Sifu Hart demonstrating Beng Quan, once Hua energy is understood it can be expressed even in solo practice.

The final steps of internal martial arts fighting involves neutralizing energy and transforming it.

Neutralizing energy can be done rather simply; a person can jam, block, dodge, push another’s strike or body to neutralize their energy. These methods are often seen in external arts and other combat sports that need to apply defense quickly yet effectively. Internal Martial Arts emphasizes a neutralization method that leads the energy into emptiness to gain advantage and potentially transform it in some fashion. The concepts are circles are extremely important here along with a connected and relaxed body. A curve allows one to redirect energy and gain the upper hand. Coiling and accepting energy can also allow for one to negate a person’s strike while storing up a great amount of that person’s “energy” or momentum. You can block their strike in any direction and the greater your “entire” body receives that strike the better you can nullify it. Maybe you block down and back up some. Or perhaps you coil their strike to the side while stepping at an angle. There are numerous ways to neutralize energy but masters do it with understanding, precision, grace, and calmness.

You must accept the energy into your joints and the coiling parts of your body, compress them (but don’t overcompress — always maintain your root and center), keep them relaxed (yet connected) as possible. Song – Calmness and relaxation— is truly key to this point. However, the ideal of song is often lost in translation. If a person attacks you with a ferocious strike you are not going to be able to be a wet noodle and handle their energy. You will need structure, connection, and quickness to overcome and redirect it. The idea of song is to be as relaxed as possible to handle that energy. You will will still have energy, you may even tend to be on the hard side (Yin and yang are always together and mutual, you just must be more “yin” than the other person at that moment of accepting the strike to be able to redirect it). But if you are more relaxed than your opponent in that moment (even a hair) you will be quicker to react and overcome and thus gain the advantage (all other factors being equal). Again the more you can relax and find that sweet point the better.

Once you neutralize a strike what now? Attack? Continue to defend? This is where the concept of transforming comes in. There are numerous ways to transform energy; perhaps it is off-balance them, strike them, throw them or trap them, again applications are numerous and ideals will tend towards your strengths in the art. Transformational energy does require the use of your whole body connection to be effective. You need that “spring” throughout your body to “coil” and “uncoil.” To have a powerful strike or throw the body needs to be able to work together and use every inch of your body to produce a powerful effect.

In the end every fighting art works towards these ideals in some form or fashion. They neutralize attacks and react, putting themselves in ideal positions to attack with maximum power. Internal arts expounds and pontificates on this method. You will need to coordinate your movements and maintain proper structure throughout to maximize effect. Your whole body must develop a quick and sharp “Jin” energy, compressing and releasing effortlessly and timely. You must develop your intuition to be in the “right place” at the “right time.” You must be able to move and keep these characteristics in mind (as well as all the ones previously discussed in the blog). You train this in push hands and continue these ideals in fighting. Most internal fighters will want to connect through a block or touch of some fashion and continue that connection until the fight is over. The action is continuous, always countering and attacking: neutralizing, storing, transforming, releasing. At high levels this looks fluid and effortless. This level of fighting is truly hard to get to, its hyper-functional and requires a constant/consistent work against many different styles and opponents so you learn how to act and react to each style. Commonalities will exist but unique characteristics from each style will need to be explored against your own to learn the counters and gauge what energies are required and your effectiveness. Enjoy the grind, welcome the climb and work towards your own mastery.