The Importance of Kua in generating internal power

[davidleehere]

All martial arts try to bring the power of your legs into your punches, and Kua is a important bridge that links the lower and upper body. According to my studies, in some external kungfu, e.g. Shaolin, Hung-Gar, Wing-Chun, Karate, they tend to lock the lower body to the ground so when your feet steps on the ground, the rebounding force will pass through the Kua (or hip), and gets strengthened by the Kua, Waist, Shoulder, and finally to the tip of the finger.

In Wudang Clan (normally Tai-Chi, Bagua, and Xing-Yi), power still come from the feet, pass through the Kua, and issued to the tip of the finger. But instead of using the power of the muscles, we use the power of the soft tissues and joints (don't know whether it's the exact word), so first we stay loose and get rid of all the muscle power. That's why you see slow movements in Tai-Chi. When we stay loose for a few years, our body began to unite. What appears to be soft at the beginning becomes hard and powerful. At that time, when we issue power, it's just as powerful as any hard martial arts.

 

[jks9199]

Seems like you've got an interesting take on Chinese Martial Arts; maybe you could take a minute and tell us about yourself in Meet & Greet

 

[ggg214]

All martial arts try to bring the power of your legs into your punches, and Kua is a important bridge that links the lower and upper body. According to my studies, in some external kungfu, e.g. Shaolin, Hung-Gar, Wing-Chun, Karate, they tend to lock the lower body to the ground so when your feet steps on the ground, the rebounding force will pass through the Kua (or hip), and gets strengthened by the Kua, Waist, Shoulder, and finally to the tip of the finger.

In Wudang Clan (normally Tai-Chi, Bagua, and Xing-Yi), power still come from the feet, pass through the Kua, and issued to the tip of the finger. But instead of using the power of the muscles, we use the power of the soft tissues and joints (don't know whether it's the exact word), so first we stay loose and get rid of all the muscle power. That's why you see slow movements in Tai-Chi. When we stay loose for a few years, our body began to unite. What appears to be soft at the beginning becomes hard and powerful. At that time, when we issue power, it's just as powerful as any hard martial arts.

do you become hard and powerful after years' soft training?and how many years do you spend?

 

[davidleehere]

Yes, I have been practising Tai-Chi for 7 years, now the 8th year is coming. A test of whether u've got something out of Tai-Chi is simply have someone hold up your relaxed arm, and ask him how he feels. If he feels something much heavier than the weight of your arm, you got something.

 

[ggg214]

A test of whether u've got something out of Tai-Chi is simply have someone hold up your relaxed arm, and ask him how he feels. If he feels something much heavier than the weight of your arm, you got something.

i know the game, and i have also played with my taiji teachers.
but recently i find out that my Xin yi liu he teacher can do the same thing as my taiji teacher, and in this style, there is a special training to achieve that goal.but it takes a short time.
if you need to practise much longer in taiji than other style, for the same result, do you think which one is better?
all in all, soft way is not a wrong way, but to some extend, it's not an efficient way.

 

[davidleehere]

I didn't practised Xin Yi Liu He, but from what I have seen, they are taking a very similar way to Tai-Chi, e.g. in one animal form, they try to swing their arms when twisting the body, and the key is not to use a single muscle power of the arms. In Tai-Chi, we have a similar movement as well.

As for the special training you mentioned, could u tell me how it is like? How long do u think that short time normally is?

 

[ggg214]

I didn't practised Xin Yi Liu He, but from what I have seen, they are taking a very similar way to Tai-Chi, e.g. in one animal form, they try to swing their arms when twisting the body, and the key is not to use a single muscle power of the arms. In Tai-Chi, we have a similar movement as well.

yes, all CMAs are training to not using a single muscle power.

even in taiji, there is also a hard training way.such as:
using as much power as you can in push hands, and the power must be the same in push hands movement. we call it 老牛劲 (old bull power).after one year's training, it's hard for an ordinary person to hold his single hand. for me, i quit after several months, too tough. but when i was pushing hands with others, they all felt my hands heavy.

 

[davidleehere]

Old bull power is not meant to be used in push hands, but it's very useful because very few practitioners know how to use internal power. But watch out when u face some "fighters", as the more bull power u use, the easier u get hit.

 

[BooBoo]

Recently I've noticed that I have this disconnect problem - i.e. I feel that my lower body is almost COMPLETELY disconnected from my upper body.

I have only begun to sense this feeling strongly in recent months (after almost 4 years of on and off practice in Tai Chi and Xingyi). And, interestingly, now when I watch my Sifu performing some Xingyi forms with quick explosive movements I can see that his body is moving perfectly in harmony and generating tremondous power.

I think the reason I am aware of this now is because I am beginning to understand how the body should move to generate the maximum power. And it is making me aware of my own weakness. I have also noticed the following:

(1) When I was younger, I used to weight lift a lot. Now, I feel that if I weightlift, especially if I target upper body muscles, it is making me weaker and increasing the disconnect between my upper and lower body.

Now, I can see that the real power comes in training the leg, abdonominal muscles, and lower back by practicing Tai Chi and Xingyi Forms.

When I see some of the stuff my Sifu does, I can't believe how weak I am in comparison, it makes me feel like I was nothing but a paper tiger back in my younger days when all I cared about was getting 'buff'.

(2) Because of the nature of my work (I'm an auditor) I tend to spend long hours sitting in the office, and I notice that if I train after spending long periods in the office, that my back and neck are stiffer, and that my forms suffer (especially if I haven't trained in a while). This is consistent with most modern health advice - which tells you that sitting in the office for long periods typically puts pressure on the neck and back - and since your back is the bridge that connects the upper and lower bodies - it makes my forms suffer.

Unfortunately, the modern workplace is not conducive to Kung Fu training, but I won't give up despite these shortfalls.

(3) I figure there is one thing to be optimistic about. When I first began Tai Chi training I wasn't aware of any of this stuff. Now I am beginning to see it and sense it. Which must mean that I'm making some progress. I guess like they say, you have to destroy the old before building the new (or something like that). So these realisations in themselves, aren't so bad I guess.