On Internal Martial Arts

Tai Ji, Ba Gua, Xing Yi … not to see the physical movements, but the internal quality and achievements. This can only be seen by those who have the experience and it makes up 7/10 of the Art. What can be seen by outsiders is only 3/10 of the Art.

Many are teaching Tai Ji as physical movement: benefit, yes, but very limited and shallow. This cannot maintain the interest long. It produces half-boiled members after they leave the class with a short period of study. It is usually very harmful to this Art if they are taught by the quick, immediately done, commercial instruction because it is not the Chinese Internal Martial Art at all to my knowing.

In the Internal Martial Arts movements start from the roots not the ends. “Form” to the internal school is moving very slowly, when they seem static they are given names as forms. “Movement” to the internal school has direction but with very little visual sign. The internal is almost unseen, it is moving such as blood and qi. It is flowing all the time, but one cannot see it unless one has the gong-fu: knowing how to see and where to see.

What is Wu Shu?

What is Wu Shu?

                                Tai Ji Quan?

                                                      Chinese Calisthenics?

Self-Defence? Kung Fu? Martial arts?

Chen Kang wrote:

“ A time-honoured cultural legacy of the Chinese people, Wu Shu has been considerably enriched and popularized in recent years. The first Wu Shu skills in ancient times included a kind of boxing and the use of cudgels, spears and other weapons. Such skills have in due course developed into a form of physical fitness and cultivating will power. It has also become an art form because of the beauty of its varied postures and movements.

“Take Tai Ji Quan known for its perfect harmony of movement, balancing forcefulness and suppleness, well-balanced and graceful movement that fuse into a flowing continuity. Its routine carefully designed to exercise all parts of the body … It is helpful for improving the health of people suffering from chronic ailments, of old folk, and of people with weak constitutions. It has now been adopted for use by hospitals and sanatoriums.”

Recently, I have been frequently asked about the difference between Kung Fu and Wu Shu.

Wu Shu has nothing whatsoever to do with the uncanny magical power of Kung Fu as the films depict, nor has it any link with the “Kung Fu” generally taught in the West, which is a sort of free-for-all street-fighting style! 

Sparring in Wu Shu is only demonstrating the techniques, we treat it as a sport. (People criticize this, and say it is “wishy-washy”. What is not wishy-washy? Violence? Really killing?) One may learn Wu Shu and reach its highest proficiency without doing any sparring at all.

Those who exploit Wu Shu have used all sorts of publicity full of self-gratifying, boasting, and even lying in order to serve their own ends, and have done much harm to Wu Shu. These people have no love, genuine interest or appreciation of Wu Shu, only using it and abusing it to gain notice from the public, especially those who have a sincere interest in this art.

My teaching of Wu Shu is an act of Sharing, an act of promoting East-West Cultural Exchange. Especially Tai Ji with its rich therapeutic nature, I think, is very much in need. If it is properly introduced, a great service will be given to the public.

We all know no mastership of any kind of Art can be obtained within a short period of time. Can you become a pianist overnight? Or a ballerina after a few lessons?

I know some people, after having visited the Orient for a few weeks or months, return to the West and claim to be the Master of such and such. Meanwhile I recall, many years ago, once after I watched an excellent Wu Shu demonstration, I made a remark to the artist about his unsurpassed proficiency in the Art. He modestly admitted his many years of practice but said, “I’m only a beginner of this Great Art-Treasure”. Was this merely Chinese etiquette? Or was the Truth spoken?

On learning from books

What we understand by observation is only outward form and colour, name and sound (or image in one’s memory) and we think that we have got it (Dao or anything else). Form, colour, name and sound, or mental images, don’t reach to reality. That is why – “ he who knows, does not say; he who says, does not know”. So by reading and copying the photo image, or video moving image, to learn Nei Jia Wu Shu (near Dao) is a farce … yet a person as I am, not able to write in any language, is qualified to convey this truth!

A learned person and a learning person means two different persons to me (this is the way I understand the English language - I create my own way of understanding!)

I recall: with my eyes closed I can visualize my teacher sitting there with a pipe, and watching me practicing. He sometimes stood up and gave me a push and shake, or twist, or anything, to correct me. He knew if he would explain, perhaps I couldn’t know, because of our age difference. Now it took me a long time before I knew where my leg was, even though he often praised me that I had a strong back and legs! Yet his teaching is still correcting me.

I’m afraid if we try to learn from words or video images, many of them will contradict one another and make confusing images in the learner’s mind – the more the better ... confusion! The modern world might call me narrow minded and limited, but with what written records we have, unless one has the basic knowledge and understanding, plus the technique and knowledge of research, the written records will cause disaster instead of blessing to the Art.