Category: yiquan

Every hair is fully alert

‘In the fully energized state, “every hair is fully alert.” The state of relaxed arousal is what is meant by the chinese term “sung.” This is not the drowsy torpor before sleep. It is the release of tension that saps our strength – so that we become alert, clearheaded and full of vigor. Your head Read More

Yiquan – Power of the Mind

by Karel Koskuba Most styles of Taijiquan incorporate one or several forms of Zhan Zhuang (Pole Standing) in their training. These standing exercises are often presented as the one most important aspect of the training (to begin with, anyway), yet not always enough information is available to students apart from the usual advice to ‘relax’, Read More

Yao Zongxun (1917-1985)

Yao Zongxun (1917-1985) (2of2) youtube.com Yao Zongxun (1917-1985) was the formal successor of Wang Xiangzhai, founder of the martial art Yiquan. Photos of Yao Zongxun yiquan.com Master Yao Zongxun and the Development of Yiquan yiquan.com Yiquan Yao Chengguang & Yao Chengrong youtube.com

Santi Shi or Trinity Pile Standing

by Zhang Yun courtesy of ycgf.org Santi Shi or Trinity pile standing is the most important and fundamental training in Xingyi Quan practice. It is said that “Santi Shi is the source of all skills.” In traditional training, beginners need to learn Santi Shi and practice it for a long time before they can be Read More

Equal Strength All Over

Make your strength equal all over the body. Your muscles must be agile. They must be able to contract, stretch, relax and become firm in harmony with each other. Your strength must come from inside you and the radiate out. When moving, slowness excels over speed. Be relaxed rather than impatient. Your movement should be Read More

The Heart of Da Cheng Chuan

Inwardly alert, open, calm. Outwardly upright, extended, filled with spirit. This is the foundation of stillness. Add the hard and the soft, the powerful and the relaxed, Motion and stillness, contraction and extension: In the instant these converge, there is power. Wang Xiang Zhai The Way of Power by Lam Kam Chuen ISBN 1856751988 p. Read More

The All-Round Standing Pole Exercise

Stand with feet apart at shoulder width, toes point forward or slightly outward. Bend the knees and sit down slightly, weight centered firmly on the soles of the feet. Keep the head and spine erect from tip to tail, chest empty (i.e. relaxed and slightly concave, never stuck out) and stomach full and relaxed, not Read More

Anecdotes Of Dachengquan Founder Wang Xiangzhai

by Wang Xuanjie (Translated by Chen Shengtao) DACHENGQUAN is a set of barehanded exercises for health-keeping and combat. It was developed by my instructor Wang Xiangzhai in Beijing in the 1940s. The following anecdotes about him will help you learn something more about Wang and his dachengquan. When Wang Xiangzhai created dachengquan half a century Read More

The Mighty Warrior Exercise

(Ichuan, Dachengquan, Yiquan, exercise, qiqong, chikung, breathing, energy) The Mighty Warrior Exercise Stand with the feet about double shoulder-width apart and toes pointing ahead. Bend the knees while lowering the body to stand in a horse-riding posture. Raise the arms sideways to form each an angle of about 60 degrees with the torso, the palms Read More

Sam Tam – 2006 Copenhagen Summer Workshop

Master Sam Tam comes to Copenhagen from the 2. to 4. of June 2006 to give a workshop at Ole Eskildens Ichuan Standing Meditation School. Master Sam Tam travels around the US and Canada giving workshops in pushhands in Ichuan and Taiji. Ichuan people would properly know Sam Tam by name from Jan Diepersloot’s book Read More

Wang Xiangzhai – General Principles for Dachengquan

Directions in verse for Great Achievements Shadow Boxing Integrated with spirit and mind, This boxing is named Dacheng. With plain truth easy to understand, It is both interesting and enlightening. It has no method yet every method, for in boxing all methods are of no avail. With profound knowledge it helps to mould your temperament, Read More