Martial Tai Chi

De-mystifying the Mysterious

Kung Fu Cornerstones

Sometimes I think about the arts we practice with a view to summing up the core essentials. What are the vital components of becoming a better fighter? Recently I came up with the following conceptual model which I call the "Cornerstones of Kung Fu".

Viewing the following diagram, at the top we see "MIND", at the bottom is "BODY", on the right is "SKILL" and on the left is "STRATEGY". We can break down these components in a more detailed way, as indicated by the diagram.

The mental ("MIND") attributes we need to develop are bravery, confidence, determination, calmness (in the face of adversity) and ferocity - the ability to be formidable and frightening when necessary. We need to be mentally conditioned to withstand pain and fear and we need to develop an effective combat psychology so that we can "out-psyche" our opponents. From a training perspective, we need to cultivate the self discipline necessary to train regularly and persevere with aspects of training we are less good at or do not enjoy.

The physical ("BODY") attributes we need to cultivate are as follows: First we need to develop the overall physique or musculature - strengthening and toning the muscles, tendons and ligaments. We also need to develop fast-twitch muscles for rapid striking. We need to train efficient muscle use - learning how not to use excess force (which is slow and ineffective) and how to only engage the muscles we need for the job at hand. This is also prudent as we do not burn up energy unnecessarily. Other physical attributes we need to develop are reflexes, stamina, fitness, agility and resilience - conditioning ourselves to pain, damage and fatigue. We also need to develop functional (as opposed to passive) flexibility. This means flexibility we can use in combat. It is one thing to be able to ease yourself into a low or stretched posture and another thing altogether to be able to drop into and leap out of postures during full speed combat. We need to develop the latter. To accomplish this, our flexibility need to be in proportion to our muscle tone and strength rather than being greater than it.

The "SKILL" component can be broken down into aspects such as actual fighting techniques, good body mechanics, efficient postural alignments and structures, and also movement quality - learning how to develop powerful movement through correct sequential muscle engagement. Another trained skill is sensitivity - through contact work we develop the ability to feel where an opponent's centre of balance is and where their strength is being directed. This can help us to thwart or even exploit the opponent's efforts and allow us to adapt to changing circumstances in an advantageous way. To do this, we also need sound tactical combat knowledge, which leads us on to the final cornerstone.

The 4th cornerstone is "STRATEGY". This is about developing martial intelligence and good tactics. Important considerations are positioning (obtaining an advantageous position in relation to one or more opponents) and adaptability. This is about knowing how to take best advantage of all of the other considerations and incoming data during combat.

Some of these factors may overlap a little and we can see some other important connections and comments we can add to our diagram.

Whereas MIND is mental and BODY is physical, the SKILL component can be seen as having aspects of both, but with a physical emphasis (mental physical). STRATEGY also has aspects of both the mental and physical dimensions, but with the emphasis more on the mental (physical mental). So whereas SKILL is about intelligent use of physicality, STRATEGY is about the physical application of martial intelligence.

While the MIND and BODY components can be seen as general and essential aspects of personal development, SKILL and STRATEGY are more combat specific, being concerned explicitly with martial knowledge.

You may also wish to see my follow-up article entitled "4 Dangers of False Kung Fu" or "Cornerstones of Charlatanism".