Chinese Internal Boxing. Robert W. Smith

TRAINING

      8. The Basics 113

      The Main Principles 113

      The Twelve Basic Principles 115

      The Ten Prohibitions 116

      "Internally Bound, Externally Stretched" 116

      The Nine Palaces 121

      Other Principles 124

      9. Walking the Circle 127

      The Concept of the Circle 127

      The Eight Major Palm Shapes 130

      The Eight Changes 132

      • Single Change of Palm 132

      • Double Change of Palm 136

      • Hawk Soars Up to Heaven 141

      • Yellow Dragon Rolls Over 144

      • White Snake Sticks Out Tongue 146

      • Giant Roc Spreads Wings 150

      • White Monkey Presents a Peach 155

      • Whirlwind Palms 157

      Conclusion 167

      Index 169

      Preface

We wrote this book believing that there are many people who are interested in the Chinese internal martial arts of Hsing-i (pronounced "shing-ee") and Pa-kua (pronounced "ba-gwa") as they were traditionally taught on the mainland.* Such people understand that these arts are meditative forms of health and body management from which self defense spills over, rather than an aggressive combat form, of which the world already has too many. As a system of self defense, however, it is harshly effective.

      Besides training for several years in Taiwan under the Hsing-i and Pa-kua masters Hung I-hsiang and his brother Hung I-mien, Mr. Smith was also fortunate enough to be allowed to study under Wang Shu-chin, Kuo Feng-ch'ih, Yuan Tao, and other masters. His training path is very clearly outlined in his Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods (Tokyo, 1974) and other books. Some twenty years later, Mr. Pittman, one of Mr. Smith's senior students, went to Taiwan seeking the old masters, but found that many had died. In Taipei, however, be came across a still hardy Hung I-mien, who invited him to share his home as a live-in student. After absorbing Hung's Hsing-i and Pa-kua, he traveled south to Taichung to practice with the sons of the late Ch'en P'an-ling— Yuan-ch'ao and Yun-ch'ing—and the senior students of the late Wang Shu-chin.

      From these experiences, the basic forms of these two master teachers as taught to the authors were assimilated and consolidated. This is the first time that they have been taught to the West in such minute detail. We hope that Western students will benefit from this clear exposition of teachings that were once only passed on to initiates deemed worthy of learning the styles and being entrusted with their transmission.

      The Hsing-i forms in this book are generally those of Ch'en P'an-ling as elaborated in his Chung-hua kuo-shu chiao-ts'ai ch'uan-chi [The Complete Instructional Guide to Chinese Martial Arts] (Taipei, 1978). The Pa-kua forms given in this book are essentially those of Wang Shu-chin as elaborated in his Pa-kua lien-huan chang [Pa-kua Linked Palm] (Taipei, 1978; privately published). Also used as sources were the two books considered to be the best ever written on the art: Sun Lu-tang's classic Pa-kua ch'uan hsueh [A Study of Pa-kua Boxing] (Peking, 1916) and Huang Po-nien's Lung-hsing pa-kua chang [Dragon-Style Pa-kua Palm] (Shanghai, 1936). These are the orthodox, traditional methods long practiced on the mainland and in Taiwan—the authentic forms from which most other versions derive. They are being published here so that students can learn the real forms as opposed to the Americanized offshoots. These forms are designed to refine your nature, reform your temperament, and return you to your original self.

      But it is a rash reader who thinks that by simply buying this book, he or she will mysteriously be enabled to absorb the teachings it contains. To learn any of the three internal arts—Tai-chi, Hsing-i, or Pa-kua—requires commitment, not mere involvement. Being involved or committed is like ham and eggs: the chicken is involved but the pig is committed! This is not a coffee-table book—it should be sweat over and on. We have labored over its presentation, carefully blending the pictorial with the textual, so that the student can learn without going astray. But our efforts are in vain if the student does not practice. He or she must practice assiduously for a long time—"The years see what the day will never know"—if progress is to come. Confucius once said that if he gave a student one corner of a handkerchief, it was up to the student to find the other three corners. This book is but one corner; your practice will help you find the other three.

      Footnote

* In this book, Chinese terms are transliterated with the Wade-Giles system, except where the word is already widely used with a different spelling, as, for instance, "Peking," "Nanking," etc.

      Acknowledgments

      The writing of this book was eased by the help and support of several friends and colleagues: John Lang, who diligently worked at every level of its preparation; James Klebau, a true professional, who caught the inner spirit of the forms in his fine photographs; Pat Kenny, who helped with the graphics; Bob Arief, A1 Carson, Jay Falleson, Steve Goodson, and Irene Pittman, who proofread and corrected the manuscript; Y. W. Chang, Ann Carruthers, Pat McGowan, Chris Bates, Richard Cress, Danny Emerick, and Ben Lo, who acted as sounding-boards; Anne Pavay and Alice Smith, who patiently typed the manuscript; Stephen Comee, who studies under Wang Shu-chin's successor and who worked hard as the editor and designer of this book; the Charles E. Tuttle Company, which agreed to publish this book; and all the masters and teachers of the Chinese internal martial arts who have given their time and instruction—without their generosity we would never have been able to study these arts. To all of these and to others who helped bring this project to fruition, the authors gratefully bow in deep thanks.

      Robert W. Smith

       Allen Pittman

       Flat Rock, NC

PART ONE

Introduction to Hsing-i Boxing

      The theory of Hsing-i is simple. The aim is to divest ourselves of what we acquire after birth and return to the origin (the oneness) through the Five Fists and the Twelve Animal Styles. All of these derive from one style. Keeping the mind calm and at the tan-t'ien (below the navel), we will come to the one.

      —Master Liu Hsiao-Ian

      1

       What Is Hsing-i?

      NAME AND THING

      The name of this style of Chinese boxing, hsing-i ch'uan, literally means "the kind of boxing (ch'uan) in which the forms (hsing) are created by the mind (i)." In this "mind-formed list," the mind predominates over mere physicality and, harmoniously blending thought and action, expresses itself in moving forms and postures dating back some 400 years.

      Hsing-i is one of the three traditional Chinese forms of internal boxing, the other two being T'ai-chi ("tie-jee") and Pa-kua ("bah-gwah").¹ Each of the three internal arts is a distinct style of boxing, yet each shares with the others the fact that it is essentially a form of moving meditation. Boxing is something of a misnomer. Each of the internal arts is actually a self-contained and complete system of exercise that is permeated with functions combining grappling and striking, and that, through correct practice, is seen to be a superior system