Sword Polisher's Record. Adam Hsu

kung-fu’s whole-body usage techniques.

      This kind of scientific examination should also be applied to the study of kung-fu. You can avoid shedding tears and sweating blood in an all-out journey to a martial arts dead end by discovering the kung-fu DNA, the building blocks that make up authentic kung-fu. Following are some of the core kung-fu building blocks derived from my investigations and experience. The list is by no means complete, and only a beginning attempt to map out a complete DNA of traditional kung-fu.

      Horse stance

      Although the horse stance is used in many non-Chinese systems, kung-fu’s needs are different from other martial arts. Stance training builds a very strong foundation, which is absolutely essential to perform kung-fu’s whole-body usage techniques. In the kung-fu horse stance, the practitioner’s toes must point straight ahead, feet parallel, and knees angled slightly inward. While it is incorrect to point the knees out, the thighs must stay open creating a rounded, not sharp, angle at the groin. The buttocks should not protrude or be lower than the knees.

      All empty-leg stances are potential kicks, knee strikes, and sweeps.

      Empty-leg stance

      With the empty-leg stance, all weight is on the supporting leg, and none on the front leg. All empty-leg stances are potential kicks, knee strikes, and leg sweeps. The empty leg may also be called upon to move forward, backward, to the side, or into a twisting step at an instant without the body first having to shift its weight distribution. In kung-fu’s empty stance, the front leg must be fully available for these uses.

      Kicks do not use the arms for balance

      During a kick, the arms are either performing other techniques or in a ready position, prepared to initiate an appropriate response to the opponent’s movements. In kung-fu, the relationship between legs and arms is that of equal partners in attack and defense, not subordinates to a principle worker. Using the arms to balance the body during kicks is a natural tendency, but in terms of kung-fu usage it is untrained and immature technique.

      The entire body finishes moving at the same time

      There are two common ways the timing of movements lacks full coordination. Part of the body finishes its movement while other parts are still traveling to completion, or the lower body settles into a stance and remains inert while the upper body follows with several attack and defense techniques. In kung-fu, the entire body, not just the arms, must work as one unit. Power issuing depends on unbroken, coordinated movement throughout the entire body. In addition, every part of the body must keep moving at all times to sustain the momentum of a usage technique.

      Punch from the spine

      Punches must originate from the spine, not the shoulders. The kung-fu practitioner’s two arms become a single coordinated unit, beginning with the fingers of one hand, traveling up the arm, through the shoulders, across the upper back, and down to the fingertips of the second hand. When one arm extends, the other one compliments the movement like parts of a pulley system.

      Both fists hit the same target

      As the first fist withdraws after punching to make way for an attack from the other fist, the second hits exactly the same spot, replacing the first. Opponents always try to open up leaks and penetrate a practitioner’s guard. Punches that hit the target side-by-side give the opponent an open channel to invade into the practitioner’s space.

      Split attention

      The kung-fu practitioner must be able to manage different areas of the body simultaneously, rather than focusing on a sing/e area or body part.

      The kung-fu practitioner must be able to manage different areas of the body simultaneously rather than focusing on a single area or body part. Awareness must extend beyond arms and legs to include the entire body. In addition, because our attention quite naturally tends to fixate on what we can see or what we have targeted (such as an opponent), we must train ourselves to pay attention to what is around us at all times. For example, kung-fu training requires positioning an arm behind the body in a specific position. A fist extended out behind the shoulder must stay at ear level, and a hooked hand must be held out behind the back at a 45-degree angle. This training isn’t easy, but if you can manage the space behind, then other directions and angles are also better controlled.

      Joints are never locked

      The joints must never be locked.

      Locking the joints, such as the elbows or knees, is damaging to both physical health and martial art. From a health standpoint, joint locking can lead to stiffness and strains as well as more serious injuries. From the standpoint of usage, a locked joint pushes movements to their dead end, killing any potential for last minute changes in the movement. As a result, the rhythm and fluency within a sequence of movements is destroyed.

      Never hyperextend the shoulders and back

      In kung-fu, the shoulders should be in line with the chest, never pulled to the rear with the back arched and chest pushed out. Any martial art requires the practitioner to have an on-guard for protection. The arms should function as double doors, remaining closed to guard the chest. Over-stretched shoulders force the gate open, causing unnecessary and meaningless exposure to attack. Exaggerated and boldly stated postures also violate Chinese aesthetics, which finds beauty in restraint.

      Breath through the nose

      Except for yells, the mouth should stay shut. Keep the teeth together and touch the tongue to the roof of the mouth, placed behind the front teeth. Since taking air through the mouth usually results in short breaths, an open mouth encourages shallow breathing into the chest, panting, and gasping for air. Basic kung-fu breathing exercises train the practitioner to inhale and exhale long, deep breaths through the nose because this prevents or at least delays the onset of gasping and hyperventilation. Practically speaking, the practitioner can last longer without running out of oxygen.

      Qi is held in the dantian

      Training is by nature primarily external as the student learns the basics; internal elements are layered into the training as the student progresses to higher levels.

      The most obvious and common error is holding qi (energy circulating in the body) in the upper torso, forcing the chest to become tense and the shoulders to elevate too high. In the upper levels of traditional kung-fu, even when the practitioner sends the qi to other areas of the body, the dantian (place in the lower abdomen) is never totally emptied. Any of China’s traditional body disciplines— health exercises, neigong, Beijing opera, folk dance, acrobatics, kung-fu—always require the qi to sink, never rise up and center in the chest because to do so will encourage short, shallow breathing and ultimately damage health.

      Internal and external must go together

      All kung-fu styles require both internal and external training if the practitioner is to reach the higher levels. One without the other is incomplete. This is true whether the styles are labeled hard, soft, external, or internal. At the outset, training is by nature primarily external as the student learns the basics; internal aspects of training are layered into the training as the student progresses to higher levels.

      No preparatory motions

      Techniques must be executed without special set up, such as running to build momentum for a leap or extra steps to help the delivery of a tornado kick. Every extra movement or preparation takes time, and a split second could mean the difference between success and failure in a fighting situation. To take advantage of a leak in an opponent’s guard, the practitioner must be able to attack from wherever the arm is positioned without preparatory motions. For example, drawing back the arm after a punch to gain distance for a second technique violates the kung-fu principles. The correct method involves the entire torso, using a powerful twist at the spine to send out the shoulder, elbow, and palm or fist to deliver the second blow. Forms that include running sequences to boost the practitioner’s leaps are more performance