macky
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Post by macky on Nov 9, 2019 22:52:19 GMT
In saying all that about the need for relaxation as much as possible when performing a chi kung drill of your choice, there are going to be areas of increasing tension as the drill progresses, at least with some movements.
For example, if you are in a horse stance (of any depth) while performing the Archer drill, then fairly soon your legs are going to let you know that time is nearly up, at least in the early stages of practice. Said drill, btw, can be performed with no bent legs, the demonstrations of said drill on youtubes as one of the Eight Brocades (Baduanjin) usually performed by long-experienced masters/practitioners. You can readily use their youtubes as demonstrations, and guides, but one should take things easily and build up to the drill's proper performance.
That is a mistake I've made in the past, performing a chi kung drill as per youtube, and wondering why such a "relaxed" exercise can be so tough, that the next day I have trouble standing easily, the "hit by a truck" feeling etc.
In fact, the Zhan Zhuang static postures will test your legs and arms, shoulders etc (depending on the posture) and nervous system increasingly, the longer you maintain the stance. There are some masters who have said that ZZ postures are the method which brings real power to any martial art. Yi Chuan is a martial art that relies almost exclusively on static postures as it's power base, and has proven to be one of the most formidable combat systems going.
Interestingly, one could say that Zhan Zhuang in the physical sense, is Yielding Isometrics.
The Pakua circle-walking is recommended with well-bent legs. You can imagine how that will start to feel after a short while. Obviously as in standing stances, Pakua walking should be started with slightly-bent legs, the idea being to complete a reasonable amount of time in a meditative state, rather than a short, physically-intense "workout" in the manner of "conventional" training.
The point being that you are not training the muscles primarily as a mental focus, you are performing chi kung. The short-sharp muscle "workout" of seriously-bent legs to begin with will certainly bring some benefit (as long as you don't bugger your knees), but it's better to engage the posture (or walking) in an easy manner at first, which will bring more time under meditation/visualization and promote the feeling of Life-force moving in the body, before having to quit and stand up straight, or the Mind has had enough.
After a while, the posture itself will become more relaxed as the body/nervous system becomes used to the exercise, and ever-more time and focus can be brought to the practice of whatever the particular drill requires. Some masters will advocate "empty mind" while others may promote active visuals during the course of a stance session. The ultimate goals are relaxation under stressful situations, clear thinking applicable to combat or any civil task, increased awareness, more strength without deliberate force, ability to take punishment to a certain degree, healing, both self and others, and possibly "universal awareness", one's place in time and space.
All have been proven to bring about good health, and martial power, with a "better day" in the course of one's existence.
Nevertheless, despite one or two masters advocating immediate stance training, I would recommend at least six months in a moving form of chi kung such as Baduanjin (many styles, all effective if performed under chi kung rules) or Shibashi (formulated in the early 80's consisting of 18 Tai Chi-style drills). While immediate ZZ training may well be effective right from the start, we here on this forum are not used to the mindset of chi kung. The number of misconceptions in the Western world of what chi kung really is has distorted even the internal martial arts on many occasions, and over a long period of time.
Even in their country of origin, the internal arts/chi kung is either not known, or not believed in many quarters, masters of "hard' styles such as kenpo and karate engaging in tensed drills that undoubtedly build great martial power and strength, but erroneously calling them "hard chi kung", which in fact is a contradiction.
Also, to confuse the issue even more, many hard style practitioners have certainly improved their mental/emotional capabilities through their hard drills, and even brought a degree of chi power to their practice, through years of sheer repetition performing their tensed movements and forced breathing. My wife was a karateka for five years under a particularly tough sensei (John Jarvis) in the Kyukoshin (Mas Oyama) style which in the typical Japanese way, advocated consistent over-training. Their sessions sometimes consisted of 1000 kicks and punches not to mention other drills as well. The rationale behind it was that one would always know what he/she could expect of themselves in a situation where they had to defend themselves resolutely. The results under Jarvis (who never gave a belt to anyone in under a year, some long-standing members never achieving a black belt but like my wife, Brown with black tip) was that a visiting crew of Black belts of the same karate system from Geelong in Australia were being cleaned up by Jarvis' green belts in kumite. And even years later re the "chi power", Marg could perform a block or a thrust, and I could feel the "wave" from ten feet away, even before I started getting into regular chi kung.
Which goes to show those who are interested in such things, that martial arts ability does not only depend on the style, but mainly the teacher, and of course the student. It is also significant that once again, a hard stylist in the shape of my wife (who brought her martial training into every sport and activity) was gone at 62, and John Jarvis had serious health problems in early 70's, although he is still alive at 78. Mas Oyama, his original style founder passed at 70.
So we have areas where what is "internal" and what may be distinctly "external" can become blurred, and in fact ARE blurred simple because of our Mind/Body existence. One does not exist without the other, and it has been said that some styles are "from the soft to the hard", others, "from the hard to the soft". But even then, martial artists have often had physically soft and relaxed hands/bodies, but can will hardness or softness where appropriate. At the finish, it seems that it is the emphasis and what the martial art focuses on that distinguishes it. Mas Oyama focused on physical strength and endurance, simplifying techniques and methods in order to achieve "one strike, certain kill" capability. I doubt that chi (or ki in Japanese) was ever prominent in his thinking, and he was committed 100% to fighting and nothing but.
I am not a martial artist, nor will I ever be. My fighting experience consists of the odd skirmish in the Navy, six months of boxing as the gym punchbag, and two outside events where I lowered my head instead of ducking and smashed a guy's fist against my forehead, he flattening (permanently) the knuckle on his ring-finger and breaking the finger in two places, the other event where I managed to put a person on the ground with two cupped slaps to the side of the head. That is all.
And since I have no interest in martial arts except as a bystander, the chi emphasis became more a practice for good health and the sheer enjoyment of feeling the energy running around the arms and legs etc, plus most importantly the healing of others. It has set me up over the years for distant healing practices which have had quite a good degree of success, said practices NOT a form of Alternative healing exclusively, but mainly as a supplemental "extra" to whatever the conventional treatment was to the patient. I would be a hypocrite if I ever told anyone to drop their meds, myself a near-lifelong asthmatic, hence my leaning towards more physically gentle methods of Mind/body training. In saying that, there was a time when weight training was once all I lived for, and other systems such as strand-pulling and isometrics have always been a source of delight, great hobbies as a home trainer, and plenty to offer on a "feel-good" basis.
Chi kung has been ordered into various groups since antiquity, martial, healing/health, scholarly etc, and many of the drills themselves overlap into other main groups, hence a further blurring and sometimes confusion as to whether a particular drill is a martial or a health chi kung. One answer is the practitioner him/herself. One of the most popular drills in all of chi kung is Lift The Sky, the first in the Baduanjin set. The drill itself has many different styles, but all are similar in basic form. A beginner in Lift The Sky may use it for enhanced health, to overcome an illness. A mid-range exponent may use it for all that, and chi enhancement and to heal others. Or he may use it for martial purposes as well. A master may use Lift The Sky as one of the few chi kung drills he still does, returning to the simple, for all the previous reasons, and for his enlightenment, or at least Cosmic awareness. This may sound a bit off-the-wall, but after some years of chi kung drills trying out various different sets, including the aforementioned Yi Jin Jing 12-position static posture set, there were times when I was in another time and place for a second or two, or now and again I would "see" a scene or some sort of vision while performing what is in effect a simple chi kung set. Not often, but significant evidence of Mind-play at work. No wonder some of the old masters retired from society and lived in the mountains, the internal martial art Pakua Chang reputed to have been taught to its originator by a Taoist mountain hermit.
The chi kung I am performing at the moment is around a thousand reps a day (about 25 minutes either in one session or split into two) of Ping Shuai plus some of Wong Kiew Kit styles of 18 Lohan exercises, from which the Eight Brocade (Baduanjin) styles have allegedly evolved from, although there is some researchers who assert that Baduanjin was one of two exercise/kung fu sets formulated by a famous Chinese general, the other a Hsing Yi martial art.
It doesn't really matter where they originated, they are all effective if performed properly. Some teachers do teach their students to do their Baduanjin set with tension, but I tried that some 24 years ago and the initial benefit in strength and well-being I had rapidly fell away to feeling listless and twitching, a real danger to those who try Chi kung with tensed muscles and forced breathing. According to some masters, performing even one Baduanjin drill in a tense manner with forced breathing has caused the practitioner to vomit blood and require hospital treatment. I can only wonder if I may have had the same results if I had not heeded my warning signs and returned to the relaxed chi kung methods I had been trained in, and trained myself in.
Many Baduanjin styles are easily found on the Net, and having attended three fairly short classes in Tai Chi over the last 35 years, I would also recommend Shibashi.
It is significant that out of the three masters who took these sessions, one from Hong Kong, another from Malayasia, the last one from Taiwan, none of them spoke or taught of chi or where to lead it in the body. Perhaps had I stayed for longer, they may have imparted more of their wisdom, but I didn't have the time to linger and pressing matters were at hand, in all cases. I have come to the belief that the Universe serves up what is appropriate at the time, and that my not being able to stay for any longer than three months each at those classes engendered me with an impetus to find and experiment (within sensible guidelines) chi kung methods, and not to have to become confined to one master's training and attitudes.
At the last, there are many styles and drills of chi kung that can interest one, provided that normal training protocols like persistence, patience, and correct breathing and form are followed. Form may permit one or two flaws, but the Mind must come first, quietened then focused, even on No-mind, or suitable visuals. After finishing the forms, the energy must be led back into the lower Dantian and some quiet standing finishes it all off. Never leave enhanced/visualized energy up in the head or chest.
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Michael
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Post by Michael on Nov 20, 2019 18:20:13 GMT
Wow Macky! I appreciate You taking the time writing this all up. I didn't read everything but do plan on reading. Fred Hutch shared some stuff on Chi Kung in the past and I always thought it was interesting.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 21, 2019 1:39:43 GMT
Thanks Michael. I'll be writing up quite a bit more on chi kung and my experiences with it, when I get a few hours to spare.
I don't expect anybody to believe anything I've written, but what I have felt doing these drills in the way proper chi kung is to be performed is truthful and authentic.
Chi kung is not really a series of theories to be argued over, it is to be practiced regularly and with concentration. One could say it's moving meditation, and there is certainly a meditative aspect to it. Anybody that tries it (using simple drills) will almost certainly feel the energy running around both by itself, and at the direction of the Mind. There are hundreds of forms of chi kung, and if they are performed in a conventional exercise manner, as gentle calisthenics, then there will be some benefits gained, but what gives chi kung its real power is the Mind-lead energy.
It's important to remember that said Mind-lead energy via chi kung drills is not mere imagination. It is visualization of a force which will become more physically evident as time goes on, with diligent practice. That practice should not be under strain, but gently resolute, both physically and mentally.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 23, 2019 10:15:30 GMT
Most of my experience with chi kung has been through three main protocols, Ping Shuai, Shibashi, and Baduanjin. In 1993 I attended a Tai Chi class run by one of my daughter's school teachers, a Malaysian Chinese who took us through a round of Ping Shuai (swinging arms) before every session. And that is what I regarded Ping Shuai as being, a warm-up (which it certainly is) to other forms of chi kung and martial arts, until well into this century I found out that it has been formalized into a near-complete system by itself, by Taiwanese master Lee Feng Sheng.
Many there are that practice Ping Shuai exclusively and no other chi kung. babyboomersensei.blogspot.com/2016/12/ping-shuai-gong-swing-hands-workout.html shows another practitioner who has also fallen on the system as a simple but highly effective chi kung drill that has helped a great deal many from serious illness, and given them health and their lives back. On that site he has listed (they are not his videos) thirteen testimonial videos with English translations by Taiwanese scientists and others from all walks of life. Their stories are inspirational to anybody who finds themselves physically (and mentally) compromised by life's tragedies, and by birth defects and childhood illnesses such as polio.
Although these people featured performed thousands of reps a day (why not ? They had nothing to lose), for "normal" trainers on here who need something to supplement their conventional exercise regimens or at least help to overcome chronic disorders like asthma (in my case) around 500 to one thousand reps a day is quite sufficient. That will take from 16 minutes to about half an hour.
In 2016 , along with my isometrics (at the other end of the day) I performed between one thousand and fifteen hundred reps a day, either in one bout, or split in two. Up until then, at least once a year I was visiting the doctor for sore throat infections, apart from my usual three-month meds collection from the desk. After about 13 months, my doctor called me in because he had not seen me all that time, and wanted to check up on how I was. A Chinese himself, he was thrilled to find out about my Ping Shuai practice, as he also performed 300 a day regularly. Even though I returned to isometrics predominantly for another couple of years, I still did around 300-500 at least every second day, and have never had to visit the doctor during this time for any infection or flu.
In late 2017 I was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate and early 2018 had a biopsy performed which returned no sign of cancer or any other disease.
The practice of Ping Shuai is simple. Stand comfortably and swing your arms back and forth only up to your shoulder, with no force, the tongue on the roof of your mouth gently, and double dip your legs every five reps. In some videos (there are many) there is a lady who dips very low in her performance. That is not necessary and it actually detracts from the rhythm of the swinging.
Dr Yang Jwing Ming mentions Swinging arms in his chi kung book. He calls it Bai Bi Yun Dong and also promotes a stepping variety, as the arms come up to the front, the left leg steps in place, the next swing forward the right leg steps.
""In the last fifty years an exercise based on the principles of the Yi Jin Jing has become popular. Although the exercise is very simple, the results in strengthening the body and curing illnesses are significant. Theoretically, when you repeatedly swing your arms, the nerves and Qi channels in the shoulder joints are stimulated to a higher state, and this Qi will flow to the areas of lower potential to complete the circulation. Because a number of the Qi channels connected with the different organs terminate in the hands, swinging the arms increases the circulation in these channels. Arm swinging will not only increase the Qi circulation, but the relaxed up and down motion will also increase the flow of blood. From the last fifty years of experience, we know that a number of illnesses can be cured simply by frequent practice of swinging the arms. For some cancers, the increase in Qi circulation will help the degenerated cells to function normally and may help the cancer. According to Qi theory, cancers are caused by the stagnation of Qi and blood, which results in changes to the structure of the cell. Several types of cancer that may be cured by swinging the arms are cancers of the lungs, esophagus, and lymph. Other kinds of disorders that can be helped by swinging the arms are: hardening of the liver, paralysis caused by high blood pressure, high blood pressure itself, heart trouble, and nervous disorders. The method is very simple. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, with the tip of your tongue touching the roof of your mouth. Swing your arms forward until they are horizontal with the palms facing down, then swing them backwards as far as possible with the palms facing up. Keep your entire body relaxed. Start with two hundred to three hundred repetitions, then gradually increase to one or two thousand, or up to half an hour." - Yang Jwing Ming, Ph.D., Medical Qigong Practices for Good Health "
The guy in the above link has a stepping method as well, where he double -steps for every single rep. That is up to the practitioner.
Ping Shuai is a chi kung, therefore I do not endorse the guy's recommending watching TV or any other distraction while engaged in it. One should be focused on the Dantien (lower belly) area during the swings. Don't hold weights in the hands either. It's chi kung, not strength training per se.
After gradually coming to a stop, stand there quietly for a few minutes and feel the energy flow up and down the arms, through the shoulders, and into the body. If you feel like swaying gently, do so, but keep control so you don't fall over into a sharp table edge or something. In saying that, don't suddenly check yourself rigidly if you find yourself overbalancing. Just step out to quietly stop from falling, the same as any other time.
The technique of swaying around gently is a bona fide health practice in itself, and that can be applied to any chi kung, and one should feel the energy moving around the body and legs, grounding everything with the help of Dantien focus. The Mind in this case does not direct the energy. The energy is free to go where it is needed.
It may be easier for us here on Sierra to practice because it's about the only chi kung I can think of that is performed at a "normal" speed, but one must not be carried away with trying to up the reps too much, and other performance goals that belong to conventional training, but not to chi kung. So don't tense up, keep as relaxed as possible at all times.
Another link is here swinghandexercisepingshuaigong.blogspot.com/
The sideways technique that Mr Ku taught me was to stand comfortably, place the arms out to each side shoulder height, then as you turn to the left, the right arm swings across the front of the body while the left arm swings across the back. Then vice versa, the arms returning out to the sides before each turn. I do NOT endorse tapping the kidneys as some videos promote, because bruising is easily possible, and it's not necessary anyway.
In a thousand reps I will typically perform the first 200 as Ping Shuai dipping form, then 200 stepping, a hundred sideways swings, 200 dipping, maybe another hundred sideways, then finish off with stepping. The sideways swings are quite powerful, with the head turning as well. Don't force the turning, especially the head. Just relax. Sometimes I'll only do a hundred sideways out of the thousand. It's better to do 500 every day than to do a thousand, then take a day off. Because it's chi kung, training every day is possible, so don't push it.
The breathing should be in and out through the nose, freely and not co-ordinated with any movement. If you find yourself using your nose as a suction pump just open the mouth and take some breaths through the mouth while swinging. You should check your actions anyway if such heavy breathing starts up. Are you tensing into the exercise ? Doing too much, too soon ? It may be surprising to otherwise experienced and strong trainers in weights etc that chi kung forms can be tiring even while relaxed. The key is (gentle) concentration and that is what makes the difference between a normal healthful physical practice, and powerful chi kung. Because there is very little information on "where to put the chi" during Ping Shuai, it is safe to concentrate on the lower Dantien (Dantian, Tan Tien, Hara) in all chi kung, including Ping Shuai. If one cannot easily visualize a (say) glistening white ball of energy just under the navel and about a third way in, then it's fine to just be aware of the general area rather than a specific point.
That type of Mind-drill will become automatic after a while and serve to quieten those moments during the day when things get frustrating and annoying. The drill of breathing into the lower abdomen as a constant method will lower blood pressure and centralize the mind-body into a more focused intent, no matter what one is doing.
Naturally during periods of more intense physical effort during the day, the breathing will rise into the chest. That's normal. But the habit of constant costal breathing all through the day is in itself stressful and wastes energy. Abdominal breathing is what small children use and it's only later when they get older that the "chest out, gut held in" breathing takes over in so many of us.
In fact, relaxed abdominal breathing is called "Back To Childhood" in Chinese chi kung circles.
Something else that should be emphasized is that Ping Shuai can easily be done sitting on a stool or a chair without arms, and persons who have trouble standing (or even those that simply want to sit for a session of Ping Shuai) such as the aged can still derive benefit from the swinging of the arms.
Western-style trainers may have trouble getting their heads around that, but it must be remembered that Ping Shuai properly done is Energy Work, not physical work per se, another reason why the hands should not be loaded with weights, or the muscles deliberately tensed, or the breathing forced. Leave the weights until later in the day and do your normal workout with a separation of several hours.
As I've mentioned, there are quite a few chi kung exponents that perform Ping Shuai and no other form of exercise, often for several thousand reps a day. They usually number among those that have had serious illnesses, overcoming them (as the 13 testimonial videos show) and continuing on for life with Ping Shuai daily for perhaps an hour. If time is restricted, you can knock off say three sessions of 300 each during the day, each only a few minutes to perform. The important thing to remember is to calm yourself and concentrate before you start.
Like all things, chi kung or not, the more you practice it, the more such concentration and performance will come easily, which in chi kung is exactly what you should go for. And in time which will vary between individuals, you will begin to perceive the energy firstly in the arms and gut, then running around after you finish and stand quietly for a few minutes. It's no good arguing about such things, better to find out for yourself by giving it a try for a few months. It won't hurt your other training that you may be doing.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 23, 2019 21:48:39 GMT
Shibashi, or Tai Chi Chi Kung, is a set of 18 drills compiled by a Chinese master around the 80's, relatively new but the drills themselves the same as many Tai Chi movements and a few kung fu training drills.
It is another popular chi kung set (I believe there are two sets now) that is practiced around the world (as Ping Shuai is also) and has in fact become something of a national exercise of Malaysia and Indonesia. The forms do not take long to learn, and are beneficial to the health and strength, promoting tranquility while they provide interesting movements that hold the attention.
It is also important to be aware that Shibashi with its 18 forms has much variety of movement, and it is possible to take one or two of those forms (more the compound forms) and practice those exclusively. The beginning form, which is the same as in Tai Chi can be simply repeated over and over and left at that, for a good round. I did that myself each night 40 reps (apart from other styles of chi kung) as a finisher to whatever else I was doing, and it wasn't long before some friends were commenting that I looked like I was back at the weights again. While it was a surprise, that of course was not my focus, but I think the constant flexing of the legs in a sort of "quarter squat" might have had something to do with it. Once again, everything was done as relaxed as possible, so it's yet another indication of the surprising (in this case physical) results that can come from such practice.
There are many youtubes of the set, all of them similar to each other. Just google "Shibashi."
I first came across the form (once again) via Mr Ku in 1993, and was in fact my main motivation in attending his classes for as long as was possible, having no interest in learning the Long Form of Tai Chi, which would come later in the session. Mr Ku's classes comprised about 30-40 people, among them approx. 8 Chinese, but mainly white Kiwis, many of whom stated they "would not miss the classes for the world".
Significantly, I saw no Maori and only one Pacific islander, himself only lasting two sessions. They have a mindset, reflected by many other whites and even Chinese, that "go hard" is the way, and the only way at that. Of course, there are only a handful that ever make it into the eighties with such an attitude, most of them succumbing to all sorts of maladies in the sixties. So be it.
The session would begin with Swinging Arms, follow with Shibashi, then the Tai Chi form which I stayed for out of respect for Mr Ku, then most of us would move to the sidelines and watch a few of the Chinese go through their Tam Tui kung fu drills. I never saw anybody but Chinese being taught the Tam Tui forms. I believe there is still remnants of the reluctance of Chinese masters to teach "westerners" kung fu techniques, in certain quarters. Usually among those masters who have immigrated to NZ from their homelands. Chinese NZ nationals born here are more open to anybody learning their kung fu.
Far from being an easy exercise, Shibashi can be quite demanding, depending on the number of repetitions one chooses for each of the 18 drills. On finishing and standing quietly, one knows that a workout has taken place, but in a different way than expected of the feeling one gets from a weight training session, or some tough calisthenics.
The next time I came across Shibashi was in 2007, when I was full-on caring for my terminally ill wife. Night classes at a local college provided a couple hours release from household confinement once a week, my daughter taking over for a while.
A delightful young Taiwanese lady took the class of about fifteen, beginning with some light aerobics to warm up before the Shibashi proper. In fact, apart from perhaps doing some knee rotations to warm the knees up (because of the flexing of the legs during the Shibashi forms), Tai Chi Chi Kung is its own warm up. But still, the class was a refreshing change from the 24/7 caring of my wife, and also provided some "inner" strength to carry on.
Even then, by the third session, only one other white Kiwi besides myself remained, the rest being Chinese ladies of various ages. It's a pity that more isn't taught in these classes re chi cultivation and the reasons for relaxation being maintained as much as possible.
Neither Mr Ku in 1993 or our Taiwanese lady in 2007 ever mentioned chi/energy as a focus for our practice. While much benefit can be had from regular practice of Shibashi, simply concentrating gently on relaxation (as much as possible) and the forms themselves, I felt that with my focus on Dantien breathing/visualization as well, I derived more power from Shibashi, and the last session was taken up with sitting around talking about our experiences with phenomena which many regard as nonsense or plain hokum.
For some practitioners of chi kung, there will be levels of awareness that suddenly appear and after a while become normal everyday experience. Like I've said, it's not the gaining of powers that once you never had, chi kung (as well as other disciplines) can unlock certain abilities that were already there in all of us.
Such unlocking was sometimes mentioned by old-time masters of conventional exercise, their minds having been opened a little bit more by their diligent practices. It's nothing new, but unfortunately such things are easily discredited by frauds and those that seek to reduce Mankind's natural abilities to their own level in order to promote guilt and fear and the power over the masses. Some religions have a long history of that.
Chi kung is open-ended. There will be some (including good instructors) who spend their lives never having gained anything more than good health and happiness, along with a certain peace of mind. That is all good, and such benefits are easily understood even by those who are not practitioners. Others may develop clairvoyance or the ability to check a person's organs from a distance (for example). While these abilities should not be deliberately used as goals for chi kung practice, they have often been among the results of those who were ready to progress along The Path, not "higher" but simply moving a bit further along the same road we must all tread, where we must all go.
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Michael
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Post by Michael on Nov 23, 2019 22:54:52 GMT
Thanks Michael. I'll be writing up quite a bit more on chi kung and my experiences with it, when I get a few hours to spare.
I don't expect anybody to believe anything I've written, but what I have felt doing these drills in the way proper chi kung is to be performed is truthful and authentic.
Chi kung is not really a series of theories to be argued over, it is to be practiced regularly and with concentration. One could say it's moving meditation, and there is certainly a meditative aspect to it. Anybody that tries it (using simple drills) will almost certainly feel the energy running around both by itself, and at the direction of the Mind. There are hundreds of forms of chi kung, and if they are performed in a conventional exercise manner, as gentle calisthenics, then there will be some benefits gained, but what gives chi kung its real power is the Mind-lead energy.
It's important to remember that said Mind-lead energy via chi kung drills is not mere imagination. It is visualization of a force which will become more physically evident as time goes on, with diligent practice. That practice should not be under strain, but gently resolute, both physically and mentally.
Here's a question for You. What do You feel is the least amount of practice someone would need to get the benefit from this?
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Post by macky on Nov 24, 2019 0:04:20 GMT
Thanks Michael. I'll be writing up quite a bit more on chi kung and my experiences with it, when I get a few hours to spare.
I don't expect anybody to believe anything I've written, but what I have felt doing these drills in the way proper chi kung is to be performed is truthful and authentic.
Chi kung is not really a series of theories to be argued over, it is to be practiced regularly and with concentration. One could say it's moving meditation, and there is certainly a meditative aspect to it. Anybody that tries it (using simple drills) will almost certainly feel the energy running around both by itself, and at the direction of the Mind. There are hundreds of forms of chi kung, and if they are performed in a conventional exercise manner, as gentle calisthenics, then there will be some benefits gained, but what gives chi kung its real power is the Mind-lead energy.
It's important to remember that said Mind-lead energy via chi kung drills is not mere imagination. It is visualization of a force which will become more physically evident as time goes on, with diligent practice. That practice should not be under strain, but gently resolute, both physically and mentally.
Here's a question for You. What do You feel is the least amount of practice someone would need to get the benefit from this? It depends on the person's own evolution, which nobody but someone far further along than myself would know. Maybe only yourself knows subconsciously. But the fact that you asked this question is an indication that you are at least open to investigating the phenomena. Some will never entertain the idea at all in their lifetime (this lifetime). I've tried to get them to try chi kung as a help for their health problems, but their minds are closed, even to the idea itself. That is their choice.
But there are some things one can do, going off my own experience. The first thing would be to feel "at home" with the idea of chi/bio-electricity/prana and that it is up to a certain extent able to be lead by the Mind using visualization.
My view is that complicated techniques such as Small Universal Orbit are not necessary to gain solid feedback of the existence of Chi and its manipulation. I would simply go to the Lower Dantien for my focus and leave it at that. The reason for that is the Lower Dantien is probably the only safe place to build up the Chi. Some people have sent themselves off their trolleys with focusing on the third eye exclusively, for example.
And if the Chi "overflows" from the Dantien, the sub-conscious will do exactly what it's always done, handle it without any interference from the Everyday mind, in a balanced and beneficial manner. You can lead it later on to the hands for healing or combat, quite safely, as long as you remember to return it back to Dantien after your practice.
So right away, sit/lay down/stand and GENTLY focus on the Dantien area (that's enough) and also GENTLY breath abdominally into it. Don't push it to a hundred breaths or anything like that, your Mind will get tired. And do NOT force your breath. Better to just knock off maybe 20 breaths several times a day. After a while you'll always sort of feel it there even if you're concentrating on your work (which you MUST in your job, for your own safety).
The next thing is pick a simple form that you LIKE therefore enjoy doing. My next post will be on Baduanjin and that has Lift The Sky as its beginning form. That is one of the most popular individual drills in the world no matter what style is being used. After Ping Shuai, that is mine too.
So with your abdominal/Dantien chi breathing/meditation, you can employ that in Lift The Sky very quickly. You don't have to wait until you feel the energy in the gut, only that you are used to the spirit of the thing. Then you can do both at once. It all sounds complicated, but it becomes simple very quickly. And Simple is best, in my opinion.
As an addition, you can envisage a golden or white rain of cosmic energy showering over you when you take your arms back down, from overhead.
That is the style I do, but there are many others. I like this one because it's simple. Breath in gently (that word again) while arms going up, slightly pause, then breath out while the arms come down. He is breathing out through the mouth, I like through the nose. His feet are together, I like about a foot apart. Not because I want to be smart, but because I have always breathed out through the nose. The slight back pressure which is absent from mouth breathing helps the asthma. Also, having a hernia repair both sides and an enlarged prostate, I find standing with feet together uncomfortable. Feet directly under the hips much better.
In short 1 Get your ab breathing/meditation together. 2 Practice Lift The Sky.
Do it as often as you wish. Every day. Don't ask too many questions of yourself. You can ask later after you generate some chi-flow and Dantien battery-power. What I've presented to you is safe.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 24, 2019 5:58:48 GMT
Baduanjin (Eight Brocade) is one of the most popular chi kung drill-sets in the world, whatever the style followed. All of them are effective, the exercises similar in basic movements, possibly with slight differences that don't detract from the overall effectiveness.
Along with Ping Shuai and Shibashi, Baduanjin would round out a full Wai Dan chi kung regimen, or be complete just by itself. The exercises themselves can be done individually at any time. The Draw The Bow drill is one favorite of many practitioners who may perform that as their only chi kung, Lift The Sky is another.
As always, I recommend that beginners and even intermediate performers concentrate their chi/energy in the Dantien while doing the forms, a safe, consolidating and Earthing practice which will become apparent when walking around afterwards, the feet seeming to be "glued" somehow to the floor/ground, a sign that no excess energy is left in the head and/or chest after the drill set.
The main difference I have noticed in Baduanjin styles is the stance. Most styles have the feet at shoulder width and the legs flex according to the arm movements. The Shaolin style (including Wong Kiew Kit's style above) stand steady with the feet either together or hip width, with no flexing. Both style groups however use the horse stance (Ma Bu) for three of the exercises. The Shaolin horse stances are quite deep.
One doesn't need to get into difficult stances if the legs are not up to it. They are demanding after a short length of time, and the practitioner should stand up out of the stance before their concentration is affected away from the chi/energy. There are a few styles that use basically slightly bent knees without flexing at all. The set was reputed to have been devised by a Chinese general, and is between 800-1000 years old, so Baduanjin practitioners can be sure they are engaging in a bit of living history that goes right back into the Song (I think) dynasty.
Never mind, the set has been proven effective. It is today the entry level for the Shaolin temple, and is either used as a warmup for serious martial arts, or a complete health and strength set for wellness and a degree of aerobic fitness.
Some examples below :
Some Shaolin sets:
My own experience with Baduanjin started with Geoff Pike's style Pa Tuan Tsin back in early 80's. It seemed to emphasize full lung breathing and very little discussion on chi itself (during the performance of the set). But it started me off and when I popped a hernia during weight lifting in 1986 I pretty much got straight into a style that reflected more of the first three above.
By the early 90's when my wife was first diagnosed with polycythemia, I had gained a bit of "extra" awareness and when I attended a class run by Colin Lambert, the healer I took my wife to, when her meds were not working, shortly after said awareness went up a plateau, and I began absent healing over the phone most nights.
Understand I have never regarded either what Colin Lambert or myself as alternative healing, rather it is complementary to the conventional medical treatment already in place. In my wife's case, the visit to Colin Lambert's house and my wife's hour of his treatment resulted in her meds doing their job properly, and with myself, I carried on his teaching in a distant/absent form. There were some magic moments for a few years, but soon they came to an end due to pressure from Marg's illness and my job.
Later after a few years I got back into Baduanjin, and apart from my prominent form of chi kung in recent years being Ping Shuai, most of my experience has been from one or another forms of Baduanjin.
I mention the above because chi kung mindset all those few years enabled something to be triggered which even today has not diminished. Like the Red Pill, I guess, I can't go back.
Baduanjin has a more direct method than Shibashi, the stance only changing in width, not stepping. The individual exercises are powerful, and the legs and arms can feel either soft or hard at Will, after some experience. There are instructions from different quarters that promote a tensed form, which I tried 24 years ago, but the benefits of strength and willing the movements through tensed muscles rapidly gave way to a washed out feeling, and shaking. Returning to relaxed form (as much as possible) with quiet breathing and visualization on the Dantien restored strength and equilibrium.
As mentioned, some only practice one or two of the forms, and that is an advantage when one is busy. Because chi kung is not muscularly tense, it can be done often during the day. The Mind has to be catered to though, feelings of mental tiredness replacing physical fatique.
It is worthwhile to try several styles out, and even those styles may change according to one's age, progress re chi enhancement, and physical attributes.
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macky
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Post by macky on Nov 24, 2019 6:31:18 GMT
As a bit more info on Baduanjin, most of the exercises in the drill set can be done seated on a stool or a chair with no arms. There are specially formulated seated Baduanjin sets available, but the sets presented above in the youtubes can be done seated.
I often do a couple of drills while seated at the computer.
Another technique that will bring about "changes" (I found) is to hold a drill steady halfway through for as long as 30 seconds, and breath quietly, not holding the breath. For example, holding Lift The Sky while looking up, the arms extended to the heavens, the energy willed down as a waterfall, bathing the whole body on its way to the Earth, a cosmic experience that has to be practiced, not merely believed in (or disbelieved). Holding the bow extended, or holding one arm up (then the other) in Divide Heaven And Earth. Remember to relax always. Don't stiffen up while holding the posture. Breath quietly.
Wong Kiew Kit in his distinctive style of Lift The Sky, holding the gently stretched position for around 20 seconds before bringing the arms down. People in the background are visible moving around so it's not a frozen image. How long he had held that position before the video started I don't know. I only came across this youtube by chance, in the last few days. I also do not know if he was doing what I had "found" some years ago. I suspect he was, given his other instructions on "cosmic breathing" etc.
Some instructions say inhale on the upward movement (or outward drawing of the bow) other say the reverse, the energy released from the Dantien along the arms on extending, on the exhale.
Try both, then settle on one method for enough time to get the feel of it as a natural everyday process. Monitor your feelings as you perform the set. If things seem too "hot" or tense, then reverse the order of breathing per movement. But either way, keep the breathing going, slow, smooth and gentle. Keep the bulk of your attention on the Dantien.
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Michael
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Post by Michael on Nov 25, 2019 23:41:33 GMT
Thanks Macky!
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Post by macky on Nov 27, 2019 5:23:11 GMT
You're welcome Michael.
This area, I'll be on about possibly the most powerful form of chi kung other than seated Nei Kung (where energy is directly visualized and led around in various forms throughout the body, independent from physical drills).
Zhan Zhuang ('Jan Jong'), static stances held for time, the stances varying according to perhaps the style of martial art, or specific to health concerns as prescribed in some Chinese hospitals. The Shaolin horse stance (Ma Bu) is extremely demanding, said to be the toughest standing drill in all martial chi kung, at least for the legs. Even practiced by some "soft" martial styles, the difference before, and after some months of diligent practice is most notable.
Other styles do not sink down so low into sitting position, the knees in fact bent only slightly, the knees not allowed to come forward over the toes. The "action" from then on comprises various arm positions which themselves range from easily held, to demanding depending on the position. They are more likely to be the stances derived from the "internal" martial arts such as Tai Chi or a certain style of Hsing I ('shing yee')(Form Of The Mind) eight positions, Yi Quan etc.
www.chi-kung.org/en/da-cheng-chuan.html gives a brief rundown on a martial art that depends almost exclusively on Zhan Zhuang stances. The lineage of the original master and his successor is in turn carried today by Master Lam Kam Chuen, who has written many books on static stance training, among them Way Of Energy, and Way Of Power, easily available for free online by a brief search on google via pdf.
If anybody has any difficulty finding or downloading these books, plus Lam's master, Yu Yong Nian's book, which is really the 'bible' of ZZ exercise, PM me with your email and I'll shoot the lot over to you, plus the rest of what I have on chi kung.
In the meantime, here's a delightful series of ten sessions by Lam Kam Chuen. They are worth downloading off youtube while the going's good. Not that there's any indication in this case, there have been youtubes on some form of chi kung or other that are not to be found any more, they suddenly disappearing for some reason. A couple of excellent Hsing I eight positions youtubes gone west, for example, some years back.
The series lines up on the side panels in youtube . I have also taken to loading chi kung books like Lam Kam Chuen's Way Of Energy as attachments into emails sent to myself, in both my email addresses, sort of a "cloud" that I can access from anyone's juke box, in case my PC coughs it like the last two did, suddenly, or the books themselves come under some more stringent control.
There's plenty more info to be had googling Zhan Zhuang or Yi Quan or similar.
I have never got into Zhan Zhuang solidly, but it still fascinates me and I find myself returning to the books and youtubes over the years, and just reading and watching them with great interest. Fancy standing and getting fit and well just by being still for a few moments ?
The most I have ever done is about a week, and in that short time there was some reaction, but I can feel that pretty soon I'll be into it finally. I do not know why I have never thrown myself into the practice, what with all the other research/experiments/training that I've done with moving forms. The closest I have ever done is the Yi Jin Jing open palm 12-positions of Dr Yang Jwing Ming's description in his excellent chi book, but that was sort of a different thing from my point of view, more akin to Shaolin's Sinew Metamorphosis, again accessible on google, at least general info.
Anyway, once I get into Zhan Zhuang a bit more I'll be adding my session results on here, and more info as I find/experience it.
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Post by macky on Nov 30, 2019 19:57:02 GMT
Ping Shuai Swinging Arms Chi Kung
Some youtubes outlining scientific investigations, and testimonials from highly-trained persons who overcame serious illness with this simple (physically) exercise. I'm no scientist and wading through pages of scientific data is not my thing, but I think some general conclusions can be made from the below videos e.g. Chi kung rather than remaining in the realm of the 'super-natural', or merely some belief system, has a measurable scientific basis at its source. The people in the following three videos were all trained in western science and/or medicine, and undertook serious and wide study involving universities and a suitable range of subjects to evaluate the effects of chi kung and in particular Ping Shuai Gong.
Two practitioners trained and operating in western medical practices (brain surgery and psychiatry) who overcame serious maladies and improved their lives with diligent practice of Ping Shuai.
I sometimes find it hard to believe that such a relatively simple physical exercise, coupled with a suitable mindset can produce such astounding results. It is a mind-body drill whose effects seem to bring more than the total effort put into it. Time is the main investment.
Of course, there is no information I can find that details possibly the many that tried on Ping Shuai and were not helped by the practice. That also would raise the question of whether they applied themselves diligently enough or not, but overall, these three videos (3 of the 13 listed on here.... babyboomersensei.blogspot.com/2016/12/ping-shuai-gong-swing-hands-workout.html are worth examining even for interest, if not actual participation. Keeping such information in the back of the mind while carrying on with one's "conventional" exercise program may one day be of benefit if some unwelcome ailment surfaces, and Ping Shuai may prove to be a viable option. Especially with some early-intervention medical treatment that hopefully will buy you time, until the good effects of a more permanent option that doesn't have any side effects takes over.
In most of the videos, a change in diet to vegetarian is also noted, and I have read in other non-chi kung articles where meat was dropped in order to help overcome cancer etc. For those with "normal" health but who want to improve their energy levels and well-being, I am not sure that dropping all the meat intake is necessary. Perhaps some reduction if it is perceived that one is eating a lot of meat, I don't know.
Obviously, as in some of the testimonials, serious disease required serious measures, and many of the survivors that used Ping Shuai to turn themselves away from what would have been certain death still look very lean today, almost scrawny in a few cases. Their histories range back at least 15 years so it would be interesting to see what hey look like in another ten. There are already-elderly persons in a few of the thirteen vids, and their improvement is plain to see.
Ping Shuai is obviously not a muscle-building exercise in the usual sense, but from my own experience, it can still promote and maintain a robust disposition. In the year+ that I performed it (not always consistently re reps, but for most days) I lost no appreciable weight, while keeping to my usual diet which includes meat, (usually some chicken and a few sausages or saveloys).
Just a word about the leg-dipping action in the performance of the doctor in a short part of the bottom video, you can see that the very low dipping of the lady in the instructional video in the main link is not necessary. The doctor is maintaining his rhythm a lot better as well. The dipping action seems to be the difference between the formal Ping Shuai system, and the swinging arms I was taught back in 1993 as a warm-up for my Tai Chi class, where it was absent altogether. I'm sure it wouldn't matter if one's knees didn't allow it, but in the manner of all things I'm also sure there must have been a solid reason for its inclusion in the modern Ping Shuai form.
A big part of Ping Shuai, as in all Chi kung, is to smile from the heart and have fun. Relax and enjoy yourself, don't push it. If you want to stop at 200 reps, just do it and stand for a while. Then move off and carry on with your day/night, or perhaps knock off another couple of hundred. Take it easy.
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Michael
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Post by Michael on Dec 8, 2019 23:54:42 GMT
Macky the link says the page doesn't exist.
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Post by macky on Dec 9, 2019 21:30:58 GMT
Apologies Michael. A bracket seemed to have got caught up with the link. I've removed it. The link itself doesn't always seem to fully open, both on Chrome and IE, but the main thing about it is the youtubes, which I will itemize individually if you have any more trouble.
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Post by macky on Dec 11, 2019 4:35:27 GMT
Dr Yang Jwing Ming was a major influence on me in 1987 after I had popped a hernia weightlifting in 1986. I bought the first edition of his excellent Chi Kung book ...... www.pdfdrive.com/qigong-for-health-martial-arts-e158731098.html
...which can be downloaded for free from the above link, thank you Moxohol. This later edition does not differ much from the first. The basic principles remain the same.
This master has a more technical approach to chi kung (he is a Dr in, I think mechanical engineering) and has devoted the bulk of his life to martial arts and chi kung. My view is that a beginner should read the general comments on chi kung method, then try some Wai Dan exercises as presented in that chapter. There are many that can suit a serious practitioner, including a version of Baduanjin which I do not personally like, his hunched form in bringing his arms up quite unusual in comparison to other styles. All forms however, are effective providing a chi kung state of mind is kept to. Yang's style will undoubtedly suit some. I also do not agree with some of his comments re overdevelopment of muscle growth and the accompanying disorders. Over many years of practising Baduanjin I had no such indications whatsoever. In saying that, apart from other interesting chi kung drills, Yang shows two sets of Yi Jin Ching static posture exercises, the closed fist form and the Open Palm. It is the open palm form I practised early 90's and which I wrote about re breaking a handle on my 5" sidecutters etc.
He separates Wai Dan physical forms chi kung, both static and moving, from Nei Dan which involves seated building of the energy in the lower Dantian then leading it around various areas of the body according to the desired purpose.
It is my view that beginners especially should NOT engage in Nei Dan practises until quite a bit of experience is gained from the more well-known Wai Dan drills. It would be safer when the time comes to have an instructor that knows what he's doing guide the practitioner, anyway.
In fact, with my own practice and recommendation (plus other instructors on youtube) that the Mind should be kept primarily on the Lower Dantien throughout chi kung drills such as Baduanjin and Ping Shuai, a rudimentary combination of Wai and Nei Dan practice therefore takes place.
Obviously a practitioner will have part of his/her mind on the physical movements of whatever form of Wai Dan they choose, but it is my view that with the primary focus on the lower Dantien throughout the drills, as far as possible, that one can have a legitimate Chi Kung protocol for life without going into extensive Nei Kung practices.
Dantien quiet breathing and focus can also be practised at odd moments of the day while riding in a train or bus, sitting at a desk, or a waiting room. I would advise not to do it while driving, at least until one is thoroughly used to it. That plus dynamic forms of chi kung as above can be all that is required for life, the practise building internally with very little external evidence to others, except obvious good health.
As time goes on with such a "basic" practice, the overall feeling of energy will build up gradually, and fill the body (even extend out from the body in all directions at times) and having what is in effect the Central Point of the Body/Mind/Spirit (the area just under and inwards from the navel is also the physical center of gravity of the body) in relaxed primary focus while performing Baduanjin etc will result in an overall unified Body/Mind/Spirit awareness that has to be directly experienced to be fully understood.
In saying that, Yang's instructions for the Yi Jin Ching static forms are to guide the energy to the hands at all times. I did that, plus held the Dantien focus as well. My practice of the form's drills lasted (from memory) about 4-6 months of between once or twice a day of eight breaths each drill, a total of 96 breaths, all gentle, all focused.
In that time there was enough experiences to convince me that this form (Open Palm version) was a powerful set of chi kung drills. I can only speculate what sort of progress I would have made had I regularly performed it for say two years. That is an option I may take up starting next year instead of the Zhan Zhuang postures of Lam Kam Chuen.
Regarding Spirit awareness previously mentioned, I am not talking about a religious interpretation of Spirit, but rather a unified awareness of "Who You Are", once again something that is hard to describe, but once felt is unmistakeable. Chi kung is not the only avenue for such a feeling. There are times during conventional exercise where the Oneness of Everything and my place in it has happened, albeit occasionally. Other practices that totally absorb the Mind in a relaxed manner can also bring it. But Chi kung may well bring that more often, as long as correct, relaxed and focused performance is followed, preferably every day.
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