Xingyi training

San ti shi - standing exercise

The three section standing is Xingyi's basic training method, used by all practitioners from beginners to masters. In the beginning the goal is to make the body stronger through physical stress. Another goal is to increase will power along with endurance for pain. As the body structure gets stronger and as the correct posture is developed, the practitioner aims to connect the whole body to the dantian or "command center" in the lower abdomen.

Five elements

Piquan, Zuanquan, Bengquan, Paoquan, Hengquan.

In these exercises one learns the fundamentals of movement and the basics of punching techniques. In the beginning the training aims mostly at finding the three external coordinations (the shoulders connect with the hips, the elbows with the knees and the hands with the feet). The exercises develop the foundation for the usage of the seven stars (head, shoulders, elbows, hands, hips, knees and feet) for punching. Gradually, as the three external coordinations are developed, the focus is shifted towards the three internal coordinations (mind - internal movement - power). The goal of this stage is to learn the forcefully attacking approach technique characteristic of Xingyi. At this level, pair training is included and it is based on pre-arranged forms consisting of the basic blocking and striking techniques. After all of the five elements have been learnt, they can be combined into the Wuxinglianhuan (five element chaining) form.

Twelve animals

Unlike in some other animal systems, in Xingyi the references to animals do not mean the imitation of the movements of those animals but rather combat aspects derived from the natures of the animals.

Tiger (Hu) - Pouncing on the prey

Dragon (Long) - Twisting movement of the whole body

Horse (Ma) - A wild horse on its back feet

Monkey (Hou) - Tearing apart

Alligator (Tuo) - Killing the prey using a twisting motion

The Tai Bird (Tai) - Using the wings for attack

Rooster (Chi) - A fast attack forward

Snake (She) - Penetrating the guard using flexible power

Swallow (Yen) - Quickly ascending and descending movements

Sparrow Hawk (Yao) - Following the fleeing prey

Eagle (Ying) - Grabbing the prey

Bear (Xiong) - Using the power from the back to crush

After all of the twelve animal techniques have been learnt, they are combined, together with the five elements, into the Zhashichui-form. Pair training gets more free, however still including pre-arranged forms.

Weapons

The weapons used in Xingyi are the ones familiar from many Chinese martial arts: sabre (Dao), sword (Jian) and spear (Qiang). A special weapon is Jue, a steel rod the length of one's forearm. It is used for striking the opponents acupuncture points (dian xue).