INTERNAL THEORY OF LIUHEBAFA Liuhebafa has been described as containing the fluidity of Taiji Chuan, the power-issuing of Xingyi

Chuan, and the variable footwork of Bagua Zhang !nd for this reason it has occasionally been assu"ed to be developed fro" a "i#ture of the $ fore"entioned styles %uch a judge"ent co"es fro" the inability to see and co"prehend what Liuhebafa is and what it is not &hen &u 'i (ui was asked publically whether or not that was the case, he laughed and responded, )mixing those arts could not produce Liuhebafa) (e "ight have a point as "any others in history have tried to "i# the $ internals but the result was always )a "i#ture of the $ styles) and not a uni*ue style +any of his students and collegues of that era "ade efforts to state clearly that Liuhebafa did not and could not have co"e fro" Taiji, or a "i#ture of the $ internals !s Liuhebafa was concieved and developed around ), hearts and - joints force) and dictated by the ). har"onies and / "ethods), it si"ply grew and developed differently in for" and function fro" the other styles The "ost superficial level of Liuhebafa is the e#ternal "ove"ents and for"s %i"ply learning the outside "ove"ents and techni*ues does not "ake one a practitioner of Liuhebafa by any "eans &hat does "ake one a Liuhebafa practitioner is the study and application of the internal works of the syste" which was devised before any "artial for"s or techni*ues ever ca"e about The %i# (ar"onies and 0ight +ethods are far "ore than si"ple theory, they are the core principles and consolidated understanding of internal "artial arts to the highest degree They were originally conceived and developed by founder Chen Xi 'i, along with their applications and techni*ues Later, this understanding was e#panded into a physical for" by Li 1ong 2eng Li3s creation was called Zhu 4i Chuan, which literally "eans )discovering the foundation) This for" is si"ply a "ethod to learning and understanding the %i# (ar"onies and the 0ight +ethods The internal workings of Liuhebafa are5

The $ 1ivisions actually can refer to nu"erous things, one si"ple one being the $ levels of the body But relevant to Liuhebafa the $ 1ivisions e#press the concept of )&ater Bo#ing), which is Liuhebafa3s way of co"bat6 7 %olid %tate 8ice9 : Li*uid %tate 8water9 $ ;aseous %tate 8stea"9

The , (earts, or "ore fuctionally accurate ), ter"inals), is the heart of Liuhebafa and referred to as the )internal "echanis") This is not *igong, but is related to *i, and is the defining ele"ent of Liuhebafa that sets it aside fro" other arts 7 : $ < , point of the left pal" 8Lao ;ong -)palace of toil) point9 point of the right pal" 8Lao ;ong -)palace of toil) point9 point of the left foot 8'ong Chuen - )bubbling spring) point9 point of the right foot 8'ong Chuen - )bubbling spring) point9 point of the head 8Bai (ui - )hundred "eetings) point9

The - 4oints have both a static feature that is related to the bones 8recieving=channeling force9 and a "obile feature that is related to the tendons 8delivering=returning force9 This is preli"inary and is the internal fra"e work for the , (earts, which is known as the )internal "echanis") of Liuhebafa The - 4oints are the infra-structure of Liuhebafa6 7 : $ < , . > / wrist elbow shoulder 8including the clavicle9 ankle knee hip 8including the inno"inate9 cervical spine 8including occiput9 thoracic spine 8including scapula9 lu"bar spine 8including sacru"9

Both the . (ar"onies and the / +ethods have inner and outer factors ?nner %i# (ar"onies The inner harmonies are 6 sequential steps or levels of achievement. They are always present in ones practice, though the premature focus of one inevitably leads to the loss of another. 7 Body and +ind Co"bine The body "oves when it is told to do so by the "ind Therefore the "ind controls the "ove"ents of the body, even though it "ay not necessarily be aware of what is happening !s the body transitions fro" "ove"ent to "ove"ent it "ust beco"e aware of all "otions and "icro"ove"ents that occur : +ind and ?ntent Co"bine The "ind tells the body to "ove but not necessarily for what purpose The "ove"ents "ust be understood as one "ust intend to do so"ething with the "otions @nce so then the intention will take over and dictate what co"es out $ ?ntent and Chi Co"bine !s intent strengthens the "ind and body will rela# and chi will begin to flow Chi follows intent, it goes where the "ind tells it to go, providing the "ind and body are rela#ed as tension 8"ental and physical9 inhibits chi < Chi and %pirit Co"bine !s the chi is refined 8flow and intensity9 the spirit co"es forth This "ay be known as e"otional content, which can be "ore destructive than creative 8to ones progress9 if introduced=realiAed too early

, %pirit and +ove"ent Co"bine &ith the spirit 8e"otion9 present it begins to deter"ine what will happen Techni*ues will differ if one fights aggressively or "ercifully, so the e"otion will dictate the action . +ove"ent and 0"ptiness Co"bine Co"bining with e"ptiness "eans to be o"nipotent, or "ore tangibly said "eans to go beyond the physical, "ental, and spiritual by unifying the" ?t takes great effort to beco"e effortless This is a hu"ble ai" rather than an arrogant goal and only beco"es possible if one follows the proper path @uter 8physical9 %i# (ar"onies The outer harmonies are methods and clarifications of the application of Jiu Ji Li, or 9 Joint ower. 7 Body and 4oints Co"bine The three joints of the body 8torso9 are the cervical spine 8neck9, thoracic spine 8upper back9 and the lu"bar spine 8lower back9 These $ joints "ust "ove together in har"ony with each other : !r" and 4oints Co"bine The three joints of the ar" are the shoulder, elbow and wrist These $ joints "ust "ove together projecting fro" the core to the e#tre"ity $ Leg and 4oints Co"bine The three joints of the leg are the hip, knee and ankle These $ joints "ust "ove together projecting fro" the core to the e#tre"ity < (ands and 2eet Co"bine The "ove"ent of the hands tracks the "ove"ent of the feet 1irectional focus of intent6 , 0lbows and Bnees Co"bine The "ove"ent of the elbows tracks the "ove"ent of the knees Transfer of force6 . %houlders and (ips Co"bine The "ove"ent of the shoulders tracks the "ove"ent of the hips %pinal stabiliAation6 &hen one thing "oves, all "oveC when one thing stops, all stop !ll the "ain joints "ust start together and stop together in har"ony

?nner 0ight +ethods The inner eight methods are ways to bring about transformation of the body from external to internal. 7 Chi - Dse intention to "ove the chi : Bone - Dse the skeletal structure for support $ %hape - Dse postures to focus intent

< 2ollow - Eeact and adapt according to the situation , Eise - Fress the head up to open the spine . Eeturn - Create an even balance in the bodys "otion > Eetain - +ove naturally with cal"ness and clarity / Conceal - Dse refine"ent to conceal the intent during co"bat @uter 8physical9 0ight +ethods The outer eight "ethods refer to the directions of force Though there are "ethods within the syste" that isolate and focus these directions, they are all always present to so"e degree and their training results in a si"ultaneous "ulti-directional force ?f one of the directions is weak or underdeveloped it will di"inish the whole The outer eight "ethods are5 7 : $ < , . > / 2orward Backward Dpward 1ownward Left Eight %traight Circular

These @uter 0ight +ethods are further grouped into their )yinyang counterparts), and each group is represented by one of the , 0le"ents5 7 : $ < , 0le"ent &ood5 2orward=Backward 0le"ent &ater5 Dpward=1ownward 0le"ent 0arth5 Left=Eight 0le"ent 2ire5 %traight 8enco"passing all directions in a single circle9 0le"ent +etal5 Circular 8enco"passing all directions in "ultiple circles9