Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Loading the Rear Leg - An Important Skill in Xingyiquan

fighting with hsing-i fighting with xingyi xingyi self-defense xingyiquan Oct 03, 2019

An important concept in Xingyiquan is to take your opponent's ground.

Xingyi is not really a defensive art. The goal is not to take an opponent's energy and neutralize it. The purpose of Xingyi is to drive through your opponent like a bowling ball through bowling pins.

Xingyi is aggressive. It takes no prisoners.

But to take ground, you need to build leg strength by practicing taking ground. Step one in that process is to "load" the rear leg.

Take a look at the three images in this post.

In the first image, I am standing tall. If I had to spring forward, it would be difficult.

In the second image, I am loaded into a Xingyi fighting stance. My energy is "sunk" and I am ready. Notice how I am compressed into the rear leg. It is like a spring, ready to release. And my energy is forward, not backward.

In the third image, I am springing forward to strike with Beng Chuan.

As soon as I land, I will load the rear leg again.

Taking ground is not just for Xing...

Author - Instructor

Ken Gullette

I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Loading the Rear Leg - An Important Skill in Xingyiquan

Author - Instructor

Stay connected with news and updates!

Two Step