Stretching The Basics

未學功夫，先學跌打

Before studying skills one shall study acrobatics1

Flexibility has been researched for over 100 years. Its track record is unimpressive, particularly when viewed in light of other components of physical fitness. Flexibility lacks predictive and concurrent validity value with meaningful health and performance outcomes. Consequently, it should be retired as a major component of fitness2.

三年樁，兩年拳

Postures for three years, boxing two years

The first quote apparently makes the link between practising martial arts and acrobatics, which become a prerequisite. Acrobatics and the extreme flexibility they require doesn’t seem to have a lot to do with using a sword or any weapon of the old times. So, why did it use to be a part of the basic training of a lot of styles until recently, shared by both internal and external methods? 

Hard Round Or Tender Oval

打拳壯筋骨

Training to strengthen fascias and bones.

寧練筋長一寸，不練肉厚三分

Rather train to lengthen the fascias by one inch than to thicken the flesh by one third.

Contracting the muscles has become such a common norm that we tend to think that it is the only way to move, generate strength... Even when the terms of isotonic, concentric and eccentric are used to oppose three states, maintaining the same length, shortening and extending, it is always in regards to contraction. Still, there is a world outside of contraction, where the muscles relax and extend to their fullest, tensing without contracting. Already mentioned in this blog (see Fascia Elasticity), the image of the bow is central to such understanding, using the body and more especially the fascias and the flesh elasticity is a question of structure.

A Bit Of A Stretch

練形者，又名曰展筋脫骨
He who trains the shape, also called spreading out the fascias and the bones coming off1.

Flexibility has been researched for over 100 years. Its track record is unimpressive, particularly when viewed in light of other components of physical fitness. Flexibility lacks predictive and concurrent validity value with meaningful health and performance outcomes. Consequently, it should be retired as a major component of fitness2.

Open societies in our times suffer from a never-ending flow of information on any and all subjects and coming from virtually anybody with a computer who decides to write on something. Adding the marketing, political and other agendas people tend to push through information, the result is more confusion or a return to just one’s own beliefs, even though they are totally false. Old oral transmission was all about self-discovery, which meant information was scarce and shared only when time was ripe.

Sturdy Structure

拳怕少壯

The fist fears the young and robust¹

膂力過人

An outstanding backbone strength²

打拳壯筋骨

Training strengthens fascias and bones.

刀越磨越亮，體越練越壯

The more is polished a knife the brighter it is, the more is trained a body the stronger it is.

冬養骨，夏伸筋

Winter to grow bones, summer to extend the fascias

The need to first transform the body, stressing on fascias and bones, which has already been described in length in this blog, is the basis of the external training of internal practices. 

Worlds Apart

拳怕少壯, 棍怕老郎

The fist fears the young and vigorous, the stick the old gentleman.

若能棍，則各利器之法，從此得矣¹

As skilled with the stick, then the method for each sharp weapon is henceforth obtained.

赤手空拳

Unarmed and defenceless (empty hands and empty fists)

The first meaning brought by such a saying is, of course, that boxing and fighting with weapons are actually very different.

Grinding

難得糊塗

Ignorance is bliss.

字字要咬出汁漿來

Every character must be chewed until its juice is out.

With still no time to do the necessary research and write long posts came the opportunity to experience a method used by old practices described in the second quote.

Lean And Sinewy

寧練筋長一寸，不練肉厚三分

Rather train to lengthen the fascias by one inch than to thicken the flesh by one third.

To compare with 外練筋骨皮.

Shining Eyes, Light Hands & Nimble Body

内練精氣神，外練手眼身

Inside essential liquids, vapours  and spirit are trained; outside hands, eyes and body are trained.

The concept of internal and external is a basic of Chinese culture.

Posture With A Little Push

A good stance and posture reflect a proper state of mind¹.

把勢、把勢，全憑架式

Skill, bluster, it is all a question of posture².

理是功能之本，法是功能之機

Structure is the essence of capacity, method its crucial point².

Posture used to be one of the cornerstones of internal practices. It served many purposes, but deep body transformation and breathing training were amongst the most important. Nowadays, postures are limited, both in their range and diversity.

Bamboo, Iron And Cotton, A New Realm

一层功，一层理

One level of skill, one level of intrinsic order¹.

古者謂是采真之遊

This is what the ancients called plucking the genuine wanderings².

Old practices were about constantly evolving, which meant changes, which meant to sometimes reach something totally new with very different rules or principles to be followed.

Cycles, Awakened Application

拳理需靜悟，拳技要勤修

Boxing principles need to be calmly awaken, boxing skills must be diligently cultivated.

功到取成

Fetching when the skill is there.

Even for Chinese speakers, the martial art language seems obscure, if not totally incomprehensible. As far as a being an oral teaching stressing on self-discovery, it seems quite opportune to have such tool, but it has, of course and like anything, many drawbacks. Indeed, before even getting lost in translation, people often end up going astray when using terms having more than one meaning, not applying the right one to the right training.

Cycles, Evolution

理是功能之本，法是功能之機*

Pattern is the foundation of capacity, method its pivot.

One of the reasons, but not the only one, of the versatility of the internal arts’ theory, is that training has to adapt its principles according to one’s body deep transformation. To do so, apart from the hijacking method already described many times in this blog, characters with more than one meaning or rewording a saying were amongst the means used to achieve multi-layer understandings.

First In, Last Out

後發先至，後發三至，後發後至

Shooting after, reaching first; shooting after, three reaching first; shooting from the rear, the rear reaching.

“Shooting after, reaching first” to be linked with “he doesn’t move, I don’t move; he moves, I arrive first”.

Cycles, Versatility

一层功，一层理

One level of skills, one level of principles

Old methods teachings are often compared to a spiral, repeating the same training but at a different level, hence the quote. As to demonstrate such method, the present blog has reached a time to start over, review some of the basics of internal practices with a deeper understanding.

Raging Waters

力如千斤壓頂，勁似利箭穿革

Power is like half a ton bearing down on the top, strength as a sharp arrow piercing leather.

On has to be heavy as well as penetrating.

Writing And Chaos

一層功，一層理

A  level of skill, a level of theory

沉肩墜肘

浮肩昂肘

Sinking shoulders and dropping elbows.

Floating shoulders and soaring elbows.

以氣為主，以力當先

以氣為主，以理當先

Vapours direct, strength must come first.

Vapours direct, theory must come first.

There is a fencing manual, the Sword of Chaos, which embodies the internal arts influenced by the Taoist theory. It has already been quoted in this blog but it may be interesting to develop parts of it as examples of themes often recurrent in internal practices. Still, before doing so, following the last post on the Lady of Yue, one has to further understand what kind of writing is mainly found as far as martial arts are concerned and the issues brought along. 

Opportune

一層功，一層理

A  level of skill, a level of theory.

Old Chinese practices are about chaos, not rule.

Walking Straight

步不活则拳乱，步不快则拳慢

Boxing is confused when one’s steps are not vivid, not fast when they are slow.

打人如走路

Hitting is like walking.

一步練錯百步歪

One step trained wrongly, a hundred wicked ones.

Posture and semi-static moves learned, one finally could walk. Walking knows a lot of different kinds of training some with tools, all meant to first provide the best balance and rooting while having one’s roots in motion and, of course, also power and precision.

Weeding

打人如走路，看人如蒿草

Hitting like walking, regarding people as weed.

To be linked with “Boxing knows no moral, morals are empty words”.

Voiding The Lady, Martial Arts Writing

彈歌
斷竹，續竹；
飛土，逐宍。
Song of the Pellet Bow
Cutting bamboos, joining bamboos;
Flying mud, chasing meat.*

性是功能之本，命是功能之基。
Nature** is the essence of capability, lot its foundation.

十里不同音。 
A different pronunciation every five kilometres. 

Voiding the interpretations of the Lady of Yue is actually quite simple, the text is coming from an historical novel. Furthermore, the method used, deciphering enigmas, is certainly not a way to translate Classical Chinese. Still, it had to be done because this text is used as a reference in book compilations and some television series about martial arts, often introduced as one of the first martial arts writing.