Formosa Neijia

This is our second offering from translator Marcus Brinkman — The Science of Internal Strength Boxing by Zhang Nai-qi. Of all the works from Marcus that I’m offering, this one caught me the most off-guard. Zhang says an awful lot of things that clear up misconceptions about internal arts training and issues related to neigong. Consider the following questions:

What is the real meaning of “fire and water” in internal martial arts?

Why are Western-type exercises sometimes at odds with internal arts training?

What are preparation and ending postures in forms for and why are they so important?

Does xingyiquan’s five element theory really have anything to do with the organs?

Why is relaxation so important?

How does working with abdominal pressure increase your martial power?

What are the real health and psychological benefits of IMA practice and how do you get them?

Zhang covers all these topics and many more. I’ve rarely seen a work that so concisely addressed the many topics that confuse people. After years of study, I still have problem areas that I don’t fully understand. Zhang cleared many of them up for me.

The book was written as a Shanghai newspaper column back in the 1930’s. Zhang had about 15 years experience in the internal arts at that time. He specifically mentions xingyiquan and taijiquan, but seems familiar with baguazhang and other arts, as well. You can sense the ghost of yiquan hovering over his shoulder as he writes. Haha. I say that because yiquan seems to have had an influence on the work.

The translation is over 90 pages long and the book is rich in information. The price is US$12 and it’s in PDF format. To purchase the book, please make a donation in that amount at the PayPal donation link in the upper right-hand corner of this blog. Then send an email to chessman71 “at” gmail.com to let me know that you’re ordering it.

A preview of the book is below. Please note: these are just JPEGs of the book as a sample, therefore they may be of lower quality than the PDF file.