The concept of internal strength
1, Internal strength
Internal strength refers to the use of internal energy and internal strength. The use of internal energy includes regulating breathing, regulating the mind, regulating the spirit, and regulating the energy, so that the body is in a corresponding state to deal with various external situations. Using internal strength means using the correct internal strength to deal with the enemy’s attack or dissolve the enemy’s strength or hit the enemy to injure the enemy and break the enemy’s momentum according to the state and the enemy situation.
3, Three levels of internal strength
Through the training of fixed and moving piles, Baguazhang can enrich the internal energy and the body’s motor function will undergo a major change. At this time, it gradually enters the first level of Baguazhang internal strength. The rhyme says:
The palm is like a cannon dragon bending its body, and it is like a fire burning its body when encountering an enemy.
The hand is like a medicine arrow and the body is like a bow, and the news is only in one shot.
At this time, the practitioner’s strength increases sharply, the body is agile and the hands are fast, and the enemy can be hurt as soon as the hand is made, but it is still in the stage of strong force beating weak force and fast hand beating slow hand. If it encounters dissolving strength, it will lose more than win.
Through long-term practice of the routines and advanced practice of the Nine Palaces Divine Steps and the body movement, the practitioner can fully and flexibly use the force and strength in the fight, gradually generate the power, and can get close to the enemy and hurt the enemy in the movement. The body movement is elegant, and the enemy can be attacked by the body, making it difficult for the enemy to get close to me, and I can attack the enemy alone. Reaching the second level of Baguazhang internal power, there is a rhyme:
Rising without a shadow, and leaving without a shape, leaving is like a wind that rolls the ground,
The body shape is hard to find, and the movement and fighting are a joke.
The third level of Baguazhang internal power is the highest level. In Baguazhang, except for the founder Dong Haichuan, only a few people such as Cheng Tinghua and Sun Lutang have reached this level. At this time, after years of whole-hearted practice, the practitioner can use the internal force freely. If you want to be violent, you can be like thunder, and if you want to relax, you can be like flowing water. There is a rhyme:
Strike him with courage like cotton, and smooth like in the clouds.
The primordial Qi is like thunder, shaking the heavens and earth and making ghosts and gods weep.
The above are the three levels of the internal power of Baguazhang.
The steps of practicing the internal power of Baguazhang
The practice of the internal power of Baguazhang is divided into three steps:
The first step is to adjust the twelve meridians of the body with Baguazhang’s palm rotation, so that the disease is exhausted, the body is balanced, the twelve meridians and the five internal organs are free of disease and evil, the body is healthy, and the internal energy begins to grow.
The second step is to make the small Zhoutian smooth and the chariot river run through the practice of Baguazhang’s fixed pile; and to initially master the release of internal strength through the introduction method of internal strength.
The third step is to further enrich the internal energy through the practice of palm rotation, mainly the practice of martial arts pile, and make the strength reach smoothly through the practice of routines, so as to enter the high level of internal power.
In a word, the internal power of Baguazhang is inseparable from the palm rotation.
Introduction to Internal Strength
Internal strength is essentially different from external strength. The difference is that external strength is “the strength obtained by converting human physical energy into force to drive a certain part of the body to move quickly and hit”. Internal strength is “the strength obtained by converting the physical energy of various parts of the human body into force to drive the muscles in the body to move accordingly and transmit the force to a certain point on the body, and then releasing the force through the movement of the point.”
It can be seen from this that the essential difference between internal and external strength is that external strength “is obtained by striking as a whole, and its strength is transmitted by the entire striking entity. Even if the inside of the striking body is empty, it does not affect its force transmission.” Internal strength is obtained by striking with a flexible body filled with fluid, and its strength “is transmitted from the inside of the striking body and must be transmitted through the internal fluid.”
Therefore, the training of internal strength must first learn the transmission of internal strength and the transmission of strength of various parts of the body. In the release of internal strength, the most important internal strength is in the waist and spine, the shoulder, the hip, the elbow, the leg, and the wrist. The so-called waist and spine refers to the dantian, internal organs and spine. Shoulder is shoulder strength, hip is hip strength, elbow is elbow strength, leg is leg kick, and wrist is wrist stretch. These eight movements are the six sources of internal strength, and you must practice until all six strengths are released at the same time. It will take three to five years of hard work to achieve this. This is why it is difficult to practice internal strength, but if you can get one strength, it should not be underestimated. Here is an introduction to the entry method of internal strength – shoulder strength.
Shoulder strength is the easiest strength to master among the six strengths. The training method is introduced as follows.
Stand facing the wall, stand upright with your feet shoulder-width apart, press your palms on the wall, as high as your shoulders, and your palms are shoulder-width apart. Relax your whole body, press your tongue against the upper palate, straighten your elbows, do not bend your elbows, and make the entire palm surface completely in contact with the wall without leaving any gaps.
Straighten your arms, relax your shoulders, press your upper body forward, make your shoulders protrude backwards, and clamp your shoulder bones as tightly as possible.
Sink your breath downward, clench your teeth, and while exerting force, push your shoulders forward with all your strength, keep your arms straight and unbend them, and exert force to the base of your palms, and push against the wall, pushing your body backwards, making it lose weight.
[Key points] Keep your arms straight and cannot bend, and move your shoulder joints to the extreme point after they are loose and flexible. Sink your breath and hum while exerting force, and suddenly burst out, clench your teeth, and you will feel a slight vibration in your head at the beginning, which will heal itself after long practice.
Shoulder strength is the most basic internal strength, because it still has a less obvious external movement – shoulder movement, so it is not completely internal strength, but when the internal strength of the shoulder joint is trained to be released freely, the external movement will be almost invisible and completely become internal strength. Sink your breath and exert force, and practice from shallow to deep. The strength of each part is also practiced in this way. When you can release six strengths at the same time, it will be extremely powerful.
The shoulder strength is something that the external family does not have. The so-called ability to hit people without bending the arms is the shoulder strength.