Tag Archives: Lok Hop Ba Fa

6 Harmonies, Liu He Ba Fa

Liu He Ba Fa 6 Harmonies: 4th Harmony — Combine Your Qi with Your Shen.

The 4th Harmony is combine Qi and Shen

qi he yu shen 气合于神

Now you have a powerful form!  Yet there is more.  Some martial artists stop here, their Qi abundant and their lives full of energy.  There is another level.  You must reignite that fire in your belly and change the energy into shen.   The spirit must follow the qi to the upper dan tian and build there.  You must allow your spirit to then touch every fiber of your being, every hair on your body.

Through this your awareness will become truly keen, you will experience things on a new level.  A spiritual power is a strong thing if developed.  Have you ever seen a truly intimidating person just stare another down, see a person cower in fear, knowing they are powerless against them — this is a very similar concept, it’s a subconscious event that one cannot explain.  If developed your shen can be a handy tool for health and combat.

 

This level is just the 4th but still few reach this level.  They do not make their Qi abundant and thus cannot mix and convert it into Shen.  They will pontificate on the finer point of hormones and vitality, describing Shen in terms that they can relate to.  Is it this, yes– but it is so much more.  Your spirit can expand beyond the physical limits of these things, expand upon your own body.  It is an awareness and vitality only few know.  How can you tell if a person has started down this path?  They will become calm and relaxed, their outward appearance will radiate their inward strength and vitality.  A person will start to develop yansheng (spirit from the eyes 眼神).  It’s a difficult level to perceive let alone master, but the journey towards this harmony will make one healthy, strong, and vibrant.

6 Harmonies, Liu He Ba Fa

Liu He Ba Fa 6 Harmonies: 3rd Harmony — Combine Intention with Qi

GM Wu Yi Hui – 20. Water Flows down the High Mountain

3rd Harmony: Combine your Intent and your Qi yi he yu qi意合于气

 

You have worked hard and you understand the movements internally and externally.  You have started to develop Nèiwài wéi yītǐ (内外为一体)!  Now the hard work comes in.  That intention must drive your internal energy throughout the form.  You must combine the inside with the outside and make it one.  Without your Qi there will be no true strength.  Now you may have some physical strength applied but that is not the intent with internal martial arts.  Physical strength can be strong but is considered a dead or stiff energy.  You need to develop that lively power; a person needs to relax their physical body, align it properly, and use internal principles to create Li (力).  Physical strength can decline quickly in older age (modern medicine and greater understanding of physical training has helped extend this to some extent though) but internal strength can stay with a person to the end of your days if properly maintained and practiced.  To be 90 years old but move like your 30 and hit like your 20 is possible.  It takes true dedication and understanding but yet still attainable.  It starts with this harmony.

Now a person must truly start to practice and dedicate themselves.  You have to make your energy abundant through diligent practice.  This can be accomplished in a myriad of ways, either through the form, zhan zhuang, silent meditation, other internal arts etc.  However the more you practice the one form (Liu He Ba Fa in this instance) and engrain the energy with it the better it will be.  Qi must be driven throughout your body; your 4 extremities filled evenly.  Your lower dan tian will become full and hard like a rock.  Once you have put the energy into thebank (so to speak) you can then withdrawal it, focus it throughout the form, and demonstrate true internal strength.  Once your internal energy combines with your external movements you will have true Fa li and your form will look relaxed yet very powerful.

6 Harmonies, Liu He Ba Fa

Liu He Ba Fa 6 Harmonies: 1st Harmony – Body Combines with your Heart (mind)

Chen Tuan, Creator of Liu He Ba Fa

1st Harmony:  Combine your body with your heart (mind) –ti he yu xin体合于心

Your heart is wild–it can be courageous or scared; it can be scattered or focused.  It can be many things.  The heart (your wild thoughts) must be trained and honed.  This is accomplished through training and dedication.  With Liu He Ba Fa its accomplished by conducting the form and focusing this movement with your heart (mind).   Even though delayed, giving your mind action gives it purpose and training.  You train every muscle with the form and engrain it into you.  Every muscle, tendon, ligament works in alignment and in total unison in action.  The force of such a movement can be outstanding (Force =Mass X Acceleration).  By getting every fiber of your being behind your action it creates a tremendous amount of power.  But to do so requires an immense amount of training.  The old saying by Bruce Lee is I don’t fear a man you does 10,000 different kicks but I fear a man who has done one kick 10,000 times.  Michael Gladwell, in his book, Outliers, is quoted that studies show a similar number in a fact of hours, 10,000, is what is needed to perfect a technique.  Without concentrated dedication to your practice and constant effort, only average gains may be made.

Once engrained it will become subconscious and work towards the instantaneous.  These efforts can be hindered though if you do not train your mind to relax and be calm.  To accept things and understand them.  This, in turn, will relax your body and give its ability to react more quickly, more succinctly.  Fa Song is a great ability.   It is not lazy relaxation, where you become “noodly” and disconnected.  It’s a relaxation that creates harmony throughout your body that allows for your body to feel and adapt.  This starts with your ability for your mind to relax, to let go of the troubles of the day and have the ability to focus on the task at hand.   To feel inside and outside your body the event and work towards totality with it.  With harmony one: through focused movement , proper relaxed alignment, and continued effort, both on the inside and out,  great gains can be made to make the form apart of you.