INTERNAL FORCE AND MENTAL CLARITY
Iron Wire
Question 7
So far I could enjoy many different force training methods which you generously taught on various courses.
One result of the Iron Wire set training which was outstanding was the tremendous mental clarity I could experience. Why do you think is that so?
You told me that the Iron Wire was evolved out from the Triple Stretch. The Triple stretch method on the other hand evolved from the Sinew Metamorphosis if I remember correctly. Could you please elaborate how the different exercises and skills interact with each other and how do you think the whole evolution process was taking place?
Sifu Roland Mastel
Answer
The wide range of force-training methods available in our school is unprecedented in kungfu history. In the past, even great masters had only one or two choices. Wong Fei Hoong, for example, derived his internal force from Iron Wire.
There were no records of other great masters of this time, like Hou Yuan Jia, Dong Hai Chuan, Guo Yun Shen and Yang Deng Fu in South China, whose force-training methods could have influenced Wong Fei Hoong. Hence, Wong Fei Hoong did not learn internal force methods like the Eighteen-Lohan Art, Baguazhang Walking, Santi Stance, and Taijiquan flowing force.
Wong Fei Hoong also trained tiger-claw using external methods like gripping jars and jabbing into beans, but there was no records of his training with such internal methods like Fierce Tiger Cleanses Claws, One-Finger Shooting Zen, and Lifting Water.
On the other hand, even when masters of other kungfu styles existed about the same time as in northern China in the 18th and 20th centuries, the masters only trained and taught the force-training methods of their own school. Practicing training methods or learning combat techniques of other schools was severely frown upon. Hence, Huo Yun Jia developed his internal force only with his Eighteen-Lohan Art, Dong Hai Chuan with his Baguazhang Circle Walking, Guo Yun Shen with his Santi Stance, and Yang Deng Fu with his Grasping Sparrow’s Tail.
These past masters did not practiced force-training methods outside their own style. But in our school we have all these great training methods!
How do we have these training methods? These great masters known for these training methods did not come to teach in our school. They did not come in person, but we obtained their teachings from their classics and literature written by their successors. Our learning from their teachings is made easier due to two important reasons.
All these training methods originated from Shaolin. Although the techniques and finer points might have evolved and were very different from the initial techniques, their basic principles were the same. For example, the techniques or outward forms of force training in Northern Shaolin, Baguazhang and Xingyiquan were very different, but basically they involved the same principles of consolidating energy using static posture, then letting the energy flow using movement.
The approach in Grasping Sparrow’s Tail of Taijiquan was different. It involved letting energy flow right from the start, without first consolidating it, and generating more and more flow so that the flowing force became powerful. This approach and principle were also found in Shaolin, like in Cosmos Palm, Wuzuquan and Dragon Strength.
The second reason was that I had a good philosophical understanding and practical experience in all these various types of Shaolin force training. Hence, when I read the classics and relevant literature, I had no difficulty in trying out the force-training methods of these other styles.
There was another very important factor – the magic of chi flow. Chi flow sped up my results incredibly. When I practiced the methods mentioned in the classics, I did not have to wait for a few years to see results. I obtained the expected results in a very short time, often immediately.
How do we know that the internal force developed from these various methods were the same as the internal force taught by the past masters to their students? We compared the internal force we had with the internal force of the past masters as described in the classics, and found them to be the same. We also used the same training methods.
For example, it was described that a past Taijiquan master, despite his small size, could employ his flowing force to fell a bigger, stronger opponent. We could do that in our practice. It was described that a past Xingyiquan master could injure an opponent within inches. Although we did not apply our force on a real person, judging from the huge amount of destructive force we could generate within inches with which we could break a brick, we could reasonably conclude that we could cause much injury if applied on a person.
When I taught Iron Wire in Ireland, and a lot of students reported that they had tremendous mental clarity as a result of the training, I was initially quite surprised. I knew very well that training Iron Wire would produce tremendous internal force, but before this I did not know that training Iron Wire also produced tremendous mental clarity. This was not mentioned in the classics.
As you said in another context, once was an incident, twice was a co-incident, but when it happened 6 or 7 times a day, or in a course, it was natural. The same wonderful result happened in subsequent Iron Wire courses in Barcelona, Lisbon and Las Vegas. With these empirical results, we can reasonably conclude that training Iron Wire in our school produce tremendous internal force and tremendous mental clarity.
Based on my understanding of internal force philosophy, I can think of two good reasons why Iron Wire training produces tremendous mental clarity. We have to clear our mind of thoughts when training Iron Wire. Clearing the mind of thoughts is attaining mental clarity.
We clear our mind of thoughts, or attain mental clarity, every time we train any internal art, but it is in Iron Wire that this requirement is most urgent. If our mind is troubled by myriad thoughts, not only we fail to develop internal force but also we may derive adverse side-effects. This urgency in clearing the mind of thoughts contributes much to attaining mental clarity in Iron Wire training.
The second reason is that the tremendous internal force we have developed strengthens not only our body, but also our emotions, intellect and spirit. We experience this benefit clearly in advanced arts like Cosmic Shower and Small Universe.
Classifying a person into four dimensions of the physical, the emotional, the mental and the spiritual is a Western concept. In the Chinese concept, a person is classified into two dimensions, the body and the heart, with the emotional, mental and spiritual aspects belong to the heart. It is not the organ heart. In Western language, it is the mind. When the mind is strengthened, it has better mental clarity. Thus, training Iron Wire, which produces tremendous internal force also produces tremendous mental clarity.
The Iron Wire Set was invented by a great Shaolin master, Thiet Kiew Sam. Thiet Kiew Sam learned from the Venerable Cheng Chao, who in turn learned from the Venerable Sam Tuck. Sam Tuck was the second most senior disciple of the Venerable Chee Seen, the First Patriarch of Southern Shaolin Kungfu, and also one of the two First Patriarchs of our Shaolin Wahnam lineage, the other being the Venerable Jiang Nan.
Sam Tuck’s specialty was the Triple-Stretch Set. He taught the Triple-Stretch to Cheng Chao, who in turn taught it to Thiet Kiew Sam. Judging from the way internal force is consolidated in Iron Wire as well as this historical link, it is justifiable to conclude that based his invention of Iron Wire mainly on Triple-Stretch.
The great Bodhidharma taught two sets of internal exercises at the northern Shaolin Temple in Henan, the Eighteen Lohan Hands and Sinew Metamorphosis. After practicing any exercises from these two sets of internal arts for a long time, practitioners advanced to the level where chi flowed in their bone marrow. This invisible skill, which could be attained via any visible techniques, was called Bone-Marrow Cleansing.
The techniques of Eighteen Lohan Hands later evolved into Eighteeen Lohan Fist, which was the prototype of Shaolin Kungfu. The Eighteen Lohan Hands also separately evolved into the Eighteen-Lohan Art, which provided internal force training for Northern Shaolin kungfu practitioners.
The principle of consolidating force in Sinew Metamorphosis led to the development of many internal force training methods, like Golden Bridge, Lohan Carrying Water, and Hanging Double Hooks.
It is significant to note that it was the force training principle, and not the outward techniques, that was transmitted from Sinew Metamorphosis to the various internal force training methods. The outward form of Golden Bridge, Lohan Carrying Water and Hanging Double Hooks are different from any patterns from Sinew Metamorphosis. But despite the difference in their outward forms, the inner principle of consolidating force is the same. In all the methods mentioned above which drew their inspiration from Sinew Metamorphosis, the main principle was to remain quiescent in a static form to allow energy to be consolidated.
But the techniques of Sinew Metamorphosis, while consolidating force like “locking” the wrist in Flicking Fingers, and bending the elbows in Turning Elbows, also involved much movement. In Flicking Fingers, for example, the fingers were flicked, and in Turning Elbows, the elbows were turned.
This concept led to masters realizing that while consolidating energy they must also let the energy flow. (Otherwise the locked energy would become muscles.) This led to the development of internal force training methods like One-Finger Shooting Zen, Double Dragons Emerge from Sea, and Double Worshipping of the Buddha.
It is significant to note that historical writings did not describe Sinew Metamorphosis being practiced at the two southern Shaolin Temples at Quanzhou and on the Nine-Lotus Mountain. Yet, southern Shaolin masters known to us today, like Sam Tuck, Hoong Hei Khoon and Tong Chin Kern were well known for their internal force.
I guess that Chee Seen did not teach Sinew Metamorphosis at the southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain, but taught internal force training methods, which were incorporated into kungfu sets, like Single Dragon Emerges from Sea and Double Dragons Emerge from Sea. On the other hand, Ng Mui taught Double Worshipping of the Buddha to Yim Wing Choon and Fong Sai Yoke.
These internal force training methods, I believe, were transmitted from the concept of consolidating and flowing force from Sinew Metamorphosis practiced in the northern Shaolin Temple in Henan, and developed in the southern Shaolin Temple in Quanzhou.
Sam Tuck’s and Hoong Hei Khoon’s specialty was the Triple-Stretch Set. Thiet Kiew Sam, who invented the Iron Wire Set, was descended from the lineage of Sam Tuck. Later, Thiet Kiew Sam met his sisookgung, Hoong Hei Khoon who taught him the finer points of the Triple-Stretch.
All these various internal force training methods are interrelated and they interact. All of them involve consolidating force and flowing force, though in some methods practitioners consolidate force first, then let it flow, and in others, they generate flowing force first, then consolidate it. The proportion between consolidated force and flowing force is also different in the different methods.
In Iron Wire, for example, almost 100% of the training is consolidating force. On the other range, 100% of Grasping Sparrow’s Tail training, which is in Taijiquan and not Shaolin Kungfu though Taijiquan originated from Shaolin, is flowing force. It is easy to practice wrongly in Iron Wire, but when practiced correctly the force developed is powerful and fast. It is not easy to practice wrongly in Grasping Sparrow’s Tail, but when practiced correctly it takes a long time to develop force and the force is relatively little.
Because of our wide understanding and deep experience in internal force training, we may modify the methods to be more cost-effective. In the Internal Force course at UK Summer Camp 2014, we shall first learn the orthodox methods of flowing force and consolidating force, then modify them, with clear understanding of what we are doing, to get better results.
These different force training methods also interact. For us, because of our chi flow and our understanding of their basic philosophy, the more varied we have trained in the different methods, the more cost effective we shall be. For example, if we have trained flowing force in Grasping Sparrow’s Tail, we shall be more cost-effective when we consolidate force in Iron Wire. On the other hand, if we have trained consolidating force in Iron Wire, we shall be more cost-effective when we let force flow in Grasping Sparrow’s Tail.
This amazing benefit of breadth and depth is unique to us in Shaolin Wahnam. In other schools, including myself when I trained internal force, practitioners have to focus on one method at a time. Practicing more than one method will cancel the benefit of one another.
Triple Stretch
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread Legacy of Wong Fei Hung Q-A Series by Sifu in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
LINKS