Tag Archives: Mind

8 Methods, Liu He Ba Fa

Liu He Ba Fa 8 Methods — 7th Method: Withhold

GM Wu Yi Hui holding the first standing post posture (1 of 8) from the form: working on stillness and centeredness

The 7th Method is Withhold (le勒). “Still, settle, guard humbly (jing ding shou xu 静定守虚).”   Very cryptic yet very powerful to higher level martial artists.  The ability to read a persons intent is a powerful tool but even more powerful would be to hide your intent from the reader, making you a quagmire and someone very difficult to deal with.  You must learn relaxation, quieting the mind, returning to your center, guarding your intentions — ultimately working towards emptiness.  A fighter with bravado can be a great thing to watch, he or she is exciting and engaged.  Yet It is even better to watch someone truly calm through the whole experience.  Someone who cannot be hit or beaten.  Someone in control of themselves and the entire situation.  They do not lash out in anger or excitement, they are swift, fluid, adaptable — untouchable.  Its beautiful and rare to see.

How do you begin to find your center, settle, and withhold?  You learn to relax (song), quiet the mind, listen inward, and control yourself.  You must learn to temper the seven emotions (anger, fear, joy, grief, anxiety, pensiveness, fright) and fight off the six desires (touch, taste, see, smell, hear, passion) If you learn to control /limit them you learn to control yourself. You will be able to restrain and quiet the spirit. You will find peace and stillness.  From there you will settle and allow things to come to you.  Your emptiness will calm your mind, allowing it to accept ideas and energy and giving it the ability to react without hesitation.  You will be humble yet will have a sense about you.

Internally once you learn control, restraint, and stillness you will open up blood flow and energy ways.  Your mind will be at ease.  Your muscles will relax.  Your heart will calm (you only have so many heart beats and the ability to lengthen those out creates health and longevity).  Blood and energy will be able to penetrate organs and pathways with more ease.  You will have no stress; you will fight off disease; and ultimately you glow with a health beyond your years.

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.