Duì bá lì, translated as pulling force, is one principle that applies to all Martial Arts, but is especially important within Internal Martial Arts. This force can be better understood as equal and opposite force. Newton’s third law is a powerful player in martial arts. To exert a force one must also exert an equal force in the opposite direction. One cannot escape physics.
Now duì bá lì can be described in a few different scenarios:
- It’s the equal and opposite force when striking
- It’s the concept of the left side accepting energy and the equal and opposite force exerting out the right side (or vice versa)
The first example is the easiest to understand. Lets take Beng Quan from Xing Yi for example. When a person executes the strike the fist comes forward but at the same time the should blade goes back. This creates a dynamic tension and if executed in a quick and coordinated manner will allow you to express a sharp energy (Jin) at the opponent. It feels like you are “stretching” in both directions and expanding to its limits. Like the spring coiling and uncoiling, the uncoil is reinforced through the opposite energy, making it quicker, sharper, harder. Now any combat sport does this and great fighters develop sharp quick punches because they naturally learn to align, sink, and create that dynamic tension (among other talents). The great thing about internal arts is that it is focused on and constantly conditioned. To focus on that pulling/pushing force and learning to expand it is exciting and can create a powerful strike. Another training mechanism is narrowing the focus down to the cun jin level (1 inch power). This focus further emphasizes the dynamic tension down to the miniscule and can create what some consider miraculous results.
In many lineages one must focus on “lengthening” the arm by creating a bigger separation between shoulder and back–thus creating a larger equal yet opposite energy. Great martial artists like Dong Hai Chuan and Zhang San Fen were said to have abnormally long arms (among other characteristics). Now though its not impossible for someone to be born this way, most likely their arms were of normal length (as seen through most pictures of them). Yet when they fought they were able to reach out and create that shoulder/back separation–lengthening their arms and giving the appearance of it being abnormal.
The second example involves has similar concepts of equal and opposite energies but involves the whole body. When a person strikes you it is blocked and through positioning, timing, and connecting its accepted, followed, and diverted. At the same time you strike them using the built up energy you have gathered from their attack. Definitely easier written then done. Now what are you really learning to do? You must learn position, relaxation, root, balance, whole body connection, muscle/tendon micro-movements/compression/expansion etc… As a boxer I could play “patty-cake” by slapping someone’s punches down all day and then reacting with my own strike making it look almost simultaneous (and in a sense is still duì bá lì). Blocking and striking (jìn gōng dài de), while difficult in its own right, is still shallow when compared to the full potential of this skill. By accepting their force and “nullifying” their strike while at the same time using their energy to compress your tendons/muscles then quickly expanding it and striking while they are still off-balance (aka not ready to receive a strike in return) is truly impressive. Now consider that this must be accomplished over and over again, in seamless rhythm–energies constantly changing and adapting in harmony without interruption until your opponent is defeated. A very daunting task indeed!!! It takes hours of training your body with forms, partner training, compliant sparring, non-compliant sparring (the same style), non-compliant sparring (different styles). Like any skill one must work towards it becoming natural (thus leading into the ideals of hua jin) learning to respond to different scenarios which can only be accomplished through disciplined, focused repetition and training.
Overall duì bá lì is an overarching concept in IMA (and all other MA for that matter). It involves several different training mechanisms, time, dedication, and patience. One must condition the body into working for this strength and when you have truly attained it your skills seem miraculous and infinite.