The Book!

Well, I have finally begun writing the long awaited manual (1'st) to the Black Tiger Xinyiquan kung fu style. Here is the cover still in design:

I'm not finished with it of course and I still have some things to add. This book will be unique in that it actually will show you the techniques of power development and theory of internal power that is absent from almost all XYQ books claiming to do just that. I am going to self publish it. I should be finished with it shortly after the start of the year.

The best and the worst Xingyiquan books I have ever read.

Over the years, I've tried to get my hands on nearly every Xingyiquan book that has ever been published. I don't use them for training, that's impossible. I really like collecting them and taking note of the various differences in the styles and how they are structured. I'm a Shanxi practitioner and teacher. I know a great deal about Shanxi and Hebei styles. I know less about Honan and other obscure styles such as Ling, Che, etc.
I've read nearly every book I could get my hands on and have owned most. Some have evaded me. There are multitudes of Chinese titles I've never seen but would love to own.

Well here it is  - the best of the best and the worst of the worst.

This book was written by Douglas Hsieh and according to Amazon.com was published around 1990. I believe it is much older than that and the 1990 date must be a re-edition. What really stands out about this book is the very rich history of Xingyichuan and how it is chronicled by the author. The pictures are in framed action and as such a few crucial nuances are dropped here and there but overall it does a very good job of covering the main aspetcs of the style, its history, and traditions. In it the 5 elements, linking form, an shen pao, and each of the 12 animls are covered in detail. There is also a bit of practical application but not a whole lot. In all this one stands out as the best book I 've ever read on Xingyiquan. I think it's out of print, but I'm sure you can find a copy at some online used book stores. I highly recommend it.

Back in the day when I first began studying kung fu, I bought this book from Paladin Press for a whopping $50.00! (I picked up the Hsieh book at a used bookstore for about $6.00). I guess I got caught up in all the hype. It was advertiesed "Rob Whitewood strips away all the secrecy and presents a hard core analysis that will make Hsing-i work for you - gauranteed!" Well, I'm really interested in what exactly that gaurantee was because I want my $50.00 back! This has to be the worst book on Xingyiquan I have ever read. It presents nothing new as was promised in the review and Whitewood's posture is so far off that any half assed grappler would have him for lunch. His stance is wrong and his hand position in pichuan puts stress on the forearm muscles to the point that any technique performed would have no power, at least not enough to inflict damage. I also noticed that he arches his lower back in santi - a big no no. The book's cover is pleasing to the eye and it certainly is designed to be inviting. Just past the first page one can readily see the low production qualities as it looks like a paste it job not beyond the abilities of most 6th graders. Also as I recall the font was rather large and more appropriate reading for a grandmother without her glasses than anyone else. To aspiring readers I would suggest trying to find this one at a REALLY discounted reseller or simply cough up the bucks for Paladin's other title "How to be a Ninja" by Ahsida Kim as it will probably have more useful information than this book (sarcasm intended).

The Myth and Misunderstanding of "Relaxed Posture"

One of the great hindrances to gaining an understanding of the mechanics and methodology of Asian martial arts lies in the inabilty of certain concepts to be translated accurately into our native languages. This is a real issue with internal styles such as Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, and Taijiquan. All one has to do is pick up a book written by a Chinese author and begin reading to discover how perplexing it all can be. For example the word translated as "smear" brings to mind someone applying a thick layer of peanut butter to a piece of toast rather than pushing your opponents head toward the floor. As well "sinking" brings to mind drowning in river rather than lowering and  adjusting your weight to gain better balance and rooting. This hasn't been helped by most western teachers who in trying to accurately convey abstract concepts often inadvertantly impart greater confusion.
The worst example I know of concerns the foundation of the internal styles - relaxed posture. I recently watched an instructional demo (instruction is kind of a bad term as it's not very easy to learn any martial art effectively without a teacher) in which the demonstrator was explaining to the viewers that the body must be "completely relaxed" in order for the techniques to work and for the chi to flow.
This is kind of misleading. He is not entirely wrong but at the same time his wording is deceptive. I would challenge anyone to try to achieve a state of "total relaxation". The only time I can remember experiencing anyone exhibiting this is when I once tried in peril to lift a comatose friend off the floor to carry her to a car that would take her to the hospital. It wasn't an easy endeavor let me assure you. No muscular structures were functioning and she was dead weight.
The closest thing I have experienced to this is when I laid flat in a swimming pool and free floated. But even then there was stress in various joints so as to keep my body in the position in which I could maintain bouyancy.
The simple truth is that there is no way you can be "completely relaxed" as some of those demonstrating claim.
What a practitioner of the internal martial arts must achieve is the most relaxation in the body while allowing enough stress and tension to maintain posture and exert the force required to execute whatever techinique is called upon. Let's face it, if you are standing there is stress in your body. If not you would collapse into a lump on the floor and probably fracture a few bones in the process. Holding your head up, lifitng your arm, even wiggling your toes all require muscular tension. If you totally go "jelly" and try to execute forms and techniques your arms and legs will flail in an incontrolled fashion and you'll exert more force and effort just getting back to where you belong with repect to posture. For the Shanxi practitioner, at the moment of impact the body's musculature hardens so as to convey the power from the ground up through the waist to the point of impact. This happens in a split second as any longer would begin to sap the body of needed energy.
Xingyiquan translated means "form mind fist method", the fist actually denoting any surface of the body used to strike - not limited to the hands. When a person first begins practicing an internal style they will be tense and rigid as the movements are unfamiliar. As the person repeats the forms, they are engraved in the mind and the person can execute the movements with less conscious tought. This allows for the relaxation of the body to the point that the only stress present is that which is keeping the body stable and in correct form. By the way this isn't accomplished overnight and it can take the greater part of a lifetime to achieve an ideal state of relaxation.

Hebei vs Shanxi

To the people who have or are currently practicing internal martial arts, specifially Xingyiquan, much of this information will be redundant. I have always classified martial arts according to the following hiearchy: system - style - techniques. A system therefore could contain numerous styles or be a conglomeration of many different apects of styles. A style is a distinct martial art within a system and the individual techniques are categorized within the style (striking, kicking, iron palm, shuai jiao). I consider Xingyiquan a super system comprised of three main subsystems - Shanxi, Hebei, and Honan. Honan or Hunan as it is sometimes called is arguably the oldest and least derived due to the fact that it wasn't even shared with the public until recent history. Hebei style is the most derived while its sister Shanxi  is a little lower on the evolutionary ladder. The reason I classify each as systems of a larger supersystem is that there are numerous individual styles that are very distinct from each other. The reason for this is that Xingyiquan is a highly personalized style and nearly every indivudual who masters it will innevitably make changes according to their understanding, individual execution, and physical makeup.
I practice Shanxi style xingyiquan. Shanxi is best characterized as  more "external" or simply stated uses more muscular effort than Hebei whose movements can be likened to Taiji practice. The movements of Shanxi are also a bit more flambouyant than Hebei giving it an old school Shaolin flare. Both Shanxi and Hebei have 5 fists, twelve animals, a 5 element linking form, and an An Shen Pao - two man practice routine.
 Hebei is probably the best known and most practiced of the three due to the fact that its techniques were greatly publicized by Sun Lu Tang who left a thorough literary review of the style. The Shanxi practitioner will exhibit flowing movements with burts of incredible speed near the moment of impact. His counterpart, the Hebei practitioner will perform the movements in a slow and steady manner much as would a Taiji performer. The Hebei stylist will concentrate on a flowing execution and his movements will largely be confined or less remarkable than a Shanxi practitioner's.

What is the difference between the two? Not much really. One can readily see the combat application of Shanxi but might be perplexed at how Hebei could be beneficial in a fight due to its rythmic and soft nature. When its time to fight there will be little difference between the two stylists other than choice of techniques and execution. The blows will be sharp, quick and devastating.

In comparing the similarities and differences between the styles one can see a remarkable example of how the old addage "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is true. The difference between the two lies in the training and practice. Both Shanxi and Hebei practitioners can hit hard and execute movements at breathtaking speed with accuracy. The Shanxi practitioner merely practices in the manner most similar to the real time execution of the moves. That is not to say that Shanxi is superior to Hebei. It's not. It's merely another method of arriving at the same place as would a Hebei student. The Hebei student develops soft power by thoroughly relaxing the tendons and muscles as one would when practicing Taiji. The continuous soft practice strengthens the body and develops awesome power. Shanxi practitioners develop the same power by the isometric tension and release of their muscles. Both practitioners must test their strikes on heavy bags and in the manner that would be expected in a real fight. It would do no good for the Hebei practitioner to strike an adversary with a butterfly hit.

The Xingyi push!

Anyone who has spent time watching DVD or VCD Xinyiquan demonstrations has seen it - the dreaded "Xingyi push". It occurs when an atacker comes too close to a Xinyi practioner and gets pushed violently backward. It is so prevalent that to the novice or uninitiated it might appear that it is the only technique in the style. Anyone who has performed this feat (meaning anyone who has done real Xingyiquan) knows that it is a simple matter of body mechanics that is exacerbated by a skillful off balancing of the opponent (or as the western martial artists used to say "using someone's force/weight against them") resulting in the opponent stumbling or in cases of perfect execution - flying backward. It takes practice and being able to read your opponent's movement to execute it in a manner which doesn't resemble two overweight junior high kids in a shoving match.
There are seemingly endless numbers of sub styles and routines within Xinyiquan and I enjoy watching different teachers and masters demonstrate their unique forms. But one thing that really annoys me is watching a demonstration and when it comes time to see real applications of the movements, it's usually the same - the push. It doesn't matter what attack comes the result is the opponent flying backwards and then regaining his balance. Now, from the perspective of someone who teaches Xingyiquan there are dozens if not more attacks and counters that garner more oohs and ahs from adoring viewers than simply seeing some guy get shoved around for the duration of a demo but interestingly everyone's just gotta do the push. Why is that? I did spend some time pondering this question recently.
First off, I know from experience that Xingyiquan, despite being an internal or soft martial art, is viciously brutal in execution. Many times my students get tagged suffering nosebleeds, overstretched tendons, and brusied ribs. Done full force, it doesn't take much effort to seriously mess someone up. This is one of the things that makes Xingyiquan ideal for the sucker punching agressor or bar fighting situations. It might be a matter of a master simply not wanting to risk hurting a partner while demonstrating a forceful and potentially dangerous technique full speed.
It could also be that the master is a bit lazy (some of them are pretty old) and just don't want to exert themselves much. It is a tricky technique to perform and mastery of it is evidence of many long hours of patient pratice. But to onlookers it can seem very redundant if not downright unremarkable.
Over the years there has been a tremendous misunderstanding about internal martial arts in general due to many factors which include but certainly aren't limited to:
1. Difficulty in Asian masters conveying information to western audiences.
2. Western instructors training in internal martial arts and then falling back on their westernized Karate training to understand or explain them.
3. Outright trickery on the part of Asian masters who wish to keep an aura of magic and mysticism around their styles.
4. The fact that not too long ago in western history practicing a martial art like Karate or Tae kwon do (let alone Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, or Tai chi) was considered rather funky.

Nevertheless there are a few great masters like Zhang Xigui that do actually show how to lay on the Xingyi smackdown but I could probably count them on one hand and still manage to pick a tune on a guitar with the remaining fingers.
Now that wouldn't be so bad in itself but this lack of understanding of the effectiveness of internal styles is what spawns macho talk as when MMA wanabes poke fun at us for doing "goofy animal forms" or people in general would rather take Tae kwon do simply because the instructor looks like he's actually doing something.
And in the end the push is not a great move if you want your attacker finished in a hurry. What innevitably happens is that he will regain his balance and, wary of your awesome pushing power come back in for another try.