untrained people can last for a full ten minutes, even a boxer, football player, or bodybuilder. Judged by kung-fu training requirements, ten minutes is really a very short period of time.
Sifu Liu Yun Chiao, the author’s last teacher, holds the baguazhang “bear posture.”
If you have access to the equipment and resources to conduct research on this type of stationary exercise, you will see that it actually provides the same results: the pulse rate increases, respiration increases, and more oxygen is pumped into the blood. An easier way to measure the results is by our own sweat.
Moving exercise, dong, is somehow like an investment. An expenditure of energy is required to move the body. When we are young, we have more than enough to invest and can enjoy any returns, no matter how small. As we age, we no longer can afford to invest so freely. Our reserve is much smaller and the risk much greater.
On the other hand, yun exercise yields a very high return for a much smaller investment. The prime attraction of dong exercise is recreational. Health benefits are a side effect. Dong looks outward; Yun looks inward, focusing our attention on our own body (inside and out) and spirit, thus directly providing benefits to our health. Yun doesn’t provide any distractions to divert our attention away from the prime business at hand—rejuvenation of our body, organs, and spirit.
Yun and dong do not conflict. Instead, when practiced together, they are powerful partners, creating a rich yield of health, fitness, mental clarity, focus, and energy for all of us.
The Simple Fact of Yin and young
Almost every martial artist knows something about the Chinese theory of yin and yang Some practitioners try to apply the principles of this theory to improve their technique. Though a useful idea, the theory of yin and yang has been overemphasized and misunderstood in the martial arts. Many people treat yin and yang like an unfathomable truth, an idea that cannot be fully grasped. This respectful attitude, however, does not help to make the concept any more accessible or useful in learning martial arts. The fact is that yin and yang are not beyond our grasp: they are an integral part of daily life and a practical way of explaining an essential aspect of existence.
To clear up the clouds that obscure this concept, we have to go back to ancient China where the theory of yin and yang was formulated. The legacy of ancient China is in part a coming to terms with nature, defining the relationships that govern the universe. Some cultures organize their concept of the universe with man as the center of phenomena. Thus, nature is something that must be conquered and made to conform to human reason.
Yin and yang represent. the continual process of change and flux in nature.
Chinese philosophy is based on a different perspective. The Chinese people sought to harmonize with nature rather than to dominate it. The theory of yin and yang was developed as a practical way of describing and classifying this universe in which humanity is a part of nature, rather than the master of nature. The Chinese perceive the universe as the interaction of complementary opposites such as day and night, male and female, hard and soft, life and death: yang and yin. The dynamic cycle of creation and destruction (embodied in the life cycle of a flower, for example) is seen as a continuous process of change.
Perhaps the best way to understand this theory is to visualize the geometric representation of yin and yang (see Fig. 1). Western culture, unlike Chinese culture, classifies phenomena into fixed opposites; for example, day and night could be configured as a square divided in half.
This relationship could also be depicted within a circular shape that shows how the opposites together form a whole. Neither of these conceptions show any interaction between the opposites, a typically Western perspective. In Chinese culture, however, yin and yang are configured within a circular shape that expresses the interaction and complementary nature of opposites.
The curving line that connects the two entities expresses change, the basic idea underlying the theory of yin and yang. Yin and yang, therefore, represent the continual process of change and flux in nature: day (yang) is always changing into night (yin) and night is always changing into day. This relationship is most fully illustrated by the taiji diagram.
Figure 1
Not only do yin and yang continuously interact, but the yin always contains some yang, and the yang always contains some yin. No pure yin or yang exists, only varying degrees of interaction between the two. The essence of this idea is found in the Chinese saying: “Creation never stops: yang reaches its limit and gives birth to yin; yin reaches its limit and gives birth to yang.”
Many of the old masters were illiterate and could not explain their art, but their kung-fu naturally conformed to the principles of yin and yang.
The Chinese use the theory of yin and yang to explain all facets of life, such as medicine, painting, architecture, weather, food, and kung-fu. Comprehending this theory is not essential to the practice of kung-fu or any other art. Many of the old masters were illiterate and could not explain their art, but their kung-fu naturally conformed to the principles of yin and yang. Mastering kung-fu is impossible without knowingly or unknowingly following the principles of this theory.
Although philosophy is not a substitute for physical training, understanding yin and yang can help practitioners improve their technique. Western culture, for example, evolved based on a philosophical foundation that typically views concepts as fixed, or black and white. Grasping the theory of yin and yang serves to bridge that cultural gap and demonstrate a fundamental aspect of kung-fu.
The theory of yin and yang as applied to the martial arts is quite practical. In a settled stance, for example, all the parts of the body in shadow are considered yin, and the remaining parts, yang. In the taijiquan movement danbian (single whip), the shaded areas and the backside of the body are yin (Fig. 2). Since kung-fu is not a static form, yin and yang can also be applied to the body in motion. In general, any outward movement is considered yang and any inward movement is yin. Danbian is basically a yang movement: both arms and the leg clearly extend outward. When considering this movement from beginning to end, rather than the climax of the movement, or taijiquan (or any kung-fu style) in general, the yin and yang constantly change.
At the beginning of the movement both the arms and legs are closer to the body (yin) (Fig. 3). Then the leg moves out and the whole body uncoils in a highly coordinated twisting action to complete the movement. Note how the arm changes from yin, facing the body to yang, facing and extended away from the body.
Other aspects that characterize a movement are also classified as yin or yang. Any movement that is hard, fast, strong, or clear is yang; movements that are softer, slower, or less obvious are yin. Then jing (power) that is stored or released is also described similarly in terms of yin and yang. In a major attacking movement (yang), for instance, there are smaller, supporting movements that are yin. In danbian the shoulder, hip, and knee are less obvious parts of the body that may be used in attacking. Kung-fu never violates the principles of yin and yang-the yang always contains some yin and the yin contains some yang. As the saying goes: “Yin by itself cannot create; yang by itself cannot grow.”
When the power and movements are balanced and
