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Requirements of the Basic Strikes of the Lion System:
Cutting Strikes
By Jim Lindsay
Smoky Mountain Study Group, Knoxville, TN
Disclaimer: The following requirements are primarily gleaned from paying attention to the videos provided on the Lion System Foundational Practices, though corrections and insights I have received from my instructors, including He Jinbao, are included to the level of my understanding and my ability to manifest them in my training. I claim no authorship of these ideas. These lists are almost certainly not comprehensive and welcome correction or addition.
Cutting (Smashing) Palm (碴 – chá: to cut as with a piece of glass, a piece of broken glass)
A general idea to keep in mind while practicing the Cutting Palm is that the fists are filled with concentrated qi that is focused through the knuckles, which attack surfaces and points on the opponent’s body as if they are shards of broken glass. The fists, therefore, must be kept tight, and the knuckles must be exposed, turned out to meet the opponent, particularly at the end of the strike, adding an extra dimension of force. Though the intent and force are focused primarily through the knuckles in this palm, there is a general straightness to the force, pushing with the entire forearm. Still, to be effective with cutting strikes, especially in changing, there must be a degree of fluid flexibility and mobility in the wrists, allowing the fists to turn and cut in many ways.
Point Cutting Strike:
Body mechanics:
- The force is generated primarily by expanding and contracting the chest, squeezing the abdomen like doing a crunch in the process while sitting down at the waist, though there is some degree of waist turning and rolling, as the waist carries the strike and governs the movement throughout the Lion System.
- The feet are planted in the typical shoulder-width stance with the toes digging into the earth.
- The hands are in tight fists.
- The body sits down at the waist.
- The chest concaves.
- The back rounds.
- The eyes move with the hands, watching the striking fist from the point at which it passes the other.
- When stepping, the hand and foot move in harmony, as do the knees and elbows.
- Striking should be performed with a slow-fast cadence.
Lead arm:
- The fist should strike to the middle of the body, moving directly downward while the supporting arm strikes upward simultaneously.
- When striking downward, the wrist should be bent downward, directing the knuckles toward the opponent. The intent should be on the four knuckles, and the wrist should be bent so that they are fully exposed.
- The strike finishes at the height where the elbow meets the body when the arms hang naturally so that the forearm is essentially parallel to the ground.
Supporting arm:
- The supporting arm strikes upward, stopping beside the head, cocked for another strike.
- When striking upward, the wrist should be bent upward.
Hooking Cutting Strike: (n.b.: though this technique is called “hooking cutting” in English, the actual Chinese character used is the same as the one translated as “inward” for “inward sweeping.”)
Body mechanics:
- The force is generated primarily by fully turning the waist.
The feet are planted in the typical shoulder-width stance with the toes digging into the earth. - The hands are in tight fists.
- The body sits down at the waist.
- The chest concaves.
- The back rounds.
The eyes move with the hands, watching them from the wind-up of the strike to its conclusion. When stepping, the hand and foot move in harmony, as do the knees and elbows. - Striking should be performed with a slow-fast cadence.
Lead arm:
- The wrist of the striking arm is bent inward like a hook.
- The strike finishes at the height of the solar plexus.
This strike is primarily used to strike the opponent’s strike, hitting the inside or outside of the opponent’s wrist or lower arm (e.g.’s: PC-6, neiguan – inner pass, PC-5 jianshi – intermediary courier, or PC-4, ximen – xi cleft gate, on the inner arm, i.e. pericardium meridian; TH-4-9 on the outer arm, i.e. triple heater meridian). This strike is not limited to this goal (e.g. it is effective for entering directly, say in conjunction with an opening strike, striking instead the kidney or zhangmen (Lv-13, system’s door)). The shape of this strike is very round, the arm acting almost like a hooking arm (“permanently” bent into a hooked shape), though the wrist makes it cutting. - The wrist cuts inward at the last moment to add more force to the knuckles.
Supporting arm:
- The supporting arm should roll inward and down to the center of the body along a circular path, stopping between the belt-buckle area and the hip.
Rising Cutting Strike:
Body mechanics:
The force is generated primarily by expanding and contracting the chest, squeezing the abdomen like doing a crunch in the process while sitting down at the waist, though this is performed after the body turns fully to one side and the primary direction of strength is upward, lifting at the shoulder. The opposing movements of the two arms primarily generate the strength in the shoulders. The feet are planted in the typical shoulder-width stance with the toes digging into the earth. The hands are in tight fists. The body sits down at the waist. The chest concaves. The back rounds. The nose, fist (of the completed strike), and toes should all be in alignment (i.e. in the same plane). The eyes move with the hands, watching them through the windup and then following it through the strike. When stepping, the hand and foot move in harmony, as do the knees and elbows. Striking should be performed with a slow-fast cadence.
Lead arm:
The striking fist should rise straight up to eyebrow height. The wrist should be bent backwards, culminating at the end of the strike. After finishing one strike, the supporting arm becomes the new striking arm, and it is carried across the body in front of the groin, essentially straight as the waist turns to the other side. It should end up, just before the moment of striking, just in front of the (new) lead leg. At this point, the wrist should still be bent downward. The arm is kept extended, only adopting a slight hook at the elbow that follows the same curve as the striking fist’s wrist.
Supporting arm:
The lower fist should be bent downwards at the wrist, the knuckles also striking. After finishing one strike, the striking arm becomes the new supporting arm, and it rolls, containing a rolling, scraping, wrapping inward force to the level of the shoulder as the waist carries it across the body, ending up, just before the moment of striking, just in front of the (new) lead shoulder, though this transition is smooth and circular. At this point, the wrist should still be bent upwards. This fist falls straight down from roughly shoulder height to create opposing movement to that of the striking arm.
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