Right on the edge of happiness

Martial arts has always been a strange animal. I find it paradoxical that people have a desire to be strong without an understanding of where real strength comes from. If I tell a stranger who comes to my school that I teach how to invest in failure they may leave on the spot. We live in a society where the motto,’ Invest in success‘ , is yelled from the roof tops and our idea of success is what we can obviously see. In Kung Fu the things of importance are not obvious and, quite frankly, not necessary in our daily affairs. This practice is about rebellion, not the kind that everyone thrives on, the attention grabbing affair, but rather the inner struggle: doing otherwise when it is most difficult. What I am talking about is pushing ourselves the point of failure, always slightly beyond our capability and instead of submitting to defeat,  getting up and doing it again. This may appear to be masochistic at first glance, but as an experiental method it can be the highest form of self examination. Traditional methods are directed towards the highest ideals for self examination.

A real school should be a forum where individuals learn to give up what is most wanted for what is most needed.  For us, what is most needed is  an unbroken line of attention matched by an unbroken line of force. In traditional methods to stop conflict is not as important as how a conflict is dealt with; to reconcile opposition and create new continuing lines of innovation is the ideal. The teachers responsibility is to pull the best effort from the students and keep them safe at the same time. This requires enough skill from the teacher to give the students freedom to make mistakes and  take chances without being beaten down or injured. A good teacher with proper skill should be able to say to their students, “Do your best! I promise not to hurt you and if I get hurt in the process I will not blame you.”

Kung Fu has a  pragmatic methodology that is experiential by nature. Without experiential verification there can be only words, postures and pretty movements. A good teacher should be open about exchanging with the students not only through showing but through physical contact. This can be as simple as checking the rooted mobility of a student or moving on to various levels of free practice. The free empty hands sparring and/or weapons practice may be competitive but self examination is the true intent. Traditional schools should avoid excessive amounts of heavy protective equipment because they allow people to be clumsy, aggressive and stupid. We should develop fluidity and make adjustments in the degree of force we use. That’s what real skill is. It is one thing to keep yourself safe at the cost of another person. A skillful practitioner should be able to keep himself and the other safe. The degree of the skill the practitioners possess dictates the level of intensity of the interaction between them. The more skill the practitioners have the less protective equipment they should need.

The skill of the practitioner is in direct relation to  the responsibility given in a traditional school. The structure is similar to an extended family. In order for the family to flourish there must be mutual assistance and a shared common goal. The first and most important goal of practice should be an impartial self examination leading to a deeper understanding. To do this we need to remove all the internal dialogue that infests itself into every waking moment. Intense physical practice along with calm breath can be very efficient for quieting the mind. The form and function of a traditional school is an intense physical method requiring a response to spontaneous changes along an unbroken line of direction, force and attention. This is right on the edge  where we are most awake and alive. Once a person has tasted the essence of this profound yet fleeting experience there is no turning back. We want to go deeper and for this to happen we must invest in the unknown. In doing so we know that failure is just around the corner. This is what is meant by investing in failure, holding on to the essence of the unbroken line until it breaks.  Our success is in the duration of time we maintain the unbroken line. This is not fighting in the ordinary sense because a real fight should last only a short time and it is not particularly enjoyable. What we want to do is maintain that razors edge as long as possible. To live right on the edge of happiness is a worthy goal.

The meaning of “GOU”(hook) in praying mantis

The translation for the word ‘gou’ is hook, like a fish hook or a grappling hook. it is a name given to an item or tool that used to catch hold of something and pull it in. In the praying mantis system it is one of the first of the twelve words used for the essence of the style. There are more than twelve words that are used to formulate the system, depending on the branch of praying mantis and the lineage there can be any where from twelve to thirty one. Over time I will go over the  main twelve  and will continue with the others if and when I feel the need.

The term gou as a technique in Seven Star and Plum Flower Praying Mantis is generally connected with the signature hand position practitioners refer to this as the Praying Mantis hand. It is also called the Intercepting hand or tiao shou. The hand extends out and the fingers drape downwards in a kind of hooking position as in the following illustrationss.

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This is not a grabbing maneuver. The intent is not to hang on the opponent to keep them from moving away but to break an opponents timing and alter their avenue of escape. When the opponent reaches out with and attack of some sort the response is to extend, intercept and hook along the line of force that has already been given.

One of the misconceptions regarding the hooking method is that in the praying mantis system is the idea that tiao shou or the signature praying mantis hand is required for it to work. In the beginning of practicing this method it may be true that this is only way to do guo. The main reason is because in the beginning we can only understand this as principle of technique rather than a principle of force. In the pure essence of all practices if we have the ability to intercept, adhere and follow a force then a physical latching maneuver is more of crutch than a necessity. In other words the use of the tiao shou technique when performing guo is useful but not required. This hooking energy can be done quite well without the use of the hand at all. The less encumbered we are by the physical mechanics of a method the more easily we can respond with immediacy to a force we encounter. The following illustration give one example of just a condition.

When examining any technique or methodology of practice we must always keep in mine that in the end it comes down to how we respond to and generate forces.

DRILL, RISE, FALL,OVERTURN

Gun, Zuan, Zheng, Gou- Rolling, Drilling, Striving, Encircling

This terminology is borrowed from the Ba Qua system as an assist in explaining the idea of silk reeling energy. All methods of force generation come from the spiralling structure of the silk reeling method. These words are used as a reference for variations of Jin (force), which flow sequentially from the inside to the outside door of the body. The illustrations below will hopefully help as a visual representation for the right arm and hand movement.

Gun (rolling) implies the circling motion of the arms and shoulders.

Zuan (drilling) is a turning and forward motion constituting a drilling movement with the arms.

Zheng (striving) refers to extending the arm to its’ farthest extreme.

Gou (encircling) implies an embracing movement across the front of the chest. These are the four basic arm movements, which make up ‘nei chan si jing’ ( inside silk reeling energy) structure.

The four energies (Gun, Zuan, Zheng, Gou,) are not simply a sequence of arm movements, but rather an extension of what the body has created. In the ideal sense this group of energies can and do exist without the arms moving at all.

In order to have a better understanding of this it helps to introduce another related principle that also is borrowed from Ba Qua system.

Rise to Drill, Fall to Overturn- PiZuan DiFan

To rise refers to the unbroken arcing line of force. The force is derived from the energy of the earth and is released through the waist and midsection (dan tain). The chest and back should be engaged with the spine in proper alignment (upright), in order to generate force properly. This rising principle is related to ‘striving’.

To drill refers to a relentless penetrating energy. This force is like a bird of prey, which folds its’ wing back to dive like bullet into the forest after its’ quarry.

To fall is smooth flowing force, which permeates the postures the way water finds the pathways to all things. This energy has a settling, enveloping quality. This principle is connected to encircling.

To overturn refers to the circulating force that is constantly in action in and around us. This includes the front, back, left, right, upward, downward, inside and outside. The force turns continuously like a wheel in all directions. This creates a condition, in which nothing is penetrable. This principle is related to ‘rolling’.

Although principle has a relationship to overturning, drilling, striving and encircling, it has a far more encompassing relationship to all of the body’s movement. This means it applies to the arm movements whether they move inside out or outside in as in the illustration below.

This principle applies to the arms, legs, hips, pelvic area, spine, waist and back and all the major joints. Whenever we refer to using the body as a unified structure to generate force the spirally forces of silk reeling energy must be deeply understood.

Natural Stepping

NATURAL STEPPING

By Scott Ripke

There is a saying in traditional martial arts regarding the older generation of masters. When asked about technique the master might respond,” I do not teach technique. I teach stepping. “ This was not what most students learned in the general school population. Stepping was considered the most important part of all technique and the master would hold back these principles so as to maintain the upper hand when he was challenged by one of his students. Usually only the oldest and most trusted of students were given this information. Today one of the main weaknesses of martial practice is the lack of knowledge regarding the proper footwork and stepping. The following is a brief examination and explanation of the principles of stepping from a Chinese martial arts point of view.

The first place to start when discussing the principles of stepping is the study of the act of walking. We take it for granted because we already know how. We do it unconsciously. This is where we invariably miss an important opportunity. The way we walk dictates the foundation of any movement we perform and for this reason we are obligated to examine it.

In traditional Chinese martial arts the chi (the life force circulating through us) should reside in the lower dantain, (the area about three inches below the belly button). This includes the lower back area from the kidneys to the tailbone.

The pelvis is essentially the carriage of our body and we ideally should sit comfortably in it as if seated in a swing. Our spine and head should be upright and uplifted as if it were the chain from which the swing hangs. The lower back area needs to be heavy as is aligns to the pelvis and the pelvis itself should be conceptually the heaviest part of the body. When walking we should pay close attention to where the energy moves. For a majority of people the energy consolidates in the head and chest areas. One of the ways to check oneself in this regard is through balance. When the energy is high we generally use our eyes for balance. Visual equilibrium is connected to the inner ear. If we lose our sense of equilibrium through our sight and/or inner ear damage we can regain it by sinking the chi to the dantian. The energy that moves through our body needs to be generated from our root. The lower dantain establishes where the root center of our body is. This is the area from which the initial force of any movement must begin. The legs swing naturally from the pelvic area and the feet have weightiness to them. When the feet are heavy our bodies will naturally allow their weight to carry the momentum of the step. When the pelvis is heavy the equilibrium of the step can be stabilized. In Chinese martial arts we call this natural stepping. It is considered an important practice and a special secret of the old masters.

The Kung Fu Way

By Scott Ripke

When people ask me what I teach in my school I tell them the styles; Long Fist, Praying Mantis, TaiChi. More importantly, I teach using Six Harmonies principles and methods. Paul Eng, one of my first teachers, has poetry related to this on the back cover of one of his books. It is reprinted here as an example of one way this idea has been transmitted from generation to generation.

Heaven has three things of importance;

Sun, Moon, Stars.

Earth has three things of importance;

Fire, Water, Wind.

Man has three things of importance;

Energy, Chi, Spirit.

Through out history, no true martial artist has missed these three steps:

To train energy until it melts into chi;

To train chi until it melts into spirit.

This is the Kung-Fu way.

The purpose of Six Harmonies is to establish the conditions needed for conscious movement. In order to understand what those conditions are we need to understand what is required to function harmoniously.

There are physical (external) and energetic (internal) aspects. The three internal aspects of the Six Harmonies are: Essences or Jing, refers to the ‘energy’ we given at birth, Air/Breath or Chi, refers to our birth energy that we have cultivated through intention and Spirit or Shen, is Chi that is refined or streamlined towards a specific point. This can mean to generate a great deal of force for an important task that can be physical nature or it can be directed towards a higher spiritual awakening.

These internal aspects are directly related to the physical body. The body is the vehicle by which these energies are cultivated. These subtle and dynamic forces assist in the health and transformation of the physical body. There are various methods used to explain the working dynamics between the physical and internal relationship. When explaining the three external portions of the six harmonies it is important to make a distinct connection to the three internal.

The three external aspects of Six Harmonies are: Hands or ‘Shou’, the first physical appendages that we use to make sense of our environment. What we grasp with the hands are things we want to understand, the same way a young child constantly grabs at any available object. For this reason the hands are related to the essences. Eyes or ‘Yan’, constitute the conceptual vision of the environment we inhabit. We touch something and we develop a picture of it. We become attracted to the things we touch. This attraction leads our awareness towards the substance of our experience. To transform essences into chi one needs a clear conceptual understanding before an intention can be established. The eyes lead to the intention of ones’ desire.

That intention leads the chi. Therefore the eyes and the chi are connected. Body ot ‘Shen’‘, is the last because once the hands and eyes become active the body will follow. In this way the spirit and the body are together. The idea of Six Harmonies is a tool for how we approach our daily affairs. It can be used by anyone with a little guidance from a competent practitioner.