" ISSUE#9
July - August 2004
content
For the first time in English
Jin Jing Zhong DIAN XUE SHU. SKILL OF ACTING ON ACUPOINTS
(continuation; beginning see: ISSUES #7, 8) Three Levels of Mastery, Nine Stages of Training
THE SECOND LEVEL OF MASTERY The Fourth Training Stage. Finger Hardening. The Fifth Training Stage. Blows at Points. The Sixth Training Stage. Eyesight. THE THIRD LEVEL OF MASTERY The Seventh Training Stage. Impact from Distance. The Eighth Training Stage. Impact Through Obstacle. The Ninth Training Stage. Practice.
Editor:
Andrew Timofeevich
Translation:
Wang Keze Oleg Korshunov Ekaterina Rycheva Leonid Serbin Seng Sinfu
<to be continued> For the first time in English
Zhu Xia Tian APPLICATION OF PUGILISTIC ART
(continuation; beginning see: ISSUES #7,8) Chapter 2. Methods of Acting on Acupuncture Points
Point HEI HU XUE. Sun Light Fills the Lamp. Saint Stripling Picks Out a Pearl from the Point HONG TANG. Steel Pike Pierces Point QI GUAN XUE. Point TAN NING XUE. Hua Tuo Unlocks the Padlock. Point JIAN JING XUE. Making the Sea Turbulent.
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Point TAN NING XUE. Luohan Slips on Garment. Point FEI MIAO XUE. Child Bows to Buddha. Point MAI ZONG XUE. Taking-off Cloth in front of Mirror. Point SUO XIN XUE. Old Monk Carries Sutra on his Shoulder. Point WA XIN XUE. Tiger’s Claw Thrusts into Heart. Point ZHUO MING XUE. Damo Holds a Sword. Point DIAO JIN XUE. Damo Pulls Out his Sword. Point XIAO YAO XUE. Chun Yang Thrusts his Sword. Point DU JIN XUE. Raising Sword and Splitting Pumpkin.
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<to be continued> © COPYRIGHT 2004
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Jin Jing Zhong
DIAN XUE SHU Skill of Acting on Acupoints Tanjin, 1934
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Three Levels of Mastery, Nine Stages of Training
(continuation; beginning see: ISSUES #7, 8)
THE SECOND LEVEL OF SKILL
The Fourth Training Stage. Finger Hardening.
The whole innermost essence of DIEN XUE SHU – “Skill of touching acupuncture points” lies in the force of the only finger. In order to win an enemy, physical force can be employed and fists and legs used. But the force of one finger is limited very much. Furthermore, collision of fingers with a hard surface can cause a body damage. Therefore to suppress people with a finger is a rather complicated matter. You must be in command of a great skill for it, otherwise you can not reach what you wish. Consequently, those learning DIEN XUE must first of all acquire all training methods which were expounded in the above section “Three stages of the first level of GONG FU”. Only in that case finger training will make sense.
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There are various and diverse training methods for fingers. It is necessary to choose one or several methods and systematically adhere to it (or them). Finger training can be done either successively or simultaneously with other required exercises. Any selection can be done. We shall mention some of methods for you to select conveniently. For instance, there are in 72 Shaolin Arts1 such wonderful exercises as “Diamond finger” (#1), “Piercing through stones” (#66), “Rubbing palms” (#72), “Cinnabar palm” (#17), “Rubbing and thrusts” (#50), “Jumping centipede”, or “The skill of slithering snake” (#13), and etc. A board of spruce can be also used for training. The middle and forefinger are to be trained, or only forefinger. It is necessary to touch the board of spruce with a finger tip, at first slightly, then stronger and stronger. Three months later, the finger tip becomes noticeably harder as compared with its state at the beginning of training. At that time change the board with a brick. After another three months change the brick for a stone. And so is day in and day out.
Editor’s notes:
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See for detail: Jin Jing Zhong. Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin. Tanjin, 1934. You can order this e-book here >>.
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After one year the finger is thought to be sufficiently trained. But if you continue training, the result will be better. It is possible to inflict a significant body damage by using this GONG FU. That is so-called “outer” GONG FU. It is necessary that a finger should touch acupuncture points. Achievement of such level demands hard training during a year at least. If you wish to achieve the same effect without touching a human body, i.e. acquire “inner” GONG FU (QI GONG), it is more difficult. It must be taken into consideration that training according “Diamond finger”, “Piercing through stones”, “Rubbing palms”, “Cinnabar palm”, “Rubbing and thrusts”, “Jumping centipede”, or “The skill of slithering snake” and other methods sometimes can cause damage of the skin. Shaolin recipes instruct what to do in such cases.
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The Fifth Training Stage. Blows at Points.
After finger training succeeded, one can proceed to exercise blows at points. It is a combined training which allows to fix in mind acupuncture points and channels of vital energy and find them at once. It is done in such a way: it is necessary to take a big log and made a full-scale human dummy. The dummy should have everything: head, face, arms, legs. Mark location of points with red paint. Dimensions of the marks should correspond to true dimensions (of points). Main channels should be marked with a paint of different colors. When everything is ready, the trainee faces the dummy at a distance of one CHI (33.3 cm) approximately. Then, it is necessary to think of a point or ask somebody to name it, immediately concentrate energy at the tip of one or two fingers and touch this point. If you are sure of having done everything properly, you can proceed to a next point. It is not easy to do at the beginning, mistakes can be often made. That’s why it needs everyday training, hundreds of time during a day. Gradually everything will become all right. This kind of training is conducted at a light spot in the day-time, so the sight will help fingers to get necessary spots. If you face an enemy, naturally you can employ a certain method. But is not a perfect GONG FU yet. If you wish to scale a higher level of mastery, you have to train yourself according to the above methods at night in the dark, using your sight. It is a very difficult matter, you can not get success in a short time. There is also a concealment in it. Face a wooden dummy in the dark. It is difficult for normal eyes to make out small points in darkness of the night. Even if your eyes are well-trained, all the same you see so-so. Well, how in such a case to get right to the point? There is a special technique for that. You raise your arm, estimate at which height to locate your finger tip to hit at a selected point and thrust your arm forward. The finger should be dipped into mortar before training. A white spot appears
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where the finger touches the wooden dummy. Have a rest after ten such white spots (ten blows) and check results. It is necessary to train yourself each day, in that case you will get success in a year. There is one more training method – training in a lamp light (at night). You gradually decrease the brightness of the lamp until it fully extinguishes. It is a gradual method, convenient in practice, but the time needed for training extends. If you acquire this GONG FU to perfection, each blow will go home. In that case it will be no problem for you to encounter one or two enemies. Even if you are encircled by a group of enemies, you will be able of making them to lose fighting ability in a jiffy. That is nothing else but the unsurpassed skill. However, one should pay attention to applied forces that must be different depending on points which you act on. For instance, if you act on main, vital points, you must apply somewhat smaller force, because if you apply greater force, the enemy can be killed. If you do it even in self-defense, it is all the same immoral, it spoils your good deeds which will be taken into account in the world beyond. It is another matter if you act on points which are difficult to access, for example, on points deep in joints or under a thick layer of muscles. Even a coercion with a great force may not help to achieve the aim and a coercion with a small force will give no effect at all. That’s why those points on a training dummy should be marked with another color to get everything in sight at once. Before acting, it is necessary to decide on the degree of force applied.
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The Sixth Training Stage. Eyesight.
Eyesight is a very important element in Martial Arts. Sight in any kind of WU SHU, especially in DIAN XUE, is of utmost importance. The main thing in the common WU SHU is the mobility of eyes, it is comparatively easy to attain. Besides, eyesight in DIAN XUE must be keen. One must succeed in making out small objects in darkness. It is impossible to reach such a height without hard labor. There are two training methods to acquire this skill. The first method is as follows. Sit quietly without light each day at night. You must close your eyes, relax and imagine the location of things in your room. For instance, such and such object is in such and such place and another object is in such and such place, and so on. Or, otherwise, you can imagine a certain place in the room and fancy what things are available there. Then, open your eyes and look. At first you will see nothing. But later on, you will start to see more and more clearly. Over time you will see in darkness. The essence of another method is as follows: use a lamp with a paper shade and gradually decrease brightness of the light until the lamp fully goes out, you have to distinguish things at that. In practice it is done so: make a shade of light-green paper and put an oil lamp inside. Over time, change the color of the paper for darker one and decrease the wick. Paper color is to be changed from light-green to black and the wick from the size of a date pit to nil. This method requires more time (compared with the first one) but it is more convenient for training from methodical point of view. The above two methods are designed to exercise “outer” GONG FU. Although you can distinguish things in darkness, you are not able to see small details yet. It is necessary to make progress, train oneself to acquire the
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“inner” GONG FU. For that purpose at dawn, before sunrise, you must go to an open place, it is still better to climb a hill or mountain. Face the east and wait for the sunrise. When the sun just starts to appear on the horizon, calm down breathing, concentrate attention and look right at the sun. [ Warning:
one may look at the sun only during a few minutes when the sun disk has just appeared above the line of the horizon; if you look at the risen sun fixedly, you can lose the sight! ] Some time later you will feel as if a flow of
hot air goes up to the eye-sockets. At that moment you must close your eyes and move your eyeballs to the left and to the right 72 times. Make a small pause, open your eyes and look at the sun again. After it move the eyeballs again 36 times to the left and 36 times to the right. If you often do it, in a year you will see even in darkness very well. Having such eyesight plus welltrained arms, you will succeed in reaching one hundred percent hit. The above training methods are three steps, or three stages, that make up GONG FU of the second level.
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THE THIRD LEVEL OF MASTERY
The Seventh Training Stage. Impact from Distance.
After reaching the second level trainees in DIEN XUE SHU are said to have acquired this kind of GONG FU to perfection. Men in command of this GONG FU, when confronting the enemy, undoubtedly have more chances to win than those who acquired common kinds of WU SHU. But its is still “outer” GONG FU. In this case fingers must still touch certain points, i.e. physical contact with the enemy is needed. If the enemy is at some distance, there will be no effect. But if you are in command of “inner” GONG FU, let the enemy be away from you even at a distance of ten steps, nevertheless, an effort like a “shot” from finger tips will reach him and stop the flow of his QI and blood. The whole body of the enemy will become rigid, he will not be able to move. Why does it happen? It is nothing else but the effect of mental effort. However, it is much more difficult to exercise mental impact than to exercise real (physical) impact. The training method of mental impact is as follows. The first step: it is necessary to make a cup-size ball out of silk cotton and hang it on a silk thread at the place to where you often come during day-time. Each time when you come to that place make a movement with finger (or two fingers) toward the ball without touching it. Initially the ball does not move after a finger movement. Each time several finger movements should be made. Exercise it so until the ball starts swaying. It is necessary, then, to start to gradually move away from the ball up to a distance of up to eight CHIs (about 2.6 m). Then
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change a cotton ball with a small bag with sand. That ball is much more heavier. Go on training in the same manner and succeed in getting the same effect from a distance of eight CHIs. After that, change the bag with sand with a small bag containing little iron balls. Exercise in the same manner and succeed in swaying a bag with small iron balls weighing 12 JINs (6 kg) with a movement of one or two fingers at a distance of one ZHANG (3.33 m). It will mean that your mental effort is impressive enough. If such an effort directly affects a human body, it can make a body damage. But if the enemy wears thick clothes or armor, that effort will not give due effect and neutralize the enemy. That’s why it is necessary to learn to use so-called “piercing effort”. That is just “inner” GONG FU. You can not achieve success without two or three years of hard labor.
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The Eighth Training Stage. Impact Through Obstacle.
When we speak about a piercing impact, we mean the impact passing through an obstacle. It is not an easy matter to subdue the enemy with an usual effort. But it is twice as difficult to have an effort passed through an obstacle and hit the enemy. It could seem to profanes that these words are absurd and ridiculous. Actually one can succeed in everything with hard labor, and as the saying goes, even a steel beam can be ground off to a needle. However, exercising in this kind of GONG FU is difficult. It is done so: it is necessary to put a small oil lamp on a table and burn it; a paper screen should be put before the lamp, best of all, a screen of parchment, as it is thin and strong, which makes the passage of “impact” easier. The man stands at a distance of two CHIs (0.66 m) from the table and makes a finger movement toward the flame. During first training sessions such movement does not give visible effect on the flame because of the paper screen. But after some time the flame starts wavering as if a light wind started to blow. Then the flame wavers more and more and at last the time comes when the flame is extinguished by a movement of your hand. After it you must stay away from the table at a distance of additional two CHIs (0.66 m) and continue training until the required result is attained and so on. When, as a result of it, you step aside from the table for one ZHANG (3.33 cm), change a thin parchment for thick one. Go on training in such a way. Then change successively parchment for cardboard, glass, wooden board, and iron sheet. Strive for your “effort” to pierce through all those obstacles and extinguish the flame from a distance of one ZHANG and more. It means full success. After replacement of a screen it is necessary to increase the size of flame accordingly. When the size of flame is increased to the highest degree, change it for a candle. Then use incense,
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then aromatic sticks. As incense and aromatic sticks only smolder without an open flame, it is difficult to extinguish them. If you can extinguish incense through a wooden board, it means that you have reached the top. It is impossible to reach such a level of GONG FU within one or two years, it will take three, or may be even five years at least. At the end you will be able to hit the enemy even at a distance of eighteen steps and damage not only open part of his body, but “break through” his armor. If you master such GONG FU, you can withstand even a great group of enemies: you raise an arm, make a movement toward them and at once they fall down and lose the ability to resist. It is the acme of the Martial Art. But the road to it is very difficult.
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The Ninth Training Stage. Practice.
At this stage you proceed to learn practical use of the knowledge you received. At previous stages you united the knowledge of points and channels with the technique of delivering blows. Now the most important thing is to avoid casual wounds, therefore it is necessary only to mark blows at points without delivering them in reality. That is the difference between a training session and a real combat. One has to strive for exactness in details and observe all key requirements for method execution. At first, it necessary to train oneself undressed up to the waist. In that case muscles and cords are well seen on the body and owing to this it is comparatively easy to perfect particular techniques. However, it is only the first, preparatory step toward the actual acquirement of practical employment of techniques. When required exactness and knack are obtained, it is necessary to proceed to training in clothes. Over time the clothes should be changed for thicker ones and you should wear wadded and leather clothes at last. At that you must develop the ability for proper selection and use of techniques. That is the end of the ninth training stage. At the same time that is also the end of the whole cycle aimed to acquire point striking technique. At that stage training sessions are held with a partner, therefore it is necessary to be very careful all the time, not to be rude, beware of the slightest inattentiveness in order not to damage points and channels, it is extremely important. It is necessary to clearly realize the direction of effort (blow), distinguish an “empty force” from “real force”, strictly maintain wrist positions: “one finger”, “two fingers”, “fist like a cock’s heart”, “pressing palm”, “stickinginto palm”. In a combat one should be guided by the following principles:
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“Kick up a row in the east but strike in the west” and “Harass above and seize below”2. In that case you will seize an opportunity and win in a combat. For instance, the point BAI HUI (1) can be pressed with a “rubbing” forward movement of a palm. The point QI MEN (12) can be impacted on with a “piercing” blow of a palm, the point TAI YANG (2) with “Two fingers like golden scissors”, the point SUO XIN (?) with “Diamond finger”. The point MAI WAN (19) can be impacted on with “Cock’s heart”, but it is necessary to fix an enemy’s arm before a blow and turn its inner side to yourself, one can also seize with fingers from above and strike from below or make a grip from below and strike from above. It is possible to “cut” from the left, and “thrust” from the right. One should use different arm techniques. It is necessary to follow changes in enemy’s positions and modify your actions depending on his actions. Don’t stick blindly to written rules, use them according to an actual situation. In that case deadly methods that were acquired during training sessions can be used in practice with maximum effect.
<to be continued>
Editor’s notes:
2
One of laws of military actions which implies the execution of a false dodging maneuver to strike at unprotected place.
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Zhu Xia Tian
Application of Pugilistic Art
Shanghai, 1929
17
Chapter 2. Methods of Acting on Acupuncture Points
One should treat le..."
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