Grandmaster Tse’s Tàijí Fist 279

Now we’re have the next four Jin and next four gua in the Tàijí Bājìn 太極八勁. The four Jin are Cǎi 採, Liè裂, Zhǒu 肘 and Kào 靠, and the last four Gua are Duì 兌, Gěn 艮, Zhèn震and Xùn 巽. Cǎi is grabbing and Liè is breaking, so, we can see that these are a pair, your call has some one’s arm, with Cai, and then break it with Liè. We can also say Cǎi is Qínná 擒拿 – Locking and Controlling. Qínná aims for the joints, like the wrists, elbows, neck, shoulders, knees and ankles. Cǎi is not the only Jin that is effective on the joints, Liè is as well. In Tàijíquán 太極拳 we can use the palms, forearms, fingers, elbows, chest, knees and feet to break the opponent’s joints. Cǎi can be used to hold the joints, without breaking them, but it can also cause a lot of pain, Liè is more serious as it breaks the joints, so Cǎi is holding to control the opponent. 

In the Bāguà 八卦, Zhèn is thunder and Xùn is wind. Wind can be soft, and it can also be strong and powerful, so it matches Cai. If this is the case, then thunder matches Liè. So, Cǎi is Xùn and Liè is Zhèn.