We have been talking about four of the eight essential energies in class this week and last night I asked the students in attendance to “show” me these energies. I asked that they demonstrate these energies to me without vocalizing anything.

They attempted to do so and often got quite close to the essentials of the energies but often missed some of the subtleties. It is these subtleties that I’d like to talk about today.

For those who don’t know, the first four essential energies are peng, lu, ji, an or in English - ward off, roll back, press and push.

Peng (ward off)

Peng is more than just keeping an opponent at bay… much more.

Peng allows one to accept the energy issued by the opponent into ones structure and store it and then when the opponents energy is exhausted then peng allows for that same energy to be issued back to the opponent. Think of jumping up and landing on a trampoline. The skin of the trampoline bends and accepts the downward force of the jumper but when that downward force has been exhausted – the energy stored in the skin as well as the side springs expresses and rebounds the jumper up and back to where they started. Neither the trampoline skin nor the side springs have any intrinsic energy of their own. They are just neutral mechanisms just as your body structure should be.

The skill in Peng is the ability to absorb at the perfect rate in order to dissipate the incoming energy before it breaks your root or structure and then issue at the just the correct time which is when the opponent becomes empty. To do this requires proper training of both mind and body. It is not easy. 

Lu (rollback)

Roll back is NOT just a physical application which when done right ends up in an arm bar or with your opponent face down on the ground. To properly execute Lu one must engage the mind. Lu is a sneaky energy. We must lead the opponent into emptiness in order to create Lu. When the opponent willingly leaves his cylinder or destabilizes his own root and we then “help them” along… then have we practiced Lu.

Ji (press)

Ji has two expressions. One demands a subtle joining to the opponent and then the press or squeeze is applied while the other is similar to Peng in theory but different in application and result. If Peng can be thought of with the trampoline analogy, the concept of Ji would replace the man and trampoline with a drumstick and snare drum. The drum stick does indent the snare skin when struck but the bounce back is much more rapid and violent than that of the trampoline.

An (settle the wrists and push)

When I asked the students what natural phenomena would be a good representation of An, one said “waves” and that is probably the best answer available. To know An one must feel and understand the ebb and flow of energy. This is a two way universe and An makes use of this fact. Condense and issue, gravitate and radiate, store and expel… this is An.

Peace

Rod