Not a Madonna song...

[adamfuray]

Chen Zhaopei said the fingers of the open palm should be "like a virgin". I know that your fingers in an open palm should be together (so your opponent can't get a hold of one), but was he referencing a virgin's legs with this one? (i.e. a virgin's legs aren't spread, and your fingers shouldn't be either) Is this taiji master using humor to teach, or am I reading this totally wrong? I would ask him, but he died before I was born and didn't clarify this to any of his students. I cracked up laughing when my mind put this togather, so even if I am way off the mark, I had a great time in the process.

[Amaranth]

The fingers don't have to be glued together... Just not spread out wide - perhaps allowing it to be too easy to grab them. The reference to virginity has to do with centered state... Much as the whole body in standing post. It is going to where it naturally should be before it is distorted by actions of living. To bring the hands back to a Dao state rather than forward into a forcibly trained state.

[Amaranth]

Not to seem vulgar, but going with the analogy - one may view this as sewing up the hymen with chi.