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major joints of the body are being considered for the transmission of force the shoulders are left out

Typically you want to have a shoulder hip alignment i.e the left and right shoulders stay over the same hips. If you violate that then you are twisting your spine. So if the hips are moved the shoulders move. The reason why they are 'left' out is they are considered part of the hips.

What I think confuses so many with the ship sam seh is the labeling of techniques, the peng or bong (Korean) position. It's not just a position but a repelling energy, so high block is a bong/peng related motion too as is outside inside block if used to deflect, but the same outside inside block if used as a scraping backward motion is rollback. So the Korean concept is if you master how to move your waist these energies naturally develop. I think much of modern Tai Chi is too complicated for its own good the way many teach Tai Chi it has lost some of the beauty of its simplicity. Granted there are many talented and advanced practioners but much of its practicality has been diminished by the plethora of bogus Tai Chi programs out there that have new aged it to death. Resulting in our looking at the ship sam seh from the wrong angle instead of the simplest view.

I remember a story about how a truck went on the parkway not realizing the high restrictions of an upcoming overpass. Sure enough the truck hit the low overpass and got wedged in. Police and various people gathered around trying to figure out how to get the truck out from being wedged in. Hours the later after trying many different methods a young boy comes by and says 'why don't you let the air out of the tires?'

Sometimes we miss the obvious.

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Taijiquan as a MA is only effective  once you have mastered a weigong style.

When you are young you are softer and naturally more supple and your body heals fast. This is the time to practise a hard and rigid style. When you get older the body becomes stiffer and loses its flexibility and takes longer to heal. This is the time to practise a soft and flexible style.

Unfortunately a lot of Taiji styles have become rigid instead of flexible.

As far as I can see balance is the key.

I believe this is the key to all asian philosophy on the Tao. The Sip Sam Seh included.
-L10

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My experience is slightly opposite L10 - many tai chi schools are if anything rather flaccid. But I would agree that it is the ability to transition between the two, as described in Master Segarra's article, which makes it effective. For this reason I would say that tai chi taught properly should stand as a complete martial art on its own, encompassing both yin and yang aspects. Of course the way it is taught in many cases, experience of an external system is a pretty vital complement.
-Li

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One of my favorite passages very similar to the Ship Sam Seh

성학십도; 聖學十圖

The basis of the universe is Eternity (muguk) and, at the same time,
the Supreme Ultimate (t'aeguk).

The Supreme Ultimate moves and gives birth to Yang
(the positive and active).
When this movement reaches its peak,
it achieves serenity, which then gives birth to Um
(the quiet and passive).

Yang changes and strikes a harmony,
then gives birth to Water, Metal, Wood, Fire and Earth,
allowing the Five Spirits to play a role one by one and the Four Directions to take their course.

The Five Elements are a kind of Um-yang,
a kind of Supreme Ultimate, and the Supreme Ultimate is, by nature, Eternity.

The Way of Heaven is male, the Way of Earth is female,
and Principle and Vital Energy respond to each other to cause all things to come alive.

All things are brought out again and again,
so change is endless.

--Yi Hwang, Ten Diagrams of the Learning of the Sage (Songhakshipto), 1568

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tai chi taught properly should stand as a complete martial art on its own

Look into Chen Jia Tai Chi Chaun.  

Most people in the U.S. have only been made familiar with the Yang Jia or the Wu Jai or some variant.  Occasionally, you will see someone doing Chen Jia...but not the Cannon Fist.

After you see and feel Chen Jia....you have new appreciation for what Tai Chi was....and is supposed to be.

THe Emperor

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I have found that the Ship Sam Seh can be very confusing to people when they first approach it. I have been toying with reordering the lines and expanding on the translation slightly to flesh it out in a more meaningful way for practitioners inexperienced with eastern culture and thought. I reorganized it to sound more like advice from a teacher, starting with the overall vision of the purpose and philosophy of the martial arts and then moving on to posture, movement then meditation (stillness in motion), followed by what the desired results would be (effortless mastery) and ending like the original with stressing the importance of the song. Nothing was left out, simply reorganized and fleshed out at certain points. It seems to flow better from a western  ; ) standpoint.

Feel free to contribute your thoughts;

The song of the thirteen principles.
Author Unknown
Reorganized by Daniel R. Segarra

What is the purpose and philosophy behind the martial arts?
Living Masterfully, rejuvenation and prolonging of life beyond the normal span.
So an eternal spring.

What is the main principle of the martial arts?
The mind is the master of the body.

To pass through the gate and be shown the way,
you must be taught by an instructor.
Gradually when you apply these principles in your life more and more your skill will develop naturally.

First hold your head as if suspended from a string.
Keep the base of your spine and posture erect, your energy will rise to the top of your head.
Use that energy to create a relaxed clear awareness in your abdomen, your power will be activated.
Let that power flow through the whole body continuously

Keep your body flexible and ready.
But remember at all times pay attention to your center.

When you move be natural, bending, stretching, opening or closing, let nature take its course.
Remember the source of your power is in your waist, center the mind in the waist.
Pay attention to the slightest change from full to empty.

When you move give awareness and purpose to every movement,
Your energy will flow through those movements
and surprising things will happen when you meet your opponent.

Stay alert and seek the meaning and purpose of your art at all times.
Stillness embodies motion, motion stillness.
Seek stillness in motion.
When done correctly all you do will appear effortless and masterful.

So never neglect any of the thirteen principles.
Every word of this song has enormous value and importance,
failing to follow this song attentively, you will have wasted away your time.

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I like what you have done there Master Segarra. It does fit together much better in your version - I always did think the flow of information was strange before although perhaps the rhythm or rhyme works well in chinese.

I would change one line - "When you move be natural, bent or stretched, open or closed, let nature take its course" to use the words bending, stretching, opening, closing since it is referring to motion rather than static position.

The bit about needing to find an instructor who has a the capability to apply the thirteen 'postures' could do with more emphasis, although it is hard to see where else it could be placed. Far more tai chi practitioners talk about them than can apply them and without direct transmission it would be virtually impossible to rediscover them on the basis of a written description. No doubt that's why the Song of the Thirteen Postures makes no effort to describe how to carry out the specific 'postures' themselves.

The other thing that might be worth changing for a westerner is the word 'Posture' in this context. Tai Chi for some reason refers to its form sequences as postures, which to me is a word that implies static position rather than movement into expression. I think a more helpful title would be 'The Song of the Thirteen Expressions'.

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Thanks, I agree with the change from bent to bending, I changed it. I also agree that the word posture can be confusing so in this version posture is only mentioned once. I thought principles was better than 'seh' since the the goal of the song is to make you express these principles in action (or non action). I am going to expand on it with the actual 13 principles soon. Because a first time reader could look at the song and think 'what are the principles?' Funny how in the MDK that was always taken for granted. ly this will change that.

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Quote from: admin on October 07, 2007, 09:03:57 PM


Feel free to contribute your thoughts;

The song of the thirteen principles.
Reorganized by D. Segarra

Pay attention to the slightest change from full to empty.


This is the only part that still sounds kinda cryptic to me, especially from the point of view of a beginner.  To be honest, this is one of the better ways I've seen this spelled out for an English speaking crowd who didn't speak tai chi lingo.  Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming does a good job in his book Taiji Theory and Martial Power of breaking down each line, but even his is for a more advanced audience.

What I like about your version is that I could give this to a Green belt and they could really get something out of it.  Do you mind if I share this (with proper acknowledgment, of course) with some of my students who have started chewing on the Sip Sam Seh?

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Yes, I like your choice of "principles" to replace the word "Seh" Master Segarra. I'm not sure that I would like your task of trying to explain them though - I've yet to see it expressed very usefully! Good luck with this!

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Quote from: admin on October 07, 2007, 09:03:57 PM


Feel free to contribute your thoughts;


The song of the thirteen principles.
Reorganized by D. Segarra

Pay attention to the slightest change from full to empty.





This is the only part that still sounds kinda cryptic to me, especially from the point of view of a beginner.  To be honest, this is one of the better ways I've seen this spelled out for an English speaking crowd who didn't speak tai chi lingo.  Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming does a good job in his book Taiji Theory and Martial Power of breaking down each line, but even his is for a more advanced audience.

If I've read the same section as you wu_de then Dr Yang Jwing-Ming's description is about changes in being intrusive and elusive. The difficulty with just switching to these words is that I've heard Yang style practitioners use full and empty to refer to weight transfer between the hips. I suspect that the original writer may have meant more than one thing by this statement, so a succinct translation into english may prove tricky without remaining a bit cryptic still.
-Li

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Happy New Year everyone,I think this is a way to start off the new decade on the right foot. I recently revisited the Ship Sam Seh and thought it would be helpful to actually break down the poem into 13 parts since it actually does not illustrate the actual Ship Sam Seh (eight hip movements, five steps, 13 postures). This I think has a separate value of it's own and is less confusing to the person reading it.
Note I changed lines 1 & 2 to flow better with the numbering of the poem. It makes more sense this way since it now starts off 'What is the MAIN principle of the martial arts?" Then followed by the application of that principle "Living Masterfully, rejuvenation and the prolonging of life", Then followed with actual practical advice (find a qualified instructor, keep the spine straight)., Then I bookend it by beginning with the line the mind is the master of the body and ending with all will appear masterful.


The song of the thirteen principles.
Author Unknown
Reorganized and Translated by Daniel R. Segarra

What is the main principle of the martial arts?
1-The mind is the master of the body.

What is the purpose and philosophy behind the martial arts?
2-Living Masterfully, rejuvenation and prolonging of life beyond the normal span.
So an eternal spring.

3-To pass through the gate and be shown the way,
you must be taught by an instructor.
Gradually when you apply these principles in your life, more and more your skill will develop naturally.

4- Hold your head as if suspended from a string, keep the base of your spine and posture erect, your energy will rise to the top of your head.
5-Use that energy to create a relaxed clear awareness in your abdomen, your power will be activated.
6-Let that power flow through the whole body continuously

7-Keep your body flexible and ready and remember at all times pay attention to your center.

8-When you move be natural, bending, stretching, opening or closing, let nature take its course.
9-Pay attention to the slightest change from full to empty.
10-Remember the source of your power is in your waist, center the mind in the waist.

11-When you move give awareness and purpose to every movement,
Your energy will flow through those movements
and surprising things will happen when you meet your opponent.

12-Stay alert and seek the meaning and purpose of your art at all times;

13-Stillness embodies motion, motion stillness.
Seek stillness in motion.
When done correctly all you do will appear effortless and masterful.

So never neglect any of the thirteen principles.
Every word of this song has enormous value and importance,
failing to follow this song attentively, you will have wasted away your time.

*Translators note; the 13 principles are thirteen kinetic energies produced by moving the hips (8 directions) and the feet (five steps 5+8=13). I numbered this poem and broke down it's vital elements into 13 principles to help anyone wanting to study this further.

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This makes a lot more sense to my "western mind" -- thanks!
-Wu De

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You're very welcome. Presenting the Ship Sam Seh this way it seems more elegant and less confusing.

Funny thing I noticed when doing a search for Ship Sam Seh how many sites and schools have drawn from my material on this. A few of them unfortunately pretend like they thought it up and don't give credit. Sad as honesty is probably something they promote in their schools.

http://www.ryupa.co.uk/shipsamseh.htm

Anyhoo... In a couple of days the first issue of WS magazine will be available and in it is an article breaking down the 13 principles. I think everyone will enjoy it for its practical value.

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I recently started studying Tang Soo Do and I have a question about the "Song of the Sip Sam Seh".  Is it a song that is sung?  Has anyone recorded the singing of this song in Korean?  If so, where can I find a recording of it?  Thank you.
-Mooshka5

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No actually it is a poem. You could sing it I guess but it is better to put the time in to study the meaning of it. There is plenty of information on this board with translations and essays so you have a lot of good stuff to read. If you have any questions feel free to post them here.