Basic Shili(Force testing) Online Course
(Yiquan Parallel-step Shili)

Shili(试力) is the name for force testing training in the Yiquan martial art system. It is an extraordinary exercise for health development and basic movements for self-defense skills. This online course introduces 10 kinds of Shili training on the Parallel Step.

This course has English and Spanish subtitles.  

To turn on subtitles: click on “CC” at the bottom right of the video player.

* English is not my first language, turning on the subtitles may help you best understand the instructions. 

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What You Will Get:

Yiquan martial art system consists of 7 steps of training. Zhanzhuang (standing meditation) is the first step and Shili is the second step. The technical connection between Zhanzhuang and Shili is that Shili is the spatial extension of Zhanzhuang.

zhanzhuang cheng bao stance standing meditation exercise son gao demo yiquan
Zhanzhuang is the fundamental part of Yiquan system and it can be solely applied to improving chronic conditions for patients. 
yiquan zhanzhuang footsteps mocabu

Exactly like Zhanzhuang, Shili is generally divided into two categories based on the footsteps: Parallel-step Shili and Combat-step Shili.  

In the Zhanzhuang exercise, we unify our body as a whole by motionless movement or micro movement with specially designed postures (aka Zhanzhuang stances). When our body is highly unified, it can generate and release a powerful force. We call this force the unified force.

Before we are able to release such a force, we need to do “force testing” to see how much the body is unified. If the body is unified enough, we will begin the third step of Yiquan training which is called Fali (Chinese words for Force releasing).

In the Shili exercise, we move Zhanzhuang stances in specially designed movements to do force-testing. The alignment and balancing you have achieved by Zhanzhuang will be broken when the stances begin to move. You will achieve another level of alignment and balancing with enough Shili practice and because of that Shili is highly recommended to health-oriented students, too.

From a martial art perspective, the unified force originates from Zhanzhuang but it needs to be cultivated by Shili. One can never develop realistic self-defense skills if they don’t know how to move when they only do the Zhanzhuang exercise.

Shili exercise will also always drive you back to Zhanzhuang when you have self-tested your body is not unified enough. Your Zhanzhuang will become better and it helps you do Shili better. 

After learning this course, you will know how to practice Parallel-step Shili properly on your own. If you are interested, you can move to learning Combat-step Shili (will be introduced as a course later) if you have learned Combat-step stances.  

Characteristics of  

 

  is a special exercise. It’s aerobic, very gentle, and doesn’t require much movement. No warm-ups before the exercise or ending routines are required. What you need is just a place (either indoor or outdoor) with good air circulation.   has a large number of postures (stances are the technical term), but there is only one basic posture which can be transformed into all other postures. So, when you master the one posture, it’s only a matter of time to master all of them. From this perspective,   is not a complex skill to learn.

 

The  training time of   can be adjusted by oneself. In general, practitioners start from 5 minutes and increase progressively up to one hour. However, a 5-min   has health benefits, too. So   is quite accessible since no minimum “dose” of time is required. In fact, men, women, seniors, juniors, the weak or strong, all can practice   according to their own situation at their preferred time and place.

 

There are usually four stages of the   learning process and there are various reactions during beginning stages of  .

03

Healing aspect of  

In general,   can correct and build a stronger body. With   postures, young men with hunchbacks can be corrected. Dysfunctional feet, knees, or legs can be fixed to a great extent. The middle-aged suffering from back/shoulder/neck/muscle pain, hemorrhoids, insomnia, bad digestion, etc., can expect to get rid of those with consistent practice of   over time.

 

  is the best option for the weak or elderly as   can gradually and constantly enhance their immune system – the human body’s own defense mechanisms. According to Dr. Yu’s clinical experimentation and tests, many kinds of chronic diseases such as chronic tracheitis, chronic gastroenteritis, chronic hepatitis, cardiopathy, high blood pressure(hypertension), neurasthenic, chronic rheumatoid arthritis and similar rheumatoid arthritis, adipoma, goiter, etc., may obtain unbelievable beneficial effects after   practice.

 

We only listed some of the health applications of  . There are more. Every day practitioners are discovering new benefits of this amazing exercise.

 

04

Why can   cure diseases?

 

  is not only standing still. It is not only meditation, either. The system of   training is a combination of physical and mental aspects. The physical and mental activities are not separate from each other in this exercise. Hence, both the physiological and psychological functions of the body are cumulatively strengthened. Why   heals is a huge topic. Dr. Yu had written many books about it. In this article, we are going to focus on how   is able to nourish the blood. We will talk more in our blog posts.

 

During  , the body is held relatively unchanged in correct structures and there is constant contraction and loosening between muscles and bones. This will mobilize blood vessels, which promotes blood circulation. Dr. Yu listed the following figures in the book of “  and Search of Wu” (Yu Yongnian, 2005, Shanxi Science and Technology Press).

 

After one hour of   the composition of the blood may sensibly change:

  1. up to 1520 000 additional erythrocytes (red blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  2. up to 3650 additional hem leukocytes (white blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  3. up to 3.2 gram of additional hemoglobin per cm3 of blood.

 

Red blood cells are able to carry oxygen so efficiently because of the hemoglobin they contain. Increase of hemoglobin can directly impact the quantity of oxygen. With this additional amount of oxygen brought to the organ systems, one will be in a special state of relaxation and wellbeing.  This is why   has particularly good results in treating neurasthenia, arthritis, angina, cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

 

 

 

05

Recommended for special people

The most important characteristic of   as a healing method is that there is no side-effect. From the medicine point of view, there are not so many optional exercises for people who are too weak to sit or stand and people with special diseases i.e., cardiovascular diseases.   is the best option for those people. There are lying-down postures, supported postures, sitting postures, standing postures, practitioners can choose appropriate postures and control the physical effort precisely by the time of practicing.

To conclude, with thousands of years of development and the support of Yiquan martial artists and medical professionals in the last 100 years,   has brought together the essence of Chinese well-being philosophies and western sciences as a mature, thorough and complete method of health maintenance and improvement. If you want to know more about   as a healing method, reading Dr. Yu’s books is a good start. Here are three recommendations:

< Zhan Zhuang and The Search of Wu > (Chinese, English versions)

<Zhan Zhuang: The Art of Nourishing Life> (Chinese, English, French versions)

< Zhan Zhuang and Dao De Jing> (Chinese version)

 

Course Curriculum

Characteristics of  

 

  is a special exercise. It’s aerobic, very gentle, and doesn’t require much movement. No warm-ups before the exercise or ending routines are required. What you need is just a place (either indoor or outdoor) with good air circulation.   has a large number of postures (stances are the technical term), but there is only one basic posture which can be transformed into all other postures. So, when you master the one posture, it’s only a matter of time to master all of them. From this perspective,   is not a complex skill to learn.

 

The  training time of   can be adjusted by oneself. In general, practitioners start from 5 minutes and increase progressively up to one hour. However, a 5-min   has health benefits, too. So   is quite accessible since no minimum “dose” of time is required. In fact, men, women, seniors, juniors, the weak or strong, all can practice   according to their own situation at their preferred time and place.

 

There are usually four stages of the   learning process and there are various reactions during beginning stages of  .

03

Healing aspect of  

In general,   can correct and build a stronger body. With   postures, young men with hunchbacks can be corrected. Dysfunctional feet, knees, or legs can be fixed to a great extent. The middle-aged suffering from back/shoulder/neck/muscle pain, hemorrhoids, insomnia, bad digestion, etc., can expect to get rid of those with consistent practice of   over time.

 

  is the best option for the weak or elderly as   can gradually and constantly enhance their immune system – the human body’s own defense mechanisms. According to Dr. Yu’s clinical experimentation and tests, many kinds of chronic diseases such as chronic tracheitis, chronic gastroenteritis, chronic hepatitis, cardiopathy, high blood pressure(hypertension), neurasthenic, chronic rheumatoid arthritis and similar rheumatoid arthritis, adipoma, goiter, etc., may obtain unbelievable beneficial effects after   practice.

 

We only listed some of the health applications of  . There are more. Every day practitioners are discovering new benefits of this amazing exercise.

 

04

Why can   cure diseases?

 

  is not only standing still. It is not only meditation, either. The system of   training is a combination of physical and mental aspects. The physical and mental activities are not separate from each other in this exercise. Hence, both the physiological and psychological functions of the body are cumulatively strengthened. Why   heals is a huge topic. Dr. Yu had written many books about it. In this article, we are going to focus on how   is able to nourish the blood. We will talk more in our blog posts.

 

During  , the body is held relatively unchanged in correct structures and there is constant contraction and loosening between muscles and bones. This will mobilize blood vessels, which promotes blood circulation. Dr. Yu listed the following figures in the book of “  and Search of Wu” (Yu Yongnian, 2005, Shanxi Science and Technology Press).

 

After one hour of   the composition of the blood may sensibly change:

  1. up to 1520 000 additional erythrocytes (red blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  2. up to 3650 additional hem leukocytes (white blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  3. up to 3.2 gram of additional hemoglobin per cm3 of blood.

 

Red blood cells are able to carry oxygen so efficiently because of the hemoglobin they contain. Increase of hemoglobin can directly impact the quantity of oxygen. With this additional amount of oxygen brought to the organ systems, one will be in a special state of relaxation and wellbeing.  This is why   has particularly good results in treating neurasthenia, arthritis, angina, cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

 

 

 

05

Recommended for special people

The most important characteristic of   as a healing method is that there is no side-effect. From the medicine point of view, there are not so many optional exercises for people who are too weak to sit or stand and people with special diseases i.e., cardiovascular diseases.   is the best option for those people. There are lying-down postures, supported postures, sitting postures, standing postures, practitioners can choose appropriate postures and control the physical effort precisely by the time of practicing.

To conclude, with thousands of years of development and the support of Yiquan martial artists and medical professionals in the last 100 years,   has brought together the essence of Chinese well-being philosophies and western sciences as a mature, thorough and complete method of health maintenance and improvement. If you want to know more about   as a healing method, reading Dr. Yu’s books is a good start. Here are three recommendations:

< Zhan Zhuang and The Search of Wu > (Chinese, English versions)

<Zhan Zhuang: The Art of Nourishing Life> (Chinese, English, French versions)

< Zhan Zhuang and Dao De Jing> (Chinese version)

 

Lesson 1: FU-AN Shili

Lesson 2: PING-TUI Shili

Lesson 3: KAI-HE Shili

Lesson 4: PO-SHUI Shili

Lesson 5: FEN-GUA Shili

Lesson 6: GOU-GUA Shili

Lesson 7: PI-GUA Shili

Lesson 8: YAO-XUAN Shili (Type A)

Lesson 9: YAO-XUAN Shili (Type B)

Lesson 10: DA-SHI Shili

Lesson 11: How to practice Shili on your own?

Characteristics of  

 

  is a special exercise. It’s aerobic, very gentle, and doesn’t require much movement. No warm-ups before the exercise or ending routines are required. What you need is just a place (either indoor or outdoor) with good air circulation.   has a large number of postures (stances are the technical term), but there is only one basic posture which can be transformed into all other postures. So, when you master the one posture, it’s only a matter of time to master all of them. From this perspective,   is not a complex skill to learn.

 

The  training time of   can be adjusted by oneself. In general, practitioners start from 5 minutes and increase progressively up to one hour. However, a 5-min   has health benefits, too. So   is quite accessible since no minimum “dose” of time is required. In fact, men, women, seniors, juniors, the weak or strong, all can practice   according to their own situation at their preferred time and place.

 

There are usually four stages of the   learning process and there are various reactions during beginning stages of  .

03

Healing aspect of  

In general,   can correct and build a stronger body. With   postures, young men with hunchbacks can be corrected. Dysfunctional feet, knees, or legs can be fixed to a great extent. The middle-aged suffering from back/shoulder/neck/muscle pain, hemorrhoids, insomnia, bad digestion, etc., can expect to get rid of those with consistent practice of   over time.

 

  is the best option for the weak or elderly as   can gradually and constantly enhance their immune system – the human body’s own defense mechanisms. According to Dr. Yu’s clinical experimentation and tests, many kinds of chronic diseases such as chronic tracheitis, chronic gastroenteritis, chronic hepatitis, cardiopathy, high blood pressure(hypertension), neurasthenic, chronic rheumatoid arthritis and similar rheumatoid arthritis, adipoma, goiter, etc., may obtain unbelievable beneficial effects after   practice.

 

We only listed some of the health applications of  . There are more. Every day practitioners are discovering new benefits of this amazing exercise.

 

04

Why can   cure diseases?

 

  is not only standing still. It is not only meditation, either. The system of   training is a combination of physical and mental aspects. The physical and mental activities are not separate from each other in this exercise. Hence, both the physiological and psychological functions of the body are cumulatively strengthened. Why   heals is a huge topic. Dr. Yu had written many books about it. In this article, we are going to focus on how   is able to nourish the blood. We will talk more in our blog posts.

 

During  , the body is held relatively unchanged in correct structures and there is constant contraction and loosening between muscles and bones. This will mobilize blood vessels, which promotes blood circulation. Dr. Yu listed the following figures in the book of “  and Search of Wu” (Yu Yongnian, 2005, Shanxi Science and Technology Press).

 

After one hour of   the composition of the blood may sensibly change:

  1. up to 1520 000 additional erythrocytes (red blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  2. up to 3650 additional hem leukocytes (white blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  3. up to 3.2 gram of additional hemoglobin per cm3 of blood.

 

Red blood cells are able to carry oxygen so efficiently because of the hemoglobin they contain. Increase of hemoglobin can directly impact the quantity of oxygen. With this additional amount of oxygen brought to the organ systems, one will be in a special state of relaxation and wellbeing.  This is why   has particularly good results in treating neurasthenia, arthritis, angina, cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

 

 

 

05

Recommended for special people

The most important characteristic of   as a healing method is that there is no side-effect. From the medicine point of view, there are not so many optional exercises for people who are too weak to sit or stand and people with special diseases i.e., cardiovascular diseases.   is the best option for those people. There are lying-down postures, supported postures, sitting postures, standing postures, practitioners can choose appropriate postures and control the physical effort precisely by the time of practicing.

To conclude, with thousands of years of development and the support of Yiquan martial artists and medical professionals in the last 100 years,   has brought together the essence of Chinese well-being philosophies and western sciences as a mature, thorough and complete method of health maintenance and improvement. If you want to know more about   as a healing method, reading Dr. Yu’s books is a good start. Here are three recommendations:

< Zhan Zhuang and The Search of Wu > (Chinese, English versions)

<Zhan Zhuang: The Art of Nourishing Life> (Chinese, English, French versions)

< Zhan Zhuang and Dao De Jing> (Chinese version)

 

Characteristics of  

 

  is a special exercise. It’s aerobic, very gentle, and doesn’t require much movement. No warm-ups before the exercise or ending routines are required. What you need is just a place (either indoor or outdoor) with good air circulation.   has a large number of postures (stances are the technical term), but there is only one basic posture which can be transformed into all other postures. So, when you master the one posture, it’s only a matter of time to master all of them. From this perspective,   is not a complex skill to learn.

 

The  training time of   can be adjusted by oneself. In general, practitioners start from 5 minutes and increase progressively up to one hour. However, a 5-min   has health benefits, too. So   is quite accessible since no minimum “dose” of time is required. In fact, men, women, seniors, juniors, the weak or strong, all can practice   according to their own situation at their preferred time and place.

 

There are usually four stages of the   learning process and there are various reactions during beginning stages of  .

03

Healing aspect of  

In general,   can correct and build a stronger body. With   postures, young men with hunchbacks can be corrected. Dysfunctional feet, knees, or legs can be fixed to a great extent. The middle-aged suffering from back/shoulder/neck/muscle pain, hemorrhoids, insomnia, bad digestion, etc., can expect to get rid of those with consistent practice of   over time.

 

  is the best option for the weak or elderly as   can gradually and constantly enhance their immune system – the human body’s own defense mechanisms. According to Dr. Yu’s clinical experimentation and tests, many kinds of chronic diseases such as chronic tracheitis, chronic gastroenteritis, chronic hepatitis, cardiopathy, high blood pressure(hypertension), neurasthenic, chronic rheumatoid arthritis and similar rheumatoid arthritis, adipoma, goiter, etc., may obtain unbelievable beneficial effects after   practice.

 

We only listed some of the health applications of  . There are more. Every day practitioners are discovering new benefits of this amazing exercise.

 

04

Why can   cure diseases?

 

  is not only standing still. It is not only meditation, either. The system of   training is a combination of physical and mental aspects. The physical and mental activities are not separate from each other in this exercise. Hence, both the physiological and psychological functions of the body are cumulatively strengthened. Why   heals is a huge topic. Dr. Yu had written many books about it. In this article, we are going to focus on how   is able to nourish the blood. We will talk more in our blog posts.

 

During  , the body is held relatively unchanged in correct structures and there is constant contraction and loosening between muscles and bones. This will mobilize blood vessels, which promotes blood circulation. Dr. Yu listed the following figures in the book of “  and Search of Wu” (Yu Yongnian, 2005, Shanxi Science and Technology Press).

 

After one hour of   the composition of the blood may sensibly change:

  1. up to 1520 000 additional erythrocytes (red blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  2. up to 3650 additional hem leukocytes (white blood cells) per cm3 of blood,
  3. up to 3.2 gram of additional hemoglobin per cm3 of blood.

 

Red blood cells are able to carry oxygen so efficiently because of the hemoglobin they contain. Increase of hemoglobin can directly impact the quantity of oxygen. With this additional amount of oxygen brought to the organ systems, one will be in a special state of relaxation and wellbeing.  This is why   has particularly good results in treating neurasthenia, arthritis, angina, cirrhosis, cardiovascular diseases, etc.

 

 

 

05

Recommended for special people

The most important characteristic of   as a healing method is that there is no side-effect. From the medicine point of view, there are not so many optional exercises for people who are too weak to sit or stand and people with special diseases i.e., cardiovascular diseases.   is the best option for those people. There are lying-down postures, supported postures, sitting postures, standing postures, practitioners can choose appropriate postures and control the physical effort precisely by the time of practicing.

To conclude, with thousands of years of development and the support of Yiquan martial artists and medical professionals in the last 100 years,   has brought together the essence of Chinese well-being philosophies and western sciences as a mature, thorough and complete method of health maintenance and improvement. If you want to know more about   as a healing method, reading Dr. Yu’s books is a good start. Here are three recommendations:

< Zhan Zhuang and The Search of Wu > (Chinese, English versions)

<Zhan Zhuang: The Art of Nourishing Life> (Chinese, English, French versions)

< Zhan Zhuang and Dao De Jing> (Chinese version)