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Shaolins' Trinity of Internal Arts

By Master Eric Sbarge

Originally published by "INSIDE KUNG-FU" in February 1985. Reprinted with permission

A Complete System

The internal styles of Tai Chi Chuan, Paqua, and Hsing-I offer insights and alternatives in strategy and technique that both illuminate and enhance the practice of one's external art like Shaolin chuan.

Master Eric Sbarge

While the myriad Shaolin styles offer an enormous variety of movements, it is the internal arts which show how to perfect and maximize the effects of these movements. Because the Shaolin chuan system is so vast, it is impossible to focus on and understand all of its subtle intricacies without the help of the internal styles. The internals have fewer forms or specific movements, but each of the three internal arts show how to get the most out of their unique techniques. The subtle lessons taught in Tai Chi, Paqua and Hsing-I can be carried over into Shaolin, enhancing and improving one's performance of the external styles.

Frank DeMaria, known throughout Asia as "Ma For Ren," maintains that a complete fighting system can only be obtained when one "learns all he can from a long chain of styles." This chain includes the three major internal arts. DeMaria observes, "You can never be perfect at any one style, so you must look at as many styles as possible, including the internal arts of Tai Chi, Paqua and Hsing-I. If you've only got the hard Shaolin Systems, you don't have the understanding and capacity for change within a given situation that you would have if you knew the internal arts."

DeMaria suggests that the philosophies contained within the I-Ching better illustrate his point. The I-Ching (The Book of Changes), an ancient Chinese text and one of the five "Confucian classics," expounds on the concept of change, including the function, probability and mannerisms of change. As kung-fu developed over the centuries, it came to reflect - as did nearly every segment of Chinese culture - the principles set forth in the I-Ching. After all, the student trains with the expectation that changes occur during a fighting situation, and one must be prepared to adapt to these changes. When an attacker changes his methods, the defender who knows a wide range of movements and their subtle applications will have a good chance of subduing the attacker. One who doesn't know many movements, or who doesn't know how to optimize his movements, will be overpowered. According to DeMaria, "Shaolin chuan gives you plenty of choices for movement, but the internal arts show you how to optimize them."

The Relation of Internal to External Styles

One way in which internal arts enhance the externals is that they focus on concentrating one's inner energies, or what the Chinese have long called "chi." While hard, external Shaolin styles also emphasize the importance of chi development, it is subordinated to the development of external strength and technique. By combining the practice of internal arts with that of external arts, one's chi power increases many times over. Additionally, the internals enhance one's development of other energies, including adhering to, listening to, and redirecting force, all of which improve Shaolin fighting capabilities.

While the internal arts aid a kung-fu stylist in mastering his external fighting skills, it should be pointed out that the external fighting styles also enhance one's practice of the internal arts. As DeMaria's top student, Peter Chema, comments, "It is true that you can't understand your external arts without knowledge of the internal styles, but the reverse is also true. Shaolin's movements are so widely distributed that you can't easily find the secrets or essence of a technique, but the internal arts' range of movement is so limited that you can't always put the art to use without some additional methods of moving." DeMaria adds, "Everything works both ways in the Chinese martial arts. One side is yin, one side is yang, but they both reveal parts of the other."

Again, one turns to Chinese philosophy to understand how external and internal styles complement each other. Yin and yang represent the dualistic forces man perceives in nature; yin of course refers to the soft, yielding, negative or "female" energies of the universe; yang refers to the hard aggressive, positive or "male" energies. While yin and yang at first appear to be mutually opposing forces, in reality they affect each other, are part of each other, and ultimately become one another.

In the martial arts, the softness of yin complements the hardness of yang. As an illustration, compare how a Shaolin stylist and a Tai Chi player execute an arm block. The Shaolin fighter may use hard force to offset the equally hard force of the oncoming strike; the Tai Chi player will try to softly redirect the force and avoid a clash of strength. The Shaolin fighter places more emphasis on his yang, or hard strength; the Tai Chi player relies on yin, or soft abilities. Shaolin does have yin movements, and Tai Chi does have yang movements, but they are less emphasized. Knowing both arts helps a fighter master both the yin and the yang of his martial powers-and his own nature. Plus certain hidden secrets are discovered: Shaolin's hard blocks are most effective if the redirecting principle of Tai Chi chuan is added.

Peter Chema gives another example of how the internal and external arts are interrelated: "There are various circling postures in Shaolin that are designed to block punches and kicks. But the Shaolin student who is ignorant of the internals, particularly Paqua, which emphasizes the circle, will never utilize these circles to their hill capacity. The Paqua student will see the Paqua in the Shaolin move and uncover its real essence because of his training." Many Shaolin practitioners think they are taking advantage of their circular moves, but without Paqua training the deepest secrets of circular motion may be missed.

The Three Internal Styles

To better understand just how important the internal arts are to Shaolin styles of kung-fu, it is worth taking a closer look at the individual characteristics and methods of the three internal arts. Each internal system is small in relation to the vastness of Shaolin, but that doesn't mean they are easier to learn. Many years are required to uncover the subtle secrets of Tai Chi, Paqua, and Hsing-I, and diligent practice is mandatory. Because the amount of movement is smaller in the internal arts, years are spent refining these movements and cultivating the various energies for which these arts are known.

Tai Chi Chuan: Concentrating on Force

Of the three major internal arts, Tai Chi chuan is perhaps the best known. Translated as "grand ultimate," Tai Chi was once thought of as merely a health exercise; today Tai Chi is recognized as a formidable fighting system. It is the softest of the internal arts, and is therefore often sought out by practitioners of hard karate and kung-fu styles. Tai Chi concentrates on force. Studying the art enables one to sense, interpret, adhere to, and redirect force. The student first learns a solo form, which consists usually of 108 movements performed in a relaxed, slow manner. The form teaches the student how to step and move without expending any unnecessary energy, and it helps the student cultivate his chi power. Once the solo form is mastered, the student progresses to "push hands." In push hands, various patterns of movement are performed with a partner. The principles of staying relaxed and redirecting energy are maintained throughout this practice. Most of Tai Chi's movements are rounded, and it is rare to see a player's limb fully extended. The idea is that you don't have to reach out to an opponent; instead you draw in his energy and redirect it around you.

Tai Chi emphasizes stepping and proper rooting. In order to offset someone else's energy you must have full control of your own, and only when you are fully rooted is this control possible. Once proper rooting is cultivated, then the sensing, adhering and redirecting capabilities become useful. In advanced Tai Chi chuan practice, weapons are introduced, and the student learns how to employ the redirecting principles to weapons combat. The student wards off an oncoming attacker and flows right into a counter move. Warding off and attacking are the key maneuvers in Tai Chi chuan, and for this reason, Tai Chi is said to best reflect the philosophical premises of yin and yang.

Paqua: Walking the Circle

Paqua is the next art in the internal trinity. It is sometimes referred to as the "center art" because it forms a link between Tai Chi, the softest internal art, and Hsing-I, the hardest. Philosophically, Paqua is based on the eight trigrams of the I-Ching which are combined into 64 hexagrams for divining the nature of change. In practice, the movements in Paqua are said to correspond to the eight trigrams.

If Paqua has a single theme, that theme is the circle. Most movements in Paqua stem from the circle, and straight-line movements are few and far between. The student of Paqua must learn to "walk the circle," which refers to walking in a circle using Paqua's unique stepping patterns. This circular form is called Da Mu Hsing or the "great mother form," and is the foundation from which the rest of the art stems. Specific techniques are practiced while walking this circle, and the ability to move around an opponent is cultivated by this stepping. Moving around an opponent is the prime strategy in Paqua.

Paqua also offers a student martial secrets not to be discovered in the other internal arts. Spiraling and twisting energies are among these secrets. Spiraling refers to spinning the body or limbs while moving up or down, and twisting refers to twisting the waist for added power. Twisting the waist is found in the other internal arts and in Shaolin chuan, but it's focused on most intensely in Paqua . Often the stylist's waist is twisted to its extreme, generating a strong, recoiling power not found common to other arts.

Hsing-I and the Five Elements

The final internal art is Hsing-I. Hsing-I is the hardest or most yang of the internal styles, and can be thought of as the bridge between internal and external. In contrast to Paqua, for example, Hsing-I places great emphasis on linear movement. Where Paqua reveals the strength of moving around an opponent, Hsing-I demonstrates how to move straight in and overpower him. It adheres to the geometric truth that the shortest distance to a target is a straight line. This straight-line theory is coupled with the belief that a fighter should not retreat but advance head-on and overpower the opponent.

As with the other internal arts, Hsing-I is a physical manifestation of a philosophical premise. In this case, the basic movements of Hsing-I reflect what the ancient Chinese came to call the five elements: wood, fire, water, earth and metal. The five elements are governing forces of the universe that are derived from the yin and yang. It is believed that each of these elements have the capacity to overcome another element, yet are subject to being overcome by still another. For example, fire is overcome by water, water by earth, earth by wood, and wood is conquered by metal. In Hsing-I, the elements are represented by the basic movements: crushing (wood), pounding (fire), drilling (water), crossing (earth) and splitting (metal). These movements each relate in their powers of overcoming each other.

Shaolin incorporates this straight-line theory into many of its techniques, but it takes intensive training in Hsing-I to know how to optimize such linear movements. As an internal art, Hsing-I allows the student to find the fullest degree of chi power as it is directed in straight kicks and punches. Hsing-I strives to unite the hand with the body, and the body with the mind. For this reason, it is frequently referred to as "mind boxing." Many Shaolin stylists appear to have good technique in their linear strikes and blocks, but their minds aren't always connected, resulting in less than maximum power. Steady practice of Hsing-I's techniques will strengthen Shaolin techniques, plus help a fighter overcome any hesitation to move right in on an opponent.

Conclusion

Having briefly described the three major internal arts, it is apparent that they all improve one's chi flow and internal strength, but they do it via different kinds of movement One internal art isn't better than the others, it is simply different The internal styles do overlap in some areas, just as the internal arts and the external arts overlap, but each internal style brings a unique understanding to overall fighting strategy.

While Shaolin chuan and the internal arts are each effective arts by themselves, their effectiveness can only be enhanced by studying all of them. A person who only studies one or two internal styles doesn't learn the range of movement possessed by a Shaolin stylist, but a Shaolin stylist needs the internal arts to maximize his redirecting, circling, and linear techniques. It may at first seem impossible in one lifetime to learn each of the three major internal arts as well as northern and southern Shaolin systems, but Frank DeMaria and Peter Chema are examples of people who have done so.

DeMaria explains, "No one can expect to be absolutely perfect in any one style. Arng Wack Yuey, the first of my many teachers, always said, 'Just learn all you can.'" To simplify his meaning DeMaria adds, "I could practice a front kick over and over, but after a while it reaches its maximum and can't improve much more. Doesn't it make sense to move on to a side kick at this point?"

In his years of kung-fu training, DeMaria says he has seen too many people stick to one or two styles until they are beating a dead horse. He believes a fighter must diversify and must practice new styles to expand his fighting instincts. The person who combines Shaolin's wide array of movements with the mental and internal strengths of Tai Chi, Paqua and Hsing-I is a person who can call himself a complete fighter. "Once you know those arts," DeMaria believes, "few things can come at you that you haven't seen before." And he adds, "You don't have to invent the wheel twice." All the new styles you hear about are nothing but variations or extractions from Shaolin and the inte

Sifu Chema stresses another point. "In the martial arts there are students who are 'jumpers,' running from one art to another because they're dissatisfied. They think one art can encompass it all, then they grow dissatisfied when they discover their art doesn't, and eventually they drop their art. If they studied northern and southern Shaolin as well as the internals, they would have a lifetime of practice ahead of them, and they would have a sense of completeness."

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