Yes, Hsing Yi has weapon training. Most schools teach the broadsword and the spear, but there are many other forms (In my school we practice Broadsword, straight sword, spear, and some of us have training in Hsing Yi needles).
Hsing Yi training goes from “Evident Power” (That looks like any external style) to “Hidden Power” (That looks as internal as it can be) so, you can say you have both internal/external training. And of course it has Chi Kung/ Nei Kung training, and Iron Body excercises, different from school to school.
Hsing Yi is very powerful and aggressive. I know you’ll like it.
The spear that is used to train strength is 10-12 feet long. A smaller spear is used to train the fighting techniques, and also to practice the two-man forms. Its length is the equivalent of the practicioner’s height plus an arm raised
“To me it seems that Hsing-I is both internal and external.”
All the arts that are so called “seperated” by internal and external categories are just going to reform into it’s shape…All kung fu is meant to be both, your external is useless if you just gonna lose all of it without internal to refine and refresh it, your internal cannot be learned without the development of your body mechanics through mere external movements.
And also, I’d like to note that Daito Ryu Aikibudo is very smooth and is not fitted to the stereotypes of the Japanese martial arts. It is also very violent in application, and resembles some of the applications of Chen style Tai Chi I believe.
Hey Naf…
just keep it smooth! and keep it slow to start.
Once you’ve got Pi-Quan the rest will follow nicely.
Xing Yi is so Cool, I just love the power that can be generated from what appears to be only a relatively small movement.
I think that Xing Yi is actually very fast. The Internal power that you can generate I believe is due to the total body movement that is used, and of course the complete body relaxation that you have to try to achieve. This i’ve found quite hard to develop as I come from a southern shaolin style, so i’m more used to generating explosive power than the whole body in unison thing.
As my Xing Yi Quan Master says " Go home & practice, practice, practice…then practice some more!"
Don’t know much about Hsing-yi, but it is supposed to be internal.
I think it’s because the punches originate from the Dan-tien (Just below the navel). At least in the forms. This is a very powerful rising punch that can uproot. Anyone know if the punch always originates from this spot in real applications?
I always wanted to study Hsing-Yi, I think it would fit well with Wingchun because the stance is not too different (60-40).
I know Hsing-I emphasises punching and hand strikes. But how about kicking, kneeing, and elbowing. I know that Hsing-i is mostly close fighting. But do they have ANY long range attacks?
Hsing-I practitioners are really just gonna bridge the gap if there is any in a fight…so in a way…i guess not…i’m not sure if there are any techniques that would work in longer range if trained under the Hsing-I system…there might be this one kick that I personally know of from the Shanxi style in the 5 elements combination form…but basically, the footwork disables most fighting from long range
From the little Xingyi i have done i know that there is elbowstrikes. There is a low front kick in the steps and another one in one of the turns.
I think the stepping kick is similair to a wc front kick in the way that its a part of the movement forward.
I have not seen any knee techs yet.
As i have been explained the punches originate low because then if you are standing normally and relaxed, you wont have to lift youre hands before punching.
My teacher says that Xingyi and WC compliment each other very well, and the wc guys who have been practising with us all said that their wc is much better with the striking power of Xingyi.
“This is a very powerful rising punch that can uproot.”
Dropping punches also facilitate uprooting. The slight downwards motion in the beng quan provokes an opposite reaction, hence facilitating an uprooting.
Another thing, i was under the imprssion that most internal systems were quite short range. Any system that really emhasizes short power and alignment is generally short range, to generate a large amount of power the techniques employed by internal systems are generally shorter and closer to the body.
The punches originate from low position in many styles. Everything stems from a position of absolute neutrality- how you would be standing naturally. (wuji position i think)
natural style boxing also drills with punches coming from a totally neutral position.
I too have found the stances in wc and xingyi to be similar. although the xingyi really takes apart the essence and purpose of the stance, paying loads of attention to structure and the energy while standing. something not initially emphasized in wc.
"to generate a large amount of power the techniques employed by internal systems are generally shorter and closer to the body. "
Can u explain? Not that I’m implying anything, it’s just that I don’t know where ur idea is coming from…Also, would u be able to say, this is why the 1 inch punch in Wing Chun indeed works at the distance of 1 inch?
Explain? not sure i can. Just a green newbie, i was talking in general really. Hoping someone would correct me. Well what i meant was that it seemed to me that most of the techniques which rely on alignment and whole body power are quite short range. i.e. there is no leaning into the punch, overextending the arm or throwing long kicks or fists seen in other systems. I suppose that if you did you destroyed your structure and alignment and capacity to generate a large amont of force. I’m just guessing though. doesn’t have to be one inch away at all.
Is Hsing-I based off of anything? Does it have any influence from the animal styles? Does it carry any animal forms and if so which one does it emphasise more?
Yeah, Hsing-I has 12 animal forms (with their variations). They are variations of the five fists and are based in the intention of the animal, rather than mimicking their movements. The emphasis on a particular animal is up to you. Some animal forms are best suited for different kinds of people. But of course, you have to learn them all.
In some schools there are variations of the forms, the Fighting Chicken form, and The Eagle/Bear combination. After that you learn various miscellaneous forms, like Za Shi Chui, Wu Fa Pao, Ba Shi, Ba Shi Kung, etc. (Depending on the school)
The time spent in the animals depends on the student to grasp their meaning and learning how to express power in the strikes.
About the grappling; depending on the school, there’s lots of chin na, chokes and throws. There’s not much ground grappling as you are accostumed to see in the grappling arts.
What does the stationary style look like? Is it the horse stance? In Hsing-Yi how are most of the stance like? Are they low, or standing high like a boxer?
