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Duan Systems: Black belt is a white belt that didnt quit

There are alot of Duan systems out there. the Chinese government has a ranking system called “Duan” for top athletes and coaches in Mainland China. The Yang Family created their own Duan system within their own ranks from Eagle to Dragon…see here: http://www.yangfamilytaichi.com/associa … #article-2

Chinese martial arts originally did not have ranks. A belt was worn in ancient times in Chinese and Mongolian wrestling like Shuai jiao. Over time in competitions the belt go dirty, bloody, and eventually begun to change color through time , matches, and experience, so a worn out belt meant you have been around and have a level of skill.

Japanese master Jigoro Kano developed the first belt ranking system to gauge and measure a students progress. This was separated into stages in training to learn various methods of combat at each stage.

Now in the modern age, many schools adopted the ranking system to measure a students progress, marketing, and determine levels of progress from beginner to intermediate,to advanced. Some school choose not to use this type of system and or even compete against other schools in tournaments. They choose a seniority approach to structure and chain of command.

In my experience I first went to aTaiji school that did not have a ranking system. I later went to a VingTsun school that did by levels and not belt/sash., I didnt stick around long enough to get to level 3. I stuck around doing Long fist and Traditional Taiji, bagua, and xingyi with the first teacher for 6 years.

7 years later I trained at Omei wushu kung fu school by USA team coach Lu xiao Lin and Later with Sifu Burris at CMAI (Chinese martial artsinstitute) These teachers taught traditional shaolin and Taiji, and Modern Wushu and Taiji. Here there was level ‘Sash’ tests after a few years I eventually got a Black sash level 3. Not that it meant anything, but it gave a sense of self accomplishment. There were a lot of forms (at each level), two person forms, qi-na, weapons forms, sparring, and questions answer. notes from that time period- http://polariswushu.net/blog/2010/03/23 … 1997-2003/

Testing included:
Taijiquan- perform 24 taiji, 32 sword, 48 form taiji, 42 taiji, 40 yang form, 42 sword, 36 Chen routine, 56 Chen competition routine, 16 Taiji spear, Taiji 13 dao, Bagua and xingyi routines, push hands compete.

Kung fu/wushu- basic kick lines, shaolin Form 1, shaolin form 2, shaolin form 3, Old compulsory Long fist, Old compulsory sword, new compulsory long fist, new compulsory sword, new compulsory spear, qi-na applications, two person fight set, free sparring.

Where I currently at the BJJ, Judo, and our Muay Thai classes all have ranking tests. In the BJJ and Judo it is belts, In Muay Thai my coach created ranks/level. As time goes on the skills learned are more intense,and the tests get much harder. To me it sets goals and standards, so I am all for it.

Have you been to schools with and without ranking systems? what are your thoughts on ranking, tradition and non-traditional?

A traditional CMA master told me once ” i have a belt to hold my pants up!” haha

Fighter vs Martial Artist

A martial artist goes through much more training than fighting. they usually start with some kind of test of character before being accepted as a student. In the old tradition a student might bow at the house of a master for several days to show sincerity to learn. In modern times a teacher might show a few things and see if the student goes deep into it before teaching more. In my case a teacher taught 24 form to see if they could “get it” before teaching the Long Form and didnt talk about themselves and lineage for 2 years teaching strict basics.

A Martial art teacher will that is of true lineage will teach ‘Wu De’ or martial virtue. In the older Chinese tradition a master would “make you a man before martial artist” with teaching things like humility, respect, sincerity, will power, courage, endurance, ect.
some martial arts schools adopted mottos for students, Fu Zhong Wen’s Yongnian Association uses “Diligence, Perseverance, Respect, Sincerity” as quality’s a practitioner must have to develop a high level of Taiji kung fu.*

Many fighters in today’s society are not brought up with this type of mind set. They go right into fighting techniques. This is typical of MMA, BJJ, Kickboxing and Boxing schools. Some old boxing schools and traditional minded schools might have a bit more discipline approach to teaching the fighter, but the goal is fighting for sport and competition sake to help promote the school, style, and teacher usually for monetary gains. fighting takes a much shorter time to learn. A martial artist of a discipline like Taijiquan, the road is longer to mastery and might take up to 20 years to be as good as someone who focuses on fighting only.

Other aspects that are developed by martial artists that might not be developed by the common fighter are internal training, flexibility, qigong, traditional methods of conditioning, Eastern philosophy, principles and theory, history, medical knowledge and healing (TCM), weapons training like sword, saber, spear.

Someone who practices Taijiquan should be one who has motivation to use the art for its original purpose of attaining fighting ability. The forms are combat moves that require combat intent of mind. The mind of the taijiquan practitioner doenst need to be motivated to compete and fight other but to develop courage help those who are weaker that might need to be defended or defense of the self when called to action.

*Zhin- Diligence- Hard work and effort is prerequisite for skilled development. Daily practice on a regular basic will ultimately be rewarded by beneficial results.

Hen- Perseverance- It is important that a long and enduring sense of purpose be cultivated. A sense of purpose combined with regular daily practice will serve to achieve that purpose.

Li- Respect- Respect for your master, teacher, and fellow man is paramount. Deal with others in taking consideration their backgrounds and in the light of their expectations. Mutual respect serves to enhance a sense of community and solidarity in a society where individuals treat each other with respect.

Zhen- Sincerity- Sincerity in attitude or motivation is a prerequisite for learning Taijiquan. In order to achieve, a genuine resolve to pursue your goal must exist. Deal with others sincerely if you want them to reciprocate. Maintain sincerity in the fore of your dealing with others and you will achieve a smooth flow in relationships.

matt

Neijia combat de-mystified and proper training

The study of Neijia (Internal Art) boxing- prohibitions.

1. Do not attach to much theory into actual practice. When we practice Taijiquan, Baguazhang, Xingyiquan or Yiquan, it is useless to associate philosophy with what you’re doing. For example, many scholars started adding 5 element theory to Xingyiquan. This will not matter in a fight, focus on the combat move, intention, and application. It does not matter what meridian is opening or that it is associated with an element or I-ching trigram.

2. Don’t believe in Taoist Alchemy without seeing hard proof. Many of these scholars talk about jin transforming into chi, chi into shen, and returning to void and enlightenment. In neijia martial arts we need to train hard and do the training intelligently. When you train hard you cultivate different energy and attributes necessary for combat. It is nonsense to talk about breathing from the skin to the bones and into the dan tien. You shouldn’t try to force internal energy like qi into meridians and energy paths. It does no good and causes illnesses like mental problems. As you train hard it is already going into those places naturally.

3. We don’t practice neigong that ignores the external. Our training does involve external work like strength training and ‘wei gong’ combined with internal work like qigong and meditation. Drilling combat techniques and researching applications becomes external to the study of solo forms and proper mechanics which are internal. If you train without the external it will not benefit your health and ability to defend yourself in the long run.

4. Do not pursue super powers. Again, this is something many internal martial artists mistakenly strive for. Fake ability to jump over walls, withstand being cut from swords, or lifting great amount of weight. Just practice and develop your ability, I have never seen superpowers anyways.

5. Do not exhaust yourself. There is no need to train when your tired or to the point of exhaustion. This also includes your state of mind. Training when depressed, angry and excited can lead to exhaustion. This can lead to injury and illness. Train hard enough to get a aerobic, anaerobic, and/or ‘max oxygen volume’ and take breaks. Good rest and sleep is important here, along with rehabilitative methods of spa treatments like suana, steam rooms, and massage therapy for recovery. Master fitness and combat, sparring and drilling, but not to exhaustion.

6. Do not practice to much ying gong- Hard qigong. There is a difference when training to much bag hitting, kettlebells, weights, smashing bricks and other combat skills and not enough. Though these skills can develop great punching strength, to much strength can be detrimental to actual skill training. Use skill like a bull fighter. To much ying gong is like a bull and builds strength attributes for a short period of time. All time devoted to strength can be a waste of time in the long term. It is easier for younger students to do this as well. We want to preserve our strength and ability into to an old age. To much strength training can tax the body into injuries and aging faster.

7. Do not use standing as your practice. Several martial arts believe in long standing ‘jing gong’ and ‘zhuan zhuang’. Though there is some benefit to it, it is a waste of training time and skill training to stand around for 40 to 60 minutes holding a posture. You can work on forms and drills and get standing with short 5 to 10 minute standings several times during workout. Standing can help you properly align body mechanics, find mind stillness and concentrate mind and qi. It can also be harmful to nerves, knees, and waste your time that should be used for real skill development.

8. Do not add ‘wushification’ or ‘mystification’ to neijia boxing. Many wushu long fist masters have altered the tradition and modernized the neijia arts. They included it in wushu forms competitions and into sanda fighting. Some have gone as far as creating long fist jumping and kicks into Taijiquan competition forms judged like gymnastics. Others have mystified the art as Taoist, Buddhist, Confucian, and other religions creating cults that take advantage of the weak minded. The neijia arts are combat arts from centuries past used for fighting, there is nothing religious about that.

What is purpose of solo forms and where did they come from?

my answer: purpose of forms- ingraining encoded combat techniques in your mind-body memory to gain a reflexive response in a fight or flight situation. It is often used to gain health, strength, for sport, and spirituality.

Forms embody the spirit and tradition of a particular group of people. Chinese Martial arts were from ancient military tribes,clans, and army for conquering and defending from invaders. Temple styles also developed systems using forms. Taoist and Buddhist temple forms came from places like Wu Dang, Shaolin, Ermei, Huashan, Maoshan, and other traditional Chinese mountains and places with temples and monks. Confucian scholars as well prescribed society to learn health training exercises and forms. Doctors of Chinese medicine got involved with study of acupuncture, herbs, and diet and came up with a variety of health forms like du-na, dao-yin, and wu-xing forms. Performance martial arts came from Chinese Opera and Circus. These were traveling groups from the silk road who were skilled in wrestlers, acrobats, artists, knife throwers, contortionists, performance of various qigong feats, and breaking bricks skills, to new a few. There were family styles where people were dedicated to the study of forms handed down from ancestors. There were combat forms studied by masters who were involved with the security of the Royal family, Merchants, Gold, and wealthy people of status from thieves and gangs. There were Lei Tai events who was best in village, best in a particular city. People in sports got involved and began evolution of various forms as sports ‘physical education’ with places like Chin Wu, and sport colleges. In the 1900′s sports competitions started to evolve, organized to share in combat traditions, masters collaborated like the Nanking 1930′s and an Olympic demo in Berlin in 1936. Many forms were shared with the public and simplified. Post World War II created the Chinese revolution and martial arts forms split from people who migrated to Taiwan and abroad vs Mainland China. PRC China evolved into pre- and post- cultural revolution with traditional vs modern martial art forms. While Taiwan and those who fled communism kept many of the traditions unaltered, PRC’s modernism of “compulsory” forms altered from traditional forms for public health and sport was developed for regional, college and city team competitions in PRC China. Also the international community has learned forms from many athletes, coaches, and masters when they migrated to many countries around the world.

Principles!

Its not really about big muscles if you look at the principles he is talking about.

The principles apply to IMA and CMA in many ways to help you evolve as a athlete.

these apply more to just lifting weight:
1. continuity- consistency getting in the gym and working out
2. Understanding- understanding what your doing, why and knowledge.
3. recovery- good sleep, nutrition, and day off
4. solid foundation- gotta have basics before the complex
5. Individualization- know your weaknesses and where you need to improve.
6. specialization- planning and changing to develop new skills
7. periodization- have a plan before you train, enough what your body can give to achieve goals.
8. variety- your training program needs to constantly change
9. training economy- use time wisely in gym, train hard then go.
10. progressive overload- program need increased demands- more weight, more repetitions.
11. nutrition- got to eat healthy, most important discipline
12. safety- common sense, know what your body can do.

Teaching a beginner chinese martial arts

Taught a total beginner on Sunday. My guest and I both train in boxing and Muay thai boxing, but he doesn’t feel he has enough stretching techniques and other fundamentals. We do almost no stretching in muay thai and boxing. I invited him to train with my friend Mark and I who get to together on Sunday for Chinese martial arts. He has no Chinese Martial arts experience, but he has been to China and lived in Korea and Japan, and his wife is Chinese. I focused his training on the following:

Workout summary-

Etiquette, philosophy, and motto: wisdom, benevolence, sincerity, bravery.
Warm ups 1-14,
1. Neck- up-down in half circles 2. bend forward and back arms crossed, 3. Fingers interlaced stretch to toes left and right 4. elbow to toe and twist 5. Hip and knee circles 6. fight stance front stretch kick, 7. outside stretch kick , 8. cross stretch kick 9. Front kick 10. Side kick 11. outside heel kick 12. back leg swing heel kick 13. drop stance elbow towards foot. 14. slap back.

Bar stretching- 1. front- elbow to toe (left and right) 2. Side bending hip open (left and right) 3. scale stretch 4. horse stance (feet out) stretch.

Supplemental stretching- 1. pushing wall heel stretch, 2. spine -stretch twist on floor 3. butterfly stretch 4. frog stretch
8 basic stances- 1. horse 2. mt. climber (bow stance) 3. Kneeling stance 4. empty stance 5. balance stance 6. drop stance 7. half sitting 8. Rhino view moon.

Moving kicks-
1. front stretch kick
2. inside stretch kick
3. Outside stretch kick
4. Toe kick
5. Heel kick
6. Side kick
7. Combined toe kick, side kick (left and right side)
8. Side stretch kick

Moving stances:
Ma bu (horse stance) gong bu (bow stance)

Mark and I demonstrated the following forms so he has a understanding of Chinese forms and some history. Our guest really liked the Hsingyi.

Forms and history:
Shaolin- style that came from Buddhist temple so monks could stay fit and defend themselves and the Buddhist temple.
Tai Chi Chuan- Taoist martial art based on tai chi “Grand ultimate” symbol (yin yang) combining hard and soft. Old style is Chen family style. Yang Family is most famous after fighter Yang Lu Chan taught the Emperor’s guards and grandson Yang Chen Fu taught publicly around China.
Hsingyi Chuan- another Taoist style meaning “mind and will boxing” consisting of more aggressive forward moving style, primarily used by bodyguards.
Pa Kua Chang- Taoist style based on 8 kua symbols that uses palm techniques. Known for its circle walking and spiraling movements.

Palm strike work:
1. Du chang- shaking palm (similar to a jab or cross but with open palm
2. Dragon back- spinal wave with striking with double palms
3. Throwing palm- like throwing a baseball or over hand right
4. Slapping palm- like hitting a flat table
5. nei wan kai he- two arms coil inward and outward to stretch body and shoulders
Palm work on focus mitts.

Hsingyi practice
Open into the San Ti (3 powers) stance.
Basic drill- rise, drill, overturn, fall.

Qigong practice (qi/chi cultivation)
Concentration drill- counting backward from 60 to 0
Lung exercises:
1. Cleansing breath- inhale through nose, exhale out mouth as long as possible. 3x
2. Filling breath- inhale and exhale evenly and deep from nose. 3x
3. Holding breath- inhale and hold relaxed as long as possible, exhale through nose. 3x
4. dan tien breathing- breathing long and deep from the lower diaphragm

Self massage-
Patting massage- Face, scalp, legs, arms, lower back and kidneys, swing arms hitting body, reverse breathing at dan tien.

Novamma- collection of clips

fighting dictated by Universal principles

thought is was cool how my instructor Jeff was teaching Muay thai and boxing and without knowing was teaching some of the Tai chi classics:

Had a good sparring class last night where the instructor said- “Fighting is dictated by universal principles”…we went over two principles that scream 2 taijiquan classic principles.

the first was based on the taiji classic “if my opponet attacks, I arrive before he does” or Taiji classic: It is said if the opponent does not move, then I do not move.
At the opponent’s slightest move, I move first.”
in this demonstration the instructor had a guy throw a strike or kick and he return what he termed a ‘reaction strike’ in which he hit the guy before the guy hit him using a short punch or kick.

The second was called ‘set point’. Set point in fighting is attacking before a guy is able to set in (or root) where he has a powerful strike based on connecting to the ground. for instance if a guy is throwing a punch he has to step and root to have the link from “foot, leg, hip/waist/spine- arm” so hitting or pushing the guy before he makes his set point is the drill.

This is a favorite with one of my sensing/push hands instructors when keeping a guy off balanced or away from a ‘set point’ so that he can not have an effective push or strike.

Taiji Classic:

The chin [intrinsic strength] should be
rooted in the feet,
generated from the legs,
controlled by the waist, and
manifested through the fingers.
If correct timing and position are not achieved,
the body will become disordered
and will not move as an integrated whole;

Stacking Taiji and Pakua palm strikes

using the taiji and pakua from my last post in a stacking way- building techniques on top of each other- jab palm, cross palm, throwing palm, slap palm, coil palm, knees, kicks, over turning palm, ect.

part 1

part 2