WHY SHAOLIN WAHNAM PRACTITIONERS CAN DEVELOP SO MUCH FORCE IN SUCH SHORT TIME
Wuzuquan is famous for internal force
Question
Iron Wire is so powerful! How come we are so lucky in Shaolin Wahnam to learn how to generate so much force in such a short time?
Sifu Anton.
Answer
Our students and also our instructors are indeed very lucky in Shaolin Wahnam. Not only we have a range of internal force training methods unprecedented before, we can generate a lot of force in a very short time. Indeed, if somebody were to tell me this phenomenal situation 10 years ago, I myself would not believe it.
Such an opportunity has never happened before. Masters in the past knew only one or two internal force training method. Some kungfu geniuses like Bai Yi Feng, Zhang San Feng and Ng Mui knew many force training methods, but they still needed much time to practice each one of them to develop internal force.
In my young days I collected kungfu classics, met many masters and learned many force training methods. But I still needed much time to train each of the methods I selected.
I spend many years practicing my Horse-Riding Stance. Although my stance was solid and strong, it was due to physical strength, not internal force. My lack of internal force was painfully revealed to me when I sparred with my sihengs in my Wuzuquan classes. Although they moved their arms effortlessly, their arms were like iron rods to me, and they could push me around easily despite my solid, albeit physical, stance.
My first taste of internal force was One-Finger Shooting Zen, which was indeed a treasure. After practicing it for six months I could break a brick. Earlier I could not break one despite training Iron Palm for two years following instructions precisely, especially in not using physical strength. On hindsight I discovered that knowing techniques was not enough to produce the force. One must have the skills transmitted by a master or at least guided by him.
When I first practiced Iron Wire, it took me a few months to experience internal force. Despite my experience in a few internal force training methods, I still made the common mistake of practicing Iron Wire as an isometric exercise! You can imagine how easy for other people to practice it wrongly. But luckily by this time I had the experience of "Flowing Breeze and Swaying Willows". This gentle chi flow erased the adverse effects that my wrong practice of Iron Wire brought and still gave me a bonus.
With this background, you can better appreciate as I explain why students and instructors in Shaolin Wahnam today can experience internal force the first day they learn Iron Wire from me when it took me a few months. In three months they can generate internal force that I would need a year.
The overall reason is that having gone through different types of force training methods, I understand clearly the philosophy and experience of internal force training in Iron Wire, and I teach our students and instructors skills which I may gather from other force training methods so that they can develop internal force in Iron Wire most cost-effectively.
Let us now examine the process in some details.
The ingredient of internal force is energy flow. In Iron Wire and other hard types of internal force, energy flow is consolidated. In soft types of internal force, like Taijiquan, energy flow is increased and speeded up. One-Finger Shooting Zen is somewhere in between. Hence my training of One-Finger Shooting Zen gave me a tremendous advantage.
In other words, if a practitioner practices the techniques of Iron Wire correctly, but has no energy flow, he will not be able to develop internal force no matter for how long he may practice because he lacks the ingredient. If he has energy flow but does not know how to consolidate it, he also does not have internal force as he lacks the mechanics.
A student leans Iron Wire techniques from his teacher. If he practices the techniques consistently for many months, he may develop some energy flow inside his arms.. As the energy flow is slight and not easily visible, he is usually not aware of its importance in internal force development, especially when he and often his teacher too have no conceptual framework about chi flow and internal force development.
But as he persists on his practice, he will gradually develop this skill of generating energy flow, though he may not be aware of the skill. This will take a few more months.
After a few more months of correct, persist training, his energy flow will consolidate into internal force. Hence, he has developed another important skill, but like the earlier skill of generating an energy flow, he is also unlikely to realize this new skill of consolidating flowing energy into internal force.
He is aware of his increase of internal force, but not aware that this increase of force is due to his unconscious skills. He thinks that this increase in force is due to he persistent practice of the Iron Wire techniques, without realizing that without the skills of generating energy flow and consolidating flowing energy to internal force, he will not have any internal force though he may have practiced the techniques correctly.
One-Finger Shooting Zen -- the treasure of Shaolin Wahnam
Hence, this successful student takes about one and a half to two years to develop noticeable internal force in Iron Wire training. But this successful development is not typical. Out of 10 students who are taught the Iron Wire Set, probably two will have this successful result. The other eight students, even when they train regularly and consistently, will develop muscular strength instead because somewhere along their training they deviate into isometric exercise instead.
The crucial difference between the two successful students and the eight unsuccessful ones is that the successful generate energy flow and consolidate it into internal force, whereas the unsuccessful employ isometric exercises to develop muscular strength. Both the successful and the unsuccessful are unaware of the philosophy and mechanics involved. The successful ones develop the necessary skills through practicing their techniques consistently. The unsuccessful ones mistakenly think that they have been successful because their muscular strength also gives them much power.
Now compare these other students with our students, and you can see why our students can generate so much force in a very short time. All our students not only already can generate an energy flow before they start their Iron Wire training, but also know the philosophy and mechanics of internal force training.
Thus, our students develop internal force the very first day of their Iron Wire training, whereas other students spend a few months acquiring, albeit unconsciously, the skill of generating an energy flow.
Because our students have insight into what they are doing, the energy they purposely generate is more powerful and in shorter time than the energy incidentally and occasionally generated by other students. In other works, our students can generate more energy flow on the first day than other students after a few months.
As our students already have energy flow, they learn how to consolidate it into internal force on the very first day of their Iron Wire training, whereas other students can only do so after a few months when they, without their conscious knowing, can generate an energy flow.
Not only this, their understanding and experience in other internal force training methods, like knowing the importance of being relaxed and not thinking of anything, and the skills acquired in One-Finger Shooting Zen, enable them to be more cost-effective than other students who do not have these advantages. Hence, the internal force developed by our students on the first day of their training is more than that of other students after many months.
Thirdly, our students have the advantage of accumulated effect, which is very important in any internal force training, whereas the other students do not, even when they train everyday. Quantifying the results will give a clearer picture.
Suppose our students are only twice as cost-effective as other students, which is a very conservative estimate. In reality our students could be 2 to 10 times more cost-effective.
Suppose other students need three months to develop the skill of generating an energy flow, and another three months to develop the skill of consolidating energy flow into internal force. These two estimates are generous. Needing 6 months for each skill is more likely for the successful 20%. The other 80% are likely to deviate into isometric exercise.
As other students are unaware of the philosophy behind internal force development and also unaware of their skills, they will not generate an energy flow or consolidate internal force everyday, whereas our students can. Suppose other students can generate an energy flow or consolidate internal force after every three days, and there is a depreciation of 1 unit of force per day. Again this is a generous estimate. It is more likely that they can do so after every 5 or more days.
On the very first day of training, our students gain 10 units of internal force. On the second day, they gain another 10 units, making a total of 20 units. In this way they will have generated 1000 units of internal force in 100 days.
For the other students, the first 3 months or 90 days they develop the skill of generating an energy flow. For another 3 months or 180 days later they develop the skill of consolidating internal force. Applying these two skills, albeit unconsciously, they gain 5 units of internal force on the 181th day.
They could not apply their skills on the 182th, 183th, and 184th day, and thus the internal force that remains is 4, 3, 2 units, depreciating 1 unit per day.
On the 185th day, they could gain another 5 units of internal force. When we add that to their remaining 2 units of force, they get 7 units of force.
Depreciating 3 units and then gaining 5 units, they add 2 units every 5th day. Hence on the 189th day, they will have 9 units of internal force, and on the 193th day 11 units, and on the 209th day 19 units of internal force. In other words, from day 181 to day 210, a period of 30 days, they have developed 19 units of internal force, which works to about 20 units per month.
Let us see how much internal force other successful students will have after three years, or 36 months, of Iron Wire training. For the first 6 months they develop the skills of generating energy flow and consolidating internal force. For the remaining 30 months they develop 20 units per month, making a total of 600 units of internal force.
Let us see how much time our students need to develop the same amount of internal force. Our students develop 10 units of internal force per day. This means they need (600 divided by 10) 60 days. In other words, our student can achieve in 2 months what other students will need 3 years.
The figures are not exact, but they give a clear picture how and why our students and instructors can develop a lot of internal force using Iron Wire training in a very short time.
This is possible because we understand the philosophy and mechanics, have the necessary skills right at the start due to our spread and depth, and we enjoy the advantage of accumulated effect.
The above question-answer is reproduced from the thread 10 Questions to Grandmaster Wong on the Iron Wire Set in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum
The internal force of Taijiquan is an interesting contrast to the internal force of Iron Wire
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