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31. Fist like a Bullet
DAN ZI QUAN
Brief
description*
*Excerpt
from the book: Jin Jing Zhong. Authentic Shaolin
Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin. ISBN:
978-1440474170
Shaolin exercise
“Fist like a Bullet” is a hard external exercise, it
belongs to the YANG force. It is designed for perfecting
blows at the enemy with the joints of the second finger
phalanges set forward as regard to the front surface of
a fist. It is also one of the Shaolin methods of “Deadly
Arm”.
The training method
is quite simple and resembles the Shaolin exercise
“Saddle” (MA AN GONG). But the exercise “Saddle” trains
the force of the front striking surface of a fist and
this exercise, finger joints. The hand is not completely
clenched into fist, the fingers in the first phalange
bend and take their place near the third joints (i.e.
under the joints of the third phalanges, at the edge of
a palm from the finger side). Fingers are not completely
clenched into fist. The inner part of the hand (from the
palm side) forms a plane. The thumb, bending, is placed
in the central part of the palm. The hand position is
like that one during a seizure of an enemy’s arm in the
technique CHIN NA (Shaolin art of grappling with
simultaneous press at vulnerable points). After the
acquirement of proper shaping of the hand position,
deliver blows ...
<...>
... Therefore,
training in “hardness” must also include “soft” effort.
The ability to chisel a depression in a steel plate with
finger joints shows that a high level of the skill has
been achieved. But it needs four or five years of
stubborn training at least to attain that. This Shaolin
GONG FU also belongs to the section “Deadly Arm”, but it
is more effective as compared with Shaolin skills of
“Finger Lock” (SUO ZHI GONG) and "Making Holes in
Stones" (DIAN SHI GONG). In many methods fingers are
used, but in this case joints are employed. Joints have
no other practical use except hitting the enemy. After
the successful end of training you will be able to
deliver a blow so hard that it will be fatal to the
enemy. In a peaceful situation one must not have even a
desire to injure a man, that’s why a trainee who has
acquired this method well must be always cautious and
careful. Under no circumstances should you, if you rely
on your skill, behave rudely and arrogantly, you will
not, then, happen to injure a man because of reckless or
careless behavior. Forerunners said: “Harm can be done
suddenly and accidentally, those who learn combat
techniques must be very watchful”. One can injure bones
by a blow after learning this skill during one year. It
is similar to the method “Bone Injury” (XIE GU) of the
Shaolin style “Tiger’s Claws” (HU ZHAO QUAN).
***
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