Shang Yun-Xiangs Xingyi Quan pt 2

Master Li Zhong-xuan explained a broad range of fundamentals in this article, including the beginning movement of Xingyi and secrets techniques in Standing. irst !ublished by the "uly, #$$% issue of &uhun, 'opyright (((.(uhun.com )*ote+ , loo-ed for the original translations and (ebsite of this material and they are gone. , thin- the information contained in the article is interesting, it is part of a series that i (ill post over the next fe( days. ,t (as translated by .omabey. , believe this a picture of Li Zhong-xuan if not let me -no( +/

.he beginning is the most difficult of all things. .o practice Xingyi (ithout understanding the beginning movement, one cannot master the !i, 0eng, 1uan, !ao, and 2eng. .his time , (ill start from the beginning movement and end up (ith the 2orse orm. .he 2orse orm is easy to learn and handy in application, perhaps it (ill increase my reader3s interest in Xingyi, , hope. 0efore , begin , shall ans(er some of the recent mails from my readers. )4/ ,n Xue 5ian6s boo-, 7Xiang Xing Shu7 )8,mitation 0oxing9, as "are- in (((.chinafrominside.com has translated/, it says (hen one3s :ungfu has reached the highest level, his body can discharge electricity upon hitting somebody. 'ould you do so; )#/ <ou once mentioned that there are some difference bet(een the 2unyuan Stance and .(enty- our =equirements. >nfortunately, , don3t understand (hat you mean by 8one is devoid of all desires (hile the other has specific goal9. )%/ My throat hurts every time , practice Xingyi, (hat3s the cure; )?/ @ne of your previous article suggests that once someone has mastered !i 1uan, he can naturally perform the .iger orm. &hat3s the reason; .he martial arts circle is full of legends. , had a friend named "in 5ong-lin (ho (as born (ith a croo-ed spine. 2adn3t seen him for a fe( years, , happened to run into him one day and found out that his spine (as straightened. 2e said an old guy from the XinAian province

had cured him, (hich till this day , have never figured out ho( it (as possible. Bnother legend (as the rumored s-ill called 8Cruption from the Mouth9. ,n the old days it (as a tradition for martial artists to visit other martial artists all over the country once they had graduated. .hey loo-ed for (hoever (as the famous, they (al-ed in and they fight. Learned a technique or t(o if they lostD (al-ed out if they (on. .here (as this strong guy going to test out an old man. .he old man said, 8'an you tell , am too old; , am not interested in competition any more.9 0ut the younger fello( insisted on an exchange. Seeing someone (as carrying t(o barrels of (ater passing by, the old guy said, 8@-ay, o-ay. 0ut you have to let me drin- some (ater.9 So he stopped the (ater carrier. .he bully young guy couldn3t believe his eyes, for the old man dran- a (hole barrel of (ater. 0efore the young guy realiEed (hat (as going on, the old man suddenly opened his mouth, and the surging out (ater stream -noc-ed the young guy on the ground. , had never seen Xingyi people playing this stuffD , thought it (as merely a legend. .hen one time , (ent to an opera and (atched the famous opera singer Fuo <ue-lou demonstrating this s-ill on the stage. ,n the bac- of the stage he also performed this tric-, a mouthful of (ater can be eAected to a long distance. ,f you (ere to stand next to him and have him spit the (ater at you, you (ould be li-e being punched (ith a small fist. , (as an opera fan (hen , (as young, since then , haven3t been inside an opera house for some thirty to forty years. 2itting somebody (ith electricity is beyond my ability, so you cannot use me as the proof. 0ut during martial art practice one must have 8the feeling of electricity9, (hich is sensitivity. @nce Shang <un-xiang and 'hang <an-hua G4H tried out each other, Shang (as the one (ho started it. Master Shang (as short and carrying a big belly. 2e (ent to visit 'hang a *e( <ear. Sitting behind a large table, he secretly bumped the table (ith his belly. "ust (hen his force (as about to move the table, 'hang3s hand had landed on the table. Bfter(ards these t(o (ent into the courtyard to try out each other. Some said, 8'hang <an-hua has mystical po(er9, praising 'hang3s sensitivity. Sensitivity is the -ey in bringing out a number of :ungfu, or s-ills. .herefore the opening of Xingyi is the 8opening9 of sensitivity. .he actual form goes li-e this+ your t(o hands raise up(ard as if they are holding t(o bo(ls of (ater, turning slightly (hile passing your eye bo(s level, they reach the top of your head. 0e careful not to spill the imaginary (ater. .hat caution leads to your sensitivity. @nce reaching the top, your hands came do(n li-e the receding tide, moving in front of your eye bo(s, you get the sensation of compressing air. .he air is a big sponge - you have to squeeEe the (ater out of it. <ou -eep pressing until your hands reaching your thigh. Bt this point you have to bend your -nees and close your -ua )the inside of your thigh/, your (hole body squats do(n. Bs you are squatting do(n, your hands lift and pull to(ards your (aist. <ou body is tied up in a bundle, so are your hands, as if they are to squeeEe and t(ist something, all five fingers are closed up together to form a fist. *ote 4+ 'hang <an-hua (as the famous 0agua master.

Bs soon as the first movement begins, your (hole body becomes sensitive. Lifting up your t(o arms, your mind is crispy clearD li-e the standing up mane in the bac- of a (ild animal6s head, your nec- goes into an alert state. 0ending your -nees and squatting do(n, it charges you (ith energyD li-e the extending tail of a (ild animal (hen it loc-s his Aa(s onto the target, your tail bone goes into an alert state. 2uman6s eyes are located at the front of the head, people loo- at things in front of them, nobody6s too slo( for (hat6s happening in front - only (hen you become sensitive to (hat6s behind you can be faster than everybody else. Xingyi6s first movement offers many benefits, learning Aust this movement alone (ill give you plenty of practice material. ollo(ing the first movement you go into !i, 0eng, Zhuan, !ao and 2eng, you should carry this sensitivity (ith you. .he 2unyuan Stance also requires your sensitivity. ,ts posture loo-s li-e this+ you put your t(o arms in front of you as if they are suspended in air (ith Aust a hint of hugging something, your left and right palms are facing your left and right chest respectively. @ther(ise you do (hatever is natural for you and don6t (orry about other requirements. .he -ey to the 2unyuan Stance is in the eyes, your eyes have to loo- up. .he first thing about martial arts training is the training of your eyes, (ith the eyes it comes the the spirit, Shen, therefore the first thing about martial arts training is also the training of your spirit. Say you climb to the top of a mountain, you can be so tired that you are about to collapse. 0ut as soon as you loo- into the distance your body is lighten up again. .hat is exactly the idea behind 2unyuan Stance. .here3s a saying, 8.he hearts have channels to communicate (ith one another9. .he spirit in your eyes is that channel. <ou may stand for a long time to exercise your tendons and bones, but that only strengthen your tendons and bones I you haven3t done much standing yet. .he relationship bet(een the spirit of the eyes and the body is (hat you have to taste in a 2unyuan stance. @nly (hen that channel is opened there is life. &hen (inter is retreating and spring is coming bac-, life is returning to the soil, you can smell its fragrance. 2olding a handful of soil, you can see every particle being alive. Same for standing, you have to feel the life in you. &hen you stand in the 2unyuan posture, your body has to be led by your eyes, itself cannot have any artificial movement. Since the martial arts is an experimental science, , only (ish to discuss 2unyuan stance (ith these sentences. @n the other hand, the .(enty- our =equirements analyEe your body in great detail. .he .(enty- our =equirements are rules for every part of the body, from head to toes, they are every(here in every frame(or-. Since it3s impossible to meet all t(enty-four requirements completely in the beginning, in actual teaching the adAustments are made one at a time - eventually one has to meet all requirements at any given time. <ou may (or- on the adAustments in sessions, a fe( seconds or a fe( minutes at a time, or you may -eep on standing li-e the (ay you do the 2unyuan stance. .he older generations generally preferred to do them in sessions, for example, Li 'un-yi3s s-illsdidn3t come from prolong standing.

,f your throat hurts after your exercise, you haven3t meet the 8tongue pushing up(ard9 requirement. &hen your tongue is not touching the roof of your mouth, you loose energy as you practice, of course you (ill have a throat problem. B sore throat is still a small problem in comparison, Master Shang said, 8<ou3ve got to (atch over the young beginners, or they may get a croo-ed bac-.9 Sports in general mostly (or- on your four limbs, (hereas martial arts also (or- on your spine. ,f your don3t meet the .(enty- our =equirements, your posture (ill be croo-ed no matter (hat form you do. Bs time goes on, your spine (ill suffer. &hile (or-ing on forms you get a lot of movement, (hereas in standing you hold on to a posture, (here it3s easy to inAure your tendons and bones, therefore you need to -no( about the .(enty- our =equirements to protect yourself. &hen you are meeting the .(enty- our =equirements, you feel light and floating. 5on3t loo- for forces and play (ith "ings (hen you are standing. Bs you stand there and time is passing by, your body may start to play (ith the forces, you shall learn to relax and let it go. Xingyi is an art that thrives on relaxation but fro(ns upon tightness. Sensitivity is her first priority - once you use forces you slo( do(n your o(n progress. Bs a matter of fact, only (hen you can feel light and (eightless you are using your forces correctly. .o empty your (hole body is to bring your (hole body alive. *ot only you have to meet the .(enty- our =equirements (hile you are standing, you have to follo( them (hen you speed up. .hey have to be in your movements. .he transition from static postures to movements is a maAor barrier - therefore you need to learn the art of 7moving in one centimeter7. !utting the .(enty- our =equirements into your form is not the same as setting up sho(y postures that have no meaning. @nce your posture is meeting the requirements, it has to become alive - something is to be born from the structure. Merely having an exact posture in terms of dimension is not enoughD your static posture has to have a desire to move. or example, if your posture is a tiger pouncing for(ard, it has to be ready to pouncing for(ard, and also be ready to bouncing bac-(ard. <our posture has to compress this bacand forth movement (ithin one centimeter. &hen you set up a posture, you seem to be stationary. Bctually the bones and tendons are pushing and pulling each other (hen you 7Aump7 in this one centimeter. B mountain valley has echoesD a human body generates returning forces. ,f you Aump for(ard one centermeter, you (ill be bounced bac- one centimeter. &hen you ta-e advantage of the returning forces, your Fang "ing, a po(er (ith the quality of steel (ill come naturally. .he most painful part of standing is (hen the bones and tendons are tired. @nce you learn this technique, ho(ever, your t(enty minutes of standing is as fun as t(enty minutes of doing the form. Soon you (ill learn to enAoy standing. ,f you don3t follo( the .(enty our =equirements you (ill never find the -ey to martial artsD if you don3t study the form, you (on3t get to a high level. .he ive Clements form is a summary of a fe( hundred years of practice - it3s your lose if you don3t experience it firsthand. &hen you realiEe the .iger !ouncing is springing for(ard (ith a bouncing bac-(ard force, your feet (ill be able to send you for(ard as (ell as bac-(ards, because no( you have understood the (or-ing of the .iger !ouncing.

Seeing , became a disciple of Master Shang, my teacher .ang &ei-lu informed me, 8<our teacher Shang is very street smart, he pays attention to details. So be a good student.9 Master Shang (as (ise, he -ne( ho( to express his feelings subtly. ,f he didn3t li-e something, he (ouldn3t say it, instead his face turned solemn and his student (ould get the hint. 2is solemn expression (ould come at the right place and at the right time, it (asn3t Aust for frightening people. 2e (as other(ise easy going, yet , (as often afraid of spea-ing in front of him. Master Shang3s study (as into details, because he had grasped the reason behind every form and frame(or- clearly, his understanding (ent very deep. .he form taught by Master Shang (as about the same as Master .ang3s, not much difference there. 2is understanding on the reason behind the moves (as sometimes different. @nce you have learned !i-quan you (ill -no( ho( to do .iger !ouncing, because a .iger !ouncing is the same as a !i-quan done (ith t(o hands. !i-quan has one hand pouncing for(ard (ith another hand rounding up the bac-, (hereas .iger !ouncing has t(o hands pouncing for(ard and t(o hands rounding up the bac-. &hen you are learning ho( to move 8in one centimeter9, you (ill find .iger !ouncing to be easier, (hereas !i-quan to be slightly harder. .herefore you can also claim+ once learning .iger !ouncing, !i-quan (ill come naturally. !racticing the 8one centimeter9 move is also a mental study. >sing this technique, you can figure out the reason behind all the movements one by one. Master Shang earned his reputation (hile he (as alive and -ept it after he passed a(ay. 2o(ever, after Xue 5ian (as gone, people voided tal-ing about him. ,3ve never been to his house. &hen , (as learning from him , (ent to his martial arts school, as soon as , heard a couple of interesting points, , got hoo- right a(ay and immediately loo-ed for a place (ithout people to practice. 0ac- then he used to stay over night in his martial arts school, (hich (as located inside 2eibei !ar-. Bs long as the lights (ere still on in the school, the gangers (ho used to hang out in the par- (ould not dare to do anything. Xue 5ian is no god, but he did secure the safety of that area.