Sticking/Adhering (沾黏) Jin is a fundamental jin within IMA. From this Jin you can can dive deeper into listening, understanding, deflecting, and redirecting anothers Li (strength). Sticking jin is tricky as it requires body parts to touch. Usually IMA practitioners start with arms but once a working knowledge is understood any body part can be used. The goal is to remain in contact of some sort to be able to use your other jins appropriately. Your opponent will move and you will move with him, he will feel like he cannot “shake” you . He attacks, you retreat… he retreats, you stay with him (attacking as necessary). They are fast, you are fast… they are slow, you are slow. This is why you must learn to listen, understand, and follow. If you do not learn these jins, sticking energy becomes difficult if not impossible to maintain. Yet without sticking jin these other jins become useless as well, they are all mutually beneficial and coordinate with eachother.
Another goal is to become as light as possible–Qing ( 轻) Jin. Why light? Being empty and light allows for you to “feel” their energy and to be able to react quickly/agilely. Being heavy and strong makes it difficult to react quickly; not impossible but difficult and not the correct method to higher levels. It also gives plenty of energy to the other person to “feel” and work with. Among other things the greats of the past hollowed their chest, rounded their backs, relaxed their shoulders and made their upper body empty (in reality this is a gross over generalization, once they mastered their body they were able to appear empty but be full and vice versa – their conceal and release became truly marvelous). They were able to react instantly to situations and seamlessly follow, neutralize, and redirect their opponent. Why? Because they had mastered their sticking ability!
Most people train this method through push hands (Tui Shou). This is a great method and preferred among many internalists. But there are steps to this. One must first work in a rooted position and then move to moving step (my method is restricted step then to freestyle). It’s a great non-threatening environment to hone sticking skills and work on true lightness ability with those skills. However to be truly great with this skill one needs to work into compliant and non-compliant sparring. Learning to stick at a point of contact can be tricky when a punch or kick is executed (and even trickier when that punch and kick returns back to its owner). One must learn to truly move with an opponent, blocking or evading a strike then returning with it slightly as you “attach” yourself to your opponent; with the true key being “staying” attached. There will be several subtle movements and understanding fight distance, spacing, and angles truly become important. If you can master sticking in a fighting environment you are your way to truly becoming mysterious.
In the end the higher level would be the touch becomes virtually non-existent. You would stick to your opponent without them feeling anything from you. You become like the air around them, incapable of identifying your presence but constantly feeling theirs. Their will becomes obvious while yours remains mysterious. They become truly frustrated because of their inability to “touch” you and apply their yi (intent) and li (strength). It’s a lofty goal but one worth striving for.
The 3rd Method is Shape (xing形); “Change image, copy and imitate–hua xiang mo fang (化象模仿). ” Shape is important. To copy your sifu’s form and movement leads you down your own correct path. You have to trust their skill and intent, but once you get the form down, with correct movement, you can start applying the harmonies and ideals, framing it to you and your will. This involves shape – structure, motion, and intent. With solid structure and fluid motion you will begin to move effortlessly and quickly. Your body will get used to the intent you would like to apply and can change to it quickly. It will mold into your own will and it will become powerful.
Focus is important, but more importantly what are you focusing on? Are you focusing on your day at work, your family, or the task at hand! It takes 200 days of consistent practice to learn the external movements properly (according to some experts). What does that movement really mean though? What is happening both inside and out? This understanding takes MUCH longer. The intention of each movement needs to be thoroughly understood to apply the correct energies and applications. Without the focus your mind can be pulled away, causing hesitation, inconsistences, and ultimately bad habits. You need to be fully in the moment of what you are doing and where you are at. Without it you are mindlessly doing an external form (which can still get a person physical benefits but does not reach the full potential of the art).