Security Defense Skills

Author: Chief Editor: Dong Yingshuang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-09-07
Features: Excerpt: Chapter Body Strengthening Training
Martial arts are techniques that use the human body as a weapon. Therefore, when learning and applying martial arts, one should first understand their own body and strengthen it. This way, they can remain clear-headed and aim accurately in actual combat. The human body consists of various parts, including the head, eyes, neck, shoulders, elbows, arms, wrists, fists, palms, fingers, claws, chest, waist, hips, buttocks, knees, and feet. Strengthening exercises for these parts are essential for learning martial arts.
### Part 1: Head Strengthening Training
Quan Jingyun said: "The head holds the most important position among all parts of the body. It commands and controls the limbs and the entire body, being the leader of the physique. The head should be held straight as if bearing a thousand jin, without raising or lowering it, nor looking down. When turning left, slightly glance left; when turning right, slightly glance right, responding accordingly with the body. Leaning too high may lead to falling backward, while looking too low may cause falling forward." In traditional martial arts combat, the role of the head often surpasses that of the fists, which is why some call it the "head fist" and study it as a master technique. Those who excel in head training can break stone pillars without injuring their skulls, even when striking with an iron rod. Head training primarily focuses on hardness enhancement and can be divided into three stages: pressing, striking, and hitting.
#### (1) Head Pressing
The practitioner first rubs both palms together to generate warmth, then places them on the Baihui acupoint at the top of the head. The right hand is below, and the left hand is above, pressing in a clockwise direction at a uniform speed. The pressure should not be too light to slip off the head, nor too heavy to touch the skull, nor should the hands move arbitrarily. During pressing, the mind should not wander, with the focus entirely on the hands, adjusting the pressure to a comfortable level for oneself. (Figure 1)
#### (2) Head Striking
Take a long cylindrical bag made of thin canvas, measuring 50–60 cm in length and 8–10 cm in diameter, filled with fine sand, sawdust, or green beans and Sichuan peppercorns, commonly known as a sand rod. This sand rod has a soft texture but contains toughness, being flexible yet firm, with good elasticity. The practitioner grips the sand rod with both hands and strikes the head with it. When striking, breathe out through the nose and slightly lower the head. (Figure 2)
Note: (1) Striking should start light and gradually increase in force.