Following is a continuation from the previous newsletter of Professor Coy's explanation in the design of Shen Chuan and theory behind the "four fists' of Shen Chuan", beginning where we left off in the last issue; the hard-soft fist:

In the previous newsletter I carried you through the theory behind the second of the four fists' of Shen Chuan, the hard-soft fist. That brings us to the next level, that being the soft-hard fist.

Soft-Hard Fist

As a person moves into middle age they begin to do things a little differently than when they were a bit younger. Prioritizing becomes more important along with doing things with less effort to save time. It becomes not as important to follow other peoples view of what you should be doing and how. You have gained enough experience to make your own way. Your body is not healing as fast as it once did and when you exert yourself you get tired quicker. Many people, men especially, have a hard time dealing with this time of their lives. They long for the "glory days" and miss the vigor of youth. They don't appreciate what they have, knowledge and wisdom. They have seen alot and dealt with alot and have made an impact on others around them.

The same is said for Shen Chuan Fourth Degree Blackbelts. They have seen and done a tremendous amount of martial arts. They have made an impact on others in the class both below and above their rank.

As they feel the lower rank sets become more constricting, because they have found their own methodology, they have begun the move into the Soft-Hard Fist. In the Soft-Hard Fist the primary focus is moving from reflex to response. This means that techniques become less important than results. When you intercept a punch you no longer use a specific or Hard Fist interception, instead you allow your subconscious to intercept with what it deems appropriate. Your techniques don't appear to others as sharp and defined. Your strikes don't snap like they used to, they have all become "lazy". Locks also lose their definition and have become much more powerful. You don't get as winded because you have begun to relax deeper. Wherein lays the problem with moving from Hard-Soft to Soft-Hard.

At first you feel like you have lost your edge and are getting sloppy. You begin to wonder if something is wrong with you. Have you just gotten retarded or what? What is really happening is that you are dispensing with unneeded material. Your reflex is changing to response, which is faster. You move less and do more. You have moved from classical technique to conceptual technique. At the Hard-Soft level you go hard and end with soft. With the Soft-Hard you go soft and then hard if needed.

Another example of the difference is, in Hard-Soft you cut angles when intercepting an attack. But in the Soft-Hard you envelope the attack. Balance disruption becomes a part of everything you do. When you strike, lock and throw you are disrupting balance on the point of contact. It is no longer a conscious exercise, it is coming out all on its own. The opponent is no longer an individual he is only an extension of you. This happens because you have blended completely with them, their balance no longer belongs to them it is a part of the whole. Consequently, when they move you move and vise versa.

Your focus on the motion of your hips changes again at this level. Instead of techniques beginning and ending with the hips you begin to move your focus to your feet. You understand that the feet set the motion of the hips. By positioning your feet in a certain manner you open up more possibilities for the hips. The key to gaining this ability is to let go of the sense of self. It is like the samurai philosophy of not being afraid to die in battle because they are already dead. Or the Zen approach of having a mind of no mind. There are others but all with the same meaning; empty your mind of all things to accept and use what is presented. To accomplish this you must know yourself in order to let go of yourself. A very risky venture for some, which explains why everyone who studies martial arts is not a Master of their art. The letting go is not a sense of apathy, it is a sense of selflessness.

Added benefits of the Soft-Hard state of mind are a loss or reduction of stress in your private life. You begin to not worry about things you have no control over and focus on the ones you do. I realize this sounds more like philosophy and less like martial arts and in a way it is. You will face no more difficult opponent than yourself. Not wanting to let go of conscious control is understandable as it doesn't seem natural. It is however very natural and very satisfying physically, mentally and emotionally.

Concepts, Principles and Philosophy of Soft-Hard Fist

1. Know yourself - To reach the point of subconscious expression of martial arts you must master yourself. Know who and what you truly are. Know your strengths and weaknesses, conquer your fear.

2. Allow a release of technique - This means to allow your subconscious mind to respond with technique. Don’t think just do. It isn’t easy to let go, so you have to have mastered the first concept to be able to apply this one.

3. Be one not two - When you are in a fight you must be connected to your opponent. This includes blending your balance, body, intent and action. A good way to apply this is to envelope your opponent, move into and just enough, like moving in the slipstream around the hull of a boat. You should do “as one”, what you want to do. Be selfish, put your arm where you want, step where you want, turn when you want. Being able to do this is a power unlike any other, you find things happening because you want them to not because you make them. When you make yourself and your opponent one they have no other choice than to do what you want. This also takes the size and strength of opponents away from them and adds it to the whole, so you get to use it too. Another benefit is that you can tell what a person is going to do

4. Accept - This is means just what it means. If you don’t accept you will anticipate and that will get you nothing but hit. When you are attacked accept it, don’t stop it or change it. You accept what is given and use the concepts above to deal with it. If you try to do something you may react, not respond. Your conscious mind will take control and you will fall into the trap of confrontation, which is what your opponent wants. Another application of this concept is to let go of results. When you are results oriented you may lose the initiative. For example if you move and the person is not thrown you may keep trying it even though its not working. You have lost.

In the next newsletter we will continue with the Four Fists’ of Shen Chuan by discussing the fourth and final concept, the Soft Fist.