10 Questions on Dragon Strength :D

[Andrea]

Thank you Sigung and Anton Sihing for this thread. It's an amazing set.
And there is so much to be learned from the answers.

Andrea

[Anton S.]

Dear Maxime and Andrea!
So happy you are enjoying this thread!
I am very grateful that Sigung has agreed to answer 10 Questions!
This is the most exciting set for me!
And the answers reveal so much!



Here comes the next Question:

Question 5

What is the history of the Dragon Strength Set, both general and in particular to Uncle Righteousness' lineage?

When you first learned the Set, you have stated that you learned it without the internal aspect. However the very name "Dragon Strength Chi Circulating Set" suggests it was specifically developed as an internal exercise. Please can you outline the internal skills originally intended to be crystallised in the Set, and your subsequent rediscovery (or redevelopment) of the internal skills of the Set.

Is the emphasis of the Set the internal aspect or the combat aspect? or both? and what are the most notable combat advantages of training the Dragon Strength Set?
-
Sifu Andy Cusick


Answer

Interestingly, although Dragon Strength is my specialty, I do not know much about its history. Depending on one’s perspective, this is ironical or Zen. Many people would consider it ironical that although I know a lot about histories of kungfu sets, I don’t know much about the set that I specialize in. But I consider it Zen. What is important is not an intellectualized knowledge of its history or other information, but practical benefits derived from its practice.

In daily life, what is important is how happy you and your wife or girlfriend are together, and not what you know about how she spent her childhood. What is important is how njoyable and beneficial is your work to you and your family, and not how your job was created in the first place.

The earliest schools of Dragon Kungfu I know of are Dragon Style Kungfu, Pak Mei Kungfu and Ermei Kungfu, all founded by Pak Mei in the 19th century, although techniques with Dragon features already existed a few centuries ago. The Shaolin five animals, which included the Dragon form, were already in existence in the Song Dynasty in 12th century,

The Dragon Strength Set I practice is characterized by “chong kiew tai ma”, or “long bridge wide stance”, whereas Pak Mei’s Dragon Style Kungfu is characterized by “thun kiew siew ma” or “short bridge small stance”. I believe the Dragon Strength Set and Dragon Style Kungfu derived from the same source, i.e. Southern Shaolin, but had different lineage.

I am not sure from whom my sifu, Uncle Righteousness, learned the Dragon Strength Set? But I believe it was from my sigung, Ng Yew Loong, who in turned learned from Chan Fook, the same master who taught the Drunken Fist master, Bagger Su. Chan Fook probably learned from the Venerable Harng Yein, the most senior disciple of the Venerable Chee Seen, the First Patriarch of Southern Shaolin.

Yes, when I first learned Dragon Strength, it was without internal aspect. I practiced it at a physical level. After learning nei kung, or internal cultivation, and meditation, or mind cultivation, from my third sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, I added the mind level and the energy level to Dragon Strength.

It is true that the full name of the set, Dragon Strength Chi Circulating Set, suggests that it was developed as internal kungfu, especially. The name of the set in Chinese is “Loong Lek Wan Hei Kuen” (Cantonese), or “Long Li Yun Qi Quan” in Mandarin. “Dragon Strength” is a literal translation of “Long Lek”. A figurative translation is “Dragon Force”, which is even more suggestive of its internal cultivation.

(Part 2 follows)

[Anton S.]

second part

(Continued from Part 1)

Chinese is a very concise language, and the name of the set may be interpreted in three ways:

1. The set is meant to develop Dragon force by circulation of chi.
2. The set is meant to develop Dragon force and to circulate chi.
3. In performing the set, practitioners employ Dragon force to circulate chi.

In the first interpretation, the intention of the set is to use the circulation of chi to develop Dragon force. There is one intention, and it is to develop Dragon force. The method is circulation of chi.

In the second interpretation, there are two intentions of the set. One is to develop Dragon force,, and the other is to circulate chi. It is not mentioned what methods are used.

In the third interpretation, practitioners of the set use Dragon force to circulate chi. It is not mentioned how Dragon force is generated or how it is used to circulate chi.

Personally I favour the first interpretation.

Although theoretically the three interpretations are different, and this will provide good material for intellectuals to quarrel over, in practice the three interpretations are basically the same. When one has successfully circulated chi to generate Dragon force, he already has two skills, namely Dragon force and circulation of chi.

Earlier, when he did not have Dragon force, he could circulate his chi, and consequently developed Dragon force, now when he has Dragon force he also can circulate his chi.

As an analogy, earlier a practitioner could not generate a chi flow, but he could enter into a chi kung state of mind. While in a chi kung state of mind, he could subsequently generate a chi flow. Now while enjoying his chi flow, he can also enter into a chi kung state of mind.

Earlier a person was unmarried but he knew how to court a girl. Eventually, as a result of his courting, he married her. Now she is his wife, he can continue to court her.

My study of kungfu classics taught me that Dragon force was very powerful, and could be manifested in any part of the body. I discovered from practicing the Dragon Strength Set that this was true. I also discovered from direct experience that the manifestation of Dragon force could be at the speed of thought.

I believe that when Uncle Righteousness taught me the set, my sifu did not keep the secret internal cultivation of the set from me. He taught it the way he practiced it. Practicing kungfu sets at a physical level was the norm in the school then, i.e. the Shaolin kungfu school in Soon Tuck Association, Penang, Malaysia in the 1950s. It was and still is the norm in most Shaolin schools then and now all over the world.

The way we practice Shaolin Kungfu, or any kungfu in our school, at the energy and mind levels besides the physical level is a rare exception. Even when I learned from Sifu Chee Kim Thong, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam and Sifu Choe Hoong Choy, all my school-mates and I did not practice kungfu the way students at Shaolin Wahnam now do.

Although Sifu Chee Kim Thong’s school was well known for internal force, all my classmates and I practiced San Zhan at a physical level. San Zhan was the only set I saw at the school, although sometimes I heard my sihengs mentioned some other sets. I didn’t know whether some of my sihengs were selected to learn these special sets. But I knew from direct experience that my sihengs had internal force. It was due to their years of dedicated training of San Zhan, and for some due to Abdominal Breathing, which was not normally practiced in class.

Although my kungfu “enlightenment” was due to Sifu Ho Fatt Nam’s teaching, my classmates and I practiced kungfu sets at a physical level in Sifu Ho Fatt Nam’s school. We trained internal force separately in One-Finger Shooting Zen, as well as Iron Palm and rubbing our arms against hard wooden edges of pillars and tables. Iron Bridge (a form of internal force training), Cosmos Palm, Bamboo Man (a training for agility), Abdominal Breathing and subsequently Small Universe, and Zen meditation were taught to me privately. I didn’t know whether my classmates knew any of these secret arts, but I have never heard any one of them mention it.

(Part 3 follows)

[Anton S.]

third part

(Continued from Part 2)

Although I was quite good at internal force by the time I learned from Sifu Choe Hoong Choy, all the kungfu sets taught and practiced in his school were at a physical level. The only exception was Siu Lin Tou where mind, energy and physical form were integrated to develop internal force, which my sifu taught me privately after I had learned the physical routine of the set. I didn’t know whether my classmates knew this internal aspect of Siu Lin Tou, but from my sparring with them I knew they did not have internal force, with the exception of Uncle Cheong, an elderly disciple of Sifu Choe Hoong Choy. But there was no doubt that Sifu Choe Hoong Choy had a lot of internal force, indicating that he must have spent a lot of time practicing Siu Lin Tou the internal way.

I do not know of any other kungfu schools practice kungfu the way we do, where we integrate mind, energy and form right at the start. Practitioners of internal arts, like Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and Baguazhang, are supposed to do this, but from my experience, I have not seen them doing so.

Some internal art masters are powerful with internal force. But I believe they have developed their internal force through years of dedicated practice. Some external art masters are also powerful with internal force, though many of them may not recognize it as internal force! They also have developed their internal force through years of dedicated practice where their external training has become internal. But I have not come across any other schools apart from ours where students can experience internal force on the very first day of an intensive course or within a month in a regular class.

My own development as well as my teaching of the integration of mind, energy and form was a gradual process. This progress was much influenced by three factors:

1. My teaching of chi kung.
2. My study of kungfu and chi kung classics.
3. My practice of Dragon Strength.

I taught students to enter into a chi kung state of mind to generate an energy flow. I first discovered and then taught students to use the mind to influence the speed and direction of chi flow, which are manifested as external physical movements. In other words, I taught students to use their mind to direct chi to move their physical for.

I read from classics that some Taijiquan masters regarded using mind to direct chi to move form as the highest attainment in Taijiquan. Although I did not agree with this concept, as I regarded the highest attainment of Taijiquan, or any art, as the return to the Great Void, or the return to God the Holy Spirit, I find this teaching inspiring.

(Part 4 follows)

[Matt F.]

Thank you, Sifu, for such in-depth and thorough answers! The special Q&A section has certainly become the crown jewel of the forum!

And thank you, Anton, for the daily answer updates!

I've been patiently waiting for this course for so long (I heard Sifu confirm the date of the course 2 years ago), that I can hardly believe it is just weeks away! It seems unreal.

-Matt

[Seán Grame]

Super Excited

Wow such an inspiring Q&A, Sifu's Answers are so very rich with meaning.

I really cant wait until we all congregate once again in December

Best Xmas present to myself ever

With deepest love and respect

Seán

[Anton S.]

Dear Matt, you are most welcome!

Sean, the Xmas present (hits it!) and it will be amazing!!

(Continued from Part 3)

There was an interesting episode that illustrates one can learn great lessons in a most unexpected way. A beautiful woman who learned chi kung from me in my early years of teaching once told me that she practiced Taoist cultivation before. Her Taoist master taught her to use her mind instead of her muscles to perform physical activities. For example, instead of using her hand to turn on a switch or hold a cup. she would tell her hand to do so. If she succeeded, her hand would automatically, and without muscular effort, turn on the switch or hold the cup. It did not occur to me then, and I am sure it did not occur to her too, that this casual talk turned out to be a very important lesson in my own training and later teaching.

I applied these lessons to my practice of Dragon Strength, and it worked marvelously. I was very powerful and very fast, using mind and energy flow, and without using muscles.

Both Dragon force and combat application are important in the Dragon Strength Set. But in my own experience, the emphasis is on the internal aspect.

This does not mean that the combat techniques of the set are not important. But it is Dragon force that makes the combat techniques meaningful and applicable.

My training of Dragon Strength has made me so powerful and fast that I could use any technique, and still I could defeat my opponents. But using the techniques found in the Dragon Strength Set makes my victory doubly sure. Someone who does not have Dragon force and attempts to use combat techniques in the Dragon Strength Set, he would not be effective.

As an analogy, if you are a very skillful driver, you can win a race using any car. But if you use a powerful and fast car that is specially built to accommodate your skills, your victory is doubly sure.

The most notable advantages of training the Dragon Strength Set are developing Dragon force which is tremendously powerful and versatile, becoming
extremely fast at the speed of thought, and applying dim mark techniques that are simple and profound.

These advantages are not just for combat. More significantly they can be employed in our daily life. Dragon force gives you good health, vitality, longevity, peak performance and spiritual joys. Tremendous speed enables you to accomplish tasks without delay. Dim mark training enables you to carry out your daily duties in a simple, direct and effective way with profound results.

<End>

[Andy]

Thank you very much Sifu for this insight!

Thanks again Sisook for enabling this thread

Best,

[Anton S.]

You´re welcome brother!!

Here comes Question 6, Answer Part 1

Question 6

Can you please tell me how one can apply the skill of Dragon Strength to daily life and business and the benefits that it will bring?

Dominic.


Answer

Applying the skills we learn in our kungfu classes to our daily life and business is unique in our school. As far as I know, it is not done in other schools, and is unprecedented in kungfu history.

Some kungfu masters and advanced practitioners in the past could perform better in their daily life and business as a result of their training. This, however, was different from consciously applying their kungfu skills to enrich their daily life, like what we do.

In other words, their training gave these masters and high-level practitioners good health and vitality. Their good health and vitality, which they might not have if they had not trained in kungfu, enabled them to have better performance in their daily life and business. Their better performance was a by-product of their training.

This is different from directly applying our kungfu skills, as well as philosophy and strategies, to our daily life and business. In combat training, for example, we learn good spacing and good timing. If you are a computer expert, you don’t market your service to street hawkers, but to companies that can afford to pay high fees and are in need of your service. This is applying good spacing and good timing in business.

In internal force training, we learn to be relaxed and focused. We apply this skill of being relaxed and focused in our daily life, and as a result have better performance in whatever we do. Our benefits in our daily life and business are a direct result of our applying what we have learned in our kungfu training.

Even deriving benefits as a by-product now and in the past in other schools, which is different from our school where deriving benefits is a direct result of our training, happen to only some practitioners. For other practitioners, which unfortunately constitute the majority, their practice of kungfu or other martial arts becomes a liability to them, often without their realizing. They tense their muscles, sustain injuries which are routinely left unattended, and become angry and stressful, which will adversely affect their daily life and business.

Indeed in the past many families did not want their children to practice kungfu for fear that they would be injured or even killed. Many women would not like to marry kungfu practitioners for fear that they would spend more time in their daily life on kungfu than on their business or their wives.

This is an interesting contrast in our school. Honestly I believe women who marry our kungfu students are lucky. Their husbands are healthy, full of vitality and zest for living, and have high moral values, which are invaluable benefits derived from directly applying kungfu skills and practice to their daily life.

These wonderful benefits are derived from applying kungfu skills of any kungfu set in their daily life and business. The Dragon Strength Set has two special skills not normally found in other sets, and these two special skills further enrich daily life and business performance. These two special skills are Dragon force and lighting speed.

(Part 2 follows)

[Anton S.]

part 2:

(Continued from Part 1)

Dragon force is tremendous internal force that can be manifested in any part of the body. Lighting speed is the ability of executing kungfu movements at the speed of thought.

Although it is very powerful, Dragon force is soft and flowing, but can be manifested as hard and consolidated at will. It can be applied to all aspects of daily life and business.

In daily life, when you need to carry out a series of tasks, for example, you can apply Dragon force to accomplish the tasks effectively and without feeling tired. You can complete your company report, drive home from work, pick up a bouquet of flowers on the way, enjoyed a shower, put on your evening dress, pick up your girlfriend from her house, kiss her as you hand her the flowers, and take her to dinner – all accomplish smoothly and happily with Dragon force.

If you have other types of force, like consolidated force from Iron Wire or muscular force from weight-lifting, you may not accomplish the tasks so smoothly and pleasantly. You may be stressful when you write your company report, hesitant when you want to kiss your girlfriend, and tensed when you take her to dinner. The benefits are obvious. You accomplish your tasks harmoniously, and the other person or persons involved enjoy your accomplishment.

Applying Dragon force in business will produce favorable result. If you are a salesman, for example, you can apply Dragon force to explain flowingly the benefits your client will have when he uses your product, and happily conclude the sale. With the transfer of the scholar-warrior concept in combat from your kungfu class to your business, you meet your client to conclude the sale, not in the hope of selling him a product.

But if you use consolidated force from Iron Wire or muscular force from weight-lifting, your explanation may be demanding and rigid, instead of pleasant and flowing. He may not buy your product even when you have earlier accessed him with your scholar-warrior concept of salesmanship, not because he does not like the product nor cannot afford to pay for it, but because he does not like the way you apply your force.

Lighting speed derived from Dragon Strength training will ensure that you accomplish your tasks pleasantly within a relatively short time. Instead of spending a long time in a florist shop thinking of what flowers to buy, you purchase the flowers wisely and fast. Instead of ransacking your wardrobe thinking of what to wear, you put on a smart dress that makes you and your girlfriend happy.

If your time management is so effective that your girlfriend is not ready when you arrive to pick her up, you can let your Dragon force flow. You may, amusingly, tell her that waiting for her to be prettily dressed is part of the fun in taking her out. You and your girlfriend are unlikely to have such amusement if you are trained in consolidated force or muscular force.

Applying lighting speed derived from Dragon Strength training in business is like turning your tasks into a lady’s skirt, which is short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the important parts.

So, instead of spending hours to explain to your client how to use your product, as a Dragon Strength trained salesman you apply lighting speed in your explanation, which is short but cover all important parts. You give him a call card to contact you if he needs help, which not only provides customers’ service but keeps customers’ contact which is useful for further and other sales. Two obvious benefits, besides others, are that your client has time to enjoy the new product, and you have time to contact other clients.

Hence, Dragon Strength not only brings our kungfu to higher levels, but make our lives happier too.

<End>

[Maru Talavera]

Thank you so much Sigung and Anton for this amazing thread.

I can't avoid a huge smile coming out of my face every time i think about how privileged i am to be able to join the course in december. The excitement and the happiness increases day by day.

[Anton S.]

Dear Maru,

I certainly echo your gratefulness and excitement!

Here comes one of my very favorite Q&A

Question 7

I would like to respectfully ask how the Dragon Strength and the Flower Set compare to one another, what their essence is, and if there are any secret aspects to them that can be mentioned or revealed here.

Sifu Emiko Hsuen


Answer

A good way to compare the two sets is under the headings of form, skills, application and philosophy. These four aspects give a comprehensive description of any kungfu set or kungfu style.

These four dimensions of kungfu in general can also be applied in particular to a kungfu set, or to any one aspect in kungfu training, like combat sequences and force development. In other words, any kungfu set, combat sequence, force development method or any aspect of kungfu training has four dimensions – form, skills, application and philosophy.

A kungfu set, like the Dragon Strength Set for example, has form, i.e. the arrangement of patterns in a routine that make up the set. It has skills, and in the case of the Dragon Strength Set, the two special skills of Dragon force and lighting speed. It has application, i.e. how the patterns in the set can be used for combat. In our school we also consider non-combat application, like how the practice of the set can enrich our daily life. The set also has philosophy, which is a collective explanation or description of its history, principles and other aspects of the set.

Classifying kungfu, its whole style or any one aspect of it like a kungfu set, into these four dimensions of form, skills, application and philosophy is my own innovation. Other people may use different classifications, or no classification at all. My classification is comprehensive and useful, and has enabled me to learn and benefit from kungfu training systematically and effectively.

This classification into the four dimensions of form, skills, application and philosophy is not due to whims and fancies. It is based on my understanding of how kungfu was practiced and used by generations of kungfu practitioners, and it has made my kungfu training cost effective and has given me a lot of benefits.

Today most kungfu practitioners focus only on form, which is manifested as kungfu sets. They start their kungfu career by learning a kungfu set, and continue to learn kungfu sets through their kungfu career. They do not develop skills, do not know the combat application of their kungfu, and do not learn any kungfu philosophy. Some of them attempt combat application, but they do not apply the kungfu techniques they practice. They mainly use Boxing or Kick-Boxing.

Because these practitioners lack an understanding of the various dimensions of their kungfu training, they miss a lot of benefits. If we were to give equal weight to the four dimensions, these practitioners would get only 25% of their potential benefits at their best.

In many ways, form is the least important of the four dimensions, though by itself it is important as it constitutes the vehicle of our training. More important are skills, like being relaxed even in combat situations, and having mental clarity to make fast and wise decisions. More practical in benefit is application, not just for combat but how to apply kungfu skills and other aspects to enrich our daily life. Philosophy provides us with guidance to get these benefits extensively and effectively.

Using these four dimensions of form, skills, application and philosophy enables us to compare the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set comprehensively.

In terms of form, the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set have the same structural arrangement. Both sets are made up of two main parts – force training on stance followed by techniques for combat application. These two parts correspond to the two pillars of any kungfu training, namely force development and combat application. In other words the two important requirements for any successful kungfu training are to develop force and to use this force for combat.

(Part 2 follows)

[Dominic Roche]

Dear Sigung,

Thank you very much for answering my question. It is truly inspiring how Kung Fu skills can be applied to our daily lives and the wonderful benefits that it brings. I feel very blessed to be part of this school.

Dear Anton Sisook,

Thank you very much for facilitating this thread. I look forward to reading more wonderful answers.

Shaolin Salute,
Dominic.

[Anton S.]

Dominic, very good!

Here comes Part 2

(Continued from Part 1)


In most other sets, force training is performed separately and is not incorporated into the set. In both the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set, force training is incorporated into the sets. In other words, practitioners of the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set need not practice force training separately using other training methods. By practicing their sets they can develop internal force for effective combat as well as better performance in daily life.

Both the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set use typical Southern Shaolin techniques, with a noticeable difference that in the Dragon Strength Set force training is performing on a Horse-Riding Stance whereas in the Flower Set it is performed on a Goat Stance. Relatively, the Horse-Riding Stance, while more demanding, is more stable, thus more suitable for consolidating force, whereas the Goat Stance is more fluid, being more suitable for flowing force.

Both sets employ “cheong kiew tai ma”, or “long bridge big stance”. The hand techniques are far-reaching, and the stances are wide. This is in contrast with “thun kiew sai ma”, or “short bridge small stance”, like in Wuzuquan and Wing Choon Kungfu. Both sets use the vertical fist instead of the level fist, indicating that internal force instead of muscular strength is employed in their strikes. Both sets also use the dragon-hand form. Not many practitioners may be aware that the dragon-hand form is employed in both sets for dim mark, or dotting vital points.

The form of the Dragon Strength Set and the Flower Set indicates that both sets represent an advanced stage of Shaolin Kungfu development. Their advanced nature, however, is different in the two sets. In the Dragon Strength Set it is simplicity, whereas in the Flower Set it is sophistication. This will be explained under the headings of skills and application below.

The general skills of both Dragon Strength and flower Set are the same. They provide combat efficiency, good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys. Their special skills are different. The special skills of Dragon Strength are Dragon force and lighting speed, whereas those of Flower Set are deceptive moves and overwhelming attack.

Dragon force is very special to Dragon Strength. It is soft and flowing, but it is very powerful. It is like a hurricane. While it is flowing, it can also be converted to consolidated force at will. Hence, it is not necessary to depend on momentum, like a hurricane, to generate the tremendous force. It can ram into an opponent at very close quarters like a tank.

Dragon force can also be manifested at any part of the body, or the whole body. A Dragon Strength practitioner does not need to specifically train his fist, his palm, his elbow, his arm or his leg, like Iron Palm or Iron Leg practitioners do. He can manifest his force at any of these places at will, yet his palm or his leg can cause more damage to opponents than Iron Palm or Iron Leg exponents do. Dragon force is therefore very versatile, manifested at any place, and can be flowing or consolidated.

The internal force from Flower Set is also flowing, but by comparison it is not as flowing as that in Dragon Strength. Flower Set force is relatively more consolidated. It is also not as versatile as Dragon force.

In another answer elsewhere I mentioned that the proportion of flowing force to consolidated force was higher in the Flower Set than in the Dragon Strength Set. Now I say that Dragon force is more flowing than Flower Set force.

Superficially this may appear to be a contradiction. But examining the situation deeper with mental clarity, which can be derived from practicing the Dragon Strength Set or the Flower Set, we can see that proportions of flowing force to consolidated force, and which set is more flowing are different issues.

While the proportion of flowing force to consolidated force in the Flower Set may be higher, which is about 70:30, while that in the Dragon Strength Set is about 60:40, Dragon force can be more flowing than Flower Set force. In other words the 60% of flowing force in Dragon Strength can be more flowing than the 70% of flowing force in the Flower Set.

As an analogy, you may use 60% of your income for expenses, and 40% for saving, spending $6000 for various things, and putting $4000 into your bank. Your friend may use 70% of his income for expenses, and 30% for saving, spending $700 for various things, and putting $300 into his bank. But your expenses, $6000, which constitute 60% of your income, are more than your friend’s expenses of $700 which constitute 70% of his income.

(Part 3 follows)

[Anton S.]

and part 3:

(Continued from Part 2)

The combat applications of both Dragon Strength and Flower Set are advanced, but their nature is different. Flower Set combat application is advanced because it is sophisticated, whereas Dragon Strength combat application is advanced because it is simple! Though the fact that the combat application of Dragon Strength is advanced due to its simplicity can be meaningful to our Shaolin Wahnam members, it may be puzzling to many other people.

How can the simple techniques of Dragon Strength be advanced in combat? This is possible because being simple and being advanced are two different issues. In other words, simple techniques can be elementary or advanced. An example can illustrate this interesting point. Suppose an opponent attacks you with a thrust punch. You can first ward of his attack with a Single Tiger, then strike him with a Black Tiger. This is applying two simple techniques in an elementary manner.

Now you apply a different response. As your opponent’s thrust punch approaches you, you thrust out your dragon-hand form in the pattern Swimming Dragon Plays with Water from Dragon Strength. Your brush off his coming attack and simultaneously strike him with your dragon-hand form. This is apply a simple technique in an advanced manner.

Your technique is simple because you just thrust out your dragon-hand form. It is advanced because not only you brush off his attack but strike him at the same time when he thinks his attack has reached you.

A typical response from the Flower Set is quite different. As your opponent’s thrust punch approaches, you ward off his attack with one hand and simultaneously strike him with another. This counter can be feint or real. If your opponent is slow, your attack becomes real, striking him at the same time you ward off his attack. If your opponent is fast enough to neutralize your counter-attack, your response becomes feint. You brush off his defence and horizontally chop his neck with your palm.

If he is fast enough to avoid it, you follow up immediately with your other hand to strike his head, really striking him if he fails to respond correctly but acting as a distraction if he tries to defend, while you drive a phoenix-eye fist to his solar plexus. You use a series of attacks to overwhelm him.

The same principles are applied in daily life. A Dragon Strength practitioner uses versatile force and lighting speed, whereas a Flower Set practitioner uses deception and overwhelming attack. If you are a salesman using the Dragon Strength approach, you move in to your client swiftly, convince him that your product is superior and close the sale fast.

Using the Flower Set approach, you offer your client a product. If he buys it, you offer him another product. If he does not buy your first product, you tell him that it is meant as a comparison as you offer him a second product. You repeat the procedure until he buys at lease one or preferably many of your products.

The philosophy of both the Dragon Strength Set and the flower Set is the same. Fundamentally both sets are meant for combat efficiency. They also contribute to good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys, though we are not afraid to honestly state that many practitioners today, even when they have a chance to practice these wonderful sets, due to their missing their essence, also miss many of their benefits. For us there is a special, and unprecedented, benefit. Practicing either set, or both, enriches our daily life.

What is their essence? Why do most other people miss their essence even when they practice the two sets?

The essence is developing skills and applying them, together with their techniques and other aspects of the training, to combat, and in our case to our daily life. Most other people who practice these two sets practice only their form. They miss the skills and the application, and also they do not know their philosophy.

For example, many practitioners of Dragon Strength do not have Dragon force, and many practitioners of Flower Set are unable to apply sophisticated techniques to overwhelm their opponents. An important reason why they miss these benefits, and probably may not even realize it, is that they do not know the philosophy of these two sets. They do not know, for example, that Dragon Strength can develop Dragon force, or that the techniques in the Flower Set can be applied to overwhelm opponents.

(Part 4 follows)