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[Martial Arts] Practicing Fist with EnergyAutor: Jeffi Chao Hui Wu Fecha: 22-6-2025 Domingo, 11:03 a.m. ········································ [Martial Arts] Practicing Boxing with Internal Power
The so-called "practicing boxing with internal power" is one of the important realms pursued by many traditional internal martial arts practitioners. The general practice method often involves transitioning to the boxing stance immediately after standing meditation, taking advantage of that moment when the whole body is invigorated and the meridians are unblocked, allowing the internal energy to flow through the boxing movements. This state is brief and precious, hence it is referred to as "practicing with internal power." However, most people's experiences are fleeting—the sensation of energy dissipates quickly, and they can only feel the energy circulating like water around the meridians in the initial few moves. As the boxing progresses, the energy gradually disperses, and the body quickly returns to its usual state, resulting in a boxing stance that is empty, merely form without intention, and intention without strength.
My experience is entirely different. I never chase the "sensation of energy," nor do I deliberately use my mind to guide the flow of energy and blood, let alone insist on making every move intentionally "powerful." I simply practice standing meditation and internal work day after day, allowing the structure to settle naturally and the meridians to open up naturally. When the meridians are truly unblocked, and the body becomes a complete and smooth energy conduit, practicing boxing no longer requires any additional preparation or deliberate guidance.
Even in the early morning by the sea, with the cold wind carrying a chill of 6 to 8 degrees, and the sky a damp, cold gray-blue, I wear only thin summer clothing, gently initiating my movements, the stance flowing like clouds and water, breathing naturally and continuously. The energy rises from the soles of my feet, travels up my legs, and directly reaches my spine, supported steadily like a mountain, all the way to the top of my head. During the practice, my skin evenly sweats, warmth arises naturally, and my clothes become slightly damp, yet I feel no cold. The external low temperature cannot sever the stable warmth flowing from within, which is the true manifestation of "the automatic operation of energy."
In the early days, my practice process was no different from that of the vast majority of practitioners. After standing meditation, while the body was still immersed in the state of surging energy and blood, I hurriedly switched to the boxing stance, hoping to prolong that feeling of practicing with internal power. But often, before I could complete half a set of movements, the sensation of energy would dissipate like a receding tide, the body's warmth would drop sharply, and the boxing stance would become stiff and sluggish, as if I were merely performing an empty shell. This cycle continued for a long time until one day, I noticed that the energy began to extend naturally.
At first, it was half a set of movements, and the sensation was still there; later, it became a complete set, and the warmth remained; eventually, whether practicing boxing, sword, or knife, or even more complex free-hand applications, I could maintain the flow of energy and blood throughout, like a steady underground river. There were no ups and downs, no interruptions; as soon as I moved, the energy moved with me, and when the movement ended, the energy smoothly returned to the dantian. At that moment, I truly understood that "practicing with internal power" is not a deliberately stimulated transient state, but a kind of "normal operation."
Deeper changes are reflected in the letting go of "intention." In the early days of practice, it was inevitable to be led by thoughts—thinking about guiding the energy through the governor and conception vessels at the start, focusing on reaching the four extremities while performing the boxing, and thinking about sinking the energy to the dantian when finishing the stance. The deliberate command of intention instead made the body stiff and obstructed the flow of energy. As my skill accumulated, I no longer deliberately thought, nor chased any sensations; I simply allowed the movements and breathing to naturally synchronize, with a stable structure and smooth central axis, letting the energy flow naturally with the structure. This state of "doing without intention" actually deepened, stabilized, and sustained the internal operation.
When the body truly becomes a natural conduit for energy, practicing boxing with internal power is no longer an added means, but a natural expression of the integration of internal work and boxing stance. At that time, boxing is not "practicing boxing for the sake of internal work," but boxing itself is internal work, and internal work itself is boxing.
I once mentioned in the article "Natural Reversal" that the deep changes in the body are often not sudden bursts but the result of slow accumulation. Practicing boxing with internal power is the same. At the beginning, I needed to rely on the horse stance to warm up the meridians before entering the boxing stance; later, as my foundation settled, the meridian pathways became the norm, and the flow of energy became a daily background operation. Even without any warm-up, I could directly raise my hands and perform the stance, and the energy and blood remained stable and abundant.
The preciousness of this state lies in its complete overturning of the traditional understanding of the separation between "internal work" and "boxing." Many people believe that one should practice internal work before practicing boxing, or that internal work is merely for the service of martial arts; however, when you enter the stage of practicing with internal power throughout, there is no longer a boundary between internal work and boxing; the two become a natural cycle of the same system. Practicing boxing is internal work, and internal work is also practicing boxing.
Now, I no longer need to deliberately think about any issues related to "practicing with internal power" while practicing boxing. Every morning, facing the horizon, with my feet slightly sinking, breathing naturally and continuously, the boxing stance unfolds slowly, integrating the internal and external, with energy flowing like a spring, stable and peaceful. This is what is meant by "gaining without seeking, and connecting without moving."
And this state is not the result of extraordinary talent, but a natural outcome of years of stable training accumulated day after day. From half a set of movements, to a complete set, to the entire boxing stance, from the transient sensation of energy to the all-day stable operation of energy, this is the inevitable path of the gradual integration of body and mind.
Practicing boxing with internal power is not just a training method, but a watershed in cultivation. When the energy truly integrates into the structure, when the movements no longer rely on intention, when the boxing stance naturally embodies the skill, you will understand—true "practicing with internal power" is never something pursued, but rather a natural state that emerges after accumulating to a certain depth.
Mr. Wu Chaohui practicing Tai Chi in the morning light of Sydney.
For specific training methods and empirical evidence, click the following link to read another article "The Rise of Boxing and the Release of Internal Power."
[Martial Arts] The Rise of Boxing and the Release of Internal Power Source: http://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696461 |
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