Chinese Wushu Series one： Wushu Exercise for Life Enhancement
FOREIGN LANGUAGES PRESS BEIJING
Author by : Yu Gong Bao
Contents
Introduction 1
Basic Principles of Wushu Exercise for Life Enhancement 10
Main Schools of Wushu Exercise for Life Enhancement 14
Instructions for Beginners 20
The Basic Wushu Method Sitting Exercise 28
The Unique Wushu Method Standing Pole 33
Yi Jin Jing (Sinew-Transforming Exercise) 48
Eight-Trigram Internal Exercise 57
Exercise for Opening and Closing of Yin and Yang 69
Introduction
Having developed out of practice, Chinese Wushu
lays stress on the unity of practical and artistic values.
when one observes a Wushu performer, this can be
readlly seen. When practising Wushu, people can not
only experience firsthand the charm of Oriental culture
in the natural, smooth movements and their rich
philosophical connotations, but also improve their
physical fitness.
Physical combat and health building are the two
areas in which Wushu has practical value, hence the
emphasis on combining physical exercise with a
healthy way of life. Of these two aspects, health
building is regarded as the very foundation of Chinese
Wushu.
This
emphasis
on
self-strengthening
represents an essential feature of traditional Chinese
culture.
The saying “Learning the basic exercise goes
before learning fist forms” is a crucial point stressed by
Wushu masters of every generation. The phrase “Onewho learns fist forms without practising the basic
exercise will attain nothing in his lifetime” epitomizes
the experience of countless Wushu practitioners.
Though the various schools of Wushu differ in postural
forms, equipment and styles of movement, they all
emphasize the practice of internal exercise for life
enhancement.
“All exercises conform to one principle,” so goes a
Wushu maxim. Here the one principle refers to thepractice of internal exercise.
Numerous researchers and practitioners have
carried motion o its practic, absoring userus ba and
pro Chinese phillosophy and medicine. This constiutes
the basis of the theory and prats lene sha enertile for
valuable system for preventing and curing disease and
prolonging life
Wushu exercise for life enhancement, also known as
Wushu Qigong or internal Wushu exercise, is a system
that can improve the internal conditions of the human
body, hence benefiting one’s physical and mental
wellbeing and prolonging life. The word internal here
has several meanings. First, it refers to consciousness.
Consciousness is the dominant factor of vital activities,
and its purity is necessary for one’s physical health.
Second, it refers to essence, vital energy and spirit.
These, considered by the theory of life enhancement
to be quintessential and minuscule substances of the
human body, are known as the “three internal
treasures.” (The sun the moon and the stars are known
as the “three external treasures.”) Third, it refers to the
law of one’s life pro cesses, such as the relationshipbetween the internal organs and the growth and
development of each organ.
Wushu Qigong, one of the five major categories of
traditional Chinese Qigong, has intermingled with the
other four-the Buddhist, Daoist (Taoist), Confucian and
medical Qigong. Chinese Qigong as awhole is asystem
of both theory and practice for improving physical
fitness, curing disease, prolonging life and cultivating
the mind, its various schools and exercises having
developed from roots of culture in ancient China. Asone school of Chinese Qigong, Wushu Qigong shares
the features common to the entire system:
(1) Wushu Qigong has widely absorbed ideas
about the constitution of the world and the laws of
motion from ancient Chinese philosophy. It has made
these the theoretical basis for the many philosophical
concepts embodied in its practice.
For instance, gi (vital energy) is considered to be
the source of the constitution of the world and the
material basis of vital activities. Qi can coordinate the
functioning of the various parts of a system; it is
therefore the major factor for the maintenance of
normal activities in the human body and also the focus
of Qigong exercise. In fact, some people have defined
Qigong as “the exercise to process, improve and
cultivate the gi of life”
Tai l is a second theoretical stone in the
foundation of Qigong. Everything has two aspects, yin
and yang, which are both opposed to and united with
each other. Tai Ji refers to the balance and coexistence
of yin and yang. The Tai Ji chart, known as “the
illustration of theFig.
1-1 The Tai i Chart
motion of the world by the ancient Chinese” (Fig, 1-1)
was drawn to demonstrate this theory. The black in the
chart stands for yin and the white for yang. The yin fish
and the yang fish revolve around, chasing each other. a
tepresentation of the principle of unceasing motion
and change. The coexistence of the two fish in the
same circle indicates that the yin and the yang aspects
are present in everything A black spot in the white fish
and a white one in the black fish stand for the
inclusion of yin and yang within each other. This
theory has become a major part of Qigong
The concept of the Eight Trigrams and the Five
Elements represents another ancient Chinese theory
on the world system. According to this theory, any
system in the world may be divided in terms of
“trigrams” on “elements,” with the whole system
consisting of eigh trigrams and five elements. The
Eight Trigrams are:The Five Elements are metal, wood, water, fire and
earth.
The foundation for the theory of the Eight
Trigrami was laid in the well-known Chinese classic I
Ching (Boo of Changes) The unbroken line “” stands
for yang an the broken line “” for yin. Yang and yin
lines mix and combine with each other, and three lines
form a trigram.There are altogether eight possible
combinations, these thus being known as the Eight
Trigrams. In turn, an arrangement of the eight trigrams
can have specific implications. (Fig 1-2 shows the
spatial relations amon the eight trigrams) A typical
arrangement is shown in the Tai Ji chart of the Eight
Trigrams (Fig 1-3) On this chart, each trigram in the
circle is directly opposite its complementary trigram.
The pairs are called comple mentary because the yin
and yang lines are reversed Where one trigram has avin line,
its complementary trigram will have a vang
line, and vice versa. It is believed that this arrangement
represents the most stable state of balance; therefore
the regulation of alll systems should conform with it In
addition, the propor tion of yin and yang in each
trigram is indicated by its placement in relation to the
Tai chart at the centr
The system of human body, with its major organs,
can also be categorized in terms of the eight trigrams
(Fig 1-4) Thus evolves the typical Chinese practice of
adjusting Qigong exercise with reference to the interre
Fig.1-2 Spatial Correlations of Eight Trigrams
Fig. 1-3 The Tai i Chart of Eight Trigram
