Thank you Coach XiaoZhou for today’s session. I much enjoy this ’poem sequence’ and hope to be able to learn it properly. Thank you, Master Ling, for suggesting that Coach Xiaozhou teach me 'Hunting in Mizhou' and giving me the opportunity to learn this boxing poem sequence."  

There is a number of movements that are quite difficult for me physically (not just that I need to remember them). I’m bending my body in ways I’ve never had to to before. The wide legged stances are also quite difficult as I lack strength and body control to get out of some of them. ☺️ I really feel that I am alive when I’m trying to do these moves and postures.

Key takeaways today: 1) pay attention to the height of the hands (remember what I protect or where I should strike the animal/enemy), 2) keep a straight standing leg for the ’one legged stances’, 3) for many of the backward leaning postures back leg opens, foot pointing back/out, and front leg is between sideways and forward (like the ’look east (dong), strike west (xi)’ pose).

Today’s temperature/humidity/qi was very sticky and stuffy. These conditions are not ideal for me, still after 6 years in Shanghai I struggle... But I remember you said something like ’practicing on the hottest days will keep me healthy for the coming year’. I hope I can build some gongfu eventually to actually do that.

Again, your time and effort is does not go unnoticed. I’m much obliged.

Veronica

06/13/2025

附： Veronica学拳小记的翻译）

感谢晓舟教练今天的课程。我非常喜欢这套“以拳合词”的神奇作品，希望能好好掌握它。也很感谢肖力行老师建议晓舟教练教我《密州出猎》，让我有机会学习这套拳法。 

有几个动作对我来说身体上较难（不只是要记住动作）。我需要以从未有过的方式弯曲身体，宽腿的 stance（架势）也比较吃力，因为我缺乏力量和身体控制力来完成某些动作。☺ 但尝试这些动作和姿势时，我真的感觉自己充满活力。

 今天的关键要点：1）注意手的高度（记住要防护的位置或攻击目标）；2）“单腿 stance”时支撑腿要挺直；3）许多后倾姿势中，后腿打开、脚尖向后/外，前腿介于侧方和前方之间（比如“声东击西”的姿势）。 

今天的温度/湿度/气息黏腻憋闷，这种环境对我不太友好——在上海待了六年还是不太适应……但记得您说过“在最热的日子练习，能让接下来一年保持健康”。希望我最终能练出些功夫，真正做到这点。 

再次感谢您的时间和付出，我深表感激。 

维罗妮卡

［此帖子已被 晓舟 在 2025/6/16 13:38:01 编辑过］

My first thoughts on the translations:

倒骑龙背 (dào qí lóng bèi) can be translated ’Riding backward on a/the dragon's back’ it is basically the same as your translation, just with better ”flow” in the English. 

风卷残云 (fēng juǎn cán yún) can be translated ’The wind rolls up the scattered clouds (left and right)’ but I think your original is better. 

蛰龙现身 (zhé lóng xiàn shēn) can be translated ’The hibernating/dormant dragon awakens/reveals itself’ or ’appears’ as in your original translation. I think any of  these works. 

张弓搭箭" (zhāng gōng dā jiàn) can be translated ’Draw the bow and nock the arrow’, or ’Draw the bow, set the arrow’. 

Same as before: 拨云见日 （bo yun jian ri): ‘part the mist to  reveal the sun’ or “clear the clouds, reveal the sun’. 

［此帖子已被 Veronica 在 2025/6/16 13:47:51 编辑过］

Now I’m up to sped with the translations. These were trickier than previous ones. 

声东击西 (Shēng Dōng Jī Xī), Feint East, Strike West (or your suggestion, they are the same, just that this is more direct). Both are great if you want the actual directions, if not, you can perhaps also use ’Misdirect, Then Pierce’ also to show what takes place. 

枕流逆袭 (Zhěn Liú Nì Xí) ’Pillowed by Currents, Counterattack’ (just a word order change. Not sure which sounds better). This is a tricky one for me. 

魁星献斗 (Kuí Xīng Xiàn Dǒu) This one is not understandable at all to me (but I don’t know the legends/stories). Alternatives  could be ’Star Deity Offers the Dipper’ or ’Celestial Pose of Offering’, which is probably my preferred one as I also didn’t know what the dipper is (7 star constellation in Ursa Major).