A special 'thanks' to all Comrades for the excellent corrections, suggestions, and questions posted in the Dragon Door Forum, especially Comrades Gene, Lemon, John/JSA, Master Rinpoche, and Barely Sane. Your contributions have hopefully made this more correct and accessible. Any credit is theirs and my teachers. Any blame is mine.

Introduction

There are thousands of books and other media resources on the subjects of martial arts, specific Chinese martial arts, and Chinese qigong. However, there appears to be little practical material on how to put Qigong into application in a combat situation.

As far as bone fides go, I have been a student of martial arts since 1968 and have practiced continuously and diligently throughout. I am ranked in a number of arts, and can fairly claim a reasonable level of accomplishment in the Chinese arts of Baguazhang and Tanlangquan (these mean 'Eight Trigrams Palm' and 'Praying Mantis Boxing'). I have been a 'commando'-type operative for the US government, and was raised a city boy. You may correctly infer a reasonably wide range of practical application experiences.

For those who wonder why one would choose to address combat applications of the 'soft' or 'internal' side of Chinese Martial Arts, I simply point to the definition of the terms. 'Martial' means things pertaining to war. If you study a martial art, you are preparing for unrestricted combat. If you are not preparing for combat, you are not studying a martial art.

Health promotion, spiritual development, and success in sport may be side benefits, but they are not germane to the martial traditions. The founders and legendary developers of the 'internal' arts were warriors, teachers of warriors, mercenaries, and the like. The connection of philosophical and traditional Chinese medical roots to Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, and Baguazhang are modern additions. The vast majority of warriors in the classic era were illiterate and had no idea about the intricacies of the I Ching or similar complexities. Increased useful martial power was their sole objective, and the training theories were tested in unrestricted combat. What didn't work resulted in traditions that died out along with the proponents of the traditions in question.

Unfortunately, someone noticed that internal stylists lived longer and had more robust health into old age. This has led to the millions of Taiji and various Qigong practitioners throughout the world who have no ability to wage war. In my opinion, this diminishes the art. The goal of these articles will be to provide some basic conceptual information and simple exercises that you can put into practice and improve your odds of survival in combat. It should be noted that empty-handed skills are the last choice in war, and that the odds are very much against you if you find yourself in a real situation against armed and motivated personnel.

Fundamental Concepts

My favorite definition of Qi comes from Yamate Ryu (and various other traditions) instructor Fred Lovret: It is 'what makes the difference between something that is alive and something that is dead' (of course he used the Japanese term 'Ki'). Simple and direct, like the traditional Japanese battle arts, this definition provides everything you need to know - Qi simply is, and needs no esoteric, philosophical, or religious definition. It also defies scientific explanation, as life force has thus far been impossible to quantify. We can qualify it however - the more alive you are, the harder you are to kill. This obvious truth should be all the reason we need to seek out exercises to increase it.

The more subtle aspects are directly in line with PTP's concepts of irradiation, power breathing, and maximizing tension to maximize force. Total-being integration toward a goal will result in the most effect. A martial goal may be to hit someone so hard that their grandfather feels it and to do so quickly, without telegraphing, and in such a manner that we cannot be hit. Thus, the Qigong components of Chinese internal martial arts become subject for discussion. They are used to increase the supply of life force and to maximize the efficiency of attack by using it in a highly coordinated manner. The side benefits (health, etc.) accrue from the accumulation.

It is in current vogue in China to attempt to scientifically explain Qi phenomena, traditional medicine, etc. This is scientifically invalid, in that they are attempting to prove conclusions they have already reached. We need not concern ourselves with the East meets West problems inherent in attempting to reconcile Isaac Newton and Sun Lu Tang, however. As long as we have an ethical guide and are following a tradition that has survived the tests of battle and time, we can improve our ability to deal damage. As stated, that is the focus of these articles - hurting others. Medical, personal health improvement, stress reduction, and spiritual benefits will be left to contributors with more to offer on those subjects. This specific article will attempt to provide basic definitions and fundamental concepts. Away we go.

Qi/Chi is life force, but also can mean 'energy' of any kind. It also means 'air'. A big trouble with Chinese words is that they often mean multiple things. One of the reasons that westerners assume that Qigong is so esoteric is this simple translation issue. Hucksters on both sides of the Bamboo Curtain make every effort to perpetuate the magical air around the Qigong concepts, either because they do not know (or cannot explain) the material and wish to cloak their lack behind mystical terminology or because mysticism is a product in an of itself. Most people would prefer a magical secret that results in goal achievement to decades of hard work.

Gong/Kung means exercises. Thus, Qigong/Chi Kung means a set of exercises that pertain to life force, or any kind of energy, or breathing. A complete Qigong system that pertains to martial power is composed of Qi cultivation and circulation exercises, mediation, breathing exercises, and exercises specific to martial art being practiced that develop the ability to issue force.

In China, the mind is traditionally considered to have two parts - the rational mind (I or Yi) and the emotional mind. One of the main purposes of the mediation components of Qigong will be 'regulation' of the emotional mind. This boils down to improving the ability to concentrate.

The rational mind is used to guide the Qi though the body in various patterns, as the above circulation and cultivation exercises. To be truly technical, there are multiple 'kinds' of Qi, and it is felt that one cannot increase the Qi one is born with. Thus, a goal will be to conserve this 'essence' and build up Qi from external sources. If you think this is going in the direction of 'Raging Bull', you are right - in men, 'essence' equals semen and 'conservation' equals no sex. If you have just decided to reevaluate your decision to convert to Taoism, I completely understand. Many martial traditions do not practice this conservation of essence, but most swear by it, as did warriors in nearly every culture throughout history.

Breathing exercises are used for a variety of purposes, but they boil down to the linguistic connection between energy and air. The energy of the universe is believed to be aspirated via breath, and methods to retain some of it are what this component of Qigong is all about.

Jing is manifested force. When we deadlift, we are demonstrating our external Jing. External Jing is force that can be seen, internal Jing cannot be seen. An internal strike, where an adept places his palm on an enemy and causes damage and pain with little or no visible movement, is a primary goal of the martial side of internal Qigong.

Qi Movement

We briefly touched on 'essence' previously, and need to delve a little more deeply now. Original Essence is the energy transferred to a being at the moment of conception. In the Chinese internal martial arts, we frequently see concepts like 'Pre-Heaven', 'Post-Heaven', 'Pre-Birth', etc. You received your Original Essence from your parents, and it is converted to 'Original Qi', which is also called Pre-Birth Qi and Pre-Heaven Qi. You can never increase Original Qi, and it is believed that once it is expended you will die.

This explains the longevity practices of Taoists - their primary goal is to conserve the Original Qi. This is done by conserving semen and by using the other broad category of Qi for any necessary energy expenditure. There are two fundamental types of Qi - Pre-Birth/Pre-Heaven/Water Qi (Shoei Qi) and Post-Birth/Post-Heaven/Fire Qi (Huo Qi). As stated previously, there are two 'minds'. Water Qi supports the rational mind and fire Qi supports the emotional mind. Fire Qi comes from the food we eat and the air we breathe. It is this that is developed (and also conserved) by religious Taoists, and it is this fire Qi that we will focus on for martial purposes.

The human body is believed to have twelve Qi channels and eight Qi vessels. The channels are analogous to water pipes in which the Qi flows throughout the body, connecting the organs to the extremities. The vessels act as reservoirs of Qi, and they control the flow of Qi through the channels. Think of the whole thing as a plumbing system, with tanks, metering valves, and pipes. Health is achieved when the Qi vessels are full and Qi flows freely through the channels without 'stagnation' or constriction. Continuing the water metaphor, stagnant Qi sits in one place and does not move very well. Just like the earth's hydro cycle, everything is cool as long as it is always moving.

Please see Yang Jwing-Ming's 'The Root of Chinese Chi Kung' for details on the basic theory. Any good Chinese medical text will give more information than you could possibly need.

For martial purposes, we have to concern ourselves with developing the ability to use our rational minds to direct Qi to energize our muscles and cause us to move appropriately. Further, Qi itself is emitted in an internal strike. Thus, the tasks at hand are to:

1. 'Regulate' our emotional minds - this improves the ability to concentrate, which is necessary for Qigong training, and allows us to be cool under fire.
2. Regulate our rational minds - the Yi is used to lead Qi throughout the body in various Qigong exercises. Once martial ability is developed, the Qi is strong and already at whatever point is necessary for striking. The exercises develop us to the point where the intention to release Qi is the same as releasing it.
3. Store Qi - through various breathing exercises, we attempt to increase our 'supply' of life force.
4. Regulate Qi - various visualization and exercise techniques are used to dissolve blockages and improve flow.
5. Turn Qi potential into useful martial content. The exact method differs with each art - the bottom line here is that at some point we have to integrate the external martial movements with the internal Qigong results. A basic Bagua palm strike can be learned easily by anyone and can be reasonable effective as a strictly external move, but the internal component must be added before it is actually Baguazhang.

Items one through four are nearly identical in every tradition. In any case, almost any method will work to achieve these goals. It is the last that is difficult. So, for the first four steps, please refer to any 'Small Circulation' and 'Grand Circulation' method you may already know. I will describe these in a later article for those who do not know them. Once you get to the point where you can feel the Qi moving and have dissolved any blockages, it's time for internal martial arts as opposed to Qigong.

The basic deal is to first develop overall health by achieving a balanced distribution of Qi and improving the body's efficiency in the use and movement of energy. It is critical to do this first, and only then to concern yourself with accumulation of additional energy and using it in a martial context. Think about increasing the water pressure in an unsound system of pipes - let's get the system working well and capable of dealing with the extra pressure and flow first, please.

Every 'real' Chinese martial art has an internal component. In the hard/Shaolin traditions, the fighting forms and physical strength development is taught first. After the development of a workable 'gongfu body', the internal exercises are introduced. The internal arts take the opposite approach - inner work first, martial content last. IMO, it's better to already know how to fight before you start in on the internal arts - it takes a long time to achieve competence in the internal arts.

You really do not need to be a scholar to succeed in internal martial arts. Remember that the whole idea of connecting them to ancient philosophical and spiritual traditions is less than 200 years old. You do not need to understand the I-Ching, the Lao Tzu, or acupuncture to make the grade. Remember that these are (were) combat arts for use by warriors to let blood. Most Chinese people were completely illiterate for the majority of history, and both soldiers and monks were looked down upon as among the lowest social classes. Pointy-headed intellectuals invented the philosophical 'connection' in Beijing after our Civil War. You can forget about it if you wish - do the exercises and results will come.

A few more warnings. Exercises that expend energy should always be balanced by exercises the gather energy. No Yang without Yin, burn that into your brain, especially if you opt for 'power' Qigong exercises like Iron Wire or hard Iron Shirt. Do not attempt to force progress - Qigong takes years to provide martial results. Patience, Grasshopper.

Anyway, it is time to limit scope again. To describe the movement of Qi in an internal strike, I need a single variety of strike to discuss. The strike within most traditional Baguazhang 'Single Palm Change' technique is what we will focus on. Note, please, that I am not attempting to teach you this strike - you will almost certainly require direct instruction to learn any aspect of Bagua. The description is simply intended to be the framework of our discussion of Qi movement.

The Lower Dantien is the Qi vessel that is thought to store Water Qi. There are three Dantiens, but this is the one that matters at this point. In Aikido it is called the 'One Point', in Yoga it's the 'Hara', etc. Often described as three inches below your belly button, this is the general area - it is the center of gravity in most humans. The acupuncture points you need to be concerned with are on the bottom of the feet and in the palms. We will attempt to connect the feet to the Dantien via the Qi channels for 'rooting'. The major difference between Bagua and other arts is the concept of a 'moving root', which we will cover another time. In any case, most often 'rooting' is simply a mental and energetic connection to the ground. I have an experiment that will demonstrate the need for rooting in the issuance of punching power:

Stand in front of a heavy bag. Hit it as hard as you can. Make a note of the displacement. Now jump straight up and hit the bag while your feet are in the air. Do not' jump toward the bag or use any of the momentum of the jump to assist in the punch. No root equals no power. QED.

Technically, the foot has nine points that contact the ground and are of concern - the toes, each ball, the heel, and the outer edge. The K-1 point ('bubbling spring') is the natural balance point of the foot, located between the two balls and slightly to the rear. Standing meditation and Qigong practices will often lead Qi from the ground to the body or the body to the ground through this point. Taiji practitioners will be well aware of all of these points during their walking practices.

The Qi is also 'led' to the points in the center of the palms when performing basic palm striking exercises. Glenn Moore is a seasoned Bagua player who describes the movement of Qi from the Dantien to the palms in terms of Pascal's Law of Hydraulics. In short, the centers of the palms are like nozzles on a fire hose. If the hose is 'charged', water will flow as soon as the nozzle is opened. If the hose is not charged, opening the valve will result in flow only after the water moves through the length of the hose.

So, the goal of a Baguazhang martial artist who has progressed beyond fundamental circulation exercises is to develop a 'charged' Qi system. The 'fire hose' between the Dantien and the palms needs to be always charged. In this way, any strike in which the martial artists chooses to release Qi will have instant effect. This ability is developed in different ways, depending on the teacher and tradition. The common traits, however, are exercises in which intention is focused upon the palms and Qi is guided to them. At this stage, the student will be counseled to 'keep the Qi', meaning to not extend the intention beyond the hands. Later, the student will be taught how to release the Qi, which involves intent deep inside the target. This is the single key to developing an internal strike.

Remember to balance energy use with energy cultivation. If you release Qi in an exercise session, it is critical that you do some Yin (Qi building) exercises at the end of your workout.

So, here's the hard part - describing the mechanics of the physical aspects of a Bagua palm strike. Actually, it's easy to describe but hard to verbalize the component parts and how to learn it. Direct instruction is best, but Park Bok Nam's 'Fundamentals of Pa Kua Chang' tape and book are acceptable alternatives. Basically, any 'Single Palm Change' is defined by walking, changing directions, and issuing a strike while you are changing directions. One version of the strike is directly in front of you, palm forward, fingers up. The palm flips into this position from a palm up, fingers pointed toward the target position at the last possible moment before impact. Imagine a spearing motion with the palm up that turns into a traffic cop's 'stop' hand signal at the last possible moment.

Remember the 'drum technique' from that 'Karate Kid' sequel? Imagine your spine is the dowel. As your arm goes forward as above, your shoulders and hips rotate around the axis of the spine. This is a basic twisting motion, and is one dimension of the body movement that makes the strike work. The other dimension is cracking your spine like a whip. Chiropractors may leave in disgust now.

Imagine a bullwhip. The handle is your pelvis. The tip is your palm. To make a crack, you have to move the top of the handle back, drive it forward, and then snap it at the end. The external dimensions of a basic Bagua palm strike are the combination of the spinal whip, the spinal rotation, and the arm rotation, all coordinated and integrated. It takes a long time to get the technique down, longer to make it small, and even longer to be able to do it while moving fast. If you get Park's book and tape, he has a 'Shaking Palm' and a 'Dragon Back' exercise that break these down into even smaller components. They are highly recommended resources.

The basic Qigong notions will work with any kind of strike, however, regardless of tradition. Take the ubiquitous boxing cross. If you practice it with your mind centered on the striking surface of your fist, Qi will be led there. If you move your intention four inches away from your fist at the exact moment of impact, you will be releasing Qi. This assumes, of course, that you have developed a reasonable amount of Qi feeling.

So, we have covered the basic definitions and fundamental concepts of Qi and Qi movement for striking. In the next article, I promise that theory will be minimized and specific exercises provided that you can actually use in your martial arts practice. Welcome to the long, hard, but ultimately rewarding road that leads to success in the internal arts!

Garm Olafson is a software engineer and freelance writer who lives in the recesses of Virginia's Blue Ridge mountains. His youth was misspent in various ways, including tours of duty with the USMC's First Reconnaissance Battalion and Second Force Reconnaissance Company in which he did his part to keep the free world safe from the Godless Hordes of Communism. Olafson is an instructor of both Baguazhang and Tanglangquan Kung Fu, a mildly successful competitive powerlifter (who added 105 pounds to his squat PR on the Russian program Pavel wrote about in Powerlifting USA), an avid outdoorsman, and proud husband and father of three.