Da Cheng Quan- Master Wang Rengang

Master Wang Rengang performs his Da cheng quan.For more info-go to www.dachengdao.com.

Wang Xiangzhai was a native of Shenxian County, Hebei Province. As a child he was poor in health and at he age of 14 he began his lifelong study of the martial arts with Guo Yunseng, first learning Xingyiquan. After the death of Master Guo, the 20 year old Wang Xiangzhai decided to travel the country seeking competent teachers and helpful friends to help him to perfect his skills. Important among his encounters was his meeting with Taijiquan master Yang Shaohou and Bagua master Liu Fengchun. Learning from each of them proved of great value to his founding of Da cheng quan many years later.

As Mr. Wang rose to fame in the 1920's as an instructor of martial arts, he discovered that students paid undue attention to patterns and postures and neglected the training of the mind and spirit. Thus, to constantly remind his students of this misunderstanding, he changed Xingyiquan (form and mind boxing) to Yi quan (mind boxing). By Yi (will or mind) he meant that in practicing boxing, every movement must be guided by a certain idea. When practiced in this way, the idea of boxing exists in every movement, whether it be walking, standing, sitting or even lying.

The completely new form of boxing incorporated the completeness and solidness of Xingyiquan's mechanism of force, the quintessence of qigong (breathing skills), Taijiquan's four skills of attacking, sticking, joining and following as well as its soft style of exerting force and finally Bagua's leisurely bodywork and flexible and changeable handwork and stepwork. In the mid-1940's, the name of Da cheng quan or Great Acheivements Shadow Boxing was adopted.

Da cheng quan (Yi quan) is distinguished for its effective combat skills and its value for actual combat. The strength spoken of is not that produced by blood and muscles, but the living strength characterized by its ready availability achieved by the coordinated contraction and relaxation of all muscles with the mind in command.

The practice of Da cheng quan also has an important effect on health. Good health is preserved because the training of the mind and the body is done simultaneously, and quiet and active skills reside within the other. This distinguishes it from some other forms of breathing exercises that stress only the body or only the mind