Phillip Starr - Developing Jin

Also by Phillip Starr

The Making of A Butterfly

Martial Mechanics

Martial Maneuvers

Hidden Hands

Electronic Edition: ISBN 978-1-58394-775-3

Copyright 2014 by Phillip Starr. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout written permission of the publisher. For information contact Blue Snake Books c/o North Atlantic Books.

Published by Blue Snake Books, an imprint of North Atlantic Books
P.O. Box 12327
Berkeley, California 94712

Cover calligraphy by Jizhen Sun Bredeche. Used with permission.
Cover photo by Alanda Foster. Used with permission.
Cover and book design by Brad Greene

Developing Jin: Silk-Reeling Power in Tai Chi and the Internal Martial Arts is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

North Atlantic Books publications are available through most bookstores. For further information, call 8007333000 or visit our websites at www.northatlanticbooks.com and www.bluesnakebooks.com.

PLEASE NOTE: The creators and publishers of this book disclaim any liabilities for loss in connection with following any of the practices, exercises, and advice contained herein. To reduce the chance of injury or any other harm, the reader should consult a professional before undertaking this or any other martial arts, movement, meditative arts, health, or exercise program. The instructions and advice printed in this book are not in any way intended as a substitute for medical, mental, or emotional counseling with a licensed physician or healthcare provider.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Starr, Phillip.
Developing jin: silk-reeling power in tai chi and the internal martial arts / Phillip Starr.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-58394-760-9 (pbk.)
1. Tai chi. I. Title.
GV504.S78 2014
613.7148dc23

2013035108

v3.1

For Barbi, whose spirit illuminated the path when I had lost my way.

I owe special thanks to Jeremy Thompson, chief instructor of the International Yiliquan Martial Arts Association. He has taken time to serve as a model in most of my books, and frankly, I dont know what Id do without him.

I also owe huge thanks to Alanda Foster, my adopted daughter and former Midwest Womens Middleweight Kickboxing Champion (retired undefeated) and her devoted husband, Uwayzo Foster. She has taken time out of her busy schedule to do the bulk of the photography work for most of my books and to model in several photos. Uwayzo also did much of the modeling work.

Phil Puc Weed also posed for many of the photos and his assistance is very much appreciated.

And Id also like to thank my editor, Erin Wiegand, who has worked with me for several years. She has been a wonderful inspiration and a tireless mentor, always willing to lend a hand and a word of encouragement to this bumbling author.

For some years now, friends and students have repeatedly asked me to write a book on one of the most obscure, esoteric aspects of the internal martial arts of China: coiling power. I considered how extremely difficult such an undertaking would be; after all, this abstruse facet of the traditional neijia really requires hands-on training, which is far beyond the scope of the written word. But they continued to nag and haggle until I finally agreed to give it a whirl.

Let me begin by saying that there are several schools of coiling power. The Chen style of taijiquan utilizes what is popularly known as chansi-jin (silk-reeling power) while other schools of internal boxing, such as xingyiquan and baguazhang, refer to their methods by different names. However, names are unimportant; what matters are the principles upon which this special power is based, how it is developed, and how it is to be applied.

I recall the first time I was witness to the effectiveness of this unique form of striking power. My teacher, Sifu W. C. Chen, asked us to watch as he demonstrated a punch on one of my hapless classmates. Beginning with his loose fist no more than three inches or so from the chest of my kung fu brother, Sifu Chen suddenly twitched and his fist shot forward. When his fist struck his students pectoral muscle, the effects were instant and devastating. My classmate dropped almost straight to the floor, clutching his chest and groaning loudly. It was as if hed been shot with a .45 caliber handgun! He lay on the floor while our teacher administered a form of massage (tui-na) therapy to him for several minutes. Even so, he was unable to train properly for the remainder of the class.

Sifu Chen explained, The power of my punch comes up from below the soles of my feet. It coils around my body and is finally released through my fist. The power is many times stronger than it would ordinarily be, and it penetrated through my opponent. If I had allowed it to remain inside him, the effects would be much more serious. Dear God! It looked like such a little punchit was certainly nothing like the large punches that we practiced in classhow could it possibly generate so much power?

And so it was that I began to learn the intricacies of coiling power. It was a lengthy process, especially considering that there was something of a language barrier. Although Sifu Chen spoke very fluent English, he sometimes found it difficult to put certain concepts into easily understandable terms that I could grasp.

Many years later, when I began training my own students, I realized how difficult it is to teach this special technique. I thereupon set out to find and develop more efficient methods of presenting this material. This book is the result of those efforts.

The word jin () refers to strength, vigor, zeal, or expression of strength. Its actually the combination of yi (, intention), qi (, vital energy), li (