Wang Xiangzhai was a native of Shenxian County, Hebei Province. As a child
he was poor in health and at he age of 14 he began his lifelong study of the martial
arts with Guo Yunseng, first learning Xingyiquan. After the death of Master Guo,
the 20 year old Wang Xiangzhai decided to travel the country seeking competent
teachers and helpful friends to help him to perfect his skills. Important among
his encounters was his meeting with Taijiquan master Yang Shaohou and Bagua master
Liu Fengchun. Learning from each of them proved of great value to his founding
of Dachengquan many years later.
As Mr. Wang rose to fame in the 1920's as an instructor of martial arts, he
discovered that students paid undue attention to patterns and postures and neglected
the training of the mind and spirit. Thus, to constantly remind his students of
this misunderstanding, he changed Xingyiquan (form and mind boxing) to Yiquan
(mind boxing). By Yi (will or mind) he meant that in practicing boxing, every
movement must be guided by a certain idea. When practiced in this way, the idea
of boxing exists in every movement, whether it be walking, standing, sitting or
even lying.
The completely new form of boxing incorporated the completeness and solidness
of Xingyiquan's mechanism of force, the quintessence of qigong (breathing skills),
Taijiquan's four skills of attacking, sticking, joining and following as well
as its soft style of exerting force and finally Bagua's leisurely bodywork and
flexible and changeable handwork and stepwork. In the mid-1940's, the name of
Dachengquan or Great Acheivements Shadow Boxing was adopted.
Dachengquan (Yiquan) is distinguished for its effective combat skills and its
value for actual combat. The strength spoken of is not that produced by blood
and muscles, but the living strength characterized by its ready availability achieved
by the coordinated contraction and relaxation of all muscles with the mind in
command.
The practice of Dachengquan also has an important effect on health. Good health
is preserved because the training of the mind and the body is done simultaneously,
and quiet and active skills reside within the other. This distinguishes it from
some other forms of breathing exercises that stress only the body or only the
mind.
Qigong, the "art of nourishing life", in its modern meaning embraces a wide
variety of exercises including meditation, calisthenics, deep breathing, self-massage,
etc. The traditional aim of qigong practice was to achieve a healthy life by nourishing
Man's essence (Jing), vital breath (Qi) and spirit (Shen) ? terms broad in scope
and difficult to define. These were achieved by regulating the body through posture,
regulating the respiration and regulating the mind through meditation and by avoiding
emotional disturbances. Proper diet and exercise were vital keys to good health.
Even in modern times, few people would dispute these ideas, and yet even fewer
would apply them to daily qigong practice.
The standing pole exercises (zhan zhuang) of the Dachengquan system of martial
arts are but one form of qigong. They were adapted by the founder ofDachengquan,
Wang Xiangzhai, for cultivating health. The more advanced forms are used for combat
training. The standing pole exercises are not complex. There are no complexities
of form, mental activity, forced breathing or theories of Qi to understand. Thus,
these exercises are completely accessible to anyone regardless of background.
Qigong movements are guiding movements that induce healing by enticing the
blood and Qi to the place of illness. Qigong exercises must be gentle by nature
in order to relax the muscles and loosen the joints, thus allowing the free circulation
of blood and Qi throughout the body. If such exercises were too strenuous, they
would cause tension and stiffness thus obstructing free circulation and resulting
in even further exhaustion and illness.
Standing pole exercises include standing postures, sitting postures, lying
postures, moving exercises and walking forms. In the static form, as the outer
body remains still, the internal organs settle and metabolic functions increase.
Movement within non-movement is achieved, providing simultaneous rest and exercise.
This is uniquely important in its use as a method of treating certain illnesses
in which other forms of exercise may be unsuitable.
The Chinese medical community has previously conducted investigations into
the therapeutic value of pile stance exercises. The cycle of illness is explained
as follows: When the cerebral cortex becomes over excited or exhausted, the body's
functioning suffers as a result to the point of illness. Likewise, illness, as
a malfunctioning of the organs, sends out harmful stimuli to the cerebral cortex,
placing an even further burden upon it. The aim of standing pole exercises is
to break the illness cycle by providing the cerebral cortex with beneficial stimuli,
thus causing it to relax.
Relaxation is achieved through the manner in which the standing pole exercises
are practiced. One must assume the required body posture and then hold it for
a period of time. The cerebral cortex eventually finds a soothing and pleasing
object of focus in order for the body to maintain the physical posture. When the
object of focus in not overly stimulating, the very relaxed sensation felt by the
cerebral cortex leads to muscle relaxation, improved blood circulation and deeper
respiration. The initial aches and numbness associated with a beginner's practice
will gradually disperse and will be replaced by a warm, slightly numbing but very
comfortable feeling. This feeling is a most beneficial stimulus to the cerebral
cortex and the longer it lasts the cerebral cortex achieves even deeper relaxation,
concentration and an inhibitory "quiet" state.
Electroencephalogram investigations have demonstrated this (quiet) state to
be quite different from sleep or hypnosis. It is characterized by the appearance
of beta wave in the front portions of both hemispheres, which increases in amplitude
and expands towards the back of the hemispheres as practice progresses and the
inhibitory state deepens. The alpha wave, however, undergoes little change, though
sometimes exhibiting a slight increase in amplitude, cycle extension and a trend
towards a gradual slowing of rhythm.
Mental activities such as worry, anger and even thought as well as unnecessary
and excessive tensing of the body's muscles cause fatigue and body aches. Tension
can especially be felt in the chest and shoulders and seen in the face. The steady
practice of standing pole exercises extends outside practice to daily life so
that excess tension and thus fatigue are permanently reduced or eventually eliminated.
It has been observed that during the standing pole exercises the pulse rate
increases steadily and then eventually levels off. Immediately after practice
the pulse rate does not drop suddenly. This makes it suitable for practice by
those with heart trouble or the very frail. Breathing is allowed to respond naturally
to the gradually rising needs of the metabolism. Breathing is not artificially
slowed for that would deprive the body of oxygen . As with other strenuous types
of exercise when oxygen intake cannot keep up with its consumption, as evidenced
by labored breathing, there occurs a harmful build up waste products in the body
such as lactic acid.
With steady practice, chest muscles eventually relax, allowing for very deep
and perfectly natural breathing. There is an accompanying increase in lung capacity
and with it a beneficial increase in the permeability of the pulmonary alveolus
wall and expansion of the lung's capillaries. Further, greater chest expansion
during inhalation increases pressure in the thorax, helping to draw blood out
from the veins into the heart. Exhalation releases the pressure, helping the heart
to push out blood. Lastly, there is a beneficial massaging effect of deep breathing
on the internal organs as with each inhalation the diaphragm sinks and the mediastinum
expands and with each exhalation the diaphragm rises and the mediastinum contracts.
Relaxation of the abdomen allows the abdominal organs to settle, while the
movement of abdominal respiration coupled with pressure changes in the thorax
creates a massaging motion on them. Investigations have shown that such a massaging
action on the liver causes an increase in choleresis, aiding digestion, prevents
stasis of the bile system and expands the blood capillaries in the liver. Such
massage also helps to prevent stasis in the stomach and intestinal system, working
against the development of ulcers, gastroenterits, constipation and other abdominal
disorders.
In summary, the standing pole exercises are a viable and effective method of
self-treatment. As a non-strenuous but thorough mental and physical exercise they
can be practiced by even the very frail, combating illness and strengthening the
body without the side effects of other forms of treatment.
(Contributors: Wang Xuanjie, J.P.C. Moffet)
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