ZIMEN BOXINGPosted onOctober 29, 2014byPaul BrennanAUTHENTIC ZIMEN BOXINGincluding SECRET RECORDS OF INJURY MEDICINESby Hu Yishengauthorized by the Central Martial Arts Institute[published March, 1933][translation by Paul Brennan, Oct, 2014]This book has been sent to the publishers with a couple of extra verses to start it off:I have written down what I was taught, attentively gathering it all up,but I feel only that the more I look up at his teaching, the higher it goes, and the more I drill into his teaching, the harder it gets.[Lun Yu, 9.11]I have told it as I have heard it,so much have I heard that I dare compare myself to Ananda[Buddhas main disciple]. The arts boundless subtle truths provoke interpretations,and so I have elaborated upon the method, pushed to produce twelve essays.I am blessed by the presence of one of the Eight Chefs, a Wang Kaowho contributed money toward the publishing of the book.(This is in acknowledgement of Wang Jichun, who financed my printing costs.) [The eight chefs were eight wealthy gentleman in the Han Dynasty who put forth money to help others. (The other seven were Du Shang, Zhang Miao, Liu Ru, Hu Muban, Qin Zhou, Fan Xiang, and Wang Zhang.)] written by Hu Yisheng to Yao Huawu of Lanxi [in Zhejiang], first month of winter, 1932CONTENTSPortrait of the authors teacher, Zen Master KexiuBrief Bio of Zen Master KexiuPortrait of the authorReply Letter from the Central Martial Arts InstituteInscription from the Central Martial Arts InstituteInscription from the Zhejiang Martial Arts InstituteInscription by Chu MinyiInscription by Su Jingyou, Assistant Director of the Zhejiang Martial Arts InstituteA Few CommentsPreface by Rao CaorongAuthors PrefacePart OneGeneral Discussion:Secrets of the [Eight Primary] TechniquesTheory of the Eighteen TechniquesSeven-Character VersesStepping Into a Stable PostureSeven-Character Verses About Specific SituationsList of the Eight [Primary] TechniquesList of the Ten [Secondary] TechniquesDrawing & Explanation for TESTINGSENDINGAIDINGSEIZINGPULLINGPUSHINGCROWDINGABSORBINGSTICKINGHOISTINGCURVINGINSERTINGTHROWINGPROPPINGRUBBINGSCATTERINGVANISHINGEJECTINGSong of the Eight Ground-Fighting TechniquesLION SHAKES ITS FURRUKH SPREADS ITS WINGSIRON OX PLOWS THE LANDBUTTERFLY CLOSES ITS WINGSOFFICIAL SLIPS INTO EACH OF HIS SLEEVESTUCK & ROLL TO GAIN GROUNDSLEEPY SHEEP CURLS UP IN THE GRASSSHIVERING CHICKEN WRAPS ITSELF IN DIRTKeys to the Ground-Fighting TechniquesPart TwoEssays Elaborating Upon the Subtleties:Chapter One: Maintaining WillpowerChapter Two: Preserving EssenceChapter Three: Cultivating EnergyChapter Four: Gathering SpiritChapter Five: Taking the Right PathChapter Six: The Eighteen TechniquesChapter Seven: Solidifying Your StanceChapter Eight: Dispelling His ForceChapter Nine: Developing PowerChapter Ten: Lightening the BodyChapter Eleven: Practical ApplicationChapter Twelve: MeditationAppendixSecret Records of Injury Medicines:GuidelinesGeneralized Effects of MedicinesSong of Medicines for the Whole BodyEffective Recipes

Portrait of the authors teacher, Zen Master KexiuBRIEF BIO OF ZEN MASTER KEXIUZen Master Kexiu has the secular surname of Liu. His family line has spent many generations in Nanchang, Jiangxi. During the reign of Emperor Guangxu [1875-1908], he accompanied a certain military man traveling to Yanshan county [about a hundred miles east of Nanchang]. The man then dismissed him and left him there, so he made his living through teaching martial arts. He soon shaved his head, entered the temple at Ehu Peak, and became a monk, later becoming the abbot of the temple. He is almost sixty as of this year [and was therefore born mid-1870s], and he is still as strong and healthy as he ever was. As a boy, he was unusually intelligent and energetic. His fathers friend Shao doted on him and accepted him as his adopted son. When he was nine years old, a certain monk trained him in martial arts. He did not get to finish the training, so foster father Shao, a formal student of Shaolin whose skill was very deep, had him move into his home and taught him personally. Through such guidance, his skill dramatically progressed. When he completed his training, he was only fourteen. People wished to see his skill, inspiring him to compete with local boxing experts. He won again and again, defeating teachers from a dozen schools. His fame thereupon grew to a crescendo. He then roamed all over the country, befriending many virtuous heroes. His foster father taught him further on the art of striking acupoints. The more refined his skill became, the more density his internal power developed. When he arrived in Yanshan, challengers came to visit him, to whom he was always polite, never seeking to boost his reputation through these matches nor boasting of his victories. His body appears lame and weak, and he is not at all grand in stature, but when he sends power to his fingertips, he can make a hole in a wall. His stance is so stable, he calls for several robust men to pull his feet with ropes, but stands proud and immovable. He is also proficient at trauma medicine. Those with broken bones or skin punctures all seek him out for treatment, and they always recover. For this reason, his fame is known also to women and children. respectfully written by Rao Caorong of Ehu

Portrait of the author

FROM THE TEACHINGS OF SUN YAT-SEN:[This is a brief excerpt, selectively phrased, from SunsThree Principles of the PeopleIdentity of the People, Power of the People, Livelihood of the People from his first speech on the Power of the People, delivered Mar 9, 1924.]People should be able to survive Every day we must Of the greatest importance is protection By protection, I mean self-defense. Whether on the scale of individual, group, or nation, there should be the capacity for self-defense. Then there will be the ability to survive In order for people to seek to survive in this competitive world, there will be struggle, and struggle will come to us daily without giving us any break From the moment we are born to whatever age we are now, every day entails struggleIn reply to you about your manuscript ofAuthentic Zimen Boxingthat you have recently presented to us, we have deeply studied its drawings and explanations, and we find that your sense of the equal importance of practice and cultivation fits perfectly with this schools aim in promoting martial arts. The book has been examined and approved, and we have added to the original manuscript our own inscription of practice and cultivation are both important on the following page. Respectfully yours, good fortune always, Central Martial Arts Institute, Feb 1 [1933][transparent words under text:]Defend yourself when you find yourself in a fight.Strengthen the masses to save the nation.[right & left sides, upper:]Recovering our inherent skillswill bolster our national spirit.[right & left sides, lower:]We hope that everyonewill be transformed by martial arts. from the Central Martial Arts Institute [in Nanjing]

Practice and cultivation are both important. calligraphy by (the director of [ Zhang Zhijiang]) the Central Martial Arts Institute

Jan, 1932To the flourishing of martial studies. calligraphy [by the director ( Lu Diping) of ] the Zhejiang Martial Arts Institute [in Hangzhou]

Strengthen the self to strengthen the masses. calligraphy by Chu Minyi

Martial arts are a bridge. calligraphy by Su Jingyou [vice-director of Zhejiang Martial Arts Institute]A FEW COMMENTSThis book is not a volume of scholarly research, merely a means of conveying thoughts. Although there are parts that are unrefined, every part has to do with technical terminology. I have not dared to abridge any of it, since attempting to improve the language might corrupt the ideas.This book focuses on discussion of principles, and so its drawings for the eighteen techniques and the eight ground-fighting postures give only a general idea. If you wish to practice this art, you must also seek out a noteworthy teacher, then you will be able to peer into its subtleties.The material in this book is given conscientiously, as in the Buddhist way of teaching everything that one knows [passing down ones robe and alms bowl]. You should not treat its words or drawings as something trivial, because nothing in it is just some stuff I made up.I will not dare to ruin the masterful dissertation [in Part One] by adding my own ideas within it. Most of the words [in this book i.e. Part Two] are from my own experience, but the rest are from my teachers guidance, and thus I am sharing them with all those who have interest so that you may study and gain from his teachings.Beyond the Zimen art, Buddhist doctrine is also to be valued, and my teacher developed in both simultaneously. As I have obtained only the remnants of his views, this book will consequently have a few inconsistencies, but they can be cleared up through studying the book as a whole.The Secret Records of Injury Medicines [in the Appendix] are all tried and true recipes, but they should be applied according to the proper guidelines for them to be effective.PREFACE BY RAO CAORONGEarly this year, the city I call home suffered a catastrophe which sent relatives and friends scattering [the January 28th Incident]. I knew Hu Yisheng was in Hangzhou engaged in a writing project, but I had not yet seen his manuscript. In the winter, I happened to be vacationing at West Lake [in Hangzhou], and there I got to see the pages of this book with his Essays Elaborating Upon the Subtleties of Zimen Boxing. Penetrating, extensive, and detailed, I could tell it is a profound achievement born of a great deal of hard work. This spring, as I was circulating messages around the Jiangs [area comprising Jiangsu, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Anhui], Hu sent me a letter requesting I write a preface for him. I am not really that scholarly, nor have I received instruction in boxing arts, but I do have the ability to presumptuously discuss what is beyond me, though I could not make any words about it at the time due to the present devastation in my neighborhood. China is currently in chaos. There are men of vision who are all pointing out that it is not military power that is responsible for a nations destiny, who then appeal to the League of Nations for help in extending justice. This is not only shameful, it is more like the dream of an idiot. For in the modern world, it is still apparently the case that might makes right. Yet when I look around at the people of our nation, I see they are addicted to leisure and pleasure, and in body and spirit they grow weaker by the day, especially within the cities. If some morning there was trouble and men were called up to rush into battle, could they grasp sharpened blades and charge enemy lines? Therefore I believe that in this time of emergency, our nation is in need of a special system of education, one that esteems the martial quality, like that of the Spartans. I hereby call upon my countrymen to practice martial arts. Let us rouse the lazy and train good generals. People who train every day will have bodies that are strong and healthy, movement that is powerful and nimble. During peace, we should not fail to strengthen the citizenry, and then whenever a threat arrives, a mighty army is prepared. In charging forth and fighting hand-to-hand, we will be particularly able to grasp victory. The effectiveness of such exercise goes beyond the calisthenics now taught in schools anyway. The intent of the material in this book is bodily fitness in substance, self-defense in function. I believe that if we allow our nation to sink further each day into degradation and do nothing to remedy the situation, we will be lost. If on the other hand we decide to strive toward a return to the spirit of Shennong and the Yellow Emperor [i.e. the traditional Chinese soul], it will not work without special attention given to martial arts. So that it can be given such attention, Hu has made this book, the right book for the times, the secret key to our cure. Everyone ought to give it a readthrough. Hu is both intelligent and fond of thoughtful study. Where we grew up had been the hometown of the poet Jiang Tiaosheng [Ehu, Yanshan county, Jiangxi], who had a lasting influence upon us with his writings so refreshing and elegant. We studied at the Fourth Teacher-Training Institute, located in the old Ehu Classics Academy, where Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan had debated over similarities and differences. We were therefore steeped in the studies of body, mind, nature, and life. Hus father, Hu Yongqing, loved reciting verse. He even signed his name to his poetry addiction with the printing of his own collection of poems,A Half Acre of Purification. He furthermore excelled in martial arts and loved receiving many old-style heroes as his guests. Hu Yisheng received the pre-nature teachings. Thus beyond his work with poetry, he loved exploring into the boxing arts. After we went our separate ways from the Institute, I went to train in fine arts in Shanghai and he went north to study at Beijing Normal University. I later found out he had grabbed a teaching position back in Ehu, and as he neared the town, he met the monk Kexiu on the road, and so his boxing arts have since progressed even more. Lately I read in his letters of how the powerful boxers that the world so admires are typically of a crude and foolish type. He is unable to study anything of their methods because once some good idea has been brought up, they clam up and keep it from people. The result of this is that our nations martial arts have been getting increasingly obscured for a long time. Hu has now produced this book, having in mind that we should succeed both individually and together, and so we should stand both individually and together. He is determined to pour out everything he knows so that our people will become sturdy and ready. Our national prestige will spread far. His achievement will be not only to clarify a martial study, but also to preserve our cultural essence. Thus I have written this preface. written by Rao Caorong at the Jiangxi 6th Provincial High Schools spring cottage, 1932AUTHORS PREFACEMartial arts used to be something rarely practiced by scholars. Those who were proficient in it kept quiet about it and were not willing to write books on the subject. Boxing manuals that were actually block-printed publications are as rare as unicorn horns or phoenix feathers, nowhere to be seen, but occasionally there were literate boxing teachers who produced handwritten texts. However, they did not lightly show them to people, and so those texts ended up rotting away or getting burned, and as a consequence, the handwritten manuals are rarer than they would otherwise be and these arts are left even more obscured. This is indeed a pity. Nowadays, martial arts are flourishing. The publishing of these kinds of books is no longer uncommon. Among them there is no lack of masterpieces, but lesser examples of expounding and publishing are more frequently seen. Those who have mastered one of these arts cannot necessarily write well about it, while those who can write have not necessarily mastered their art. The former runs the risk of being giggled at and the latter has the flaw of being mere armchair theory, either of which will cause readers to feel contempt for the material and to suspect that Chinese martial arts might not be very special after all, hindering their interest in practicing. In the promoting of Chinese martial arts, this is a real problem. I am neither bright nor have I yet practiced this art to the point of mastery. But I have devoted time to my teacher and listened to his words. Comprehending many of the principles, I noted them down, gaining greater and greater understanding. Following the main section of this book, I have written Essays Elaborating Upon the Subtleties of the art, so that those who are beginning their training in Zimen Boxing may easily find explanations and thereby gain twice the result for half the effort. This work is therefore a small token of my appreciation [for being taught the art]. The Zimen [zi = word, men = school, i.e. the school of the 18 words, meaning the 18 techniques] boxing art is widespread in Jiangxi, practiced by many boxing instructors there, but very few of them have learned the whole art or understand it completely. Some teachers have also been keeping a few of the techniques secret rather than passing them on to students. As that process goes on through many generations of teaching, the art will get altered to the point that it will lose its authenticity. Though the discussion in this book strives to present the essentials of the system concisely and succinctly, it nevertheless expresses them fully and leaves nothing out. All students of the art will therefore automatically be able to gain by reading it. The original manuscript had several misprints, but even after the text was corrected, there are inevitably still some errors. Whether the writing be excellent or full of mistakes, I hope the knowledgeable throughout the nation will give me instruction. written by Hu Yisheng of Jiangxi, at the shore of West Lake [in Hangzhou, Zhejiang], 1st month of winter, 1931PART ONE: GENERAL DISCUSSION (authorship unknown, compiled by Hu Yisheng)[OVERVIEW OF THE EIGHTEEN TECHNIQUES]A body that is extremely weak has been inadequately equipped by what is innate, and this has to be compensated for by training that is acquired. The way of filling this gap lies in cultivating essence and spirit. Once essence and spirit are sufficient, energy and blood will be abundant in the body, and then even an extremely weak body can be changed into a strong one. It has been written [in the early Qing bookMedical Realizationsby Cheng Guopeng]: Human life is a matter of essence and spirit. If the essence and spirit are not worn out, the body will long be youthful. This is the foundation of a strong body, and our art is based on this. If you can abide by this precious precept, you will surely never bring harm to your body. Once the way of turning weakness into strength is understood, then study the eighteen techniques. What is emphasized within the techniques is the skill of tendon-based power. If the tendons are not worked, laziness will lead to atrophy and cramping. Tendon-based power merges with health, and thus flexibility will not be held back. Once the skill of tendon-based power has been achieved, you should learn the way of emptiness and fullness. To sum this up: movement is empty and stillness is full, effort is empty and leisureliness is full, leaning is empty and uprightness is full. Know that if the opponent has brawn, he will use it, and if he has no brawn, he will use his wits. My body is urged forth by internal fullness to match an opponents attack of hard fierceness. This is the art of knowing emptiness and fullness. Once the way of emptiness and fullness is understood, constantly practice it in accordance with each of the techniques. Strive to understand the theory, and then you will obtain the art. The techniques are:[1] TESTING: I urgently put my hand straight out to feel for where the opponent is empty and full.[2] It continues into SENDING, which lies hidden within TESTING and ready to spring out from it. There is nothing that will not be sent away this is the true intent of SENDING.[3] AIDING: I perform my techniques as lively as an agile monkey, but if my hand misses, I use this technique to rescue the situation.[4] SEIZING: I seize his incoming force so that I may make use of it.[5] PULLING: If the opponent is stronger than me, I fear victory will be hard to achieve, but once our hands connect, I perform PULLING, causing him to stand unstably by way of my extending and contracting.[6] PUSHING: When practicing, I put sinking energy into my [rear thigh] and heavily push down without losing connection, making it difficult for the opponent to adapt while leaving me able to apply techniques with ease.[7] CROWDING: If I encounter an opponent whose body is strong and force is powerful, I crowd in on him a half step, causing his fullness to switch to emptiness, giving me control of the situation.[8] ABSORBING: When an opponent noticeably advances toward my body, this is a technique of slightly going along with his momentum.[9] STICKING means softening toward. By putting out my hands with softness, I will go along with the opponents intention and send him away, having in my own hands an intention of techniques being ready to spring out.[10] HOISTING means lifting. If the opponents upper body is powerful and my hands can hardly do anything to him, effectiveness is a matter of not contending against him. I change to this technique to overcome him, sending him away quickly.[11] CURVING means going with. It is to be applied together with ABSORBING.[12] INSERTING means hardening against. I use my fullness to send away his fullness.[13] THROWING means tossing away. The effect of this technique is for him to be surprised and flustered while I am calm and at ease.[14] PROPPING means assisting. This technique assists all the others.[15] RUBBING means tightening. Whenever his hands get slowed down, they will be of little use. This is close in intention to SENDING.[16] SCATTERING means blocking. Train your whole body until it is skillful and capture his ferocious force. Contained within this technique and ready to spring out from it is SENDING, which it is to be followed up with when applying it. Send out your hand with speed.[17&18] VANISHING and EJECTING must be trained to proficiency. When your skill is great, an opponent will have no idea what you are doing as you put out your hands, and thus you will succeed.It seems the darting [i.e. SENDING] technique is the major one, for it is transformed into in ways almost too numerous to describe. All of this material should be taught meticulously, but talented students have to be sure not to pass it on to cruel people. This is crucially important.SECRETS OF THE [EIGHT PRIMARY] TECHNIQUESI put out my hands with softness in order to go along with his intention and send him away, and so I should be flexible with the direction of my power. EJECTING [which is almost the same as SENDING] is what I do the opponent when I encounter him. Though I will not be able to if I am constantly in disarray. To rescue myself in an emergency, I go along with his direction to take control. If the opponents upper body is powerful, I should therefore change to AIDING, for I must seal off his raised hands to keep them from adapting. My mind should be concentrated upon the pointing of my curled-in palm. PULLING is a matter of going along with his momentum in line with its direction. Diligently practice to develop skill. Why fear the force of a Xiang Yu when you have the strategy of a Han Xin? [These are two Three Kingdoms era generals.] PUSHING should be sticky. Once I cross hands with the opponent, I must not lose connection with him. If I beware of breaking contact, I will then make no mistakes. CROWDING means I lift my hand then seal off the opponent, rendering him unable to advance. Once all of the techniques are skillful, CROWDING can then be performed. ABSORBING is almost the same as VANISHING. VANISHING changes easily into EJECTING. They form the maneuver of borrowing his momentum. My body and hands should be relaxed. The principles of these eight techniques should be studied until they are understood and practiced until they are skillful. The eight techniques [including TESTING and SEIZING, though not mentioned here] are interrelated. If one is not understood, they will all be hindered.THEORY OF THE EIGHTEEN TECHNIQUESThis art is an exquisite rarity, for it does not use brute force.Weak-bodied scholars can all practice it.Its theory is that of eighteen hand actionswhich are applied to the middle, above, or below, or to the left or right. As I raise my hands and step into my stance, I make sure not to use effort.I stand with my feet along a straight line, rear leg bent, front leg straight.Among the eighteen techniques, the most important are [the first eight]:TESTING, SENDING, AIDING, SEIZING, PULLING, PUSHING, CROWDING, ABSORBING. THROWING, PROPPING, RUBBING, SCATTERING these will occur as needed.CROWDING and RUBBING are soft techniques, borrowing the opponents force.My hand reaches his chest, SENDING forward without hesitation.I let him make a thousand adjustments, my mind focused on only one goal. If he attacks fiercely, CURVING or INSERTING will match him.HOISTING does not contend against him. STICKING will help him fall even better.I use softness to overcome hardness, decisiveness to overcome hesitation.I let him become agitated until he is worn out and I am still performing leisurely. By going along with the direction of his attack, there is no energy expended.By practicing diligently until skill is achieved, the body will be well-defended.The subtleties within the eighteen are natural and distinct.The eight basic techniques come out with urgency. Oriented in a straight line, I observe the opponents techniques.My upper and middle body should have an urgency, while my lower body should be bent[i.e. be like a coiled spring].By not underestimating his force, VANISHING and EJECTING will easily succeed.CROWDING and ABSORBING are to be kept in mind, never for an instant forgotten. Even if his body is powerful, my hands are urgent.His incoming force of a thousand pounds I will rival with PUSHING.I come and go without a trace.No harm is done to my body, no obstruction, not an ounce of failure. These techniques change from one to another, one of mine able to defeat ten of his.We can all succeed through awareness of emptiness and fullness.Suppose his incoming attack is powerful and I stand in the midst of his fullness.If I switch to AIDING, all will comment the result is remarkable. As long as I guard against missing, I will be without error.Treacherous people are not to be taught this art. Always remember this.SEVEN-CHARACTER VERSESWhen your hands go out with TESTING and SENDING, the power must be urgent and direct.When CROWDING or PUSHING, thirty percent of the technique is borrowing the opponents force.When THROWING or PROPPING, RUBBING or SCATTERING, adjust according to the opponents hands.When PULLING or ABSORBING, AIDING or SEIZING, there should be a downwardness to them. CURVING and INSERTING can overcome a fierce incoming force.VANISHING, EJECTING, and SCATTERING will make him fall even more effectively.When you perform SCATTERING or apply HOISTING, you have to pay urgent attention.To his strength or weakness, you are STICKING, enabling you to carry out techniques. Raise your hand and aim for his chest, quelling all fear.Your hand is already upon his body, your step following in.Solidifying your stance, you become fully aware of what is happening.Squeeze your knees and pull back your crotch to remove that area of yourself from the situation. Techniques that follow will thus succeed without obstruction.You must remember to perform with a casual aloofness.If you wish to develop unusual skill,I advise you to practice diligently.STEPPING INTO A STABLE POSTUREWith rear leg slightly bent, front leg loose,and eyes intent upon the opponents chest,raise your hand to perform TESTING, quelling all fear.Your hand is already upon his body, your step following in. The hand has to be pinched firmly into a pointer.Once pinched, urge forward with SENDING, and thus you can grab success.To put out just your hands would be very doubtful, so add the strength of your shoulders.Lightly STICKING, follow his hands wherever they go.SEVEN-CHARACTER VERSES ABOUT SPECIFIC SITUATIONSI raise both my hands in unison and retreat into my stance.With my chest inclining to the left, my right hand engages the opponent.The hand has to be pinched firmly into a pointer.Once pinched, I urge forward with SENDING, and with no hesitation. I go through his two gates, inner and outer, going above, middle, below.I follow him, aligned toward his chest without being veered off course.Through his outer gate I attack his head, injuring his ear or neck.My right hand carries across while my left hand attacks. If he comes in with an attack to my waist or ribs,I counter to cover my body, my left hand seeking the center.I grab to deal with him, using one or both of my hands.In seeking his tendons, I stay naturally loose. If he does a draping block or an intercepting chop, his hand will then slightly withdraw,so I attack with both hands in unison, one high, one low.If one of my hands gets suddenly chopped down,the other will suddenly issue forth with SENDING. If he attacks fiercely, intent upon scooping up my foot or grabbing my leg,I lower my body and advance, thrusting toward his chest.As he then drops down all the way onto one knee to pick up my leg,I use both hands to perform a lifting SENDING, which catches him by surprise and sends him away. If his right hand shoots through my inner gate to wound my face or eyes,I counter with EJECTING, which I may also perform as a palm strike.Or I can perform PUSHING downward with my left hand,and my right hand suddenly performs SENDING without hesitation. If he and I go through the same gate, both aiming for the chest,I can grab success by putting both my hands across with SENDING.If he then returns a strike from not very far away,I save myself by countering as fast as wind. Whether he does a draping block or intercepting chop, or a grab with one or both hands,I go through his outer gate to be able to apply techniques.If he goes to scoop my foot or grab my leg, it is still the same kind of situation,except that I have to change my tactic to going through his inner gate. If his footwork never varies,my right foot goes along with my right hand and I keep stepping around him.The eighteen techniques are to be practiced to the point of skill,so that when the time comes, they will be applied as is necessary.LIST OF THE EIGHT [PRIMARY] TECHNIQUES[1] TESTING [can]: searching[2] SENDING [tui]: darting[3] AIDING [yuan]: rescuing[4] SEIZING [duo]: snatching[5] PULLING [qian]: leading in[6] PUSHING [na]: pushing down[7] CROWDING [bi]: sealing off[8] ABSORBING [xi]: shrinking backLIST OF THE TEN [SECONDARY] TECHNIQUES[9] STICKING [tie]: softening toward[10] HOISTING [cuan]: lifting[11] CURVING [quan]: going with[12] INSERTING [cha]: hardening against[13] THROWING [pao]: tossing away[14] PROPPING [tuo]: assisting[15] RUBBING [ca]: tightening[16] SCATTERING [sa]: blocking[17] VANISHING [tun]: disappearing[18] EJECTING [tu]: appearing[THE EIGHTEEN TECHNIQUES IN DETAIL][1] TESTING

This technique transforms into a multitude of techniques. When lifting your hand, your whole body should be in a state of softness and must not begin by using effort. If you put forth effort, it will be difficult to switch from one technique to another. As you lift your hand, your eyes should be focused on the opponents chest. There must be no timidity in your mind, which would cause you to hesitate. Lift your hand from beside your thigh with a double finger like an arrow heading toward the bulls eye. You must not veer off-target, yet be aware of everything around you. This technique leads into CROWDING or ABSORBING. The angle between your feet is between ninety and forty-five degrees. Your whole body should have softness. Your mind focuses and your courage magnifies. When you shoot your hand out, there must be no delay. This is the posture of TESTING. All transformations come from this, but its greatest effectiveness is revealed in the SENDING explanation below:[2] SENDING

Within the eighteen techniques, it is TESTING and SENDING that are the most emphasized, though this may prevent most people from understanding how to train and apply the rest. While TESTING seeks out opportunity, it is the skill of SENDING that is the most important. The eighteen techniques cycle one after another, but all depend on the skill of SENDING. In gaining many ingenious skills, although the hand techniques may transform without limit, ultimately they change back to SENDING, also called darting. The hand goes out pinched in tightly, the greatest effectiveness lying in shrinking the palm down to a pointer. Your shoulders should disappear and your knees should squeeze toward each other. Your stance should be stable and so you should not be standing wide. With a wide stance, it is difficult to maneuver. Guard against missing, and then you will be without error.[3] AIDING

AIDING means rescuing. I defend my outer gate with a draping block or an intercepting chop, or by grabbing with one or both hands, and I cover my flanks with shaking of elbows. If the opponent attacks with urgent ferocity, I save myself by switching to this technique. If he props my hand aside, I go to the side using a posture of old man carrying a bird cage while gripping his belly, then immediately advance. I raise my hand into AIDING and I do not disconnect from him, PROPPING up his hand or elbow to either side, then advancing. Hidden within this technique and ready to spring out from it are RUBBING, SCATTERING, and SENDING.[4] SEIZING

This is a method of adapting. It is similar to AIDING. If an opponent gets through to my inner gate with a draping block or an intercepting chop, or grabs with one or both hands, or uses an elbow to hook, crash, or jolt, I change to this technique to seize him. My hands will then rotate and shoot out, but I must not do so sluggishly. Contained within this technique and ready to spring out from it are RUBBING, SCATTERING, and SENDING.[5] PULLING

PULLING means leading in. If an opponent makes an attack with his upper body so fiercely that I can hardly seize him, I switch to giving a pluck with my [right] hand to cause him to stand unstably, changing his fullness into emptiness by way of my extending and contracting. My left hand should assist so as to stabilize my own stance, and then I quickly continue into RUBBING, SCATTERING, or SENDING.[6] PUSHING

PUSHING means pushing down. When practicing, I put sinking energy into my [rear] thigh to give solidity to my hands, then push down without losing connection. Once I am crossing hands with an opponent, I must never lose connection with him. I he goes to the left, I also go to the left. I he goes to the right, I also go to the right. I thus turn his posture into empty movements. This technique can be quickly followed up with SCATTERING or SENDING.[7] CROWDING

CROWDING means sealing off. If I encounter an opponent whose body is strong and force is powerful, I raise my hand and seal him off. Once I have sealed him, I will perform SENDING. This technique borrows his power and causes his fullness to become empty, giving me control of the situation.[8] ABSORBING

ABSORBING means shrinking back. CROWDING and ABSORBING are to be applied together. Keep it in mind that they are not to be disconnected from each other for a moment. They are skills that are standing by to rescue the rest of the techniques. If when my hand shoots out, the opponent uses both hands to grab my hand and push it down, wanting to press it against my chest or ribs or against my lower body, making my hand unable to express, a critical situation, I immediately use this technique to save myself. Carefully study it.[9] STICKING

This technique is similar to CROWDING and ABSORBING. When my hands go out, my whole body should have softness. By putting out my hands with softness, I will go along with the opponents intention and send him away. Thus I should be flexible about the direction of my power and emphasize readiness to spring out techniques, causing the opponent to have no idea what I am doing. The intention is borrow his force and take advantage of his emptiness.[10] HOISTING

This is a method of adapting. If the opponents upper body is powerful and my hands can hardly do anything to him, I change to this technique. His left hand carries upward and his right hand wants to get to my chest or through one of my side gates. As his hand carries upward, I apply this technique, but I must not wait for him to twist his body. If he is carrying outward, I go along with it to lift him outward. If he is carrying inward, I go along with it to lift him inward. Once I have sealed off his carrying hand, my right hand performs a lifting SENDING to send him away.[11] CURVING

This is a method of adapting. If I encounter an opponent who advances upon me with an obvious shoulder or elbow attack, his posture is very fierce, and I am unable to issue with my hands, I then adapt with this technique to overcome it, taking advantage of a gap in his intention by slightly going along with his force.[12] INSERTING

This is a method of adapting. If the opponent goes outward with a draping block or an intercepting chop, or if he covers over with both hands, or if he attacks fiercely with shoulder or elbow, and my hands are unable to find a way in, I change to this technique to defeat him. It entirely depends on hard power from my thighs. As my hand goes downward, my shoulder will touch to his shoulder. My left hand assists at the same time by borrowing thirty percent of his force to take advantage of his emptiness. If he comes in with a draping block or an intercepting chop, or grabs with one or both hands, I change to a left INSERTING to defeat him.[13] THROWING

This is a method of adapting. When I send my hand out and he uses a draping chop to my hand while noticeably advancing with a desire to chop my hand down, as the heaviness of it makes contact, I use a floating energy to wrap his hand inward, my forward hand withdrawing halfway [i.e. the right tossing away to the left] as my left hand seals off his bodys momentum. RUBBING and SCATTERING are contained within it, SENDING ready to spring out from it, and there is nothing that will not be sent away.[14] PROPPING

This technique assists all the others. None of them can depart from it. You should practice it to proficiency and thereby possess a wonderful skill though merely a gesture of a hand. If I send out a hand and the opponent uses both hands to cover over my hand with the intention of pushing it against my upper body, I change at that moment to this technique to keep from being sent downward. I then perform INSERTING, sending my hand forward while passively wrapping my thigh around his, my left hand sealing off with CROWDING to make it difficult for him to adapt. Contained within this technique and ready to spring out from it is SENDING, and there is nothing that will not be sent away. This is a method of borrowing the opponents force to take advantage of his emptiness.[15] RUBBING

In this method, if I shoot out my hand and the opponent steps to dodge away his body, I should pivot my feet to follow him, my hand sticking to him and not disconnecting. Whenever his hands get slowed down, they will be of little use. If he sends both his hands from outward to grab my hand and prop it up, then once he loosens one of his tigers mouths, I urgently step in with my hand above leading into a downward push. Contained within this technique and ready to spring out from it are CROWDING, SCATTERING, or SENDING, and there is nothing that will not be sent away. This technique surprises and flusters him, that I am using such aggressiveness. Or if he uses both hands to spread my hand aside and then prop my hand upward with the intention of getting to my chest or ribs, or to my lower body, I should chase forward with RUBBING to his headtop. Contained within this technique and ready to spring out from it are CROWDING, SCATTERING, or SENDING, or even PULLING to lead the opponent downward.[16] SCATTERING

This technique is similar to SENDING. If the opponent noticeably advances toward my body, I immediately use this. If he goes to the left, I go to the left. If he goes to the right, I go the right. I go along with the direction of his advance wherever he goes, not shying away from his force, easily capturing his attack, and having the effect of dispelling his force and stripping it away. You should practice it until you are skillful.[17] VANISHING

VANISHING means disappearing. Defend the five gates inner, outer, upper, middle, lower by using a draping block or an intercepting chop, by spreading with both hands or covering with both hands. If his attack is fierce and his hands difficult to catch, subdue him by changing to this technique, which causes him to have no idea what you are up to and switch his fullness to emptiness. The greatest effectiveness of it lies in following up with EJECTING, explained below:[18] EJECTING

EJECTING is a matter of extending. VANISHING and EJECTING are to be applied together. Disappearing and appearing will cause an opponent to have no idea what you are doing, and thus you will succeed. If you face an opponent who is very powerful and has great upper body strength, switch to this combination of techniques, borrowing his force to find out where he is empty.All of the techniques above cycle back to SENDING. By studying them carefully, nothing else will be required.SONG OF THE EIGHT GROUND-FIGHTING TECHNIQUESLION SHAKES ITS FUR, then RUKH SPREADS ITS WINGS.IRON OX PLOWS THE LAND, then BUTTERFLY CLOSES ITS WINGS.OFFICIAL FOLDS HIS ROBE OVER LEFT & RIGHT, drawing it close around his body.TUCK & ROLL TO GAIN GROUND, quickly bringing your knee down.SLEEPY SHEEP CURLS UP IN THE GRASS will get the opponents root to lift up.SHIVERING CHICKEN WRAPS ITSELF IN DIRT will be skillful after long practice.With your hands like a monkey and your feet like a cat,no matter how strong the opponent, he will lose.LION SHAKES ITS FUR:

RUKH SPREADS ITS WINGS:

IRON OX PLOWS THE LAND:

BUTTERFLY CLOSES ITS WINGS:

OFFICIAL FOLDS HIS ROBE OVER LEFT & RIGHT:

TUCK & ROLL TO GAIN GROUND:

SLEEPY SHEEP CURLS UP IN THE GRASS:

SHIVERING CHICKEN WRAPS ITSELF IN DIRT:

KEYS TO THE GROUND-FIGHTING TECHNIQUESIn case you encounter an opponent who is very strong, with a fierce upper body and hands that are too hard to seize, be prepared to use these techniques. You have to practice them to proficiency, then you will be able to apply them and will have obtained the skills of many arts. For those who practice my art of words, a technique that is not suitable will not be effective.These eight postures seem to be truly ingenious,full of incomprehensible magic.So many youths practice it but get nothing out of it,only because once they break from the training, all they had worked for melts away.Here ends Part One.PART TWO: ESSAYS ELABORATING UPON THE SUBTLETIES (by Hu Yisheng)CHAPTER ONE: MAINTAINING WILLPOWERAncient people had a saying [Lun Yu, 13.22]: A man without perseverance will not become a shaman. If those training to become shamans needed to have perseverance, how much more difficult it will be to succeed in boxing arts, many times more than learning the skills and ways of medicine. Hence we say: have perseverance. Boxing arts are truly the highest of all knacks and have to be carved into the mind. In both ancient and modern times, those who have been celebrated as having consummate skill needed to have a firm determination that would not be altered by any ordinary human affairs. To practice the art, you have to be tirelessly hardworking. After three years you will have some small success. After ten years you will have great success. There are in the world practitioners who love to fight that have a very different kind of willpower. They think that after just a few weeks of practice, they will be able to use it to fight with people. They then approach local teachers who have set up schools, under the impression that after several weeks a practitioner will be able to say he has obtained the secrets and can claim dominance over the region. There is also the type who seeks some instruction from many different teachers,then proudly mentions them by saying that he has studied in several schools. But what he means by several schools is nothing more than a month in each. When he meets some weak old man and defeats him in a fight, his face fills with pride and he thinks of himself as unbeatable. Then when one day he gets knocked down by a strong young man, he becomes depressed, hating himself for his undeveloped techniques and incomplete theories, feeling he has not grasped even a superficial level of boxing arts. Such a person is not adequate to the task of discussing boxing arts, but through the acquaintance of knowledgeable teachers, he will then come to deeply understand that health is the substance of boxing arts while self-defense is the function, and that daily practice is required to be able to gain results. Right from the beginning of the training, you should always and over a long period put all of yourself into it. One who has a love of sex that distracts his heart or a love of wealth that muddles his wits will quit halfway through, lacking that last basket of materials [toward the building of a monument] [Book of History, chapter 33]. These are descriptions of those who are unable to maintain willpower. Therefore to be able to achieve a consummate skill, you will have to embrace the qualities of a more noble sort of person, such as the hermit who lives in the mountain valley or the wise man who sets a virtuous example in the marketplace. The young cannot change their behavior and the old cannot change their ideas, but it is by way of a lifetime of spirit, of conscientiously doing ones utmost, that one will succeed in this art. Looking at it from this point of view, if you do not desire to succeed in the art, then you wont. If you do wish to succeed, then you have to have perseverance. If you do not wish to preserve your perseverance, then you are done. If you wish to preserve it, then you have to maintain your willpower. Willpower is like the rudder of a boat. If the boatman wants to drive his boat eastward, he has to firmly grab the rudder and make it point the boat to the east. Therefore when we train to develop skill, we must be resolutely determined, sticking to our decision and unwilling to shift, then we will be within reach of our goal. The goal is nothing more than health and self-defense. Long ago, Damo paid a visit to the Shaolin temple. Because the monks were all falling asleep during their meditation practice, he taught them boxing arts to invigorate their spirits. This was the beginning of the Shaolin boxing arts. Later generations of monks who traveled through the mountains or slept in the wilderness practiced the arts to defend themselves against villains and animals. Although already something of a departure from its original intention, we should only use the art for self-defense and never dare to intentionally harm people. Therefore we should recognize the two aspects of boxing arts:1. Bodily HealthIt says in theLu Shi Chunqiu[book 3, chapter 2]: Running water never goes stale and a door that gets used does not get rusty hinges. It is the same for our bodies and our energy. Thus those who live a life of physical toil [calloused hands and feet Xunzi, chapter 29] typically have very fit bodies, whereas those who live a life of ease [bounteous feasts and comfy shoes Wu JianrensStrange Things Witnessed Over Twenty Years, chapter 14] are often frail and weak. This is clear proof that unless the limbs are given movement, then energy and blood will not flow well, and that if you stuff your organs with greasy food or let sexual lust erode your primordial essence, a desire for health is not likely to be fulfilled. For powerful boxers who have become skillful, practicing until they have grasped its ways, the internal movement of energy to the organs continues outward to the flesh and skin. With the inner body strengthened, illness cannot invade. Those who are deeply skilled at meditation have energy that fills their faces, overflowing from behind, and this can be seen at a glance. By practicing for a long time without slackening, you can develop the body of a warrior, and moreover you will prevent illness and prolong life. When I began practicing this art, my teacher said to me: This art can treat illness. One of my fellow students suffered from vomiting blood. After practicing for half a year, he finally recovered from this. But then he took a month off from the training and his illness returned. After that, he wont dare take a break from practice. When I first heard this, I was skeptical, but later I myself also obtained extraordinary effects. Previously, my left nostril had been blocked up for several years. After practicing this art for a few months, suddenly air was passing through. These examples demonstrate that boxing arts are sufficient to strengthen the body, and that the effects are in fact superior to tonics. In the practice of boxing arts, we assuredly should see the health of the body as the main objective.1. Self DefenseLaozi said [Daodejing, chapter 75]: Softness accords with life. Hardness accords with death. And also said [chapter 41]: A cruel king will not die a natural death. Our conduct within society is without fight, without boldness [Book of Poems, poem 198]. It is indeed inappropriate to be tyrannical and overbearing the behavior of the cruel king. To get your body to achieve a consummate skill, you should be indifferent to worldly success, compassionate and amiable toward others. You have to also be sure not to become overconfident in your level of skill, looking down on everyone else. You must understand there is no end to learning and that there are a great many capable practitioners in the world. If you are headstrong and impertinent, that is the way to seek out death. If you end up in a moment in which you have no choice, you should examine your situation in order to defend against it. Be careful not to send out your hands to kill people, merely injure with graceful moderation. The sum of this is that when we find ourselves in circumstances we cannot retreat from, this is a moment in which boxing arts have practical use. For instance, when thieves put their blades to you, you have permission to wrest away their weapons and slaughter them. But as for typical urban rogues, they can go ahead and hurl abuse at me, for I know how to cover my ears and walk away, whereas to grab one of them and seriously injure him would be excessive. Based on this, the meaning of self-defense is clear: it is for dealing with unusual occurrences. However, our bodies have to be strong and healthy so that when the instant comes, we will be equipped with everything we need. Therefore when practicing boxing arts, we must use the strengthening of the body as the foundation and defending of the self as the fulfillment.Once we are clear about boxing arts concepts, the training of the willpower should then be solidified. There are four things to guard against:1. Restrain your lust.Lust is harmful, and in ways too numerous to write down. One who trains in this art but descends into debauchery extinguishes all he has so far worked for. It dissolves determination, and therefore it is listed as the first of the things to restrain.2. Restrain your greed.Ancient people had a saying: A person who eats vegetable roots can do anything. If you can keep this in mind, you will naturally lead a simple life. If you envy opulence, coveting fame and wealth, you will probably end up quitting halfway through your training.3. Abstain from alcohol.Wine is used for ceremonial purposes and the drinking of small quantities of it may be of some benefit. However, drinking excessive amounts will result in mental chaos. For instance, one who is sworn against visiting brothels may suddenly break his rules after getting drunk. Thus for practitioners of boxing arts, it would be better to avoid alcohol altogether.4. Prevent Illness.There is a saying: Illness comes in through the mouth [because of the foolish things we eat]. Trouble comes out through the mouth [because of the stupid things we say]. If you wish to prevent illness, you must first of all be careful about what you eat and drink, and then live a consistent lifestyle, regardless of winter or summer. In the beginning of the training, when your body is not yet robust, you will occasionally be careless and make yourself ill. In these circumstances also, you would probably end up quitting halfway through your training.Let us be in no way polluted in body and mind by lust, greed, alcohol, or illness, and perseveringly maintain such a condition, cultivating ourselves unceasingly. If we can cultivate soundness of body and nobleness of character, we will be especially successful in our training of the art.CHAPTER TWO: PRESERVING ESSENCEThere is in the world the tradition of gaining strength by taking someone elses energy.It is said this art began with Rong Chengs teaching that men should have sex with young women but avoid ejaculating, and thereby use her passive aspect to nourish his active aspect. But as the human body naturally possesses both the passive and active aspects, it is not necessary to take it from someone else, and if a person instead approached it this way, he could then certainly be considered anti-materialist [vama-lokayata]. Our method is to preserve the essence. Essence is a substance that is stored in the bones and then condensed in the water palace [i.e. the kidneys]. If a burning desire is expressed, then a little bit of your primordial essence leaves its place and gets cooked. Even if you obtained a womans passive energy, how would it be sufficient to compensate for the loss? If you encountered a strong opponent, you would then suffer a humiliating defeat. And if you are not even preserving the substance that gives you life, how then could your active aspect be nourished anyway? Therefore our method does not use sex with women, simply the cherishing of our essence as the main substance of life. It is said that [fromMengzi, chapter 4a] the most unfilial thing of all is to not sire a next generation, and so practitioners of boxing arts cannot all go their entire lives without marrying. But in training the art as a novice, you must wait until you have succeeded at it and then marry, and once you have taken a wife, it is then important to restrain yourself sexually. For one who marries first and later trains, you must from that point on forego sex in order to preserve your essence, for only then can you get results in your old age. Let us compare it to trying to drive a train. The human body is like a machine. Essence is like the coal that fuels it. With too little essence, the body will not be strong, just as with too little coal, the fire would not be sufficient. When the fire is insufficient, the engine will not function. When the bodys strength is insufficient, the body will not be lively. To have a body that is not lively and yet wish to practice boxing arts is like an engine that will not function and yet is expected to run at full power. These are impossible situations. Therefore a practitioner of the art must cherish and preserve his masculine essence. Make it plentiful within the bones and gathering densely in the kidneys, just like the Daoist notion of stopping up leakages to build a foundation, then you can look forward to success. Moreover, essence in the human body has especially marvelous qualities. If once we hit puberty we then never ejaculate, accumulating it for several decades, genuine fire will flourish. Then when the time comes, it will be used to train the martial fire, and then the joints will soften like taffy, meaning there can be bending without breaking. However, you must consistently engage in meditation to be able to achieve this. Long ago, the Six Patriarchs of Zen were cleverly able to take refuge in the mountains,throwing off their pursuers by disappearing into the cracks and the channels in the rock formations. This is verifiable because it is not something magical, but a true principle. The body of a Buddhist novice goes through training that makes his joints as soft as taffy, and even though a crack through rocks may be narrow, it cannot obstruct his way. The reader may still have doubts about this, so I will now present more evidence. The bones of the old are hard. The bones of children are soft. This is obvious to all. Children within groups of traveling performers can contort their bodies into a ring shape, which has been witnessed by everyone. When we talk of genuine fire, the ordinary person really does not understand. Let us test our comparison of a coal fire to a genuine fire by comparing glass to human bones. Human bones and glass are both brittle things that will break when crashed against hard objects or split when thrown in a fire. If you place glass in a blazing coal fire, you can then see it soften like taffy. Therefore when human bones are trained to the point that they contain genuine fire, they naturally will be like glass put in a coal fire. Regarding these descriptions, essence within the human body is indeed a crucial substance. But what is the intimate relationship between it and the study of boxing arts? Let me explain in detail. What is valued in boxing arts is power. What is power? It is the resistant force that is generated from energy. When we exhale forcefully, it is also called energized force. Force has to come from energy. If the energy is feeble, the force will be weak. If the energy is abundant, the force will be strong. Try using a rope to tie up someone who is at a high level of skill. With a single rousing of energy, the rope can be broken into pieces, to the undoubted surprise of onlookers. Rong Cheng tells us: What makes his power great? It is that no one knows his energy is a hundred times more abundant than that of an ordinary person. That being the case, how can energy be that abundant? This is due to nothing more than the preserving of essence. Daoists say: Train the essence and transform it into energy. Train the energy and transform it into spirit. Even if those who practice these arts are unable to transform energy into spirit, they can at least preserve their essence so as to train their energy, an indispensable part of the training. This is because accumulating ten percent essence will give you ten percent energy, which will then produce ten percent force. Accumulating it over a long period, producing it unceasingly, it will consequently transform until ones power is hard and fierce. Those who are at a deep level can resist sabers and spears, what is called golden bell or iron shirt. However, the skills of golden bell and iron shirt must be trained from childhood. From this can be understood the intimate relationship between essence and energy. The body of a practitioner is resilient like a soccer ball. It starts out empty and insubstantial, then with the accumulating of essence and increasing of energy it is as though it has been pumped up with air. When essence is sufficient, energy will be abundant, like when a soccer ball is inflated with enough air that it can be kicked. Once there is sufficient air in the ball, this generates the maximum of bounciness. When energy is abundant within the body, then the power generated will be extremely hard and fierce. That this condition will be achieved is beyond doubt. What about when we see an actor practicing his singing? To accomplish such a skill, the maestro must guard against damaging his body. If his body gets damaged, his voice will be spoiled. In the acting world, this is called tipping over the granary, for it is very difficult to restore to its original condition, and thereupon he is unable to loudly project his voice for the pleasure of customers. What actors in traditional opera depend on is that their energy be sufficient, therefore it seems they have to preserve their essence, and thus how much more so for us practitioners. In the beginning of the training, we must engage in stance practice. The longer you practice stance work, the more stable your lower body will be. One of my fellow students used to be able to stand for a very long time, but one day he could stand for not even a short while and our teacher scolded him for violating the rules. Observing him closely, we saw his knees incessantly shaking. We thereupon understood how extremely harmful ejaculating is and fervently took heed of such a clear warning. There was once a boxing teacher who secretly taught the position of the lethal acupoints to a neighbors wife. She applied them while her husband was ejaculating, intending only to hurt him as a prank, but he then died, and without a mark on him. Later his discharge was noticed and she was then cursed for her treachery. Looking at it from this point of view, essence is something that must never leave the body, for if a man is not careful after he ejaculates, he will contract illness that is difficult to treat. Illness will take advantage of his weakened state and enter, such as being oppressed by a desperate chill, and without getting treatment the result will be death, alas. And so for this latest generation of students, if you want your skill to build up to success, how can the preserving of essence be ignored?CHAPTER THREE: CULTIVATING ENERGYA person without energy dies, but with an abundance of energy, one is strong. Those with appropriately abundant energy truly have nothing to worry about, yet just as water can both float and capsize boats, energy can both strengthen the body or destroy it. Why is this? Because when energy is overabundant, it ceases to be good for you, like when water is turbulent rather than placid. Confucius said [Lun Yu, 16.7]: [When a gentleman is in his prime,] his blood and energy are indomitable, and so he avoids fighting. A man with indomitable energy will also have the flaw of loving to fight. And so one with ample essence and abundant energy will wish even more to try a bout with practitioners of these arts. Consider that when fighting a weak person, you may injure him, and when fighting an expert, you may get injured. If injuring someone, you will be chided for overdoing it. In getting injured, you may even get killed. Therefore we can say that abundant energy is also sufficient to ruin the body. The energy of the human body is the easiest thing to waste or spoil. Thus ancient people urgently warned against alcohol, sex, and wealth. One of the Buddhist perfections is tolerance [kshanti paramita], which is an admonishment against these harmful vices. When Buddhists talk of emptiness [sunyata], it is this tolerance that they mean and that ones temperament should be reset at zero. We Confucians cannot withdraw from the world, indeed we perhaps have an energy that reaches farther than the constellations [as per Mengzis comment: By nurturing energy with integrity, it will not be corrupted, and thus will fill the whole universe.]. Thus it is said [Mengzi, also from chapter 2a]: I am good at nurturing my noble energy. Why do I say an energy that reaches farther the constellations? Some examples: Consider the loyal officials and righteous men of old, [how there came a day when they died for their country.] [Records of the Three Kingdoms, book 19 of Wei] [A man of honor] will sacrifice his life for honor. [Lun Yu, 15.9] [If I cannot have both,] I would choose righteousness over life. [Mengzi, chapter 6a] This sacrificing for honor or choosing of righteousness, this calm in the face of death without changing ones countenance, if not for a solid foundation in cultivation, would instead be a chaos of energy, a boiling of blood, a trembling from fear. Alas, although when energy is abundant and cultivation is understood this produces loyal officials and righteous men, when the opposite is the case the result is cutthroats and desperadoes. How can there be such a complete difference? Someone may say: Talking in this way, are you not overanalyzing? Boxing arts value courage, whereas a Confucian sensibility is to cultivate energy. Right? But it is one who can cultivate energy who will then be able to have courage. [fromMengzi, 2a:] As Zengzi said to Zixiang: You are in love with courage. I once heard Confucius talk of great courage: Were I to examine myself and find I am not restrained by righteousness, I would be afraid of a bum on the street. Were I to examine myself and find that I am restrained by righteousness, I could face down a grand army all alone. What is meant by were I to examine myself and find that I am restrained by righteousness? This refers to the greatness and indomitability [Mengzi, 2a] of energy. By nurturing it with integrity, it will not be corrupted, and thus will fill the whole universe. What would one then have to fear even from a grand army? Thus it is said [Lun Yu, 14.4]: Compassion requires courage. For instance, it says inStrange Occurrences[book 10]: Yang Feng [while harvesting grains] got chomped on by a tiger. His daughter Xiang, who was fourteen years old and had not even a short blade with her, immediately pounced upon the tigers neck barehanded and saved her father. A tiger is a terrifying beast that would make any coward gibber and go pale. So how did Yang Xiang seize the animal is if it were more meager feline? For no other reason than due to her accumulation of ordinary filial feeling, her noble spirit went higher than the sky. In that moment, she was aware only of her father and not of the tiger. People during their ordinary behavior are not very compassionate, but in such a moment they are moved by instinct, and even if they wish for safety, they will be undistracted by the thought. Therefore if practitioners of the art can cultivate their energy as the Confucianists did, then in moments of danger they can step right into peril and be like Yang Xiang seizing the tiger. Someone may say: For practitioners cultivating energy, are there not also some restrictions to be discussed? To which I answer from these quotes: If you are demanding of yourself and do not expect much from others [Lun Yu, 15.15] No matter how abusive someones language, do not respond to it. To learn something and then practice it always To be unknown and yet unbothered by it [Lun Yu, 1.1] When at a high level of skill, do not be a braggart. If your speech and conduct are without reproach or regret [Lun Yu, 2.18] Do not be argumentative with people. Behaving in this way, energy will fill your body, and the Way and righteousness will soon express as noble energy. Mengzi said [Mengzi, 2a]: The mind leads the energy. The energy leads the body. Therefore without the mind leading, the energy will be in chaos. With your energy in chaos, your spirit will be distracted. With your spirit distracted, your emotions will be in a panic. With your emotions panicking, your hands will become stagnant. That being the case, one who does not cultivate his energy will not use mind to lead energy, and then when he encounters a powerful opponent, he is sure to lose. Thus the cultivation of energy is greatly involved in defense against opponents, and practitioners have to understand this. My teacher once told me: When someone comes to challenge me, I must welcome him courteously and thank him with tactful words. Even if he gives me abusive language, I do not dare to even slightly act impulsively. It is only when I have no choice that I fight, and thus I have never lost. With this testimony, the words that here have preceded it are not empty. To expound on the theme further, if your skill in striking acupoints is not at the highest level, you may injure someone. You must take advantage of his position and attack where his veins are popping out from exertion. When his energy comes forth deviously, his vessels will swell along with his energy, affecting his whole body. Follow his momentum and seal him off, but do not act to kill him. When challenging others, how can this be ignored? Buddhists say that a single utterance of ignorance [avidya] can destroy the world. Daoists say that to take rash action without understanding will result in loss of elixir. I used to not believe this until I practiced meditation. Once while criticizing someone, my emotions turned to anger, my energy became activated, and there was nothing to stop me from shouting. I suddenly felt a raging rising from my belly, a disconnection from within my torso, and I then felt uncomfortable for several days. Thereupon I knew that such movement of energy was useless and quite inferior to the beauty of self-restraint. Therefore I say that practitioners who have understood the protecting of essence must then also understand the cultivating of energy. Within our lungs [where the breath for our shouting moves] and inside our liver and gallbladder [where our courage dwells], we must carve these words:I am sensitive to events and cautious in my speech,keeping control over my ideals and not getting short-tempered with my energy.CHAPTER FOUR: GATHERING SPIRITIt says in the Daoist classics [from the Jade Emperors Inner Truth Classic]: Spirit can penetrate stone. Spirit can take flight. The use of spirit is great indeed. Once upon a time, there was a man traveling alone in the wilderness. He encountered thieves who stole his belongings and threw him down a dry well, then covered it over with a millstone. He piteously cried out for help, but there was no one in the wilderness to answer him. A divine fox passed by and pitied him, and so taught him the method of gathering spirit. He was told to stare a hole through the millstone, and then his body flew up out of the well. There was a Buddhist monk who wished to practice this method. He put himself down a well and told people to cover it with a millstone. They then left him there and the monk died. To go down a well is one thing, but to make it a matter of life and death is another. Why is this? Because there is a distinction between obtaining the method of gathering spirit and not obtaining it. Although the use of spirit is great, it is useless without the method of gathering it. That being the case, what then is the method? It is nothing other than these abilities: no expectation, no requiring, no distractions, and no helping. Then it will work. That monk went into the well intentionally to practice the method. Once the millstone had covered over him, his mind was requiring his body to fly. His mind was not distracted, but he was rigid in his goal, like the farmer who pulled on his plants to help them grow [Mengzi, chapter 2a]. These are the wrong methods. Of course he died. Someone may say: Such tales are ludicrous and unbelievable. To which I reply that there is still more evidence in ancient texts: [FromMaster Hans Outer Commentary to the Poems, book 6, relating to Poem 263:]While Xiong Quzi of Chu was traveling at night, he thought a rock at rest was a tiger crouching, so he drew his bow and shot an arrow at it. The arrow went all the way through it from tip to feathers, but when he looked down upon it, he then realized it was a rock. [FromHistorical Records, chapter 109:] While Li Guang was out hunting, he saw a rock in the grass, thought it was a tiger, and shot an arrow at it. The arrow disappeared right through it, and then he saw that it was a rock. A rock is an extremely hard object. A large rock may resemble a tiger, even in broad daylight or by strong lamplight, but if a bullet strikes it, it would still be unable to bore through it. Although these ancient men were experts at archery, how were they able to shoot an arrow all the way through from tip to feathers? When those experts in archery encountered tigers, they could penetrate with an arrow. Then when they saw a rock and thought it was a tiger, they did not at all know the tiger was actually a rock. Within those moments, their spirits were focused on tigers rather than rocks, therefore when they shot, their arrows went right through just as if they were shooting at tigers as they were used to. If they knew clearly it was a rock and had an intention of making an arrow go through, they would have raised their arms and drawn their bows with added effort to shoot their arrows, sharply pulling back, and even with their arrows pulled back all the way so tip meets bow and their bows are on the verge of snapping, it would still unable to go through the rock. If your awareness is not stubborn, you will have achieved the way of no expectation.If your motive is without agenda, you will have achieved the way of no requiring. If your mind is not ensnared, you will have achieved the way of no distractions. If your practice has no effort, you will have achieved the way of no helping. Otherwise you will overdo it and miss the mark, and in so doing, you will not achieve naturalness and your spirit will not be gathered anywhere. The Buddha had a saying: All the layers of the world are just mind. All the methods in the world are just knowledge. All the events and things in the world are born from the river of knowledge and ocean of emotion. This is the source of the mountains, rivers, and earth. And from this understanding comes the finding of enlightenment and transcendence. Therefore taking a rock to be a tiger, their arrows shot right through. Whereas if they took a tiger to be a rock, they would snap their bows in trying to shoot it. Why is this? With the gathering of spirit, the spirit is made complete. When the spirit is complete, then things are merely mental constructs. You can go into water without being drowned, go into fire without being burned [lines from Jade Emperor that follow upon the previous ones]. You will not be blocked by boulders nor harmed by blades, not to mention able to shoot arrows through rocks. Therefore if practitioners wish to dispense with their third-rate horses and ascend to the highest level, then apart from gathering spirit, truly there is no other way. There are experts in the world who can penetrate a cows belly with a pointed finger or smash a cows skull with a chop of a palm. Lesser practitioners admire them, but really they are not that unique. They have simply practiced their skill having obtained the method of gathering spirit. What is the method? I shall now explain it: Whenever we practice these skills, we must strive to be elegant rather than imitating the imposing stature of the valiant martial man [Book of Poems, poem 7]. Although your eyes outwardly see, inwardly observe. Although your ears outwardly hear, inwardly listen. With nose open and mouth closed, touch your tongue to the upper palate. Your body is full of vitality, like the poplars and willows in spring. Your mind is emotionally calm, like an expanse of still water. When shifting a step, spirit gathers in the foot. When raising a hand, spirit gathers in the fingers. Do not have any expectation or use any effort. By not requiring it, power will come. Do not be distracted from simply feeling it. Power will manifest without any help. Even when walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, you may always gather spirit. When walking, step slowly rather than quickly, with shoulders dropped rather than raised, eyes not watching more than ten feet away, hands not swaying off more than half a foot, forefingers extended rather than curled up, though not stiffly straight, the rest of the fingers curled up, though loosely rather than grasping tight. The result is that spirit will be gathered at the tips of your forefingers. After a long time, spirit will follow energy, energy will follow thought, and each will arrive in the fingertips. You will be building passive power. When standing, be as erect as a pagoda, not leaning forward or back, or to the left or right. Your ears are not to listen distractedly. Your eyes are not to look all around. Your mind is not to run off to things outside of you, but instead hold to doing this one thing. The result is that spirit will be gathered at the tips of your forefingers. The posture of the fingers is the same as with walking. If where you are standing there is a small table nearby, you can touch your fingertips to it, or if there is an object with the height slightly lower, you can touch it with your fingers stood vertically over it. When sitting [ordinary chair-sitting in this case rather than lotus position], make your head upright, your body erect, your spine straight. Your eyes are to gaze no more than three feet away. Your feet can be as much as a foot apart. Your knees should not be trembling, nor your body swaying. The muscles of your shoulders are to be loose rather than contracted, each of the three joints in your arms relaxed rather than tight. Spirit will be gathered at the tips of your forefingers. The posture of the fingers is the same as with walking or standing. You are to sit up straight, but you must not be forcefully propping yourself up. When lying down, be on your side rather than facing upward, slightly curled in rather than straightened out. Your mouth should not be saying much, your mind not rashly thinking. Spirit will be gathered at the tips of your forefingers. The posture of the fingers is the same as before and should stand perpendicular to the bedroll. Make sure you are not pressing down with arm and wrist, for then they will become numb, and yet you should stay steadfast in the posture. When it is your left ribs that are touching down, your right forefinger [with the arm extended along your right side] will stand straight. When it is your right ribs that are touching down, your left forefinger [with the arm extended along your left side] will stand straight. In the beginning of the practice, your eyes will want to close and your forefinger will then droop. You should immediately stand it up again so that it is as before. After a long time, you will be able to sleep soundly without your forefinger drooping. The effect of this will be greater than when walking, standing, or sitting, for more time will get put into it than for the other versions. Add the squeezing of embroidery hoops [explained below in Chapter Nine, akin to the finger training devices used by guitarists], and then passive power will be achieved within a year.CHAPTER FIVE: TAKING THE RIGHT PATHWhy is it that when we hear scholars reciting poetry, there are popular folk songs as well as poems of highbrow artistry? One style is distinguished while the other is common, just like the clear water of the Wei River and the muddy water of the Jing River, which cannot be confused. Boxing arts have softness and hardness. This is really no different than the notion of poetry being either refined or crude. What is the reason for it? It is simply that there are different paths to take. Some poet decides he will be a preeminent talent. He has learned the fundamentals, but then instead of striving toward the dignified, he tends toward the common, and is consequently inferior in style, a style he could get stuck in for the rest of his life. He cannot drive it away until he earnestly puts pen to paper and declares that his phrases are outstanding, certain to be immortal, admired by the pedants in the private schools, and he then takes his work to a publisher to have all his exciting ideas put in print to show to connoisseurs. Once he gazes upon his finished insights, it then seems to him like the mountaintop has cleared of mist and is now starkly reflected in the water, and his remarkable and unique style is finally fully revealed to him. Feeling ashamed, he suddenly realizes his error as he looks for any correct insights, skimming through for anything that deserves to be kept. He then knows he did not choose the right way and had wandered down the wrong path. Henceforth when he recites verse, he will ponder weightily upon what he used to consider to be a beautiful composition and no longer dares to use one word of, woe is he. How is the appraisal of boxing instructors in terms of hard power versus deep skill any different from this scenario? Some practitioner throws out his punches and they are hardly pulled back before going out again. He then says: My punch could collapse Mt. Tai. Every step he takes is at a high level of difficulty and his spins are so quick. He then says: My kick could turn the world. The sounds of his body are pleasantly like pecking, and his leaps are so impressive. Ordinary people watch him and are full of praise. He thus becomes full of himself and brags about his skill. Then some notable expert sneers about him from the sidelines, and so he of course becomes furious about this and shouts out a challenge. Then in the blink of an eye, his body falls down several paces away, and it at last dawns on him that his own skill is greatly inferior to others. He asks to be taught so he can learn authentic material, now aware that he is incapable of using a single technique of what he had practiced or adopt a single posture from what he had trained. Why is this? Because he took the wrong path and he now has to entirely throw out his previous training. Compare this to going to Fujian [from Hangzhou]. You must take the road that goes south. Whereas to go to Hebei, you must take the road that goes north. But if you are already in the north and you wish to go to the south, you must turn around and go from the north to then be able to reach the south. I therefore say that in the beginning of the training, you cannot afford to be ignorant as to which path to take. To develop power in boxing arts, you should keep to the correct goals, regardless of hardness or softness. One who does not obtain the training method will then of course be considered hard, whereas one who does will be strongly proclaimed as being soft. Because of this, later generations came up with the two branches [internal and external], and their names remain to this day. When we try to compare them for their advantages and disadvantages, everyone knows that soft power is lacking in hardness, yet hard power is inferior to soft. My art is considered to be soft, for it values softness rather than hardness, nimble adaptation rather than awkward stiffness, breathing through the nose rather than the mouth, poise of spirit rather than vigorous effort. Why so? With softness, energy will flow without obstruction and blood will circulate without stagnancy. Nimbly adapting means that when the opponents hands are about to adjust, my hands are adjusting, and then by the time he has adjusted, I have already found a way in. By breathing through my nose, the breath stays even, thereby preventing cool air from entering my lungs and damaging my constructive and defensive energy. With poise of spirit, spirit and energy are merged into one, and passive power courses through to my fingertips to destroy a strong opponent. A practitioner of the other arts is not like this. He emphasizes hardness, which obstructs the movement of his energy, as well as keeping his blood from flowing smoothly, and will result in illness. He becomes stiff, thus making the mistake of generating hardness, with the result that when his opponents hand makes an adjustment, he is unable to respond, and when he is about to respond, he is already in a disadvantageous position. With his mouth open instead of closed, he grunts loudly, and he ends up sweating and panting, his mouth opening wider still, whereupon cold air will pour in and its influence will make its way to the organs, causing such harm as cannot be described in words. Moreover, while lunging in to close the distance, dust will be thrown up all around him and will be full of bacteria that cannot really be avoided. Therefore close your mouth and use your nose, for your nose has hairs that block bacteria and mucus that eliminates germs. If your mouth is open rather than closed, bacteria mixed into the dust will rush straight in, weakening your bodys power of resistance until you give way to illness. As for one who puts forth effort instead of gathering spirit, power will be obstructed at the shoulder and not penetrate to the fingertips. Compare this to a steelyard scale. The shoulder is like the lever point, the elbow the middle section, the fingers the end section, and the power is like the counterpoise. For the steelyard to weight a heavy object, the counterpoise must be slid down toward the end section. The weight hung on the other end can now be weighed if it is very heavy but not if it is very light. Therefore practitioners of boxing arts who exert strength are hanging their weight at the other end of the steelyard [instead of letting the power flow all the way out to their fingers like the overpowering weight of the counterpoise being slid all the way to the end].

ABCDThe force the body can generate is A, the object to be weighed by the steelyard. The shoulder is B, the lever point. The fingertip is C, the end section of the steelyard. The power is D, the counterpoise. When practitioners deliberately use force, power gets stuck at the shoulder. Even if your body has a thousand pounds of force, it will not of much use, like all the weight being hung from the lever point. Even if this steelyard could weigh an object of a thousand pounds, you would in such a situation be unable to express the power you are capable of. Therefore you must send power penetrating to your fingertips so that the power of your whole body can manifest and be of use. With the counterpoise pushed all the way to the end, the steelyard can weigh objects to the full weight that it is capable of.Alas, he who practices hard power in this way will sometimes spit blood or have a worrying cough. Examining for the source of such ailments, they are all the result of damaging ones energy. If not urgently treated, the result may be death, truly a pitiable situation. Therefore a weak-bodied man will shy away from that sort of school, fearing that his body is not healthy enough to be practicing, not knowing that they are using an improper method that should not be practiced anyway. I have seen that practicing those kinds of arts can result in illnesses, whereas practicing my art can cure them. Why is this? For no other reason than that my energy is smooth whereas their energy is coarse. Energy is like water. When water is unhindered, it flows. But if obstructed, it overflows. And when there is flood, there is disaster, an inevitable outcome. When energy is obstructed, it will not flow smoothly, and when it surges, it will lead to chaos. Either way, health would be a sadly rare event. So choose your path very cautiously.CHAPTER SIX: THE EIGHTEEN TECHNIQUESThe variety of martial systems is like the branching of countless rivers. The different transmissions from teachers to students have resulted in different techniques. What then are the Zimen techniques like? They emphasize softness instead of stiffness, quickness instead of slowness, dexterity instead of clumsiness, roundness instead of sloppiness. Its issuing is like an arrow leaving a bowstring. Its turning is like the rapid rotation of a wheel. Its movement is like the fragrant elephant crossing the Ganges. [This refers to the Buddhist parable of a rabbit, horse, and elephant crossing the river. The rabbit floats across, symbolizing a superficial experience of existence. The horse sinks halfway, symbolizing a closer relationship to truth but still not quite there. The elephant sinks all the way down and walks along the river bottom, symbolizing enlightenment, i.e. getting right to the bottom of things. The meaning here is thus that the Zimen movements are of the no nonsense variety.] Its stillness is like the gazelle hanging up its horns. [This refers to the classical idea of a gazelle sleeping with its horns put up in a tree so that only its hind legs are touching the ground. The phrase was used to describe poetry that was enchantingly aloof. The Zimen stillness is thus fearlessly aloof toward opponents.] From beginning to end it has the surpassing power of Hans tides and Sus seas [i.e. the potent writings of Han Yu and Su Dongpo] which leave nothing in their wake. This gives the general idea.[1] When encountering an opponent, you must begin with TESTING, or searching. What does this mean? Searching means to feel for where the opponent is empty and full. It is like when employing an army you must ascertain the enemys situation in order to know from which direction you can attack and what ground you can exploit. Therefore once I lift my hand, I do not yet set my mind on victory. I must examine his situation, so I extend my hand. If I can take advantage of his position, I will do so immediately. If not, I will switch to a different technique. I lure him into advancing to ensure that I can make use of his force. This is called estimate your opponent, then attack [Mengzi, chapter 2a]. If I were to lift my arm and strike in a single action, this would be like being blind to the enemys situation and penetrating deep into enemy territory with an isolated force. Such a maneuver would rarely be a masterstroke. Therefore my whole body has to be soft. My hand shoots out, then withdraws. But if I withdraw quickly, my force cannot capture his. If I am soft, then my posture can easily transform. My mind should be focused and not scattered, then even if he goes through countless transformations, I will respond like Zhuangzis famous butcher cutting up a cow [Zhuangzi, chapter 3]: Swish, swish, the blade glides through with room to spare.[2] Then continue into SENDING. SENDING means darting. What is darting? It is to strike suddenly. When using an army, an opening has to be exploited. If troops are amassed but not put into action, then even if the army is made of cr