Yiquan Ideology

by Xie Yongguang

Preface

   If I can compare a man's life to a river, then time, is just the racing current in the river. Confucius' plaint resounded throughout the history: "Time passes so fast just like the torrential stream!"  

   I remembered the first time I went to Beijing ZongXun WuGuan study Yiquan with Master Yao in the summer, 1999. Because I was just a beginner, I took notes on everything Mr. Yao said during the class so that I would try and understand his exact meaning. I found Mr. Yao has his own teaching style different from others. He is not like other traditional WuShu artists teach students through the Zen style elicitation.     Master Yao has his own scientific syllabus, and explains every single Yiquan skill technically and theoretically which can let students understand both the outcomes and the whys. As a result, my Yiquan improved quickly. From then on, I wrote down all of Mr. Yao's word about Yiquan each day. No doubt, these notes are my wealth of Yiquan.

   After graduating from university, I used these notes to write some articles and published them in WuHun, ZhongHua WuShu Technique of Practical Fighting, WuLin WuDang and so on.

   Yiquan Ideology is divided into three sections, section one tells about Mr Yao's Yiquan experiences. He studied Yiquan form his farther and then tried his best to create his own Yiquan career; section two and three stated Mr. Yao Chengguang's Yiquan idea and his talking about Yiquan.

   Under his father's strict and rigorous training since his childhood, and decades of Yiquan researches and teaching, Master Yao is the main leading person of Yiquan martial artists. "Yiquan is in his blood and it is his life."For the past two years , I have been to Beijing many times to collect Master Yao's writings, notes and speeches to research and have written many drafts so that this book could be published.

   I would like to thank Mr. Yao Chengguang for his help and teaching as well as my Taiji teacher Mr. Qiao Songmao. I would like to also thank my colleagues, my employer, Han Dan Professional Technical University and my parents. I could not have written this book without all their help.

 Brief Introduction of Master Yao Chengguang

   Master Yao Chengguang is a famous Chinese martial artist. President of Beijing Martial Arts Association Yiquan Research Institute, and Chairman of Beijing Zongxun WuGuan Yiquan Academy. He is the leading figure of the third generation of Yiquan .Born in Beijing in 1953; he is the eldest son of Mr. Yao Zongxun, who was the great master of Yiquan, the second generation of Yiquan (successor of Master Wang Xiangzhai, the founder of Yiquan). Sine eight years old, master Yao Chengguang began to learn Yiquan under his father's instruction. Because of his wise, diligent practice, active thinking and the detailed instruction form Master Yao Zongxun, his strict teacher and kind father, Master Yao chengguang has attained a high level of Yiquan skills. With his 40 years Yiquan training and research, Master Yao is leading person in Yiquan circles.  Meanwhile, Master Yao's systematic Yiquan teaching style is also well-known all over the world.   

   For many years, there has been coverage about Master Yao's unremitting pursuit of Yiquan in newspapers and magazines like China Youth Daily, Science and Technology Daily, China Daily, Work's Daily, Hong Kong Shangpao Newspaper, Mingpao Newspaper, Takungpao Newpaper, Shangxi's Changzhi Daily, Beijing's Spirit of Martial Aarts, Shanxi Culture of Physical Exercise, Boxing, France's Combat, British martial arts magazines, US martial arts magazines and, Japan's Karate and Chinese Kung Fu.

   Apart form being the president of Beijing Martial Arts Association Yiquan Research Institute and chief director of Zongxun Martial Arts Academy, Master Yao has been engaged successively as the honorary president and military trainer of Guizhou Province Yiquan Research Institute, honorary president of Henan Kaifeng City Yiquan Research Institute, of Shanxi Changzhi City Yiquan Research Institute, of Liaoning Lvshun City Yiquan Research Institute, technical advisor of Hong Kong Yiquan Research Institute, honorary president of Hong Kong Yao Style Yiquan Research Institute, honorary president of South Korea Yiquan Research Institute, technical advisor of Japan Yokohama, Tokyo and Osaka Taikiken Research Institute, honorary director of the UK Yiquan Association, and honorary president of the Poland Yiquan Academy, Every year, overseas Yiquan organizations from Japan, France, US, Italy, Austria, Canada, South Korea, Poland, UK, Switzerland and Germany send groups to Zongxun Martial Arts Academy to exchange views and learn from each other.  

   During Master Yao's teaching and practice of Yiquan, he deeply researched its theory its theory and ideas. He has published his findings in doyens of articles about Yiquan in magazines such as WuHun, WuLin, Technology of Practical Fighting and Sports Culture.

  He has also produced a book written by his father, the Yiquan Master Mr. Yao ZongXun, entitled, "Chinese Martial Arts - Yiquan,"as well as a several VCD and DVD movies about him. Additionally, he has authored various books about the subject, including "The Secret Techniques of Yiquan."

   In 1996，his friends and government officials helped Master Yao establish the Chinese-Japanese Yiquan Taikiken Research Conference to commemorate the 115^th birthday of Mr. Wang Xiang Zhai.