'Fa jing' is the name given to a sudden wave of energy that surges through your body and into the opponent.

However, fa jing is not the energy itself. It is the means by which the energy is delivered.

Fa jing is the main means of striking in tai chi, fuelling both strikes and chin na.

It is the medium by which kinetic energy is transmitted from one body to another.

Where does the power come from?

A practitioner learns how to generate an undulation wave.

This is passed throughout your entire structure, storing and releasing kinetic energy.

We develop this wave by learning whole-body movement. Every strike involves every body part moving as one.

The skill cannot be attained by force.

Only when the body has augmented itself with neigong will fa jing emerge without effort.

You need to be soft and relaxed.

You need to let go of your tension.

The fa jing release of energy is akin to a sneeze; the entire body opening and closing in an instant.

In self defence practice, we cannot use fa jing on one another. The outcome is too unpredictable.

The student can use soft target pads and sticks for fa jing practice.

The gravity component of fa jing is trained separately. Strike one another using gravity in order to develop this skill.

Chasing your own shadow

'Fa jing' means spontaneous energy release or 'jing release'. It is concerned with kinetic energy emission.

It is the means whereby energy can be transmitted from one person to another.

It is not structure or movement or energy. It is the way in which the energy is emitted.

Fa jing is a means, not an end.

The harder you seek it, the more you try. Trying involves effort, effort causes tension, tension blocks energy and there is no fa jing.

Wrong means = wrong end

The body, freed of tension, should reach a condition where the joints move freely.

Only then is the body loose enough for fa jing.

You must be sufficiently attuned to your own movements to feel when and how fa jing can be generated.

Some students are not patient enough and use force.

A common mistake is to use the pelvis and hips rather than the combined muscles of the entire body.

People become adept at rapid pelvic turns or abrupt shunts of force.

These are quite strong but they are not fa jing.

They tend to create a residual pattern of tension within the body.

Fa jing is like a wave, rippling up from the ground, through your hand and into the opponent.

Instead of using the hips and pelvis, you should use the spiralling of the legs, the opening and closing of the spine and the movement of the centre.

Hocus pocus?

There is nothing mystical or unscientific about 'fa jing'.

Despite the exotic Chinese name, it is simply a question of body mechanics, gravity, distance and timing.

It will not develop overnight but the seeds should emerge over time.

Soft power

Fa jing is not hard, it is soft. The effect is hard, not the means itself.

No more than 4 ounces of pressure is applied and the moment of delivery is a split-second.

You do not have time to tense the hand.

The hand (and body) must close by itself on impact, then instantly re-open again.

Conscious strength ruins any chance you have at using fa jing, so just relax.

Be patient.

When you deliver fa jing into a focus mitt or target pad it will pass through the body and into the ground.

It may cause the floorboards to resonate.

External ways

Students often make the same mistakes when attempting fa jing:

1. Pushing upon impact

- this approach is external in nature - the classic 'punch through the opponent' strategy

- it is not tai chi

2. "cocking' the pelvis and/or shoulder

3. lunging forward

4. an obvious build-up

5. jerky

6. a step

- your step should occur because of the release, rather than to cause the release

7. tension in the striking tool

8. overall tension in the body

9. emotional tension: anger, aggression

10. forcing

Fa jing is altogether different to these approaches.

The bite

Upon impact, your hand/elbow/knee sinks slightly into the opponent before bouncing back off again.

This process occurs naturally and need not be contrived.

If you pull off too soon, 4 ounces of pressure has not been established and the power will diminish.

No pushing

Do not push on impact.

That way, the kinetic energy will travel out of your body instead of just bouncing back.

Your intention goes through the opponent, not your punch.

Not so fast

Increased effectiveness is produced by gravity and heaviness in the striking limb, rather than pushing harder or striking faster.

Spontaneity is the key to fa jing.

A tense body - with habitual holding patterns - will not provide an adequate conduit for kinetic energy to pass through.

If you can feel your own body moving, you are too tense. You should feel only the movement itself.

A free body is capable of striking instantly and spontaneously.

Fa jing looks fast but it is not a matter of speed. It is loose and sudden, not fast.

By relaxing the muscles and joints fully, the body is capable of spontaneous movement.

This is what makes fa jing seem fast - no preparation, no tensing-up beforehand.

Instant energy release.

Cold jing

There must be no anticipation, no telegraphing, no movement at all. One moment you are standing still, the next you have struck.

The spiralling kinetic energy wave passes through your body without fanfare, and into the opponent.

This is known as 'cold jing'.

Small power

Large sweeping or jabbing movements cannot be applied using fa jing.

Fa jing is small by its very nature. A bigger movement takes too much time.

To use fa jing, you must get your body close to the opponent - then apply fa jing as the sting.

Groundpath & mind

At the beginning of tai chi training the groundpath depends upon an obvious physical structure.

Later, it is created by using the mind.

Fa jing requires the groundpath to be a constant feature in every movement at all times.

If you lose groundpath for a second, your body will crumple as you deliver and the fa jing will hurt you rather than the opponent.

Yang Cheng Fu style form

Fa jing can be expressed throughout the Yang Cheng Fu style form if you choose to make it explicit.

But it is more common to practice the skill separately from the form.

The 2 person set and other partnered drills assume fa jing to be present throughout the sequence (if required).

At an advanced level, your fa jing ability becomes internalised.

Jing

What matters in a martial art is the effect of your movements.

Jing can be defined as 'your opponents experience of the kinetic energy you manifest'.

Tai chi movement begins with intention.

Intention directs the nerves, the nerves move the muscles and the body produces a movement.

It is necessary to differentiate clearly between the types of jing at your disposal.

Without such knowledge, how are you going to fa jing?

Energy release without focus is random and clumsy.

Dim-mak

Dim-mak striking is not the same thing as nerve point striking. You are not targeting the nervous system.

Your targets are not pressure points or nerve clusters.

The acupuncture meridians are the target. The energy meridians.

Consequently, brute force is not required.

Dim-mak is energy point striking, and does not work without fa jing.

There are three possible outcomes to a dim-mak strike:

1. dim-su - incapacitation

2. dim-shao - bloodgate

3. dim-mak - death touch

Dim-mak controversy

The topic of dim-mak is a controversial one.

Although many exponents can demonstrate the effectiveness of dim-mak strikes, there is little scientific evidence to explain exactly what happens to the body when struck in this way.

The lack of empirical research does not disprove anything. It simply means than our understanding of the phenomenon is limited.

Chin na

Holding involves fixity and tai chi is fluid, not held. Chin na must be delivered rather than held.

Seizing, tearing, breaking, splitting and sealing are applied with the flow.

They are not an end in themselves.

When you hold a person, you must sustain your strength.

In doing so, you are also holding yourself immobile and vulnerable to attack from other people.

Students with an external background tend to find this confusing at first because they compare chin na to ju jitsu or aikido.

Eventually most of the chin na skills should be delivered using fa jing. The energy wave breaks the bones rather than local muscle strength.

Of itself so

Fa jing will not come if you force it or even seek to practice it.

Forget that it exists. Chase it and it will elude you.

Focus on learning neigong.

When it wants to occur, it will. Your body will know when it is ready. It will just feel right.

At some point fa jing will fuel your movement and you will be surprised.

Fa jing must occur easily.

Easy & natural

The aim in tai chi is to encourage the body to move without hesitation or impediment.

Jing release must become natural and easy for it to be effective.

You must learn how to move in the tai chi way.

The development of fa jing occurs gradually:

1. Cultivation of neigong

2. Practice of form and drills

3. Looseness and softness

4. Involuntary joggles occur during form practice

5. Whole body movement becomes involuntary

6. Sung occurs

7. Fa jing occurs

8. The training is internalised

Fa jing can only happen when the student gives themselves over to the practice.

When they let go.

Fa jing is a complete expression.