YI XIAN CHUAN

Pulling a Silk Thread | Brief Description

Excerpt from the book: Jin Jing Zhong. Authentic Shaolin Heritage: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin >

This Shaolin exercise has another name “Da Mo crosses the river” . It is also called “Flight over water”. The common name is “Walking on a cord”. It is the Shaolin skill (GONG FU) that is called “Going over a water obstacle on small duckweed” (DENG PING DU SHUI) and “Walking on snow without leaving traces” (TA XUE WU HEN) in novels about knights. The skill belongs to a section of exercises “Light body” (JIN SHEN SHU), it is “soft” and develops the internal power.

The method of acquiring the skill is far from being easy, but one can gain success if he exhibits a strong will. The training process consists of several stages. At the first stage it is necessary to train yourself in the same way as in the exercises “Skill of Flight” (FEI XING GONG ) 64 and “Skill of Light Body” (JIN SHEN SHU) 65 , that is to tie small bags with lead shot around legs and run at a flat ground at first and then train jumps on mountain roads...

<  A full description of the training procedure is available in the book: Training Methods of 72 Arts of Shaolin >

...Starting from that moment, it is necessary to decrease the diameter of the rope gradually. When you are capable of walking freely on a cord with the thickness less than a finger so that it will not swing, it means the third stage is over. After that, replace the cord with the thinnest one and obtain the same result. After that it is necessary to stretch a rope across a river. If you can freely go on it even in this case, you have gained full success. Now you can go on the surface of a pond, though you need to use some thing, for instance a bamboo splinter, wooden small stick, reed etc. Place it on water surface, stand on it and advance! If duckweed, water grass, water chestnut or lotus grow in a pond, you can walk on them too. Once upon a time our forerunner Da Mo crossed a river alone on one reed after the sermon of his teaching. That is really the present type of Shaolin Gong Fu. It takes more than 10 years of labor to attain the aim. It is necessary to train yourself quietly and diligently.