Xingyi is an amazing martial art. At a very basic level, I would say it takes about 6 months for a student to be able to fight with some confidence. Xingyi's simplicity covers up the incredible depth and subtlety of what I believe to be one of the finest fighting systems in the world.
Aside from fighting however, Xingyi develops the mind like no other system I have ever practised. The mental training, qigong, visualisation and especially the honing of intent has positive effects on daily life - in particular confidence. The mind is capable of transforming the physical body, whether through placebo or other means, and Xingyi uses this to move qi and develop high level skills.
Xingyi is not the most visually impressive art, especially when compared to modern Wushu, most Shaolin systems and Bagua; the Chinese are aware of this however - "Bu hao kan, hen hao yung" - "it doesn't look good, but it works VERY well".
People who have had no experience with the art, and whose knowledge of the system goes as far as a "xingyi" search on Youtube really are not in the position to comment, and clearly should be ignored. Talking of Youtube however, here is a short demonstration of the immense power Xingyi can create - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hia5zi0-oXU
Hope this helps,
S
Black Mantis
Is the guy in the Youtube vid named Alex?
Those that are the most sucessful are also the biggest failures. The difference between them and the rest of the failures is they keep getting up over and over again, until they finally succeed.
For the Women:
+ = & a
Xingyi is an amazing martial art. At a very basic level, I would say it takes about 6 months for a student to be able to fight with some confidence. Xingyi's simplicity covers up the incredible depth and subtlety of what I believe to be one of the finest fighting systems in the world.
Reply]
Agreed.
Those that are the most sucessful are also the biggest failures. The difference between them and the rest of the failures is they keep getting up over and over again, until they finally succeed.
For the Women:
+ = & a
Yes, Alex Kozma - one of the most skilled martial artists I've ever met!
As for JetLi'sFearless' comments on Beng Quan and Yang Jwing Ming I have the following to say; Beng Quan is without doubt one of the most powerful techniques in the martial arts, and to quote B. K. Frantzis, "it is often considered to be the most powerful straight punch in all the Chinese martial arts". Reading a book by Yang Jwing Ming, an individual who does not practise Xingyiquan as his primary or even secondary art, does not put you in any position to even consider commenting on Xingyi. Instead of watching videos and reading books, I suggest you cross hands with a Xingyi person and then make up your mind.
It's not really necessary to defend Xingyiquan, as it is clear that it is respected among high level martial artists. I suspect however that JetLi'sFearless doesn't quite fit into that category...
Black Mantis
Have you been exposed to Alex's Southern Tai tzu?
Those that are the most sucessful are also the biggest failures. The difference between them and the rest of the failures is they keep getting up over and over again, until they finally succeed.
For the Women:
+ = & a
Hi Ken,
I see from your other thread(http://ezine.kungfumagazine.com/foru...ad.php?t=45424)
that you are looking at joining a school affiliated with James Mcneil.
As I wrote, you will be in very good hands, especially if the teacher is in close contact with sifu Mcneil.
Mcneil is very well known in internal arts circles (no pun intended!) and his lineage in Hsing-I Chuan comes from two masters in taiwan I believe. He used to write a lot for Inside Kung Fu magazine, back in the days before it turned crap.
Why not get his book on Hsing-I (you can get it on Amazon ) and see if it sounds like something you want to do?
Where in England are you based? In London there is Alex kozma.
Good luck
I've never seen Alex's Southern Tai Tzu, I wasn't aware he practised it. I've seen and felt his Xingyiquan and Baguazhang, both of which are incredible.
As for him being in London.... if only! Like most high level teachers I've met he tends to be going around the World most of the time, and home for him is in fact Thailand.
The problem with Xingyi is that there's a lot of fake nonsense out there. I live in Bloomsbury in Central London, and there don't seem to be very many high level people around...
Black Mantis
Or try to find a teacher that has some background in either TCM or western medicine, so that he'll be able to know what to look out for. I can think of at least 2 or 3 xingyi teachers in NYC that practice or teach massage or related things - I don't know if you'd be able to find someone with that kind of background in your neck of the woods.
Well, this thread makes me laugh - and cry, lol. "My stlye is better than your style..."
All styles have benefits, and the highest level, it's irrelevent who does what, or how the path was, in my view.
Focussing on my style is beeter than your style is focussing on the scum - the top of the water - the surface form - not the insight and ability that it is intended to lead to.
For someone interested in learning a so-called internal martial art, Xing Yi is as good as any of the others. Which answers the question actually posed. Bagua, for example, would really bad for someone with shoulder and knee problems, whereas Xing Yi's direct line method is quite un-taxing on the physical.
Originally, Xing Yi had no forms, and was sometimes called Yiquan, so it certainly has the gateway potential for deep insight in to internal method training.
It's not worth a penny!
Your posts are painful to read; Xingyi isn't an art to "cross train" in. Xingyi is an art that takes time to develop real skills, and an art that requires devotion.
MMA and Sanda people are not training in Bagua either, and yet because you've seen pretty pictures you seem to think a lot of Bagua.
It's really pointless responding to you as you've clearly never crossed hands with a Xingyi player. If you want to feel the power of Xingyi, you're welcome to visit me any time.
Black Mantis