Xing Yi Quan

XING YI CHUAN or XINGYIQUAN. Both are pronounced HSING EEEE CHWAN and literally
refer to the Shape (Hsing) of the Intent ( I ) or Will. Simply put, the idea is
that the mind of the practitioner creates an instantaneous attack and or defense
from the mutable changes of the moment.
(See Heritage Chart at the bottom of this article.)
ORIGIN: DIVERSE STORIES There are a number of speculations on the origin of Xing
Yi, one of Chinese most recognized martial arts. Some say it was developed in t
he Sung Dynasty and attribute it to the famous protector general Yueh Fei who al
most single handedly retarded the progress of the invading Mongols. Some attribu
te it to the Shaolin Temple which claims its own distinctive form of Xing Yi.
Everyone agrees that Xing Yi is a dynamic and powerful style of martial arts. It s
movements aren t just brisk but, when demonstrated by a master, almost incredibly
rapid and clear. Xing Yi is a system with evident integrity. Where other styles
sometimes seem obscure and of questionable application Xing Yi is powerful and
aggressive without being crude or simplistic. Xing Yi also takes a very ancient
and historically more realistic attitude towards forms practice. While Xing Yi c
ertainly boasts a full range of forms and some excellent ones at that, it emphas
izes practice that returns continually to basics, recognizable fundamentals. Xin
g Yi students are always aware of which movements are basics in their styles wit
hout having to decode such movements from a forest of actions.
A number of scholars, and some solid historical evidence also trace Xing Yi to a
round 1600 and attribute its creation, or at least drastic restructuring, to one
Ji Long Feng (Ji Ji Ke).
FIVE ELEMENTS FIST
The most basic of these basics are clearly defined in the Five Elements known as
the Wu Xing a series of fundamental movements based on ancient Chinese philosop
hy. This philosophy, which developed over two thousand years ago, sees the chang
es in Nature as being a series of primary transformations. Each of these forms o
f transformation is known as an element and is symbolically based on an element fo
und in Nature. These elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water are initially
taught to the student as five separate actions called Five Elements Fist or some
times Five Mother Fists.
CheICha1The first form of these is simply a series of roads up and back each with o
ne of these distinctive and sophisticated elemental fists. These movements, like e
verything in Xing Yi, are incredibly compressed with information. They are the m
artial arts equivalents of holographs. Metal, for instance, combines the 6/4 sta
nce,
explosive forward movement, drilling
action upward, falling action downward, centerline theory, Reeling Silk Energy a
nd many other key points of Kung Fu skills.
Each of Xing Yi s Five fists is similar. Loosely based on Chinese philosophical be
liefs they are grouped into two cycles CREATIVE and DESTRUCTIVE. In one cycle a
certain type of energy, enbodied in each element, is said to engender another en
ergy.
The CREATIVE cycle runs thus:
WOOD feeds FIRE
FIRE feeds EARTH
EARTH begets METAL
METAL collects WATER
WATER feeds WOOD etc.
The so called DESTRUCTIVE cycle is said to consist of elements which suppress or

endanger another. They are set up like this:

WOOD breaks EARTH
EARTH absorbs WATER
WATER douses FIRE
FIRE melts METAL
METAL splits WOOD
Some practitioners mistakenly take this to mean that a WOOD movement, for instan
ce, should be chose to squelch a FIRE action. Fighting doesn t work this way. But
the idea of immediate, powerful and clear transformation is indeed embodied with
in Xing Yi s excellent basics. And, as these elements are correlated to the same o
rgan systems of Chinese traditional medicine where, for instance, Metal = Lungs;
certainly advanced health practices are already being practiced even by a begin
ning student.
On a non-philosophical level these actions are dynamic methods of motion each of
which can be considered solely from the standpoint of martial skill. These down
to earth correspondences are:
Metal = SPLITTING (Pi)
Wood = CRUSHING (Beng)
Water = DRILLING (Tsuan)
Fire = POUNDING (Pao)
Earth = CROSSING (Heng)
SunShaoFu1TWELVE ANIMALS The next fundamental level of Xing Yi training is embod
ied in the 12 animals. Each of these takes Xing Yi s symbolic idea still further a
nd integrates animal imitating movements which express distinctive forms of move
ment and unique JINS (refined transfers of energy). Mostly commonly (these diffe
r from style to style with some even having more or less) the 12 animals are nam
ed:
TIGER
DRAGON
MONKEY
HORSE
TURTLE
CHICKEN
FALCON
SWALLOW
SNAKE
DOVE
EAGLE
BEAR
Among other versions we have the mythical TAI bird and even the ALLIGATOR. These
movements carry forward the essential energetics of Xing Yi but add a little mo
re zest to its actions.
Like the Mother Fists the initial animal movements are often taught in what many
people would call a form but among martial instructors is often known as a LINKIN
G FORM: that is, simply a series of movements in their rawest form and without e
sthetic selection to act as continual practice methods.
Besides actions Xing Yi spends a lot of time on structural issues often consider
ed quite advanced in other styles. Part of Xing Yi s overall flavor and strength a
s a martial art is its reliance on the idea of STRONG SHAPES, that is postural f
ormation which do a great deal of martial work just by the nature of their struc
ture. In this general area Xing Yi starts with an excellent posture appropriate
for both Chi Kung and martial training, namely the SAN IT formation. SAN IT (whi
ch means Three Powers, those being Heaven, Earth and Mankind) is a stance with 6
0 per cent of the weight on the back leg, the front hand lightly extended and th

e rear hand pulling back toward the Tan Tien. This posture contains a series of
animal shapes which act as reminders of general Xing Yi postural principles.
CHICKEN LEG = One firmly planted and the other lighter.
BEAR SHOULDERS = Shoulders rounded but stretched with energy.
EAGLE CLAWS = Fingers throbbing with power
TIGER EMBRACE = Arms folded and enlivened with potential energy
Other postural considerations include
Pressing the head upward, the tongue forward and the arms forward.
Strengthening the shoulders, extremities and teeth.
Rounding the back, breast and Tiger Mouth (space between thumb and index finger)
.
Sinking the Ch I, shoulders and elbows.
Curving the knees, shoulders and elbows.
Straightening the neck, spine and joints.
Embracing the chest with the arms, the navel with the qi and the body with coura
ge.
Xing Yi also incorporates the famous and fundamental Six Harmonies idea of Chine
se Kung Fu. These are simple correspondences that are useful for proper body ali
gnment and power generation.
xywordSIX OUTSIDE HARMONIES
Shoulder to Hip
Elbow to Knee
Hand to Foot
SIX INSIDE HARMONIES
Heart to Mind
Mind to Ch i
Ch i to Strength
Another guide line for Xing Yi practice is San Dian or Three Points. This sugges
ts that nose, fist and foot are always on line with one another. The body and Ch I
interplay subtlely in Xing Yi as the texts say when the body sinks the ch I rises
and vice versa.
THREE LEGGED BOXING One of the distinctive features of Xing Yi is the fast and v
ery direct footwork. People unfamiliar with the art might at first seen it as so
mething like the Kung Fu equivalent of Karate, so linear are the steps and so co
mpact the motions. Initially most footwork is executed in the 60/40 stance with
the weight slightly on the back. Due to the explosive forward movement of Xing Y
i this seems paradoxical to the beginning student. As he or she develops forward
motion they are still never allowed to completely shift the weight to the front
foot. Once this segmented bamboo step is studied it is augmented by a small finis
hing step that requires the back, weighted leg to be brought up another few inch
es just synchronized on the end of each forward burst of motion. This step step
adjust foot pattern has suggested the name Three Legged Boxing to Xing Yi practiti
oners. Thus early Xing Yi training, quite in contrast to say T ai Chi completely e
mphasizes forward motion and explosive, determined speed.
As the Xing Yi stylist begins to really delve into the practice he may find hims
elf, or herself, doing the same action over and over again for hundreds and even
thousands of repetitions. This driving forward motion coupled with the seemingl
y simple but highly concentrated actions of the arms shows us much about Xing Yi s
basic training philosophy. While some styles of martial arts may emphasize stra
tegy, ingenuity and diversion: Xing Yi lays emphasis on neurological re structur
ing. It strives to make certain types of actions the boxing equivalent of pullin
g one s hand off a hot stove. The genius of Xing Yi is that the actions developed
for the Wu Xing as so close to normal hand movements and yet so profoundly struc

tured that repetition actually becomes one of the Xing Yi stylists secret weapon
s. At a certain point move have actually become completely natural. One famous i
nstructor of the 19th century, Guo Yun Shen, studied under a teacher who didn t pa
rticularly like him and thus only taught him one move in the first three years.
In fact, had the teacher s wife not gotten fed up and demanded Guo be taught more
he would hardly have learned even the Mother Fists. Nonetheless Guo was so effec
tive with his one punch that he didn t need any other technique for the first half
of his career. Xing Yi movements are said to be so fast and powerful because th
e are absolutely spontaneous.
THREE BRANCHES FROM ONE TREE
See Branches. The main divisions of Xing Yi are named after local, just as the m
ain branches of T ai Chi are named after families. In Xing Yi we have the ShanXi,
HeNan and HeBei divisions. If, as some say, Chi Long Feng was the creator in the
early 1600 s then ShanXi would be the primordial Xing Yi style. One of his studen
ts, Ma Hsueh, left after mastering the art and traveled to HeNan to create that
style (which even now contains only 10 animal forms possibly because Ma never le
arned the other two?). Another student, Ts ao Chi Wu, transmitted the art to one T a
i Ling Pang who really refined the Mother Fists. He called the art, as has happe
ned before in history, XIN Yi (Heart Will) Boxing and his students referred to i
t then, as now, as Tai Chi (Tai Family) Xin Yi (Heart Will or Mind) Boxing. One
of Tai s student was named Lin Lao Neng (or Li Neng Ran) who was, without a doubt,
one of the most famous and influential Xing Yi artists of all time.
Not only did Li teach a slew of top students (see heritage information below) bu
t he added and refined its formal exercises. In other word he refined Xing Yi s cu
rriuculum. His contributions include Wu Xing LianHuan (Five Element Linking Form
), Wu Xing Shen Ke, An Shen Pao (Partner Form), Za Shi Chui and he added the Tuo
(Water Lizard) and Tai (Legendary Bird) animals.
The three styles are all Xing Yi but have each distinctive characteristics. HeBe
i, the most common, is harder and more Gang firm. ShanXI is softer and more fluid
with more apparent complexity. And HeNan is still quite rarely seen and might be
considered hidden . But all Xing Yi stylists share a common feeling for the effica
cy and directness of their mutual heritage.
QIGONG & FIGHTING
Another interesting factor in Xing Yi training is its integration of stillness a
nd movement. While historically most styles, after taking many decades and centu
ries to see how QiGong training could be added to martial training nonetheless k
ept these two separate. Xing Yi is a key style with actual integration of this Y
in and Yang of training. In Xing Yi a practitioner will move with the speed of l
ightning and then halt, absolutely still, gathering and relaxing simultaneously.
To some this seems in stark contrast to Xing Yi s apparently forceful forward thru
st. But it is this relaxed and yet fully aware state that Xing Yi gathers its en
ergy and deepens its physical commitment. To do a move simply,smartly and direct
ly requires a clarity that is only augmented by the San Ti stance and the subtle
preparedness of the Xing Yi stationary sections.
Also, due to its emphasis on Strong Shapes and repetitive movement Xing Yi boast
s one of the quickest methods for students to actually feel the inner connectedn
ess between the internal and external aspects of their art. In truth, though oft
en linked with Ba Gua and T ai Chi as INTERNAL SCHOOLS, we subscribe to that older
, and in our opinion, historically more accurate picture that says there are NO i
nternal or external schools of martial arts just internal and external levels of pe
rformance. After all everyone starts externally, moving limbs, torso and pelvis.
And then progresses, if they practice hard, to the subtler and more internalize
d aspects of the art. But some styles, like Xing Yi, make the transformation a l
ittle clearer though, of course, guarantee nothing.

DanHuaLong2XING YI FORMS
There are many forms in Xing Yi and, due to its basic flexibility, the line betw
een formal and spontaneous can be blurred. But here are some of the name of trad
itional forms one might encounter in training:
Xing Yi Spear
Xing Yi Sword
Xing Yi Saber
Xing Yi Staff
Five Elements Fist
Wu Xing LianHuan Five Elements Linking Fist
Twelve Animals Fist
Elements and Animals Linking Fist
Eight Fists
Eight Skills Fist
Wu Xing Shen Ke
An Shen Pao (Partner Form)
Za Shi Chui
Further Information about this

big

art

CheICha1Che I Chai (Che Yong Hong) 1833 1914 was born in Tai Gu, Shan Xi Provinc
e.
Che Branch of Xing Yi
Each style of XY has it peculiarities. In Che, for instance, standing still is n
ot encouraged for long periods of time. The San Ti, often performed for twenty m
inutes to half an hour in some branches (such as HeBei) , is held for five or so
minutes. The striking of hard objects and weight lifting are strictly discourag
ed. Practicing when tired is considered counter productive. Much attention is sp
ent on controlling and guarding center line.
Che style started with the famous teacher Che I Chai but is also the work of his
two top students Li Fu Zhen and Bu Xue Kuan. It emphasizes movement connected t
o movement and natural, healthful actions which slowly build the skill and the i
ntent. It is centered around Tai Gu still and a major training center is located
there.
Some of the elements of Che style are Marrow Washing Exercises, Partner Practice
s, Linked Hands and Lion Swallows Hand; all developed by Bu Shih Fu who was also
a student of Sun Lu Tang.