SEQUENCE: Play Guitar is repeated 2 times in the form.

POSTURE: Traditionally first seen as posture number 7 in the Long Form.   Play Guitar is also translated as Hands Strum the Lute or Play the Pipa Shǒu huī pípá 手挥琵琶.  This sequence follows a ‘Brush Knee and Press Sequence’.  See video 007.   Play Guitar is performed with 1 breath;

IN BREATH 1:  Move your centre of gravity over the left leg allowing a flexing or sinking down into its spring.  The right heel flicks up.  The left thumb remains turning inward and the right thumb turns outward rotating the right palm to face up.

Let go of all the flexing and step back diagonally transferring the bouncy springy sensation to the right leg.  At the same time the thumb of the right hand turns inwards rotating the palm to face down towards the outside of the right knee with the left hand palm down on the left side of the knee.

Move your centre of gravity over the right leg flexing or sinking down into its spring and lift the left knee.  At the same time the thumbs of both hands turn outward rotating the palms towards your body.  When the hands are in the correct position this movement has the sensation of the shoulders flexing forward opening the shoulder blades.

INTENTION: The Embodied Tai Chi soft intention can be thought of as three distinct actions.  Firstly stepping up has a childlike skipping through the playground intention.  Stepping back could be carefully bending something over your upper leg.  Lastly the raising the knee and hands should feel expanding and open.  The martial application must be applied with compassion and would include a throw down.  The final cross lateral action / intension is through the left hand and right leg.  ROOT: The step back is associated with relates to the element EARTH and the trigram lui – Roll Back, Receiving calmly.

OUT BREATH 1:  ‘Hold the Baby’.  Keeping your centre of gravity over the right leg allowing a flexing or sinking down into its spring, place the left heel on the ground.  At the same time turn the waist anticlockwise while turning the thumbs inward rotating the palms upward right hand below the left hand.  When the hands are in the correct position this movement has the sensation of flexing the shoulders back closing the shoulder blades opening the chest.

INTENTION: The Embodied Tai Chi soft intention can be thought of as holding a baby in the right palm supporting it’s neck with the left palm.  The translation of Play the Pipa’ as play the guitar can be misleading.  While the Pipa is a stringed instrument it is held differently from a Western guitar.  The martial application must be applied with compassion and would be applied as a spiralling upward movement to break a hold, unbalance an opponent or deflect to the side.  The cross lateral action / intension is through the left hand and right leg.  ROOT: Play Guitar is associated with ward off left or the trigram peng, HEAVEN, Ward Off and Upward slanting.