A Revisit of Xiantian Quanshu

Since the publication of Xiantian Quanshu in Fight Times Fight Game e-Magazine August 2006 there are many objections to the use of the term Xiantian Quanshu (congenital pugilism) in classifying a type of Chinese Martial Arts. The aim of this article is to address some of these objections. The ideas of congenital are innate, inborn, inherited, hereditary, and all these ideas suggested that congenital strength or internal strength is not something developed over years of practice but it is already there. Congenital strength is there at birth and it is a question of utilizing it or not, and it is just knowhow and making a habit of using it in one’s conscious activities. The basic movements with adherent pugilistic skills in Chinese Martial Arts can be learnt easily and effective almost immediatly when executed properly. Such skills are the capture skills in Xingyi two men sets, Taiji pushing hands, Yongchun (Wing Chun) sticking hands, and Bagua pushing hands. This does not imply that adherent skills are limited to these styles except they all emphasize on non-concentric movements while others are in a mixed mode of concentric contraction, eccentric contraction and muscle elasticity. The difficulties are not in learning the utilization of congenital strength but changing the habits of moving in a mixed mode as practiced in most exercises and sports. Most practitioners of Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Yongchunquan and Baguaquan practice in a maxed mode. Maybe this is why they have difficulties in developing their adherent pugilistic skills. From the fitness’s point of view, the practice of adherent Pugilistic skills is a type of resistance training in making use of the strength and weight of the partner. From the mixed martial arts’ point of view, such practice bridged the inconsistence between aerobic training and resistance training. The method of using congenital strength is no longer a trade secret since the publication of books with photos by Sun Lu-tang (1860-1933) since 1915. Back in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), there was a kind of Taijiquan or Chang Quan (long boxing) which also called Xiantian Quan. But there is no evidence on it even to suggest that it has anything to do with the styles of Taijiquan currently known to us. So, it is not a very good idea to use a name in the past which will be misleading. Furthermore, the congenital concept originated from Qigong or breathing exercises. An Internet search of the term Xiantian Qigong will come up with more than 7,300 links, and the term in Chinese will come up with 65,000 links and about 11,100,000 links for Xiantian in Chinese. Therefore it is not very good in associating with Qigong. It was Sun Lu-tang who suggested that the holy man or men in the past got ill over the practice of meditation or static types of breathing exercise, and developed the postnatal reversal training method. For practitioners of non-concentric exercise or who are capable of moving without contracting any part of their bodies concentrically, it is not too difficult to differentiate the postnatal reversal training methods to static breathing exercises. He or she is more sensitive to the concept of external Qi as a flow of energy in the body and not trying to generate a force by concentration or concentric contraction. It is no longer an imaginary sensation of some energy flow from the top of the head (Baihui) to the soles (Yongquan) but as a reality with the weight of the body distributed onto the soles. A common way of checking the correctness of a posture is by applying a downward pressure on the practitioner and he or she will feel immediately the additional force distributed onto the soles. There is a long history in the development of Qigong from sitting cross legged to other postures, from static to dynamic, from unconsciousness to consciousness, and from imaginary to reality. Non-concentric exercise without the martial related elements is a type of dynamic Qigong. It is developed from the practice of Qigong and the idea of congenital is rooted in the practice of Qigong. It is very difficult to avoid some of the teachings in Qigong like the acupoints on the fourteen regular channels and extra-channel-points, various postures and breathing techniques. The aim of Qigong is the cultivation or regulation of the body, mind and breathing. A lot can be said about these but pugilism focused more on the body in terms of speed, strength and skills. Congenital Pugilism developed away from Qigong Exercises, and Qigong Exercises followed similar development on their own form sitting cross legged to the dynamic types. From observation, the current practices of Qigong are mild form of exercises which are far from the aerobic and anaerobic requirements of martial arts. Therefore it is very strange for teachers of martial arts teaching Qigong instead of the utilization of martial art skills in fighting. Stretching, rotating various joints, breathings, massage the internal organs, transferring weight between the legs, and utilizing the major muscle groups for power are not unique in Chinese Martial Arts. And these activities can be done without any discussion of congenital and postnatal activities. Therefore the classification of congenital pugilism is unnecessary. The recommended program of congenital exercise sounds complex but is just another health exercise program. Most health exercise program would include warm up exercise, aerobic exercise, anaerobic exercise, and cool down exercise. Furthermore, the psychology of fear is a concern of every sportsman, and there is no simple solution to it. Everyone knows that exercises are helpful in reducing stress but it is just one of the many solutions. However, the congenital pugilism article did bring out two unique features in Chinese Martial Arts namely the non-concentric exercise model and adherent pugilistic skills. These two unique features set the standards for the evaluation of current practices and scientific studies of Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Yongchunquan and Baguaquan in Chinese Martial Arts, as they all claim not to use any brute force and have adherent pugilistic skills. It is unethical to teach something that is different or introduce something foreign to what it claims to be. For example, there were lots of complaints to the massive promotion of Taijiquan in China without doing it properly, and some officials even said that Taijiquan is just like the hard martial arts of Shaolin Temple but doing it slowly. Furthermore, there are hundreds of scientific studies on Taijiquan as mixed mode exercise without any focus on its uniqueness. Following from doing Xingyiquan, Taijiquan, Yongchunquan and Baguaquan in a mixed mode, there are certain problems in developing their adherent pugilistic skills and it is very common now that teachers teach routines without these skills or unable to apply them to fighting. A common version of mixed mode teaching is using the relaxed and contract concentrically method. It is very obvious that this type of teaching does not have the springy or recoil benefit of speedy return to the original length of muscle fibre which is necessary in changing from one position to another. The most important skill in Xingyiquan is developing strength in a punch and quickly changing into capture hand upon impact. Similarly in Yongchunquan, there is the Lap-sau or Lop-sao has the ability to catch the opponent’s hand upon impact, and one cannot do that if his or her fist is contracted concentrically. Taijiquan and Baguaquan emphasises the importance in following the opponent’s hand upon impact, and again it is not possible if one is using brute force. Thus, the hope of the writer is to write further articles on adherent pugilistic skills from Chinese Martial Arts.

Article written by Yun-choi Yeung

Mr Yeung is a Chinese Martial Artist specializing in Tai Chi Chuan and Wing Chun and is also interested in the health aspect of these arts.