards and not up. The leading arm pierce, rotate and part just like the hairpin. First to the right and then to the left. Can also use this as a side silk reeling exercise.²

48

Jade Lady Works the Shuttle

Yù nǚ chuān suō

玉女穿梭

Fair Maiden Works at the Shuttles, Jade Maiden Shuttles Back and Forth

This movement is used to break yourself out of a group surrounding you. At a high level of skill, the ideal is to leap as far as you can. Another very common interpretation for this is jade maiden works the shuttle. A shuttle is a piece of a loom that moves back and forth between yarns. I think the name is describing a lady moving back and forth quickly like the shuttle of a loom and not the lady working the shuttle of a loom. When both hands turn upwards, there is a he jin compressing into the center. Hands and right leg lift first, then the left leg. The left leg lands first and then right makes a stomping action.²

53

Swing the Leg

Bǎi jiǎo

擺腳

Swing Foot, Double White Lotus

Shuāng bái lián

雙白蓮

54

Drop and Split

Diē chà

跌岔

Drop Down, Arrange Legs to Split

Diē chā

跌叉

The key here is that you must be able to get low without sitting down on the ground. This can also be performed at low, mid, and high stance.²

55

Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg

Jīn jī dú lì

金雞獨立

Golden Rooster Stands Alone

This movement requires you to reach high with palm striking upwards. A common mistake is to rotate the palm with the palm’s heel towards the right or left. Between the left and right legs, there is another the Yin San Xia Jin (引上下進), so the hands will lead the movement to the right and drawing to the left while stepping to the right happens together.²

65

Cross the Foot

Shí zì jiǎo

十字腳

Cross Leg Kick

The Chinese characters 十字 mean intersection, although some will think it has something to with the number 10. Cross kick is as good a description as I can find. This movement uses the Wài Bǎi Jiǎo (外擺腳) footwork where you whip the right leg around to hit the left hand.²

66

Pointing-to-the-Groin Punch

Zhǐ dāng chuí

指襠捶

This is like the punch to the ground but the direction is aimed at the groin and below.²

67

Giant Monkeys Search for Fruit

Yuán hóu tàn guǒ

猿猴探果

Apes and Monkeys Search for Fruit, White Ape Presents Fruit

Bái yuán tàn guǒ, bái yuán xiàn guǒ

白猿探果, 白猿獻果

There are a couple of names for this movement. Both have the same general idea of serving up something so the use of this is to punch towards the other jaw of the attacker. Immediately following this movement is a move similar to Six Sealing Four Closing to push the attacker away after uprooting the attacker. Some listing will list the Six Sealing Four Closing as another movement. I suspect the direction of the push is more forward than downwards based on Grandmaster Chen Zhenglei’s description on how it is used.²

69

Ground-Hacking Dragon

Qiè dì lóng

切地龍

Dragon Rolls Downward, Earthworm Burrowing Under the Mud

Què dì lóng

雀地龍

The Chinese characters compose of a sparrow and earthworm. The story is that the earthworm would creep under the mud, pushing sand to the top. As children, they would look for the white sand and then pinch the earthworms out. With the sparrow in front of the worm, it may mean a sparrow searching for the earthworms.²

70

Step Forward and Form Seven Stars

Shàng bù qī xīng

上步七星

Stepping Up to Seven Stars Stance

The confusing part about this name is that when you step up, the seven stars are gone. At the end of the previous movement, the seven stars refer to the fists, elbows, shoulders and head, all of which can be used to strike an attacker as you come up. The right fist closer to the body, unlike in New Frame, which is the other way.²

71

Step Backward to Cross the Forearm

Xià bù kuà gōng

下步跨肱

Step Back, Spread Arms, Stepping Back Tame Tiger, Step Back to Wrap with Forearm

Xià bù kuà hǔ

下步跨虎

This has been written up as “Ride the Tiger’s Tail” and there is really no tiger involved. This movement is about trapping and tripping the attacker with the right thigh and wrapping your forearm around their waist to push them back.²

73

Head-On Cannon

Dāng mén pào

當門炮

Head Strike Cannon Fists

Dāng tóu pào

當頭炮

75

Closing Posture

Shǒu shì

收勢

Shōu shì

收式