Yiquan Ideology

by Xie Yongguang

Part One

Chapter 1   Standing Post, Testing Fore and a teenager's dream 

Two

     Chengguang had clear memories of coming home form school and his father immediately told him to put his bag down and do Standing Post.

     By the summer of 1963, he had been practicing Standing Post for one year and his body had become stronger, his face looks healthier, and the symptoms of cacotrophia and swelling of liver and spleen was disappeared. Rather than saying this is a miracle, it would be better to say this is inevitable from Standing Post practice. Chengguang gradually came to recognize the essential benefits of the practice, and he began to take up Standing Post with enthusiasm. At that time, Master Yao did not tell his sons about the full mental requirements of the exercise, only teaching them to relax and stand quietly. So their Yiquan knowledge was superficial, just felt it's hard at the beginning and the whole body was aching, gradually they felt more comfortable and full of vigor. And then they felt uncomfortable of the whole body if only single day without Standing Post. In brief, Standing Post became an important part of Yao Chengguang's life.

     In the period from 1962-1966 were a busy time for Master Yao's teaching. Yiquan fellows of Master Yao often came to his home to practice and exchange ideas in improving their martial arts. They included Yang Shaogeng, Yu Yongnian, Wang Binkui, and Li Jianyu. Students of Master Yao came to visit and study including Bai Jinjia, Bo Jiacong, Zhao Xuquan and Ou Yangcheng. Students from universities in Beijing and other cities also came to study Yiquan with Master Yao. Their home became a martial arts school. Master Yao taught them carefully everyday. The two brothers were voluntarily to practice Standing Post after school and listening to his father teaching. Day by day, Chengguang recognized that Yiquan not only about Standing Post, but many other interesting things as well. Master Yao's each movement had a deeper meaning. Watching his father, Chengguang admired his excellent skill. He thought it would be wonderful if he can be as great as his father. Thus inspired, he made a decision to try and study Yiquan perfectly. One day, Yao Chengguang went to his father and told hem that he wanted to learn Testing Force, Exerting Force, Pushing Hands and Free Fighting. Looking at his laddish face, Master Yao told him, "Yes, I'm sure you can do it better than me. Don't worry. I will teach you step-by-step."

     From then on, Chengguang made up his mind to practice Yiquan more diligently. Under his father's teaching, he studied many other skills of Yiquan. Because of his previous year of training Standing Posts, he knew how to relax the body which helped him quickly learned the Combat Posts. In those days Master Wang taught his students Universal Combat Post with seeking force in six directions simultaneously at the beginning, Master Yao found this concept is difficult to understand at first. So he divided the forces into forward back, open/close and upwards/downwards, and practice and sense each one carefully. Using this method, he was also able to understand how to combine force in the six directions simultaneously which is the Universal force that Master Wang requested. This is an effective way to understand Seeking Force, so he taught his son in the same way. Master Yao then told his son, you need imagination to help you achieve the state of relaxation and also to learn how to control your mental activities. Step by step, you will learn how to use your mental activities, and following, you will learn how to use your mental activities to control your strength. Gradually you will learn to adjust and harmonize the aspects of tension and relaxation in your mind and muscles. The tension-relaxation of mind is the most important.

     Now Master Yao started to teach Chengguang how to make use of mental activities. Mental activity is the soul of fist arts, because every body movement is the result of muscle contraction acts on the bones which is controlled by nervous system. We can say bone is lever; joint is pivot, muscle contraction is the power; all of these make body movement become true. This shows the importance of nervous system controls in human body movements. But nervous system is influenced all along by people's spirits, minds. Mind is the commander of force. Yiquan emphasizes on "mind" and this fully explains the importance of mental activities in Yiquan Training. Although Master Yao explained very professional, Chengguang seemed to understand some of it. The father knew to let a child understand those completely are quite difficult. Then he told Chengguang to imagine when he was standing in the water, surrounded by water, every movement he made would have big resistance: "when you are doing Shi Li, just like you are swimming, move your body slowly and feel the resistance from the water; The bigger the resistance, the greater your force. Understand?" This time, Chengguang nodded his understanding.

     Form then on, practicing Yiquan became an essential past of Chengguang's daily life. He no longer needed his father's urge.

     When Chengguang is in the fifth grade, he is twelve years old. Although he was still quite young, through three years of his fathers training, his ability developed greatly and his Pushing Hands can even push some university students out with a sudden exerting force. He was completely different from the sick boy years ago. He indeed recognized Yiquan can benefit for both the body and mind. He became completely active on Yiquan training and practice diligently and seriously. This made his father quite happy. He thought, "My son is worthy to be taught, and my Yiquan career has successors."

     It is important for a child to be influenced by a good education since it plays an important role in his life. The two brothers were affected by their father deeply, and this prime influence nourished Yao chengguang's qualities and characteristics, and it is in his blood, in his soul. From father's teaching, they were enriched by Chinese martial arts culture.

     One day, after training, their father asked them into his room and told them very seriously, "I am so gratified that you brothers treat Yiquan training from passive to active after years of training. You two have grown up and there is something I'd like to tell you. Yiquan is a kind of fist art, as we call it art, it is not only about some body movements, there are deeper meanings. Learning Yiquan is also the same. Not only need a good teacher, but also need good personal understanding and hard-working spirit. Yiquan is not training for a muscleman; but for cultivating a Martial Artist. To train a muscleman, only a few months are enough; to train a Martial Artist, it will take life-long. Therefore, as a real Martial Artist, the consummate skills and profound knowledge are both the musts. What I mean is that besides the insistent Yiquan training, you must study hard in school. Virtue is also very important. Be pure-hearted to your friends; be polite to your guests; be ruthless to bad person. Don't go with the crowd, you must have you own view." After hearing father's words, Chengguang realized: Father made great effort so that we would learn Yiquan well. He was busying with visitors and teaching his students, and working during the day and even at night. However, he still insists to wake up at 5:00am, practices for an hour and then wakes us up for a morning run; teaches us Stand Posts in the afternoon. We were so wrong to be capricious and often made him upset. He finally understood why his father made him to do so and what his father's intension is. Ever since chengguang eventually knew what he should do......