Tag Archives: 6 Harmonies and 8 Methods

6 Harmonies, Liu He Ba Fa

Liu He Ba Fa 6 Harmonies: 2nd Harmony– Heart (mind) Combines With Your Intention

2nd Harmony: Combine your Heart (Mind) with your Intention – xin he yu yi心合于意

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).

 

Also this is where 10,000 repetitions can truly compound.  With intention– with focus, it will engrain in a person’s inner conscious;  it has the potential to become second nature.  To fully open to the intention of each movement; to open to the energy and animalistic nature (yes there are 12 animals within this art) of it has profound results.   You become one with the form and the form becomes one with you.  Liu He Ba Fa has many variants among the main form but if you look deeply into that practitioners inner intent you can see if they have the essence of it.  Are certain moves fierce like a tiger, does it coil like a dragon, and deeper still do they demonstrate the 8 methods such as follow and return.  If their intention and focus is engrained in them, they will display these principles thus demonstrate Liu He Ba Fa.

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.