Coiling, a grand concept that lies at the center of accepting and wielding energies with internal martial arts.  As your body moves as a unit you will notice it will be accomplished in small circles.  The foot screws into the ground which cause your leg to go into extension and a twist occurs at your hips and waist.  As the energy travels up the spine it expresses out your shoulder, elbow, then wrist as finally twists out through your palm and fingers.   Circles and coiling allows you to accept and move a great amount of energy in confined spaces.  The smaller and tighter your circles, the more energy you can accept and give back.  But to give back this energy must express fully through you’re the tips of your body, not be stifled prior too!

There are different types of coiling and spiraling within internal martial arts: Lou Shan Jing, Chan Si Jing, and other derivatives which all make their way into the ideals of these energies.  Again the idea is the act of coiling, the circular energy movement in all things.  To absorb, neutralize, and redirect energy it must be accomplished with circles.  To connect the body and issue energy there must be curvature (eccentric/contraction) movement prior to expansion.  Like a spring, the more you compress it, the greater the springback will be.   Now you can think of your body as a spring, your joints as springs, or even individual body parts down to a very small amount – an inch or lower; in the end the smaller the better.    Yet if this uncoiling doesn’t reach the tips of your extremities (and eventually beyond) then what good is it? Like pointed out in so many previous topics the use of the body as one unit is key.  Example– you would accept and connect to an opponents punch with one arm, absorb that energy through your Dan Tian, to your feet and then redirect that energy back up and through your other hand (and amplified with whatever energies you are capable of delivering yourself!).  Circles and coiling can be amazing concepts!

If you take nothing else away understand this part — FULL EXPRESSION.  The energy must reach your extremities; it must penetrate everywhere (discussed more 16 ;).  You must learn to open the macrocosmic circuit (microcosmic circuit discussed in topic 2 plus your arms and legs) and focus your intention and energy to your finger tips.  It must be concentrated there and eventually extended past them.  The more you can pinpoint the energy the more effective it can and will be.  These ideals are not unlike learning to punch through a target but the force of a coiling energy is much greater than that of a straight line while looking like giving have the effort!