post 56. Chen Ziqiang Tui Shou

More TJQ (Chen-style), this time showing push-hands (tui shou). Looks painful, eh? Wouldn't fancy to be on the receiving end.

Post 55. Chinese Martial arts Performance --taijiquan（太极拳）

Watch the first 30 seconds. Probably a good indication of how taiji can be used as self defense against common attacks. Notice it's the same movements except performed at speed. Quite ouch at the 32 second mark.

post 54. meeting another CMA practitioner

So I had a recent meet-up with an local practitioner of Chinese martial arts (CMA), and it's quite frustrating.

1) Why play the game of seeing who's tougher? I'm didn't come by to test how strong or tough you are, even if I am heaps younger than you. Getting me to try to crush your hand, honestly, it's a far cry from Zhou lao shi's hand. I'm quite sad that someone of his age had to actually try that.

2) Please speak clearly. Don't try to throw out terms that I don't understand, and when I ask, do not answer. Why? Is it supposed to impress me? It doesn't, especially when you do not even know what xing yi. Gosh. Fine, maybe you are not exposed to it, and you are a practical kind of person who doesn't read a lot of books. But then don't start throwing out terms like "Do you practise gong," and when I say I don't exactly understand the question, smile smugly and don't clarify. Are you asking about fali, or yunqi, zhan zhuan or what? Just say it. Don't try to hide behind mystique and think it makes you appear wise.

3) Yes, xing yi has tiger form. Just because I'm only learning the five element fists doesn't mean xing yi doesn't have it. Also, pi quan is part of tiger form. And fancy not knowing the five element fists and five element theory are linked. No, honestly, get your facts right before showing off your superior knowledge. Else, it's just sad. And I don't care if you have 5 tigers at home. Cos you know what, you don't explain what it means, and you are obviously not willing to share. If you want to show off, fine. You know what, I have a bear back home in Australia too. His name is Pooh and he's real mean if you deny him his honey. My bear against your 5 tigers anytime.

Sigh. If a man's action reveals his character, I'm glad I'm learning from a non-Singaporean. No, honestly, I don't understand what he was trying to do. I only wanted to talk, but obviously, he doesn't and was off on a tangent.

But I'm pretty pleased with myself. Lol, I think I'm getting quite good at hiding contempt and disdain behind a smiling mask. Getting devious in my old age. Hahaha. I think if it was a younger me, I would have just gotten up and left. Proabably threw my drink in his face if he really pissed me off. Must congratulate myself for a good job sitting there, smiling and listening. Well done!

But seriously, if that is the caliber of practitioners here in Singapore, then it is quite sad. But okay, just one person. We'll see.

post 53. Heng quan (横拳) and more

Ah. Heng quan, usually the last of the five element fists.

When Zhou lao shi first said Heng quan had a bit of difficulty, I confess I did doubt him a bit. Come on, it looks simple: just keep your fist facing forward and walk from left to right, right?

Right, it's the things that look easy that are not easy.

First, the footwork. Looked a bit iffy but picked it up after 2 or 3 reps. Basically, from san ti (left foot forward, right foot back), swing left foot to right, turning it 45 degrees inwards. Rear right foot follows, but stops facing forward. So both feet form a rough triangle. Bring left front foot foward at 45 degrees, and bring rear foot up and facing in same direction as left so that both feet are parallel. Sink. Now, swing rear right foot across and around to the front, stopping with foot hooking in 45 degrees. Rear left foot (which was the front foot before) now goes to the back and follows, facing front. Repeat.

Basically, it's moving from a rough triangle to parrallel, swing and cross to form triangle, to parallel, swing and cross, etc etc. The swinging bit I find hardest, cos it's hard to balance and control the position of the rear foot when stopping.

It's easier with a vid, but then, hmmmm. Pondering taping Zhou lao shi doing the forms, but lack of digital camera. Still, something to consider.

So that's the footwork. Moves you left to right while still advancing. Heng = horiszontal in Mandarin. So, that is what the footwork achieves. Moves you side to side but still advancing towards oppoenent.

The upper body now. So, from san ti, when moving left front foot to right, close fists, and as in zuan quan, left hand jerks down and right hand drills up. Position: left foot forward, right hand forward. When moving to parallel, right hand still faces forward. Now the tricky bit. When swinging and crossing right foot to the front, twist body to the right and send the hand foward a bit more; do not passively allow the arm to follow the body movement of left to right. When right foot touches ground, left hand pulls down and right arms drills up, right foot stomps into foward facing position. All in one instant.

I find the twisting of the body hardest. Zhou lao shi suggested thinking of a S-shape , but then he also said that muscles in the curved-in region (quadratus lumborum, i think) should also push upwards. At the same time, the shoulder and upper limb should be sent forward, as if someone was pulling on it.

Lol, if that sounds complicated, try doing it. It is. I wonder if Heng quan is usually taught last cos it's the hardest to learn.

And you know what's the most irritating thing? That a middle-aged man can make it look so effortless. Zhou lao shi got me to feel his back whilst he was doing the motions, and yeah, I wouldn't have thought it possible that someone's small back muscles can be so developed. Lats, traps, yeah, that's normal, but quadratus lumborum, I would have said it's dodgy if I haven't felt it myself.

Zhou lao shi empahsized the twisting motion helps to massage the viscera and work the back muscles as well. That's a simple way of possibly explaining how internal martial arts mantain organ health. I just find it bloody hard to do.

He also mentioned something that makes sense to me though. It's important to work on the internal (organs, viscera) as well, not just the external (nice big muscles), because it helps with abosrbing force. It's a matter of conditioning, I think. The Chinese have a saying, which when loosely translated means, work on the internal, so that strength stems from the inside. Makes sense to me. Can't get strong without good lungs and heart.

And then possibly because we didn't fulfil our quota of hands-on, he set about showing me how to show different parts of the body to smack someone around. I wouldn't have though a chin could be used in that way, or that it could be that painful or effective. And he also did do the stomach thing when you shove someone with it. It's like being lifted up by a big solid mass of air. No, really. It's an up and out motion, basically breaking your root/centre of gravity. And he was doing it slow. If he did it fast, I really think I would have been hurled far away. I can see how it would work in a fight.

And then he really got into it, showing me the butt-shove, the head butt, the shoulder stroke. We both had a laugh when he showed me how to use the head to attack continously. Looks funny, but bloody painful if used on you. Basically, they all adhere to the principle of xing yi: attack continously, using every part of your body, until your opponent is totally vanquished. Or to put it in a nicer way: Overcome your opponent with such an overwhelming force that he feels like he cannot possibly fight against it.

Hehe. I still remember the continous head butts.

post 52. Lessons with Teacher Zhou

Zhou lao shi taught the basics of Heng quan today, so that means I've almost finished up the 5 elements fist. Only left the turning and closing for Heng quan, and then it will be the linking form.

Zhou lao shi was emphasisng a lot about yi, intention, today. He was emphasising that during xing yi practise, one must be as a tank, unstoppable and overwhelming. No matter how big or tall your opponent is, just crush him like a tank; if even a house can't stand up to a tank, what matter flesh and bone? It's true though - I don't have the killing intention.

A lot of it has to do with one's environment. For better or worse, I come from a good family background, and for personel reasons, I have an abhorrence for physical violence. To me, physical violence indicates a failure to achieve a compromise through reason and sense.

It's different for Zhou lao shi. He grew up in an era of turmoil, going through the Cultural Revolution and the Great Chinese Famine. It's hard for me imagine what it must be like to live in a time where someone will kill you for a bowl of rice. That's probably another difference of why we practise martial arts - survival. For Zhou lao shi, it was a means of survival.

So why practise xing yi, then?

One, it's a skill. Sometimes, it's better to be prepared for violence, rather than be helpless when trouble comes knocking. It's really up to you to decide how safe today's society is. Maybe in Singapore it's fine to get by with just knowing how to dial 999. But I don't like the feeling of danger I get when I walk down Northbridge at night, because I know I don't have the necesaary skills. Sure, I can run, but sometimes running is not an option, alcohol or drugs has precluded the option of reasoning, what are you going to do? Stand there and be helpless?

Secondly, it's something to work on for a life-time. It's an open-ended system - you can never be too good. The only restriction is yourself. And to pursue the perfect quan...well, it's like if you punch a 1000 times, but the last one is perfect, ahhh, the feeling is indescribable.

Also, well, one shouldn't restrict yourself because you don't like it. Just because I don't like violence doesn't mean I should shield away from it. Hey, violence is a fact of life, even when it's not physical or obvious. Only through continous exposure to different experiences, especially those we do not like, can we learn and grow.

And lastly, because it's fun. Lol, it is! Well, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but then again, I don't drink coffee. ^^

Best Bruce Lee Book Ever

I almost died laughing when I saw this. I wonder how the boys will take it. Lol. Hey, only 3 dollars, man!

post 51. a bit about Teacher Zhou (周悅文)

well, been sort of motivated/inspired/kicked-in-the-ass to write a little bit about Zhou lao shi (Teacher Zhou), after reading this post at Jianghu. The author of Jianghu was kind enough to point me in the direction of Zhou lao shi, who also happens to be his ba gua teacher, when I was looking for a xing yi teacher, so I do owe the author a fair bit. Thanks, E, wherever you are now! China?

Zhou lao shi is quite an interesting figure and the bare outlines of his background are described at Jianghu, so I will not go over it. Interesting thing, Zhou lao shi is not as old as I thought he will be. The first time I had contact with Zhou lao shi was when I called him from Australia, and from his voice I constructed an image of what he will look like: probably 60's, balding, of middle height, strong but not gym-chiselled, rather of the stocky build that comes from labour, face is a bit square and broad with piercing eyes, and because he is a martial arts master, probably has a wispy moustache and/or beard.

Boy, was I wrong.

For one thing, Zhou lao shi still has all his hair, is clean-shaven, and is probably in his late forties or early fifties if he was born before the Cultural Revolution and was old enough to be a Red Guard. He looks younger though. I thought he was in his late thirties when I first met him, and his body is probably stronger than most men half his age. He likes to do a fair bit of hands-on, and once he was showing me how to tense up the entire body when doing the opening stance, and he got me to feel his legs, and I was quite surprised to feel how solid yet springy his thighs were. It's not the same feeling as someone who does weights and squats, which feels thick but dead, like a block of wood. Probably is the elastic strength that Zhou lao shi is always emphasizing. Surprisingly, he is not against using weights or body-building, but he does warn about "dead" (useless) versus "springy" strength. To wit, the explosive power in xing yi comes from the elastic strength in the muscles.

During our last lesson, he was more talkative than usual. Not that we don't talk normally. Come on, I am such a talker. I got him interested in coming to Western Australia with my incessant yakking about the peacefulness of Perth (there's nothing to do at night), the wide-open spaces (at night, I'm king of the roads due to lack of traffic. During the day, barring rush hour, the number of vehicles on the road at any one time can be counted on 2 hands) and the fine weather (not counting the 40-odd degreees Celsuis summers). He was even musing about buying a piece of land and rearing horses. Hehe. Of course he sorta changed his mind when I mentioned the hordes of summer flies.

Anyway, last lesson he was talking quite a fair bit about his background, some of it quite personal. It all stemmed when I was asking him about China cos a friend's been asking me to visit her in Shanghai, and I was wondering if it was safe. Also, we were discussing the various virtues of people from different parts of China at the same time, because we were talking about how some of the Chinese labourers here in Singapore like to fight. Our conversations do tend to get tangential at times. Anyway, he started sprouting a whole lot of horror stories about the thugs and scam artists in China, from which I drew some valuable lessons.

A) People from the North East have a fiery temper and like to grab you when having an argument. I should try to incorporate some of that angry, twisting quality when turning fists. Also, they like to fight.

B) Thugs and con artists still abound in many regions of China. The recent increase in wealth has only meant that these organisations have better equipment to carry out their activities. They tend to gravitate towards mugging, kidnapping, extortion, and numerous interesting behviour that involve much physical use of body parts, such as fists, and creative use of useful tools, including knives and iron bars. They are also good at fighting.

C) People from Shanghai are the best. Zhou lao shi is from Shanghai. Incidentally, Zhou lao shi is very, very good at fighting. So I must believe him.

D) To conclude, I will be robbed shirtless if I go to China alone.

But one interesting thing that did stand out was the different reasons why we learn martial arts. To me, of course self-defense is an important attribute, because like Zhou lao shi said, even if you only ever use it once in your entire life, and it saves a life, it justifies all the hours you put in. But the other aspects of internal martial arts are quite important to me as well - namely, the way to cultivate your mental and internal self, what the Chinese call "xin" (heart). Hmmm, strength of heart/will? Sigh, sometimes Chinese conveys some meanings better than English.

But for Zhou lao shi, it was because martial arts was the only thing in his life as he came from a poor background, and everyone around him was practising it. It was a means to protect himself, and even though he didn't say it, I got the impression that it also represented a chance at a better life. It was only through martial arts that he was able to leave China, which is a big thing, as it's not like they just let anybody leave China. He did tell me a bit about how difficult it was for him leaving China, which really opened my eyes a bit.

So that was our session. Of course, he did teach me a new form, Pao Quan (Cannon Fist, so that makes 4 out of the 5 element fists), and he did apologize for talking too much. Gosh, I'm lucky to actually hear his stories and he's apologising for taking up my time. But that's the kind of person he is.

post 50. Xing Yi Quan 形意拳

Ah. For post 50, let's try to make it slightly more interesting and relevant, to me at least. ^^

So, a few of you may have recently heard me getting all excited and blabbing non-stop about "xing yi", and you all thought it was over a girl. Hmmmm. What does that say about me? Lol.

No, no, no. "Xing yi" is most definately not a girl. It's a form of Chinese internal martial arts (IMA), with the three most commonly-known being taiji quan, bagua zhang and xingyi quan. Although it's hard to ascertain, xingyi is most commonly acknowledged to be the oldest, yet also the simplest. It is said to be based on spear fighting, and is hence characterised by linear movements and explosive power.

So what makes xingyi different from karate or shaolin, two other commonly-known schools of martial arts that seem to share the same characteristics? Let me try my inadequate best to enlighten you, little grasshopper. ^^

Xingyi is a Chinese martial arts, and at the core of Chinese martial arts, is the concept of adhering, or sticking to your oppenent to control and neutralise his attacks. This can also be seen in the Indonesian fighting arts as trapping, which is not that surprising, as the Chinese and Indonesians clashed a lot when they first encountered each other. It's not surprising that they will learn from each other's systems, although the native Indonesians seem to have assilmated the Chinese concept of adhering better than their counterparts, who seem to have failed to pick up the concept of angles and timing of stick-fighting from the Indonesians. (It seems that way to me at least. I could be entirely wrong. I have woefully inadequate experience so take everything I say with a pinch of salt. ^^)

Hence, the main difference between xingyi and karate would seem to be the concept of adhering, which requires a degree of sensitivity. Karate seems to have gone off on another tangent to focus more on developing power, whereas although xingyi also stresses power, at higher levels, it requires sensitivity. That is why xingyi also incorporates push-hands to develop the required sensitivity to react to and control your opponent's movements. Yes, it is like taiji, in that sense. I was quite surprised to hear of xingyi students pushing hands with taiji students at first, but it makes sense in the end, if you think about it.

Another difference, that differentiates xingyi from both shaolin and karate would be the method of power generation. Here, I am going to borrow some terms from Chiron, who explained it quite well. The below is an abridged version of his explaination.

There are only so many ways to produce power, namely power generation, power stealing, and power conservation. Power generation relays on muscular power, and incorporates hip action for powerful punches or fast whipping of the hands. Power stealing is making use of other forces that you yourself do not produce to increase the strenght of your punch. This would involve the use of weight shifting and gravity, such as the drop step in boxing, as well as good use of timing and distance - swinging a punch such that your oppenent runs into it is a good way to increase the wham factor ^^. Power conservation involves the use of good structure. Rigid structures (bone) transmit forces better floppy structures (muscles). Here we have a bit of physics involved now. For every force, there is an equal and opposite reaction force. Every time you strike, an equal force goes into the ground. If there is good structure between the striker and the ground, power conservation approaches perfection. Ergo, try swinging a punch underwater, it's like hitting with straws. Poor structure also explains why huge men can punch so weakly, as energy bleeds away through poorly aligned joints and muscles.

Chiron then goes on to give an awesome example which I think makes a lot of sense. Remember those palm strikes where you see this guy place his hand on another, and without any discernable movement suddenly throw the guy out? Well, Chiron gives a pretty logical explaination: "What is going on physically is a slight rise in your center of gravity that is allowed to fall (the distance can be so small as to be almost imperceptible). The weight, the energy is allowed to fall and bounce up through the contact with the ground (which must be the heels) down the bones into the contact hand. It is essentially stealing a very small amount of power and then transmitting it through very good structure. With bad structure, you get nothing at all and wind up pushing with muscle. Different feel."

And that is the main difference between xingyi and other IMA, and karate and shaolin. Now you know why they always emphasise relaxing in traditional IMA? ^^ There's another reason, but that's another day.

Anyway, some video clips to pretty up the post.

Here is a very good explaination of the principles of xingyi. Attacking the center line, just like wing chun. Also, note what he says about structure and the spirals within the linear movements -"seeking the curve within the straight" as they frequently say in the taiji classics starting to make some sense now? ^^ Don't be surprised that the man is black. Rudy Curry Junior is a good teacher. And these days, the ones who are willing to put in the hard work are the foreigners, and not the Chinese.

A clip of the five element fists, which is the basic core of xingyi. Each fist gives rise to another, and at the same time is the counter to a certain fist. Note the power generation. I especially like the pi and the zuan.

A clip of the linking form of the five element fists.

So why am I so excited about xingyi? It's the entire reason for my going back to Singspore for two months. How else am I going to endure two months there? ^^