SHAOLIN WAHNAM VIDEO CLIPS
INTERNAL FORCE
The Unbendable Arm of Sifu Andrew Barnett of Shaolin Wahnam Switzerland
Due to their lack of exposure, many martial artists, including masters, do not believe in internal force. At best, some believe that in the past great kungfu masters might have internal force, but it has since become extinct. This, of course, is not true. Internal force is very much alive today.
Actually everybody has internal force! The force that digests the food you ate, that keeps harmful bacteria and viruses under control, that regulates your blood pressure and body temperature, and does countless other things to keep you alive, is internal force. When we say that a person has internal force, we are speaking relatively, we mean he has much more internal force than ordinary people.
The video clips in this category show some applications of internal force. As usual, the videos were taken impromptu during training and are released without editing. They were not originally meant for public display, but nevertheless are displayed here as visual evidence that internal force is real.
It is also worthy of note that internal force is not for martial arts only. If it were so, we in Shaolin Wahnam would not have dedicated much time and effort to develop it, because we believe and practice cost-effectiveness in our training. Spending even just a few minutes a day for many months just to be able to break a brick or withstand punches and kicks is a poor use of time.
There are three main functions of internal force. The most important, and also the one that is often neglected by most people, is to maintain life. The second function of internal force is to enhance life, like enabling you to work and play with zest. The third function is to enable you to do better in whatever you do, like having clarity of mind and abundant energy for sparring.
Selection from the Iron Wire Set
The "Iron Wire Set" or "Tit Seen Khuen" is regarded as a treasure in Hoong Ka (Hung Gar) Kungfu, and is used for internal force training. It was invented by the great Shaolin master, Tit Kiew Sam, who was famous for his powerful forearms, and generously made known to the public by another great master, Lam Sai Weng. Here, Sifu Wong demonstrated a typical section from the set.
This is an old video of more than 25 years ago showing Sifu Goh Kok Hin, Grandmaster Wong's senior disciple, demonstrating Shaolin Golden Bell where he is rammed by a hugh tree trunk without sustaining any injury. Notice that there is no holding back in the ramming of the tree trunk which bounces Sifu Goh away. The one hitting Sifu Goh's back with reinforced tiles is holding back. Had he hit really hard, the tiles would break more easily.
Shaolin Iron Shirt and Flying Kick
This is an old video of more than 25 years showing Wong Yin Tat, a senior disciple of Sifu Wong, demonstrating Shaolin Iron Shirt during a public demonstration where he is punched and kicked full force without sustaining injury. It also shows that flying kicks in Shaolin Kungfu are quite different from those normally found in Taekwondo and those frequently demonstrated by Bruce Lee. In a Shaolin flying kick, the exponent's body is quite upright, whereas in those of Bruce Lee and Taekwondo, the exponent's body is turned sideway.
Internal Force of "Dragon Manifests Marvelous Power"
This video captures a rare occasion in 2004 when Sifu Wong demonstrated an application of internal force in the pattern "Dragon Manifests Marvelous Power" found in the Shaolin Dragon Strength Set. Notice that Emiko expressed amazement at the "throw". The action was at a corner of the video footage because the video was taken impromptu with the video camera running automatically. At the end of the video clip Sifu Wong asked Michael to perform "Lifting the Sky" as a preventive measure to clear any possible injury that might have occurred.
In a post in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum, Michael said, "The chi flow and internal force is very important to the Dragon Form. Sifu has mentioned that a master of the "Dragon Force" may be able to injure an opponent with any part of his/her body and I've had first hand experience of this. At the Toronto Shaolin Kungfu Course in April 2004, Sifu was demonstrating the application of "Dragon Expresses Marvelous Powers" (a very apropos name!). Sifu told me to grab onto him tightly and I did so. When Sifu applied this technique, I felt his internal force coming from all parts of his body! It felt like a pulse or wave of energy rushing from his body and striking mine. As a result, I landed several feet away from him."
During the Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course in Malaysia in Novemeber 2004, Sifu Wong surprised everybody when he turned up with some sticks and a chopper. He told the participants that he was going to test if some of them had attained the Art of Golden Bell. But he had not taught Golden Bell training techniques to anyone of them before that! The demonstration was impronptu.
Sifu Wong asked his on, Sifu Wong Chun Nga of Malaysia, to demonstrate Golden Bell using a meat chopper. Sifu Mark Appleford of Scotland used a meat chopper to chop at Sifu Wong Chun Nga's stomach but without causing any injury. It may be revealing for many people to know that advanced disciples of Shaolin Wahnam attain advanced arts like Golden Bell, Small Universe and Cosmic Palm without having to learn the training techniques formally. Somewhere along their training, the seeds to develop the necessary skills for these advanced arts have been transmitted to them often without their conscious knowing!
Internal Force -- the Unbendable Arm
You may have heard of the famous unbendable arm of the Aikido grandmaster whose straightened arm could not be bent by people when he directed "ki" (or chi) to flow along it. If you think this could not be true, you can see the unbendable arm of Sifu Andrew Barnett of Shaolin Wahnam Switzerland in this video clip. Notice that Sifu Andrew Barnett is fully relaxed when two students try to bend his straightened arm, showing that no muscular strength is involved. His unbendable arm is due to internal force, generated by chi flow. The value of internal force, of course, is not merely to make your arm unbendable. More significantly it maintains life, enhances life and enables you to have better results in whatever you do!
Solidity of the Horse-Riding Stance
Although Sifu Andrew Barnettt of Shaolin Wahnam Switzerland is tall and huge, that is not the reason why another person cannot pull him off from his Horse-Riding Stance. The reason is that due to his dedicated "zhang zhuang", or stance training, Sifu Andrew Barnett has successfully grounded his chi so that he is "solid like a rock". Many of us may have read in kungfu classics about this effect of stance training and may have found it hard to believe. It is heartening that Sifu Andrew Barnett can demonstrate this feat in real life. But of course to be solid like a rock is not the main reason for dedicated stance training. The main reason is to develop internal force, which is not just for martial arts but for maintaining and enriching life and enhancing whatever we do.
Breaking Bricks with Internal Force
This is an impromptu video clip taken during the Special Shaolin Kungfu Course in Malaysia in 2002. When course participants arrived at the training ground, they found some bricks left behind after some renovation work. Sifu Wong surprised them saying that they would try breaking some bricks. He set an example, showing them the techniques in breaking bricks. It is significant, as Sifu Wong pointed out, that he had stopped breaking bricks for more than 20 years and had not done any hard conditioning since. His hands are soft. The brick breaking was totally due to internal force.
Next Ronan and Anthony each broke a brick. Then Sifu Wong suggested that they would go a step further, They would use internal force to break the bottom of two bricks piled one on top of another. Everyone, except Sifu Wong, was surprised when Ronan succeeded in doing so. In line with traditional Shaolin methodology, there was no prior special training to break bricks. When students are ready, the master asks them to break bricks to test or confirm their internal force.