Beng Chuan

[blackmantis]

Hello all,

Having a little trouble with my Beng Chuan, i don't know if it has any power or not. Does anyone know a way in which i could test it out (other than just hitting someone). Does anyone know how i could build power on the technique?

Many thanks,

S

[XVampireX]

Hey, i suggest you keep using beng chuan, this is pretty much the only way to build the power inside the punch, Do alot of san ti shi stance (for 10 minutes minimum on each side, you gotta keep practicing it until you get to 1 hour or more). Keep a note that Xing Yi and most internal martial arts use the rooting power, which means, your body needs to be aligned perfectly, and when it is you have to do the san ti shi and practice practice practice, after a while, you will feel that you're so much better in beng quan, afterwards you can go on and cross hands with someone, see how it is to be able and beat him!

Also, you might try practicing some animals forms that use alot of beng chuan if you want to be good at beng chuan, and again.. Practice makes perfect!

[DoGcHoW108]

There's a two-person drill i know for developing Beng Chuan, but i think its kinda complicated (yet, as usual, simple)...if you really want tho, ill try to describe it on here. It's one of those continuous back and forth things that will build your endurance.

Vampire, whats up man? Who you studying XingYi with in Israel? I might be moving there for a few months sometime this year.

[Tak]

Hit a heavy bag? Hit someone who's holding a kicking pad?

[cerebus]

Walk 10 miles a day doing Beng Chuan the whole way.

Or get arrested for killing an opponent in a challenge match so you get thrown in jail with shackles & chains on your wrists and ankles and spend the whole time practicing Beng Chuan all day, every day.

Alternatively you could just practice a whole lot!

[CD Lee]

I would agree that standing practice is very important, and the visualizations of contraction and expansions at the right times going pretty slow at first. I do not think, although I am no expert, that you have to stand in san ti for one hour at a time to have a good beng. I think you have to absolutely have a solid standing practice, because you will take that standing root into the strike zone to drive your opponents center down as you root your own center while expanding into them. Sounds friggin crazy I know, but I don't know how else to describe it. You just have to experience it.

It does not come on day one, or even six months from beginning practice, but it does come. Oh, and of course, all the alignmnets, elbow tucked in, shoulders down, head lifting, root sinking, intention expanding, wrist lined up with elbow, coordinated step with strike, etc...simple stuff

[Apostol]

Do a lot of Hsing Yi stepping, that helped me. Do it very slowly, don't forget your alignment, root, balance, and punching your lead foot into the ground, and moving in circular motions.

[CD Lee]

Blackmantis,

Stepping is good, but better take your Sifu's advice on HOW to step. 'Punching' that front foot into the ground may be a style variation and may only apply to Beng in some cases. I can say, we don't punch our front foot into the ground on Beng or any other elements. These things get complicated, but different family systems/styles have a lot of variation. What is important is that you do it they way your style does it. Unlike keeping your head up, shoulders down, elbows in --------- stepping and weighting variations are subjective from style to style.

[Rockwood]

Here's one I like:

Stand in Beng Quan position, with punch extended, body relaxed with the front of your fist touching someones body, preferably torso.

Don't move shoulder, keep arm perfectly still, take a half step and drive friend back. repeat. Use only your body structure to drive him back.

Make the half step smaller and smaller over time until you can just use a shaking shocking sort of jolt to hit, the shoulder always stays in still. The arm lengthens a little bit naturally.

As one teacher put it, Beng Quan as if you are thrusting a small rock into the person. As if there was a small rock between your fist and their torso and you are just jamming it in.

If you are pulling your arm back then hitting, this is not Beng Quan. I mean, you could do that too, but the real power is found at hitting from 0 distance.

Anyone else know this drill?

-JessO

[CD Lee]

Rock,

We have done something very similar. Same setup. Tiny step, and sink the fist inside the person while simultaneously downrooting. This can take their root and easily can put them on the ground without even really striking if you will. Very cool drill. Yes, It does seem a bit like driving a little rock into somebody. In our case, we did not push them back, but rather, as the fist enters or contacts, it seeks to 'drop' inside them. Of course your body is actually doing this dropping action. Very powerful. And another reason, that without standing practice, rooting and relaxation, beng cannot become very robust. With it, it can be downright shocking.

What other drills you guys do?

[XVampireX]

Originally posted by Apostol
Do a lot of Hsing Yi stepping, that helped me. Do it very slowly, don't forget your alignment, root, balance, and punching your lead foot into the ground, and moving in circular motions.

Apostol:
1. Xing Yi is not taichi, by internal they do not mean that its like taichi (slow), that same principle applies to bagua.

2. Hsing Yi/Xing Yi/Hsing I/ETC.... is pronounced Shing I, just so you know (I've seen one of your friends clips where they laugh at xing yi, and stupidly calling it sing yi :-/)

3. Xing Yi is NOT bagua, xing yi has its own way of walking, and the way Xing Yi fighters practice/walk is LINEAR!

Thats all i had to comment on, everything else was correct.

And there's a saying "The movements of Xingyiquan stress that the eyes, hands, feet, and body start and stop at the same time." This should help some clearance. I've quoted it from another website, but it is true.

[Apostol]

Yes, I know all of that. They pronounced it "Xing Xang" in their video clip...lol

[XingYiDao]

hey vampire seriosly shut up what do you know of xingyi last month you were looking for a teacher and now you think your a **** expert i use bagua steping sometime and doing your xingyi slow can also help so do me a favour STFU!

[XVampireX]

:O I dont think im an expert... but i only try to help people :O!

And i never said anything about not using bagua as a stepping, i just said that xing yi is a linear art, and you have to use linear movements.. Anyways, im not even quite sure if xing yi can be done with bagua circle walking, since the power is coming from being rooted (san ti), and being rooted is so much harder when going in circles.

Doing xing yi slowly, not as slow as taichi of course, but taking time between each movement.

[Felipe Bido]

Originally posted by XVampireX
: i just said that xing yi is a linear art, and you have to use linear movements.. Anyways, im not even quite sure if xing yi can be done with bagua circle walking, since the power is coming from being rooted (san ti),

Actually, Xingyi is not strictly linear...it is diagonal...very small diagonal patterns. Like arches.

And sure, you can use Bagua stepping in Xingyi..just watch the turns of Pao, Heng, Monkey and others.