编者按：洪拳，广东名拳之一，威震岭南数百年。影视作品的推崇使其在国内外一度繁荣，但缺乏深入理论研究；李连杰先生演绎的夸张动作误导了国际友人，将其误认为是真正的洪拳风格。这种现象激发了洪拳界专家对其进行深入挖掘和全面研究，以求理论建树。其中，武术家周至誌先生的文章代表了洪拳理论研究的先进水平，对于欲探索洪拳奥秘的武友而言，是满足愿望的良机。

“小成三年中，大成十年功”，武艺不离刻苦与恒心。在《虎鹤双形拳》的自序中，林世荣先生指出，“一道诚易学难精”，需先明规矩、习标准，再以气力接桥。明此则功自进，更能求横直吞吐、四到之秘、五门之法等。这体现了古人的主张：学武先求明师知其然及其所以然，再加力气并持之以恒，使融会贯通。

洪家拳从扎马碌桥开始，其实为气力功夫，没有花巧可言。“讲桥马”、“快打”流行谚语突出了桥手和马步不可或缺性，以及前辈们在这上面苦练多年的普遍情况。如果没有坚实的手脚怎么与人搏斗？通过简单实用的途径入门并经过苦练琢磨，便可理解其中奥妙，从而踏入洪家的殿堂。

bridge hand and horse stance, the fundamental principles of the external five essentials. The internal five essentials are the fundamental principles for martial artists to cultivate their bodies, while the external five essentials are the methods for applying martial arts.

The internal five essentials include essence (jing), energy (qi), bones (gu), spirit (shen), and intention (yi). These elements are interrelated and form the basis of both physical cultivation and martial arts practice. They correspond to five forms: dragon, tiger, leopard, snake, and phoenix.

(1) Essence

Essence is a vital component that governs all aspects of life. It is essential to maintain balance between pre-natal essence received from parents and post-natal essence derived from food intake. Imbalanced essences can lead to deficiencies or excesses in other elements such as bone marrow or spirit.

The training of essence involves practicing with a relaxed yet focused mind set similar to that of a bird taking flight effortlessly. This requires cultivating inner strength through controlled breathing exercises which allow one's body to be as agile as a bird in flight.

(2) Energy

Energy refers to vitality generated by muscles & bones; strong bones & thick muscles yield powerful energy while weak ones result in weakness. Therefore, building strength begins with loosening up tight muscles & strengthening bones.

Strength consists of both inner power derived from respiration control techniques known as "soft-hard" interaction which enables practitioners harness potential force without straining themselves physically like carrying heavy loads effortlessly on shoulders unaided by hands when walking uphill without difficulty using no effort at all because it comes naturally so effortless indeed!

This principle applies universally where natural talent alone may not suffice but hard work will always pay off especially when applied consistently over long periods leading towards mastery eventually achieved after years