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When
practicing, imagine as if you are facing a top fighter. However, in real combat,
the mind is calm, and the face is not angry. "Be like there´s no one in front
of you". The body remains relaxed at all times. Whole body power cannot be used
with tense muscles and a worried mind. The body strikes in the manner of a bamboo
pole: It´s flexible before reaching the opponent, and at the time of contact,
the whole body tenses for a second, and the strikes come out with shocking force.
The important point is to keep the eyes alive, the body must be ready to follow
the intention and keep the distance. If the opponent doesn´t move, the Xingyi
practicioner doesn´t move. If the opponent makes one little movement, or hesitates,
thus closing the distance, the Xingyi fighter advances with quick steps, breaking
the enemy´s defense, and strikes him, with multiple attacks or simultaneous
attack and defense, gaining space and not letting him step away from the attack,
until the enemy is down. The mindset is finishing the encounter as soon as
possible.
If the Xingyi fighter attacks first, he/she won´t let the enemy even know where the attack's coming from. One hand shows up, creating a reaction in the opponent. Based on that reaction, the Xingyi technique changes, attacking in many different ways, with shocking strikes that hurt, no matter where they land. (Because of its shocking nature, even a strike on the shoulder will transfer energy to the neck of the opponent, shaking his head with extreme force). Then, a fast takedown will finish the fight.
Xingyi trains the fighter to attack with every part of the body, specially with the "Seven Stars" (Head, Shoulder, elbow, hand, hips, knees and feet). Together with the whole body, they form the "Fourteen Fists". The fist come out like a shooting arrow, with force and vicious speed. The head, shoulders, hips and knees are very dangerous in close combat. Any of this parts of the body, being trained with the practice of Xingyi, can deliver a dangerous strike.
In standing grappling situations, the Xingyi fighter doesn´t spend too much time. He uses attacks to break the hold by striking the opponent, followed with techniques intended to finish the fight before the enemy tries to grapple again.
Xingyi is a devastating fighting art, training the individual to strike even as he retreats, or turns.
Generally the fighting stance is a 45° position, with one foot ahead of the other. This protects the 'gates' of the body, because they are more hard to see, this way. Also, a smaller target is presented in this position. In addition to that, in this way is easier to move into the opponent´s range.
With all this in mind, one can understand how an art like Xingyi has stood the test of time. From the Chinese soldier on the battlefield to the modern day practitioner, this no-nonsense aggresive fighting art excels at what martial arts were created for, not health or character development ... but striped down highly effective fighting.
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Pictured: Jia Chun Yuan
