By no means is it a requirement to learn and utilize all four Fists of Shen Chuan, they are merely presented so that students will be aware and have goals to reach. Also, it is important to mention that one Fist is not better than or more effective than another, just different. As the human beings differ from one another in varying degrees so do the Fists of Shen Chuan. Young people are not better than middle aged or elderly people, just different. It would be absurd to try to qualify one person as better than another when so many factors influence the growth and development of the individual. Human nature is to qualify and quantify but that doesn't make the qualifications or quantifications true. The purpose of this seemingly judgmental action is to give humans a reference point to gage their place in the universe.

That is what I am attempting to do with this work, give a reference point for Shen Chuan students. When you know where you are it is easier to get to another place if you want or need to. People as a whole tend to fear change; this fear is more of the unknown than that of the change itself. A map helps to alleviate the fear of the unknown, but someone had to go there first to be able to draw the map. That is what Professor Lansdale has done for us in Shen Chuan. He is not the only mapmaker, he is however a master mapmaker and we are fortunate to have his guidance.

The depths of Shen Chuan and other martial arts are potentially infinite. Some people understand martial arts on a very shallow level, it doesn't mean that they are shallow people, just that they haven't the experience or the will to delve into deeper understanding. Sometimes it is out of fear of what they might find. When you strive to reach the highest levels of martial arts you must take a journey of self disclosure and self discovery.

The higher physical levels of Shen Chuan, as in all other arts, can be reached in time by the practitioner getting older and losing their youthful vigor. As your body ages it becomes more important to relax and use less muscle. This is why there are soft levels of martial arts, some call them internal arts as opposed to the hard external systems most people are familiar with. There is an ongoing debate as to which style internal or external is the best at self defense. I believe this debate to be absurd because there is no way to qualify one as better than the other. Soft internal arts are very powerful when they are practiced with the right understanding of the art itself. An example of this is that some people train in soft systems such as Tai Chi for health reasons and have no idea that it is a very powerful self defense system. Others who practice soft systems do so to be able to train without great physical exertion or pain. These people will after many years of diligent practice be able to use their art effectively for self defense. I will say that an individual is able to learn to defend themselves faster from a hard style than a soft. The interesting thing to note about hard styles is as a practitioner gets older their expression of that hard style becomes softer.

Shen Chuan gives the opportunity for the student to study every gambit of martial arts from external to internal. The individual student must make the choice as to when to move from the hard to the soft, or if they even want to. The system is designed to fit the student, not the student fit the system. This is where Shen Chuan makes the break from many other styles of martial arts. The freedom of choice does not mean that a student can violate the concepts and principles of Shen Chuan, only that they may express those differently from others within the system. The encouragement of self expression is vital to the soul of Shen Chuan. We feel it is a positive when students go and study other arts, because they can add to their expression of Shen Chuan and therefore Shen Chuan is strengthened.

Hard Fist

Shen Chuan is self defense from the moment a person walks through the door. Our job as instructors is to see that every student becomes proficient in the art of self defense. When a person first comes into Shen Chuan they are beginning the study of a hard style of martial arts. The definition of a hard style is that the techniques require the person to use more of their muscles and less finesse. The purpose of this is that it allows an individual to become fairly proficient at self defense in a relatively short period of time without high levels of body coordination. The reason it is successful is because most people coming to the system are indoctrinated in the false idea that strength is power. Most people believe that in order to control someone you must dominate them, which is an example of youthful thinking. Remember when we were younger we were taught that to be successful in sports we must be stronger, faster and more aggressive than our opponent. This indoctrination begins at an early age and we can't help but understand it because we were young, strong and invincible. This belief is what allows someone to defend themselves with a minimum of training. Shen Chuan takes this idea and adds some technique. You must also understand that as Shen Chuan as an art has four Fists, each Fist also has levels.

An example of the first level of the Hard Fist is a jab. When a beginner is taught the jab we focus more on teaching the proper body alignment and use the persons "strength is power" attitude. This quickly shows a person that they can increase their jab's effectiveness with proper technique. People still have the idea that to hit hard, even with proper body alignment, they need to use muscle, so they tighten their whole arm, shoulder and fist from the beginning of the jab to the end. This is the hardest of the ingrained ideas to overcome, so we use that in the beginning and later on begin to show a different side of power. Joint locks are taught much the same way, in that technique is more emphasized than other higher level concepts so as not to overwhelm the beginner. It is very difficult for someone to come into Shen Chuan and begin learning the entire list of concepts and principles along with the techniques. So we utilize and improve on the youthful thinking to help the beginner.

In the Yellow Belt with Stripe set, which is first real set of self defense techniques learned by a beginner, the aggression in the overwhelming of your opponent with strikes and entering the attack off line is immediately evident. Again, this is not hard to learn since it follows the youthful thinking of domination with strength and aggressiveness.

I consider the first level of the Hard Fist a very basic understanding of self defense, martial arts and even the Self. Hard Fist first level should be mastered when a student reaches the rank of Purple Belt. By then, exposure to higher level concepts should encourage the move up to the next level within the Hard Fist.

The second level within the Hard Fist is when the student begins to learn more control of their body. This allows them to relax a little and begin to flow. Their techniques are more fluid and less robotic. The strikes are faster and more accurate. The locks are entered and executed with more skill. An example of the second level of Hard Fist is again the jab. The student no longer tightens their whole body to fire the jab. The body and arm are relaxed, the hips and feet begin the punch. The only thing that is tense is the fist. Since the student's body is relaxed, the jab fires out much faster than before and will connect with more force, making the strike more powerful. Another advantage of the level of relaxation gained by the student is the ability to begin to coordinate upper and lower body motions. This allows the student to begin work on the higher level concepts and principles of the Hard Fist.

When the student reaches the Brown belt ranks they are in the third level of Hard Fist. This level is when the student begins to be able flow from striking to locking relatively easy. They are also beginning to be very good at spontaneous defense. Their fear of being hit begins to lessen and they are very competent martial artists. I would put our Brown belts against many Black belts in other systems when it comes to self defense. Basically the third level of Hard Fist is a refinement of levels one and two.

The third level Hard Fist is not the Hard-Soft fist, it is however a preview. The third level Hard Fist will take a typical student up to first degree Black Belt. I say typical student because some will move into the Hard-Soft fist earlier and some later. Another reason many people can't make the transition into the Hard-Soft Fist at this level is that they are close to making Black Belt. They tend to focus on the material for Black Belt and lose sight of anything deeper than reaching the "Holy Grail". Most people don't understand that a Black Belt is similar to High School degree. Yeah, it's a worthy accomplishment and one to be proud of, but you still have undergraduate and graduate work ahead. That is where the real learning takes place. When a student learns the art for the sake of self-improvement and not to gain status, they are able to make the transition into the other Fists before their time.

The problem with the Hard Fist is that it is designed for youth, as you get older it is difficult to sustain the use of strength in an engagement. The other Fists are designed to take up the slack of aging. The unique thing is that the other Fists are more powerful than Hard, and my wish is to see them incorporated earlier in the system by capable students. The Hard Fist is also somewhat dangerous to the individual using it since the aggressiveness in it can bleed over into their lives and cause unnecessary tension and stress. I know that sounds weird, but if you don't have the proper mentality and self knowledge, it can and will affect your personal life. You have no doubt seen adults who cannot mature out of youthful thinking, they are generally not the kind of people who others like to be around.

Concepts and Principles of the Hard Fist

In order to be proficient in the Hard Fist of Shen Chuan the student needs to have a complete understanding of the concepts and principles of this system. These concepts and principles are not solely for the Hard Fist. They are the ones that are the most important for beginners to focus on in the first few years of training that will allow them to develop a good foundation.

Hard Fist First Level

1. Natural Stance/Mobility and Stability- This means that traditional stances are not a specific part of Shen Chuan. You should use common sense so as not to have your feet too close together or too far apart. You should have your knees bent slightly so you can move quickly in any direction. The best way to learn this is to watch the instructors' feet, and not just their hands.

2. Hands in the safety zone- Your hands should always be in a position to respond to what an attacker could do. A good rule of thumb is to keep your hands in a "window" around your head, NOT by your side. If you can do this before an engagement, such as having your hands up in a non-threatening manner, it will give you precious time to respond.

3. Power side out- If you posture before or during an engagement, have your power side out front. Right handed people lead with the right, vise versa for lefties. The purpose of this is to have your strongest tool in a position to be used most effectively and efficiently.

4. Maintain pressure and pain/Take away space- The best way to explain this is to use to old saying "the best defense is a good offense". In other words the more striking and locking you do, the more defending the opponent will have to do. As for taking away space, you should enter and back the person up because it is very hard to fight up close or backing up.

5. Intestinal fortitude- "You gotta have guts." In a fight you are going to get hit, don't let that bother you. Train hard in class, and in a fight when you get hit you can minimize or even ignore it. Most importantly don't quit, this could cost you your life or the lives of others. This concept is something that some people have naturally, and some need to learn. If you don't have it, you will by staying in Shen Chuan.

6. Prefer warm zone to hot zone- The hot zone is in front of your opponent, and sometimes you have no choice but to be there. That position is where number five comes into play. If you can, you need to get to the outside of the opponent. This cuts down the options for them and increases your chances for victory. By the way, there is no cold zone in a fight.

7. Economy of motion- This is done by using proper technique. Don't let your elbow drift up when striking, don't cock your limbs for a strike, move in a linear fashion. This concept not only helps to make you faster, it keeps you from wasting energy. A good rule of thumb is if the motion is not vital to the technique, don't do it.

8. Surprise- Don't let the attacker know what you plan to do until it is too late. Also you must attack when they expect you not too. Sometimes this means attacking first, so you must let the situation decide the best use of this principle.

9. Distraction or Destruction- You must distract a person from what they are doing in order to carry out an effective technique. This could also go along with number eight. The destruction of movement or vision is also a distraction that will allow escape or application of a technique. Pain is a helluva distraction, you can give pain with or without destruction, the situation you are in dictates which you need.

As I mentioned before, these concepts and principles are not the only ones that you will be taught at the beginning level. They are the ones that a beginner should try to incorporate into their training. By doing this the beginner will lay a strong foundation, which is paramount to becoming more than an average martial artist. Think of it as learning to roll over as a baby, this is necessary before they can learn to crawl.

Hard Fist Second level

1. Relaxation/Flexible limbs- It is imperative to learn to relax. Relaxation gives you flexibility, speed and power. It also allows you to move with and around the opponent, instead of against them. Flexible limbs let you body contour, strike with unexpected weapons and counter much more efficiently.

2. First Come, First Served- This means attack what your opponent is attacking you with. When you damage attacking tools their attacks are less effective. This doesn't only mean attack arms and legs, balance can also be the first served. You give yourself alot of leeway in a fight by taking offense from your opponent.

3. The Trampoline Effect- The trampoline effect is when you intercept an attack and use its momentum and the opponents body to accelerate your attack. Much like double bouncing on a trampoline causes you go higher. This is also referred to as the Pool Ball effect. You can allow the opponents attack to accelerate and change the direction of your counter, like on a pool table.

4. Check and Control- Checking means to put a part of your body in a position to keep your opponent from being able to take direct action against you. Leaving your hand on an arm or placing your leg in a position to stop movement are examples. Controlling comes from checking, you can control the movement of a opponent by checking motion or balance.

5. Push Drag- This is one of the key concepts of Shen Chuan. Driving off of the back foot and floating the front foot to the opponent, transferring weight to the front foot then dragging the back foot up into position is the proper method. This little motion gives you a tremendous physical and psychological advantage. You are like a freight train and when executed properly you are as about as easy to stop. This motion can turn your opponent from offense to defense before they know what happened. They will be fighting backing up and you can stay on them like ugly on ape.

6. Flow- This is also a key principle. Flowing has many connotations in Shen Chuan. One way to flow is to throw rapid relaxed strikes at multiple targets high and low. Another way is to move smoothly from striking to locking to throwing in any order. Higher levels of flowing, which are done in later Fists, include letting your opponent do what he wants until he doesn't want it anymore. Flowing from external to internal and back when necessary is another example.

7. Marriage of Gravity- This principle is nothing more than utilizing the acceleration of gravity for your own benefit. If you can strike at a down angle, relax and let gravity take your strike down, this will give you more penetration with less effort. When you are throwing someone, again relax and let gravity assist. This principle is integral in the later principle of blending.

8. Levers and Small Circle - At Level Two you should focus not only on the particular locking technique, but more on what makes it work. This will allow you to begin locking with more precision and less muscle. Another benefit later on, is the ability to find nontraditional locks. Keys to focus on are, locks are nothing more than levers, they must have a base and a fulcrum, locks should be done on as small a point and with as small a motion as possible. Relaxation is key to these points, at this Level you should be beginning to relax.

9. Transference of Energy- This concept goes along with relaxation and marriage of gravity. The idea is to transfer all of your energy into your technique and therefore your opponent. When you strike, relax and strike through not into your target. When you lock, lock through the joint. Again, when you throw, throw through the ground not to the ground. This is accomplished mainly by visualization. You must visualize your attack as going through paper or mist when you launch it.

10. Work High and Low- This means exactly that, work high and low. Keep your opponent off balance by moving your attacks around. You can incorporate checking and controlling in this also. For example check low, strike high, check high, strike the opposite side. The combinations are limited only by your imagination and the situation. The goal should be to work high and low simultaneously. You could also add to this side to side, when given the chance change sides. Anything you can do to confuse or confound the opponent is obviously a good thing.

When you have begun to understand and apply the concept and principles of Level Two you are ready to "crawl". You should be in the Brown Belt ranks and in six months to a year be ready to test for Black Belt. It is very important to incorporate the Level One and Level Two concepts and principles into your practice. By doing this, you will have set your mental and physical attributes on the right track to move higher in rank and higher in your understanding of martial arts.

Hard Fist Third Level

1. Body contouring/ Incidental Striking- When you have relaxed and you flow, you will begin to follow the contours of your opponents body. This gives you "highways" for target acquisition. Your opponents body will guide you to the right targets to strike, lock etc. Incidental striking goes along with this in that you will begin to give "little" strikes to your opponent without volition. This must be learned by doing, it is very difficult if not impossible to teach this as technique. It kind of just happens when you understand and apply the earlier concepts and principles.

2. Attack the body's weak points- All of the techniques in Shen Chuan train you to do this. Now is the time to focus on what is happening and where. You need to focus on angles of attack and the precise points of insertion of that attack. The weak points include accupressure points, nerve points and important joint connections. You can take this principle as far as studying Kyusho-jitsu, but it is not necessary. We take a very simplistic view that these areas cause results based on physics and physiology, not magic or mystical energy.

3. Imbalancing- This principle is built on balance, relaxation, marriage of gravity and blending. A keen understanding of your own balance in addition to the above mentioned will allow you to take away your opponents balance very easily. You need to know where the points of imbalance are based on the stance of your opponent. They are basically in a triangle or as I prefer an oval around a person. They constantly change with both upper and lower body motion. Connecting with your opponent also changes them.

4. Create Space to Take Away Space- I call this Body English, from the billiards term for putting spin on the ball to place it where you are at an advantage for the next shot. Moving into someone and not getting caught with your hands too close to be effective is not an easy maneuver. You must keep moving into the person with your legs while staying flexible at the hips and creating space to strike or lock with your upper torso. Keeping your balance while performing this is done by maintaining forward momentum.

5. Focus on the Smallest Point Possible- At this level you should do this during both strikes and locks. When striking, strike with the smallest part of your weapon. If the weapon is your fist then hit with only one knuckle. With an open hand use only the wrist bone sometimes called the ox jaw. This minimizes surface area and therefore increases penetration. This principle also applies to the target you are striking. Don't just hit the person in the neck, hit them on a vital point and do more damage. When locking, the application of the lock should be to the smallest point of the weak areas of the joint. This increases the effectiveness of the lock. You cause more pain with less effort and you can destroy the joint faster if needed.

6. Sensitivity to Touch/Sticking- I liken this to a wet beach towel being thrown on someone. That towel just seems to smother, and it feels difficult to get off. The best way to learn sensitivity and sticking is to just practice. There are many drills that help develop this skill. One that comes to mind is the Filipino Hand Drill. The keys to gaining this skill are relaxation and flow. You must relax and respond to your opponent's movements with a flowing action. I sometimes use the visualization of suckers on my hand or arm that will not allow me to lose contact with my opponent.

The rank of First Degree Black Belt is primarily Hard Fist third level. You have reached the walking stage of your martial arts life and are getting ready to run. Third level also lays the foundation of Hard-Soft Fist and Soft-Hard Fist. Some of our Black Belts have not been willing to make the move to the higher levels, there is nothing wrong with that. They are very good martial artists and will with practice remain so. They will however find that even if they continue practicing they will begin to lose the vitality of youth and the Hard Fist becomes more difficult to practice. They will begin to make modifications of their technique so they can continue to practice. What they are doing is moving into the higher levels they chose to avoid earlier in their martial arts life.

In a future newsletter I will discuss the next "fist" of Shen Chuan, the "hard-soft" fist.