The Kung Fu Fire Triangle

Anyone who has sat through a fire safety course will be familiar with the diagram on the left. Even if you are not, the basic concept that all three elements from the sides of the triangle must be in place for a fire to burn is not hard to grasp. In Kung Fu we have a similiar triangle where all elements must interact to produce the goods. Above and beyond the mere kicks and punches, we must have good Chi or energy. We must have good Shen or mind and lastly good Jing which is hard to translate but roughly means structure or physical body.
Everybody pocesses each of these elements to some degree or other, some people may naturally excel in one particular area forming a kind of isosceles triangle. Kung Fu and Chi Kung training (really the same thing) will help you build your abilities in each element letting your own fire burn.

Look Out for New Logo!

The South London logo has now been reworked so the figure's arm does not cover up any of the Chinese characters! A much better design I think we'll all agree. T-shirts will follow soon...

Chi and Internal Force!?

Reading this month's question and answers (found here), I was pleased by Master Wong's down to earth description of our chi kung. He wrote of the importance of the practical results of correct chi kung. Too many people look for "novel effect" and are often frustrated. However, we would hardly be authentic Shaolin if we didn't believe in the real benefits that our training brings us. In the same Q&A Master Wong also describes "internal force" as part of the essence of kung fu. So what then is chi? What is internal force?

Put simply chi is energy and internal force is that energy applied for combat. Even by those within the internal martial arts (Tai Chi, Bagua, hsing-yi etc) there is much debate over what this chi energy actually is. Some try to use Western concepts like bio-electric energy or the movement of body fluids. Others seem to hide under expressions like, "in the ancient Chinese understanding of the body..." without really committing to their actual belief in the subject.
Where do I stand in the debate? My stance is easy and can be used for many situations in life. Basically, I do the exercises and feel the benefits. Maybe if I didn't get the results it would cause me more concern. Maybe if I wanted the benefits without the patience to do the exercises I would be searching for short cuts and "novel effects"?

What Is It About Wahnam? Part 3: Systematic Learning

"Kungfu is not magic. It is scientific. You cannot expect these sophisticated movements to magically work for you just because you practised them alone on the top of a mountain for 30 years. If students follow the prescribed methodology and practice sufficiently, they will find free sparring a natural progression. They will be able to apply their techniques spontaneously not because kungfu is magic, but because they have practised according to a systematic method."

For this post I thought I've cover Shaolin Wahnam's systematic and well-developed syllabus. I settled down to write and then remembered that someone had done a very good job of it already. Click here to visit Zenergy Arts, the home page of Wahnam USA, and Sifu Anthony Korahais's (pictured above) article on Training Sparring Systematically. The Wahnam USA site contains a great deal of information on a variety topics so have a good explore around the site.