Single whip

Yang Chengfu in the single whip posture c. 1930

Single Whip (Chinese: 單鞭; pinyin: dān biān) is a common posture found in most forms of tai chi. Typically at the end of the posture the left hand is in a palm outward push and the right hand held most commonly in the form of a hook or closed fist. Notable exceptions are the Single Whip forms found in Sun-style and Wu (Hao)-style, which finish with both hands open and palms outward.

Single Whip is one of the movements/postures most repeated in the solo training forms, such as tai chi.[1] Its first appearance in most forms follows the Grasp Sparrow's Tail sequence (peng, lu, ji, an) and is seen later in Snake Creeps Down.[2][3] There is also a posture in the Wu style sword form called Single Whip Fusing Throat.

The martial applications of Single Whip are many.[4] There are various strikes, throws, changeups (using one hand to create an opening so that the other can strike) and kicks derived from this posture trained by different schools.

  1. ^ Yang Chengfu (1934), Taijiquan Tiyong Quanshu (Complete Book of the Essence and Applications of Taijiquan)
  2. ^ Bob Klein: Snake Creeps Down Seen from back- 1:22 to 1:33| Seen from front- 3:34 to 3:44
  3. ^ Andrew Plitt: (9/11) Yang Tai Chi Stepping Sets/ Line Drills: Snake Creeps Down Seen from front- 5:19 to 5:28
  4. ^ Wile, Douglas (1983). Tai Chi Touchstones: Yang Family Secret Transmissions. Sweet Ch'i Press. ISBN 978-0-912059-01-3.