What is "single whip"

Single \Sin"gle\, a. [L. singulus, a dim. from the root in simplex simple; cf. OE. & OF. sengle, fr. L. singulus. See Simple, and cf. Singular.]

1. One only, as distinguished from more than one; consisting of one alone; individual; separate; as, a single star.

   No single man is born with a right of controlling the opinions of all the rest.
   --Pope.

2. Alone; having no companion.

   Who single hast maintained, Against revolted multitudes, the cause Of truth.
   --Milton.

3. Hence, unmarried; as, a single man or woman.

   Grows, lives, and dies in single blessedness.
   --Shak.

   Single chose to live, and shunned to wed.
   --Dryden.

4. Not doubled, twisted together, or combined with others; as, a single thread; a single strand of a rope.

5. Performed by one person, or one on each side; as, a single combat.

   These shifts refuted, answer thy appellant, . . . Who now defles thee thrice ti single fight.
   --Milton.

6. Uncompounded; pure; unmixed.

   Simple ideas are opposed to complex, and single to compound.
   --I. Watts.

7. Not deceitful or artful; honest; sincere.

   I speak it with a single heart.
   --Shak.

8. Simple; not wise; weak; silly. [Obs.]

   He utters such single matter in so infantly a voice.
   --Beau. & Fl.

   Single ale, Single beer, or Single drink, small ale, etc., as contrasted with double ale, etc., which is stronger. [Obs.]
   --Nares.

   Single bill (Law), a written engagement, generally under seal, for the payment of money, without a penalty.
   --Burril.

   Single court (Lawn Tennis), a court laid out for only two players.

   Single-cut file. See the Note under 4th File.

   Single entry. See under Bookkeeping.

   Single file. See under 1st File.

   Single flower (Bot.), a flower with but one set of petals, as a wild rose.

   Single knot. See Illust. under Knot.

   Single whip (Naut.), a single rope running through a fixed block.

Single Whip (單鞭 dān biān) is a common posture found in most forms of t'ai chi ch'uan. Typically at the end of the posture the left hand is in a palm outward push and the right hand held most commonly in the form of a hook or closed fist. Notable exceptions are the Single Whip in Sun-style and Wu/Hao style t'ai chi ch'uan which finish with both hands open, palms outward.

Single Whip is one of the movements/postures most repeated in the solo training forms. Its first appearance in most forms follows the Grasp Sparrow's Tail sequence (peng, lu, ji, an) and is seen later as a variant renamed Snake Creeps Down. There is also a posture in the Wu style sword form called Single Whip Fusing Throat.

The martial applications of Single Whip are many. There are various strikes, throws, changeups (using one hand to create an opening so that the other can strike) and kicks derived from this posture trained by different schools.

Single Whip is historically a mis-transcription of the posture's original name, which is "Carry Baskets" (擔扁 Dān Biăn).

The mis-transcription most likely came about when Yang Chengfu's (楊澄甫) senior student Chen Weiming (陳微明; Simplified: 陈微明) was writing the names of the moves down (as Yang Chengfu was illiterate, not a disgrace in China at that time as typically only scholars and government officials were literate. Chen Weiming had the Chinese equivalent of a master's degree). As Yang Chengfu pronounced "dān biăn" meaning "Carry Baskets," Chen Weiming probably heard and then wrote down "dān biān" meaning "Single Whip." When Chen Weiming read back "dān biān" meaning "Single Whip," Yang Chengfu probably heard "dān biăn" meaning "Carry Baskets" and then approved the mis-transcription. The pronunciation of dān biān and dān biăn are so close that such a mistake can easily be made.

The name "Carry Baskets" refers to the form at the end of the move, where the outstretched arms of the practitioner evoke the image of one carrying baskets of goods attached to the end of a stick one holds across one's shoulders, a common Chinese and Asian practice.