Zhang Yi Zhong teaches the internal martial arts, what he calls the "qi arts" in order to give his students culture, a model for relationships, and a lifestyle philosophy. What he primarily uses as the vehicle for this teaching is the Tai Ji system which was developed by Chen Pan Ling and various other instructors at the Central Martial Arts Academy in Nanjing during the 1930's. He primarily learned this form from Wang Shu Jin, with Chen Pan Ling giving advise and direction on occasion. However, Zhang says that over the years he has made some slight modifications based on his personal experiences. In Ba Gua, Zhang starts students learning Wang Shu Jin's system and then later teaches them the more complex system of Wang Jia Rui.

While it is true that Zhang was a student of Wang Shu Jin and no doubt learned a lot from him, I do not get the impression that Zhang would give Wang Shu Jin the credit for the art he teaches today. The physical framework of Zhang's teaching was derived from what Wang taught, however, the depth of Zhang's teaching comes from his seventy-five years of personal experience, research, and study. Zhang has spent his entire life intensely researching and studying martial arts, health maintenance, diet, and philosophy, and continues to do so today. Zhang tells his students that they must never be content with what they have learned from him. They should always continue to study, practice, research and illuminate. He states that if his students do not take what they have learned from him and continue to take the art, culture, philosophy, and self-cultivation process beyond what he has shown them, then he will have failed in his teaching.

Zhang considers the information he passes along to his students as a base, a foundation. He says that he provides his students with a base of principles. From these principles. integration, discovery, variation, and change emerge continually. It is a never ending process of growth and maturation. This changing and growing keeps the art alive and limitless. Zhang says that when students only copy without trying to create, the art becomes lifeless. He gives an example of two people drawing a picture of a third person. Although the two drawings are of the same object, they will not be exactly the same. He explains that the "art of drawing" lies in the differences between the two pictures because the differences define the individual interpretation and creativity. He says, "The difference is what gives it life. The art is in the difference. If the two drawings were exactly the same there would be no art." He feels that it is the same in martial arts. If two individuals interpret and execute a form or application exactly the same, there is no art, there is no life. Zhang says, "The martial arts have life in the projection of personal interpretation of principles. The principles form the root and the trunk of the martial arts tree. Individual interpretation is expressed in the leaves and twigs. The leaves and twigs can blow freely in the wind without disturbing the trunk."

Drawing from the Yi Jing (Book of Changes), Zhang continues with his discussion of foundational principles forming a base for limitless variation and creation by saying that although the principles of the Yi Jing do not change, the individual response to circumstance always changes. Zhang explains that there are three aspects to the Yi Jing: One is that which does not change, the next is that which continually changes, and the third is simplicity. The fundamental principles form the aspect of "that which does not change." Individual interpretation and constant change in response to circumstance forms the aspect of "that which continually changes." Lastly, Zhang says, "simplicity is the essence of skill and taste. The Dao adheres to simplicity, that which is complex does not follow the Dao."

To illustrate the nature of simplicity in practice, Zhang referred to a question posed by a student at a seminar Zhang had taught on the afternoon I met with him. The student had asked about using the mind to move the qi in the body. He asked about the mind moving qi from the dan tian, along the body's energy pathways, out to the limbs. Zhang's response was that all of that mental imagery is far too complicated. It is not in accordance with the principle of simplicity. Zhang said, "Clear your head and don't think about all of that stuff! Your energy will follow its natural course if you relax your mind and place your intention on your hands. "Where there is sickness, it will naturally he cured. Where there is no sickness, it will naturally be strengthened. Because it is simple, it is natural. The more complex it gets, the less natural it is!"

 

Zhang Yi Zhong's Thoughts on Diet

Zhang Yi Zhong believes that in order to have a strong. energetic basis for the practice of internal martial art one must maintain a well managed diet. He feels the the foundation for qi in the body is diet, and thus those who are practicing the "qi arts" should be very concerned about diet. The strength of your energy and the health of your body will be a direct reflection of your diet. Zhang maintains a very strict diet which he has devised base on years of personal research and experimentation. The following are some guidelines that he recommend concerning diet (this is an excerpt taken from a "Dietary Information Guide" printed in the Tai Chi Natural Healing Club Newsletter which is produced by Zhang Yi Zhong group in Santa Cruz, California):

1. Eat whole, natural, unprocessed foods. Whole foods are found in as close to their whole natural state as possible. Vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, legumes and fruits can be prepared with very little altering or processing, retaining nutritional benefits. These foods can be creatively and attractively prepared to please the most discriminating palate.
   
   
2. Eat for Minerals and Vitamins. The vitamins and minerals obtained from the foods you eat work to maintain the proper functioning of the internal organs. They are essential for normal metabolism. The relaxation and rotation of the waist and abdomen in the Tai Chi practice nurtures the internal organs. Vitamins and minerals also nurture the "vital organs." Good food sources for minerals and vitamins are vegetables (especially green), whole grains, sea vegetables, seeds, nuts, and unrefined salt.
   
   
3. Eat early in the day. Give your system a little time to wake up before you "breakfast." A main meal of the day around 10-12:00, or "brunch" will give you the nourishment you'll need to move through the day. A lighter meal later in the day should be sufficient for the evening "wind down." Eat several hours before you go to bed. This gives the organs time to rest and regenerate during your sleeping hours. If you eat right before bed much of your body will still be working all night digesting food.
   
   
4. Eat lightly, chew well. No matter how wholesome your diet is, it is important to not over eat. Overeating burdens the organs, making digestion, assimilation, and elimination inefficient as well as uncomfortable. Chewing well not only lets you savor the taste of good food, but aids in the digestion and assimilation of food The enzymes in the saliva mix with the food and start the digestive process immediately.
   
   
5. Eat Alkaline. Clean blood and good circulation are important factors of preventative and abundant health The pH of the blood is slightly alkaline. Keeping the acid/alkaline balance of the blood relatively stable and slightly alkaline provides the best environment for the cellular building blocks to function effectively. Foods that lean toward acid in the body are meat and refined foods, especially refined carbohydrates. See #2 for foods that lean towards alkaline.

Make any changes in your diet gradually. Be sensitive to your body. Understanding why and what you're doing and experimenting slowly and carefully is the most sensible and safe way to make lasting changes!"

The Dao adheres to simplicity, that

which is complex does not follow the Dao.

Most of the above mentioned information is not news to anyone who has read or studied any number of health food diets. However, after reading the above guidelines, I wanted to find out more about Zhang's ideas on diet for two reasons: one, I knew that his personal diet was much stricter than the guidelines listed above would indicate, and two, I was very interested in this alkaline versus acidity concept alter Zhang had mentioned it to me several times during our interview. In order to discover more about Zhang's Ideas on diet, I met with his student Joe Deisher to explore the diet theories in more detail.

Joe told me that in order to fully appreciate Zhang Yi Zhong's study of diet, the story really needs to go back to his life in Shanghai before World War II. Prior to WWII, Shanghai was becoming, in many ways, a very Westernized city. Visiting Shanghai today, one will notice that many of the buildings that were constructed early in this century have a Western style architecture. When Zhang Yi Zhong was a young man living in Shanghai, it was popular to eat Western food, study Western science, and visit Western doctors when one got sick. Zhang Yi Zhong studied Western science (chemistry), visited Western trained doctors, and ate Western food, however, even when he was in his twenties, he was careful about what he ate. His friends in Shanghai would tease him and say that he was going to grow up to be a dietitian.

Even though Zhang was careful about what he ate as a young man, his deeper study of traditional oriental diet did not begin until years later after Zhang had moved to Taiwan and had children. When one of Zhang's children was very young, the child became ill. Like most educated people in Taiwan, Zhang and his wife took the child to a Western trained doctor. The doctor could not find the source of the child's illness and could not help the child get better. The problem continued for three months and then suddenly went away. Zhang was curious about how the illness could have just disappeared. When discussing the situation with his family, his mother-in-law admitted that three days prior to the child's recovery, she had taken the child to a traditional Chinese Medical doctor. Zhang said, "How could this man cure in three days what the Western doctor could not cure in three months!" Determined to find the answer, Zhang went and visited with the Chinese doctor. What the Chinese doctor had done was simply alter the child's diet according to the theories of Chinese medicine.

Prior to this event with his child, Zhang, like many of the Chinese of his generation, had written off the old Chinese ideas as being less advanced than Western science. The incident with his child and the discussion with the Chinese doctor made him wonder. At that point in his life he decided to begin studying the old Chinese traditional theories on diet and health maintenance. However, instead of simply reading about the old theories and believing them, he used Western scientific research, personal experimentation, and his background in chemistry to try and figure out why the old theories worked. He wanted to discover the underlying chemistry for the ancient dietary advice. For instance, in one source book Zhang read that "the sages do not eat the five grains." Through experimentation and research, Zhang found that the chemistry of seed crops is such that they are very energy rich. Individuals who are older, or not physically active, do not engage in the amount of physical activity that is required to burn this energy and thus they waste strength in digesting these foods. It would he analogous to running your car with the carburetor mix set too rich.

Zhang discovered that for older people, or people who do not do a lot of hard physical labor, high carbohydrate food weakens the qi because of the extra energy needed for digestion. This is what the classics meant by "the sages do not eat the five grains." Zhang is not alone in his pursuit of modern day explanations to ancient dietary concepts. A number of Western trained doctors and scientists in Japan have also merged technology and science with tradition and there are many published works in Japanese pertaining to these topics. Zhang, who is fluent in Japanese, studies all of the documented results of this research in Japan that he can obtain.

Zhang's advice for those studying the internal martial arts is to eat a mineral rich diet because minerals manage the body's electrolytes. When Zhang began to study the body's biochemistry and its re]ationship to food and internal energy cultivation, he was interested in exploring the electrical side of body chemistry. He discovered that if the body is kept a slight bit alkaline, it runs an abundance of electrons. The abundance of electrons in the body keeps the body energetically charged instead of energetically depleted. Things that tend to create an acidic state in the body are diets high in meats and refined carbohydrates, tension, stress, and bad moods. Things that keep the body alkaline are mineral rich diets, and a relaxed, clear mind. Zhang believes that the internal martial arts practice aids in keeping the body relaxed, posture correct, and the mind clear while the proper diet helps maintain a biological foundation for the practice.

The problem most individuals have in following a diet which is high in minerals is that the majority of mineral rich food, such as seaweed, is not very tasty. Zhang's answer to this was to study ways of preparing the mineral and vitamin rich foods so that they would taste good. He says the study of culinary arts is the same as the study of martial arts. The crude aspects of the art are easy to learn, while the highly refined and subtle aspects are very difficult to master. In martial arts it is very easy for someone to learn how to use brute force and club their opponent with their fist, however, it is not so easy to learn the refined and subtle motions and applications of internal boxing. But in the end, practice of internal boxing will be much better for one's health and longevity. Zhang is fond of using a similar analogy in the use of weaponry. He says that the straight sword is called the "sages weapon" because it takes a great deal of skill in order to be able to wield one correctly and effectively. The broad sword is called the "peasants weapon" because it is very easy to learn how to hack at someone with a broad sword. Cooking Is the same. It is very easy for someone to throw a slab of meat on the grill and have it come out tasting good. However, it is not so easy to make a meal of seaweed and raw or pickled vegetables and have it be as palatable. Zhang has learned how to eat very simply and still enjoy the food he eats.

In addition to the dietary guidelines outlined previously, Joe Deisher adds the following suggestions to those wanting to try to explore Zhang Yi Zhong ideas on food:

1. Make changes gradually.Give your biochemistry time to adapt. Life tends to be a conservative phenomena: don't hurry, don't hesitate.
   
   
2. Begin thinking about food and eating: Do you eat to live or live to eat? Do you eat for your palate or your stomach? What are the internal and external consequences of what you eat? Do you eat for your bones? your brain? your consciousness? your beliefs?
   
   
3. Abandon eating chemicals. Eat organically.
   
   
4. Make sure your water source is clean and mineral rich.
   
   
5. Move away from eating meat, fish, and animal products (milk, eggs, etc.); protein and fat are way overrated as dietary necessities.
   
   
6. Include sea vegetables in your diet and whole sea salt for flavor: there are no better source's of organic minerals.
   
   
7. Breathe as though your life depended on it; deeply, unhurriedly, steady.
   
   
8. Recognize fruits as entertainment for the mouth,they are mostly sugar and water.
   
   
9. Let go of heating your food. Take a look at pickling foods. Heat changes the enzymes and diminishes the food value.
   
   
10. Eat lightly, live lightly. Fleshy bulk, be it muscle or fat, is a burden to the qi.

 

Joe Deisher's Relationship with Zhang Yi Zhong

An article about Zhang Yi Zhong would not be complete without discussing his relationship with his long time student Joe Deisher. They have been together for nearly thirty years, all of Zhang's instruction in the United States since 1979 has been through Joe Deisher's translation, and, true to Zhang's teaching, Deisher has taken what Zhang has given him and explored it on his own terms, arriving at some very interesting theories of his own about the relationships between internal arts practice, the mind, the emotions, culture and lifestyle. In this section, we will discuss Zhang's history with Deisher and then talk about some of Deisher's interpretations and explorations of Zhang's teaching.

Joe Deisher and Zhang Yi Zhong met in Japan in 1967. Deisher had moved to Japan in 1964. He went there specifically to study the game of Go and learn Aikido. Deisher had been a math major in college and the mathematical strategy of Go intrigued him. He had not studied Aikido prior to going to Japan, but what he had heard of the art gave him an interest in pursuing its study. One of the things that drew him to Aikido was a quote by its founder, Morihei Uyeshiba, which stated, "If you cannot keep an open heart when a person is swinging a sword at your head, you will not be able to cope with him." The meaning of this quote is that Aikido is an "open hearted" self-defense system.

While Deisher was in Japan he taught English two hours a day, five days a week to make enough money to support himself. He also studied the Japanese language along with his study of Go and Aikido. He eventually became very proficient in the language, earned a black belt in Aikido, and earned a similar "dan" ranking in Go.

During his second year in Japan, Deisher went to an "all-Japan" martial arts exhibition (in April 1966). Zhang Yi Zhong demonstrated his Tai Ji Quan at the exhibition and Deisher was very impressed with what he saw. This was not the first time he had seen Tai Ji. Deisher had taken a trip to Taiwan in 1965 and studied a bit of Yang style Tai Ji while he was there. After watching Zhang's demonstration in Japan, he was interested in studying what Zhang had to teach and so he went and, in the traditional manner, "stood on his doorstep." Joe went to Zhang's studio about once a month and simply watched the class. In June of 1967 Zhang invited him to practice.

Deisher says that Zhang began the instruction with a set of basics such as simple standing and arm swinging exercises (moving from side-to-side while rotating around the body's center). He said that the standing practice was first performed with the arms hanging down by the sides. Deisher says that Zhang believes that a beginner is not ready to assume the standing postures which involve holding the arms up; they will always hold too much tension. Zhang starts beginners with the simple standing practice while the arms are relaxed so that they can learn how to relax the body and explore the skeletal structure while holding the correct body alignments. After a set of simple basics, Zhang moves his students directly into the Chen Pan Ling Tai Ji form. However, every class began with at least ten minutes of standing meditation.

I asked Joe Deisher why he wanted to study from Zhang Yi Zhong. He already knew some Tai Ji, he was already studying Aikido, why learn something new? Deisher said that it was not the form that he wanted to learn from Zhang, he wanted to study with Zhang because he was impressed by the man. He was impressed by Zhang's kindness, righteousness open heartedness, and self-discipline. Deisher said, "Zhang was living a disciplined life, living with the correct attitude and teaching by example, not preaching at his students. He treated everyone with kindness, even those that came into the school to challenge him. He had the open-heartedness which Uyeshiba spoke of in his quote about Aikido. Whenever he demonstrated an application of Tai Ji, whether it was during a challenge. or to a student, Zhang would create a situation which clearly demonstrated that the opponent was open, he would make the connection, but he would never apply enough power to injure the person. It was his kindness and righteousness that attracted me to him."

True to the teaching of his tradition, Joe Deisher has not only taken from the art which he studies, he has given back to it as well. He explains that Chen Pan Ling and the group which developed the Nanjing Tai Ji form were able to take the essence of proper physical structure and naturally efficient body motion and synthesize it in creating the Tai Ji form. Zhong Yi Zhong took that physical knowledge and added to the transmission by diligently researching and passing along his ideas about diet. From this base of knowledge, Joe Deisher has moved on to explore the emotional energetics of internal arts practice. Like his teachers exploration of diet, Deisher has studied and continues to study the dynamics of emotional energy and its relation to physiology.

Deisher says that through the self-cultivation and self-management process of the internal martial arts, a person can learn take an emotional state, be it fear, anger, joy, sorrow, grief, etc., and use the energy of that emotion to energetically charge the body instead of energetically deplete the body. The key Is in recognizing that the emotion is an internal energy state and not try and attach it to an external object. If you say, "I feel angry because . . .," it is a mistake. You are then attaching your emotion to an external object. Deisher recommends that people learn to stay with the emotion long enough to convert the energy into a positive thing. The tough part is learning how to stay with the emotion long enough to convert the energy state. People tend to want to look outside to attach or blame the state on something external, that is the easy way out. The hard way is in looking inside for the source of the emotional state and transforming that state into a positive energy. Learning how to cultivate oneself by looking internally and developing internal awareness during martial arts practice is a way to begin the energy transformation process.

Deisher has a very wide ranging view of the benefits of Internal arts practice. He sees this practice as away to develop the spirit, increase the fields of imagination, provide a basis for cultural advancement, and offer a lifestyle philosophy. He says, "In this country, we have educated people, but not a traditional culture. People cannot survive long without a culture. What we have developed in the place of a traditional culture is a culture by coercion. Ours is a culture based on controlling people by scaring them into doing the right thing, this is not the way to produce a smooth and functional society. What is needed is a philosophical base that will help people loose their fear." Deisher continues, "A lot of things in life you have to figure out for yourself. You provide your own answers to your lack of knowledge from your philosophy. If there is no philosophical base, no root, no stable reference from which to make decisions, people can feel as though they are lost." Deisher believes that the Daoist philosophy and approach to culture can work in our country because it is clean enough that it can be presented with out entanglements.

The internal martial arts and its accompanying philosophy can provide a stable reference from which people can make decisions and gain experience. Deisher says, "If this stuff works on a battlefield, it will work anywhere." He continues by saying that, "If you have a root, you can absorb the pushes and pulls of everyday life. You will have slack, cushion, play, and flexibility. This applies to the physical body, diet, and lifestyle." As an example Deisher said that if you maintain a balanced and stable diet and there were an occasion where you did not get something to eat for a period of time, the stability of your healthy body would allow your body to continue to function normally until you got something to eat. You would not be susceptible to the wide mood swings experienced by people who have an unstable diet.

Zhang's Paradise

In closing my interview with Zhang Yi Zhong, his last comment was, "Paradise is within us." He explained, "Thinking belongs to the earth element. The "Yi"' of Xing Yi Quan relates to the earth, the stomach, and the spleen. If my thinking is correct and I accept natural things, then my stomach is clean, my thinking Is clean. If I eat correctly, my visceral earth is also clean. A place of earth which Is clean and pleasant to live is paradise. The good earth (paradise) is in oneself: in one's thinking, in one's stomach. You do not have to go to China or India, eat cleanly and think cleanly and paradise will be inside of you. A pleasant place to live is in me. I don't have to go anywhere."

Endnotes:

1. The Nanjing integrated Tai Ji form, also commonly known as "Chen Pan Ling's Tai Ji." Was developed by a group of Tai Ji instructors who were teaching at the Nanjing Central Martial Arts Academy and its associated Provincial schools. The Central Academy had instructors from all of the major systems of Tai Ji on their teaching staff. However, they did not want the students to have to learn all of these various styles and forms as part of the curriculum. To solve the problem, they brought all of the instructors together to create one form which integrated the various characteristics of all the Tai Ji styles. Chen Pan Ling was one of the individuals who helped create the form. This form incorporates the rough outline of the Yang style, the small frame of the Wu style and the characteristic twisting of the Chen style.

2. The Daoist which is referred to here is the philosophical Daoism of Lao Zi. This Daoism does not have the ritualistic and ceremonial entanglements of the religious, folk, or pop Daoism.