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