A talk about the states of Zhuang Fa

BY practicing “Zhuang Fa” (pile

method), one should go through three
kinds of states and in each state one
should realize and learn something
and acquire its skill. What is called
“state” is one’s actual mental and
physical state while practicing
“Zhuang Fa”. The mental state acts
on the physical state and the physical
state acts on the mental state, so they
interact with each other. At the end of
the Qing dynasty, the great scholar
Mr. Wang Guowei once said: “Every
person who succeeds in his career
should go through three kinds of states”.
The first 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: “Seeking her for a thousand times in the crowd, when
suddenly, as I turned my head; she was there under a flickering
lamplight”.
Practicing Martial arts should also be like this. The first state, from
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. 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 the
limbs expanding, the hands and feet becoming hot and one will
have the feeling as if the body is filled with lead balls. The inside
of the limbs are at ease and quick to get this feeling. Anyway, both
inside and outside should have the feelings of being filled with
lead balls and expanding, so you can consider to have gained
something. Once you have attained this state, you can begin to
learn the skills. The second state, again from a psychological point
of view is called: “Gazing at the skyline at the end of the 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 that the ears are
expanding, the brow and the nose will feel as if there is something
moving 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 Fa”.
At the same time, the feeling in the arms will gradually spread to
buttocks and the lower abdomen. This feeling in the limbs will
grow day by day. When one attains this state, one will feel 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 Fa” and again from a psychological
point of view is 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
Nature 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 the waist and spine
getting the feeling of expanding. This feeling will go through the
anus and the genitalia and one will feel as if the whole body is like
an 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, then as soon as one takes action, one
will feel full of natural wonder and 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 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” 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 of the body. Although each posture can
cultivate inner strength, each posture has its own particular effect
(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 force). According to my
experience, this is quiet suitable, as “Zhuang Fa” is the basic
exercise of Yiquan.

A talk on the four forms

WHEN, through the practice of “Zhuang Fa”, one achieves the

state of “the whole body as a cast”, “the body as being filled with
lead,”, the muscles as one’ and ” the hairs stand out as halberds”,
then we can talk about Martial arts. What are Martial arts? Martial
arts is 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. The dance reproducing these patterns is what
is called the “Health dance” or the “Martial dance”.
During the Sui and Tang dynasty (A.D. 581-907), 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 Muqiao
conjectured and constructed from the figurine dance postures on
the Dunhuang fresco, some moves of the “Health dance”. On an
occasion in 1926, I traveled to Huainan to meet with Mr. Huang
Muqiao and some how got him to teach me the meaning and the
intention behind the “Health 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 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.
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 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 form round and the force
straight”. In practice, one should always set up an imaginary
enemy, storing up 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 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 in order to control the enemy. One should
also have the wonder of hooking, filing, contracting and resisting.
The fingers should not be allowed to get stiff yet all should slightly
curve to store up force: the palms should be concave and the
fingers spread while the fingertips may have the feeling of passing
through 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, rolling, supporting and 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 and closing, treading, pressing, twisting
and never yielding an 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
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 and turn like an axis and thus defeating persisting by
not persisting. The feet should be shifting as 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 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 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 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
without “Jiajie”, the body’s force will not be true. In practice, the
whole body should never loose the feeling 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”. 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 of “full
natural wonder”. The mental acts on the physical (and vice versa),
this is the health preservation meaning of the health dance.
The real skill 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, 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 of the “four 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 and the inner strength of the body. The external force of
the body is fourfold: 1. the gravity of the body, namely, the
gravitational potential energy translated into kinetic energy, this is
called “the contending force with the earth”; 2. the ground
support force and its counterforce, this is what I depict as” about
to push of the ground to fly”; 3. the air resistance, this is what I
call” to echo with the atmosphere”; 4. the opponents force in a
fight, this is what I call” borrowing force”. These forces I call
together “the universal contending force”. The body’s inner
strength, namely, consist of the whole muscle’s pull and stretch in
the state of the “four as”, this is what I call “the perfectly round
contending force”.
The diaphragm power is also a kind of inner body strength, this is
what I 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 say “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
the state of the “four as”. Its embodiment consists of using the
forces 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 potential energy of
the body translates into kinetic force, thus the whole body being
like a wave force is called the “gravitation wave” This kind of
wave is required in combat. At the same time, pulling reversely up
and down produces the longitudinal wave force, which recur to the
round support force of the arms making the longitudinal wave
covertly carry transverse waves, thus you have the dance
movements and postures of “billowing wave”. While doing this,
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 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”. Its embodiment consists of using the forces
of lifting, pressing, stroking, dividing, encircling, opening and
closing. The working of this pattern is the same as “billowing
wave”; you still need to utilize the “gravitation wave” to issue the
forces 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 of lifting,
pressing and stroking by the longitudinal wave and the forces of
dividing, encircling, opening and closing by the traverse wave.
Longitudinal and traverse, high and low, advance and 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” in order to be
effective in the Martial art.
Therefore, in utilizing them, one should have a thorough
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. The wave
mainly needs elasticity in order to blast out force as soon as it
meets something. This is Yiquan’s storing up, springing, shocking
and bursting.
Practicing billowing wave and cruising dragon patterns one should
have the feeling 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
I stick to him and make him feel raise high up in the air. If he goes’
low then I stick to him and make him feel 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

THIS pattern should again be according to the principle of “the

form flexible and the force straight” and still one should not loose
the state of the “four as”. Its embodiment consists of utilizing the
forces of embracing, hacking, boring, thrusting turning, raising,
wrapping and screwing. Every curved part of my body when it
reacts to the opponents touch is used to hinder, or if one part the
opponents body acts on a particular place in order to distort, my
curved part produces a resistance immediately to stop the
distortion with a “spring-force” that discharges immediately. This
burst of force is required in the Martial art and again, this is what I
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”.
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 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 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. 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 are the
result of the changes coming out of this pattern. (see also: drill,
rise, fall and overturn in 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
of the White Crane, as one should still make use of the “spring-
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 of raising, stamping, taking in, or sending
out, but also, one can discharge with the forces 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
Snake escaping suddenly, turning left and right like a sword
flashing. What one calls “the three fists” (rising, drilling and,
wrapping) and “the three pressings” (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
using “elasticity force” in order to be effective in Martial art.
Therefore, one 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 Snake patterns are also exerting
“storing up, springing, shocking and bursting” Practicing White
Crane and Frightening Snake patterns, one should know that the
White Crane can overcome the enemy transversally while
Frightening Snake can nip the enemy 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 transverse, then wrap his force, if lengthways, and then let
his force pass”.
A talk on the philosophical justification of Yiquan

With regard to the philosophical justification of Yiquan, I hesitate

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 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 (mind is force, force is mind). It can also be
said, that force isn’t force. In other words, what creates force to
become force is really spirit and mind. This is 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”.
What one calls Non-action and non-movement is Zhangzhuang
(standing pole) in “Yiquan” and what one calls Action and
movement are Shili (testing force) and Fali (release force). Yiquan
attaches great importance to the practice of Zhanzhuang which
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 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 of before you where born”. The state of not
being born yet is the state of emptiness and 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 reality through negation and exert
themselves in emptiness.
Another Chan saying says:”Without method and without
persisting”. Yiquan 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 Scholar Wang Shouren brought forward the
theory of “Cause of good insight”. Yiquan asserts the theory of
“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.