Nowadays I rarely write about the internal side of combative movements. Instead, I write about things that can be practiced because I feel that it is pointless to talk about things that are not easy to learn, much less master and leads to too much talk instead of actual practice.

This does not mean the internal aspects are absent. They are still there, however, I eschew talking about them in favor of actual practice to discover what they are.

For example, the principles of the Ancient Bell Body in the practice of Grandmaster Wei Shuren’s Tai Chi is fascinating. However, if we fail to bridge the gap between theory and practical then we are wasting our time.

To master the Ancient Bell Body takes not just a lot of practice but persistent practice over a long period of time and constant investigation of the practice. Only then will you understand what the Ancient Bell Body is for and from there be able to use it.

As far as self-defense goes, taking this long to learn how to use a practical art defeats the purpose of learning it. If you already have a base mastery then taking the time to cultivate it is fine.

However, what if there is a faster way to breakthrough the understanding of what the practice of the Ancient Bell Body is about, wouldn’t this make more sense in today’s time starved society?

This is one of the objectives of practicing the 6-Blocks. On the surface it just looks like a blocking practice but beneath the practice is this hidden aspect of cultivating the principles of the Ancient Bell Body without knowing one iota of what it is about. Its the results that matter, not the means of getting there!

Once the basic habits of doing the 6-Blocks are acquired, one should practice them in various ways with a training partner. Use the learning experience to further refine the solo practice. From there its a short hop over to the internal side.

Does it take years to get there? I don’t think so. Maybe months?

It is the same with the other solo sequences. At a certain point in the practice, there is an internal aspect. But we should not worry about this. Instead, we just need to do the practice daily. Practice what is needed to keep moving forward.

For example, the practice of the long pole can help us to move better. If you keep doing it you will find that you have picked up fajing ability without ever learning it. After this you can make all the theories to explain it.

There is an old saying that maxim does not leave the mouth, fist (practice) does not leave the hand that basically means to do the physical practice.