The internal art of Xingyiquan ("Mind Shape Boxing") is built on five fist postures. Each fist posture contains a different way of dealing with an opponent. They include blocks, deflections, and powerful palm and fist strikes. The fist postures are the foundation of the art. When you learn all five of the individual short forms, you proceed to applications and the Linking form.

The material in this DVD set most closely resembles Shanxi-style Xingyiquan, as Ken originally learned it, although the exact lineage is difficult to verify with certainty.

Traditional martial arts often evolve through generations of teachers, cross-training, and shared influences. Over time, distinctions between branches can blend, and identifying an exact “pure” style is not always easy.

What Ken teaches here is practical, functional Xingyi — including San Ti, the Five Fist Postures, and their fighting applications — with a strong emphasis on body mechanics, structure, whole-body power, and martial usability.

The focus is not on style politics or claims of secret lineage. The focus is on helping you understand the principles and train them effectively. Ken's success in this -- in tournaments and in his students' experiences -- makes it a very effective art and definitely Xingyi.

Some of Ken's students have used Xingyi in real-life self-defense, including a police officer who used it during a standoff with a violent suspect. He quickly crossed a living room floor and took the man down. After he was cuffed, the suspect looked up and asked, “How did you do that so fast?”

All martial arts training involves cooperation to some degree. Even boxers, kickboxers, wrestlers, and MMA fighters do not train at full power all the time. If they did, they would constantly injure their training partners — and themselves. Good training progresses in stages.

In this DVD set, the applications are demonstrated cooperatively so you can clearly understand the mechanics, angles, positioning, timing, and purpose of each movement. You first need to understand how something works before increasing speed, unpredictability, and resistance.

Xingyiquan was developed as a fighting art, and the Five Fist Postures contain practical striking, entering, and controlling methods. Skill develops progressively — from understanding structure and movement, to partner practice, to increasingly realistic training. Even combat athletes learn techniques cooperatively before pressure-testing them.

You learn the techniques and applications, then train them as you wish. Ken knows from experience that you do not have to hurt someone — or be hurt — to develop effective self-defense. You just have to train smart.