How do I utilize power? Who is responsible for learning?

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Jesse Marandino
Austin, Texas
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Peter,
Question 1: How can I make my internal strength useful against unwilling (or more likely free willing) opponents that are not constrained to the traditions of my chosen system? Question 2: Is the ability to change structured knowledge into free-form usable skill something that can and should be taught to you or is it the responsibility of the student?
Jesse


Jesse,
About Q1:
The first thing, of course, is to find and develop such strength. There is a lot of talk about "internal" strength but very little clarity. Clarity regarding what it is you're trying to develop is necessary for its development. We use "intrinsic strength" yet this isn't necessarily what you mean by internal strength.

In any case, power, regardless of form, is not the main factor--skill is. Handling unwilling partners is a complex matter and you need to develop the skill and understanding necessary to do so. It isn't a matter of just having some form of power, although a healthy degree of power is necessary. As Ku Yu Cheong (greatest "iron palm" master -- able to break thirteen large stone bricks at once, all resting flat on a slab) said to a man who demonstrated he could break five: "That's good, but now try to use it against me." The man couldn't and Ku pointed out that power alone is worthless without boxing skill.

To interact effectively with an unwilling opponent, one must first fully acknowledge his unwillingness, which from his point of view is merely the desire to win, and you should remember: that's his job! He's doing what in his mind is appropriate. Let it be that way and join it, don't fight it or resist it. Use what he is doing against him. This of course requires skill, and therefore proper training. It is not done simply by having the idea--you must take this idea into effective action. Once again, this is not something that can be accomplished by reading about it.

About Q2:
Both. It must be taught by someone who understands what it is, but it must also be taken on by the student -- researched, contemplated, tried out, etc.. As you play with people, commit yourself to working on some principle such as staying relaxed, using the whole body, moving from the center, joining, etc. whether you win or lose, and see what you discover. It is of much greater value to investigate these principles than to concentrate on winning or losing. But like I said, you will gain so much by some hands on work with us here. It will make a 100% difference in your practice and play.

Good luck, hope to see you in the near future.
Peter

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Do Boxers use Good Mechanics?

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Christian Campfield
New York, NY
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Peter,
It seems to me that western boxing is totally off when it comes to proper mechanics in punching.
For example, the power comes from strong muscular efforts from the arm and the shoulder instead of
sinking and springing up from the legs. Am I correct?
Christian


Christian,
No, you are not. Boxers actually hit harder than most martial artists, and generally fight much better (since they actually practice fighting). I trained with professional boxers for some time. They do hit from the legs, using the whole body. But they use the muscles and push the body into the target, and we compress, letting the target push us into the ground. Yet most of them try to relax. They do this not because of a belief system, but because it works in the ring. Most martial artists only follow a belief system and are too abstracted from the reality to understand what's what.
Hope this helps.
Peter

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Martial Arts vs. Real Fighting

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Seungyup Paek
New York, New York
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Peter Ralston,
May I ask a small question? There seems to be a large number of 'no-holds barred' fighting tournaments in the world today. Are these similar to the world championship tournament that you competed in? I believe that this is not the case. Could you please explain the dynamics of the current 'ultimate fighting championships' and how they are similar or different from the tournament that you fought in? Somehow, the winners in these ultimate fighting championships seem to be the antithesis of the principles of cheng hsin. Why is it that they look more like animals fighting in a cage than martial artists? I greatly look forward to hearing from you sir.
Respectfully,
Seungyup Paek


Seungyup,
When people fight, even trained martial artists, it rarely appears as though an art is being performed. On the one hand, we shouldn't assume that because they don't look like what we see in choreographed routines from the movies that there is something lacking. On the other, there is something more to grace than artful dance. When we look at professional fighters, such as Muay Thai or Western Boxers, we see much more grace is possible and usually present in the better fighters. This is because the art they are
doing is the same as what they train. In most martial arts, the practices are not at all the same as what is confronted in a real fight. It is very difficult to look good in such circumstances. In simple, it is unfamiliar and unpracticed. When one has more experience relating to the situations that come up in fighting, then this relationship can take on a much more graceful appearance.

In no-holds-barred competitions, winning in the simplest way possible is the goal, or at least has become the goal. (Early on, most martial artists proved to be unequal to the task, and had no ability to deal with such real fighting.) Since simple and direct is the easiest strategy to understand, and being muscularly strong and powerful is the simplest and most easily achieved form of power, it stands to reason that these are what we'd see the most. Strength is strength. Simply because it doesn't fit in with our ideas or methods doesn't mean it isn't effective. If it wasn't effective why would so many use it? Any time a game is created, the players will mold themselves in relation to the rules of the game in whatever way they can to win. This always produces a particular development. If you change the rules of the game, a different kind of development will take place. We should notice, however, that it isn't always the big and strong that win, and some of the better players have shown flexibility and strategic skill.

In the competitions in which I fought they didn't count ground fighting. I spent many years developing Newaza (grappling arts) and am quite confident on the mat. But this was not allowed in the world tournament. There was full contact in striking, and throwing was allowed. But I think the main difference was the background and thinking of the players. Since it was a traditional Chinese tournament, the assumption in the players was probably to conform to this thinking about how the fighting should proceed.
I remember being criticized in one of the local newspapers, when they complained: "What happened to traditional kung fu? This American looks more like he's using a combination of Boxing and Judo" (both of which are foreign to a Chinese tradition). This wasn't exactly so -- I was using Cheng Hsin -- but you can see that my fighting didn't appear as the author thought it should. Didn't matter. I won anyway.

Real fighting is difficult. I feel for those that take it up. But I don't share such sentiment about the reduction of the arts to what is easiest to understand or to mindlessly accomplish. Yet this dynamic takes place in many arenas, not just the ultimate fighting one.
Peter

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Traditions and Roots of Martial Arts

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Michael Morgan
San Francisco, California
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Dear Mr. Ralston,
I have an issue I want to bring up to you. [I talked with someone...] when I asked if he knew of your Dojo, he said that the two of you had one issue on which you had a major difference of opinion. As far as I can understand it, what he was saying was that his school believes in learning and/or recognizing and/or honoring "the roots" of martial arts and that you do not. So, here is my thing: I am asking for your viewpoint on the issue of tradition, roots, etc.
Sincerely yours,
Michael Morgan


Michael,
I am surprised that you are still unacquainted with how I hold tradition. "Roots" are of no consequence, the "truth" is. What we call tradition may or may not be worth keeping, especially since it has undoubtedly been changed over time to serve various purposes. (Consider that some past Christians have slaughtered many people for their beliefs, and in the name of Christ! I doubt that man would have
approved.)

It's not that I think those who come before have nothing to teach. I have always worked hard to thoroughly learn what others have to offer before presuming to "create" any divergence. However, once the teaching is mastered, it is necessary to seek out principles and insight beyond any beliefs or methods that have been used to teach in the past.

For example, Picasso mastered conventional painting techniques before he approached, say, cubism. Some who scorn tradition think they are being creative but they really don't understand that creativity doesn't mean "do whatever you feel like." I am not one of those, and I studied almost every form of martial art extensively before creating the Cheng Hsin arts. The demands of creating lie in creation, and this is not something that whim or one's ego can even perceive.
Hope I cleared this up.
Peter

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There is No Fight

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Richard Cota
Altadena, California
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Peter,
Just finished your book "Principles of Effortless Power." OUTSTANDING! I know I'll be reading that several times over. I feel it's increased my understanding of the arts quite a bit. Several things seem to make more sense. The part that seems difficult for me to "own" is that "there is no fight." I understand logically the points you make but I have difficulty "owning" that concept. Any further suggestions you might have would be appreciated.
Thank you,
Richard

Richard,
Certainly for most people most of the time whenever a contentious relationship occurs there is a fight. But the "fighting" is taking place in the mind more than in the body. When we enter an encounter as a "fight," we will have thoughts and feelings geared to fight, to contend and defend, and our body will follow these thoughts. By the very nature of the thinking we will tend to turn the engagement into a struggle. Imagine,however, if instead of approaching such an interaction as if it's going to be a fight, approaching it as if it is NOT going to be a fight, but rather an interaction. Without having any thoughts of "fighting" notice what shifts in your mind and body. Regardless of the activity that takes place -- which may be fast, responsive, and appropriate -- without the notion of fight, it will occur differently. Try it.

So, in reality there is no such thing as a fight. Fight only occurs in the mind as an assessment or an
attitude and disposition.
Pete

Introducing Body-Being Principles to new students

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Mike Cottrell-Tribes
Whitehorse, Canada
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Peter,
I have a question about when is the best time to introduce the basic principles, including: relaxation (in both movement and in standing), calmness, moving from the center, grounding, compression, posture.
I've been introducing these concepts in my classes lately, and the feedback I'm getting from some of my senior students is that this is too advanced for junior (less experienced) people.
These are concepts that they (and I) are only beginning to grasp after a decade of training, and so they feel that it takes that long. My counter argument is that we had never properly been taught these concepts, and had to figure them out for ourselves.
So my question is, when is a good time to introduce these concepts, and how much effort should
be put into attempting to teach these concepts to people who are still learning the basic mechanics of theart? At what point can one delve into these concepts in great detail, and really work on learning and internalizing them?
Thanks,
Mike Cottrell-Tribes

Mike,
Right away! No time to lose! The principles should be practiced right from the beginning. Advancement is a matter of deepening our understanding if the principles, not waiting to get to them. They are most important. Even more important than the mechanics.

Of course not everything can be learned in a day, but that is simply because learning takes time, not
because anything is withheld -- especially the principles. Once I taught a group of about a hundred peopleduring a weekend in Chicago. None knew any martial arts or t'ai chi. I worked only on the Cheng HsinBody-Being principles of movement and structure, without teaching one technique or form. At the end, I had them make up a "t'ai chi" set using what I had taught them. No kidding, they did better t'ai chi thanmost people who've studied a t'ai chi set for years!
Hope I cleared this up for you.
Peter