Lets Talk About *Intent*

Good question... anyone

Well, I always practice it in multiple ways. Sometimes I focus on structure and making it solid, sometimes I focus on being more explosive. I usually focus on structure more at the beginning.

Work on mastering the basic movement, then worry about the refinements, it's hard to worry about those little sensations, that's the deal, that's why people treat the skill development as a real accomplishment. Focus on whole body movement of course.

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Just out of interest, do you not think that all you're doing is becoming technically aware I.e. aware of posture, positioning, structure during movement etc etc.

My idea of intent is not necessarily linked to these points (though I do believe they ARE very important), but more rather that go-get-em attitude

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Yeh, that intent thing is important. But you know, I was working with Master Huang, and he was pretty famous for having that Tiger stare that makes you not even think to attack him, his attitude was that kind of intention was built through having his whole body and energy totally connected into the movement.

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"When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night he checks his closet for Cam McHargue"

Not to be overtly technical, but if he's just staring at you, how can he be movin

I get what you mean tho! lol

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“	Originally Posted By: li xiao long Just out of interest, do you not think that all you're doing is becoming technically aware I.e. aware of posture, positioning, structure during movement etc etc. My idea of intent is not necessarily linked to these points (though I do believe they ARE very important), but more rather that go-get-em attitude	”

I think so..maybe Theres alot of things Im trying to keep in mind but I feel that Ive become better at the form, which logically means that I have to be technically aware to some degree. Was this a rhetorical question lol

I find it difficult sometimes to have the go-get-em attitude. Its difficult to find the time, and sometimes Im reluctant to train, but once I do the form for a few minutes I become pretty focused on trying to do it well and progress. I suppose you could say I have the go-get-em attitude in the sense that Im very serious about becoming proficient at xing yi and at internal power development--sometimes its just hard to get off my ass =). Is this what youre referring to

Sometimes it almost seems (and I feel youre hinting at) as if the only factor in internal development, in the end, is how many times you properly practice the pieces of the forms. Practice correctly over and over and over, and the movement internalizes itself, whether you have intent or not. If this isnt the case, then what is the intent I should focus on for the 5 elements

Im just trying to get the most out of xing yi, so if Im way of please let me know... =)

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PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

Funny, we were just practicing this last night. It's a very hard concept to feel. We were learning cutting punches and our sifu kept telling us we didn't have the right emotion (intent), we were too stiff. The thing that helps me is to visualize my fist as the knot at the end of a rope. It flies out free and easy but at the point of contact snaps with great energy. Your arm must be fluid, your momentem is generated by your hip turn, pivoting on the balls of your feet, with only your fist firm at contact. Your intent is not to just hit your target but hit through it. I'm not just going to get your front rib, but your back rib too!

I kept thinking I had it and sifu would would shake his head. Then I would get a good one in and he would say YES! I just have to remember the exact feel of what I was doing right. Same with forms. He is always telling me to relax but perform with intent, meaning full motion with the power and energy seen at the end of the movement. It's like you are focusing all your energy to one point.

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Interesting to hear.

OK, below are some notes on what I do while training, my thought process, movements, etc. Im interested in any and all critiques of what Im doing...I may even be compelled to put some short video clips up if people are interested or think it would help.

SAN TI (Some of these details will just be specific to my style of xing yi, so I dont expect everyone to add much to it, but Im always open to hear what you ahve to say)
Legs: Back 45 deg, front straight, 70% on back, heels approximately on the same line, toes clinched as if roots of a tree going into the ground.
Body: Turned a bit from squared. Butt tucked in, back straight, neck tucked, Jaw slightly clenched, tongue plastered to the top of my mouth.
Arms: Shoulders down, fingers apart and making a subtle claw, middle finger and nose on center line, front elbow (feels like its being twisted kind of) in as far as I can get them while trying to stay relaxed.

While I stand, I breath in through nose, envisioning energy flowing inward (I guess thorugh my nose), and collecting in dan tien area. I envision it as a large fiery flaming metal ball in my stomach that flames as I breath in. On the exhale, breathe out through nose and envision energy moving out of dan tien and into my arms and hands and sometimes my legs. I try to keep in mind relaxing my upper body while clinching my toes a small bit, thinking of them as roots grabbing the soil. I try to focus most on the hand out in front of me. I usually hold on one side about 4 minutes and switch sides...Then I move on to Metal...

METAL
While striking I try to envision the same thing as I do in san ti; while breathing in, I try to collect in the dan tien, and on exhale, push the energy out to my hands (from dan tien) at the time of the strike. I try to envision my fist exploding (or sometimes jsut hitting) a target but often feel the combination of the 2 above things is alot to think about in such a short period of time and end up not doing it constantly. I try to train this fist for about 20 minutes at a time. I often times feel that when I finish the palm strike that my arm may be more tense than it is supposed to be.

Not sure if this will be helpful for everyone to analyze a bit of what Im doing, but Im looking forward to what everyone has to say.

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PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

PlumDragon:

LOL! After reading your last post I remembered the other thing my sifu was yelling at me....BREATHE!

I really need to focus on that, then the rest will come easier I'm sure.

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No other comments

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PlumDragon Herbs: Dit Da Jow and Iron Palm Liniments

"When a handshake passes the elbow, it becomes Judo."

You might be interested in this article I wrote about intent - some good quotes from the masters. Its at page 52.


http://www.dragondoor.com/pdf/hard-style.pdf

I really like your piece, but damn the rest of that was one huge advertisement and a pretty irritating one too.

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One hit, see blood.

It's not enough to just not get hit

Hi,


I'm no expert on Hsing I, but one thing that helps me alot with the toes gripping the ground is getting the feeling that I'm gripping a basketball with my feet and hands. The idea is that it keeps the fingers and toes rounded and stretching instead of locking the joints.

Regards,
Josh

Practicing San Shin helps this gripping as well.

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One hit, see blood.

It's not enough to just not get hit

Hung Yi Zhang used to tell my first teacher all the time, "No Yi, No XingYi" and that was passed down to us. "Mind/Intent" is THE key component in XingYi and starts to be trained once you start standing in San Ti...Hope this helps this discussion.
Xingteacher1