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LINEAGE
The Rose Li School
has its lineage from
one of the greatest
boxers China has
produced.
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Private tuition
Open access
LINEAGE
The Rose Li School
has its lineage from
one of the greatest
boxers China has
produced.
Read more.
The English term we use in the School for ‘fa jing’ is ‘release of strength’. The emphasis within the whole of our system is to impart force into the target rather than momentum through it. What do I mean by this? Many systems transfer force to a target via momentum by ensuring that a striking fist, say, is moving as fast as possible. If the mass of your body is behind this strike then greater force, by way of momentum, is delivered into the target. Momentum imparted on to a target makes the target move away from the strike – every action having an equal and opposite reaction. But if force is used to make the target move then it’s not being delivered into the target!
The striking mechanism in our system delivers the majority of the force generated into the target. When you hit a bag with a Nei Jia strike, the bag hardly moves. So, how is this done? Quite simply, by learning a technique. This technique is fundamental to our whole system. It’s not something mystical but based on physics. To change your momentum into delivered force you must apply that force over the shortest possible time allowed. Most systems attempt this by increasing the velocity (and therefore the momentum!) of the striking fist. In our Nei Jia system, however, we do this by increasing ‘impulse’. Impulse is a technical tem in physics. Impulse is the measure by which you can determine the change of momentum. Impulse = force x time. Therefore if you decrease the time your fist is on the target, you increase the impulse. In Nei Jia, we ensure that force is delivered into the target by taking the striking fist away from that target as quickly as possible. Any reactive force – the force generated in to your body as a consequence of hitting the target - is therefore delivered into the target rather than you. The way you deliver this force into a target is by ‘relaxing’ your body. Since the breath is the link between the mind and the body, the breath transition has to be as rapid as possible; striking with Nei Jia is physically therefore a little like sneezing.
The umbrella term that we use in our system to describe the totality of this aspect of the striking mechanism is ’stretch five ends’. This, combined with the other defining elements of our Nei Jia system - reverse breathing and spiral motion - allows the force from your body to be delivered in the most efficient way possible. It also allows you to be in an ideal position for any follow-up movements or techniques you’d like to apply. This means that you can integrate this striking mechanism into whatever martial art you practice. MMA, Krav Maga, Karate, Aikido etc, it makes no difference. Since no ‘wind-up’ is required you can strike from a minimal distance from your target. The more natural stance – i.e. small steps - that’s derived from Xing Yi facilitates the transference of force from your body to an opponent. Remember that although some people may think that you cover more distance with a longer step – and therefore you’re being more efficient – this is a misnomer. Longer steps mean that you’re spending more time in an off-balance, vulnerable, transition and the force generation from floor to fist will be disrupted.
Maurice Passman
London
February 2010
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