A talk about the states of Zhuang Fa BY practicing “Zhuang Fa” (pile method), one should go through three states and in each state kinds of states each state one should realize and learn something and acquire its skill. What is called “state” is one’s actual mental and physical state physical state while practicing “Zhuang Fa”. The mental state acts on the physical state physical state and the physical state acts on the mental state mental state,, so they interact with each other. At the end of Qing dynasty, the great scholar the Qing dynasty, Mr. Wang Guowei once said: “Every person who succeeds in his career should go through three kinds of states”. The first is: is: “The clothes and waist are getting loose little by little, the body becomes peak and pine for the career, but one never regrets. Secondly: “Walking up the lonely tower, gazing at the skyline at the end of the road. Last night, the west wind withered the green trees”. Thirdly: Thirdly: “Seeking her for a thousand times in the crowd, when suddenly, as I turned my head; she was there under a flickering lamplight”. state, from Practicing Martial arts should also be like this. The first state, a psychological point of view, is called: “Never regret”. The student will have a conviction without any doubts and have the will that cannot be wobbled by a hundred bulls. bulls. By persevering in practice for one hundred day’s, one will have the “feelings”. By persevering in practice during three to four years, one will feel will feel the the limbs expanding , the hands and feet becoming hot and hot and one will
balls . The inside have the feeling the feeling as as if the body is filled with lead balls. of the limbs are at ease and quick to get this feeling . Anyway, both inside and outside should have the feelings of being filled being filled with lead balls lead balls and expanding , so you can consider to have gained something. Once you have attained this state this state,, you can begin to learn the skills. The second state second state,, again from a psychological point of view is called: called : “Gazing at the skyline at the end of the road”. road”. Here, one will believe that the wonder of all other Martial arts is included in this art and not in the others and that only this art can give the best. From a physical point of view, if one practices with perseverance for five or six years, one will feel will feel that that the ears are expanding, the brow and the nose will feel as if there is something is something moving inside, inside, the neck and head will be erect and upright as if the crown was suspended from a rope, the scalp will swell, the hairs will stand on end, and one will feel as if a big stone were pressing the forehead . This result is achieved by having the head held upright and the neck erect through the practice of “Zhuang of “Zhuang Fa”. Fa”. At the same time, the feeling the feeling in in the arms will gradually spread to buttocks and the lower abdomen. This feeling This feeling in in the limbs will state, one will feel grow day by day. When one attains this state, will feel full full of natural delight. However, the force one discharges will still be the mechanical force issued from the limbs instead of that from the waist and the spine. The third state of “Zhuang of “Zhuang Fa” and again from a psychological back”. point of view is called: called : “Turning ones head to look back”. Here the “Instinctive Living force” is like a snake. “The spirit dignified and the mind quiet, the propelled waving hands is all but all but Nature itself”. itself”. Looking back at every method one has practiced during ten years, are all like old shabby shoes, one is due to throw them away and there is no need to cherish them anymore, for what is practiced spontaneous and instinctively has now become the right way. From a physical point of view, by persevering in practice for about ten years, one will feel will feel the the waist and spine getting the feeling of feeling of expanding expanding . This feeling This feeling will will go through the anus and the genitalia and one will feel will feel as as if the whole body is like
an ingot (molded ingot (molded as one), being filled with lead, the muscles as one and walking as if stepping through mud . Once one lifts the hands they will produce sharp edges, the body moving will feel like riding a wave and the waist and spine will feel massive like a bull . When one attains this state this state,, then as soon as one takes action, one will feel will feel full full of natural wonder and the force the force which one then discharges will be balanced and complete. Thus the qualification for Martial art is herby established. The above fixed numbers of years I mentioned are all according to my own experience. As for students, some may need a little longer; some may need a little shorter, it all depends on one’s talent and skill. Mr. Zeng Mr. Zeng Guofan once said: “To accomplish the career, talent acts as 30%, however, diligence occupies 70%”. These are not empty words, so student should be encouraged by them. If one has been practicing for a long time but cannot discern any clear effect, one should check one’s body if there are any inconsistencies in posture. In that case, perhaps one’s mental state is creating some side effects on the physical, or the physical is creating some side effects in one’s mental state. In any case, there must be a problem and one should seek advice from a wise person. Don’t consider your self to be right all the time, so be careful, be careful. Again, in “Zhuang Fa” Fa” practice, one should avoid by all means to always practice only one posture, one should change to different postures day by day. At the same time, one should vary between the standing, sitting and lying postures. The standing and lying posture should perseveringly be practiced. This way of practice allows a fine-tuning a fine-tuning of of the body. Although each posture can strength, each posture has its own particular effect cultivate inner strength, (if one wants to cure a particular case with “Zhuang Fa”, utilize a posture according to each person’s condition). If one is always practicing one fixed posture, then from a Martial art point of view, it’s only a partial way. Students should be aware of this. Its quiet suitable to practice “Zhuang Fa” for an hour, to an hour and a half each day. The time of practicing “Zhuang Fa” in each practice session should account for two thirds of the whole practice
session and one third to “Shili “( testing testing force). According to my experience, this is quiet suitable, as “Zhuang Fa” is the basic exercise of Yiquan of Yiquan..
A talk on the four forms WHEN, through the practice of “ Zhuang Fa”, one achieves the state of “the of “the whole body as a cast”, “the body as being filled with lead,”, the muscles as one’ and one’ and ” the hairs stand out as halberds”, then we can talk about Martial arts. What are Martial arts? Martial arts is the force the force coming in to play vigorously (suddenly), it is not about partial methods (fighting techniques). Once I wrote a poem with the title; “The appearance of dance ”The body moving and dancing is like a billowing wave, the mind-force travels on the surface of the water. As a cruising dragon or a white crane playing and making detours like a frightened snake, maintaining spirit, the muscles contain strength, and the bones produce edges. The wind disperses the clouds to emit the splendid Moon, the heroic spirit runs through the rainbow halo”. Those “billowing wave”, “cruising dragon” ,”white crane” and frightening snake” etc., which we talked about in the poem , are all Martial art patterns. patterns. The dance reproducing these patterns is what is called the “Health dance” or the “Martial “Martial dance”. Tang dynasty (A.D. 581-907), the Health During the Sui and Tang dynasty the Health dance” was quite prevalent; it was the health preservation and combat method of that time. Not only warriors, but most scholars
also practiced it. It was almost lost through time. Based on his experience, contemporary Martial art Master Mr. Huang Mr. Huang Muqiao conjectured and constructed from the figurine dance postures on the Dunhuang the Dunhuang fresco, fresco, some moves of the “Health dance”. On an occasion in 1926, I traveled to Huainan to Huainan to meet with Mr. Huang Mr. Huang Muqiao and some how got him to teach me the meaning and the intention behind the “Health dance”. dance”.
I dare not keep the secret to myself, so I passed it on to my students, but only about ten of them have acquired the wonder of it. As a precondition of being able to practice the “Health dance” one should achieve the state of the “four as”, namely, having the ability of “the of “the whole body as a cast”, ”the body as if being filled with lead”, “the muscles as one” and “the hairs stand out as halberds”, otherwise, it is difficult to dance out the appearance. appearance. The dance would then be swinging the limbs only and be like ordinary calisthenics. As I said: the inner strength should be sought in the body and the force the force shakes out (discharge) of the body (vigorously). Practicing “Zhuang Fa” to the state of the “four as” the inner strength will then be properly developed. But concerning how to
release this inner strength so as to become an external force and have its effect in combat, the four forms are the most proper way of acting out the appearance. The dance of the four forms should be according to the principle of “the of “the form round and the force straight”. In practice, one should always set up an imaginary enemy, storing up the force the force to fight against him. The hands are pointing and the wrists are screwing, the fingers bend like claws (as if holding a rice bowl). No matter whether a single hand or two hands are used in the dance, the fingers are generally pointing at the opponent’s mouth and nose; you should try your best to control the opponent’s centerline giving menace to your enemy. To control the opponent’s centerline is to protect your own centerline from being penetrated. Not only the forefinger, but all fingers point at the enemy, even the thumb should curve and store up force up force and point in the same direction as the other fingers. This palm skill is totally different from other internal and external Martial arts, like Taiji Quan, or Shaolin Quan. If the hands are pointing and held like claws then it prevents the wrists from arching and sinking (flexing) to much, so instead, one must screw the wrists with agility agility in order to control control the enemy. One should also have the wonder of hooking, of hooking, filing, contracting and resisting . The fingers should not be allowed to get stiff yet all should slightly curve to store up force up force:: the palms should be concave and the fingers spread while the fingertips may have the feeling the feeling of of passing passing through electricity, electricity, this is the wonder of keeping the fingers curved and the wrists screwing. The two arms in action are never allowed to lose the force of wrapping, of wrapping, rolling, supporting and holding so holding so that not even a fly or a mosquito can land on the body (one is very sensitive). The feet in advancing and retreating are never allowed to lose the ability of open of open and closing, treading, pressing, twisting and never yielding an inch. inch. The shoulders should be held down (as if carrying something) and the elbows spread to the sides (containing contradiction force), then the arms will have the force the force of wrapping, of wrapping, rolling, supporting and holding . The crotch should sit down and the knees propping up and forward. By sitting down in
your crotch and the knees propping up you will have strength and the ability to open and close, treading, pressing and twisting . While fighting with an opponent I persist in nothing, making him completely unable to catch anything, the method rest with the shoulders and crotch twisting . Furthermore, the shoulders and crotch should again be powered by the waist and the spinal column, therefore, in practice, the waist and the spinal column should sway should sway and turn like an axis and thus defeating persisting by not persisting. The feet should be shifting as if moving if moving through mud or snow and the weight of 70% - 30% on each foot keep changing into each other. The feet have not a fixed place; the body does not have a fixed posture. By making the back foot as the front foot, or the front foot as the back foot, the front and back are alternating; the empty and the solid the solid evolve evolve from each other and use your step to content for the enemy’s place. While in action, body follows the mind and the hands leave the traces (by storing up power to lacerate and leave a trace). One should feel should feel as as if his whole body is meeting a substance. If you move quickly, prevent floating, if you move slowly, prevent slackness. The force should discharge (in all directions) in a (sudden) flash. If you attack an enemy in that time, malevolence is the best tactic, because the discharge of force force follows the mind. By being merciless one can defeat the enemy, because the methods are produced by following the mind. Therefore, every action is accompanied by “Jiajie” (imagination), if one’s actions are “Jiajie”, the body’s force will not be true. In practice, the without “Jiajie”, whole body should never loose the feeling the feeling of of “the “the whole body as a cast”, the body as if being filled with lead, the muscles as one and the hairs stand out as halberds”. This is called “mind never broken, spirit never scattered, be one integrated mass, do not forget and do not lose it”. Thus, the dance has the state the state of “full of “full natural wonder”. The mental acts on the physical (and vice versa), dance. this is the health preservation meaning of the health dance. The real skill of Yiquan of Yiquan is not gained from movement, but one should seek it in non-movement.
Practicing the four forms is a directional training for the inner strength, strength, so that one is able to discharge it and become an external force at any time and anywhere and to get this ability for combat. Therefore, in practice, we seek whether it is comfortable only and not be concerned with hard or soft or whether it is beautiful or not. However, posture is the representation of form, and therefore, you should make the postures be correct, by never going against the law of physiology and dynamics. If every action can follow dynamics and never loose the state the state of the “four as”, as”, then a big action will be right and a small action will be right too, otherwise, all actions will be incorrect. In practice one should pay attention to the use of the law of unity between opposites, about the force the force and the inner strength of the body. The external force of the body is fourfold: 1. the gravity of the body, body, namely, the gravitational potential energy translated into kinetic energy, energy, this is called “the contending force with the earth”; earth”; 2. the ground the ground support force and its counterforce, counterforce, this is what I depict as” as ” about to push of the ground to fly”; fly”; 3. the air resistance, resistance, this is what I call” call” to echo with the atmosphere”; atmosphere”; 4. the opponents force in a fight, this is what I call” call” borrowing force”. These forces These forces I call together “the together “the universal contending force”. force”. The body’s inner strength, strength, namely, consist of the whole muscle’s pull and stretch in the state of the “four as”, as”, this is what I call “the perfectly round contending force”. power is also a kind of inner strength, this is The diaphragm power is of inner body strength, what I call” call” breath elasticity” If your really want to gain Martial art ability, you should make the “perfectly round contending
force” and “the universal contending force” coordinate and be in harmony, the wonder of their interaction all depend on the “breath elasticity”. So we s we say ay “exhale and inhale is the fountain of spirit, the force unites with the universe”, the shout rides the whirlwind”. Therefore, once the diaphragm tightens, everything will be wrong , so students should take care about it. Now I’m going to explain the four forms respectively:
Billowing Wave
THIS pattern should be practiced according to the principle of” the form flexible and the force straight”, and one should not loose as”. Its embodiment consists of using the the state the state of the “four as”. forces of extending, of extending, shrinking, pressing, raising, sinking, holding and lifting. While standing, the feet are fixed, however, the body and the arms are doing a wave-like movement of up and down in contrary directions at the same time. Namely, the arms are lifting together, while the body is sitting down and while the arms are pressing down, the body is raising up. Also, pulling up and down
reversely to elongate one self, the gravitation the gravitation potential energy of the body translates into kinetic force, force, thus the whole body being wave” This kind of like a wave force is called the “gravitation wave” wave is required in combat. At the same time, pulling reversely up and down produces the longitudinal wave longitudinal wave force, force, which recur to the round support force of the arms making the longitudinal wave covertly carry transverse waves, waves, thus you have the dance wave”. While doing this, movements and postures of “billowing of “billowing wave”. the arms are slightly in tandem. If the left hand is in front, then put out the left foot, if the right hand is in front, and then put out the right foot. Both arms are cooperating with the body through extending, shrinking, pressing, rising up and down, pulling reversely and elongating oneself elongating oneself with the hands running an elliptic path. Left, right, advancing and retreating are changing into each other without end. The image of this pattern is just like a tortoise swimming, submerging and emerging out of the water. Floating and riding the billowing wave on the water surface. So, this form is also sometimes called “divine tortoise emerging from the water”
Cruising Dragon
THIS pattern should also be practiced according to the principle of “the form flexible and the force straight ” and should not loose the state of the” four as”. as”. Its embodiment consists of using the forces of lifting, of lifting, pressing, stroking, dividing, encircling, opening and closing. The working of this pattern is the same as “billowing wave”; wave”; you still need to utilize the “gravitation wave” to issue the forces of “lifting, of “lifting, pressing, stroking, dividing, encircling, opening and closing”. Both arms cooperate with the body to pull reversely up and down. The difference rest with the two arms running an elliptic path with the forces of lifting, pressing, stroking, encircling, opening and closing , along the front and the left and right sides of the body. One should produce the forces the forces of lifting, of lifting, pressing and stroking by by the longitudinal wave and the forces the forces of dividing, encircling , opening and closing by wave. by the traverse wave. Longitudinal and traverse, high and low, advance and retreat use retreat use each other. The image of this pattern is like a dragon swimming in the sea, the dragon is the billow, and the billow is the dragon. The dragon goes’ just as the billow moves, the billow moves just as the dragon goes’ . These two patterns, billowing wave and cruising
dragon, are both using the “gravitation wave” wave” in order to be effective in the Martial art. Therefore, in utilizing them, one should have a thorough force. understanding as to the degree of tightness of the wave force. Relax to store up strength, tense to shoot out the force, relax, tense, tense, and relax, all with waves and billows. billows. The wave mainly needs elasticity in order to blast out force as soon as it Yiquan’s storing up, springing, shocking meets something. This is Yiquan’s storing and bursting. Practicing billowing wave and cruising dragon patterns dragon patterns one should have the feeling the feeling that that if you raise the body it seems very high and if you lower the body it seems very deep. If the opponent goes’ high feel raise high up in the air. If he goes’ I stick to him and make him feel raise low then I stick to him and make him feel him feel he he is facing an abyss and nudge him to fall deeper and deeper. This is the method of high and low by raising and shrinking the body.
White Crane
of “the THIS pattern should again be according to the principle of “the form flexible and the force straight” and still one should not loose as”. Its embodiment consists of utilizing the the state the state of the “four as”. forces of embracing, of embracing, hacking, boring, thrusting turning, raising, wrapping and screwing . Every curved part of my body when it reacts to the opponents opponents touch is used to hinder, hinder, or if one part the opponents body acts on a particular place in order to distort, my curved part produces a resistance immediately immediately to stop the distortion with a “spring-force” that discharges immediately. This burst of force of force is required in the Martial art and again, this is what I call” call” storing up, springing, shocking and bursting . I must know, the allowable stretch, so that my curved part can flex freely and that the “spring-force” is proportional to the stretch quantity (or recovery quantity) of my curved part. Therefore, in practicing this form, the action scope of the arms should be slightly larger than normal to strengthen the intensity of the immediate discharge of this “spring-force”. “spring-force”. In action, the two arms draw arcs from the outside to the inside alternately. If high, the fingers do not go over the forehead, if low,
then the fingers do not go lower than the navel, if the left arm raises up first then step out with the left foot and if the right arm rises up then step out with the right foot. In drawing arcs, the arms should have the forces the forces of turning, of turning, embracing, and hacking, boring, thrusting, turning, raising, wrapping and screwing. In practice, one should have, according to different “Jiajie” (imagination), the “spring-force” which is produced by the curved parts of the arms turning, raising, wrapping, and screwing, embracing, hacking, pulling, boring or thrusting in thrusting in order to order to discharge it instantly. The wonder of this pattern also rests with the rising of the foot to overcome the enemy If the left arm rises first, then raise the left foot and let it fall slightly to the left side. Do not raise the foot higher than the knee of the solid leg and do not let it fall higher then the enemy’s chest. The raising of the knee, the fall of the foot, the strength issued from the hands and the discharge of force should all be done in one shout one shout . This pattern of the foot falling is not a kick, stretching out, treading or trampling, it is in fact, stamping. The discharge, the continual turning of the arms and the feet used together, the image of this pattern looks like a Crane that is ready to break free and about to fly. The “three fists and one foot” (rising, drilling, wrapping and treading ) of Yiquan of Yiquan are the result of the changes coming out of this pattern. (see also: drill, rise, fall and overturn in Xingyiquan). Xingyiquan). .
Frightened Snake
THIS pattern should be again according to the principle of” the form flexible and the force straight” and not loose the state of the “four as”. Its embodiment consists of utilizing the forces of raising, stamping, taking in, sending out, supporting, holding, swinging and lifting. The working of this pattern is similar to that Crane, as one should still make use of the “springof the White Crane, force” of the curved part arms in order to discharge the forces of raising, taking in, sending out, supporting, and holding, swinging and lifting. In action, if you step out with your left foot, then raise the left arm which draws an arc from the inside to the outside, at the same time, the right arm draws an arc downward from the outside to the inside under the left arm. Advance with the right foot, then the right arm draws an arc upward to the outside, at the same time; the left arm draws an arc downward under the right arm. In doing so and according to different “Jiajie” and utilizing the “spring-force of the curved arms in order to discharge, one can make use of the forces the forces of raising, of raising, stamping, taking in, or sending out, but also, one can discharge with the forces the forces of supporting, of supporting, holding, swinging or lifting. Front, back, left, right, up and down change into each other without end. The image is like a Frightened a Frightened
Snake escaping suddenly, turning left and right like a sword a sword flashing . What one calls “the three fists” (rising, drilling and, wrapping ) and “the three pressings” ( shoulder shoulder press down, chest presses in and the head presses back upward ), ), they all have evolved out of this pattern, which is unparalleled and frightening. White Crane and Frightening Snake, these two patterns are both and Frightening Snake, using “elasticity force” in order to be effective in Martial art. Therefore, one should grasp should grasp the quantity of tension and relax , retract to store up strength, extend to discharge force. If you are about to extend, you must retract first; if you are about to contract, you must extend first. Tension and relax should make the whole body like a spring. This “spring-force” should discharge and burst out immediately as soon as it meets an object. Therefore, these White Crane and Frightening and Frightening Snake patterns are also exerting “storing up, springing, shocking and bursting” Practicing White Crane and Frightening and Frightening Snake patterns, one should know that the White Crane can overcome the enemy transversally while Frightening Snake can nip the enemy lengthways. lengthways. If the opponents hands come out together, then wrap his force, make him spin and pull out his roots. If he comes with one hand, then let his force pass and come to naught, making him bent forward. This is the method of “If of “If transverse, then wrap his force, if lengthways, and then let his force pass”.
A talk on the philosophical justification of Yiquan
of Yiquan,, I hesitate With regard to the philosophical justification of Yiquan to write too much about it and therefore I will only put it forward in the form of a philosophical proposition. After critical examination and putting it all together, it will then not be difficult to see the real meaning and aspect of Yiquan of Yiquan naturally. Zhuang Zi said: “That which creates substance, is not really substance”. This means that what creates substance to become a substance isn’t substance itself. Yiquan asserts that all forces are the gathering of spirit ( spirit (mind is mind is force force,, force is mind ). ). It can also be said, that force that force isn’t force isn’t force.. In other words, what creates force creates force to become force become force is really spirit really spirit and and mind . This is the subtle the subtle essence of why Yiquan is called Yiquan (mind boxing). Lao Zi said: “Keep to non-doing then all things are done naturally”. Yiquan asserts that “ Action proceeds from in-action” and “The movement of non-movement, is the living movement”. non-movement is Zhangzhuang Zhangzhuang What one calls Non-action calls Non-action and non-movement is (standing pole) in “Yiquan” and what one calls Action calls Action and movement are movement are Shili (testing force) and Fali and Fali (release force). Yiquan attaches great importance to the practice of Zhanzhuang of Zhanzhuang which which means Non-action means Non-action.. Some time ago, someone compared Yiquan with the Static qigong of ancient Daoism. This isn’t far from the mark. Lao Zi also said: “Reversal is the movement of the Dao”. Yiquan asserts that “ Force is contradictory in nature but is one in essence”. In other words, it is the unification of the contradictions of force and counter-force and counter-force and what one calls contradiction and fragmentary, should be unified. Chan (Zen) has a saying: “All methods are empty, which is the real image”. Again it is said: “Don’t think of good or bad, instead return to the state state of before you where born”. The state of not
being born yet is the state of emptiness of emptiness and nothingness. nothingness. Yiquan asserts that “ All kinds of strength are produced by the whole body extending to the point of being empty and forgetting oneself”. Therefore, I urge people to seek to seek reality through negation and exert themselves in emptiness. Another Chan Another Chan saying says:”Without says:”Without method and without persisting”. Yiquan asserts: asserts: “Without method and without persisting to defeat the persisting”. In a fight, never persist and make the opponent also have nothing to persist. Not only resisting and using external force are considered persisting, but also using fixed methods is persisting. Defeat persisting without persisting. In the Ming dynasty Ming dynasty Scholar Wang Scholar Wang Shouren brought forward the insight” . Yiquan asserts the theory of theory of “Cause of “Cause of good insight”. “Develop good ability”. Wang Shouren also said that “It is like water flowing toward a wet place and fire coming toward a dry place”. In Yiquan its trend is just so.
