Do It Like They Do On the Discovery Channel! - Now w/ video!

[MaartenSFS]

So... this week Zhang Binghai, a Xinyiliuhequan master from Henan province is visiting and he had some wisdom to impart on me. Some of you may recall that I met him about a year and a half ago on a similar visit to Guilin, at the request of my Shifu. This man has some incredibly scary skill. Here are some of the main points that I've learned over the past several days:

1) His power generation comes almost exclusively from Caijibu. It is circular in nature and the stepping is like pedaling a bicycle. The strike is done on the step and the whole body is like a spinning wheel. He can literally send any of us, even Shifu, flying back MANY metres and with both feet clear off the ground with no effort at all.

2) "If animals don't do it, don't train it." When he moves, he is lithe, like a tiger or leopard. His Shenfa is crazy. So relaxed, but powerful. I'm not at liberty to say too much, but my takeaway is that we should strive to generate power like a pouncing tiger or a striking mantis. At ease, supple, rapid, no hesitation, precise.. "Do tigers hit pads?" "Do they practise with weights? Why is a dog more powerful than a man?" These are just some of the questions he asked me. We should train our arms to be as strong as our legs.

3) Less is more. By using the principle from (2) we are trimming down my current regiment and replacing a lot of things with simple Gongli exercises. "The biggest scam in martial arts is that it's usually only the first several things that a teacher teaches you that actually produce Gongfu." He has taught me some Gongli exercises to generate different types of power and advocates that I be mostly formless and just train a handful of actual techniques. "In the end it is really your body doing the striking. Your limbs just facilitate it."

4) Good footwork adds crazy power to your strikes. Me: "But you didn't step that time." Zhang Shifu: "It was internal." Me: *MIND BLOWN*

For various reasons I decided not to study the entire system, but what he has taught me so far is pure gold and can be applied to any art. More importantly, the two masters are learning from each other and I have the chance to learn from both (and others). When Zhang Shifu leaves we will discuss what happened and how to apply what we learned.

Here is a video, but it doesn't do him justice: http://www.56.com/u75/v_Nzc2ODQ1Mjg.html

[TaiChiTJ]

Awesome post. You are obviously having a great learning experience. Thanks for communicating.

[kenneth fish]

Sounds very much like master QIan Zhaohong's approach. If I were in your shoes (or sneakers) I would spend as much time as possible learning from this man.

[Bao]

I liked the post. Interesting. Thank you for sharing.

Sounds very much like master QIan Zhaohong's approach.

From what I've understood Qian's XYLH is not the "purest" one...

]If I were in your shoes (or sneakers) I would spend as much time as possible learning from this man.

+1

[somatai]

Nice!

[wiesiek]

I`m singed on M fans page too

[Strange]

Thanks for sharing, great stuff
Point No. 2's Fortune-Cookie-O-Meter is so much off the scale,
you need a Fortune Cookie Grand Master to read it.
Just in case, anyone is curious/interested.

[Andy_S]

Good post and the point about moving like an animal is one that is well taken. I would add that this is one of the things that separates good CMA from Japanese and Korean empty hand MA: They tend to be much more machine-like.

Over the last few years reading RSF, have become increasingly interested in Xinyi - particularly after Derek took it up and has been singing its praises ever since. Is this really the "holy grail" of internal power generation?

BTW Martin, see if you can capture this chap no cam next time he pops by to visit. Is he the guy who is a bodyguard in Macau?

[Bao]

Over the last few years reading RSF, have become increasingly interested in Xinyi - particularly after Derek took it up and has been singing its praises ever since.

Can't blame you. I have a friend who studied for Qian Xiaohong. Seems to be incredibly fun practice.

Is this really the "holy grail" of internal power generation?

Well... Don't know about that. But from my extremely limited experience, it seems to lack the thinking of substance and keeping structure, all those things that people focus on instead of relaxing.

[MaartenSFS]

I have added a video to the OP. That's all that I can get for now. We have videos on my master's QQ page, but they are password protected and only disciples can get in. Sorry..

Zhang Shifu's power has to be felt. It's all Anjin. In the video, the part where he steps and strikes with his palms, like a push.. That's what he uses to send us flying. Thank God he never used his full power...

From my experience, Bao, XYLHQ is more about keeping structure than any other art I've seen. It's one of the reasons that my personality doesn't fit with it. Requires too much patience.. Then again, so do Bagua and Taiji.. I have learned some, but I don't think I'll ever learn the whole system. That Caijbu is so damned hard to get right!

[Bao]

From my experience, Bao, XYLHQ is more about keeping structure than any other art I've seen. It's one of the reasons that my personality doesn't fit with it. Requires too much patience.. Then again, so do Bagua and Taiji.. I have learned some, but I don't think I'll ever learn the whole system. That Caijbu is so damned hard to get right!

Interesting POV. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

[somatai]

Great stuff! Train hard!

[dspyrido]

The magic of xylh it is that is a no bullshit approach to training that simply focuses in on enabling power through the coordinations (lower, longer, faster, correctness, twisting etc.). It is not a style in the traditional sense but a collection of gruelling bodyweight exercises that make the body supple, strong and sunk. There are some videos on youtube but fundamentally what is shown is not really xylh but are demonstration pieces like linking form. For the real essence of the art you have got to look for the really mundane repetitive bodyweight exercises. As many of the guys who do the style will say .... it is not beautiful.

The issue with this is that it's not for the beginner out to some self defense and it is not something that is learnt overnight. As my old sifu used to say - get a black belt somewhere else and then learn xylh.

Xylh does not force any stylistics views on fighting. With the exercises the body would change and the way you move is just fused in with whatever moves you choose to apply. Power is power and all the xylh people I know have all trained in other art forms. After an extended time with xylh the art just becomes your own.

As a final thought - xylh is really just drilling good principles found hidden in ima. If anyone where to do the same correct thing over and over with the same focus then they will naturally build up the same capability no matter what style.

[Andy_S]

DSpyrido, cheers. Have started another thread to discuss - Xinyi to Xingi. Feel free to chime in.

[MaartenSFS]

I concur and have experienced much the same. XYLHQ gets a big thumbs up from me. As my Shifu says, "Xinyi is the engine which you can then put into the other arts you have learned or will learn."