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Part 2

The Foundation

of Kung-fu

Mapping Kung-fu’s DNA

We definitely live in a modern age compared to the world in which kung-fu originated. Every day more science fiction becomes science fact as a rapidly increasing array of technological wonders enhance our daily lives. Nowadays when we have a problem or mystery to solve, we can choose from many sophisticated tools to help clear away the confusion and lead us to the truth. DNA testing, for instance, is used in such diverse areas as archaeology, criminology, and medicine. These high-tech tools not only provide society with sophisticated, reliable investigative techniques but also affect our individual attitudes. Today, we are more prone to gather convincing evidence before jumping to conclusions.

Stance training builds a very strong foundation, which is absolutely essential to perform kung-fu’s whole-body usage techniques.

This kind of scientific examination should also be applied to the study of kung-fu. You can avoid shedding tears and sweating blood in an all-out journey to a martial arts dead end by discovering the kung-fu DNA, the building blocks that make up authentic kung-fu. Following are some of the core kung-fu building blocks derived from my investigations and experience. The list is by no means complete, and only a beginning attempt to map out a complete DNA of traditional kung-fu.

Horse stance

Although the horse stance is used in many non-Chinese systems, kung-fu’s needs are different from other martial arts. Stance training builds a very strong foundation, which is absolutely essential to perform kung-fu’s whole-body usage techniques. In the kung-fu horse stance, the practitioner’s toes must point straight ahead, feet parallel, and knees angled slightly inward. While it is incorrect to point the knees out, the thighs must stay open creating a rounded, not sharp, angle at the groin. The buttocks should not protrude or be lower than the knees.

All empty-leg stances are potential kicks, knee strikes, and sweeps.

Empty-leg stance

With the empty-leg stance, all weight is on the supporting leg, and none on the front leg. All empty-leg stances are potential kicks, knee strikes, and leg sweeps. The empty leg may also be called upon to move forward, backward, to the side, or into a twisting step at an instant without the body first having to shift its weight distribution. In kung-fu’s empty stance, the front leg must be fully available for these uses.

Kicks do not use the arms for balance

During a kick, the arms are either performing other techniques or in a ready position, prepared to initiate an appropriate response to the opponent’s movements. In kung-fu, the relationship between legs and arms is that of equal partners in attack and defense, not subordinates to a principle worker. Using the arms to balance the body during kicks is a natural tendency, but in terms of kung-fu usage it is untrained and immature technique.

The entire body finishes moving at the same time

There are two common ways the timing of movements lacks full coordination. Part of the body finishes its movement while other parts are still traveling to completion, or the lower body settles into a stance and remains inert while the upper body follows with several attack and defense techniques. In kung-fu, the entire body, not just the arms, must work as one unit. Power issuing depends on unbroken, coordinated movement throughout the entire body. In addition, every part of the body must keep moving at all times to sustain the momentum of a usage technique.

Punch from the spine

Punches must originate from the spine, not the shoulders. The kung-fu practitioner’s two arms become a single coordinated unit, beginning with the fingers of one hand, traveling up the arm, through the shoulders, across the upper back, and down to the fingertips of the second hand. When one arm extends, the other one compliments the movement like parts of a pulley system.

Both fists hit the same target

As the first fist withdraws after punching to make way for an attack from the other fist, the second hits exactly the same spot, replacing the first. Opponents always try to open up leaks and penetrate a practitioner’s guard. Punches that hit the target side-by-side give the opponent an open channel to invade into the practitioner’s space.

Split attention

The kung-fu practitioner must be able to manage different areas of the body simultaneously, rather than focusing on a sing/e area or body part.

The kung-fu practitioner must be able to manage different areas of the body simultaneously rather than focusing on a single area or body part. Awareness must extend beyond arms and legs to include the entire body. In addition, because our attention quite naturally tends to fixate on what we can see or what we have targeted (such as an opponent), we must train ourselves to pay attention to what is around us at all times. For example, kung-fu training requires positioning an arm behind the body in a specific position. A fist extended out behind the shoulder must stay at ear level, and a hooked hand must be held out behind the back at a 45-degree angle. This training isn’t easy, but if you can manage the space behind, then other directions and angles are also better controlled.

Joints are never locked

The joints must never be locked.

Locking the joints, such as the elbows or knees, is damaging to both physical health and martial art. From a health standpoint, joint locking can lead to stiffness and strains as well as more serious injuries. From the standpoint of usage, a locked joint pushes movements to their dead end, killing any potential for last minute changes in the movement. As a result, the rhythm and fluency within a sequence of movements is destroyed.

Never hyperextend the shoulders and back

In kung-fu, the shoulders should be in line with the chest, never pulled to the rear with the back arched and chest pushed out. Any martial art requires the practitioner to have an on-guard for protection. The arms should function as double doors, remaining closed to guard the chest. Over-stretched shoulders force the gate open, causing unnecessary and meaningless exposure to attack. Exaggerated and boldly stated postures also violate Chinese aesthetics, which finds beauty in restraint.

Breath through the nose

Except for yells, the mouth should stay shut. Keep the teeth together and touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth, placed behind the front teeth. Since taking air through the mouth usually results in short breaths, an open mouth encourages shallow breathing into the chest, panting, and gasping for air. Basic kung-fu breathing exercises train the practitioner to inhale and exhale long, deep breaths through the nose because this prevents or at least delays the onset of gasping and hyperventilation. Practically speaking, the practitioner can last longer without running out of oxygen.

Qi is held in the dantian

Training is by nature primarily external as the student learns the basics; internal elements are layered into the training as the student progresses to higher levels.

The most obvious and common error is holding qi (energy circulating in the body) in the upper torso, forcing the chest to become tense and the shoulders to elevate too high. In the upper levels of traditional kung-fu, even when the practitioner sends the qi to other areas of the body, the dantian (place in the lower abdomen) is never totally emptied. Any of China’s traditional body disciplines— health exercises, neigong, Beijing opera, folk dance, acrobatics, kung-fu—always require the qi to sink, never rise up and center in the chest because to do so will encourage short, shallow breathing and ultimately damage health.

Internal and external must go together

All kung-fu styles require both internal and external training if the practitioner is to reach the higher levels. One without the other is incomplete. This is true whether the styles are labeled hard, soft, external, or internal. At the outset, training is by nature primarily external as the student learns the basics; internal aspects of training are layered into the training as the student progresses to higher levels.

No preparatory motions

Techniques must be executed without special set up, such as running to build momentum for a leap or extra steps to help the delivery of a tornado kick. Every extra movement or preparation takes time, and a split second could mean the difference between success and failure in a fighting situation. To take advantage of a leak in an opponent’s guard, the practitioner must be able to attack from wherever the arm is positioned without preparatory motions. For example, drawing back the arm after a punch to gain distance for a second technique violates the kung-fu principles. The correct method involves the entire torso, using a powerful twist at the spine to send out the shoulder, elbow, and palm or fist to deliver the second blow. Forms that include running sequences to boost the practitioner’s leaps are more performance art and don’t enhance real kung-fu training.

All movements contain chan si jin

There are no straight movements in kung-fu. Movements are curved and involve twisting action, following the principle of chan si jin (silk reeling energy). Even during what appears to be a straight punch, the fist and arm quickly rotate, drilling toward the target. Blocks do not slam directly against the opponent’s arm but twist as they make contact to reduce the speed and power of the attack, redirecting the force away from the practitioner, and possibly creating a leak for retaliation.

A curved and twisted posture characteristic of the bagua style. Calligraphy behind the author was a gift from the editors of The Chang County (China) Martial Arts Record Book. It reads “Real friend of kung fu’s hometown.”

Global awareness

The kung-fu practitioner must be aware of the surrounding space, never standing at the edge but in the middle of a globe ready to exert energy or force in any direction. This broader awareness runs contrary to our normal mode of perception. The mind is usually filled with a tangle of extraneous thoughts as we go about our daily lives. However, kung-fu is incomplete unless it trains the mind, enlarging the practitioner’s mental capacity to include the space around him. When this global awareness is present, it can be seen very clearly in the postures.

Multipurpose movement

Each movement in kung-fu, whether defense or attack, always has more than one purpose. Therefore, the meaning of movements is not completely clear in the beginning, and they are rich in possibilities until the target is reached. Defensive and offensive techniques are interchangeable. An attacking punch can also be a blocking move, and the practitioner should be able to change the direction and focus of a movement as the situation demands. Single-point techniques delivered and then pulled back to redeliver do not follow kung-fu principles.

Double-layered training

Kung-fu training exercises, forms, and movements should not be designed and practiced with the sole intention of destroying an opponent. Real kung-fu training must enrich the entire human being, improving health, developing physical and mental abilities, and expanding one’s philosophical outlook and worldview. This is why kung-fu is such an outstanding and beneficial discipline for our society. The martial artist who tries to transform his human body into a human robot or super fighting machine is making a big mistake and demeaning the art of kung-fu. Practitioners should always check to make sure that their training is really kung-fu—educating and enhancing the body, mind, and spirit.

When you search for a good kung-fu coach, use this kung-fu DNA checklist. These principles can help you evaluate the authenticity of their kung-fu training, and you won’t be swayed by beautiful costumes, flashy movements, mesmerizing background music, self-made family trees, or movements that contradict the way of traditional kung-fu.

Drafting a Kung-fu Constitution

Kung-fu styles share a common foundation. Historically, kung-fu was born of the struggle for survival and was refined over centuries of accumulated experience and wisdom as Chinese medicine, health exercise, and martial arts evolved. The common foundation can be codified into basic principles that apply to most kung-fu styles. Without them, even the most graceful, flowing, beautiful performance is simply fake kung-fu. Just as in the realm of living things a fox is not a bird, such a form could not truthfully be categorized as kung-fu.

The key is to begin at the beginning; high level short cuts can only lead to dead ends.

These principles are the most basic starting point, rather than the highest level requirements. Students who are willing to start at the fundamental levels will progress in the correct direction. After all, the tallest peak can only be conquered by starting at the very base of the mountain, and then climbing diligently, step by step, to the higher plateaus. The key is to begin at the beginning; high level short cuts can only lead to dead ends.

Each of these basic principles relates to the body, and how it must be used within kung-fu movements.

Head

The head must be held straight, and the neck relaxed. Do not allow an intense focus and serious attitude to tighten your neck or unconsciously push your head forward. Imagine an object resting on top of your head that must not fall off. It should be light like a piece of paper, leaf, or feather-small but always present. It should feel as if something in the sky were slowly pulling up on your hair, gently but firmly helping to keep your head straight. Every hair is pulled, from the back of the neck to the top of the skull. The overall feeling is somewhat like a puppet, whose head is being lifted by strings manipulated from above.

The head must be held straight, and the neck relaxed.

Eyes

The eyelids should be normal and relaxed. The eyes should not be tense or bugged out. The gaze should not be lowered, even while you focus inward to get the feeling of sinking the qi. The mind, not the eyes, is responsible for maintaining inner awareness and feeling. The eyes should be set like middle C, the center of the piano keyboard. The eyes follow the movement, turning left, right, up, or down, but only in conjunction with the head as it turns.

Nose

Breathing should be slow, even, gentle-the less noticeable, the better.

The breath flows only through the nostrils, not the mouth. Breathing should be slow, even, gentle-the less noticeable, the better. However, you should feel an inner physical sensation of expansion throughout the face and internal passageways-from the nostrils, up the nose, into the entire face, and extending down into the chin and throat. This feeling of expansion should continue throughout the inhalation and exhalation.

Mouth

The lips should always stay closed but without tension. The teeth should always maintain contact but without tension. The tongue should touch the roof of the mouth just behind the front teeth and stay there at all times. Let the saliva accumulate until it has to be swallowed. Never spit it out. Swallow slowly, or ingest the saliva with several small swallows.

Shoulders

You must learn to sink the shoulders. They must be carried without tension, rather than pulled high in the manner of a soldier at attention. The first step is to achieve relaxation within the mind. Then place attention on preventing the shoulders from rising. After these steps are accomplished, you can begin to generate a sinking feeling in the shoulders. Do not try to fabricate the feeling by angling the spine, bending the shoulders forward, and sticking the neck out.

Back

Kung-fu requires ba bei. Ba means to yank or pull but it also means stretch and straighten up. Bei means the back. The entire spine—including the areas behind and in front of it-must be held straight. A straight spine is equivalent to a clean, white piece of paper totally available to receive writing or drawing. A common misinterpretation of the ba bei rule is to extend the spine upward while bending, head stretched out, and chest caved in. Under these circumstances, no matter how hard you try, any words you write will be unreadable because they have filled the clean, white sheet of paper with scribbles.

Ba can also be interpreted as alert. Tin ba means to straighten up physically. Jin ba means to remain alert and sensitive to inner feelings. The implication is that during any movement, the spinal column must be straightened both in front and back. This concept is fundamental and incontrovertible. Any movement or posture that contradicts this principle, contradicts the entire constitution.

Chest

One of kung-fu’s rules is han xiong. Han means containing something or capacity; xiong means chest. Han can also be interpreted as “swallow” or “inward” in the Chinese language, and thus many practitioners misinterpret the term to mean bending the spine. This posture is another violation of the kung-fu constitution and may cause damage to the lungs.

In fact, han xiong does not mean to stick out the chest and hyperextend the back, a posture required by many Western body disciplines. This raises the qi too high, and brings tension into the chest and related areas including the stomach and shoulders. Basically, you should stay relaxed and refrain from pushing out your chest.

Later in the training, han xiong will lead to a deeper interpretation. Han xiong also means empty space, like the inside of an envelope or box. Because the chest is at the front of the body, quite naturally it gets lots of attention, and movement, in daily life. However, kung-fu asks you to keep the chest empty. Let the back lead and the chest follow.

Stomach

You should start with an calm stomach. Don’t use power, and don’t tighten up. Keep the stomach soft like a suede leather bag. During movements, the stomach should not be self-motivated or independent but, just like the chest, be led by the back and waist. This will make it possible to send qi down to the center of the abdominal area, the dantian.

Only after enough qi has accumulated in the dantian—like money in a bank-will practitioners feel solidity, strength, heat, desire, or will in the dantian. That feeling must come from the inside out. At the same time, the stomach should remain relaxed.

An awareness should now be developing that the back is controlling the chan si Jin twisting movements. The waist, which is in charge of horizontal twisting chan si Jin movement, cooperates with the back. First, the waist must stay totally relaxed so it can be available for any movement. Second, it must stay level, not tipped over or off balance.

The waist could be called the joint that links the upper with the lower body. If it moves incorrectly, then the human body will be split into two pieces and lose its integrity. Incorrect practice will totally destroy all of one’s good intentions and efforts.

Hips

The hips provide the major support for the waist. They must be relaxed and balanced. Normally they don’t have a large degree of motion. However, quite often they are the leaders or vanguard of the waist’s movement. The hips are very important for shrinking and expanding the body. Sometimes merely shifting the hips without taking any steps can change your body’s position.

The palms should not be stretched out but held in a naturally open, relaxed manner

Buttocks

The buttocks must follow the spine’s direction from the very top down to the tip of the tail bone, maintaining a 90-degree angle to the ground. The buttocks should not stick out, but at the same. time it should not be overemphasized by tucking under or intentionally pushing the hips forward. Incorrect positioning creates tension and bothers the tail bone, tipping it forward, off-center from the plane of the spine. Correct positioning for the buttocks is smooth, straight, and 90-degrees to the ground.

Rectum

In Chinese martial arts, the term ming dang means to close the inner groin and buttocks area. Dang is not merely a polite name for this particular body part. The term refers to the entire area, not only the rectum itself. People commonly misinterpret this to mean they should suck in and seal the anus (contract the sphincter muscle). This technique is unhealthy, interferes with movements and will not enhance sexual ability. Beginners should follow the advice from the previous section: Don’t stick out the buttocks, keep the spine straight. Don’t pay any extra attention to the anus. Instead you should try to remain relaxed so that the ligaments, muscles, and tendons can be fully stretched out.

A heaviness or sinking should be felt throughout the entire area, including back and upper arm.

Later on in the training, you should chert dang, meaning sink down. Open up, stretch out, expand the groin area-with some intention to push the buttocks down toward the ground. This will help to stretch the legs wider and reach out with a bigger step. Eventually, the ming dang can be done correctly: the entire genital and rectal area elevates upward.

Elbows

In everyday life, people have a natural tendency to raise and open up their elbows. Therefore, you must pay special attention to drop the elbows and avoid opening them up or stretching them outward. Later on in the training, you should attempt to achieve the sensation of weighted elbows. They must feel as if something is pulling the skin down from under the elbows, causing them to drop. Eventually they must attain a sinking or heavy feeling, not only at the elbow but throughout the entire area including the back and upper arm. While moving or shifting posture, the heaviness will also shift so that the area facing the ground will feel the sinking.

Hands

First, the wrists must be relaxed throughout all movements, maintaining a feeling as if resting. The palms should not be stretched out but held in a naturally open, relaxed manner. The fingers should be extended, but not over-stretched. In the mind, all five fingers touch; but in the actual posture each has a little space in between.

The hand is at the tip of the body’s neural network, and it is very sensitive. The hand has been a foundation of our human civilization, and it is our primary tool of action. Instinctively, the first part of the body that begins to move in reaction to an outside stimulus is the hand. For kung-fu, not only must this habit change, it must be reversed. Kung-fu movements must begin with the body (spine and waist), followed by the arms and legs. The shoulder must lead the elbow, the elbow leads the wrist, and the wrist leads the fingers.

If the wrong kind of focus is directed to the hands, interesting reactions such as a nice trembling, heat, or a kind of fullness could occur. Tempting though it may be, you shouldn’t jump to congratulate yourself because this is not really the qi, or internal energy. In fact, these sensations are quite easy to get and to call them qi is misleading, especially while the major body part—the torso— remains inert and untrained.

Knees

The knee, strategically located at the middle of the leg, is a joint of major importance. Even though a human’s natural impulse is to pay most attention to the hands and arms, primary focus must shift to the legs. The legs set the pace, propel the action, choose the direction. The arms make their adjustments and move in response to orders from the legs.

The knee, however, is extremely complicated and quite weak. According to an old Chinese saying, “The knee is made of tofu.” During training the knee is worked very hard, most of the time in a bent position, putting it under a great deal of stress. The knee’s flexibility and degree of movement are limited. It can bend in only one direction and can shift left or right only to a small degree.

Certainly the knee and leg have less flexibility than the elbow and arm, but it occupies a key position in creating the body’s foundation. In addition, the arms can rest while they dangle from the shoulders awaiting the next command to act; but the legs are continually at work even while the body is standing still.

Author (at the home of Sifu Liu Yun Chiao in Chang county, China) holds the unusually short section whip which his teacher used as a child.

Relaxation can make it easier for the knees to perform their duties. The legs and ankles should coordinate and cooperate completely. In addition, the knee itself must learn to expand beyond its habitual way of moving in daily life-bending, closing, straightening-and incorporate twisting, grinding, and rotating into its repertoire.

Feet

The ankles must be straight and relaxed to cooperate with the feet. Foot movements are usually divided and distributed to the heel, toe, side, and arch. In a single step those areas move in a certain order. The key to controlling the foot, however, is correct ankle management. It is not simply a case of plunking down one component and then the other moves. The ankle moves the foot.

Kung-fu principles instruct you to arch the sole or create some space under the foot. The foot must be relaxed, and not overly straight or artificially flattened. It is a mistake to raise the arch deliberately, contracting and tensing the foot to create some room under the sole. In addition, the toes should grab the ground, but this must also occur in a natural and relaxed manner. You should not intentionally tighten your feet, clench the toes, and force them to grab at the ground. Even without the impediment of shoes and socks, the earth’s floor remains beyond the grasp of human toes! More seriously, you can place yourself in a precarious situation because you are robbed of proper balance and leverage needed to create the correct movements and postures.

Follow the basics

The principles outlined in this article are general and basic. Quite naturally, various styles have devised different ways to help students progress to higher levels. Rather than aiming straight for the goal, an indirect route consisting of three to five steps might be employed. Whatever the route, any training that contradicts these basic constitutional principles is wrong.

Kung-fu styles like taijiquan have become widespread and popular. It is important for all practitioners to understand a major weaknesses in the transmission of traditional Chinese arts: a lack of basic training. In fact, step-by-step training programs, standardized terminology, clear explanations, and correct interpretations are either entirely missing or woefully scarce. Chinese painting, music, Beijing Opera, even gourmet cooking all share this condition.

Be on the alert when learning the general rules and movements of kung-fu. Even more importantly, keep an open attitude toward different ideas and interpretations, be willing to compare and experiment, and have the courage to help uphold the kung-fu constitution.

Stance Training

A common feature of kung-fu fiction and movies is the scene where the novice students are diligently practicing their horse stances, silently facing a wall and not daring to make any movement. In fact, this depiction is so common that the Chinese created an expression to characterize this tradition: “Three years for the horse stance.” The idea behind this expression is that the practitioner must spend several years auditioning for the instructor by practicing he horse stance.

Stances characteristic of baquazhang help practitioners advance within the framework of the style.

This expression need not be taken literally today. It does represent he proper attitude necessary for any aspect of kung-fu training, however, and implies that the student must be serious and devoted to the art.

The traditional method of stance raining has origins in the culture of ancient China. Before the end of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912), kung-fu was a way of survival, and only through serious, and sometimes dangerous, training and severe testing could a kung-fu practitioner prepare himself for combat. The laws of ancient China were also different than those that govern our modern society. When a major crime-attacking a village or attempting to overthrow the government—was committed, the offender and his family were often executed in retribution. If the offender was a kung-fu practitioner, his instructor could also be held responsible and possibly executed.

Besides the mental conditioning it provides, stance training is an important tool in conditioning the legs for decisive, powerful footwork.

As a result, instructors were very careful to assess the character of a prospective student, and traditional stance training served as a way to weed out potentially unworthy students. The “three years of horse stance” discouraged students with bad intentions. In addition, it also taught the values of patience, loyalty, and discipline, thus helping to establish the trust and obedience necessary for the proper instructor-student relationship. The student would be able to accept instruction earnestly and without question.

Besides the mental conditioning it provides, stance training is an important tool in conditioning the legs for decisive, powerful footwork. Kung-fu fighting techniques often require body contact using the shoulders, hips, elbows, and knees, as well as the hands and feet. If the leg foundation is not strong enough, the practitioner cannot fight effectively.

Another aspect of stance training focuses on qi, sinking the breath to the dantian. While holding each stance, the breath is calm and relaxed. If the breath is strained or uneven, this training may have harmful effects. Correct qi training is like accumulating money in the bank: when enough money (qi) has been saved, the practitioner can spend some of it (direct the qi to different parts of the body). This is a high level that few practitioners reach.

Kung-fu takes a long time to master. By introducing stance training early, students can begin to understand the value of patience in learning the art. The kung-fu approach to fighting, for example, requires a patient attitude. Many practitioners are more inclined to try to take advantage of the first opportunity to act, which may not be the best. While this aggressive attitude is not necessarily bad, it doesn’t help in learning the kung-fu way to fight. The kung-fu way is to be patient, waiting for the best opportunity in which the opponent can be totally controlled and completely destroyed.

Having the student face a wall in a low horse stance each day for three years is not the best way to promote kung-fu or to help the student progress.

In contemporary times, instructors don’t need to be as concerned with checking the mental and physical qualifications of students. The lifestyle of the modern practitioner is radically different from the ancient monks and farmers who trained in the traditional way.

Some instructors today, however, interpret the “three years of horse stance” expression too literally. Certainly, stance training is an essential part of kung-fu, but the teacher needs to realize that we are not living in a society comparable with ancient China. Stance training should be emphasized in such a way that students feel compelled to take the basics seriously. (No matter what discipline-karate, kendo, ballet, or voice-the basics are less interesting than the forms. How many singers prefer singing scales instead of actual songs?) Having students face a wall in a low horse stance each day for three years is not the best way to promote kung-fu or to help them progress. Some unqualified instructors use excessive stance training to avoid teaching, saying students who are unable to complete the stance training “fail” to qualify to study at their schools.

Students hold kun yu sword form posture.

Given the importance of stance training, we need to adopt more practical ways of teaching stances and other aspects of basic training so students can fully develop their potential. One way to accomplish this is to create a series of stances characteristic of a particular style. In northern style kung-fu, for example, the ba shi (eight stances) are practiced. This arrangement of postures helps the student understand the physical mechanics of movement and provides the benefits of traditional stance training. The practitioner holds each posture for as long as possible, without forcing the breath. The transitions between stances also teach the practitioner how to coordinate the body in a single, unified motion.

Using this model, instructors can develop their own ba shi. For instance, ru huan shi (twisting and sitting stance) is an important stance in the praying mantis system. By including this and other basic stances in a sequence, the special features of the praying mantis style can be utilized. It’s not necessary to have eight stances only; the number may be more or less, depending on the structure of the kung-fu style. Another way to vary stance training and make it more interesting for the student is to hold certain postures in forms. Changquan, for example, has a great deal of kicking. In the style’s basic line form, tan tui, the student can hold each kick in the air for a few breaths. In bajiquan, the student is required to hold each stance for a specific number of breaths.

This type of training could be applied to the first form of any style, such as taijiquan. All instructors should examine their training methods and try to develop ways to creatively incorporate stance training into their art. In this way, students will be assured the benefits of basic training and will also develop a better understanding of kung-fu.

Kung-fu’s Way to Power

Even small children understand that the larger the working distance one has, the greater the power one can generate. Children learn early on that in order to throw a ball far they need to start the throw from behind their shoulder. Then the arm and hand pass over (in the case of an overhand throw) the shoulder, and finally as the ball is released the arm follows through in front of the body. In this way the ball is thrown much farther than if merely flicked by the wrist or using the elbow and forearm. Similarly, one does not try to pound in a nail with the hammer held an inch away. The farther the hammer is held away from the nail the harder the nail can be struck. These are obvious examples of increasing one’s working distance to allow for greater power.

The chan si jin technique initiates at the foot, then uses the ankle, knee, hip, waist, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finally the hand.

However, because our bodies are limited, it follows that our working distance is also limited. We can move our arm or leg only a certain distance. Even the largest person has limitations. Therefore, we try other ways to heighten our power. One, we try to increase our strength. Two, we try to increase our speed. Kung-fu and all martial art systems recognize the necessity of speed and strength in technique, and train to develop these qualities. Another part of kung-fu training, though, is to develop a different way of moving in order to increase the working distance.

This unique way of moving the body is called chan si jin (reeling silk energy). It is a spiraling rather than straight movement, and has been understood in China since ancient times. In the ancient farming culture family roles were clearly defined. The men worked the fields, and the women primarily stayed at home. Among the women’s chores was the reeling of silk, removing the silk from the silkworms’ cocoons. As they pulled the silk, the cocoon would spin. This act of reeling silk, called chan si in Chinese, was a part of everyday life; all were familiar with it. The spiraling effect of reeling silk was very much like the kung-fu way of using the body in order to issue power. Hence, chan si jin was taken as the name of this kung-fu technique.

Today, machinery has replaced what was once. done by hand, and the old way of reeling silk is no longer part of everyday life. Therefore, the term chan si jin is now difficult for many people to understand. Where once the instructors used the term to help people understand the kung-fu way of issuing power, now it seems rather obscure and mysterious.

The spiraling effect of reeling silk was very much like the kung-fu way of using the body in order to issue power.

The kung-fu way is to get the whole body involved in the chan si jin. This is not a natural style of movement or means of generating power. Based on our experience we have all acquired our own ways of utilizing our body to assist us in getting power. Consciously and unconsciously we have developed styles and habits through work, sports, and everyday life that we are reliant on. None of these are the kung-fu way.

To learn a difficult and sophisticated technique such as chan si jin takes great patience and a step-by-step approach. The first step is to shed old habits. That is why the instructor teaches the beginning student over and over again to relax when practicing. In order to learn a new way of moving, students must become aware of their old ways. The teacher first tells the student not to try and use power, because not yet knowing better the student would naturally revert to the old way of moving. Initially, the student must practice slowly and relax to create an opportunity for the chan si jin to develop.

Some students, although claiming to be studying kung-fu, do not adhere to the correct way of practicing. These people, for various reasons such as impatience, frustration, or lack of faith, choose not to practice “without” power. Some of them are young and strong and can already issue some power. Unfortunately, they are cheating themselves and can easily destroy their own potential to reach a high level of kung-fu. Chan si jin is a high-level technique that depends on hard work, correct practice, and the guidance of a qualified instructor.

You might ask in what way a martial artist can use this vague concept of chan si jin. Using chan si jin in punching, for example, involves the entire body, not just the shoulder and arm. The technique initiates at the foot, then uses the ankle, knee, hip, waist, back, shoulder, elbow, wrist, and finally the hand. All of the body’s joints are applied in a highly disciplined twisting action. In other words, each joint, beginning with the ankle and toes, is twisting, not only individually, but all working together as a single unit. The effect is a spiraling accumulation of power from the ground up. Using the fist as its vehicle, the accumulated power of the entire body is thus issued to a single, focused point.

Tomb of bagua founder Dong Hai Quan. In the 1980s his body was exhumed from an obscure grave and reburied with full honors in the specially-built Beijing monument.

The practitioner who can really use chan si jin can issue great power. The working distance covers the length of the body from heel to hand. However, this distance is not to be measured as a straight line. We would need to measure the distance via the curved line of the spiral. Using chan si jin the practitioner’s working distance becomes tremendously large.

It has often seemed an unexplainable phenomenon that certain instructors of unimposing physique are able to issue great power. People have wondered how it is done. Is it through supernatural power, illusion, mind over matter? The actual explanation is not so arcane. It is the result of years of difficult and serious training, of training the body to work in an extraordinarily effective way—a way that the ancients likened to women’s reeling of silk, chan si jin.

How Much Flexibility is Enough for Kung-fu?

Any type of exercise requires a certain amount of flexibility. For the multitude of martial arts, flexibility plays an especially critical role. The body is used as a weapon to attack and defend, and therefore must be both flexible and relaxed to initiate any type of movement necessary in an instant.

When we are young our bodies are soft and pliable. Although we get stronger and accustomed to more complicated movement as we age, we usually lose a great deal of our natural flexibility. This is one reason martial arts teachers so often strongly advocate beginning training at an early age; it makes it easier for students to reach their goals with regard to becoming sufficiently flexible.

The role of flexibility training in kung-fu is often greatly exaggerated and is largely misunderstood, however. Some instructors overemphasize stretching. This approach stems from their own misconceptions about the actual function and origin of stretching. Some unfortunate instructors may focus on stretching as a substitute for lacking enough real kung-fu techniques to teach students.

I believe that it is wrong for any teacher to demand that every student achieve the same level of flexibility. Many factors other than stretching itself have an influence on flexibility, including the person’s age, body type, and athletic background. Practitioners who cannot reach the maximum degree of body flexibility can develop into fine martial artists. Leg strength, overall conditioning, and diligent and intelligent practice all help compensate for a lack of flexibility.

By stretching too much, the muscle becomes too long and possibly too soft, making it difficult for a practitioner to issue power correctly.

In fact, stretching too much can actually destroy a student’s kung-fu foundation. By stretching too much, the muscle becomes too long and possibly too soft. This condition makes it difficult for a practitioner to issue power correctly. A certain amount of dynamic tension and a great deal of leg strength are needed to fully generate the power from the lower body. Flexibility should not be confused with leg strength, one is not a replacement for the other. The two should develop concurrently.

In addition, recovering from over-stretching is much more difficult than becoming more flexible when a practitioner is understretched. Flexibility training should be treated as simply another integral part of the overall kung-fu training and conditioning program, not as something special unto itself.

Today we see that many kung-fu forms contain and are judged by the many acrobatic and flexibility-inspired techniques and postures they contain. Granted, these are in fact often difficult to execute, yet some teachers mistakenly include and overuse these types of movements as evidence of having achieved a high level in kung-fu.

Unfortunately, when the majority of people think of kung-fu, the forms and techniques mentioned come to mind. It is through observing the acrobatic and dance-like forms that many martial artists judge the integrity and viability of kung-fu as a whole. This is why many hold the opinion that kung-fu is not effective as a fighting art. These forms exhibit good conditioning and balance perhaps, but certainly not superior kung-fu technique as many have come to believe.

A certain amount if dynamic tension and a great deal if leg strength are needed to fully generate the power from the lower body.

Perhaps the following analogy can place the role and importance of stretching and flexibility into a clearer perspective. A singer usually begins training by singing the basic scale of notes. At this early stage, of course, the full range of these notes will not be at the novice’s command, just as in stretching we have a natural range of flexibility with which we begin. But, through diligent practice, the singer’s range will eventually expand to include the entire range of notes, a feat that previously had been quite impossible. Similarly, students who stretch correctly and persistently will also achieve a wider range of flexibility and movement.

Yet, when an accomplished singer sings a song, the vocal range required is less than what was encompassed in the training. But this basic training was indeed necessary and valuable, because it covered all the possibilities and provided the singer with a stronger and wider base from which to sing a broader variety of songs.

Also, as any singer will tell you, just because one can sing the basic notes does not automatically guarantee that one can sing a song both correctly and artistically. Elements such as emotion, rhythm, and tempo must also be included to make the song truly complete and convincing. Similarly, many other skills must be combined with flexibility training in order to achieve real proficiency in kung-fu.

Remaining at this “flexibility is kung-fu” level, and confusing it with real kung-fu expertise, is like perpetually singing just the basic range of notes and promoting that as an outstanding piece of music. Ultimately, kung-fu requires a great deal more than the capability to perform movements loosely and gracefully.