Light Skill?

[MoMoJuice]

I read an excellent interview with Master Ma ChuanXu, who is one of the greatest Bagua Zhang masters alive today. During the interview he was asked about "Light Skill", below is part of the interview:

JS: Did you learn and "Light Skill" (Qing Gong) as well?

MR.MA: Walking in a circle develops "Light Skill". Once you reach a certain level you are able to walk without touching the ground.

JS: How is that possible?

MR.MA: The idea is to use your Dantian, waist, to move. I'm sitting here right now. If you want to attack me I can move fast forward without using legs, but by straightening the waist. (Mr.Ma made a demonstration - from a sitting position he was able to move fast very far forward before he touched the floor with his legs).

JS: It all sounds and looks very mysterious...

MR.MA: It is not mysterious at all, it's just a matter of skill, of hard practice.

I do not understant how he moved very far by "straightening the waist", does someone know what he means by that? Is it like a sudden movement from the body or waist?

The full interview can be read at Jarek Szymanski very nice website here.

The interview is very informative, make sure to check it out if you haven't already

Thank you.

[shaolin_mike]

That was a very interesting article thank you.

I did not like to hear this part lol

JS: As far as I know Taoists suggest that one should also stop having sex, otherwise the Small and Large Heavenly Circles will never open. Is that true for Bagua Neigong practice as well?

MR.MA: Yes, this is very important condition. My teacher told me that at the very beginning - if you want to develop true skill, you must be like a monk, living in celibacy. There is a story about "Coal" Ma, who was selling coal in Beijing's Caishikou. When he started to study Baguazhang from Dong Haichuan, he took his quilt and moved out to live in the shop. He lived there for three years and did not return home even once during that time.

Your body requires one week to recover after one sexual intercourse. i.e. come back to the condition before the intercourse. One hundred days is required to recover Original Qi (Yuan Qi) completely (i.e. recover to the condition before one had any sex). About three years is required to open Small Heavenly Circle.

[MoMoJuice]

Hi shaolin_mike,

Glad that you liked the article.

I don't think that you have to worry about the "no sex" part as long as you are not practicing with Master Ma. The way he teaches his students is very traditional in that he does not teach them much untill they have opened the Small Heavenly Circle. To speed up the opening the students are required to abstain from sex.

I'm not sure about the part where he says that a person would totally ruin his skill when he gets older if he has sex two or three times a week. This "might" be true in Bagua Zhang, as practitioners of this style are very fast and agile when using their legs.

Later.

[Ovidius]

Thanks Momo for the link!

Once the true skill - Neigong - in Lower Basin is attained, the practitioner has the feeling that his feet do not touch the ground while walking.

This isn't the same skill as flying from tree to tree (as in movies) or jumping over small buildings. One can feel body being very light but still never be able to fly.

Mr. Ma Chuanxu's Bagua has similarities to Yiquan.

JS: What about "Mud Wading Step" (Tang Ni Bu)?

MR.MA: There is a saying "Walk as if rubbing the ground but you must not rub the ground" (Xing Er Ca Xing Mo Yao Ca). The meaning is that feet should move close to the ground, not too high. The second part of this saying - "you must not rub the ground" - is most important. You should walk like a monkey, feet should be placed on the ground very lightly. You must not rub the ground with the soles, otherwise the power will be dispersed.

This is called Mo Ca Bu in Yiquan. Some Yiquan teachers teach it with feet actually rubbing ground, which is not the point of this excercise.

[Ovidius]

JS: Is there any specific feeling you have when the Small Heavenly Circle opens?

MR.MA: Of course. Once Small Heavenly Circle is opened a lot of saliva appears in the mouth and when you practice you feel as comfortable as if swimming.

...as if you gently feel the resistance of air like being in water when you move. Feeling of floating. Compare to the aim of feeling mud with the feet when walking.

[MoMoJuice]

Dear Panu,

One can feel body being very light but still never be able to fly.

I'm not sure, but I don't believe they would be able to fly, unless that person is using magic

But according to the interview, master Ma moved forward "before" is feet touched the ground. So this could be a bit different from feeling very light.

This is called Mo Ca Bu in Yiquan.

Now I remember reading about Moca Bu or steps practice in Yiquan. Thanks for reminding me.

Do you know if Moca Bu is also practiced in Xingyi Chuan, or is it only special to Yiquan.

Since the great Wang Xiangzhai met and exchanged skills with many masters from all over China, maybe it's possible that he developed this kind of stepping practice after meeting or learning from some Bagua masters.

This way for his Yiquan, he could have the "upper body" force of Xingyi Chuan and the "lower body" force and skill of Bagua Zhang. It is only speculation on my part, and I am probably very wrong about this

Panu, are you practicing Yiquan now?

Thank you and take care.
MoMo.

[Ovidius]

But according to the interview, master Ma moved forward "before" is feet touched the ground. So this could be a bit different from feeling very light.

I thought he demonstrated on sitting and he was like leaning forward very far with upper body while feet stay off the ground, which is very hard to do... I may have understood it completely wrong.

Do you know if Moca Bu is also practiced in Xingyi Chuan, or is it only special to Yiquan.

Hmm, I don't know, can you help us Sifu Stier?

Since the great Wang Xiangzhai met and exchanged skills with many masters from all over China, maybe it's possible that he developed this kind of stepping practice after meeting or learning from some Bagua masters.

Yes, and also his great Xingyiquan teacher Guo Yunshen knew Bagua, so it would not be a surprise to me if this stepping excercise is borrowed from Bagua. It is said that Wang Xiangzhai was very inspired from Bagua and Taijiquan too.

This way for his Yiquan, he could have the "upper body" force of Xingyi Chuan and the "lower body" force and skill of Bagua Zhang. It is only speculation on my part, and I am probably very wrong about this

Interesting thought, Momo.

Panu, are you practicing Yiquan now?

Nope, just typing now Yep, I do it. Maybe not enough, but still I do some excercises everyday or night. That art suits me very well, I have attraction towards it.

Thank you and take care.

You too, Momo!

[Ovidius]

By the way, Sifu Ma Chuanxu looks so radiantly happy, like a smiling Buddha!

[Sifu Stier]

Six of one....half-dozen of the other!

Dear Panu:

Since Hsing-Yi Chuan is the Mother Art to Yi-Chuan, it is generally true among most teachers that the same stances, footwork, hand techniques, and principles of movement are common to both methods. Insofar as the footwork is concerned, Hsing-Yi, Pa-Kua, and Tai-Chi styles all move from the waist and hips, lead by intentional mental direction of the 'chi' to shape and move the body. Thus, by intentionally 'projecting' one's chi energy forward and outward, the physical body as the medium of energetic expression will also be projected forward and outward! Such ability, however, reflects a great internal power development and a very high skill level unknown to most modern practitioners. The 'Paper Tigers' of this era only dream of such skills, talk about such skills, read about such skills, but never train long enough or intensely enough to personally develop such skills!

[MoMoJuice]

Hello Panu,

I thought he demonstrated on sitting and he was like leaning forward very far with upper body while feet stay off the ground, which is very hard to do

Your explaination makes sense. Though I guess we might be able to understand better if we actually saw a demonstration rather than just reading about it.

Yes, and also his great Xingyiquan teacher Guo Yunshen knew Bagua, so it would not be a surprise to me if this stepping excercise is borrowed from Bagua.

This seems more correct, since Guo Yunshen was friends with Bagua master Cheng TingHua, and at some point their students practiced/learned both arts from those two masters.

That art suits me very well, I have attraction towards it.

It's a great art, though not many of us have a chance to learn it. You are practicing Yiquan and you like it, so maybe one day you will become the next Wang Xiangzhai

By the way, Sifu Ma Chuanxu looks so radiantly happy, like a smiling Buddha!

Lol, that's what I thought too. He looks healthy and about 10-15 years younger than his real age. He's over 70 years old and he practices 3 hours everyday. When he was younger I think he practiced 6 hours or more daily.

Thanks Panu and Sifu Stier for the information.

Respectfully,
MoMo.

[Mark B]

Hi MomoJuice,

I remember reading somewhere that Yiquan does use bagua-like footwork. I can't remember where but I think its in Wang Xuanxie's Dachenquan book(unfortunately I don't have my books with me now, can anyone help? Look on the back cover...)

Mark

[Mark B]

I found the quote on line!

"Dachenquan [...] incorporated the completeness and solidness of Xingyiquan's mechanism of force, the quintessence of qigong (breathing skills), Taijiquan's four skills of attacking, sticking, joining and following as well as its soft style of exerting force and finally Bagua's leisurely bodywork and flexible and changeable handwork and stepwork."

[MoMoJuice]

LoL

Thanks a lot for your search and for the quote Mark.

It is very interesting, and the "speculation" that I posted a week ago looks simplified and dumb in comparison, hehe

Take care,
MoMo.

[Mark B]

Hi Momo,

I'm sorry if that quote sounded a bit grand, but its taken from the blurb on the back of a book so its bound to be a bit hyperbolic.

I only posted it because I thought it vindicated your hypothesis! (Apart from the upper body/lower body stength bit... Yiquan's an internal art so its got to be whole body strength! Other than that, I thought your speculation was right on the nose!)

Thanks for posting the interesting bagua article, by the way!

Mark

[MoMoJuice]

Sorry, I somehow missed your post, just read it now.

Other than that, I thought your speculation was right on the nose!)

Thank you, but I just got a bit lucky this time. I'm glad you enjoyed the article

Laterzzz.