OK, but what's it mean?

[Phenix_Rider]

Good article, but he never defines "koshi/yao"...
Anybody know th etranslation?

http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=666

Hmm... I suppose the title could also have a double meaning referring to the "hidden" techniques of forms...

 

[Bill Mattocks]

Google is your friend:

http://www.fightingarts.com/reading/article.php?id=663

I believe this is referred to as the 'hara' in my style. The source of power.

 

[K-man]

OK, I'm just guessing here but the reference to Hohan Soken gives a clue. I have an abridged copy of Hohan Soken's notes on vital points and a more detailed set of very similar notes from an unknown source.

As Bill said, the 'hara' or 'tanden' is a very important part of the martial arts. For everyone, the tanden is pretty much the centre of gravity. For practitioners of internal forms the tanden is the repository of 'ki'. Now I have crossed swords in the past over the existance of ki, so for all the unbelievers, close you eyes ... now. (Come on, no peaking

)

For those interested in Kyusho or even Aikido, "ki" is an essential element of the practice, although I have found very few people who can really demonstrate it.

So if you re-read the article in that context, I think you will find it makes sense.

As with Okinawan karate and kobujutsu, a lot of the focus in contemporary Chinese martial arts is the search for the long-lost "internal" component. The core of this internal component for both is the understanding and manipulation of koshi / yao. And as with Okinawa, it was the expats who kept much of the knowledge from extinction.

This has been a huge part of my focus for the past 4-5 years. :asian:

 

[Chris Parker]

Tiny point to add here....

"Koshi" refers specifically to the hips (ie the sides of the waist), whereas "hara" is the belly (the front of your belly, really), typically the lower abdomen, and "tanden" is a very specific point within the hara, about two inches below your navel (about where the knot on your obi sits when worn properly), but inside yourself, a little closer to your back/spine than the front of your body. Each of the three terms are used almost interchangably in terms of where your movement starts from (and is centred from).

 

[clfsean]

I've never seen the term "yao" used that way.

Most of the time I've seen/used it, it just means soft. I also use it to notate right, not left. I would need to see the character he's referencing to find out what he's truly talking about.