Yiliquan literally means “One Principle Fist” and is a martial arts system which allows for instantaneous response to attack(s) of any kind by turning the aggressor’s own force against him in a variety of ways. This is done by “connecting” with the aggressor and his force and controlling his force and energy.
Unlike many martial arts methods, Yiliquan does not oppose force with force. Instead, it seeks to blend with the aggressor’s force and energy while evading the physical attack itself and moving the “point of focus” of the aggressor’s attack.
More importantly, Yiliquan is a philosophy which, unlike most other philosophies, can be applied in daily life with relative ease because it is illustrated and practiced as a form of martial art.
As the name implies, Yiliquan is based upon a single principle, which is called the “Primary Principle.” This single principle is:
KEEP ONE-POINT AT ALL TIMES
Yiliquan practitioners believe that by maintaining their “one-point”; that is, by centering themselves physically, mentally, and spiritually at the point in the lower abdomen known in Chinese as the “dantien,” and by learning to make every movement from it, they can better control their physical movements, maintain mental alertness and calm, achieve spiritual awareness, realize spiritual truths, and maintain harmony with the universe.
One of the spiritual truths realized through practice of this art is that attack is against certain spiritual laws and universal principles. It is not in keeping with the concept of maintaining harmony with the universe and adherence to God’s laws. Because of this, there is no first attack in Yiliquan. The entire system, insofar as its physical techniques are concerned, is geared towards responsive action that is intended to bring the aggressor back into universal harmony by returning his force back to him instantaneously.
That is, Yiliquan is physically structured as a method of defense only. This necessarily means that an attack must be generated by the opponent before Yiliquan can be physically applied. Since Yiliquan seeks to control an aggressor’s force and energy and use it to bring him back into harmony, aggressive action must first be created by the aggressor so that such force and/or energy is generated.
Having said this, we must also state that attack originates in the mind before it becomes a physical reality expressed through bodily movement. In advanced stages, Yiliquan practitioners learn to deal with aggression at its point (and time) of origin.
However, one concept that makes Yili even more unique is that it responds to the aggressor’s attack by allowing HIS attack to create the responsive defense. HIS attacking power is used to initiate the responsive power of the defensive technique(s). The attacker is therefore completely responsible for whatever happens to him because his movement and force are returned to him.
Yiliquan is based upon “eight shapes” (body movements/steps), which are named after the eight trigrams of the bagua. However, these eight shapes, which are born of the original five strategies (five types of body movement/shifting), give birth to an infinite number of techniques and movements which are limited only by the practitioner’s own level of creativity and understanding of the system. As the founder says of Yiliquan,
“Yiliquan contains forms but is without form;
Contains all techniques but owns none;
Is based upon eight shapes but is formless.”