"...if someone's skill is good I'll fight him, otherwise I'll teach him..." ( Cui RuiBin )

I first met Cui RuiBin in the late 1990's, while he was teaching in France upon invitation of Jean-Luc Lesueur and my own teacher Ming Shan. It is no exaggeration to say that his skills made a deep impression on everyone who attended his seminars. His fluid movements not only are thrilling to watch but, besides revealing an aesthetic beauty, also hide an enormous devastating power.

Cui RuiBin is a teacher who's very modest about his accomplishments but I truly feel his reputation deserves a much broader forum than the one he currently receives. Allen Pittman convinced me to publish this article ( which has been in the tracks for a long time ) and I'm very grateful for this. I'm equally grateful to my teacher and friend Ming Shan and his lovely wife Niu XiuRong both for making my all-too-short stay in China an unforgettable experience and for introducing me to this magnificent martial art.

[ Cui RuiBin demonstrating shadow boxing at the parc Buttes Chaumont in Paris - France (on the left: Ming Shan) ]

Zhan zhuang - the core training method of Yiquan

"...correct posture is the ultimate result of intelligent multiple muscle control" ( Karen A. Perlroth - Mensendieck - your posture and your pains)

China, Taolin village
Some 40 km outside Beijing
Summer 2002

"Shang ke - Zhan Zhuang"
The lesson starts - pile stance...
Every morning at 8:00 sharp, students seek out their place to practice zhan zhuang, the core training method of YiQuan.

For most Westerners, zhan zhuang training can be a frustrating and painful process. Standing almost motionless in a posture for 70 minutes is challenging both for body and mind but Cui RuiBin considers it the most important training method of YiQuan.

He also stresses that the posture needs to be trained for extended periods. When strolling through Paris, Cui RuiBin once noticed a mime actor standing motionless. When they crossed the same place again after quite some time, the mime actor was still adhering to the same position and Cui remarked that this guy had the right attitude of mind to practice Yiquan...

We once asked him on how to organise ones training when pressed for time he replied to train zhan zhuang daily for 120 minutes non-stop! Noticing our apparent disbelief, he added : "...how do you think I trained under Yao ZongXun? I practiced JiJi Zhuang (combat postures) for 90 minutes on each side...

During zhan zhuang training, Cui RuiBin emphasizes to "...stay in the posture, stay in the pain..." while adding that "...good medicine, often tastes badly..." The seemingly unmoveable postures - most of them with arms held in an open embracing position at shoulder level - are kept for extended periods to gain control over all the muscles in the body. This requires intense and sustained concentration of the mind to push oneself through recurring stages of pain and bodily discomfort.

The way to cope with these emotions is to concentrate on relaxation by using appropriate mental images. Zhan zhuang training principles as explained by Cui RuiBin are straightforward and based on sound physiological grounds. In fact, I found that many (if not all) of the body requirements for keeping a well-balanced stance while practicing jianshen zhuang (symmetrical postures) are identical to those set forth by Mensendieck therapists:

• Feet parallel and exactly below your hip joints, toes pointing straight ahead, heels pointing straight backward
• Pelvis is raised in its hip joints, by tucking the buttocks together and slightly under
• The sternum is diagonally forward up, the shoulder blades are slightly drawn toward the vertebral column and downward - they should squeeze the lower thoracic vertebrae
• The vertical column shallowly concave in its lumbar section, slightly convex in its thoracic part - the neck is slightly concave
• Extend the neck upward to your own crown, look in the far distance on a line slightly above horizontal eye level while keeping the eyes focussed on a point
• The weight of a well-balanced body must be carried equally distributed over your heels and the bases of your big toes

Don't try to pursue the ultimate correct posture because this will induce anxiety.

While training on your own, it is a good idea to put yourself in front of a mirror or window pane, and close your eyes while you take the zhan zhuang posture you want to practice. Then open your eyes and check if the bodily structure is balanced, correct if necessary and then turn away from the mirror...

A very important concept is "...yong yi, bu yong li..." which roughly translates to - use the mind, not force.

From the well balanced stance, the body should be imagined as a pendulum which is attached by the crown of the head. Your body then moves in three dimensional space, driven by the mental images like soft billowing waves which move you softly forth and back, up and down, while part of your body is being immersed in luke warm water...

The whole idea is to let your body react upon mental images, to guide motion mentally - hence this is where YiQuan gots his name from.

The body then has to be educated to alternate smoothly between relaxation and adequate tension: the key to effective movement. The moment you are about to move in one direction, the muscles go from a state of relaxation to tension. This state of tension only lasts a tiny moment, then it is immediately followed by relaxation again. This is the kind of movement that should be strived for in combat: fast and short.

The breathing should be natural "...like one's eating..." - one should definitely not coordinate it with the movements of the body as this might induce feelings of anxiety. Instead one should practice breathing like you're trying to smell the delicate perfume of a flower.

At every moment you should feel as if you could change your movement into another direction. When you move there is tension, the moment you stop movement, tension gives away for relaxation.

Cui RuiBin states that YiQuan uses force over a short trajectory as opposed to brute force which he relates to force exercised over a longer trajectory.

Seeking for balance: Mocabu training method

Although some YiQuan practitioners tend to downplay the importance of mocabu and even omit it from their training, I consider it to be an essential training method which deserves a lot of attention, so one should try to understand its value for combat. In YiQuan you never seek the confrontation of force against force hence the importance of good footwork.

The most basic training of footwork is from a static position: whilst standing on one leg, the foot of the other leg slowly moves around in a semi-circle (the foot travels to the front, side, rear and then back to the front).

The feet are placed at an angle slightly inferior than 90 degrees but larger than 75 degrees. The distance between the centre of the rear foot and the heel of the front foot is one foot length.

The feet in mocabu are moving as if your feet are used as a metal-detector. The sole of the foot moves parallel to the surface, in a movement akin to the one you see when someone is using a metal-detector.

Stepping is done diagonally left and right while the body advances on a straight line. In actual application, this way of moving is used to advance towards the opponent while at the same way slipping his attacks.

[ Cui RuiBin demonstrating mocabu footwork combined with kai he shili at the parc Buttes Chaumont in Paris - France. Notice the line drawn in the sand along which he's cross-stepping forward and backward. ]

When you step, you should imagine that your feet are in a muddy environment. The feet are lifted out of the mud with the sole flat i.e. parallel to the ground (imagine that if you would first lift your heel, you would loose your shoe...) The foot is then brought very cautiously in touch with the ground. You first test the ground to see if it is safe to put your foot down (imagine stepping on a tiny, fragile icy surface). If you judge that everything is safe, you then put your foot down.

Going backward is identical.

Pay attention to stretch the neck, otherwise the shoulders will rise and then your upper back will start hurting in no time. Cui's advice when I told him my arms were about to fall off when practicing mocabu for 20 minutes non-stop sounded: "...stretch the neck..."

The training schedule

Training at Cui RuiBin's academy is hard work.
The training schedule requires you to get up relatively early since training starts at 8:00.
Between 8:00 and 10:00, training concentrates on zhan zhuang and shili or mocabu.
After a half hour break, another session of 1 hour is practiced during which either shili/mocabu or tuishou and fist techniques are practiced.
Between 11:30 and 2:30 is lunch break and siesta.
Training in the afternoon is similar to the one in the morning, followed by a relaxed footing. So overall, one's busy for at least 6 hours a day...