ImageQuestion: Many books claim that you must not use strength when training internal force. Yet, I see many internal arts masters use strength in their training. Can you please give us some explanation?

Answer: Yes, it is important not to use muscular strength in the training of internal force. Once you use muscular strength, you will interrupt the flow of chi or vital energy. Internal force is a function of energy flow. If the energy flow is interrupted, internal force will be minimized or stopped.

This concept is actually simple, but those who have no experience of internal force will find it hard or even impossible to understand, because most people equate force with muscular strength. They simply find it odd how one could be forceful if he does not use muscular strength. But if they realize that there are other types of force besides muscular strength, and there are different ways to generate these different types of force, they may not find it odd.

Internal force is one of these different types of force; it is different from muscular strength. Muscular strength is produced by tensing the muscles, but internal force is produced by creating a voluminous energy flow.

Those internal art masters you saw using muscular strength in their training do not have internal force. Let us look at taijiquan masters. As taijiquan is an internal art, taijiquan masters are internal art masters. Yet many taijiquan masters do not have internal force. In fact, some masters who teach taijiquan in public parks do not even have the strength to run up a flight of stairs.

This is because they only teach and practice external taiji forms and have missed the internal essence of taijiquan. The external forms they teach and practice are genuine, but they have missed the internal essence.

Question: Why are choy li fatt schools called hoong sing khoon?

Answer: Choy li fatt (choy lay fut or choy li fut) kung-fu was founded by a master called Chan Harng, who combined choy ka kung-fu, li ka kung-fu and fatt ka kung-fu into one style. His most outstanding disciple and successor was Cheong Hoong Sing.

It was Cheong Hoong Sing who spread choy li fatt kung-fu to many parts of China; his successors spread it to many countries in the world. To honor this great master, choy li fatt practitioners call their schools Hoong Sing Khoon. Khoon is the Chinese (Cantonese) word meaning "school."

Question: My chi kung teacher says that chi kung has nothing to do with kung-fu. Is this true?

Answer: This is not true, although some forms of chi kung may not have anything to do with kung-fu. "Chi kung" is an umbrella term, referring to many different arts. The common factor in these arts is chi or energy.

Some types of chi kung are practiced for health only and as such have nothing to do with kung-fu. Two examples are "Soaring Crane Chi Kung" and "Eight Pieces of Brocade." Nevertheless, these types of chi kung practitioners also practice kung-fu, and their chi kung training enhances their kung-fu attainment.

Question: I have read many references to Ji Sin. Who was this person? What contribution did he make to kung-fu?

Answer: Ji Sin, or Chee Seen, was the abbot of the southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain in China that was burned to the ground by the Qing army. Disciples of Chee Seen who escaped from the burning temple spread shaolin kung-fu in South China.

Chee Seen's contribution to kung-fu was tremendous. Many kung-fu styles today that are linked to the Shaolin Temple can trace their lineage to Chee Seen. These styles include hoong ka (hung gar) kung-fu, lau ka kung-fu, choy ka kung-fu, li ka kung-fu, mok ka kung-fu, fatt ka kung-fu and choy li fatt kung-fu.

Chee Seen's famous disciples included Yarng Yein, Sam Tuck, Miew Choi Fa, Hoong Hei Khoon, Lok Ah Choy, Fong Sai Yoke and Wu Wei Thein.

Hoong ka kung-fu was named after Hoong Hei Khoon, though many hoong ka schools today, including the one from the well-known Wong Fei Hoong, trace their lineage directly to Lok Ah Choy. Sam Tuck later taught kung-fu at the famous Sai Sim Temple (West Zen Temple) in Guangdong, which influenced many kung-fu styles. Miew Choi Fa was one of the few female kung-fu masters of China. Fong Sai Yoke and Wu Wei Thien were folk heroes, but unfortunately they died young, killed by kung-fu experts sent by the Qing emperor.

Chee Seen was also the patriarch of our school, shaolin wahnam. His most senior disciple, Yarng Yein, taught shaolin kung-fu to Chan Fook, who in turn taught Ng Yew Loong, who brought the art to Malaysia, where he taught Lai Chin Wah, more popularly known as Uncle Righteousness in kung-fu circles. Uncle Righteousness was my first kung-fu sifu.

Question: How can I use my kung-fu forms for combat?

Answer: You have to follow a systematic sparring methodology. If you go straight to free sparring without any methodological combat training, you are sure to spar using boxing or kickboxing, or spar like children.

One effective way includes training well in your kung-fu forms using stances and footwork. Then practice one-step sparring. Have a sparring partner attack you with pre-arranged attacks one at a time and respond with the appropriate pre-arranged kung-fu counters. As many people today resort to boxing and kickboxing in their sparring or fighting, it is wise to have your partner use these attacks on you. If you are unsure of what kung-fu counters to use, refer to my Web site at http://shaolin.org, where you will find many video clips and photo examples. Practice this one-step sparring daily for at least a month.

Next, progress to multiple-step sparring. Have your sparring partner attack you with a short series of boxing and kickboxing attacks and respond with the appropriate kung-fu counters. The attacks and the counters are pre-arranged. You must use typical kung-fu forms in your counters and must not resort to bouncing about or using boxing or kickboxing. Practice this daily for at least two months.

Then have your sparring partner attack you with these short series of boxing and kickboxing attacks, but this time have him mix up the order of the attack. The attacks should not be pre-arranged. Your partner is limited to attacking you with techniques that you know how to counter, but he can attack you in any order. Practice this daily for at least a month.

Your sparring partner gradually adds new attacking techniques, which you may or may not have practiced before. Counter accordingly using typical kung-fu patterns with proper stances and footwork. Practice slowly but smoothly at first, then gradually pick up speed. Practice this daily for at least a month.

Finally practice free sparring. Your partner can now use any techniques to attack you. It will be to your advantage, as well as his, to use those techniques you have practiced. If you or he uses totally new techniques, you will find them clumsy and haphazard. It is important not to hurt each other. Sparring, regardless of free or pre-arranged, should be fun; it should never be a case of taking punishment.

Wong Kiew Kit is a contributing editor of Inside Kung-Fu. You can address your questions to master Kit c/o