THE SECRET PRINCIPLE OF VERTICAL STRENGTH

 by Phillip Starr

Much as I dislike using the word “secret” when speaking of martial arts, there are some principles that are largely unknown within the martial arts community and those who are skilled in their application are usually more than a little hesitant to speak of them. Vertical strength is one such principle. Vertical strength was probably never widely practiced and nowadays, it's all but virtually unheard of. It is, I believe, a very special principle that can enable a martial arts practitioner to drop an opponent with minimal effort, regardless of his size or strength. When used in conjunction with its cousin, horizontal strength, its efficiency is more than doubled.

The principle itself is really quite simple. It is this:

The human body is structured so as to be able to resist a direct, perpendicular force. It cannot, however, resist an angular force.

Although it sounds easy enough to understand, implementing it requires some practice and a good measure of study. It cannot necessarily be applied with every technique and some areas of the human body are certainly more vulnerable to its application than others. The angle must be just so and the timing of the (application of) the blow must be fairly precise. It's necessary to have an instructor who knows how this principle works and who can demonstrate its effectiveness without necessarily inflicting harm to his or her students. One who is skilled in its application can cause organs to rupture and bones to shatter with minimal effort.

Moreover, there is yet another aspect to the application of Vertical Strength; one that is generally not known. It is stated in this way:

If the opponent's structure is broken, his body (and especially the vital points) become hypersensitive and a strong effect (and subsequent neutralization of the opponent) can be achieved with minimal effort.

 

For instance, place your training partner in a painful joint-twist and apply enough pressure to make it hurt a bit. His posture (and usually his balance) will be broken. Now...he remains in that position and you apply a fairly light strike. It will be tolerably painful. Then have him adopt a balanced, structurally correct position and strike him in the same way. He won't experience nearly as much pain. For any given joint-twisting technique (known as qin-na in Chinese), certain nerve points on the body are EXTREMELY sensitive to being struck.

This principle is often demonstrated in various Chinese and Okinawan forms. But unless you're familiar with this principle, you'll never discover where it may be found in them. You don't know what you don't know.

Many years ago I attended a large training seminar that was taught by my friend, Master Seiyu Oyata (10^th dan, Okinawan kempo). As we practiced a particular technique, Master Oyata walked up to me with a smile and asked, “Where did you learn to punch like that?” I told him that I had been taught this small, inconspicuous movement by my primary kung-fu instructor, Master W. C. Chen. Master Oyata smiled. “Yes,” he said. “But don't show it to other people.” This fine Okinawan master once told me, “If a 'martial art' requires the development and use of great physical strength, it is not really a martial art.”