Elements of Yin Fa 隱法

The list below shows the skills layout of Yin Fa 隱法 from the Zhan Shi Xin 戰士心 or “Warrior Heart” tradition. This post simply lays the curriculum out as a big picture. Other posts and videos will cover the details of each skill or weapon:

The wushu 武術 or “martial skills” of the Zhan Shi Xin 戰士心 tradition is specifically called Wan Wu Zhi Dao 萬物之道 or “Way of Ten Thousand Things”. The following list is an outline of the curriculum:

• 1. Quan fa 拳法 – fist law/method (unarmed combat)
     • Ti 踢 – kicking
     • Da 打 – striking
     • Shuai 摔 – throwing
     • Na 拿 – catch and hold
  2. Bing qi 兵器 – military weapons
     • Kwan dao 關刀 – halberd
       
     • Qiang 槍 – spear, piercing and cutting types
     • Gun 棍 – staff, various sizes and materials
     • Dao 刀 – single edge sword + knives etc
     • Gong jian 弓箭 – bow and arrow
  3. An qi 暗器 – hidden weapons
     • Fei biao 飛鏢 – flying darts/projectiles
       • Tuo shou biao 脫手鏢 – hand released darts
       • Sheng biao 繩鏢 – tethered/rope darts
       • Ko tu fei biao 口吐飛鏢 –  spitting darts
       • Ko chui fei biao 口吹飛鏢  – blow dart (tube)
     • Duan jian 短劍 – daggers
     • Ruan bing qi 軟兵器 – soft weapons 
       • Lian 鏈 – chains
       • Ruan bian 軟鞭 – chain whips (various)
       • Sheng suo 繩索 – ropes
     • Zhu zi 柱子 – pillars/posts
     • Panguan bi 判官筆 – magistrate/judges brush
     • Xie jian 鞋劍 – foot/shoe weapons
     • Ma deng 馬鐙 – stirrups and rings
  4. Tong qi 通器 penetrator weapons
     • Specialist weapons
     • Improvised weapons
     • Bamboo weapons
     • Poison dispensers
     • Er lei 餌雷 – booby traps

Qing gong 輕功 – light skills

• 1. Feiyanzoubi 飛簷走壁 – flying eaves running walls (skill of moving on rooftops and perimeter walls).
  2. Bihu gong 壁虎功 – gecko skill (specialist climbing skills)
     • Bihu zhoubi gong 壁虎走壁功 – gecko running wall skill
     • Bihu youqiang gong 壁虎游牆功 – gecko swimming wall skill
     • Bihu xuan bi gong 壁虎懸壁功  – gecko hanging on rampart
     • Cat landing
  3. Acrobatic skills
     • Tumbling
     • Rolling and break-falling
     • Climbing bamboo
     • feiyue chuanyue 飛躍穿月 (hoop diving skill)
     • Rope skills

Yinshen shu 隱身術 – invisibility skills

• 1. Hiding
     • Night training
     • Daylight training
  2. Penetrating skills
     • Night
     • Day
  3. Escape and evasion
     • Night
     • Day
  4. Shelter and housing for long term stay
  5. Hiding in plain sight
  6. Tunneling

Chinese medicine and healing

Food and nutrition

Weapons crafting

House building

It is plain to see that the curriculum is vast and seemingly impossible, however, the principle of Wan Wu Zhi Dao 萬物之道 (and others), allow the exponent to become highly skilled in a relatively short period of time. This is achieved through teaching principles of movement alongside absolute movement. An apprenticeship is necessary because knowledge is not simply ‘passed along’, it needs to leach slowly, carefully, across the generation gap. Any other method causes loss and degradation.