Step 23: 右倒撵猴 (Step Back and Repulse the Monkey, Right foot front)

1. Sitting completely on your right leg, lift your left foot and step backwards to land on the toes. Twist the left heel very slightly outwards (to your left) so that when you step your left heel down, your left foot is pointing perfectly to your front (pointing 'west').
2. As you land your left heel down, sit back onto your left leg. Feel you right toes lifted off the ground and using your right heel as pivot, turn your right toes 'anti-clockwise' to point directly to your front (west).
3. Next, sink back on your left leg and invoke the recoil or 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) while you straighten your right knee.
4. At the same time, feel your right elbow flexing your lower arm forward and down in a 'pressing down' manner while your left hand is being pulled nearer to the body.
5. Then turn your hip/waist (胯) to the left in an anti-clockwise direction for about 45 degrees and start to relax and lower your left hand down completely by your left side while your right elbow straighten a little more with your right palm facing down.
6. Reverse and turn your waist/hip (胯) clockwise to face the 'west' and feel your left elbow rotating your left lower arm upwards in a clockwise manner while your upper left arm remains by the side of your body.
7. Feel your right palm turning in a clockwise manner too, until it is facing upwards.
8. When you stopped turning your body, synchronise the two palms to face each other (yingyang play again; right palm facing up and left palm facing front).
9. Ensure that you are sitting on your left leg, that is behind, with both feet still flat on the ground.

Step 22: 左倒撵猴 (Step Back and Repulse the Monkey, Left foot front)

1. Still sitting and balancing on your right leg and with the left heels touching the ground and acting as pivot, turn your waist/hip (胯) to the right in a clockwise manner for about 45 degrees. As you turn, slowly release the clenched right fist and lower your right arm down by your side while you feel your left arm also being lowered in a 'pressing down' manner by straightening the left elbow.
2. When you turn, remember not to turn your face but keep watching the front (or 'west').
3. Once you stop turning, your left arm should be outstretched in front (left elbow still slightly bent and left lower arm horizontal) with palm facing down while your right hand is completely relaxed by your side.
4. Reverse and turn your waist/hip (胯) anti-clockwise to face the 'west' and feel your right elbow rotating your right lower arm upwards in an anti-clockwise manner while your upper right arm remains by the side of your body.
5. Feel your left palm turning in an anti-clockwise manner too, until it is facing upwards.
6. By the time you stopped turning your body, synchronise the two palms to face each other (yingyang in play; left palm facing up and right palm facing front).
7. Ensure that you are sitting on your right leg, your left toes are lifted and your left heel barely touching the ground.

Step 20: 仙人拂袖 (Immortal waves his sleeves) and Step 21: 肘底捶 (Punch Under Elbow)

 

1. As you sit back onto your right leg while you also loosen your shoulders, feel both your arms being lowered while your right fingers starts to open up, both palms now facing downwards.
2. Continue sitting back until both lower arms are by your sides, about waist level, parallel to the floor, both palms facing down and both sets of fingers pointing 'north-west'. By now, all the weight should be only on the right leg, left toes are lifted and left heel barely touching the floor.
3. Swiftly shift your left foot about 1 foot to its left (ensuring that the left toes are pointing to the 'west' and land on the heel.
4. Keeping both hands where they are, shift your weight onto the left foot, bending the left knee as you move forward, lifting your right heel up while you continue transferring more weight until you are balancing only on your left leg.
5. Drag your right foot in swiftly to briefly touch the left foot at the heels and quickly step out towards the 'north' to land on the heels. Then turn the right toes 45 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction and land them to point to the 'north-west'.
6. Shift more weight onto your right leg now as you bend your right knee and feeling your left heel lifted up. Using your left toes as pivot, turn your waist (and body) 'anti-clockwise' to face the 'west' and allowing the left hand to lower completely onto your left side of the body, but keeping your right hand as it is (relative to your body).
7. Reverse and turn your body 'clockwise' now, still using your left toes as pivot, to face 'north-west'. Simultaneously lift your left palm up by bending the elbow and then thrusting your left open palm (palm facing up) diagonally upwards across your body while you flip your right palm outwards (clockwise direction) to meet the left palm on the lower side. As the left fingers continues thrusting upwards, gently slide your right palm down the thrusting left arm until it reaches and act as a container to support the left elbow.
8. Stop turning, stabilise yourself very briefly, and still using the left toes pivoting on the ground, turn your body 'anti-clockwise' to face the 'west' keeping both hands as they are (right palm cupping out-stretched left lower arm at the elbow).
9. Still balancing only on the right leg, lift your left leg to land on its heel directly in front of you with a 'sinking' and downward force of the whole body. At the same time, flip your left palm to face forward and clench your right fist so that the left elbow is now sitting on the cavity created by the index finger and the thumb. Synchronise the 'sinking' force with loosening both shoulders, sinking of both elbows and a downward pressing of the left palm.

Step 19: 斜单鞭 (Diagonal Single Whip)

1. With your two hands relaxed in front of your body, two lower arms horizontal and palms facing the ground, use the 'Yi' or mind intention to transfer more weight onto your left foot, lift up your right toes and using your right heel as fulcrum, turn your whole body in a anti-clockwise direction to face the 'north-east' angle, always initiating the turn from the waist/hip (胯).
2. When your right foot has turned about 90 degrees and the right toes are pointing to the 'north-east' direction and by now, at right angle to the left foot, land the whole right foot down.
3. Using the 'Yi', transfer more weight from the left foot to the right foot and continue turning the body in the same anti-clockwise direction for another 45 degrees.
4. At the pause, again use the 'Yi' to transfer more weight back to the left foot and at the same time, initiating from the waist/hip (胯), reverse and turn the body in a clockwise direction now. Relax your shoulders and as you turn; you will feel the right elbow being pulled in and down. You will also feel as if your right palm is being lifted higher (while it remains facing down). Your left arm will be lowered, rolling your left palm in a circular direction outwards and downwards until the left palm is facing up, exactly below the right palm. It is as if you are holding a balloon now; left palm below and right palm on top with the body facing 'north-east'.
5. Using 'Yi' again, transfer more weight back to the right foot. Feel the left heel being lifted up.
6. Using the left toes as pivot and initiating from the hip (胯), turn the body anti-clockwise, by turning your left heel in a anti-clockwise direction. For the hands - close all five right fingers to touch at the finger tips and at the same time twist the right wrist in a small anti-clockwise manner. All other parts of the right arm remains. The turning of the body will also pull the left arm as if like 'fanning' your left arm upwards and in a anti-clockwise direction, until the lower left arm is vertically upright, left elbow point to the ground, left palm facing inwards and left fingers pointing to the sky.
7. When you stop turning, you should be facing the 'north' direction. With all the weight placed on the right foot, pull your left foot back such that the two heels almost touch each other, then open up and place it such that the left toes are now pointing to the 'north-west'.
8. Sit and using the 'Yi', sink the body equally onto both feet. Maintain both your hands in the same position as before.
9. Transfer more weight to the left foot, then turn your body in an anti-clockwise direction to face the 'north-west' by turning your right toes anti-clockwise (using the right heel as pivot) until they are pointing towards the 'north' and being 45 degrees with your body facing.
10. Check and sink down, tucking in the hip (胯), especially on the left side, check that the body is upright and is facing the 'north-west'.
11. Sink further onto your right leg to invoke the recoil or 'Gong Tui' (躬腿). Feel the 'qi' rising from below the sole of your right foot, stiffening your right calf, through the hip, the back and shoulders and pushing through both your arms and fingers - turning your left palm outwards to face the front and also stretching your right fist outwards a little bit more.

Step 18: 拦雀尾 (Grasp the sparrow's tail) ------------ Step 18a: 棚,挤,按 (Ward off, Press and Push down)

1. Sit back on your left leg, shifting more weight onto it while you straighten your right knee. When you sit back, feel your right elbow bending, flexing your right lower arm up until the right palm is about 1 foot in front of your chest (and facing inwards, as if holding a mirror for you to look into). At the same time, your left arm is being lowered effortlessly, palm facing down. By the time your right palm is in front of your chest, your left fingers should be momentarily pointing at the right wrist, on its continued move down.
2. At this instance, turn your body anti-clockwise towards your left, initiating the turn at the waist, while your left hand continues to be lowered by the left side of your body. Your right palm should remain protecting your chest.
3. Continue sinking more weight on your left leg and the recoil will now cause the waist to turn clockwise instead, towards the right again. Feel your right knee bending as you start to shift some weight onto your right leg. At the same time, feel your left lower arm flexing up in a clockwise manner (with pivot at the elbow joint but no movement of the upper left arm) such that the left palm circles 270 degrees to land on your right lower arm which is folding in towards your body (pivot being at the right elbow joint and the right palm turning to face upwards).
4. At the end of this move, you should be facing right, both knees bent and balanced on both legs (right foot in front, right toes pointing straight to the front, left foot pointing 45% to the left) with the two arms folded in front and touching your chest, meeting at the wrists. The left arm is above the right, left palm facing down and right palm facing up. The two elbows should be pointing to the ground and there should no gap at the wrist area.
5. Sink down and at the same time, relax your shoulder joints. The sinking will invoke the recoil and this 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) effect from the sole of the feet up through the shoulder joints will instead lift up both arms slightly, roll both your folded arms upwards and outwards, keeping the two elbows pointing to the ground, until the left palm is facing outwards, right palm facing inwards and the two palms lightly holding the two arms.
6. Sink more weight on your left leg, bending further at the left knee and straightening your right knee by tucking deeper in at your hip joint (胯) at the right side. At the same time, continue to relax the shoulders, loosen the holding of both palms, tilt the right fingers downwards (at the right wrist) on the outside of the left arm and at the same time, roll the left arm up and outwards to the outside of the right arm. Feel both lower arms opening out with the hinges at both elbow joints until they are parallel to each other and staying horizontal. Both elbows should continue pointing to the ground and both the upper arms are not lifted at all.
7. At the pause, both lower arms should feel extremely heavy, yet soft to the touch, even though they are held horizontally.
8. Next, sink more weight to the front, onto the right leg. But do not be seen as shifting your body forward.
9. At the same time relax the shoulder joints and this will sink both elbows and lift both palms up.
10. Invoke the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) and the recoil up through the left leg will propel both palms to turn outwards and push out.
11. Sit down, again sinking more weight on the left leg, bend more at the left knee and tuck in deeper your hip joint (胯) at the right side and straightening the right knee.
12. Simultaneously, relax the shoulders, lower both the palms (still facing outwards and down) with the hinge being at the elbows, until both lower arms are horizontal and parallel to each other.

Step 17: 抱虎归山 (Embrace Tiger and Return to Mountain)

1. Sit and sink more weight onto your right leg and feel the left toes lifted.
2. Then turn your body anti-clockwise, turning only your left toes and pivoting on your left heel. Simultaneously, lower and straighten both arms gently as you turn - relax your shoulders, then flex down your elbows, but keep both wrists bent so that at the end of the turn both the middle fingers are touching each other at the tip.
3. At the end of the move, both your hands should be completely lowered, slightly bent at the elbows and wrists with both palms facing up, as if like holding an elongated ball in front of you. While your right foot is flat on the ground, you should still maintain your left heel on the ground and left toes lifted.
4. Continue to keep your left heel on the floor as pivot point, reverse the turning of your body in the clockwise direction by first turning your left toes.
5. As you turn, feel your left elbow bending and lifting your lower left arm up while your right hand is kept in the same position relative to your body and moved as a block with the body.
6. Once you have turned 90 degrees, your left palm would have been raised to your chest level, facing slightly down and right, reflecting onto your right palm.
7. Now place your left toes down, shift your weight subtly onto your left leg and feel your right toes being lifted.
8. Continue turning in the clockwise direction - this time round - with the turning of the right toes and right heel as pivot.
9. Now, keep your left palm as part of the body instead as it continues turning in the clockwise direction. But the right palm moves instead - it should turn anti-clockwise until it is facing the back by the time you have moved another 90 degrees.
10. As you completely sit with all your body weight onto your left leg, pull your right heel back to touch your left heel and then immediately step out at an angle of about 45 degrees to the right. Land on your right heel first before you place down your right toes.
11. Next, shift more weight to your front leg now, i.e. to your right leg to balance your body weight on both legs.
12. Continue to shift more weight onto the right leg. Then lift your left toes and with pivot on the left heel, turn the body clockwise with the left toes until you are facing 45 degrees to the right.
13. Sink back onto your left leg slightly and feel the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) effect which manifest into a subtle forward push of your left palm and a slight lift of your right hand (palm still facing down).

Step 16: 十字手 (Cross Hands)

1. Continue to sink back onto your right leg and feel your left toes being lifted, leaving your left heel pivoting lightly on the ground.
2. Turn your waist clockwise, turning your left toes clockwise too with pivot on the left heel as you feel your left arm being thrust forward while your right arm is being drawn backwards.
3. Continue turning your body and your left foot until you have turned right 90 degrees. You will feel your left palm turning anti-clockwise at the wrist to face the front. Simultaneously, as your right palm is being drawn back, it also turns anti-clockwise to face outwards too, right in front of your chest.
4. When your left foot has turned 90 degrees to the right, step down the toes lightly and start to shift your body weight onto your left leg while you feel your right heel being lifted. As you sink more onto your left leg, feel your lifted right heel turning inwards in a clockwise direction with pivot on your right toes. At the same time, while your left arm remains stationary, feel your right palm (facing outwards) circling upwards and in a clockwise direction (up, then to the right side and then down) with pivot at the right elbow until both lower arms are somewhat out-stretched, both palms facing the front, as if like lightly pushing a giant ball in front of you.
5. Still balancing very much on the left leg, relax the shoulders and continue to lower both arms while you pull your right foot in so that both feet touch lightly on the inner side of the heels. When the two heels touched, both your arms should be completely lowered and criss-crosses at the wrists area, fingers pointing to the ground, palms facing inwards, right palm on the outer side.
6. Continuing to balance on the left leg, next open and step your right foot to the right, so that both feet are shoulder-width apart and the two in-steps more or less parallel.
7. Next, sink your weight down on both feet and feel the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) effect lifting both palms upwards and criss-crossing at the wrists until both sets of fingers are pointing upwards (about 45 degrees). At the end of the move, both arms are still criss-crossed at the wrists (now the right is on the outside instead), 8 - 10 inches away in front and protecting your chest. Ensure that both your elbows are all the time pointing down and not sideways.

Step 15: 如封似闭 (Withdraw, Close Up and Push)

1. With your left thumb being the pivot lightly touching the inner portion of your right elbow, rotate your palm outwards such that the 4 left fingers circle outwards until the left palm opens to cradle the right elbow from below. At the same time, feel your right fist lifted up slightly and opens.
2. Relax your shoulders, fold your right lower arm in towards your upper left arm and then spread both lower arms out in front of you until they are parallel to each other, horizontal and both open palms (relaxed and slightly curved) facing each other. At the same time, sink more weight onto your right leg (which is behind) while you straighten the left knee joint by sinking your left hip joint. Do not be seen as if you are shifting backwards or raising your body height, or 'bob' up and down. At the pause, both lower arms should be relaxed and soft to the touch, yet extremely heavy when felt by another person.
3. Next, sink forward as you bend your left knee and feel both your elbows bending in and raising both your palms; as opposed to you deliberately lifting both your palms up. Bear in mind that both the elbow tips point directly downwards and not slanted.
4. Invoke the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) and the recoil up through the right leg will propel both palms to turn outwards and pushes out.
5. Again, sink down, sinking more weight onto the right leg (which is behind), bending the right knee and tuck in deeper your hip joint (胯) at the left side and straightening the left knee. Simultaneously, relax the shoulders and lower both the palms (still facing outwards and down) with the hinge being at the elbows until both lower arms are horizontal and pointing towards an apex in front.

Step 14: 进步搬拦捶 (Step forward, Deflect Downward, Parry and Punch)

1. Sink and sit back onto the right leg and straighten the left knee.
2. Next, turn the body 15 - 20 degrees to the left (anti-clockwise) by initiating the turn from the waist. As you turn, using the left heel as pivot while turning your left toes, feel your right palm twisting clockwise while your left palm twists in an anti-clockwise manner until both palms are facing each other (Taiji Yingyang in play again). Note that the left palm is twisting besides the left thigh while the right palm will be right in front of your chest, about 30 cm away.
3. Then bend your left knee as you shift your weight forward onto your left leg.
4. Continue shifting more and more weight onto your left leg as you lower your left foot until the whole sole is flat on the ground while you raise your right heel using your right toes as fulcrum. (Notice again the Taiji Yingyang play - firstly right sole flat on ground with left heel on the ground and now left sole flat on the ground and right toes touching the ground). At the same time, feel your right palm being lowered and twisting anti-clockwise slightly until it is facing the ground. You will feel your left palm twisting anti-clockwise too until it is facing skywards (Yingyang once more). Synchronise all these movements such that when your left sole is flat on the ground, your right toes are lightly touching the ground and both your hands are in front of you, fingers pointing at an angle downwards, left palm facing up, right palm facing down.
5. Continue sitting forward onto your left leg until you are completely balanced on it.
6. Next, simultaneously lift both your hands and the right leg forward by bending at the knee. While lifting your right leg, turn your body clockwise at the waist which will lead your right foot to twist clockwise so that when you step forward, you land your right foot such that the toes are pointing to your right. As you turn your body, you should feel both your palms twisting clockwise until your left palm is facing right and your right palm facing upwards. Bear in mind that this action must not be seen as 'bobbing' your whole body up and down. You only lift your right leg by bending the knee and as you land your foot down, you do not straighten up.
7. Once the right foot lands, invoke the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) from your left leg by lifting your left heel and turning it clockwise, with pivot on the left toes. This will turn your body furthermore in a clockwise manner to face the right. At the same time, feel your left arm stretching forward (with palm still facing the right and at chest level) and your right palm being pulled backwards (palm facing up) and brushing along the right side of your waist.
8. Sit and stabilise on your right leg until you are completely balanced on it.
9. Shift your left leg one step forward and slightly to the left. As you land, continue to shift more weight onto your left leg. Sit and stabilise so that you can turn your right toes anti-clockwise until they are pointing at an angle of 45 degree to the right. While you turn your right toes, feel your right palm turning in towards your body and clench lightly into a fist, thumb on top and clench down outside the folded fingers whereas your left lower arm turns clockwise until your fingers points up, slightly bent at the wrist.
10. Ensure your body is now upright and facing straight to the front (or the original left); left leg in front, left toes pointing to the front and your right leg behind, right toes pointing at a 45 degrees angle to the right.
11. Stabilise and invoke the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) from your right leg, manifesting into your right fist punching forward and your left palm sliding back along the lower right arm till the right thumb reaches the inner side of the right elbow.

Step 13: 左搂膝拗步 (Brush Left Knee and Pivot Step)

1. While still sitting on the right leg and with only the left heel gently touching the ground in the front, turn the left toes clock-wise. This will cause the hip to turn clock-wise too. In turn, the whole body (except your head) also rotates clockwise and your right arm automatically lowers until your right palm is by the right side of your body. As you turn, you should continue to look to the front. Do not turn with the body.
2. After you have turned about 60 degrees to the right, stop and turn anti-clockwise instead. Again, start by turning your left toes (still continuing to use your left heel as pivot). This should effortlessly turn your waist and body in an anti-clockwise manner to face the front (the original left facing).
3. This turning back will cause the right lower arm to be lifted (the right upper arm remaining still) and circle in an anti-clockwise direction using the right elbow as pivot until the right palm is facing to the front, at chest level, ready to push forward. At the same time, your left hand will be lowered, also drawing a circle and brushing above your left knee and stop just next to and above the left thigh with the left palm facing downwards.
4. Next, lightly lift up your left leg and take half a step diagonally forward and to the left. Land first with the heel, toes pointing straight to the front and then step down with the whole sole.
5. Shift more weight onto your left leg so that you can turn your right toes inwards a little bit (anti-clockwise and using right heel as pivot) until the right foot is pointing 45 degree to the right and front.
6. Sink the hip deep down and invoke the recoil or 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) in your right leg starting with the achilles, feel the 'Qi' running up the hip then the back of the body to the shoulders and then the right elbow and manifested as a push forward of your right palm. Do not push your right palm forward by straightening the right elbow. It comes naturally as a result of the 'Gong Tui' (躬腿) in the right calf.