Question: Chinese spears

[KuKulzA28]

Originally Posted by fearn

With regard to Na and Lan: are we talking about something like palm up and palm down on the lead hand on the spear? I know in bagua that some teachers make a big deal out of yin to yang (palm down to palm up) and yang to yin (palm up to palm down) changes as part of generating power.

F

Yes! Exactly.

Na is palm down, and Lan is palm up. For the spear, if you have your left hand forward, your spear would lan or na, left or right, to block incoming stabs as guided by your left hand.

Lan is also used to mean blocking in some Chinese swordplay.

I have little knowledge of Bagua itself so I can't really comment on it, though the yin-yang balance and duality is heavily emphasized throughout Chinese culture.