Vitality and Strength

眼無神, 拳無魂

Eyes with no expression, boxing without spirit

氣發若風行, 氣納吞百川*

Vapours are emitted like the wind, vapours receive, swallowing a hundred rivers

夫內勁寓於無形之中，接於有形之表，而難以言傳**

The inside strength is in the incorporeal, connecting with a corporeal expression, thus very hard to convey in words

Chinese arts differentiate strength from just body force. In Chinese, force is 力, which originally was a representation of human tendons or connective tissues***, "筋也。象人筋之形". Strength is 勁, the "underground river", 巠, of force, 力.
The idea is then that, apart from the visible body force coming from fascia elasticity or muscle contraction, there is another one, invisible since underground, and with a flow, hence river. Energy is often used in the West to describe it, though vitality seems to be a more accurate notion. In China, the term 气, vapours, is used to describe some of the processes linked to one's vitality. If already using fascias to generate force may seem challenging, using vitality, since it is invisible, is even more. Still, the use of the term 气 for gas is a key to understand how to generate internal force through vitality because being full of it has the same effect air has on an inflated ball. Furthermore, 气, vapours, flowing through the body in two revolutions, one small, 小周天, and one big, 大周天, can also be enhanced. Finally, if vitality remains mainly invisible, it still has some visible effects on the body, the eyes being one of them, the change of one's gaze being a sign of the presence and use of vitality.

Vitality and the Ball

The effect on one's strength vitality has is very easy to understand, it is just like bouncing a ball. Like in basketball, there is a link between one physical force needed to bounce the ball and how much it is inflated. Full of air, the ball bounces back almost effortlessly while if not correctly inflated, it takes a lot of more efforts for a lesser result.

气, vapours, the manifestation of vitality according to Chinese internal practices, has exactly the same effect air has on a bouncing ball, it enhances the effects of physical force. It is not then surprising that we use expressions like being full of energy or being pumped up to describe the state where someone is, indeed, in a great shape, allowing him/her to perform in a better and easier way than usual.

If the level of one's vitality automatically enhance force, it is also possible to use the flow of vitality as a mean to more strength by making it faster.

Vitality and the Flow

As it was described in the previous post, accelerating the flow is a way to enhance one's strength. Abnormal practices uses emotions, like becoming bersek, internal practices do the opposite, they reach a void with no feeling and no thought and then mobilise the organs, starting with the peeping thieve technique as shortly described in Foggy Heart and through breathing techniques linked to 息 to learn to do so. Such techniques have left some marks in martial trainings, the concept of 無心, literately being heartless, being one of the most known ones. Heartless, emotionless and then thoughtless in order to reach a void.

Accelerating the flow improve one's readiness, enhancing precision and focus, a part of power. Still, because internal practices were about finding visible signs to stay in check, especially when dealing the incorporeal, the eyes iris was used as such for one's vitality.

Clear, Sharp and Shining Iris

Among ways to have a more or less objective idea of one's level of vitality and its flow is the iris. Indeed, the clearness is supposed to be a sign of vapours, 气, flowing correctly, or that the organs are in good shape, the sharpness that the flow is strong, or that one's level of vitality is high, and the shine that it flows rapidly.

In everyday life, when paying attention, one can see the change in the iris when tired, just awake, after a physical exercise or linked to emotions like the expressions glint in one's eyes or light in one's eyes refer to. Because internalists where about having the stronger and fastest flow possible when needed, their eyes could become like almost possessed, like a wild animal or as immortalised by the warriors statues in many temples. Even at rest, the sharpness of their gaze would remain. Nowadays, some practices try to maintain such a wild gaze, but one has to make the difference between looking wild and really being it. Furthermore, as sharp and shining would be one gaze, internal Martists made sure to look inside and not push their gaze outside unless necessary, because it would deplete their vitality. In other words, such gaze shall not be forced but just come naturally without noticing, the only thing a Martist shall do is to avoid directing his/her gaze outside, firmly keeping it inside.

Vitality is a great component of power but it still has to be reconciled with force, as the saying "練勁不練力，勁力打拙力", "to train strength without training force only brings clumsiness" goes. In their try to use vitality and 气, vapours, internal practices developed the concept of Cinabar Field or Dantian, 丹田, another important basic concept to be dealt with.

*Discourse on Training Vapours, 練氣論

**Six Harmonies Ten Major Essentials Preface, 10. Talking About Strength,  六合十大要序, 十曰勁

***It is interesting to notice that one of the first representations of 力 was a crooked cross, one of the principles used to train fascias...