Xin Yi Liu He Quan

Xin Yi Liu He Quan means the boxing of the heart and of the intention of the six harmonies, a somewhat long title but one that defines the practice perfectly. By "heart" is meant the courage required to execute the style, which always proposes to enter directly into the opponent.

"Intention" (yi) is the awareness of the part of the body where the force is located throughout the movement, up to the impact. The "six harmonies", which are encountered in other styles, are the six opposing directions (up–down, front–back, left–right) to be maintained in order to reinforce balance and develop energy.

This style is characterised by two converging principles, that of economy in the gestures and that of unity in the attack. A principle of economy, because the techniques are stripped of any superfluous gesture, of any flourish, so as to lose nothing of the force at the moment of impact.

At the same time the apparent simplicity of the techniques is deceptive, in the sense that each one contains several possible parries and attacks. The body often presents openings at the start in order to provoke a reaction from the opponent, to parry it and to strike in the same movement.

A Xin Yi Liu He technique potentially comprises a coordinated succession of attacks (knee–elbow, foot–fist, shoulder, head). At the end of the movements the very stable position (Liu He) aligns the foot, the knee, the shoulder and the head: this is the principle of unity. The practitioner enters with the whole body.

The 10 techniques of the Xin Yi Liu He of Henan (Shi Da Xing, "10 Great Animals"):

• The Dragon (Long Xing).
• the Tiger (Hu Xing).
• the Rooster (Ji Xing).
• the Horse (Ma Xing).
• the Monkey (Hou Xing).
• the Swallow (Yan Xing).
• the Falcon (Yao Xing).
• the Snake (She Xing).
• the Bear (Xiong Xing) .
• the Eagle (Ying Xing).