The Dark Path

The dark Path has moved!

2011-09-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

The dark Path has moved!

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The new version of The Dark Path is filled with articles, information about seminars, classes etc

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Please update your bookmarks. See you there!

The Master – disciple relationship in the Chinese martial art tradition

2011-08-27T07:08:00.000-07:00

The Master – disciple relationship (hereafter referred to as “MDR”) is one of the main points related to the practicing and transmission of the Chinese martial arts (CMA). What is it? How does it affect training? Does it still have a place in our modern society? In this article, I will try to answer this and some other questions related to it. I believe it is important to write about this topic because even though it directly affects the transmission of the CMA, foreigners and Chinese alike still generally misunderstand it. Foreigners tend to have a romantic and unrealistic approach to the MDR while the Chinese, knowing of its existence and cultural importance, might not necessarily understand its particulars.

As many other aspects of the Chinese culture the MDR is strongly influenced by the Confucianist thinking. During Confucius time, China was in constant turmoil, divided in different countries that would often go to war against each other. Society was far from being as stable as we have it now and life was uncertain. In the midst of all that, Confucius thought that one way to secure public stability was to have people’s roles in society very clearly defined. For him, people needed to understand what their role in society was and act accordingly. Once the people (and the leaders) were clear of their social role all they had to do was act accordingly and if everyone followed this premise social order would be the direct result. For Confucius, social order was good enough. He knew that much more than that would be unattainable, an utopian society. Therefore, he settled for the most basic need that any society would strive to acquire, which was “social order”. Following this line of thought, it is easy for us to begin to understand the basic separation that exists between the roles of a teacher and a student in Chinese culture, for they are two independent (yet interdependent) roles and the ones that are playing them are expected to act accordingly.

Furthermore, at the same time Confucius stresses the importance of roles and actions he stresses that the ones in a leading capacity must lead, while the ones in a following capacity must follow. However, he also says that the ones leading should do so having in mind the benefit of the followers, for they lead for the people and not for themselves. We can than infer that the ones teaching must teach having in mind the benefit of the students, and not (only) their own benefit. Especially because if we analyze Confucius theory, it follows that if everyone acts according to their role then everyone benefits, ergo when you benefit others your are also benefiting yourself. The same should apply for the MDR.

Traditionally the CMA are divided not only into martial arts, but also in styles, families and clans. Take Xingyiquan for example. If we compare it to Yongchunquan we see that XYQ is an independent martial art, therefore here we have the first division. Within XYQ the most famous lines are Shanxi and Hebei, and we have our second division. The Shanxi style is further divided in families like Song and Che, each family having their own independent clans. In a traditional teaching environment like the one we have in Shanxi, if one wishes to study the art he can do so in two different capacities: as a student or as a disciple. I will not really write much about the differences, but it is basically what you learn and how you learn it. From the point of view of the teacher, the difference is in what and how he teaches, because for regular students he will probably not go pass basic theory and might not really think much about the student’s life outside class. For a disciple there is the chance the master will go much deeper in all aspects of the art and he will feel much closer to the student’s life, having established a meaningful bond with him. From the point of view of the student, it will be more or less the same because as a disciple, he will have the chance to learn much more, but at the same time, he will have a deep responsibility towards the master.

Once a person has decided for a martial art (or a teacher), he will usually start as a regular student for some time that can vary from a few months to a few years. After a while, the student might be invited to join the clan, but what normally happens is that the student decides to accept the teacher as his master. If the master has no objections then an acceptance ceremony will follow. I might write about the traditional acceptance ceremony some other time but as for now let us stay with the main topic. During the ceremony the student is then accepted into a family-clan and establishes a MDR with his teacher and a brotherhood type of relationship between himself and the other students of his teacher.

Now let us go back to Confucius. The great thinker defined that people had roles and should act accordingly. It follows, of course, that masters should act like masters and disciples should act like disciples and in this ideal set up masters would have their disciples benefit in mind. Now, we cannot forget that masters have to think about their own benefit too - they have families and, just like the disciples, have to pay rent, buy food etc., but once a person accepts a disciple he is also, by the Confucian definition, accepting his responsibilities as a master towards his disciple. What are these responsibilities? Well maybe some obscure old book might have such instructions but as far as I know, there is no clear definition of what these responsibilities really are. However, we can analyze the word for “master” in Chinese and by doing so learn one or two things about its meaning. The Chinese word for “master” is “Shifu”, being a word composed of two characters, “Shi” and “Fu”. By looking into the meaning of these characters in classical Chinese we learn that “Shi” can either mean “army” or a certain rank in the armed forces (among other meanings that are not important to us). If we look a bit further though we see that it also means “a person that is in a position to transmit knowledge”, “the one that transmits knowledge”, while “Fu” was commonly used to address “those with a higher rank” or “one’s father” . Now we can begin to clarify our understanding of the word “Shifu” and give it two distinctive meanings that are, nevertheless, directly related: “one that transmits knowledge and occupies a higher social rank” or “one who transmits knowledge as a father teaches a son”. From the linguistic point of view both definitions would give us a good starting into any further insight or discussion in connection with the MDR, but as the second one is usually accepted in China and abroad I will then use it as the basis for the MDR.

As I have discussed, it appears that there are not any strict guidelines for the conduct of both the master and the disciple, but Confucius tells us that the master should have the benefit of the disciple in mind and vice versa. In this line of thought, we would have masters directly concerned with the progress of their disciples and disciples concerned with the well-being of their masters. The master would make sure the disciple receives the best instruction he can offer, meaning that he would be sensitive to the needs of the disciple, would do his best to make sure the disciple actually understands whatever aspects of the art he needs to understand in order to fully develop his abilities, and would not, naturally, hold back any knowledge. On the other hand the disciple would work hard to honor his master and his family, follow the master’s instructions to the letter and be sensitive enough about the master’s needs, so as to be always present whenever the master would need some kind of assistance, both in class and in personal life. It is clear that this set up is very close (if not the same) to a father-son relationship. In this kind of MDR, there is plenty of room for improving. From the point of view of the disciple, he will improve because the master has his benefit in mind, so he will teach the disciple to the best of his abilities without holding back any knowledge. From the point of view of the art itself, this set up is also highly beneficial because by having the disciples’ benefits in mind and by making sure they actually follow his instructions and train as they should, the master guarantees the continuity of his line. In fact, not only he guarantees the art is passed down, but he also guarantees that his disciples (the next generation) have a chance to become better than he is. Since the master thinks about the benefit of the disciples and is genuinely worried that the knowledge contained in the art must be passed down to future generations, he will also make sure that all the disciples have the same opportunity to learn. This means that even though he cannot make sure that all the students will put the necessary effort into training, he can make sure that all the disciples have the same chances to learn and improve equally. What an amazing set up. A pity it doesn’t work like that.

We have seen that In the MDR both the master and the disciple have responsibilities but we have also seen that there is one that leads and one that follows. The master, as the recipient of knowledge, is in a leading capacity. It is he who decides what, when and how to teach. The disciple, on the other hand, is on a following capacity, because one of his main duties is to follow the master’s instructions. One who leads and one who follows, one with absolute power, one with no power at all. It is, indeed, a very dangerous type of relationship. Provided the one with the absolute power has high moral standards and is strong enough to remain on the path of righteousness, this type of relationship might work. At least it did in the Hans Christian Andersen tales my mother used to read to me when I was a little boy. Unfortunately, we have seen or heard about this set up many times. Power corrupts, and when found in a leadership capacity few are those who do not deviate from the path. In my opinion, the result of this is a twisted version of what the MDR should really be - a mutually beneficial relationship based on respect.

The MDR today does not reflect the values I have discussed above, at least not in any desirable way. Of course, there are exceptions, but, generally speaking, that utopian, romantic idea of the MDR does not exist. It is my point of view that most of the time masters will have their own benefit in mind and once they secure their own benefit they might think about the disciples’ benefit. Now, I understand that masters need to eat and pay their bills just like everyone else, but there must be a balance between what you get and what you give. No special classical ancient rule needs to be applied here, just good and old common sense. However, if you are into ancient Chinese culture, just think about “Zhong Yong Zhi Dao”, or “The path of balance”.

It seems that people in China these days take the importance of the MDR for granted, just like one of those things you often do but you really do not know why. You just do it. In the same way, I see masters that accept disciples, not because they have a special urge to pass down their knowledge (and thus benefiting unique individuals, society and himself), but because accepting disciples is what masters should do. Likewise, I see students that become disciples because that is what students are supposed to do. Therefore, I believe that both teachers and students need to stop taking the MDR for granted and start thinking about the results of their actions. The MDR is a very special kind of relationship but it makes me really sad to see that now it is but a shade of what it was supposed to be. Nowadays we see masters holding back knowledge from students that are willing to learn. And I am not talking about students with character flaws, I am talking about good and hard working people, that would do their best to honor their masters’ name. I see masters that treat Chinese and foreign disciples differently, holding back the knowledge that foreign disciples are entitled to learn. Why? Well, first of all this kind of behavior would be denied by the same ones that perpetrate it. Of course, no master would admit that Chinese disciples usually learn much more than foreign disciples do, and if they were actually confronted and had their backs against the wall, they would try to justify this behavior using different excuses and would probably make use of the most common one: culture is different. I have already addressed this argument in my last article and there is no need to do it again. Teaching foreign disciples in a different, less efficient, manner is almost common sense for many practitioners in China. I have heard comments about how Chinese masters should teach foreign disciples that are very unpleasant and it is common for some people to see foreigners not as people who are genuinely interested and capable of learning a martial art, but as money bags. To be on the fair side I must also say that not everyone thinks like this. When this line of teaching was suggested to my master, he immediately refuted it. However, let us not confine ourselves with the foreigners.

Between the Chinese themselves, the current MDR is also, I am afraid, twisted in relation to what it should be. Even though (and I am sorry to say it) the Chinese disciples would receive better instruction from their masters, they still face problems. I am sure many masters genuinely feel the need to help their disciples, but there are those (and we must speak of them) that do not think about their disciples the way they should. When it comes to masters’ attitude and understanding about accepting disciples, I would categorize them in three groups: first the ones that really understand what accepting disciples represent and act accordingly; second the ones that do not understand what it means but take it for granted, doing it because “ it is what masters are supposed to do”; and third, the ones that might understand it or not, but have decided to accept disciples motivated mainly by self benefit. It is my experience that finding a master of the first kind is much more difficult, and the same difficulty applies for the Chinese people.

Another difficulty faced my many disciples is the fact that some masters will keep “the best part” of what they know for their own children, in case they do study martial arts. This is one of the aspects of the MDR that troubles me the most. I understand that a master will have a natural predisposition to teach his own children, but to keep some special knowledge or technical aspect of the art just for his own children does not seem to be very noble (at least from a western perspective). The problem arises because even though a disciple might never reach the higher levels of some martial art, he should at least be given the chance to do so. When you hold back on a disciple and you favor your own children with this or that technical aspect you are automatically taking away from the disciple the chance to master the art in its integrity.

In addition the problems I discussed in this article, there are still many others that I have decided to leave out. Nevertheless, the reader should now be able to have a more realistic idea of what the MDR is supposed to be and what it really is. Westerners usually tend to have a romanticized idea of the MDR, much more like the one I described in the beginning of this article. There are not many foreigners that really understand Chinese culture and this contributes to the spreading of this utopian view on the MDR. This and all the so-called “Kungfu” movies that portrait the MDR as a father-son relationship, and the martial clan as a real family. To be very honest with my readers I am not sure this kind MDR ever existed, which is not to say the Chinese teachers don’t think about their disciples. This is not the idea I am trying to pass, because many are genuinely worried about their own disciples, but we must understand that what things are supposed to be and what they really are, are different things. Perhaps we should, like Confucius, understand that we might never have some of the things we want the way we want it, and that we might have to settle down for the next best thing. Likewise, understanding the MDR by what it should actually be, as opposed to what it really is, is a mistake, and it would indeed be unfair with the Chinese masters to expect them to act as if they were in a “Kungfu” movie. It might be better to settle for what is actually attainable. Whatever that may be.

I stopped believing in Santa Claus a long time ago.

Foreigners cannot understand Xingyiquan

2011-08-21T06:16:00.001-07:00

I’ve heard this statement said so many times that I can’t even remember. I used to disagree with it but at this point in my life, even though I cannot really say I totally agree with it, I must admit that I agree more than I disagree. I agree because I firmly believe that the great majority of foreigners that practice or teach Xingyiquan know, in fact, very little of it, but I disagree because having the correct resources and instruction it is perfectly possible for a foreigner to acquire a deep understanding of Xingyiquan.

To say that foreigners cannot understand a certain expression of Chinese culture is something very common in China, especially in more traditional places like Shanxi, the birthplace of Xingyiquan. Of course, by common I mean it is common that Chinese people would think like that and use the statement while engaging in conversation with other Chinese, not with a foreigner. It is something Chinese say to Chinese and not to foreigners. Honestly, it is not something very nice to say because it implies that Chinese culture is so rich that foreigners will never be able to learn it to a deep level. It is also something bad to hear because as a foreigner it directly tells you that no matter how hard you try, how deep you go, you will never be able to get it because you are not good enough and there is no hope for you. There are situations in life that require this kind of attitude – to say something unpleasant that will sound equally unpleasant for the person to whom it is being sad, but this is not the case. This statement is just a reflection of one little particular that is shared between a great part of the Chinese people. They know it is not something nice to say and that it will probably hurt the other part so if you confront them directly they might, more than often, deny that they think like that. However, my personal experience tells me that this denying is just superficial and that (especially in the martial circles) that, in fact, is the current line of thought. Knowing that is not something nice, why do they still say it? Why do they still think like this?

The first kind of person who says that foreigners can’t really understand Chinese culture is the kind that in effect doesn’t understand the art of Xingyiquan, but this person is already culturally conditioned to believe that foreigners can never acquire a high level of understanding about any aspect of the Chinese culture. The idea that the Chinese culture is somehow superior to that of its neighboring countries is by no means a new one and it can be found in at least one very important literary classic. I will not explain here how this line of thought developed through time; suffice to say that it is still shared by many Chinese people in modern China. For these people, believing that foreigners can never acquire deep knowledge in any aspect of Chinese culture is something they take for granted, one of those things you might believe in but you really don’t know why you do so, you just believe. This teacher probably has not acquired a deep knowledge of his own art (even though he might not know it) but regardless of what his own level might be he will, by default, believe that foreigners will never attain it.

The second kind of person is that teacher that truly understands his art but is also conditioned to think that foreigners will never get it. This kind of teacher might be able to give one or two reasons to justify his point of view but these are arguments that can be easily proven wrong by a person with more knowledge on the subject.

At last, the third person that uses this kind of argument is just generalizing. What this person, who has equally acquired a very high level of understanding in the art, really means is that without the necessary resources, foreigners will never get it, and he is, I am afraid to say, absolutely right. Why does he generalize then? Because he has actually never heard of or met a foreigner that got those kinds of resources and having them, worked his way up to the point where he would acquire a deep knowledge of Xingyiquan. In fact, I have also never heard of or met a foreigner that fits those requirements.

The main difficulty for foreigners is to go beyond the basic understanding of the art. Foreigners will not have a background on Chinese culture; they usually find a teacher, enroll in a gym or follow the teacher to a park a few times a week and they train. They are learning the art, they think, but what they are actually learning is just a shell, which is usually empty. The forms and movements in the art of Xingyiquan are nothing; they are just recipients for something much more important. What actually fills these recipients (as my family understands) is something I will not discuss here and this knowledge is reserved for the ones who enter our family. Still, not having the cultural background makes all the difference for foreigners, and unfortunately not in a good way. What happens is that Xingyiquan, as a discipline, is directly related to several different expressions of the Chinese culture. Now the Chinese people, having been immersed in this culture from the day they were born, will have most of these cultural aspects internalized. Much like an English native speaker that intuitively “knows” all the grammar rules that are necessary for a fluent conversation, as opposed to the non-native speaker that will have to struggle to learn the grammar rules before being able to maintain a fluent dialogue. In the same way, the Chinese people are better prepared to study Xingyiquan. However, why is the background culture so important?

Chinese culture and western culture could not e more different. I would say that the only similarity is that the same cultural and social principles are present in both cultures. For example: the concepts of “respect”, “friendship”, “loyalty” and “love” exist in both cultures, but the way in which the Chinese people understand them is totally different from what a westerner would both expect or relate to. In the same way, there are cultural elements present in the transmission of Xingyiquan that are extremely hard for a foreigner to understand or even relate to. The foreigner would have to spend a long time learning about and identifying those elements, as well as relating them to his own culture up to the point where he would be able to, not only appreciate them as a cultural manifestation, but also relate to them and feel the social appeal that they most certainly have. This process (which I simplified for the sake of explanation) would require years of constant contact and uninterrupted exposure and immersion. Yet, this is just to begin to understand the cultural and social elements involved in the transmission of the basic levels of Xingyiquan. Therefore, unless a student has gone through the process I explained above chances are he understands very little about Xingyiquan. What he probably understands is what he has been taught- the usage of some empty shells for the execution of forms. Alternatively, he might have memorized the usage of some of the shells in combat. He might have heard his teacher say that the five elements are not set movements but rather five principles, and he might repeat the same things about the animals, but this is not it. Memorizing some instructions, techniques or theory related to, say, the five elements is valid (even though I would chose a very different teaching approach) and can be helpful in the case of foreigners that have no background knowledge on the Chinese culture, but it will not take the student very far on the path of mastery. Even though this is a common in the west, it is also used in China, but for different reasons. When most Chinese students teach foreigners they will probably choose this approach because it takes the culture background out of the equation, thus making it easier for foreigners to learn the very basics of the art and for the teacher to teach it. I understand that by reading this a foreigner practitioner might feel unmotivated to keep on training but there is a way out of it.

Most people take Xingyiquan for granted in the sense that they really believe that they can read a few books, talk to some people they regard as good teachers, understand the most basic theory and then memorize some movements, so they can repeat them in training and repeat techniques in fighting. This is not Xingyiquan. Xingyiquan is a very deep discipline and if one plans to really benefit from it, then one needs to have the background culture to be able to properly understand the most basic levels of the art. I believe most serious practitioner, the ones that actually put some thought in their daily practice, will naturally feel that what they usually get from their teachers in class might not be enough, almost as if they had a desire, a need to understand more about the culture. Feeling this urge they will look for different kinds of material to expand their base of knowledge – books, DVDs, seminars etc. This need to acquire some knowledge is genuine and I believe it arises from the student understanding that “there is something more to it”, and there is. Without this “something more”, (that actually is “a lot more”) it will be impossible to attain the higher levels of the art.

This background culture is inherent to every Chinese person who has received basic education and as a rule the more education they receive the more this culture might be present in their lives. Therefore, when a Chinese teach another Chinese they will obviously relate to the same inherent cultural elements, which are not present in the background of foreigners. So what happens is that the teacher transmits not only the art and the culture, but he transmits the art as a culture, which is something very difficult to accomplish with a foreign student, because as I wrote above the process will be very difficult considering the resources the foreign student will need. How many foreigners actually learn like this? How many foreigners can (because they have the necessary resources) learn like this? Certainly many foreigners would be thrilled to have the opportunity to learn in this way, but how many of those are prepared to actually put on the time to acquire the necessary culture background, and in doing so creating a net of cultural resources? It is not an easy task but it is one necessary if one truly wishes to understand the basic levels of Xingyiquan.

As in any other discipline, the quality of your learning makes all the difference. A Harvard graduate might not necessarily be brighter than a student from a less qualified university might, but chances are he will be better prepared to understand his field of study. In addition, he will probably be able to look at something and see much more than the other student. To wish for a better education does not make a person automatically able to get that education. To be able to get to Harvard a student needs first to acquire basic knowledge on several disciplines – that will be his cultural background. Likewise, knowledge in other disciplines is essential for a true understanding of Xingyiquan. Without this knowledge and the understanding of how it relates to the art one will always have just a collection of movements and a few theory points. The problem is that because foreigners do not have the necessary resources to fully learn the art they might never be able to recognize its full extent or how deep it goes. The reader should be able to recognize that at this point I am not talking anymore about the most basic levels of the art, but about its higher levels. In these levels, a much broader cultural background is necessary and at this point, the difficulty of having this background presents itself not only for foreigners but also for Chinese. As we can see the study of Xingyiquan as a form of art is demanding in many areas, especially for a foreigner. I do not agree that foreigners cannot understand Xingyiquan but I understand where this statement is coming from. The current opinion that most Chinese have about this matter can change, but only through a great effort by the ones that have the knowledge and the ones looking to learn it. I hope that in the future I can play a small part in this process.

The problem with Xingyiquan - Series 2 - Part 3

2011-08-14T09:06:00.000-07:00

Not putting the hours into training

Truth is that almost no Chinese person in Shanxi at this moment is willing to put the hours needed for training. The hours I am talking about are not the regular hobbyist 2 or 3 times a week classes kind of hours. Let me make it clear that I have no prejudice whatsoever against people that train only a few hours a week. We all have our different goals and realities, and not everyone is willing to put on the hours, to become a proficient fighter and become the recipient of a certain kind of culture and this is fine. However, when 99% of the practitioners are not willing to train, as they should, to really become proficient to the point where they might be able to carry on a rich tradition, then we can clearly see that something is wrong.

Usually when a serious practitioner points out this problem people will use the “society has changed” argument. This argument only works for people that do not truly understand the nature of Xingyiquan. Odd enough I have heard it from more than one very famous master in the Shanxi area. Still, the argument clearly shows a lack of understanding of the many faces and nuances of the art, because by using this argument a person clearly shows they have only but scratched the surface of what the art really has to offer. The argument defends the idea that in the ancient times society was more violent and unstable, thus martial skills were a necessary tool for self-protection, but in our modern society there is no real need for the skill anymore for we live in a stable non-violent society where martial skills are not essential. One doesn’t have to go very deep (in martial knowledge) to demonstrate how weak this argument is and it’s enough to argue that the day human race lives in a biblical paradise where violence is nonexistent, that will be the day a person will not need to know how to defend and protect himself and his loved ones. Until that day comes, if it comes at all, I will stay with my martial art thank you very much. To say that a person doesn’t need to know how to defend himself shows, in a most basic level, a complete lack of understanding and a great deal of denial about what goes on in our modern society, where, at times, we have a fake sense of safeness. One does not need to know how to defend himself and his loved ones until the day he does. Then it will probably be too late and we can easily learn of the consequences of such kind of denial by randomly opening the local newspaper in almost any given day. Watching the news on T.V. will also do the trick. Reality does hurt and when it hits it cares not if one is ready for it. Then of course there are all the other arguments against the “society has changed” idea that will deal with higher levels of the art, but honestly depending on whom you are talking too it could be useless to use them because the other part might not even understand them neither recognize them as valid. Xunzi, one of the most important representatives of Confucianism and one of China’s greatest educators, used to say that there is no use in antagonizing with people that are unable to understand or recognize the value of a certain argument. Therefore, at times, it might be better to keep the discussion in a more common level and only talk about what the other part actually can understand. Besides, people with deep knowledge might not be interested in educating people other than their own students.

Once a practitioner understands that, like the classical disciplines from ancient China, Xingyiquan is related to everything you do in life, then he might naturally put the necessary hours in. Nevertheless, to be able to reach this kind of understanding a person needs to receive instruction for a very qualified teacher and those are very, very hard to come across. The will to put the necessary hours in comes with the understanding of how can XYQ be used in every little aspect of your life, be it fighting, business, health, relationships and so on. Once a person truly realizes the art is a tool that can be used in so many different ways, in different aspects of your life, than the usage of what you learn becomes much broader than fighting this or that person, even though fighting is the main point here. At this point, a student realizes that he is not only learning how to fight, but is also learning and practicing a very old and deep kind of culture: the Chinese martial culture. How is Xingyiquan a culture, how does it appear in different aspects of one’s life, how do you use it? If you are lucky enough you will, like me, find a teacher who is willing to share this with you.

Good luck.

The problem with Xingyiquan - Series 2 - Part 2

2011-08-10T06:57:00.001-07:00

Not understanding the true benefits of what one is training

Throughout my 13 years living in Shanxi I have met with practitioners of different martial arts, many famous, many not famous but few really skilled and gifted. What seems evident from the point where I stand is that the vast majority of practitioners I have met have in fact a very poor understanding of what they profess to train and teach. Now of course most of them will be ready to give you an account on the theory of what they practice and teach but I cannot help but to think how empty is most of what they say. It feels like many have this ready to go speech that really only barely scratches the surface of the possibilities contained in XYQ. This ready to go speech reflects an utmost lack of understanding of the principles that are the very core of the art and if one really knows about it, it is easy to dig deeper and see how the initial speech falls apart completely. This initial speech could not be shallower, but as it is, it is enough to influence the minds of those that have an even shallower knowledge of XYQ and are seeking instruction in it. I mean, really, who doesn’t know that XYQ is an effective martial art? That it is good for your mental and physical health? That it is an important expression of the Chinese culture, which it is deep and it takes years to master? For many people that are seeking instruction in the art hearing this is enough to sell them the whole package that consists of many years of training. However, if one actually sets a higher standard to himself (which does not happen very often in the CMA circles I’m afraid) than the digging can begin, because it is the digging that will reveal the true understanding that a teacher has. Further questions that could help are: How effective is XYQ as a martial art? How is it different from other martial arts, what makes it unique? How could I use it to defend myself in a life-threatening situation? How does a good XYQ fighter goes against a boxer? Then perhaps the most important thing you can say to the teacher: Show me. Still, it seems that most people here stop before the digging, almost as if the initial speech would be enough to convince them. What happens is that most people will have this romantic view of the traditional Chinese martial arts and when they go see a “master” that kind of talk is exactly what they expect to hear. Why dig, why make sure the teacher really knows what he is talking about if he tells me exactly what I want to hear? Moreover, these “students” go on training for years and years and in time become “masters” too, inheriting from their teachers the lack of understanding and shallowness that contributes to the pitiful state XYQ is in. Not from their point of view of course, because for these masters the situation could not be better. They might have students from China and abroad and might be hailed as great authorities (!) in the field. Many people all over the country happily enter the competitions they often organize. Really, what could be better than this? Of course! More students, more fame, more competitions. Silly me. Martial efficiency? True understanding of the principles? Deep knowledge of martial culture? Application of the art in your daily life? If you think these questions are important than you are, I am afraid to say, the exception to the rule.

What, then, is more important, having a true powerful and effective martial system that will shape the way people think, creating men and women that are fit to defend themselves, fit to face the difficulties that life presents, ready to contribute to the wellbeing of the society they live in and qualified to pass on a rich knowledge that is one important expression of the Chinese culture or to create and maintain social status by using a pallid shade of what used to be a great martial system? It is better to live in a sweet fantasy, where you recognize yourself as a true master and surround yourself by people that share the same opinion than to really face the fact that you know very little about what you profess to understand. The power of social recognition is, for most, stronger than the power of true authority because the latest might come without any kind of recognition. Moreover, when the need for recognition surpasses the need for reality, then all that one can do is continue to wear his “master” mask and give the initial speech I mentioned before. Then one day the “master” wakes up only to find out that he wore the mask for far too long and he cannot remove it anymore. In fact, there is no mask, there is no illusion, for the mask became the man and illusion became reality.

The problem with Xingyiquan - Series 2 - Part 1

2011-08-09T20:54:00.000-07:00

I often find myself thinking about the pitiful situation in which XYQ is. It was once a respected and feared martial art, it was popular and known for its combat effectiveness, but look at it today: It is neither respected nor feared, it is not recognized as a combat efficient method and it is not popular. Could it be any worse? Of course, because on top of everything else, as if to deliver the last hit on this dying art, important parts of the system have been lost forever. Now there is a reason for the existence of each one of these problems but I will not be dealing with them in this article, instead I will write about something that is closely related to all these problems which is why, in our modern age, it is so difficult to acquire martial proficiency in Xingyiquan. XYQ’s birthplace is China and I will be writing about this problem from a Chinese perspective. As of this day, top first class instruction on XYQ is possible only in China, through a Chinese teacher or through someone that has spent enough time in China learning the art from a qualified teacher, and by “enough time” I mean ten or more years). Since first class education in XYQ comes only from or through China, understanding the situation in that country is essential to be able to form an educated opinion on the subject.

When we think about what shapes the thinking and the actions of people there are many factors to be considered, but one of the most important ones certainly is culture. Culture is an incredibly strong element and when we wish to understand the thinking of the Chinese people, we must first understand its culture. This article is not about Chinese culture and I will not spend much time talking purely about it but will rather talk about some pertinent cultural elements and their relation to the practice and transmission of XYQ. Roughly speaking culture will determine (to a great extent) how people think, and how people think will determine how they act. For us the important thing to remember is that culture will determine how the Chinese understand life and how they position themselves into it and this understanding of life will influence their XYQ practice determining the result of the practice itself. By critically analyzing the state in which XYQ is we can then infer that the result of the practice of XYQ in China is, to say the least, extremely undesirable.

Culturally speaking there are many factors that influence the Chinese people in their XYQ practice and, as everything else in life, some are good and some are bad. The Chinese civilization is amazingly rich in their culture, having produced some of the greatest minds that mankind has ever seen, contributing to the developing of many different kinds of science and showing us how a country can be reborn to become one of the leading economies in the world. Chinese are confident, strong in their convictions and quick in their thinking. I do not really believe there is any part of the Chinese culture that is bad. At this point, I am inclined to think that some of the things that make them strong also make them weak, meaning that in a sense their strength is also their weakness. One of the most important Confucian classics, the “Zhong Yong” tells us about temperance, about not to neglect or overdo. A virtue that can become an illness. Life is sarcastic.

Why is the million-dollar question. Why is XYQ in such a pitiful state in China? Why it is not recognized as a suitable self-defense method? Why, actually, XYQ is not recognized as a self-defense method at all? Why can’t teachers produce good fighters? Why so many teachers that know so little about fighting, self-defense or how to train their students? There is really nothing preventing students to train or teachers to teach, there is really nothing preventing the art to become, once again, everything that it could. So then, again I ask, "Why?" There are a few legitimate answers to this question, but one of them certainly is “ culture ” . When virtues become vices, when strengths become weaknesses than one really has a problem, a problem that comes from within, that is so deep inside the thinking of the people that can hardly be solved, not without some great effort, not without a strong sense of urgency, a sense that changing is needed and must be achieved. Without this sense of urgency, nothing will change, and if it does, it will take such a long time that the art will probably be completely dead by then.

On the value of applications and techniques

2011-07-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

Fighting and Xingyiquan are two words that seem to be eternally separated. Even though Xingyiquan is a martial art that has as its main goal the attainment of martial ability, those who can use it in free combat are indeed very few. Those who practice Xingyiquan and can fight might be many (or not), but those who practice the art and can actually fight with it are few indeed. When one talks or write about fighting the first thing that comes to mind are applications, the different ways in which one can use (mainly) the five elements in free combat. If photos or video demonstrations of some applications accompany the article then it might probably be hailed by the “community” as a “good video” or a “good article”. There are many things that can make a video or an article valuable for the practitioner but applications are not amongst them. Seems contradictory? Continue reading.

An application per se is the end moment of a process that is put into motion even before a practitioner begins to move. It starts unseen in the mind of the practitioner and it passes through several stages until we actually get to that point where the enemy is actually being hit. Showing an application gives the reader (viewer) the idea that he is benefiting from it, but in fact, an application per se is just an empty shell. It gives the reader a false sense of achievement because the viewer feels that by looking at it he is in some way benefiting from it, but in fact this is only an illusion, even more so in Xingyiquan, a martial art completely based in principles rather than techniques. For most people the more techniques (applications) you know the better you might be prepared for a combat situation. Following this logic the more techniques one knows the better his chances might be in free combat, for he will be ready for almost any kind of situation that might arise in combat – he will have a straight “answer” for anything. That is in fact an incorrect understanding of the usage of Xingyiquan in combat. Applications are the end of a process; they are the last movement on a chess game where the chess master successfully captures the enemy’s King. It is the last movement, the end movement. When one knows many techniques all that he actually has is a collection of “chess end movements”. Are the end movements important? Sure they are but there is something far more important, which is how the chess master went from the opening until the actual end movement.

Do not collect end movements, rather learn how to progress on the chess board from the very moment of opening until the point where you position yourself to finally capture the King. How, rather then what. Some people might seem to give a lot when they give nothing, while others might seem to give nothing when in fact they give everything.

Os beneficios advindos da pratica correta

2011-07-08T05:23:00.000-07:00

Os beneficios advindos da pratica correta

Por

Tadzio Goldgewicht

Bacharel em língua chinesa, Mestre em Chinês clássico, discípulo de 3 geração, Shanxi Xingyiquan, estilo Tian.

Quarta parte de uma serie de artigos intitulada “A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo. Ler em ordem.”

Falemos então sobre os benefícios diretos da pratica da arte marcial. O entendimento do que estes benefícios vêm a ser realmente, o método correto para a sua obtenção bem como sua utilização na vida cotidiana são os pontos centrais deste artigo. E sempre importante lembrar que, como já expliquei nas partes anteriores, o correto entendimento dos benefícios diretos e indiretos advindos da pratica da arte marcial somente será possível caso o professor entenda a própria natureza da arte marcial em si. O correto entendimento sobre a natureza das AM (artes marciais) serve como uma espécie de “bussola” que direciona as praticas ensinadas por um professor, ou seja, o método de ensino de qualquer professor reflete de forma clara o seu entendimento (ou falta de ) sobre as artes marciais. Sendo o professor responsável pelo ensino de novos alunos ele encontra-se em uma posição de grandíssima responsabilidade. Carregam os professores atuais o grande fardo, a grande responsabilidade de não somente, como a maioria pode vir a pensar, transmitir certo tipo de conhecimento, mas também de estarem certos de que o conhecimento que passam aos seus alunos condiz com a realidade das artes marciais, em oposição aquilo que eles mesmos possam vir a imaginar como sendo real. Aos professores cabe a honra de transmitir um conhecimento milenar e esta responsabilidade já e por si mesma um fardo de peso considerável, porem maior ainda e a responsabilidade de se assegurar que ele mesmo (como professor) esteja realmente preparado para esta tarefa. Considerando que esta não e tarefa das mais simples devemos levar em conta que a transmissão de conhecimento e um processo composto por diversas partes, tendo cada uma delas sua importância e suas peculiaridades, porem uma das partes mais importantes (senão a mais importante) e que o individuo que se coloca em posição de transmissor do conhecimento deve estar seguro que o conhecimento que transmite reflete a realidade. Fazer anuncio de deliciosas sobremesas francesas, mas vender bolo de padaria (nada contra) é, no mínimo, uma irresponsabilidade grotesca que pode ser amenizada caso o anunciante realmente não saiba a diferença entre os dois produtos e honestamente acredite que a famosa “cavaca de padaria” é realmente uma deliciosa sobremesa francesa. Porem, por mais que este comerciante tenha boas intenções isto não ira mudar o fato de que aquilo que ele vende e aquilo que ele diz vender são coisas diferentes. Esta é a situação na qual se encontram muitos professores bem intencionados que honestamente acreditam estarem ensinando uma determinada modalidade de arte marcial Chinesa, quando a verdade é que aquilo que ensinam esta tão distante da realidade quanto a cavaca da sobremesa francesa. Estes professores são somente mais um elo na dantesca corrente de desinformação que é tão comum no meio das AMC. São ao mesmo tempo fruto da corrente e indivíduos que asseguram a sua continuidade. Mais sobre o problema dos professores e de sua formação nos próximos artigos.

Os benefícios da pratica correta das AM podem ser divididos em dois grupos: evidentes e não evidentes. Os benefícios evidentes são aqueles mais comumente associados a pratica em si, são aqueles benefícios que são diretamente associados a pratica da AM como a mesma e entendida pelo leigo ou ate mesmo pelo professor com formação deficiente. Alguns exemplos são a obtenção de habilidade de autodefesa, o aumento da autoconfiança e a melhoria da saúde. Estes exemplos refletem dois pontos que são indicadores da situação das AMC no Brasil: o entendimento dos leigos em geral sobre os benefícios provenientes da pratica e o entendimento deficiente e parcial de uma parte dos próprios professores. De todo modo vamos analisar os três benefícios citados acima.

1. Obtenção de habilidade de autodefesa. Este e o ponto vital, o cerne, a qualidade mais importante de qualquer método que venha a se chamar de “marcial”. Qualquer método marcial deve ter por objetivo principal a formação de indivíduos aptos a defenderem suas integridades físicas em caso de extrema necessidade. Evidentemente o conceito de arte marcial pressupõe muito mais do que a pura obtenção de habilidade de autodefesa, porem podemos entender este beneficio como sendo o requerimento mais básico para que uma atividade possa realmente vir a ser chamada de “arte marcial”.

2. O aumento da autoconfiança. Este beneficio ocorre em decorrência direta do treinamento para a obtenção da habilidade de autodefesa. O sucesso constante na realização de pequenas tarefas, na solução de pequenos problemas e na superação constante dos obstáculos envolvidos na aquisição da habilidade de autodefesa são pontos essenciais que promovem, gradualmente, o aumento da autoconfiança.

3. A melhoria da saúde. Juntamente com o segundo beneficio é resultado direto da correta pratica marcial. Podemos incluir aqui o conceito de saúde mental, visto que dentro das AM o trabalho mental e tão ou mais importante do que o trabalho puramente físico em si. Neste ponto vale fazer uma observação: o leitor não deve de forma alguma associar “saúde mental” com outros termos tão em moda atualmente,mas que nada, absolutamente nada, tem em comum com a pratica marcial. O conceito de saúde mental dentro da arte marcial não é “nova era” nem tão pouco “holístico”.

Os benefícios citados acima são aqueles mais básicos e evidentes, aqueles que são mais comumente associados a pratica de uma arte marcial. Desta forma, e normal que o leigo os associe a pratica. Mas aqui devemos traçar uma linha que separa o leigo do praticante que toma para si a responsabilidade de transmitir o conhecimento marcial. A grande diferença, no que diz respeito aos benefícios, e que o leigo vai somente identificar os benefícios evidentes, enquanto que o professor deve estar apto a entender de forma mais ampla os benefícios provenientes da pratica constante. O que quero dizer e que e aceitável que um leigo identifique somente os benefícios diretos, porem o mesmo não e aceitável para um professor. Vou agora brevemente apresentar alguns dos benefícios não evidentes.

1. Aumento do controle mental. A natureza da arte marcial chinesa e dupla, já que a mesma engloba em suas praticas os elementos físico e mental. Estes elementos tem igual importância, porem o mental e a base, o principio que existe por trás da parte física. Atualmente e comum que praticantes e professores não entendam perfeitamente a relação entre estas duas partes, dando grande (ou maior) ênfase a parte mental. A arte marcial e uma expressão física de certos princípios mentais, de modo que a existência destes princípios sem a sua própria expressão física implica em uma existência “pela metade”, incompleta. Arte marcial não e meditação, não e religião, não e Yoga e não e uma pratica que foca o mental mais do que o físico. Deve haver um equilíbrio entre estas duas partes.

2. Melhoria da capacidade de resolução de problemas. O treino marcial correto engloba princípios que, quando entendidos de forma mais completa, ajudam o praticante a entender a realidade de uma forma diferente. A pratica constante também possibilita que o praticante utilize o próprio conhecimento marcial em sua vida cotidiana.

Acima descrevi de forma muito superficial apenas dois benefícios não evidentes. Cada um destes dois benefícios pode ser explicado de forma bastante detalhada, de modo a fazer com que o aluno realmente entenda o quão benéfica a pratica pode se tornar. Porem este conhecimento e geralmente reservado a alunos que decidem aceitar um determinado professor como mestre, passando pela cerimônia de iniciação “Baishi”. A arte marcial tem um papel fundamental na formação do individuo. As AMC são uma expressão milenar de uma cultura riquíssima e estão diretamente ligadas a escolas e correntes de pensamentos muito influentes na cultura Chinesa e por conseqüência são muito mais do que atividades físicas ou métodos de autodefesa. Porem, e necessário que deixemos (mais uma vez) claro que os benefícios advindos da arte marcial Chinesa somente serão usufruídos de forma completa caso o treinamento seja levado a cabo de forma marcial. E necessário que haja a autodefesa como ponto mais importante para que estes benefícios possam “aparecer” e para que um praticante usufrua dos mesmos. Aos professores cabe a grande responsabilidade de estarem certos de que estão preparados para o ensino e de transmitirem o conhecimento marcial da forma que seja mais proveitosa para cada individuo, estando preocupados em formar indivíduos aptos a utilizarem a arte marcial em situação de combate real e que ao mesmo tempo tenham forte caráter e princípios morais. Cabe aos professores perguntarem a si mesmos: “Será que estou realmente transmitindo uma arte marcial?”, ou ainda “Será que eu realmente entendo os benefícios advindos da pratica marcial?”. Lembro ao leitor que “arte marcial” não e o mesmo que “ginástica Taijiquan”. Como o Taijiquan esta bastante conhecido no ocidente vale utilizá-lo aqui como exemplo ao lado do Xingyiquan. O Taijiquan como e normalmente ensinado no Brasil, como uma ginástica Chinesa, com pouco contato físico, com pouca ou nenhuma atividade de combate livre, com a mais absoluta falta de mentalidade marcial, não e uma arte marcial, sendo apenas a sombra da arte marcial que realmente e. O mesmo pode ser dito sobre o Xingyiquan, pois nesta arte marcial caso separemos os elementos marciais da pratica cotidiana (mentalidade marcial, geração de forca, métodos corporais aplicados em combate livre, formas combinadas treinadas marcialmente, combate livre, aplicação de princípios em combate livre etc.) o que sobra e apenas mais uma dentre muitas formas de exercício físico. O resultado obviamente seria apenas uma sombra daquilo que o verdadeiro Xingyiquan realmente se propõe a ser. Por isso digo acima que cabe ao professor perguntar a si mesmo se aquilo que ele ensina como arte marcial ainda preserva os elementos marciais ou tornou-se apenas uma forma de ginástica glorificada. E bem verdade que o treinamento marcial não e para qualquer um. Não e qualquer pessoa que esta disposta a suar, exercitar seu corpo e sua mente ate seus limites, mudar sua visão de mundo, praticar combate livre constantemente etc. Mas para que os benefícios da pratica de uma arte marcial sejam obtidos de forma integral a pratica deve ser marcial e tradicional. E claro que alguns indivíduos não buscam este tipo de pratica, e para estes a duas opções: podem praticar de forma diferenciada (mais leve e menos intensa) e ainda se beneficiar da pratica constante, porem deve ficar claro que por praticar somente uma parte da arte marcial em si receberão somente uma parte dos benefícios. A alternativa seria buscar uma atividade com a qual se identifiquem mais. O caminho marcial não e para todos.

O professor ou mestre qualificado e aquele que tem grande habilidade marcial de autodefesa em combate LIVRE, que pode expressar fisicamente os princípios que são o centro da arte marcial que ensina, que entende como a pratica constante ira beneficiar o aluno das mais diversas formas e que tem um caráter e moral elevados. Nada menos que isso e aceitável. Aos alunos cabe a responsabilidade de não serem iludidos com promessas e historias mirabolantes. Analisem cada professor com senso critico e racionalidade. Arte marcial que não e marcial e apenas ginástica glorificada. Tendo porem a sorte de encontrar um professor qualificado, podem estar certos que embarcarão em uma jornada que ira mudar suas vidas de forma positivamente radical.

Na proxima e ultima parte os beneficios sociais da formacao de individuos versados nas artes marciais.

A preparação do professor como condutor do conhecimento

2011-05-30T03:48:00.000-07:00

A preparação do professor como condutor do conhecimento
Por

Tadzio Goldgewicht

Bacharel em língua chinesa, Mestre em Chinês clássico, discípulo de 3 geração, Shanxi Xingyiquan, estilo Tian

Terceira parte de uma série de artigos intitulada “A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo. Ler os artigos em ordem.

A maneira pela qual o professor ou mestre irá contribuir para a formação do indivíduo, as áreas que estarão sob a influência do professor e a responsabilidade do mesmo para com o aluno (discípulo) são os temas principais desta série de artigos, mas serão discutidos somente nas próximas partes. Nesta terceira parte estarei discutindo a formação do professor em si, com foco na etimologia e significado de artes marciais, visto que somente um professor qualificado poderá transmitir de forma satisfatória o conhecimento marcial.

Comecemos pelo mais básico, a parte que é mais desvirtuada: a natureza e as qualidades de uma arte marcial. Existe hoje em dia, em diversos segmentos das artes marciais chinesas, no Brasil, uma total falta de noção, uma ignorância completa do que vem a ser uma arte marcial. Pessoas professam praticar ou ensinar certa atividade, uma arte marcial no caso, elas pecam, contudo, em compreender ainda que seja da maneira mais básica aquilo mesmo que professam praticar ou ensinar. Desta forma, ainda nestes tais segmentos da arte marcial chinesa como é ensinada no Brasil, os próprios praticantes e (ou) professores transmitem a seus alunos uma visão sobre as artes marciais chinesas que não corresponde à realidade. São os que vivem em um mundo de “fantasia” passando um conhecimento “fantasioso” àqueles que, por sua vez, serão professores um dia, e continuarão a transmitir a fantasia para futuras gerações. O sistema é medonho. Mas vocês leitores se perguntarão: como é possível que aqueles que praticam alguma arte marcial há anos, alguns tendo praticado por uma vida inteira, como é possível que estes que nos ensinam não entendam e não dominem o conhecimento que se credita a eles? Simplesmente porque eles mesmos são nada mais nada menos do que um elo a mais nesta dantesca corrente de transmissão, onde o que não sabe ensina, e o que aprendeu continua da mesma forma que estava quando ainda não tinha aprendido: sem saber nada. Isto acontece, em parte, porque existe uma falha na compreensão dos conceitos mais básicos das artes marciais chinesas, sendo o mais importante deles a própria noção do que e uma arte marcial. Vou, então, começar esclarecendo este ponto.

Uma arte marcial é um sistema de práticas mentais e físicas que tem por objetivo maior assegurar a obtenção da habilidade de autodefesa em situação de combate. Ou seja, a “obtenção de habilidade de autodefesa em situação de combate” é, sem a menor sombra de dúvidas, o objetivo maior de uma arte marcial. Existem outros, porém nenhum deles é maior do que este. A situação da arte marcial chinesa no Brasil e tão desanimadora que muitos poderão atacar a minha definição fazendo uso de diferentes teorias para tentar o impossível: estabelecer um ponto válido que vá contra esta definição, que alias não é minha, é apenas o consenso que existe entre os próprios praticantes tradicionais na China. Mas infelizmente em alguns segmentos da comunidade da arte marcial chinesa no Brasil, a arte marcial é ensinada como qualquer outra coisa, menos como arte marcial propriamente dita. O próprio nome já diz “arte marcial”, que nos trás a idéia de “marcialidade. Em Chinês o termo correto e “Wushu”. Vamos entender esta palavra. A arte marcial é uma parte inseparável da cultura Chinesa. Romances sobre artes marciais e artistas marciais são parte importante da literatura chinesa, bem como filmes e séries de televisão sobre o mesmo tema. A arte marcial faz parte do folclore chinês moderno, sendo uma das formas de expressão cultural mais antigas na china. Assim sendo vamos primeiro analisar a palavra do ponto de vista do Chinês clássico, onde a maioria das palavras é monossilábica. De acordo com o “Dicionário de caracteres para o Chinês clássico” do professor Wang Li, que foi uma das maiores autoridades modernas no assunto, “Wu” significa “assuntos militares”. De acordo com o “Dicionário de origens dos caracteres chineses” “Wu” significa “demonstrar poderio militar”, significando ainda “assuntos militares” ou “arte marcial”. Ainda de acordo com a obra “Diferenciando a terminologia do Chinês clássico” “Wu ou Wei, não importando que sejam utilizados como substantivo ou adjetivo, todos têm relação com a idéia de forca e poder (militar).” . “Shu” por sua vez, é definido pelo “Dicionário de caracteres para o Chinês clássico” do Professor Wang Li “Shu” como: “método”, “habilidade”.”arte”,”pensamento”,”teoria” e outros significados que não listarei aqui. O “Dicionário de origens dos caracteres chineses” dá basicamente as mesmas definições. Podemos observar então que não resta a menor duvida de que do ponto de vista clássico e tradicional a definição de “Wushu” e realmente clara, e mesmo que algum outro estudioso proponha uma definição diferente da minha ela certamente terá o mesmo principio lógico. Mas e do ponto de vista do Chinês moderno, qual é a definição de “Wushu”? Sem me alongar muito, basta dizer que o famoso dicionário “Cihai” define Wushu como “Arte de assuntos militares”. Ora, entendendo o significado da palavra em Chinês fica claro que aquele que diz ensinar uma arte marcial deve fazê-lo de forma que sua prática e seus ensinamentos reflitam o próprio conceito que a palavra denota em Chinês. Fica claro também que quem ensina alguma prática física e (ou) mental, chamando-a de marcial, porém não segue o conceito que a definição do termo em Chinês exprime é ignorante em relação àquilo que ensina ou está agindo ma Fé. É evidente que qualquer praticante ou professor é livre para modificar aquilo que conhece, bem como modificar o método tradicional de ensino, porém para que aquilo que se é ensinado possa permanecer sendo arte marcial deve obviamente manter-se dentro da definição da própria palavra. Fazendo uma comparação poderíamos dizer que um Chef pode “brincar” e experimentar diversos modos de fazer um macarrão italiano - pode trocar vários ingredientes, mudar a quantidade dos mesmos, utilizar diferentes temperos que o resultado final ainda será “macarrão italiano”. Contudo, caso as mudanças ocorram de forma a descaracterizar totalmente o prato – trocando-se a massa por, digamos, arroz – fica evidente que o resultado final jamais poderá ser chamado de “macarrão italiano”. Caso o tal Chef insista em chamar o resultado de “macarrão italiano” fica claríssimo que ele ou está completamente enganado, ou esta agindo de má Fé. Eu prefiro acreditar que no meio marcial a primeira possibilidade ocorra com mais freqüência. Assim sendo, aqueles que estão em uma posição de transmitir o conhecimento marcial precisam, primeiramente, entender perfeitamente o que é uma arte marcial e também o que ela não é.

Não podemos, aqui, falar sobre todas as artes marciais Chinesas, de forma que utilizarei como exemplo o Xingyiquan, arte marcial na qual sou especialista e que, juntamente com o Baguazhang e o Taijiquan, forma o que se conhece como “artes marciais internas”. Sendo o Xingyiquan uma arte marcial, sua prática, como não poderia deixar de ser, tem por objetivo maior permitir que o praticante adquira habilidade marcial. O objetivo maior é este, porém, existem outros objetivos menores que são, digamos, “desejáveis” no que diz respeito a sua obtenção. É sobre a relação do objetivo maior com os objetivos menores que falaremos na próxima parte.

O problema do correto entendimento

2011-05-26T20:00:00.000-07:00

O problema do correto entendimento

Por

Tadzio Goldgewicht

Bacharel em língua chinesa, Mestre em Chinês clássico, discípulo de 3 geração, Shanxi Xingyiquan, estilo Tian.

Segunda parte de uma serie de artigos intitulada “A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo. Ler em ordem.

”

Não é possível passar adiante um conhecimento que não se tem, assim como não é possível ensinar aquilo que não se compreende. Quando uma pessoa tenta ensinar algo que não compreende totalmente, ou algo sobre o qual não tem, pelo menos, um grande domínio, o resultado não pode ser dos melhores. No que diz respeito às artes marciais chinesas, é necessário que aquele que está ensinando tenha uma base bastante sólida de conhecimentos relativos à cultura chinesa em geral – somente desta forma a tradição marcial chinesa poderá ser transmitida em sua forma mais pura, mais tradicional. Somente desta forma, o professor irá formar indivíduos que sejam, dentro da tradição cultural chinesa, aptos marcialmente e socialmente.

A educação clássica chinesa prevê o estudo através de um currículo interdisciplinar, de forma que um estudante de história, ao formar-se, terá também uma base sólida em literatura, ciências sociais, filosofia e outras disciplinas, visto que o estudo de qualquer uma delas prevê o entendimento das outras. Na arte marcial Chinesa não poderia ser diferente. O estudo da arte marcial chinesa é também o estudo do pensamento chinês, das ciências sociais chinesas, dos sistemas de governo chineses e da literatura chinesa. O entendimento destas disciplinas é pré-requisito básico para um real entendimento das artes marciais chinesas. As disciplinas acima citadas (dentre outras) são a base do que hoje se conhece pelo termo “cultura chinesa”. Porém, devemos nos perguntar: que tanto realmente entendemos da “cultura chinesa”, se não temos uma boa base nas áreas acima citadas? “Cultura Kungfu”, “Cultura marcial”, “Preceitos marciais”, “Filosofia Kungfu” e outros termos mais estão na moda atualmente, porém o que eles realmente significam? Estes termos são tão somente o resultado de união das disciplinas acima citadas formando o que hoje conhecemos como cultura chinesa. O ponto que deve ser lembrado é que a arte marcial chinesa, como expressão cultural da China, é o resultado da união de diversas disciplinas, e o estudo da arte marcial chinesa em si significa o estudo de, senão todas, pelo menos das mais significativas disciplinas da tradição clássica chinesa. Não se pode estudar seriamente a arte marcial chinesa sem estudar as disciplinas que são fundamentais ao seu correto entendimento, sem entender quais são os blocos fundamentais que a compõem. Muito mais importante é lembrar que ao se ensinar a arte marcial chinesa sem se ter pelo menos uma boa base nas disciplinas acima citadas, implica-se em um ensino incompleto. Há que se entender, então, duas coisas de suma importância: primeiro que não há arte marcial chinesa sem o elemento cultural como pano de fundo, e segundo que este elemento cultural é bastante complexo, sendo muito maior e mais profundo do que o termo “filosofia Kungfu” (o que quer que ele signifque) possa vir a indicar.

O povo brasileiro é trabalhador por natureza, é questionador e geralmente bem sucedido naquilo que se propõe a fazer, pois quando se encontra determinado a alcançar um objetivo específico, há pouco que possa desestimulá-lo. Assim sendo eu congratulo aqueles colegas que estão em busca de conhecimento, porém clamo os mesmos que estão em uma posição de ensinar aos outros (qualquer que seja o seu nível de habilidade) para que façam uma análise fria e realista da sua própria situação dentro do contexto das artes marciais chinesas. Professores e mestres têm uma responsabilidade enorme, pois têm um poder de influência muito grande. Do ponto de vista pessoal, eles podem influenciar seus alunos; do ponto de vista social eles podem influenciar a sociedade; e do ponto de vista da continuidade da arte marcial chinesa, eles podem influenciar o futuro da mesma. É necessário que o professor esteja ciente de sua grande responsabilidade e que faça o possível para se preparar- de forma a ser sempre uma influência positiva, seja no campo pessoal, social ou de desenvolvimento da arte. No campo pessoal o professor qualificado atua como educador e como membro da família de um aluno, sendo diretamente responsável pela transmissão dos valores e conceitos que irão moldar o individuo e forjar o seu caráter. Na área social sua responsabilidade é direta e indireta. Direta através da formação de indivíduos que irão tornar-se parte atuante da sociedade, e indireta através das ações dos membros de sua família marcial. Na área da continuidade marcial o professor é responsável no sentido em que tem uma responsabilidade para com seu mestre. Esta é a responsabilidade de ser um aluno aplicado, de passar a arte e o conhecimento adiante e de adaptá-los para diferentes e novas realidades, mantendo-se,, contudo,as qualidades inerentes que são a própria alma e espírito de uma arte marcial. Tudo muito bonito, mas sem conhecimento e compreensão da “cultura” tudo não passa de teoria, porque é necessário tais conhecimento e compreensão para duas coisas importantíssimas: primeiro para que o professor compreenda a responsabilidade que tem e segundo para que possa transmitir corretamente o conhecimento que detém.

Ir para a terceira parte.

A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo

2011-05-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo

Por

Tadzio Goldgewicht

Bacharel em língua chinesa, Mestre em Chinês clássico, discípulo de 3 geração, Shanxi Xingyiquan, estilo Tian.

Primeira parte de uma serie de artigos intitulada “A arte marcial Chinesa e a sua contribuição para a formação do individuo. Ler em ordem.

Introdução

Este e o meu primeiro artigo em português após um longo período escrevendo apenas em inglês e, ocasionalmente, em Chinês. Eu tenho escrito constantemente sobre as artes marciais chinesas em seus mais diferentes aspectos e, para aquele que têm acompanhado os meus artigos fica claro o meu descontentamento e repúdio ao atual estado em que as artes marciais Chinesas se encontram neste momento. A arte marcial chinesa tem perdido aqueles próprios valores que constituem, quando agrupados, a sua alma e o seu espírito. Este processo de descaracterização vem ocorrendo já há algum tempo (séculos na verdade) e não há indícios de que eles venham a parar ou mesmo diminuir em velocidade. As razões pelas quais esta descaracterização vem ocorrendo são inúmeras – o próprio pensamento clássico chinês é uma delas, a falta de informação ao ocidental do quem vem realmente a ser a arte marcial ou a cultura Chinesa sendo uma outra razão importante. De todo modo, para o conhecedor das artes marciais chinesas é evidente o estado de penúria na qual a mesma se encontra. É interessante notar que o sentimento de ultraje e revolta decorrente deste estado de penúria é, em muitos casos, proporcionalmente inverso ao entusiasmo daqueles que contribuem em maior instância para a própria propagação da imagem errônea, fantasiosa, barata e enganadora que representa a arte marcial chinesa nos dias atuais.

Esta imagem barata e fantasiosa decorre, em grande parte da falta de professores qualificados para transmitir a arte. A transmissão de conhecimento marcial acontece tradicionalmente em “famílias” marciais. A família marcial é formada por um grupo de indivíduos que praticam um mesmo sistema marcial sob a tutela de um único mestre, as relações superando aquelas de “professor-aluno” e chegando ao nível de “mestre-discípulo”. Este tipo de ensino tradicional está muito distante da realidade ocidental, apesar de estar muito na moda dentro dos círculos “marciais” brasileiros. Hoje em dia é fácil contatar algum “Mestre” chinês e, após o acerto de alguns detalhes financeiros, acontece a entrada do “sortudo” aluno brasileiro em uma família “tradicional” chinesa (“sortudo” e “tradicional”, sendo irônico, visto que nem o iludido aluno é um sortudo nem a família é tradicional.). Então, dentro da modernidade social brasileira não é muito difícil a aceitação por parte de alguma família chinesa – basta um computador conectado a internet, saber falar algum inglês decente e ter uma conta bancária com saldo no mínimo estável. Se estes requisitos forem demais para o sortudo em questão, basta ter somente o computador e fazer uma busca pelos “representantes” locais de algum famoso “mestre”. Claro, porque se a porta da frente esta fechada, a dos fundos sempre pode estar (e provavelmente estará) aberta. Estando uma vez dentro da tal família tradicional, o sortudo poderá, então, iniciar o seu treinamento naquilo que ele (e por vezes seus novos “mestres”) acreditam ser o “tradicional”. Mas evidentemente que isso não pode dar certo. Primeiramente “família”, ” mestre”,” discípulo”, “transmissão de conhecimento” e outros conceitos mais são, da forma como os Chineses os entendem, absolutamente alienígenas à cultura brasileira. A sociedade Chinesa é, em grande parte, baseada em duas grandes correntes de pensamento: a confucionista e a legalista. Assim sendo, a vida em sociedade na china baseia-se em preceitos tais quais: respeito a autoridade sem grandes questionamentos, obediência às pessoas em posições de poder, grande importância ao coletivo e não ao individual, respeito às tradições estabelecidas e outros mais. São conceitos que apesar de poderem ser linguisticamente compreendidos pelo cidadão brasileiro, estão em verdade muito distante daquilo que ele esta acostumado a viver no seu dia a dia. Estes conceitos estarão evidentemente presentes de forma dominante nas relações familiares das artes marciais chinesas. Desta forma, por muitas vezes, as famílias marciais presentes no Brasil são como os lanches servidos no McDonald’s: adaptados ao paladar local. Não somente as relações familiares são adaptadas à cultura local, mas o próprio método de ensino também. Com as relações familiares e o método de ensino alterados para agradar a cultura local, podemos começar a entender como a formação de novos professores já está comprometida desde o inicio. Isso quando o aluno sortudo realmente tem a sorte de encontrar uma família marcial séria. Sim, porque diferente do que imaginam os incautos e os iludidos, fama não significa habilidade e nem sempre os mais famosos são os mais habilidosos. O resultado desta grande confusão é que, por muitas vezes, o aluno treina dentro de uma família muito famosa, porém de pouca habilidade marcial. Como se isso não bastasse, é iludido em acreditar que recebe treinamento tradicional dentro de uma família tradicional através de relações tradicionais. Mas não é mesmo uma “sorte”? O resultado? O resultado na maioria das vezes pode ser resumido através de um diálogo que tive recentemente – segue o relato: ha algum tempo atrás conheci uma pessoa brasileira (muito boa pessoa por sinal) que estava na China para estudar uma certa arte marcial. Ela faz parte de uma família muito conceituada (dentro e fora da China), mas que em termos de habilidade marcial está em um nível muito inferior ao que sua fama indica. De todo modo ela treinava com uma pessoa muito conhecida no Brasil e que havia alcançado o grau de mestre. Em um dado momento da conversa a tal pessoa me diz que não entende porque os praticantes de arte marcial chinesa têm o desejo de aprender a lutar, visto que isso e uma besteira e não é importante. Este tipo de mentalidade, predominante em certos grupos de arte marcial chinesa, é um dos resultados diretos de uma incorreta transmissão de conhecimento. Primeiro porque não se pode transmitir aquilo que não se conhece, e segundo porque os métodos de transmissão precisam ser corretos.

Ir para a segunda parte.

A short introduction to Tian style Xingyiquan

2011-02-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

Note: this article represents my own opinion on the general situation of modern Shanxi Xingyiquan. My opinions are based in my personal experience and reflect only my ideas and interpretation of what I have seen and experienced.

I have been living and training XYQ in it's birthplace, Shanxi province, China, for13 years. During this time I have met practitioners from many different local lines and styles of XYQ. The major lines being passed down in Shanxi are Song and Che families, and other styles directly derived from those lines. Some other styles, like the Li Guichang one are a mix of many diffferent arts (Li Guichang's style is a mix of mostly Hebei Xingyi (with few Song family XYQ elements in it), Yang Taijiquan, Baguazhang and some Shaolin based techniques. Each of these lines have, of course, their own characteristics and training methods, and I am fairly familiar with most of them, but no XYQ that I have seen here (or anywhere else for that matter) appealed to me as much as Tian Style XYQ. Tian style XYQ is the line coming down through Master Tian Zhonglan, disciple of Song Tielin. Even though Master Tian learned directly from Song Tielin he also received instruction from other members of the Song family (notably Song Huchen) and went training to become a very famous fighter in the Shanxi area, known for never losing a fight in his career. The XYQ that he passed on to his sons and disciples was the result of a lifetime of research, hard training and real fighting experience, and it became very different from the XYQ practiced by the Song family. Even though there are obvious Song family XYQ elements in what he transmited, he promoted changes in the system and as a result created his own style. To establish our starting point in this article it should be clear that Tian style XYQ has its roots in Song family XYQ, bey these two lines are different and independent.

What attracted me to Tian style XYQ was, in fact, a couple of elements that I recognized as missing in the schools I have met. They were:

Very strong and explosive power issuing, different that anything I have ever seen here (and I've seen a lot...)
No nonsense approach to fighting and training
Fighting theory that was expressed in daily training.
The fact that Tian style XYQ is not watered down or mixed with other martial arts.

Power: I have seen, crossed hands and experienced power from renowned practitioners from different lines, and although some of them had, to some extent, a kind of power, there was always a problem with it. Some lines rely on issuing power from a certain distance, some others try to unbalance the opponent before issuing. What I have seen in Tian style XYQ that impressed me from day one was how raw and violent the power is. Absolutely refined but at the same time crude, raw, violent and very explosive.
Anyone that knows a bit about XYQ's history knows that, as a martial art, it is supposed to be fierce and direct. Not what I generally saw throughout my years here. Well most teachers will still talk about how direct and how fighting oriented XYQ was or is supposed to be, some will also show you some applications but basically this is where the "fighting oriented" martial art stops, because to be honest I haven't seen fighting oriented training here. In fact, more than once, I have had lineage holders telling me they don't train fighting. There are, of course, people that still try to develop certain fighting skills and I certainly believe that some practitioners here are more than able to defend themselves, but the point is that even for these people their so called "fighting skills" (fight training) doesn't seem to be, as it was before, an important part of what they teach. It's there somewhere but it is never something that will be considered a most important practice, something you will see from day one.It is something that you will probably never see, some mysterious goal that exists almost as if it was some kind of legend. And if you eventually get to the point where you begin to learn some of it, my personal experience tells me that it wont be very useful for a real street fight and most of what you learn might fit better in a cooperative push hands exercise. Not that you can't learn a few things that would be useful in a street fight, you can, but it seems that you can learn only bits and pieces, a number of techniques thrown at you as "useful for fighting". This is not what you want. What you want is a system where those techniques fit. This is what I found in Tian style XYQ, an entire system that was created to give a student the tools that he will need in actual combat. Solo and 2 men exercises that train skills needed in real fights. Push hands thought not as a goal, an end game, but as a tool, reality based forms, sparring sessions etc.
XYQ was created as a martial art. It wasn't created as a way to keep fit, as a way to attain spiritual advance or as a way to become a better person. Even though all these can be attained through the regular practice of XYQ, the main objective still was ~~and is~~ fighting. It isn't anymore. I have heard (yes, I talk a lot to other practitioners) from a lineage holder that his style doesn't train fighting because we don't need to know how to fight in our modern society. From my experience I'd say that most practitioners here agree with this person. This shows us two things: the current state of XYQ as a martial art and the poor understanding that people have of martial training and the advantages that come out of it. Not only knowing how to fight is still (very) necessary, people don't realize that correct martial training prepares the body, the mind and the spirit in very specific ways, forging a person's spirit and personality. Because of this lack of understanding of the nature of martial training it is only but natural that modern XYQ training lacks in the very same thing that is XYQ's soul: martial attitude. No martial attitude, obviously, no martial training. There is all the talk about XYQ's theory (which is 100% martial), about using your hands in this way, about issuing this and that kind of power, about the effectiveness of this or that element, or about the qualities of a certain animal in fighting, but this talk is not translated into everyday practice. Of course people still train their entire curriculum, but I don't seem to see where all that martial attitude that permeates XYQ's theory is in everyday practice. You don't see all this theory talk in fighting and most people will tell you that it takes time and that sparring and fighting with XYQ are advanced practices. They are not. You don't need endless years of practice, you need correct practice, martial oriented practice. Anything less than a martial oriented curriculum and you are back to the "you need to train hard for many years before you can actually learn how to fight" game. It seems that XYQ sparring or fighting is something that comes only after years and years of hard training in the basics, or at least that's what they will tell you. What impressed me on Tian style XYQ is how fighting is stressed from day one. The training, everything in it, has just one objective that is teach the student how to become proficient in fighting, to allow the student to acquire martial ability. Because this is the "starting point" of Tian style XYQ, the whole training is devised in a way as to allow the student to acquire martial skill in the shortest period of time. Therefore, the theory is expressed in daily training and the student can actually understand how it applies into training and real fighting situations.
"Pure" is a tricky word. One of the reasons I came to Shanxi was because I never wanted to hear from other people about what XYQ was in its birthplace, I wanted first hand experience, I wanted the real thing. Throughout my years here I have noticed how some lines have been watered down. The reasons might make a good article but I won't discuss them in this one. The fact is that most XYQ I've seen is not trained as is was in the past anymore, it became like a kind of gymnastics exercise and most people will never pass push hands. In fact it also seems that for many people ability in push hands is a main goal, as opposed to ability in a real fight, true martial ability. Over the generations the lack of martial training has watered down modern XYQ to the point where, in some cases, what we have is but a shadow of what we had before. This is not the case with Tian style XYQ and the training we have now follow the same principles of the training my predecessors had before me: it's martial oriented.

Now, as I wrote above, I was able to identify interesting elements in many different lines in Shanxi, but the Tian style was the only one where I found all these elements combined into one system, and once I learned of it and had my first contact with it I knew I didn't have to look anywhere else for what I was looking for.

"I practice Xingyiquan". Do you really?

2011-02-05T03:41:00.000-08:00

The world of Xingyiquan is filled with contradictions and perhaps the biggest one is that some people believe they are practicing XYQ when in reality they aren't. How is that possible? Continue reading to find out.

Things are what they are. Xingyiquan, as a martial art, has different branches and styles, and many of these branches will have their own training methods, own ideas and own flavor. XYQ also has a manual (called Quanpu) that was supposedly written by the founder of the art, Li Luoneng. I doubt that it was written (perhaps part of it) by Master Li, and my guess is that it was "edited" by first generation masters, disciples of Master Li. However, it is accepted by the XYQ community in China that the Quanpu has very important information regarding the understanding and the training of XYQ, so even though it might not really have been written by Master Li, it is generally accepted as the manual that defines the core principles that make XYQ what it is, what gives it its martial identity. Therefore the Quanpu directly defines what is XYQ, the principles that are the core of it, lay down ground rules for understanding the scope of it etc. By defining what XYQ is the Quanpu is indirectly defining what it isn't. This is one of the reasons why it's so easy (for those who have really studied it) to point out what is and what is not XYQ. Unfortunately it seems that a great number of practitioners do not study the Quanpu, do not understand it or, sadly, do not really care for it. Chinese Pre-Qin dinasty thinker Kongzi once instructed his own son on matters regarding studying and told him that without studying the <Shi Jing> (China's first compilation of poems) it would be difficult for him to speak in public. In the same way not studying the Quanpu will make it close to impossible for a practitioner to publicly discuss XYQ's theory and practice. This , of course, would be the small problem resulting from not studying the Quanpu, the biggest one being not understanding the very same martial art that he practices.

This article would not be necessary if most people had at least a basic understanding of the Quanpu. It is amazing to me how some practitioners might put this most valuable book aside, the same book that defines the very essence of the martial art they believe they practice. Why would this happen? I can only but speculate. First, it could happen because the manual is written in classical Chinese, and even though it's a modern piece of literature (as opposed to the <Lun Yu> or "Lao Zi>) it's still classical Chinese and not everyone understands it (in China). Second, the reason might be poor translations. (NOTE: I mean no disrespect to the work of fellow scholars that might have translated the manual to English. As a scholar of classical Chinese and Chinese thinking I am but speculating here.) It is certainly possible that the current translations might have important mistakes in it, especially if they were done by non practitioners. Third, even with a good translation a practitioner needs to be thought the meaning of what's written in the manual, therefore he needs to be under a master that understands it, having studied under another capable master himself. Once you begin being thought the Quanpu and its "secrets", there is no way you will not realize its importance and value, therefore not giving the manual the importance it deserves serves only to make clear your current level of understanding if the art.

By learning and understanding the Quanpu a practitioner will begin to unravel parts of XYQ that were not accessible to him and he will then have a pretty good idea of what XYQ is and what it isn't. Yes, even though XYQ is a martial art based in concepts and there is certainly room for interpretation, when it comes to the core principles of the art there is a correct way to express it and an incorrect way. My point is that for XYQ, just as for anything else that might have a definition, there is "right" and "wrong", and these two are defined by the Quanpu. There is a kind of attitude that is shared among many practitioners of the art, a kind of "false modesty" that is expressed when those who perpetrate it say "there is no right or wrong, there is only different", or "we are all right, we just have different approaches". I disagree with these comments, obviously. How can everyone be right? Let's be less hypocrites and more honest. Not everyone is right, not everyone can be right.

The argument that people can practice a different form of XYQ and still be right is correct, but only under certain circumstances. First of all most people talk about "improving the art", "promoting changes" or "developing new training methods" too lightly. I think these people might not have a very good idea of the deepness of XYQ or the amount of time, energy and effort that you need to master it. Before you think of "promoting" any changes try spending a life training. Before thinking about the endless "changes" that Piquan might have first spend years training the most basic one and actually get to the point where you can use it in combat (No, just because you palmed you opponent on the face that doesn't make it a Piquan). Every time someone that doesn't have enough training and understanding"changes" something, "improves" something, they get a bit farther away from what XYQ really is.

But how much can you change? This is another key question that needs to be very clear. You can change as much as you want as long as you still maintain the core principles of the art. Since the Quanpu provides us with a clear definition of what XYQ is and what it isn't you can use it as a kind of reference. The rule is simple: if you change it so much that it ceases being what it is, than you changed it too much, for now it is not what it was anymore, but something different. Let's put it in an easier way to understand. Think of a hot-dog. I don't think there is such a thing as a "hot-dog" Quanpu that will tell us exactly what a hot-dog is, but I'd say we can safely define a hot-dog as a "sausage inside a bun (the long one)". As long as you respect this "definition" you can change the hot-dog in many different ways and it will still be a hot-dog. You can add vegetables, sauces, use different kinds of buns and sausages, grill the sausage, fry it, cut it in different ways etc. By changing the hot-dog in any of these ways (and other ways too) you are still maintaining the basic principle, that very same thing that defines it. But suppose you decide to change the sausage by a hamburger patty, or the bun by cream-crackers. What happens then? Simple, the hot-dog ceases to be and you have something else instead. Now, if I change my hot-dog sausage by a hamburger patty does it still taste good? Probably? Is it still a sandwich? I'd say yes. Is it still a hot-dog? Of course not.

The same applies to XYQ. You change the core principles that define the art and it ceases being XYQ. If this happens, even though people might argue that "it's their version of it", or "it's their interpretations of it", as long as you understand the basic principles of XYQ you will clearly see that even though people might call the result XYQ, it's something else already.

The confusion really happens when people (more than often) don't really understand the essence of XYQ. This is something that should be clear from day one (read "The Problem with Xingyiquan - part 1"). When you have a martial art based entirely on principles, not understanding them from the begining will affect all aspects of your practice. In XYQ understanding is everything.

The problem with Xingyiquan (Part 3)

2011-02-01T07:51:00.000-08:00

As promised, this is the third part of my most recent series of articles on XYQ, and on this one I will be discussing "fighting".

The picture on the upper banner of my blog fits beautifully the nature of XYQ, which is true combat. True, as opposed to competitive, sportive combat. No, I am not one of those people that think that XYQ is too deadly to be used in competition. Surely enough XYQ is a deadly martial art and even though a set of rules limits what a XYQ fighter can do, there is still plenty of room inflict a great deal of punishment to your opponent. Nevertheless XYQ is not a good fit for competitive fighting. Not that it can't be adapted to competitive fighting but the simple fact that you have to "adapt" it is reason enough not to. Competitive fighting is a valuable tool that can be used to improve one's overall fighting ability but put too much emphasis on it and something much more important than your techniques will change: your mental attitude towards fighting. It is written in the XYQ Quanpu (manual, sadly underrated and misunderstood by some) that the practitioner must be poisonous and ruthless, and although a competitive fighter can also show those qualities there certainly is a limit to how ruthless and violent a competitive fighter can be. In XYQ the limit doesn't exist and when the practitioner faces an enemy that is decided to hurt him or the ones he loves, nothing less than a decisive mindset expressed in a ruthless manner will guarantee the desired result. Therefore, when it comes to competitive fighting, the XYQ fighter might make use of it as a tool, but he will be clear that it is a mean, not the end itself.

Now when it comes to fighting, that's where all the problems converge, that's when it becomes perfectly clear the pitiful situation where XYQ finds itself. For those people that practice XYQ in a serious manner, there is no need to watch another practitioner fighting to be sure if he is good or not ("good" meaning being able to use the art in combat). A movement is enough to give a serious practitioner a pretty good idea of what is the level of a fellow practitioner. Nevertheless for most people a sparring session, some kind of combat, push hands or two men form might be necessary.When it comes to XYQ and fighting the 2 most important problems are: to understand how a XYQ fighter should behave in combat and how to apply theory in fighting. I will first discuss the first problem. One problem hunts XYQ's reality: Confusion. Many people talk too much, to often about things that they don't really understand. One important thing to remember here is: train first, talk later. XYQ is a martial art that is extremely deep and even though its theory and practice might appear simple and easy, the opposite is true. True understanding of several elements present in XYQ can come only after some requirements are met: instruction from an accomplished Master in the art, constant physical and mental effort in understanding and trying to physically express the art. Many people talk about some of the elements in XYQ as if they were discussing the last "best" song by that famous artist. As if discussing with the highest possible number of people would help one understand anything...When it comes to many of the principles present in the art, the best course of action is to listen to your Master, close yourself within your own family and train, train , and then train some more. To speak about theory, about being fast an vicious, about the six coordinations is easy. We must ask ourselves though if we really understand what we are talking about. If the answer to the question is negative then the best course of action is to consult with one's Master and train.

To understand how XYQ should behave in combat one needs to be part of a system that actually has a certain way of fighting. Sounds contradictory? It isn't, because most XYQ fighters that I have seen or met all have the same problem: once the time comes for them to fight and show what they have, all they can show is some poor form of kick-boxing. Whatever happened to the intention? To the power? To the theory? It all disappears given place to this poor kick-boxing. (Those who expect me to actually explain how a XYQ fighter behaves in combat can stop reading here.) Take a look at a good boxer. Winning or loosing, performing well or not, you can easily identify him as a boxer, because he can physically express those elements that compose the theory of boxing. In terms of being true to what they practice I believe that boxers are infinitely superior than most of the XYQ people I have ever seen or met, because they do the talk and walk the walk, they say they fight in a certain way and they fight exactly like that. For how many XYQ fighters can the same be said? XYQ has a certain way when fighting, XYQ fighters fight in a certain way, and even though I will not explain here what is this way, I will say that most people need to be more critical and logical in their thinking. When looking for a teacher or a school, by all means listen to what the teacher has to say, but do not fall for people that say they practice XYQ but show something totally different when they fight. XYQ practitioners should fight basically in the same way they train. Just because someone throws a good straight punch that doesn't mean they are using Bengquan, just because someone hits his opponent with a palm strike it certainly doesn't mean they are using Piquan and so on.For most XYQ practitioners this is a major problem and a very difficult one to solve.

The problem with Xingyiquan (Part 2)

2010-12-31T03:37:00.000-08:00

In my last article I gave my opinion on some of the main problems that compromise the transmission of XYQ as a martial art. When I speak of "transmission" I have to explain the that the problem with it happens in 2 different aspects. The first is finding interested people willing to spend time and putting the necessary effort into training, and the second is the transmission itself. The problem of finding interested students, people that are willing to seriously undertake training in XYQ happens, mostly, not because of social changes, but because most people fail to perceive that the core principles that make XYQ a fantastic martial art can and should be used in everyday life. The moment people realize how useful their martial training is and how it can shape them into becoming very efficient individuals that excel in dealing with everyday life situations, this is the moment when a person begins to grasp the true potential that XYQ has and how much one can accomplish through dedicated and constant training. If people could really understand how useful XYQ really is than I have no doubts that much more people would naturally become interested into studying it. However, one can only get to the level where he will realize this once he not only understands, but more importantly acquires the principles upon which the art is based. When the principle becomes one with the student there is no distinction anymore, there is no "trying" to emulate a certain principle, because at that point you are the principle and the principle is you. This is the way of XYQ.

The catch here is that the teacher, obviously, must know the principles himself. When I say "know" I really mean "acquired" the principles. From what I have seen not many teachers have reached this level. It is an opinion based on my constant contact with teachers and on what I have seen over the internet. This level of training is really very advanced, but it should be introduced into training since the beginning. In the beginning a student will most certainly not be able to acquire any principle and might, at most, be able to understand one or two, but it is of the utmost importance that they know about these principles and that, early into their training, they gain at least a basic understanding of them (read part one of this article for more on this). I say it is advanced training because principles training is just like power training, it will stay with you for your whole life and it will be (hopefully) refined as you advance in the art. The acquiring of these principles will then allow a student to truly realize how versatile XYQ is as a martial art (which in itself has many uses in everyday life). But to get to this point training has to go further, way further than what most people are used to see. In here basic analogies like "Bengquan relates to wood and is like an arrow" or "the tiger form should be like a tiger coming out of its cave attacking its prey) will be of little help only. These are actually only some of the ideas that, when put together, will create the principles I referred to.

XYQ talks about "Jing", "Qi" and "Shen", and these three words are key points in the art. When a student gets to the point where he can physically express these three words, his XYQ changes and becomes, so to speak, alive. Being able to physically express ideas and principles present in XYQ is what gives it "soul", what gives it power, and what makes a performance a mere repetition of movements or a powerful experience for those watching it. When a student actually get's to the level where he becomes the principle, then the principles will be present in anything he does: in the way he speaks, moves, talks etc - it shows. People need to pay more attention about the "Yi" in "Xingyiquan". There is no XY without it.

XYQ is a martial art based entirely on principles and the 5 elements and 12 fists are only basic expressions of some of them. Anyone with some basic theoretical knowledge in the art will probably have heard that you begin by learning the movements (forms) and that later you throw the forms away (after having acquired the principles) and then you are, so to speak, formless. Right, and wrong. You can be formless as long as you maintain the key principles that form the art itself, because if you throw away the forms and the principles then you are only left with a poor version of kick-boxing. People say this very lightly, "throw away the forms and become formless". How many students actually have the level to do that (even though lots of them talk about it on internet message boards or in the nearest bar)? How many people have really acquired the principles and are ready to throw away everything? I think that these days most people take the instructions in the XYQ manual (Quanpu) very very lightly, some even make fun of it. Those instructions, those principles, they are not things you memorize, they are things you have to acquire, you have to allow them to become a part of you. This is no easy task.

Once acquired, these principles will open all kinds of doors, but you must first understand them, understand how to train them and ultimately how to make them become a part of you. Because in XYQ, the 5 fists and the 12 animals are nothing. These movements will take you nowhere. What you really learn in XYQ is attitude.

The problem with Xingyiquan

2010-12-29T01:58:00.000-08:00

The way I see it, Xingyiquan as a fighting art is dying out. You might think I am being too dramatic, overreacting or that I have no clue what I am talking about. I have been living in China for the past 12 years and during this period I have been studying XYQ full time. I've also had the privilege of meeting some very skilled masters, exchanging, debating, crossing hands and discussing with many of them. Therefore, my opinion is based on direct contact and experience with XYQ inside China, and to be more precise, Shanxi province, the birthplace of XYQ. That being said, I wish I could give a different opinion about the state of XYQ as a fighting art, but I'm afraid I can't. The way I see it, the art is dying and I am not sure if there is enough time, people or even the desire to keep it alive. I'll try to briefly explain my point.

When I write "Xingyiquan as a martial art" I have to admit that it feels strange, because if not a martial art what else could Xingyiquan be? Nothing really. In it's essence XYQ is brutal, vicious and violent. One needs only to glance at the direct nature of its movements or the clear brutal instructions passed down generation after generation and its nature becomes crystal clear. There is really no room for interpretation here, but still there are many that understand XYQ as a kind of fitness exercise, some activity that might be somehow related to the "new age" and all that, in fact, doesn't relate at all to XYQ. It's really interesting how at times we feel we are into something when in fact we now little about it. But the truth is that most of these people that don't understand the nature of the art can't be blamed, because they are only one more link in this misinformation chain that spreads with great speed. The reason why these people are led to believe what they do is because they have been thought so by teachers that, like them, understand little of the art they profess to teach. Of course there are teachers out there that understand the art, but I have also met people , seen videos read and articles written by people that, in my opinion, understand little more than their own students. Where did this misinformation chain begin? Where is the first link? I will leave this for later. For now I'll try to concentrate on the current state of affairs.

Misunderstanding the art's nature is one problem, but I'm afraid that actually understanding the art's nature, indispensable as it is, might be only the beginning of it. Understanding it's nature is important because it gives the practitioner a course, a set objective, but after having understood the art's nature one needs to learn of to express it both physicality and mentally. Here lies a bigger problem and one of the key points in XYQ practice, one of the places where many that I have met or seen on video might, in my opinion, fail to understand. It might have been because of the non willingness of old masters to pass on the art, because of to much secrecy, because of social changes, but the fact is that this key part of XYQ seems to be missing. Not being able to mentally and physically express the principles upon which XYQ was created is no small problem, on the contrary is a goal that every serious practitioner should have throughout his whole training life. In here there is no room for lineage differences or poor excuses (the movements are to small to bee seen, we move in a different way etc) and these principles must be mentally and physically evident in practice (both solo or with a partner) or in combat. The expressions of such principles is what gives XYQ its flavor, and not having it is an indicator that something is seriously wrong and one's practice should be rethought.

When it comes to the usage of XYQ combat thee is the common mistake of getting to attached to certain techniques. Being that XYQ is principles based it's certainly easy to understand why this is a huge mistake. Many people understand XYQ as a set of techniques, the 5 elements or the 12 animals, and even some of those that say they understand that the art is based on principles show different when they move. You can write as many articles as you see fit, participate on many forums as you like or upload as many videos as you want, but it all goes down to weather you can mentally and physicality express the art's principles. Weather you can or you cannot it's evident in a video. So the problem is that for many people, when they move, the only thing that might give away they are actually moving in the XYQ manner might be the title of their video or the resemblance of the movements they are performing. The point here is that without a correct understanding of how to express principles, you can pretty much imitate the movements of any martial arts and you would look the same, flavorless. Learning the movements of a certain martial art is easy, but actually acquiring its spirit, this is the difficult part. I hope that those interested in studying the art will look closely and choose teachers that have understood the essence of the art. There are certainly competent teachers out there.

A third problem, that commonly arises after on passes the second obstacle is how to express the art in combat. This will be the topic of a subsequent article.