I Liq Chuan

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I Liq Chuan is a martial art and mind-body exercise, that focuses on developing and applying mindfulness and awareness. It founded in Malaysia in 1976 by Chin Lik Keong. I Liq Chuan is the romanised spelling of the Chinese 意力拳, where 意 ("I") relates to the mind, 力 ("Li") to power, and 拳 ("Chuan") means "fist" and is a common suffix denoting a form of Chinese martial art. "I Liq Chuan" can be literally translated as Mental-Physical Martial Art.

Application in education and grading system

The Zhong Xin Dao approach to learning has been adapted to educational settings via the Zhong Xin Dao Academic Approach. It provides students with tools to develop awareness, and to recognize how to learn, through immediate and direct feedback through body-based interaction. The approach has been applied in academic settings (i.e. colleges and universities, faculty and professional development sessions, co-curricular and after-school programs, etc). In the US, the Zhong Xin Dao Academic Approach has been applied in two university settings over the past three years: two as undergraduate courses. At Cabrini University, the course “Martial Arts and the Diaspora” / AST 324 was offered as an elective in American Studies (AST) through the Dept. of History and Political Science, AST 324 and a second course, “Conflict & Cooperation” / AST 206 has been added to the Cabrini University curriculum (spring 2016) which further expounds on Zhong Xin Dao and its emphasis on knowing one’s self. Through this focus, the course fulfills a “Values” desgination, now part of the Core Curriculum. Also there are two as graduate seminars applied at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Nancy Watterson and Lan Tran offered a graduate-level seminar “Moved to Learn: Embodied Cognition, Arts of Awareness, and Applied Ethnography” / Folk 579 through the Master of Liberal Arts Program. This course emphasized Zhong Xin Dao and learning how to learn as explored through the lens of different cultures’ and disciplines’ approaches to awareness.

The academic approach has been the subject of presentations at scholarly conferences across the disciplines and across the globe.

I Liq Chuan consists of:

1. Philosophy, concepts and principles
2. Unifying the mental and physical
3. Unifying yourself with the opponent

I Liq Chuan training emphasises the use of attention to recognise and realise. As a martial art, I Liq Chuan emphasises control of the opponent's centre of mass.. This is achieved by manifesting what I Liq Chuan practitioners refer to as "spherical energy". . I Liq Chuan's partner practice consiste of its unique spinning hands and sticky hands training.

Some authors consider I Liq Chuan to be an "internal" martial art.

One of major innovations in I Liq Chuan has been the development of a curriculum and grading system covering the entire art and Zhong Xin Dao approach. The curriculum is divided into 11 student levels and 6 instructor levels, with a grade awarded for competence at each level.

The 11 student levels cover:

• Student level 1: Basic exercises 1-10
• Student level 2: Basic exercises 11-15
• Student level 3: 21 Form
• Student level 4: Butterfly Form
• Student level 5: Spinning Hands (fixed)
• Student level 6: Spinning Hands (moving)
• Student level 7: Sticky Hands (upper hand)
• Student level 8: Sticky Hands (lower hand)
• Student level 9: Sticky Hands (free-style moving)
• Student level 10: Chin Na
• Student level 11: San Da

The 6 Instructor levels correspond to different student levels:

• Instructor level 1: 21 Form and basic exercises 11-15. Minimum student level 3
• Instructor level 2: Butterfly Form. Minimum student level 4
• Instructor level 3: Spinning Hands (moving and fixed). Minimum student level 6
• Instructor level 4: Sticky Hands (upper and lower hand). Minimum student level 8
• Instructor level 5: Sticky Hands (free-style moving) and Chin Na. Minimum student level 10
• Instructor level 6: San Da. Minimum student level 11

Also there are 3 Master levels:

• Master level 1: Good Hands (意力合 [i: li: hə i:])
• Master level 2: Wondery Hands (意控制于力)
• Master level 3: Mystery Hands (用意不用力)

Global spread

There are I Liq Chuan instructors in over than 15 countries now.

I Liq Chuan is most widely practiced in United States (24 schools), Russia (9 schools) and United Kingdom (3 schools).

Competitive record

I Liq Chuan practitioners have had great success in national and international martial arts tournaments.

• I Liq Chuan lineage holder Sam Chin won the 1978 Malaysia Selangor heavyweight kickboxing championship.
• I Liq Chuan practitioner Daria Sergeeva has won numerous tai chi push hands tournaments, including first place in her weight divisions at the Taijiquan and Qigong Federation for Europe (TCFE) European Championships in St.Petersburg, 2016 , and several gold medals at previous TCFE European Championships in Oxford, 2010 and Paris, 2006. Daria is also a world champion in both Muay Thai and K1 kickboxing, winning gold in both events at the 2010 WTKA World Championships
• Overall, the Russian I Liq Chuan team earned 20 gold medals, 17 silver medals, and 7 bronze medals at the Taijiquan and Qigong Federation for Europe (TCFE) European Championships in St.Petersburg, 2016 , and also placed highly at previous TCFE European Championships in Oxford, 2010 and Paris, 2006.
• The Norwegian I Liq Chuan team competed successfully at the ICMAC Oslo Open Wushu Kung Fu Championship 2012, with one gold medal (Espen Andreassesn, Male tuishou -75 kg), and two solver (Sandra Rapell, Female open tuishou, and Zoltan Saghy, Male tuishou -85 kg). Espen Andreassen was named "King of Pushing Hands"
• I Liq Chuan practitioner Ashe Higgs won Gold in the 2007 and 2008 Taiji Legacy tournament (light heavy weight), Gold in Lei Tai (unlimited weight) at the 2008 U.S. International Kuo Shu Championship , and Silver in Sanshou (heavy weight) at the 2009 Legends of Kung Fu World Martial Arts Championship

History

I Liq Chuan was founded in Malaysia in 1976 by Chin Lik Keong, and was further developed by his son Sam F.S. Chin (Chin Fan Siong) in the United States and internationally.

I Liq Chuan founder Chin Lik Keong is reported to have learned martial arts in Malaysia from several different masters, including "Lee style" from master Lee Sum, Phoenix Eye from master Len, and finally Feng Yang Lu Yi (also known as Hsing-I Bagua or Liew Mun Pai) from master Lee Kam Chow. Chin Lik Keong started teaching martial arts in 1968, and gradually developed a small martial art school. Over this period, Chin Lik Keong moved away from the particular martial arts he had learned, and developed an approach to teaching that emphasised attention, natural movement, and fundamental principles . At the suggestion of one of his students, Wong Choon Ching, Chin Lik Keong named his teachings "I Liq Chuan", representing the central idea of the relationship between power (Liq) and consciousness (I). Following creation of I Liq Chuan and the success of several of Chin Lik Keong's students in martial arts competition, I Liq Chuan became well-known in the Chinese martial arts community, and received widespread coverage in the Chinese-language media of the time. In 1976, Chin Lik Keong formed the I Liq Chuan Association of Malaysia.

In 1991 Chin Lik Keong's eldest son, Sam F.S. Chin, moved to the United States and began to teach I Liq Chuan at the Chuang Yen Monastery in Carmel, New York. Sam Chin worked with Chin Lik Keong to further develop I Liq Chuan, developing foundation exercises as well as the two forms in the system. Sam Chin was very active in the martial arts community in New York, and developed a reputation as a highly skilled martial artist. Sam Chin also began to formalise the I Liq Chuan system in the I Liq Chuan System Guide. Sam Chin also published a book, I Liq Chuan: Martial Art of Awareness, in 2006.

In 2009, Grandmaster Chin Lik Keong formally appointed Sam F. S. Chin as the lineage holder of I Liq Chuan.

Sam Chin is Vice director of the Technical Commmittee and 9th duan rank holder with the World Fighting Martial Arts Federation now, and is recognized by the USA Wushu Kung-Fu Federation as a Hall of Fame Outstanding Master. Sam Chin has taught workshops at public martial arts events including 2016 Saratoga Martial Arts Festival, 2016 Martial Arts Collective Society Gathering in Sacramento, and the 2016 Tai Chi Gala, New York. Sam Chin and I Liq Chuan headquarter currently resides in Pleasant Valley, New York.

The founder, Chin Lik Keong passed away on 7 July 2014, aged 84.

In order to differentiate the I Liq Chuan of lineage holder Sam Chin from other variants that are not affiliated to the lineage holder, Sam Chin named the I Liq Chuan training process Zhong Xin Dao (中心道) in 2016.

Organisational status

In 1977, the first group of practitioners officially registered with the Registry of Societies Malaysia with I Liq Chuan founder Chin Lik Keong being the main instructor of the association. Currently it is lead by Sam F. S. Chin as the President.

Schools practicing the I Liq Chuan system are managed by the Chin Family I Liq Chuan Association with headquarter located in New York, USA. They hold trademark rights to the name "I Liq Chuan" as well as the unique logo and closely monitor administration operations as well as memberships globally.

In 2009, Grandmaster Chin Lik Keong formally appointed Sam F. S. Chin as the lineage holder of I Liq Chuan.

In media

Documentary

• I Liq Chuan has been profiled in documentaries, television programmes and videoblogs

Books

• Lyn Halper describes training I Liq Chuan with the Founder, Sam Chin at the Chuang Yen monastery in New York, in her book Adventures of a Suburban Mystic: A True Story of Spiritual Transformation
• Jess O'Brien profiled I Liq Chuan and interviewed the founder Sam Chin in the book Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts
• Master Sam Chin (2016). Master Alexander Skalozub; Marina Gubnitskaya, eds. Илицюань. Боевое искусство осознанности (in Russian). 184. Translated by Igor Popov; Daria Sergeeva. Moscow. ISBN 978-5446510238.CS1 maint: Unrecognized language (link) Search this book on

Other media

Cabrini College produced a short video featuring the I Liq Chuan curriculum Martial arts channel DojoTV published an interview with ILC student, Lan Tran (DOJO TV interview, conducted at the international Martial Arts Studies Conference at Cardiff University, held in Wales, UK July 2016

External links

• The I Liq Chuan World Wide Official Site

This article "I Liq Chuan" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:I Liq Chuan. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.

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