Continuing on with my haiku series around “Songs of The Eight Postures” attributed to T’an Meng-hsien and translated by Lee N. Scheele here is my third entry, Ji.

Ji or Chi gave me a lot of trouble when trying to put it to words and I’ll probably need to update it at some point. I don’t think the second half, that speaks to the external is quite what I want. Nor do I feel like it captures the indirect, a rebound, so it’ll have to marinate in my head a bit.

It’s often referred to as a “press”. With this one I veered off the imagery used in the song. The “six joints” is a reference to the “six harmonies” which in taijiquan mean the pairs of joints that should be connected. Shoulders and hips, elbows and knees, wrists and ankles. For the press they all need to be stacked and working together in unison.

My Version - Ji/Chi

six joints move as one
a sealed touch with no gaps
leads compressed wave forth

a confident strike
finds their form an inward path
itself made hollow

Songs of The Eight Postures - Chi

What is the meaning of Chi energy?
There are two aspects to its functional use:
The direct way is to go to meet the opponent
and attach gently in one movement.
The indirect way is to use the reaction force
like the rebound of a ball bouncing off a wall, or
a coin thrown on a drumhead,
bouncing off with a ringing sound.

Other Haiku’s in the series

• Peng
• Lu
• Ji * this one