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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 5, 2019 15:40:11 GMT
Yes, but will it enable me to cope with today's fast changing society?
First of all, I'd like to clarify this visualization business. When I initially began trying to use KSHD and my attempts at visualizing weights, boulders, whatever, wasn't working, and then it all clicked when my mind simply wandered off, I realized that trying to visualize anything was a distraction, and that going with the flow and just letting it happen is what worked for me, and that visualization was an aid I didn't need. Going right into the "white mist" is what works.
Your post above is beautifully written and I don't think I could ever find another writing that explains chi kung as perfectly and as clearly as you have. I think you ought to copy it and your other related posts to your training log for available reference.
God bless you for having taken such good care of your wife. I am very sorry for your loss. How long were you married?
Now, I gotta tell you. I went through the motions yesterday morning as described in my previous post. Last night I felt nothing and this morning I felt nothing. You might say that it can take time and that I ought to persevere, but my immediate purpose is to simply maintain as much of my muscularity as possible until such time as I can return to my beloved Hook. So, I will continue with my KSHD routine, which BTW, is a really good one. There are a couple of very effective exercises in there that I came up with recently - no.'s 9 and 10.
Perhaps in following years, as I get older, your ki chung will appeal to me and I'll revisit it and devote all my energies to attempting to master it.
Right now, I'm getting backed up with orders, so I gotta get on the stick and really get to work. Won't be around much today.
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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 5, 2019 17:26:51 GMT
Henry in the "white mist"...
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Post by mr potatohead on Nov 5, 2019 21:16:29 GMT
Great cartoon from His Majesty Most Permanently High! Thanks, m8!
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 6, 2019 4:14:20 GMT
Now, I gotta tell you. I went through the motions yesterday morning as described in my previous post. Last night I felt nothing and this morning I felt nothing. You might say that it can take time and that I ought to persevere, but my immediate purpose is to simply maintain as much of my muscularity as possible until such time as I can return to my beloved Hook. So, I will continue with my KSHD routine, which BTW, is a really good one. There are a couple of very effective exercises in there that I came up with recently - no.'s 9 and 10. Then Sir, that is exactly what you should do. You are committed to muscle development and maintenance (and what's wrong with that ?!) and your passion re the weights and Hook etc should be followed without reservation. Your KSHD course (generously presented to the world for free) is the best possible muscle tensing course I've seen, and I've seen quite a few, in various guises.
It may be worth mentioning at this point that there are some chi kung drills, usually for "inner" power for kung fu combat styles, but also for health and recovery from illness, that do NOT include visualizing the chi/energy/life-force. Instead they instruct a clear mind free as possible of any thoughts, sometimes equally as difficult as actually visualizing something like white or golden mist etc.
There are some instructors who recommend also watching TV while performing (say) a static stance which I do not agree with. The whole process of chi kung is Mind first in a meditation state, the development and leading of chi, the body follows with some form or other, sometimes a therapy form, or a combat form, of which there are hundreds.
In 1980-81 (either of those two years) I had waited for a book on Pakua Chang boxing, one of the three classical "internal" styles of kung fu (along with Hsing I and Tai Chi). Such books were unknown in this country in those days, Pakua itself was unknown even among martial artists of other styles. Even Karate in this country was still regarded as some sort of mysterious art in some quarters despite the admirable efforts of Bruce Tegner et al. I had read Robert Smith's previous book and had been filled with his discussions on various forms of kung fu he had encountered and trained in while in Taiwan in the 60's, and the circling methods described in his Pakua book (complete with photos and diagrams of footwork) came directly from two of the greatest masters of the day, Paul Kuo, and Wang Shu-chin.
I absorbed the details and "walked the circle" for one month, performing about four/five static upper body positions while walking, and doing the Single Change (of direction, with an open-palm blow directed at the centre of the circle ) while remaining as relaxed as possible. The Mind was kept on the lower belly (Dantien) and on "someone coming up to you from behind".
The effect of only one month training in this manner was profound. Once again, the morning after the previous day's 35-minute circling dawned with yours truly getting out of bed feeling as though a truck had hit me. The muscles were not sore (I was relaxed) but it was felt in the nervous system, the nerves at the same time feeling strangely soothed. My wife remarked that I was becoming more distant from her and my daughter, but for me I never felt closer. Nevertheless, they came first and I stopped the practice, and went back to weight training in my garage three times a week and helping out at her day-centre gym later when she got a job there.
But things had happened in my mind after one month of the toughest form of Mind-body exercise I had ever trained in, then and now. The Universe was very close. I could walk up the road and without warning suddenly turn back and look directly at someone 50 metres astern peeping at me through their curtains.
In a sense, I had swallowed the Red Pill, and despite all the years since then, going back to various forms of "conventional" exercise which I had always loved, and still do, things were never the same. In 1986 I popped a hernia and stopped the weight training, immediately taking up Baduanjin (google it, there are many styles, all of them effective) and for the next few years built up an inner core of chi energy which stood me in good stead for the years later in my ministrations to my wife.
The next eight or so years I had many "Wonderland" moments, and even today I can hardly believe what happened at times. Distant healing became a reality and brought solid results, both on adults and children especially. Btw I have never advised the dropping of conventional medicines, I would be a hypocrite if I did.
Even after my wife's passing with chi kung holding me together all those years, I rediscovered strandpulling and bought The Hook, a piece of equipment that I found hard to leave alone. Overcoming isometrics, something I was fascinated in when I was a teenage boy in early 60's, came again and only recently have I dropped them, possibly for good. But heck, years of isometric fun and information shared, a great hobby as well as a training method, not the "ultimate" but certainly very worthwhile with some advantages (as always) not shared by other forms of exercise, which have their own advantages as well.
So far since I started moving in and out of the Matrix again, I have been able to help a few ladies with chronic disorders including long-standing emotional problems that have vanished once they took up Ping Shuai (Swinging Arms chi kung) plus a few Baduanjin drills.
Yet chi kung is a very practical method for self-and-others improvement. Nevertheless I only suggest it as an alternative method of Mind-body drill, certainly not insist upon it with those that are wedded to their own methods. That is what they should definitely be doing at this time of their evolution, and it is better not to interfere with that with something they may only take on in a luke-warm fashion. It's better to either get right into chi kung, or leave it along and continue with weights, strands, isometrics etc.
They are proven, highly-visible methods of exercise that can absorb one for life, and that is the way it is.
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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 6, 2019 18:59:12 GMT
Gasp! You are the true embodiment of everything JP and THE GOURD wish they were, and delude themselves into believing they are. From your writings, it can be clearly seen that everything you say rings true. Again, all that you have written here is a treasure trove and I again urge you to copy it all to your training log. And I thank you for taking the time and effort to relay all of this valuable information.
For my part, I'm back in the business of building awe-inspiring muscle.
I had a real scare this morning. I started bleeding profusely from my incision and went to the ER. They told me that this is seroma, which is the release of a build up of fluid, which is a good thing. It's part of the healing process. This drainage has caused the swelling to go down and the pain to abate a bit. (abate-a-bit abate-a-bit tra-la-la-la-la-la) When the nurse bandaged up my surgery, she said it is a good looking incision. Well, that was nice to hear. So, it will continue draining for awhile. I have an appointment with the surgeon next Wednesday, at which time I think he will take out the sutures. I'm so glad this is finally done and that the worse is over.
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Post by zenqsavant on Nov 6, 2019 19:32:48 GMT
Hello shen hopes all well..do you feel KSHD..builds more awe inspiring muscle than Self Resistance..it intrigues me the transcendence of philosophy of the mental and physical protocols..for me I like KSHD for the feeling of uninhibition and the flowing nature..but then Self resistance..I get a more strained pumped feeling..Like Ive done some good stuborn work...I like them both for different reasons..and for me they accomplish different things..though the aim result is the same..but I get a totally diffrent physical stumilus from each protocol..it just intrigues me
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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 6, 2019 20:16:54 GMT
zenny.........
The intriguing notion that KSHD is so Zen-like and effective is what induced me to practice it for a straight year and a half. When I lived in California I had a "Zen Spot" that I would go to to exercise - a clearing on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. I would first do isos on the surrounding tree branches, and then stand on the edge of the cliff, soaking in the sun and the ocean breeze, and KSHD. When on vacations I'd find a secluded spot in a park or stand on the ocean shore in the early morning.
Yes, SR gives you the real-world feel of actual physical resistance. I've never bought into the "purist" dogma. To hear some people talk, you'd think there are purist police patrolling, making sure that no one is trying to sneak in a few reps with a curling bar. I believe that exercise never has to be a case of either/or. Combining SR with KSHD, and even with isos, makes for a complete, all-round routine.
Of course, right now I can't put any strain on my groin, so pure KSHD is all I can do. And I'm enjoying doing it.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 7, 2019 1:57:05 GMT
Gasp! You are the true embodiment of everything JP and THE GOURD wish they were, and delude themselves into believing they are. From your writings, it can be clearly seen that everything you say rings true. Again, all that you have written here is a treasure trove and I again urge you to copy it all to your training log. And I thank you for taking the time and effort to relay all of this valuable information. For my part, I'm back in the business of building awe-inspiring muscle. I had a real scare this morning. I started bleeding profusely from my incision and went to the ER. They told me that this is seroma, which is the release of a build up of fluid, which is a good thing. It's part of the healing process. This drainage has caused the swelling to go down and the pain to abate a bit. (abate-a-bit abate-a-bit tra-la-la-la-la-la) When the nurse bandaged up my surgery, she said it is a good looking incision. Well, that was nice to hear. So, it will continue draining for awhile. I have an appointment with the surgeon next Wednesday, at which time I think he will take out the sutures. I'm so glad this is finally done and that the worse is over. Gordon actually contributed quite a bit to the old Sandow site. Apart from his cut-and-pastes, and outright erroneous statements (Swoboda and all that) he could be regarded as an example of someone with a degree of technical knowledge, but no skills. An example is your KSHD. Someone may be interested in KSHD and after asking a lot of questions and looking at examples of training etc, have a good technical knowledge of KSHD, but until he/she gains a good portion of experience, examining their results and actions, reviewing next day's anticipated workout etc, we cannot say they have much in the way of skills. That is why in any type of exercise, I maintain that anecdotal evidence will always trump scientific "latest study indicates...". We live by our feelings, personal results, gains, which will almost certainly be not the same as anyone else.
That difference is not always recognized in many fields, especially in chi kung. Nevertheless, SOME decent results may come from early stages of practical training, providing the trainer knows that what he's doing is correct procedure.
A thread some years ago on here displaying a youtube with some guy with PAKUA across his back walking around in a circle while exercising with some sort of a frame is a classic example of someone who has no idea whatsoever of what Pakua circling (a form of martial chi kung) really is. I tried to explain why and it was evident that even a few otherwise knowledgeable members still could not "get it". I think from memory, Mikey (potatohead was onto it, all right).
So you have at least three main levels of competence in any skill, never mind chi kung. And KSHD certainly requires skill in my experience. It is an entirely worthwhile exercise regimen and has a decent mental component to it, the slowness of physical action contributing to an ordered visualization of choice, or a No-mind meditation. About 5 years ago I performed around 3-4 months of the classic strandpulling "Big Six" in a KSHD manner as an experiment. My visual was of that German guy's enormous steel spring home-built expander. The site was "Expanderkrank" I think. The results after said time was increased strength (I could pull out my expanders more easily, or more springs/strands) and a "unified" feeling of overall robustness even though I had only performed arm/upper-body exercises.
So there you have it re KSHD.
Regarding the most important subject at the moment, your operation and recovery, please be very careful with your exercising at this time. You may believe that you are only involving the upper body and/or arms, but the lower belly is the seat of your existence both physically and energetically.
Especially if you are using your stated "hissing" breath while stoking the coal. There is a great deal of internal pressure that goes on in the lower belly in the course of an average day. The pressure generated of a cough or sneeze is tremendous.
That is precisely how I popped my second hernia in 2004. I coughed it out. There are some posters in this thread that have recommended just resting until you have healed up properly. That is also why I recommended relaxed chi kung, at least at this time.
Please be careful. We can walk around with a sore arm, shoulder, back whatever, but if you shag up your operation by over-pressure right where you live, then Brother, you ain't going anywhere.
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Post by zenqsavant on Nov 7, 2019 3:33:31 GMT
Experience and experiments of one will always trump scientific explaination..in my experience..the science takes care it self..just like in everyday life..I think its cool to know the inner workings of why what works..Iv gotten away formulas and theories and equations of great perplexity...I train with CSD common sense degree..much as I live my life..instinct will always be my best bet...I dont count reps..dont count calories..time..etc..fitness is a feeling..fitness is all components of human performance..worked in conjunction..for me any way..Im of the heavy hand panaerobics mindset..I believe all roads lead to rome at end of it all..John mcsweeney had great chi..as stated by his students and energy projection..and he did only tiger moves and high rep power strikes...chi is electromagnetism according to the tao..but to me chi is free flowing but yet requires a kinda laser like mental projection..to put direct it externally...but the internal flow of chi is cultivated through the no mind or wu wei..for easy body somatic blockage free movement..the tao is a duality in its paradoxical understandings and teachings..whats soft can be hard and whats hard can be soft...everything has a balance and counter force and need..thats the way and it cant be denied..even if one KSHDs theres a time of relaxation where chi flows freely...if one does soft chi..theres a time where you perform movements of great exertion..so everything comes into balance..it cant not
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 7, 2019 7:48:28 GMT
Very much so. Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for science. I'm not going to get on an aircraft that is expected to fly at 500+ mph at 32,000ft built on "intuition", "feelings" "hunches" etc. I expect solid science behind the plane's construction and high training in its piloting, also backed by science.
But much of the human condition is not known. Especially the Mind. That's why psychiatry is largely anecdotal consensus. It's been criticized more than enough for its unscientific diagnosis, and what lays further into the Mind seems to be only tapped occasionally by (genuine) mystics and highly trained meditators that may have spent more than one lifetime unlocking aspects of the Mind which are widely regarded as hokum.
There is a school of thought that I subscribe to that believes that everything possible that we have speculated about such as telepathy, clairvoyance, the ability to interpret objects histories, healing from a distance, is already in the Mind, and instead of one "gaining certain powers", one unlocks them according to one's natural progress and evolution, as not a body with a spirit, but rather a spirit having a bodily experience.
Mind you, one's EM system must have a sturdy fusebox, wiring and circuit breakers. You can't lead the 11kv into the house that's only wired for 240v/15amps (NZ) without building up the whole thing. Some mental patients indeed have the 11kv without the necessary safety measures and that is why they are under care, and constantly drugged by Quieteners.
A mental hospital was on my beat back in the 80's re telephones and I was out there at least once a fortnight repairing phones that had come under the attention of the patients, and I saw a guy my size (180lbs) having to have seven male nurses bring him under control sufficiently to get a needle into him to control him. Someone had missed his morning meds and he had already broken through what was effectively a jail door (with broken frame and without injury) to gain access into the main building, where he proceeding to rip things to pieces that are normally the level of trained (and large) strongmen.
Where did he get that strength from ? There would be hundreds of karate and kung fu hard stylists that would very much like to know.
Chi kung is ONE way to ramp up the gizmo, not so much for the acquisition/unlocking of powers deliberately (although one or two may unlock as a natural consequence of one's training) but rather a quietening of the restless mind by visuals or "no-mind" sessions enhanced or not by physical movements or static positions, seated or standing.
The variety of chi kung drills is almost endless, and combat styles like Tai Chi and Pakua rely heavily on chi kung, being "internal" styles that promote mostly relaxation, not tension as training protocols. In saying that, in the years I was training almost exclusively with a style of Baduanjin, a simple set of chi kung drills, my arms could be as soft as a women's, or as hard as ever they have been in my life, instantly one or the other, at Will, something that "hard" stylists refuse to believe in, their drills mainly tensed and forced breathing.
It is significant that John McSweeney may have had "great chi" but he died of a massive heart attack at only 74. When we examine his Tiger Moves they are described as having great inner tension. Take a look at Karate masters who used their Tensho drill with great tension, both with massive forced breathing as well, And of course Bruce Tegner, dead at 56 from a heart attack, his forced breathing advocated through (at least) his isometric course. In McSweeney's last interview, he stated that at his age, he could still hit as hard as he always could, and a short while later was dead through a massive heart attack.
They were formidable fighters, hard men who were top martial artists, rock-hard muscles from years of Dynamic Tension training, but compromised on the inside, suddenly and decisively. Was it the muscular tension, or the forced breathing, or both ?
There are masters of kung fu who do not have to depend on muscular tension to break a brick or someone's head. Their students number among them small ladies who have to be able to match bigger stronger opponents. They will never have the bones or muscle to do this unless they have another weapon. That weapon is relaxed chi kung. I've already written at least twice of my experience with a pair of 5" sidecutters where I broke one of the handles in two places, after training a Yi Jin Jing 12-static posture relaxed form for a few months. They were good quality sidecutters that I had used for years. They didn't break because of a massive conventionally-trained grip.
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Post by mr potatohead on Nov 7, 2019 16:26:49 GMT
...... Regarding the most important subject at the moment, your operation and recovery, please be very careful with your exercising at this time. You may believe that you are only involving the upper body and/or arms, but the lower belly is the seat of your existence both physically and energetically.
Especially if you are using your stated "hissing" breath while stoking the coal. There is a great deal of internal pressure that goes on in the lower belly in the course of an average day. ......
Yes. Perhaps people who train body parts have trouble understanding or feeling that their body doesn't isolate tension to only the body "part" they want to tense. And, as you note, " the lower belly is the seat of your existence both physically and energetically". As far as restricting breath, that's just nuts, especially with an injury in that area. I hope the injury (surgery) Bruce has would make him much more sensitive to when that area is experiencing tension.
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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 7, 2019 18:04:59 GMT
One would hope so, whouldn't one?
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Post by mr potatohead on Nov 22, 2019 17:37:42 GMT
How's your recovery going, Bruce?
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Post by Bruce Tackett on Nov 22, 2019 18:07:22 GMT
Very well, thank you. I'll be getting the sutures out next Tuesday, and, from what I understand, I'll be able to be reunited with my beloved Hook. I'll have to get the final word from the surgeon when I see him. In the meantime, I have faithfully adhered to my non-groin effecting workouts and have found them to be very effective. Every upper body exercise I have been doing has been whilst comfortable ensconced on my incline bench. I have ended up doing more self-resistance than KSHD.
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Post by zenqsavant on Nov 23, 2019 2:27:04 GMT
Hey bruce glad all is well...what leaned you more toward DSR than Kshd? Also will you do a strength comparison before goin back to the hook?
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