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