The stances
The names of the stances are learned for the 1st grade, together with "dao tan" - the path of the stances in the Young Eagle. The 4th grade brings the "key of the stances" and the path of the stances in the Soaring Eagle.
| Chinese name | Meaning |
|---|---|
| laptan | the monk's stance |
| satan | the stance of the eagle spreading its wings |
| kwitan | the stance of the little dragon |
| nanbintan | the cat stance |
| lonhuantan | the stance of the dragon rising from the water |
| dintan | the bow and arrow stance |
| kuintan | the back bow and arrow stance |
| chunbintan | the horse-riding stance (opponent to the side) |
| matan | the horse-riding stance (opponent in front) |
| luingtan | the stance of the sitting eagle |
| lontuangtan (luntan) | the stance of the great dragon |
| zangtan | the stance of the coiled snake |
The five basic trajectories
Absolutely every movement in Fei Jing - blocks, strikes and footwork - follows one of the five basic trajectories or a mixed trajectory (for example, wood-fire). Each one corresponds to one of the five elements.
| Element | Name | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Wood | Ben | from outside in |
| Metal | Bao | from inside out |
| Fire | Bo | from bottom to top |
| Water | Quan | from top to bottom |
| Earth | Hen | from back to front |
The trajectories are already practised in the warm-up, in the "Birth of the body" exercise, and the 3rd grade requires transitions along the five basic and the intermediate trajectories. The forms "tao moc" (wood), "tao thuy" (water) and "tao kim" (metal) of the higher grades are named after the elements.