From Dai Longbang... .over 100 years ago

[Xue Sheng]

I was reading Xing Yi Nei Gong again and I decided to post a couple of bits of what was written by Dai Longbang (Xinyiquan – not Xingyiquan) because I felt they were both rather important to all marital art styles not just Xinyiquan, Xingyiquan and CMA styles.

Dai Longbang (1732?-1801) Xinyiquan


This can be found in:

Xing Yi Nei Gong
Xing Yi Health Maintenance and
Internal Strength Development
Compiled and edited by
Dan Miller and Tim Cartmell

From Essential Knowledge For the Practice of Martial Arts - Pg 37 - 38

5) Perseverance: There are those who talk about principles for a great length of time, they say martial arts are full of secrets. When you ask them they don’t answer, or they answer incompletely. How can this be! There are those that are easily satisfied, or invite disaster by underestimating the art, or like to bully others. There are those who have no perseverance, who study a little and think they know all, they are quite satisfied with themselves and rarely practice, they think they are a great success, until they have to use the art and find themselves useless. This is not the fault of the teacher but rather the student who has gone about learning in the wrong way, If these types teach students the students are lost and the art degenerates generation by generation. Where are the secrets!

It is interesting if you think about the above quote shows they were having similar problems over 100 years ago in China, as it applies to teh Martial arts, as we do tody. It is also a bit sad, IMO, to think that this was happening over 100 years ago and how it has effected teh Martial Arts of today

7) The Three Harms: Those who practice martial arts must avoid the three harms. If one is not familiar with the three harms, practice will injure the body. What is meant by the three harms are:

1) Inappropriate use of strength
2) Forcing the breath
3) Sticking out the chest and pulling in the belly

If one uses strength inappropriately, the qi will not flow smoothly through the limbs and frame, the meridians will be obstructed, the entire body will be restricted, the hand and feet will not be agile, the body will be bogged down by stagnant qi, wherever the qi stagnates illness will result. If one forces breath, one will become stiff and easy to break, with chest full of air the lungs will be squeezed and will suffer harm. If one sticks out the chest and sucks in the belly, the qi will move the wrong direction and will raise, it will not return to the dantian

Now before the congratulations for finally overcoming that nassty Xingyiquan addiction…. Xingyiquan comes from Xinyiquan :EG: