THE ‘MARTIAL’ ASPECT OF YI ‘QUAN’
These series of post are mainly
my own LIMITED thoughts and experience from practicing Yiquan and should be
taken with a HUGE DOSE OF SALT.
In this modern day and age, one
rarely encounters a situation where one needs to use martial arts to protect
oneself. So why should one persist in learning Yi ‘QUAN’? Should one instead
focus exclusively on ‘Zhan Zhuang’ the health component of Yiquan only? For a
normal reasonably healthy individual, I would dare to venture and say vehemently
“NO! NO! NO!”
A wise person once said to me, “Once
your health is at its’ pinnacle, your martial ability spirit will manifest”.
A simpler way to explain this
is that the martial component of Yiquan is NOT exclusively about sparring or
fighting. At the most benign end of the spectrum, it is merely the testing of
force. Simply put, it is a COMPASS that provides a feedback loop as to quality
of your practice of Yiquan.
Internal martial arts practice
such as Tai Chi Chuan or Yiquan are often dumbed down into meaningless sets of
exercises that are practiced in a rudimentary and rote manner by most
practitioners without any inkling of the ‘martial’ aspects of the form they are
mimicking. Often, when these practitioners are asked to stand in a Zhan Zhuang
pose, it’s surprising how even the slightest nudge can often unbalance them or
cause them to tip over.
Is this the practitioner’s
fault? No, this is not solely the practitioner’s fault. However, one cannot
blame the instructor leading them as well. There is not enough time to impart
the essence of these exercises to everyone and not every practitioner is
interested in the essence of these exercises. And yet, if you just concentrate
on the ‘form’, rather than the ‘substance’, it is sadly, an opportunity wasted.
The saying ‘You can talk the
talk, but can you walk the walk’, is an excellent reminder to oneself when practicing
internal martial arts. Your ‘martial spirit’ must be present in every moment of
your exercise. Only then can you improve. And after a period of time, takes
turn with your fellow practitioner and give them a little nudge when they’re in
their zhan zhuang position. Each time you topple over or unbalanced even with
the slightest nudge, are precious learning opportunities. Take the effort to
focus deeply on why you are uprooted and try to improve yourself.
This testing of strength
provides a feedback loop as to the quality of your Yiquan. Are you standing in
a relaxed manner? Are you flexible enough to absorb and redirect your opponent’s
force? Are you able to breath naturally and remain calm even though someone is
gripping your forearms tightly and shoving away at you?
Like a teabag, you can only
enjoy a nice cup of tea, once you place it in a cup of hot BOILING water. The
same goes for your practice of Yiquan. It is only through a slow, conscientious
testing of your posture can you slowly improve your practice of Yiquan. And the
more ‘rooted’ you become, the clarity of your Yiquan will improve. This will
improve your health tremendously. The martial aspect will become naturally as a
consequence.
To fail to test yourself, is
akin to reading a book on how to ride a bike. You can read 1,000 books but if
you fail to get on a bike and just ride it, you’ll never learn. Obviously, you’ll
fall and fail many times, but if you focus on improving every time you get on
it, you’ll learn to ride it in to time, yes? Same goes for your practice
Yiquan.