Earth element has the quality of being hard or getting soft.

• Water element has the quality of being wet or getting dry.
• Fire element has the quality of being hot or getting cold.
• Wind element has the quality of moving or getting calm.

All the appearing forms in the universe consist of four eternal elements with eight qualities. Our human body also consists of these four elements.

• Earth is the basic matter of your bones and cells. If they get too much damage, there is no way to survive.
• Water is the largest component of your body (about 60%). If there’s too much of it, you will drown; if there’s too little, you will dehydrate and die.
• Fire is your temperature. Your body operates best with a core temperature of about 37° C. If you get too hot or cold, your body shuts down, causing death.
• Wind is your breath. If you don’t get oxygen for a few minutes, your heart will stop beating and your brain will die.

In kung fu, each of the elements represents a different energy explosion technique.

• Earth is the hardest and works with extremely heavy control.
• Water is the softest and works with unpredictable relaxed control.
• Fire is the sharpest and works with surprisingly exciting control.
• Wind is the fastest and works with amazingly light control.