“Qi Magazine: What are the principles of I-Liq Ch’uan?
Sifu Sam Chin: I-Liq Ch’uan is based on T’ai Chi and Zen principles. So you can say it has its roots in Taoism and Buddhism.
It is based on non-assertion, non-resistance, and an understanding of yin and yang. The training is being mindful, which means neutral, formless and in the present, to become fully aware. Action and reaction are based on mindfulness. If not, then they are based on mental habitual reflex, which is the mental expressions accumulated from past experience. In this case you are not in the moment and not with the condition as it is. When you are in the moment you can flow. Flowing is to be with the conditions, not backing off, or resisting, just sensing and merging.
From flowing you can observe the condition as it is, and then merge, to be as one, harmonizing with the environment and the opponent. When you harmonize then you can take control. Mindfulness is the cause, and awareness is the effect of being mindful. We need to understand the learning process, which is merely to recognize and realize; it is not to accumulate or imitate as that is just building another habit.
From Zen we need to empty ourselves so that the nature of all things can reveal itself to us.”
Qi Magazine Issue 41, 1999
“I have already stated that attack is the trump suite in boxing, and have also pointed out that attack does not necessarily mean rushing or charging at or after your opponent. Attack, indeed, commences earlier than hitting. For the ideal punch, or perhaps it would be better to say the best punch, the most effective one, is a good, stiff counter, to a ducked, brushed aside, or otherwise evaded lead.