SHING-YI CH’UAN

 

Shing-Yi is one of the three principal soft or internal systems (T'ai-chi ch'uan and Pa-Kua Chang are the other two) within the Chinese "boxing" arts which integrate mind and body—work--hence its name, which translates to "Body-mind Boxing" or "The Shape of Mind Boxing." It is practiced with a light, quick, sometimes penetrating mode—never ponderous, sluggish, tense or heavy.

The Costa Rica College training program for Shing-Yi starts with recognition of the importance of meditation postures, incorporating Santi, the foundation stance, with chi flow.

The other four basic parts to the study include:

1.      Five basic actions/Five Elements

a. Splitting (Pi Ch’uan), Metal

b. Crushing (Peng Ch’uan), Wood

c. Drilling (Tsuan Ch’uan), Water

d. Pounding (P’ao Ch’uan), Fire

e. Crossing (Heng Ch’uan), Earth

[          The Twelve Animal Styles: eagle, chicken, phoenix, tiger, crocodile, snake, horse, dragon, leopard, crane, monkey, swallow.

[    3. Forms

a.      Wu Shing Lien Huan: Linking the Five Elements form. Taught after 5 Elements are introduced.

b.     Lien Huan Si Ba Ch’uan: Snake form, taught after first six Animal Styles are introduced.

c.      Za Shih Chui: Varieties of Grasping. Taught after all 12 animal Styles are introduced.

 

[    4. Application drills

 

Shing-Yi styles are generally thought to be of several varieties: the Honan school, the Shansi school and the Hopei school. The style presented by CenterPoint is a product of what one Master brought from Beijing to Berkeley, CA, after a lifetime of studies of all the major Chinese internal arts. The teachings of Master Ying were a distillation of the sharing of many masters who gathered every morning for years. We may, therefore, say that the Costa Rica College Shing-Yi Ch’uan is of the Integrated School.

 

A training tape is available.

 

email Dr. Edward Orem: eorem@lycos.com

-->