Xingyi article in Inside Kung Fu

[xingyiman]

The latest edition of Inside Kung Fu contains an article about Xingyi's Five element fist forms as well as Xingyiquan as a style in general. What were your impressions of the article?? It seemed to me that his performance of beng chuan(the Wood fist) was wrong. He seemed to extend his upper body(especially his back) too much into the strike and the stiking arm looked totally straight(which seems to violate the rule: "the arms are not bent or straight, but curved".) Also, his stance in Pi Chuan(the Metal fist) seemed too wide. What are your opinions of the Xingyi artist in the article?? I liked the emphasis on Xingyi as a simple and practical, especially the "Jeet Kune Do" comparison. Anyway, your thoughts?? :)

[TaoBoxer]

Was that article by Ted Mancuso??

[razakdigital]

To answer you question look at the many quality books out there in the market. Did he adhere to principles? Was his alignment correct? I think you know the answer but you want someone in your corner. :)

That is the second article that I've seen in major publication that raises some questions to me about the quality of information. HsingI and Pa Kua are growing very popular and sometimes (just as anything in life) if I get more knowledge on a subject then the masses, then I have to right to teach it.

Go to the following site www.emptyflower.com (http://www.emptyflower.com). I'm not affilated with the site but truth is truth. Look at the postures from the pictures of the Chinese practitioners and the look back at posture of the guy in the article.

[wujidude]

Razak, is that other article you're thinking about the one in the current issue of Journal of Asian Martial Arts, the one that compares xingyi and boxing? I've heard other people, more knowledgeable than me in both of those arts, talk about the limitations of it. While I appreciate what the author of the JAMA article was trying to do, I think it would have been much more interesting to have a lot more photos from good boxers of the last century (Johnson, Dempsey, Jeffries, Moore, Leonard, Hagler, Ali, Tyson, and a whole lot more), actual fight photos showing the specific technique being compared, along with the kind of xingyi spread you're referencing from www.emptyflower.com (http://www.emptyflower.com). That would have given a lot more visual material to anchor the verbal analysis, I think. Just a thought.

[razakdigital]

Wujidude,

Nah, I think it was another aritcle from Kung Fu magazine. I also read that article from JMAA. Hsing is considered to be an easy fighting art but using it combat is hard (I know). There are a lot of good books that show alignment and principle to the five fist (I'm learning myself the proper way)

I agree with you on displaying actual photos of the boxers you mention as an example. But I'm not a fool ... even though there weren'tgood pictures in the JMAA article doesn't mean he can't whoop some a**.

[Fighting Hawk]

Hi. I'm looking for xingyiquan instruction in the San Francisco bay area. Would any of you know where to find someone worth studying with? I'm not looking to do competition. I don't care about awards. I expect to work hard and "chi ku." I'm also looking for someone who's just really hardcore into Xingyiquan. Possibly baguazhang as well, but that's more than enough for me.

I'm in the East end of the bay, so anyone in the Oakland/Berkeley area would be the best, though travel for weekend classes is always do-able.

Thanks ahead of time,
Brian :D