'An excellent pictorial presentation of the art.'-John F. Gilbey, author of Secret Fighting Arts of the World

'A welcome addition to books on the 'soft'arts by a recognized international expert on hand-to-hand combat.'-The Washington Post

Unlike most martial arts, chinese internal (soft-style) boxing does not depent upon muscular strength. The secret behind its power lies in the cultivation and practical application of internal energy-ch'i. There are basically three soft-style martial arts: T'ai-chi, already well known worldwide, and Hsing-i and Pa-kua, relative newcomers to the West. Althugh they are essentially not fighting arts but living arts, they are devastating as systems of self-defense.

This book outlines the history of Hsing-i-a style of boxing given form (hsing) by the mind (i)-and gives a thorough account of the philosophy behind the technques. It also presents to the West for the first time the orthodox style of the late Chinese Hsing-i master Ch'en P'an-ling.

Described here in great detail and fully illustrated are the basic techniques, the five fists of Hsing-i, a linked form of the five fists, and the twelve animal styles.

Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One: Introduction to hsing-i boxing
1 What is hsing-i?
Name and thing
History and masters
2 Theories behind the art
Breathing and body
Exercise and meditation
Part Two: Hsing-i training
3 The basics
The five positions
The six coordinations
The nine words
Other pointers
4 Practicing the five fists
Preparation
Beginning
The five fists-Splitting fist (p'i ch'uan); Crushing fist (peng ch'uan); Driling fist (tsuan ch'uan); Pounding fist (p'ao ch'uan); Crossing fist (heng ch'uan)
Ending
Linking the five fists
5 Practicing the twelve animal styles
Beginning
The twelve styles
Dragon style (lung hsing)
Tiger style (hu hsing)
Monkey style (hou hsing)
Horse style (ma hsing)
Water strider style (t'ou hsing)
Chicken style (chi hsing)
Falcon style (yao hsing)
Swallow style (en hsing)
Snake style (she hsing)
T'ai style (t'ai hsing)
Combine eagle-and-bear style (ying-hsiung hsing)
6 Conclusion
Index