118 Fist Fighting and Self-Cultivation
traditional medicine, where it described sensitive spots along the body’s inter-
nal circuits of energy (qi). Acupuncture treatment is applied to these points,
which are not only receptive to treatment but also susceptible to injury. It is to
them, the manual explains, that the accomplished Shaolin warrior directs his
blows. The author employs the Zhuangzi metaphor of Cook Ding to explain the
technique. The legendary cook’s knife remained as good as new, even after
nineteen years of butchering, for it had always followed the natural cavities in
the oxen’s body. Hand combat should similarly target acupuncture points:
The book [Zhuangzi] says: “strike in the big hollows, guide the knife
through the big openings.” Why does it say so? Because when Cook Ding
cut up oxen “he no longer saw the whole ox.”^17 I say it is the same with
hand combat. Why? Because I am looking for my opponent’s soft points,
acupuncture points, and those forbidden to strike and I engrave them
in my mind’s eye. For this reason, the moment I lift my hand, I am able
to target my opponent’s empty points, and strike at his acupuncture
points, “no longer seeing the whole person.”^18The manual identifies acupuncture points the striking of which will cause
immediate or postponed death, as well as those leading to temporary or per-
manent paralysis. There is even a point that causes the adversary to “cry to
death,” and another that makes him “laugh to death.” (Twentieth-century
manuals of the Emei style similarly recognize a “laughing-waist acupuncture
point” (xiaoyao xue), which, when struck, causes “serious injury and/or uncon-
trollable laughter.”^19 ) Their exact locations are marked in illustrations, which
the Xuanji’s Acupuncture Points’ reader is advised not to divulge “lest wicked
people intentionally use them to injure people” (figure 23).
Expounding as they do an entire fighting philosophy as well as its di-
verse applications, Hand Combat Classic and Xuanji’s Acupuncture Points fea-
ture a rich technical vocabulary, as the latter’s preface demonstrates:
There are various hand combat styles, each with its own strength:
Some excel in palm method (zhang): The “According Palm,”
“Flipping Palm,” “Offering Palm,” “Saluting Palm,” “Obstructing Palm,”
“Sweeping Palm,” “Single Palm,” “Double Palm,” and “Mandarin-Duck
Palm” all differ.
Some excel in fist method (quan): The “According Fist,” “Flipping
Fist,” “Supporting Fist,” “Inserting Fist,” “Pulling Fist,” “Shearing Fist,”
“Accompanied Fist,” and “Reversing Fist” all differ.
Some excel in elbow method (zhou): The “Flipping Elbow,” “Accord-
ing Elbow,” “Horizontal Elbow,” “Straight Elbow,” “Angled Elbow,”
“Dashing Elbow,” and “Back Elbow” all vary.
Some excel in body method (shen): The “Advancing Body,” “Retreat-
ing Body,” “Stretching Body,” “Contracting Body,” “Leisured Body,”