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Internal Fighting Techniques
By Emma .J. Pringle
Hard and Palm Strikes of the Internal Martial Arts
With internal martial arts a lot of extensive hand strikes have similarities to external martial arts. Hand strikes use the wrist and the ridge of the hand (the space between your thumb and index finger) the edge and palm of an open hand, also the front, back, inside and outside of a closed hand.
However, the three main internal styles (ba gua, tai chi, hsing-i) have their own specialised strikes. Each of the internal styles, however similar their fighting techniques are can differ a lot or a little compared to that of external form movements and explanations of two-person fighting tactics.
The explanation behind the reasons for such differences is found in the telling of how each style developed and showed the essence of a certain technique within its own philosophical and operational approaches.
The internal martial arts have become undoubtedly infamous throughout China because of the survival of ancient fighting techniques within the internal martial arts systems.
Ba gua – meaning “Eight Trigram Palm” – uses the palm more than the fist. As a main rule Ba gua uses the open hands, forearms and fingers to amazing effect. Out of the eight mother palms taught in this art only one of them is a fist. However, the most famous technique of Ma Wei Chi was a spherical punch.
Tai Chi tends to mould both open-hand and close-fist tactics evenly. Hsing-I splits to use closed fist techniques in its primary Five Elements applications and open hand techniques with its animal forms.
There are a number of different ways to strike an opponent in internal martial arts styles. The first thing to take notice of is a beginner who lacks control will usually hit an opponent as hard as possible.
At a more advanced level you have the power of choice to seriously injure your opponent or restrain them. If your decision is against inflicting injury then you may choose to use ja jin techniques which is where your power passes through the person you hit. Your Fa jin will definitely move your opponent in physical space, but will also cause no serious injury or harm.
Sometimes, however, it is necessary to use force and your only option is to harm someone, the Fa jin can be focused inside the person attacking you so that your power doesn’t leave their body, this in turn causes internal injuries such as haemorrhaging and other impact injuries.
The earlier masters of internal martial arts could hit the outside of a person’s body leaving no physical imprint. In turn that person could subsequently die from the shockwaves of the hit creating internal injuries.
This technique of being able to concentrate force onto varying internal areas is amazing.
The idea of internal martial arts is very much akin to that of the technology to those tank artillery shells that combat the energy of the tank crew but leave the body of the enemy tank unharmed.
The turning of the soft tissue combined with the immediate opening of the body’s joints and cavities to discharge chi energy from a certain point in the body are the technical, physical ways by which sudden Fa jin release can be achieved.
In China a lot of people think of internal martial arts to be much more powerful then external martial arts, this is because it has been proven effective even when strikes occur but no contact is made on an opponent, this power is believed to be “chi” energy and people think that it is supernatural and must be more powerful than an external martial arts because hits can be inflicted without even achieving contact.
The martial effectiveness of the internal martial arts is by no means supernatural but instead counts on very intricate and extremely sophisticated body and chi mechanisms. The difference between external and internal martial arts is that external styles focus on fighting technique and the core focus of internal styles is to develop internal power also known as chi. A beginner’s movements in an internal martial arts style like Kung Fu may appear to be un-subtle.
As an internal martial arts practitioner becomes more integrated in training, it then becomes less and less obvious to an observer to see what is being done externally. E.g. because I’ve been doing dressage for years when I’m riding and my horse isn’t co-operating by fighting me with her internal energy it is undetectable to spectators but I can feel this and know how to counter her energy using my own so as I have progressed I’ve learned to ride internally and not using external power in the reins or in my legs, being able to ride in harmony with my horse making training more enjoyable for myself and my horse.
The feeling that the power displayed is supernatural is just not correct; you simply cannot view the internal mechanisms being used. However, having said that, at high levels of chi development internal arts can, indeed, portray to others to be a little un-worldly.
This phenomenon only happens when you do not use physical power any longer, but alternatively draw solely on chi energy. Today very few people have achieved this level, but it is how I have been taught to horse ride and when you can feel the internal energy of such a powerful animal moulded by your own internal energy you really begin to understand how to develop this energy for self preservation in the martial arts.
Types of Strikes and Hand Actions
Tai Chi has the biggest number of adherents in China and the West although with this in mind, all its range of techniques is not usually taught. Instead the main focus areas for its students are the forms and push hands.
Ba gua and hsing-I schools have less adherents, but many more of the teachers both in China and the West focus on and teach their students the actual specific fighting techniques themselves, as well as the forms and Rou Shou/push hands training. As Ba gua has the biggest repertoire of fight techniques in the internal martial arts, I will first be referring to ba gua then to tai chi then hsing-I. Please keep in mind that ALL internal martial arts hand techniques that I write about and also the many more I do not mention, can be done when opening and issuing energy from your body as well as when you close and bring the energy back to yourself.
The Piercing Strike
The Piercing Strike will usually mean you learn to attack using your fingers, palms or the edges of your hands (as in the bui tze for Wing Tsun Kung Fu).
A straight line attack (which is in actual fact the result of an internal spiralling motivating force) is used to 1) penetrate the body of your opponent 2) elevate your opponent off their feet as you penetrate the body, limbs or head. 3) Dislocate your opponent’s joints of the arms or legs. 4) Knock away your opponent’s protecting or attacking arm. You can also, simultaneously, spear, hit with your palm or side out your opponent with either edge of your hand.
(The last move is a primary strike technique of Ba gua’s fighting Strategy System). You may also view this in a tai chi move known as “White Snake puts out its tongue” also in hsing-I called “water-element technique of chilling fist”.
Upward Curving Strike
This is a strike that you can carry out with your palms, fingers, wrist or elbows. The upward-curving strike is used in safe practice to allow the dispersal of energy into someone (that is, use Fa jin). This strike can lift individuals upwards or backwards without hurting them. If it is used with the intent to injure someone it can break bones, tear and haemorrhage the organs (especially if you use palms or elbows) it can also tear the muscles of the arms and legs from their insertion prints.
You can also see this technique in tai chi’s commencement (wrist), Fair lady weaves the shuttles (palms), lifting hand (fingers), white crane spreads its wings (elbows) and in the hsing-I fire – element pounding fist and the chicken, tiger and monkey forms.
Cutting Actions
Cutting actions are used both to shatter bone, as when chopping an am or the neck, or most usefully to cut like a knife.
The elbows are used to penetrate deeply into the tissue to the deeper layers of muscle causing severe damage. Cuts may be executed sideways, upwards, downwards or diagonally using the front or edge of the hand, the knuckles, the back of the wrist, tip of the elbow, the shoulder, the head, the knees or the feet.
Also cutting techniques can be used in many of the roll back tia chi movements, in the change between the end of “white crane spreads its wings” and the start of “brush knee and twist step” and in the downward chopping of hsing-i’s five elements splitting fist, the downward component of “pounding fist” and finally the snake, eagle and other bird animal forms.
Finger Strikes
The finger strikes are meant to be so damaging as to actually be able to penetrate flesh. They can give out a strong vibration or shaking at the point of impact, a raking or clawing motion, a wavelike striking and withdrawing action or a twisting, boring, drill-like action.
A person’s finger gung ju has to be 100% correct to hit the head of an opponent and be able to penetrate without damaging his/her own thrusting fingers. This type of finger thrusting training can be achieved by channelling chi to the fingers through the nei gung and circle-walking postures of ba gua and not by doing finger push-ups or hitting sand or other objects, as is trained by Shaolin students.
Finger strikes are also used to hi specific acupuncture points in specific ways and/or at certain times of the day to disrupt an opponent’s chi. This can be a lethal form of reverse acupuncture. (These strategic techniques are called dim mak in Cantonese and dian xue in Mandarin). The back hand of tai chi single whip and forward hand of brush knee and twist step especially more with finger techniques as so the monkey, snake, tiger and dragon animal forms of hsing-i.
Knuckle Strikes
The knuckle strikes are just as effective and similar to finger strikes, except when it comes to twisting soft tissue and striking bone. Fingers do more subtle, finer work to twist and grab opponents’ muscles also a person’s hands are quite strong.
The knuckles use the same physical movements and the same fin (power) which are usually safer for the attacker when carried out against bone.
In both tai chi and hsing-i, knuckle strikes are inherent in any punch.
Grabbing
Grabbing tactics are used to hold an attacker fast – like a wrestler would and throw them, also rip the skin of the body or twist the joints of the arms or legs into locks, causing extreme pain or breakage.
These fighting application tactics are demonstrated throughout chen style tai chi, pull down and the 131 split techniques within white crane spreads its wings – for example: in hsing-I these applications are used every time an open hand closes into a fist especially in the splitting fist.
Slaps
Slaps can be executed on an attacker with either stiff or loose hands, using either the front or back of the hand.
A hand used to slap, whether it’s stiff or soft can be used ultimately crush whatever it makes contact with, it can also send vibrations through an opponent’s body to damage internal tissue with a distance from the strike (for example, a slap applied to a shoulder joint may damage the liver, a slap to the top of the head may break the neck or a slap to the stomach may damage the spine). <o
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To break bones soft slaps may be applied (skull, ribs, sternum or knees). Soft slaps combined with applications that initiate that use of spiralling reversals of motion are ideal for damaging an attacker’s internal organs.
In ba gua’s Rau Shau, for purposes of safety, power penetration, slaps are avoided; whereas in actual combat power penetration is used to burst internal organs, slaps to the skull are applied to shake the brain against the walls of the skull causing unconsciousness, internal bleeding or death. These slaps are present in tai chi’s “Brush knee” and “twist step”, the downward movement roll back the transition between shoulder strike and white crane spreads its wings, also is present in the splitting fist of hsing-i, also in a lot of the little transition section of the hsing-i animal forms.
Hope makes sense Em,
By Emma .J. Pringle
Hard and Palm Strikes of the Internal Martial Arts
With internal martial arts a lot of extensive hand strikes have similarities to external martial arts. Hand strikes use the wrist and the ridge of the hand (the space between your thumb and index finger) the edge and palm of an open hand, also the front, back, inside and outside of a closed hand.
However, the three main internal styles (ba gua, tai chi, hsing-i) have their own specialised strikes. Each of the internal styles, however similar their fighting techniques are can differ a lot or a little compared to that of external form movements and explanations of two-person fighting tactics.
The explanation behind the reasons for such differences is found in the telling of how each style developed and showed the essence of a certain technique within its own philosophical and operational approaches.
The internal martial arts have become undoubtedly infamous throughout China because of the survival of ancient fighting techniques within the internal martial arts systems.
Ba gua – meaning “Eight Trigram Palm” – uses the palm more than the fist. As a main rule Ba gua uses the open hands, forearms and fingers to amazing effect. Out of the eight mother palms taught in this art only one of them is a fist. However, the most famous technique of Ma Wei Chi was a spherical punch.
Tai Chi tends to mould both open-hand and close-fist tactics evenly. Hsing-I splits to use closed fist techniques in its primary Five Elements applications and open hand techniques with its animal forms.
There are a number of different ways to strike an opponent in internal martial arts styles. The first thing to take notice of is a beginner who lacks control will usually hit an opponent as hard as possible.
At a more advanced level you have the power of choice to seriously injure your opponent or restrain them. If your decision is against inflicting injury then you may choose to use ja jin techniques which is where your power passes through the person you hit. Your Fa jin will definitely move your opponent in physical space, but will also cause no serious injury or harm.
Sometimes, however, it is necessary to use force and your only option is to harm someone, the Fa jin can be focused inside the person attacking you so that your power doesn’t leave their body, this in turn causes internal injuries such as haemorrhaging and other impact injuries.
The earlier masters of internal martial arts could hit the outside of a person’s body leaving no physical imprint. In turn that person could subsequently die from the shockwaves of the hit creating internal injuries.
This technique of being able to concentrate force onto varying internal areas is amazing.
The idea of internal martial arts is very much akin to that of the technology to those tank artillery shells that combat the energy of the tank crew but leave the body of the enemy tank unharmed.
The turning of the soft tissue combined with the immediate opening of the body’s joints and cavities to discharge chi energy from a certain point in the body are the technical, physical ways by which sudden Fa jin release can be achieved.
In China a lot of people think of internal martial arts to be much more powerful then external martial arts, this is because it has been proven effective even when strikes occur but no contact is made on an opponent, this power is believed to be “chi” energy and people think that it is supernatural and must be more powerful than an external martial arts because hits can be inflicted without even achieving contact.
The martial effectiveness of the internal martial arts is by no means supernatural but instead counts on very intricate and extremely sophisticated body and chi mechanisms. The difference between external and internal martial arts is that external styles focus on fighting technique and the core focus of internal styles is to develop internal power also known as chi. A beginner’s movements in an internal martial arts style like Kung Fu may appear to be un-subtle.
As an internal martial arts practitioner becomes more integrated in training, it then becomes less and less obvious to an observer to see what is being done externally. E.g. because I’ve been doing dressage for years when I’m riding and my horse isn’t co-operating by fighting me with her internal energy it is undetectable to spectators but I can feel this and know how to counter her energy using my own so as I have progressed I’ve learned to ride internally and not using external power in the reins or in my legs, being able to ride in harmony with my horse making training more enjoyable for myself and my horse.
The feeling that the power displayed is supernatural is just not correct; you simply cannot view the internal mechanisms being used. However, having said that, at high levels of chi development internal arts can, indeed, portray to others to be a little un-worldly.
This phenomenon only happens when you do not use physical power any longer, but alternatively draw solely on chi energy. Today very few people have achieved this level, but it is how I have been taught to horse ride and when you can feel the internal energy of such a powerful animal moulded by your own internal energy you really begin to understand how to develop this energy for self preservation in the martial arts.
Types of Strikes and Hand Actions
Tai Chi has the biggest number of adherents in China and the West although with this in mind, all its range of techniques is not usually taught. Instead the main focus areas for its students are the forms and push hands.
Ba gua and hsing-I schools have less adherents, but many more of the teachers both in China and the West focus on and teach their students the actual specific fighting techniques themselves, as well as the forms and Rou Shou/push hands training. As Ba gua has the biggest repertoire of fight techniques in the internal martial arts, I will first be referring to ba gua then to tai chi then hsing-I. Please keep in mind that ALL internal martial arts hand techniques that I write about and also the many more I do not mention, can be done when opening and issuing energy from your body as well as when you close and bring the energy back to yourself.
The Piercing Strike
The Piercing Strike will usually mean you learn to attack using your fingers, palms or the edges of your hands (as in the bui tze for Wing Tsun Kung Fu).
A straight line attack (which is in actual fact the result of an internal spiralling motivating force) is used to 1) penetrate the body of your opponent 2) elevate your opponent off their feet as you penetrate the body, limbs or head. 3) Dislocate your opponent’s joints of the arms or legs. 4) Knock away your opponent’s protecting or attacking arm. You can also, simultaneously, spear, hit with your palm or side out your opponent with either edge of your hand.
(The last move is a primary strike technique of Ba gua’s fighting Strategy System). You may also view this in a tai chi move known as “White Snake puts out its tongue” also in hsing-I called “water-element technique of chilling fist”.
Upward Curving Strike
This is a strike that you can carry out with your palms, fingers, wrist or elbows. The upward-curving strike is used in safe practice to allow the dispersal of energy into someone (that is, use Fa jin). This strike can lift individuals upwards or backwards without hurting them. If it is used with the intent to injure someone it can break bones, tear and haemorrhage the organs (especially if you use palms or elbows) it can also tear the muscles of the arms and legs from their insertion prints.
You can also see this technique in tai chi’s commencement (wrist), Fair lady weaves the shuttles (palms), lifting hand (fingers), white crane spreads its wings (elbows) and in the hsing-I fire – element pounding fist and the chicken, tiger and monkey forms.
Cutting Actions
Cutting actions are used both to shatter bone, as when chopping an am or the neck, or most usefully to cut like a knife.
The elbows are used to penetrate deeply into the tissue to the deeper layers of muscle causing severe damage. Cuts may be executed sideways, upwards, downwards or diagonally using the front or edge of the hand, the knuckles, the back of the wrist, tip of the elbow, the shoulder, the head, the knees or the feet.
Also cutting techniques can be used in many of the roll back tia chi movements, in the change between the end of “white crane spreads its wings” and the start of “brush knee and twist step” and in the downward chopping of hsing-i’s five elements splitting fist, the downward component of “pounding fist” and finally the snake, eagle and other bird animal forms.
Finger Strikes
The finger strikes are meant to be so damaging as to actually be able to penetrate flesh. They can give out a strong vibration or shaking at the point of impact, a raking or clawing motion, a wavelike striking and withdrawing action or a twisting, boring, drill-like action.
A person’s finger gung ju has to be 100% correct to hit the head of an opponent and be able to penetrate without damaging his/her own thrusting fingers. This type of finger thrusting training can be achieved by channelling chi to the fingers through the nei gung and circle-walking postures of ba gua and not by doing finger push-ups or hitting sand or other objects, as is trained by Shaolin students.
Finger strikes are also used to hi specific acupuncture points in specific ways and/or at certain times of the day to disrupt an opponent’s chi. This can be a lethal form of reverse acupuncture. (These strategic techniques are called dim mak in Cantonese and dian xue in Mandarin). The back hand of tai chi single whip and forward hand of brush knee and twist step especially more with finger techniques as so the monkey, snake, tiger and dragon animal forms of hsing-i.
Knuckle Strikes
The knuckle strikes are just as effective and similar to finger strikes, except when it comes to twisting soft tissue and striking bone. Fingers do more subtle, finer work to twist and grab opponents’ muscles also a person’s hands are quite strong.
The knuckles use the same physical movements and the same fin (power) which are usually safer for the attacker when carried out against bone.
In both tai chi and hsing-i, knuckle strikes are inherent in any punch.
Grabbing
Grabbing tactics are used to hold an attacker fast – like a wrestler would and throw them, also rip the skin of the body or twist the joints of the arms or legs into locks, causing extreme pain or breakage.
These fighting application tactics are demonstrated throughout chen style tai chi, pull down and the 131 split techniques within white crane spreads its wings – for example: in hsing-I these applications are used every time an open hand closes into a fist especially in the splitting fist.
Slaps
Slaps can be executed on an attacker with either stiff or loose hands, using either the front or back of the hand.
A hand used to slap, whether it’s stiff or soft can be used ultimately crush whatever it makes contact with, it can also send vibrations through an opponent’s body to damage internal tissue with a distance from the strike (for example, a slap applied to a shoulder joint may damage the liver, a slap to the top of the head may break the neck or a slap to the stomach may damage the spine). <o
></o>To break bones soft slaps may be applied (skull, ribs, sternum or knees). Soft slaps combined with applications that initiate that use of spiralling reversals of motion are ideal for damaging an attacker’s internal organs.
In ba gua’s Rau Shau, for purposes of safety, power penetration, slaps are avoided; whereas in actual combat power penetration is used to burst internal organs, slaps to the skull are applied to shake the brain against the walls of the skull causing unconsciousness, internal bleeding or death. These slaps are present in tai chi’s “Brush knee” and “twist step”, the downward movement roll back the transition between shoulder strike and white crane spreads its wings, also is present in the splitting fist of hsing-i, also in a lot of the little transition section of the hsing-i animal forms.
Hope makes sense Em,
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