I was introduced to Yiquan (mind boxing 意拳) in 2018 in the tightly cobbled and rainy streets of Amsterdam, the Netherlands when I was originally looking for an English-speaking Tai Chi school. I sought out Chinese expat Sifu Shi Dan-Qiu who studied and taught both and showed me that Yiquan and traditional Tai Chi share a lot of the same conceptsif you look close enough.

Yiquan can be described originally as an off shoot of Xingyiquan (形意拳) albeit it stripped back version which eliminates any kind of taolu (套路) or literal xing (form 形). As it only came into existence in the early twentieth century, it is often described as a“younger brother”of the Chinese martial arts. With less history and heritage, it has less students and therefore less coverage, so can still be difficult to find outside of China. Sifu Shi Dan-Qiu also found this when he left China to settle in Europe in the 1980’s:

“When I first arrived in the Netherlands, there were few qualified Chinese martial arts teachers here. I’ve since travelled back to China many times to improve my own skills.”

Dan-Qiu had a very traditional martial arts grounding, even having direct lineage from Yang Tai Chi Grand Master Yang Shao-Hou via the tutelage of Gu Li-Sheng. But it was finding Yiquan in 2002 which not only opened Dan-Qiu’s mind to the new art, but also helped bring it to Europe. He now studies Yiquan under the tutelage of brothers Yao Cheng-Rongand Yao Cheng-Guang who are based in Beijing, China. He explains that after decades of Tai Chi, he now prefers to practice and teach Yiquan:

“My favourite style is Yiquan, which I practice every day. Yiquan possesses a very well-constructed as well as a very efficient training system. Under the guidance of a good teacher, you’ll undoubtedly improve your skill step by step.”

But what is Yiquan exactly? It has similar concepts and martial heritage of Tai Chi and Xingyiquan, which includes tuishou (push hands 推手) practice, but unlike most other Chinese martial arts, it completely does away with any forms and patterns to memorise, which can be both daunting and alluring to new students. Yiquan models itself as a bridge between the internal and external martial arts, but it is undeniable that under the hood it has some very obvious internal roots. Master Shi Dan-Qiu explains:

“Although Yiquan declares that it belongs to neither external nor internal style of martial arts, as a matter of fact, you may find the essence of Yiquan in the classic theory of Taijiquan.”

What is special about Yiquan, is the core concept of rooting through stances and training exercises known as Zhan Zhuang (‘standing like a pole’ 站樁).This requires minimal memory for a new student to begin practicing, but the true purpose behind the concept can be lost in translation.

The basic principle is if you imagine the physical act of hugging a tree and holding that position in place for minutes at a time (and slowly increasing the length of time spent in the position, similar perhaps to the idea ofthe ‘plank’ exercise but with less impactful tension). Once in the correct posture, this is the very basic foundation of the entire rest of the art of Yiquan. Zhan Zhuang should teach a student relaxed but firm structure (by listening to ones’ own body) and concentrating on breathing deep from the diaphragm (and lower dantian 丹田). There should be no tension in the muscles at this point, although newcomers will find that they will start to ache as muscles fight against gravity. Only once a student has understood the concept of listening to their body and using the mind to concentrate internally first, then more traditional martial techniques such as punching can become more potent, by using the mind to activate force using the whole body (Hun Yuan Li 渾圓力). That is why the Yi (mind 意) part of Yiquan is so crucial. You must first imagine the resistance to your movements, and then the inner strength will develop. Once the inner strength has developed, you can practice releasing the force like a coiled spring which can only be done properly byactivating the different muscle groups in the whole body.

But if Yiquan is known for standing still, what about the kinetic aspects? For an art grounded in internal roots with often slow and methodical movements, there is still an emphasis on explosive actions when discussing in the concept of real fight sparring and Sanshou. There is a great emphasis on controlled stepping in Yiquan, and no wasted energy. It borrows from both natural metaphors and other sports. For example, the simplest movement of walking forwards is called Mo Ca Bu (wading step 摩擦步) which has a practitioner imagine that they are knee-deep in thick mud and are forced to push the leg forward through the mud as opposed to lifting. The foot is raised about an inch or so off the ground, as if only separated from the floor by a marble on the sole of the foot. Then there is also the “skating” or “fencing” step (Da Bu 大步) which conjure imagery directly from these sports themselves. It can be said that Yiquan truly is an art of borrowing what is useful from other martial arts and stripping away other elements (in a similar philosophy perhaps to Bruce Lee’s Jeet Kune Do).

So what are the main benefits for new students to learn Yiquan? As it has no forms, you can do solo practice with minimum space needed. You can practice your rooting in a small apartment (or balcony for fresh air training) and still have the same benefit as going to a class. Also, Yiquan does not require much if any equipment, so the barrier to entry is as low as possible for studying a new martial art. Although it may not be as widely taught as Tai Chi, it can neatlycomplement a student’s martial arts toolkit for those willing to seek it out and for those who are in it for the health benefits, it has you covered too.

Some recommended further reading for beginners on the subject is “Yiquan Beginners’ Guide: Basic Skills” by Joseph P. Lau which comprehensively covers the movements in English with original Chinese notations, and also Sifu Shi Dan-Qiu’s English website can be here.