# Peng energy



## Zeny (Apr 19, 2018)

there is the peng posture in grasping sparrow’s tail

there is also the peng quality of the postures and movements

I refer to the second peng above

Is peng consistent with softness? Can you be peng and soft at the same time? Can you be peng but also adhere to the saying ‘bu diu bu ding’ (do not resist and do not let go)?


----------



## Kung Fu Wang (Apr 20, 2018)

Zeny said:


> Is peng consistent with softness?


Consider your arm is a water hose. The water flow from your shoulder to your fingers. Will your arm be tense of soft at that moment?


----------



## Zeny (Apr 20, 2018)

If by water you are referring to chi, if chi flows from shoulder to fingers, the arm should be soft.

Peng energy that comes from chi takes a lot time to be strong enough.


----------



## Gerry Seymour (Apr 21, 2018)

Zeny said:


> If by water you are referring to chi, if chi flows from shoulder to fingers, the arm should be soft.
> 
> Peng energy that comes from chi takes a lot time to be strong enough.


Water flowing through a hose at pressure leaves a hose both firm and soft at the same time.


----------



## Zeny (Apr 21, 2018)

Good description!


----------



## Kung Fu Wang (Apr 22, 2018)

Peng is the ability to maintain your body structure. When you push against a wall, if the counter force can 

- move your body back, you have good Peng energy.
- bend your shoulder or elbow joint and collapse your body structure, you don't have good Peng energy.


----------



## Zeny (Apr 22, 2018)

My peng at shoulder area is not good, how to improve that?


----------



## Gerry Seymour (Apr 22, 2018)

Zeny said:


> My peng at shoulder area is not good, how to improve that?


A question to ask is whether it's an energy issue (whether you use "energy" literally or as a shorthand for concepts, it works the same either way) or physical issue. If you have problems/weakness in the joint (for instance, weak support in the rotator cuff), that can make learning the concept much more difficult. Ensure you've done the relatively easy physical work before you try to fix it with the harder conceptual work.


----------



## Kung Fu Wang (Apr 22, 2018)

Zeny said:


> My peng at shoulder area is not good, how to improve that?


The correct weight training can help you.

The "muscle group isolation" training will not help you. The structure between your body and your arm (your shoulder joint) is constantly changed (collapse). In the following picture, you freeze your body and just use your arms to pull is wrong.








The "body unification" training will help you. In the following picture, you step back and use your entire body to pull that weight. The structure between your body and your arm (your shoulder joint) remain unchanged. It may not build hug muscle as the previous picture does, but it will "enhance" your body unification.

In other words, any training that use your whole body and not just your arm will be helpful.


----------



## Encho (Apr 22, 2018)

Zeny said:


> there is the peng posture in grasping sparrow’s tail
> 
> there is also the peng quality of the postures and movements
> 
> ...


Peng my teacher said should not be a wet noodle nor should it be hard as steel.  A guitar string to loose doesn't play a guitar string tuned to much breaks so balance is the key was another way my teacher described it.


----------



## Zeny (Apr 22, 2018)

Hi kung fu wang,

The second picture you showed, looks like strength training, is it consistent with taiji and water flowing through the hose?

In my own experience, water flowing through the hose can produce good energy but it takes a long time to produce good ‘peng’ energy, maybe 20-30 years to achieve a satisfactory level.

That is why I am exploring an alternative method, which is to strengthen the hose itself by doing moderate stretching exercises. So far those exercises are effective in strengthening the hose, but at the same time they also harden the hose.

So presently I am in a dilemma.


----------



## Xue Sheng (Apr 23, 2018)

Zeny said:


> My peng at shoulder area is not good, how to improve that?



In taijquan to improve Peng you work on structure.


----------



## Kung Fu Wang (Apr 23, 2018)

Zeny said:


> The second picture you showed, looks like strength training, is it consistent with taiji and water flowing through the hose?


The equipment training just to test your structure. Peng is "body unification" and not "muscle group isolation". For example, if you freeze your body and just punch with your arm, you will never be able to develop any Peng. If you punch with your body rotation (put your body behind your punch), you will obtain Peng.


----------



## KabutoKouji (Apr 25, 2018)

ok is 'Peng' the one that is often pronounced as 'Pong'? -
 if so IMO a good thing to improve it is to practice 'Embrace Moon To Chest' regularly, I know I list that exercise as the answer to everything, but I really do think it is beneficial. I think also learning to know the feel of when the circle is resting/skeletal structure is right (as much as possible). Then getting it that feeling where neither push or pull straight after each other will make you 'lose' it (which I am MILES away from reaching, for the record ).


----------



## mograph (May 15, 2018)

Aim to distribute the force throughout your entire body. Do this through developing calmness & relaxation, internal sensitivity for structural feedback, and external sensitivity as you test your peng (pretty much pronounced "pung") against something like a heavy door, a hanging bag, or a partner. In the case of the latter, you should feel force at two zones of contact: where your hands/arms meet the external object, and where your feet meet the floor. Eventually, you should not be able to _discern_ force or effort at any other points in your body. If you feel force (or tension or pain) or a gap in force (weakness) at a point in the body in the structure between those two external points, then you have not yet distributed the force evenly through your structure.

Once you achieve that distribution, you should understand the hard/soft paradox: you feel _soft_ inside because no single, discernable part of your structure is doing the work, and the opponent/partner feels the _hard_ external result of the peng.

Zhan Zhuang goes a long way toward developing this distribution. When I had it, I could feel nothing (while practising ZZ) except the pressure on the soles of my feet. I felt _empty_, because no other bodily sensation stood out and reached my awareness. It was a good moment.


----------



## ChenAn (May 24, 2018)

Peng Jin is fundamental to body structure. Practitioner either have it or not. Best way to discover and experience it is tui shou. 

P.S. My line has a lot of drills to develop good peng



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Xue Sheng (May 24, 2018)

@ChenAn 
Been awhile, how are you doing?


----------



## ChenAn (May 24, 2018)

Thanks. I’m fine! Grinding gongfu 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------

