The Difference Between Using Jing Or Strength/Power In Wu Shu

**true** · #31 (**permalink**) March 7th, 2008, 08:03 AM

“	Originally Posted By: Nik Well, people see me as "extremist" for this, but I still say that until you have the full energy metabolism that is not so unknown to medicine down to the ultimate extreme (that is, being capable of having full-blown epinephrin boosts, that kick in EVERY time you need power), visible in both a weight gain (unless you are already heavy built), thickening skin, pudgy but thickening muscles, tingling in the tongue, and allover the body when used (indicating the transferal of adrenalin components to the muscles, tissue), you might have a part of jin usage on the mechanics, but it's not the full thing. This usage of jin comes in degrees, it enlarges the capacity in lower doses (that means you can go 3 hours in a state that usually doesn't allow that, but then you are -done- and go vomiting and dieing a bit), but the heavy duty full-out house shaking fajins cannot be done in numbers and right after another. I don't know how quickly the body recovers, but my experience was that after doing two palms in a row that shattered 3" concrete slabs with no spacers flat on the ground, the third one failed, and my arm was pudding, and shaking. There are things that some people call "fajin", that don't need really much if any strength, but that is an entirely different "trick". A certain Thorsten Kanzmeier drops pro boxers at will using body punches of that sort, maybe you like to visit some of his seminars when he's in the US. That guy is a 130lb dwarf, dry.	”

Full on. I'd be interested to get your take on if what you're doing is like what the guy in the Hsing-Yi vid is doing.

Now it sounds like you're moving into two directions: 1. Physical changes and scientific analysis of martial arts (in the broadest definition, including chi kung, etc.) and 2. Hard chi kung.

I love how science keeps getting closer and closer to Chinese philosophy. I wrote an old blog post on that. Chinese have said for a long time: our bodies are all chi (energy). Scientists fine protons and electrons and electricity in our nervous systems and say that our bodies are all energy. It sounds like you have read some studies that talk about the tinglings and such we have while practicing. Cool stuff. Can you share any sources? That article you quoted earlier was blocked to members only.

On the hard chi kung side, I've heard of and seen a few different examples, and even practice a couple myself, but I'm not smashing concrete! Danny smashes coconuts with his back fist and hits himself in the stomach with sledge hammers, for example, but calls these hard chi kung, not fa jin.

One thing you might want to consider in your training is the 80% concept. Bruce K. Frantzis in one of his videos talks about always leaving a 20% reserve. Never pushing yourself beyond 80% of max. Of course, this goes against weight training and most western sports, but it's still interesting to think about from a longevity perspective and sounds consistent with Chinese thought on health.

**true** · #32 (**permalink**) March 7th, 2008, 08:13 AM

“	Originally Posted By: Nik You don't need to have this sort of movements, to use jin.	”

To me, the root of those movements are fa jin. The channeling of power from the body into a single point of impact: hand, elbow, shoulder, etc.

“	Originally Posted By: Nik But it helps, to have a certain body mechanics, so you can utilize it perfectly. This kind of hand issueing is a training method and used for body strikes, but you can fajin also to an uppercut, or other strikes. Virtually any strike can have fajin qualities, but it might look a bit clumsy if so.	”

I agree and would say it not only helps, but is essential to have certain body mechanics. A solid base, relaxed body, coiled spring (bent knee, "sit" the hip) straight energy-efficient alignment ("sit" the elbow pointing straight down so all the energy goes forward and not out to the side). Yes, any strike can have fa jin. That's part of the beauty. The zero inch punch, for example. You don't need a lot of space or room or distance to create power.

I know a teacher who knows fa jin and won't teach Hsing Yi because it's too easy to be lethal because it uses so much power. Fa jin plus long-range type lunging movements.

The teacher in the video also has some interesting clips posted of Ba Gua vs. Hsing Yi in application drills and other stuff. I think he's based out of Montreal and I would love to study from him.