Issue 38 - Tse Qigong Centre

TseQigongCentre

Contents Issue 381. Editorialwith Michael Tse.4. PO Box 116News, views, short items and questions.7 A Visit from Master ChenLast year Glenn Gosling gave us his initial impressions ofGrandmster Chen Xiaowang. Almost a year later, GrandmasterChen paid another visit to the UK. Glenn gives us an update.by Glenn Gossling9 Wing Chun LegsWing Chun is probably most famous for its fast powerful handtechniques. You may be surprised to learn that these ‘hands’ willonly work well if the legs work well.byDarrylMoy10 Buddhism TodayWhat is Buddhism? Is it a religion, a philosophy or a way or life?And how is such an ancient tradition relevant today?byJulianWilde13 Lung Nourishing SoupIn the past issues we have looked at certain herbal soups. Somesavoury and some sweet. This time we look at a sweet soup takenas a savoury one.by Jessica Blackwell15 Yun Qi - Transporting QiQigong and Taiji often talk about moving the Qi around the body.So what is the difference between them & how does the Qi move?by Daniel Poon16 Dayan Gong 2nd 64More movements from this very famous form of Qigong19 Sourcerer’s ApprenticeQigong is often misunderstood and its exercises and standingpostures are sometimes mistaken for witchcraft. As such religousbodies often comdem it.byShielaWaddington22 Cover Story - Best TimesGrandmaster Ip Chun recently spent amonth in the UK teaching. His scheduletook him from one end of the countryto the other, often teaching onconsecutive days without a break. As theyears go by, his enthusiasm for teachingWing Chun never seems to dull. So whatare his ambitions and what makes himhappy?by Grandmaster Ip Chun28 Book ReviewMore books under scrutiny, Chinese Massage Therapy and threevolumes on the legendary Bruce Lee35 The Physical Demands of TaijiquanTaiji is a very precise exercise. To be very good takes a long time.Remembering the movements is the start. You also have to have anunderstanding of the structure and flow.by Adam Wallace38 Simplified Twenty-Four Step TaijiquanThe second part of this very popular exercise39 Natural BalanceOften our lives are affected by today’s modern society. When thishappens we often turn to new modern drugs, only to find laterthat they have certain side effects.by Tse Sihn Kei41 99 Years of Practise -The Story of Grandmaster Yang MeijunAfter surviving the ravages of the war and the Cultural Revolution,China and its people had suffered a great deal. Grandmaster Yangdecided to teach and treat people to help ease their suffering.by Michael Tse42 Falun GongFalun Gong has been gaining in popularity. Its practitioners claimthat it is more than your average Qigong system.by Peter Jauhal45 TCM & ImpotencyImpotency can strike grown men at any time. It terms of TCM,what causes it and more importantly, what cures it?by Dr. Shulan Tang46 An Ancient Art of Future GenerationsTaiji is an ancient art that has been passed down through manygenerations. Each generation has added something of its own sothat the generations of the future can benefit even more.by Peter Newton48 What’s OnSeminars and classes with Michael TseQi Magazine 3

If there is anything you want to discuss, if there is anything you want to share withothers, any news or any announcements you would like to make, send them to us:Qi Magazine, PO Box 116, Manchester M20 3YN.A GrandChallenge!!Bruce LeeAlive and WellDid you know that the most popularstyle of Kung Fu in China is Jeet Kuen Do,created by Bruce Lee?Bruce Lee is a big hit in China at themoment. In the 70’s when Bruce Lee roseto fame in the rest of the world, China wasstill going through the Cultural Revolutionand did not know what was going on outside.However, today China is very open and theBruce Lee ‘heat’ is spreading through thewhole of China. Traditional martial arts donot seem to that fashionable right now.In ChinaAll martial arts schools seem tomention that they teach Jeet Kuen Do andBruce Lee’s 36 Nunchaku skills. Six month’straining will cost you 540 Yuan and one yeararound 1200 Yuan (some even say the ShaolinTemple is teaching Jeet Kuen Do as well!).As well as this, because Bruce Leestudied Wing Chun Kuen, Wing Chun is alsovery popular. However, what the standard ofskill is like is hard to say.Recently there have been someinteresting advertisements in some martialarts magazines from China. Oneadvertisement says,“I don’t care if you study Jeet KuenDo or Karate, I have Can Quan Do.I don’t care about your punching orattacking method, about your method of selfdefence.I have Can Quan Do.Chinese Can Quan Do will set up afighting ring and invites all kinds of martialarts inside and outside of China to come. Itdoes not matter how many gold medals ortrophies you have got, how many movies ortelevision programs you have made, or howmany different countriesyou have been togivingseminars and demonstrations.I will let you hit me ten times first, andthen I will hit you once. If you win I will giveyou 10,000 Yuan (Chinese money) and alsopay for all your travelling expenses.”After reading this I am sure that manypeople would like to try and earn that money!For Chinese readers, here is theaddress to contact:Last month’s cover story was anfascinating interview with Master ChanKun Wah. Those who are interested cancontact Master Chan at: The ImperialFeng Shui Company, 29 Barnton ParkView, Edinburgh EH4 6HH. Tel/ Fax0131 336 1801.Feng Shui ContactsIn issue 36 we had a feature onRaymond Lo’s recent Feng Shuiseminar in London. If you would likemore information on Raymond Lo’sUK teachings contact:Tony Holdsworthon 01789 740116.Qi Magazine 4

Hard & HarderThose who took the course onHeavenlyRiverMonasteryHard QigongLevel 1 should note that the Level 1 examwill take place on 25th July, from 11am to2pm, Central Club, 16 -22 Gt RussellStreet, London WC1. Advanced bookingis required.Theexamwillcompriseofexamination ofthemovementsfollowedbyatest ofthe Dantien’s strength.Once you have passed Level I youwill thenbe able to continueonto Level II.This levelbegins to concentrate more Qi todevelop the external body. The dates for theLevel 2 course will be 28th to the 29thNovember 1998. For more details pleasecall the Tse Qigong Centre: 0161 929 4485.Energy withGrandmaster’ ChenXiaowang -A Personal ViewThe title forthe two seminars‘Internal Spiral Energy’ - was enough toentice me, as a student of Qigong and Shiatsutherapy, to attend.Also, although I had notdone this type of Taiji before (and onlyYangstyle briefly), Chen Xiaowangwas afterall aGrandmaster, andmySigong(Qigongteacher’s teacher).I wasimmediatelytouched byGrandmaster Chen: he is a broad manphysicallywithanextremelygentleandwarmlyemanatingpresence. It was alsowonderful to seeMichael, his student,interactingso respectfullyand at the sametime joyouslyandopenlywith him. Iwasenthused tosee such qualities ondisplay, astheyare importantand integral components inmyownunderstandingof Martial Arts.The first sessionbegan with anappreciationofstanding, thisbeingthefoundation for goodposture, balance andstrength. As prettymuch a beginner in the artof Taiji, it came across to me that a majorfactor in practisingthe short sequences ofmovements that followedwas to find the‘maximum’posture forenergyto flow. Withthe changingmovementscame a progressivechange in energyfromYin toYangin a cyclicprocess, brought about byshifts inbodyweight and posture. The effect was bothpowerful and stilling;markedand yetsubtle(also, very hard work!).Theeveningwasrounded off withmost of those who attended joiningtogetherforaChinesemeal. Althoughmyownappetite wasn’t great, it seemed the mostnatural thingto take part in this social aspectof the evening. The atmosphere was relaxedand myown feelingwas oneof satisfactionand exuberance. Being at the far end of thetable fromourteacher(s), myneighbours andI could not hear the stories being enacted byMichaelinEnglishbut thelaughterresonatedaround us and Grandmaster Chen’s presencecould certainlybe felt.The second eveningsession saw arecap and expansion on the movementsstudied the previousevening. Out of thewhole of the two sessions there was oneunderlying factor which for me seemedto bethe keyto good understanding and practice inChen StyleTaiji, somethingwhichIfeelcanbe said to relate to anysituation in everydaylife: thatis, the importance ofastrong andopen heart. This is clear to see in GrandmasterChen and is a far cry from the wayMartial Arts are commonlyperceived, andpractisedbymany,as involvingmainlyhard‘macho’ posturing and a tendency towardsaggression.Theinscription inmybookwritten byGrandmaster Chen after the sessions seems afittingsummaryforthisarticle. Itreads“PractisingTaijibringsfriendship”whichcanbe understood not only in relationto thefeelingof comoradarybuilt upbetweenstudents and teacher in class, but to oureverydaylivesandinsituationsofconflict.Participation in thesessions on ChenTaiji InternalSpiral Energycame at a goodtimeformeinmyown,sometimesdifficultpersonal journey of growth. Whatever mypath in life, I know that the open heart andemanatingwarmthdisplayed byGrandmasterChen willbe a constant sourceof inspiration,and a powerful reminder that anyjourneyneed not be carried out in isolation.Susan KendraA RefeshingPerspectiveDearMichaelI have recentlypurchased your newbook“WingChunTraditionalChineseKungFu for Self-Defence & Health”. I havepractised WingChun for a number of yearsbut myWingChun is not complete as myteacher returned to Hong Kong before I wasable to learn the full system. In your book Iwas surprisedby the way in which youemphasisethe useof relaxationthe heightenthe understandingof energy. In myexperienceWingChunis not usuallytaught as agentle art but rather as a Hard systemdependant on conditioning, speed and power.I found your outlook on WingChun to beboth refreshingand logical. Itseems sensibleto me that the more relaxed you are the moresensitive youwill be to energy, therefore thequicker you can detect and react with it.Congratulations onyour book!J. Northeast.BOMAT 10 -Tournament AdvanceInformationOne of the year’s most eagerlyawaited events on the MartialArts calendar,the 10 th British Open MartialArts Tournamentor BOMAT 10 will be held atStantonburyLeisure CentreinMilton Keyneson Sunday 18 th October 1998.BOMAThas always been a totallyopen event wheremartial artists fromALLstyles and schoolsdecide who will carryaway the honour of being calleda BOMATchampion. The past nine years have seenBOMAT growfrom a small event to onewhichattracts notonlyInternational competitorsbut also prime time coverageby Britishand overseas television.One of the reasons cited by many ofBOMAT’sregularfansforreturningagainand again is that they like the spirit of thewhole event. Put simplytheyhavegreat fun.The organisersof BOMAT haveensured that people enjoy the dayby aspiringto make each tournament better than theprevious one. This approach has seen theintroductionof somespecial andinnovativeevents such as the Royal Rumble, where 10competitors battle it out on a raised platformwith the winnerbeing the last oneleft on theplatform. The FormsOpen Challenge givesthe competitors the freedom to express theirforms and patternsusing music and props.The unique part is that the winner is decidedby the votes of the audience and not by apanel of judges. Both of these events haveproved extremelypopular and will be keyfeatures of BOMAT 10.Also featured at BOMAT 10 will beAll StylesSemi-ContactSparring, Full-Qi Magazine 5

Contact Open for both novices and experiencedpractitioners,Forms/Kata/Hyungwithand without weapons, and numerous otherspecialised categories. This year sees thepopularWingChunincorporate not onlythetraditional Chi Sao but may also feature aWoodenDummycompetition!!Thistype ofcompetition givestheopportunity to demonstrate to the public therich diversityof the martial arts. Last yearsawthe introductionof a commission schemethat rewards instructors who enter largenumbers of studentsbyallowingthemtoretain 10% of the entry fees. This has provedverypopular and will ensure thatjust rewardis paid to those who support and participatein theBOMATevent.BOMAT 10 will be organised by theWuchia Kuoshu GoverningBody. It has beensanctioned by the UK Chinese KuoshuFederation, the European Chinese MartialArts Federation, the International ChineseKuoshu Federation, the International MartialArts/Kung Fu Federation and the WorldMartialArtsCouncil.The organisers would like the 10 thanniversary of BOMATto be a specialoccasion and tickets and places are expectedto sell out so don’t delay, contact us today toregister for your free BOMAT pack.Applications received before 1 st October1998 will qualifyfor a £100 Prize Draw to beheld on the day.For information on BOMAT 10and other activities, please contact the:WKGB Central OfficeGrandmaster Raymond Goh,President, WKGB,P O Box 843,Greenleys, Milton Keynes,MK12 6YZ, U.K.Qi Magazine 6Stepping BackDearMichael,I have beenpractisingmyQigongeverydayandhave benefited so muchfromit.In factmylife has changedquitedramatically.I had been in the same job for about eightyears, and over the last year it had becomeincreasinglymore stressful. I was workingtoimpossibledeadlines, withno job satisfactionand with ever increasing chaos around me. Iwas sure it was my Qigongpractice thathelped mesee the follyofmysituation, andhow myhealth was starting to be affected.One weekend I made a decision totally out ofthe blue and resigned from myjob on theMonday. I threw away a good salary, acareer and pension etc.Ispentawonderful fullmonthpottering about at home (and doinga lotmore practise!) and have just started doingsome temporary work. So I’m much poorer,butinfinatelyhappier.Havingjusttakenthisimmense step, theMarch/April editionof QiMagazine dropped through my front door. Iread withastonishmentthe articleentitled, “ASuitable Path” inwhich the author describedhis growinglackof interest ina high salaryandworkinglong, stressfulhours.After abriefinitialpanic aboutwhether I’d findenough employment to feedmyself andpaythe bills. I knew somehowthat I would be alright and my concerndisappeared when I eventually went to a jobagencyand walked straight into an assignment.Many, manythanks for teachingme asystem that enabled me to stand back andevaluate myqualityof life. Itgave me themeans to do something about it before I wascarried out on a stretcher a year or two downtheline.K. Leamington Spa.Dear K,I am sure many people are inthe same situation you were in. Theywill take great heart to know that thereis another way they can go andeverything is not lost.Qigong is very good. It helpsyou to relax and have a healthy morebalanced body and mind. When youhave a calm, balanced mind, then youcan look at situations from a muchclear perspective and weigh up whatoptions you have and what is the bestthing to do.M.TMissing DetailsIn last issues PO Box you willhave seen the feature on The NationalConference Of Cancer Self HelpGroups. This is a very worthwhileorganisation who organise help andsupport for suffers of cancer and theirfriends and families. Every year thegroup holds an annual conference inManchester. Unfortunately, due to aprinting error the dates and contactnumber were omitted. Many apologisesfor any confusion caused. To contact theorganisers ring Barry Stables on 01704875218.Learning ZoneIn July & August Michael Tsewill be holding a number of residentialcourses. From th 16th to 21 July he willbe teaching the 1st 64 movements ofDayan Qigong. From the 21st to the 25thof August he will be teaching Wing ChunKuen. This is the second Wing Chunresidential course. Last years was sosuccessful people were reluctant to gohome, so this year’s course has beenextended by one day!From the 28th to the 31st ofAugust Michael will be teaching theWudang Sword. This sword formoriginates from the Wudang Mountainwhich is famous for its Daoism, martialarts and most notably for the Daoist monkZhang San Feng.The exercise is suitable for thosewith no experience of using a Chinesesword. However, although simple, themovements are also very powerful,creating a lot of Qi , training the mindand coordination of the body.For more info contact theTse Qigong Centre on: 0161 929 4485.For, Four or 4?In last issue Daniel Poon wroteabout Feng Shui’s ‘Millennium Bug’. Inthe article he talked about certain FengShui principles. However, due to a littleconfusion during proofing weinadvertently changed the names East-4-Life and West-4-Life to East For Life andWest For Life. Sorry Daniel, ‘Four’ hasnever been a good number to Chinesepeople (a poor excuse -Ed).Wrong NameIn the list of newly qualified TseQigong Centre Taiji Qigong Instructors,the name Daniel McCristol appearedwhen it should have been BrendanMcCristol.

A VISIT FROM MASTER CHENAt the end of April 1998 Master Chen Xiao Wangvisited Britain again. He gave a number of seminarsand once again astonished everyone who attended withthe extraordinarily high level of his skill, hisperceptiveness and his good nature.Master Chen possesses a number oftraits that immediately impressanyone who studies with him. Hehas an immediate presence. Physically he islike an uncarved block. He is solid yetcompletely natural. He has enormousphysical power yet his movements areflowing, soft and always completely centred.When he speaks his voice is gentle but hespeaks with the authority of a man ofknowledge. Even before he speaks, one isaware of the perceptive gaze that emanatesfrom his steely eyes.With a glance Master Chen reads aperson’s posture. He points out where theQi is blocked and with sometimes tinyalmost imperceptible adjustments hecarefully manipulates the body until all of asudden stepping back, he smiles at hisachievement. Like an alchemist turning basematter into gold, he takes the bodies ofordinary students andsubtly teases them intogenuine works of art. He repairs even themost broken of postures so that it becomes‘flowing’.The transformation is quitemiraculous. The tiny but finite adjustmentsin posture awaken the dantien and show thedifference between the heavenly and thehuman. Energy flows through every part ofthe body, relaxing and stimulating in equalmeasure. For a brief moment the student isable to directly experience a degree ofperfection, to receive a true knowledge froma true teacher. Thenyou move and once againreturn to that which is all too human.Master Chen constantly emphasisedattention to the detail of posture. Whetherperforming silk reeling exercises, or theforms, the posture has to be flowing. Thereare a number of very fundamental points thatany taiji student can check as they movethrough the different postures. Firstly, thereis a question of balance. If you stop at anypoint during a movement you should be inbalance. You should not be struggling to stayon your feet. At all times you maintain yourcentre of gravity, especially when leaning.Secondly you should understand the posturethat you are in. You should know whichdirection you are facing, and where the handsshould be. The hips and shoulders, in general,should be level and even. The spine shouldbe upright, with the hips slightly tuckedforward so that the belly is loose, relaxed andfree to breathe. The whole posture shouldbe relaxed and flowing. You should be in astate of equilibrium that allows you to moveto any other posture in any direction.The fundamental structure of acorrect posture was the first lesson thatMaster Chen taught. It is only when theposture is correct that energy flows. Theposture needs to be correct to properly useGrandmaster Chen fixing a student’s ‘frame’.the two movement principles – the directionsin which you rotate the dantien. The rotationof the dantien is axial and the two movementprinciples occur in the first two moves ofthe forms. In the first movement the axisruns through the body from side to side andin the second movement it runs through thebody from front to back.Master Chen explained many of thefundamental principles of the taiji systemduring his seminars. He explained how theQi circulates during the basic silk reelingexercises as the position of the hands changefrom yin to yang. Many of the movementsof the form have a similarity to the silk reelingexercises and the principles of the silk reelingexercises should be used to inform themovements of the form. He touched on howrelaxation is essential for the development ofpower. He emphasised the importance ofthe meditation posture, especially forbeginners. He demonstrated peng, lu, ji, anand cai, lie, zhou, kao; explained how theyrelate to the eight horizontal directions ofthe bagua and hinted at how many more ofthese techniques there are.During the seminars, everyonepresent gained some appreciationof howhardyou have to work to improve your taiji. Aftera weekend seminar with Master Chen yourealise that five hours a day is not too muchtime to spend practising your taiji. After justtwo days of such practice there is a noticeableimprovement in the strength and sturdinessof your legs. You can begin to appreciatehow Master Chen came to look so solid.Master Chen exhibited everything,andmore, that you couldexpect from a GrandMaster. He had the kindest of natures. Hehad the most incredible patience. Hismovements were supremely eloquent. Hehad the most excruciating attention to detailand a genuine concern that everyone had theopportunity to learn something. MasterChen appears to be a man on a mission. Heis intent on showing the world the meaningof real quality. He emanates this quality andinner determination in everything that hedoes, even when walking down the street.At an age whenmost people are settlingdownand reaching for their pipe and slippers,Master Chen is taking his skills to the worldand learning new languages to do so. AlreadyMaster Chen has mastered certain phrases inEnglish. There is one particular phrase thatMaster Chen never seemed to tire of uttering,a phrase that all taiji students should know:“One more time.”byGlennGosslingQi Magazine 7

WING CHUN LEGSOne of the most important areas that needs to be trainedis often one of the least attended to. This is your legs. OftenWing Chun people concentrate on only on their handtechniques and very little on their legs.The great thing about Chi Sau is that itgives you freedom to explore manydifferent aspects of Wing Chun. Thereare no fixed sequences and no set patternsso you can try many different things andreally find out what works. One day you maydecide to concentrate on developing yourfootwork, another day you might decide toconcentrate on your hand positions or usingelbow energy etc. It is really up to you. Themore you develop, the more things begin tofit into place, like doinga giant jigsaw puzzle.One of themost important areasthat needsto be trainedis often one of the leastattended to. This isyour legs. Often WingChun peopleconcentrate only ontheir hand techniquesand very little on theirlegs. If you have evertried developing yourstepping or kickingtechniques you willquite quickly discoverthat if your basics arenot good enough youwill not succeed.In all martialarts the legs are yourfoundation, they formyour root, and WingChun is no exception.Without a strong root, you will not be ableto develop any power, or be stable enoughto receive you opponent’s strikes. We havealready taken a look at Wing Chun’s basicstance the, Yee Chi Kim Yuen Ma in aprevious article, and if you want to develop astrong foundation this is where you shouldstart. You train this stance doing Siu Lim Taoand you should be able to do this for at least30 to 40 minutes. If you can manage this quitewell then you can try to train your legs evenmore.Try standing on one leg whilst doingyour Siu Lim Tao. Lift up one leg so that thethigh is horizontal. Keep the lower part ofyour leg relaxed, do not try to pull it in ortwist your foot round. Just let it hang downin a relaxed manner. The leg you are standingon should be slightly bent and your backmust be straight. The longer you stand themore you will notice how much your bodyactually moves, but you must try and keepas still as possible. Very quickly the hip ofyour raised leg will start to ache as will thethigh and lower leg of your standing leg. Tryto remain relaxed and keep going as long aspossible. You mightstart to shake. Thisis the Qi finding itsway through yourmuscles, joints andeventually yourbones. Keeprelaxed and keepgoing until you canno longer maintainthe correct posture.Now you canchange and standonyour other leg.If you cankeep this trainingup you will start tonotice that you aremore stable and feela lot lighter. Youwillalso notice you feelmore grounded andcan relax more. Youhave actually beentraining internally.When your external body does notmove, your internal body ‘works’ harder.The feeling is very different to externaltraining. When you train externally, you getvery hot and your breathing becomes fasterand faster. When you finish you areexhausted. You may find it very hard tobreathe and your body might shake from theexertion.When you train internally, your bodyalso gets very hot, but your breathing slowsdown and gets much deeper. After a whileyou begin to shake. This is because yourinternal body is working very hard and yourQi is not strong enough to circulate smoothlythrough your body, but the more you do, thestronger it will become. When you finish youwill feel tired, but not exhausted and at thesame time you will feel very refreshed, calm,relaxed, open and alert.Another method you can use alsotrains your internal body, but also begins toprepare your legs for kicking. To do this youagain stand on one leg as before, and yourhands can be either at the sides of your chest,or in a basic Wu Sau position in front of you.Slowly circle your suspended foot.Begin by just moving your Upper leg so thatyour foot makes a flat (parallel to the ground)circle. Move your foot slowly and smoothlyand try not to move your upper body. Circleyour foot both clockwise and anti-clockwise.As you get stronger and your balanceimproves you can make the circle bigger untilyour whole leg moves from your hip. Youshould start in the basic position, extend yourleg until it is straight out in front of you,parallel to the ground, with your toespointingup. Now, very slowly, swing your leg rounduntil it is ninety degrees to your side. Allowthe knee to bend and bring your leg back tothe basic standing position. Again you cancircle the other way as well.When doing these exercises youshould try to move your upper body as littleas possible. You should also keep yourstanding leg as still as possible and rememberto keep it a little bent. Keep relaxed and circleyour leg very slowly. You will find thisexercise very challenging and it will make thewhole of your legs, muscles, joints andeventually the bones, very strong.Training like this will allow you todevelop your legs even more. It will helpyour Juen Ma - Turning stance, Biu Ma –Thrusting Steps, and your Huen Ma –Circling Steps, etc. Now all you have to dois string everything together, but that’sanother storybyDarrylMoyQi Magazine 9

Buddhism is attracting a lot of interest in thewest, but there are still a lot of misconceptionsabout the subject and many people that mightbenefit from Buddha’s teachings are put off bythese very misconceptions, or an unease aboutwhat may be required of them if they committhemselves to trying to understand thephilosophy or way of life we call Buddhism.Firstly, no one is asked to believe anything in Buddhism. Itisn’t really a Far Eastern religion, though it’s accumulatedthat sort of stuff around it through the centuries. It’s morea philosophy of life that had Far Eastern origins. But that’salways the first questionisn’t it? “Oh, so you’re a Buddhist/Christian/Hindu /Muslim/Sikh /Taoist? What do you believe inthen?” It would take an awful long time to write down everything Ibelieve but it wouldn’t be relevant to you anyway. My beliefs havecome through my own experiences and understandings. Any beliefsyou have, about religion, the way the country should be run, whatconstitutes good music, will come about through your ownexperiences and understandings. Just listening to my preferenceswon’t help you, though it may help you examine your own.In Buddhism, you’re asked to examine the way things are,which is sometimes different to the way things may appear at first.The Buddha’s teachings are very concerned with the way things areand both concepts, Buddha’s message and ultimate reality, are knownby the word dharma. Buddha means the enlightened one andBuddhism is a study of enlightenment; the Buddha’s and possiblyyours too.So, if we look at the way things are, we can spend a lot oftime examining the world, its political systems, its different cultures,its various forms of wildlife, or we can start at a more logical point,with ourselves. Let’s examine what it means to be a human being. Itdoesn’t matter what country we’re born in, what culture we inherit,certain experiences bind us together. We’re all born from ourmother’s and father’s union, well biologically anyway, we allexperience the ups and downs, the friendships, the illnesses, thelearningand growingof childhood, the onset of sexual and/or romanticinvolvement’s, possibly marrying and becoming parents ourselves,growing old, experiencing more illness or perhaps an accident andeventually of course we all die. That’s our lives.Qi Magazine 10

What’s it all about then? Do we come into this world andthen disappear again, existing without meaning, for a relatively shortperiod of time, or do we treat this life as a judgement period betweeneternal reward or punishment in heaven or hell? Do we return tothis world in another body for another round of existence? Whatforces shape our lives?All human beings experience pain and suffering at some point.In fact all living beings experience pain and suffering and try andwriggle away from it. Knowing this, the first thing a would-beBuddhist tries to take on board is to lessen the amount of sufferinghe or she causes other people. This means being more mindful aboutwhat we say to people and endeavour to be more considerate in ourbehaviour. We should try and treat others the way we would like tobe treated.We should also, and this is much harder, try to begin to controlour thoughts a bit, It’s relatively easy to refrain from hitting someoneor bite our tongue instead of sounding off but it’s much harder tohave positive, peaceful thoughts about people who are behaving in away we think inappropriate or negative.But that’s the real problem isn’t it, when we’re talking abouttraining the mind what we think inappropriate or negative. All ourproblems, however farreaching and complicated theymay be, whether they’re“All humanbeings experiencepain and sufferingat some point.”concerned with family,neighbours, work, relationshipsor the meaning of life,all boil down to the same onestatement; any problem youhave is simply because thingsare not going the way youwould like them to. It soundsvery simplistic but if you giveit a moment’s thought you’llrealise it’s true. If you have aproblem, it’s always becausethings are not going the way you want them to.That’s actually the first of the Buddha’s teachings, the first ofthe so-called Four Noble Truths, this idea that our lives areinextricably linked with suffering, however rich or well liked wemay be. He called it dukkha, which is difficult to translate but meanssomething like “ultimately unsatisfactory”. This doesn’t mean weshould get all long-faced about life or not appreciate its nicer moments.It’s not even meant to be pessimistic, just realistic. Life containsdukkha.So how do we transcend dukkha? What’s going to make ourlives more meaningful and more satisfactory? For this we need toexamine the causes of dukkha (the Buddha’s second message). Whatcauses your problems? Actually it’s your own mind. You can nevercontrol life, your partner, your neighbours, your career, yourfinances, your body in quite the way you’d like to, you can’t controlwhat happens to you. You can control, however, the things thathappen in your mind when external things happen to you. I’m notsaying it’s easy. I’m not saying it’s everyone’s cup of tea but it isattainable should you work at it (the Buddha’s third message).And that’s what Buddhism is, it’s training. In the same waythat Taiji, Qigong, Aikido, yoga, swimming, etc, train your body andcreate healthy habits for the future, Buddhism trains the mind andheart to become lighter, more wise and compassionate, more flexibleand serene, setting healthier mental and emotional habits for thefuture. The ultimate goal, called nirvana, is to be able to dwellpermanently in that state, free from any of the world’s conditions.So as well as trying tolead a more ethical life, nothurting others or theenvironment, we try and trainthe mind to be more serene,less preoccupied with selfishor resentful thoughts. Thisdoes not mean we’re trying toavoid harsh reality. On thecontrary, we’re addressing thereal root of reality, our mind,and the way we perceive theworld around us (the Buddha’sfourth message).So what’s in it for us? Well, the benefits should be obvious.You’ll be happier, freer, more at peace, acting from patience andcompassion rather than resentment or ignorance. You’re interactingwith the forces that shape our lives in a much more positive way. Youhave heaven onearth and anything that comes along, you have trainingto help you deal with it. The more you train, the more you can riseabove. Unfortunately, as I’ve already hinted, it’s not easy to train themind to this extent. We haveto start slow and build upgradually, just like any otheractivity.The premier trainingis regular meditation, There isan enormous amount ofresistance in people tomeditation, enormous! Youwouldn’t believe the sheerrange of excuses for notmeditating:- nobody believesit will benefit them, no-onethinks they have enough time.They’re wrong. Committingyourself to 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes before youeat your evening meal can change your life. All you have to do is sitcross-legged (kneel or sit on a chair if you prefer) with a cushion tolift your bum a couple of inches off the floor. Keep your back straightand try to relax the shoulders and neck without them going too floppy.The neck should just balance upright on the top of the spine, nostrain. Let the hands rest palm up, one on top of the other, in yourlap. Shut your eyes for a couple of minutes to relax. Now we canQi Magazine 11

egin. Half open your eyes and let your gaze rest on the floor threeor four feet ahead of you. Don’t really focus on anything. Feel yourtummy and chest rise and fall slightly as you breathe in and out.That’s it, that’s all you do.After about two breaths you’ll become aware you’re thinkingabout something else. Gently bring your attention back to feelingthe breathing. After another couple of breathsyour mind will probablybe wandering again. Bring it back to the breathing. Just keep doingthat. After 10 minutes, stretch and get up. That’s it. Doesn’t soundmuch I know but it will start to give you direct experience of theway your mind works. You may be dismayed at first and realise yourmind is like a restless monkey, constantly fidgeting and chattering.Slowly, things will get better. Keep at it, Your mind will begin to calmitself and the meditation will become less of a chore, more enjoyable.You’ll begin to notice over the weeks how much of yourmental activity is concerned with protecting and justifying your ego,reliving yesterday, speculating about tomorrow (anything other thanhere and now, the real reality). As you continue your training,becoming more patient and serene, you’ll start to react differentlyanyway. All the different parts of your life begin to come under thescrutiny of the awakening mind, the lightening heart. You’ll begin tomake changes. You’re beginning to walk the Buddha path!What is this entityyou’re trying to protectanyway? Is it just a mindtrapped in an ageing body? Isit an eternal soul or spiritimprisoned in flesh? Who areyou really?Well, the Buddha hadsomething very profound andquite disturbing to say on thismatter. He states that onexamination, it’s impossibleto find any part of us thatexisted when we were born.Our hair, teeth, nails, our verycells are constantly wearingout and being replaced.Nothing is permanent. In our minds, we’re not the same person aswe were when we were ten years old, we don’t think the same, actthe same, feel the same about most things. Nothing is permanent.The same thing happens when we look for the spirit or soul. Wecan’t find any permanent entity, in the body or the mind.So all we are really is a kind of consciousness that arisesthrough a physical form, the sensations that the form experiencesand the mental formations gathered around those sensations. That’sit.If we take our body, our mind, with all the feelings, mentalconcepts, etc, and call it our karmic bundle, karma is a law of causeand effect, It’s pretty obvious. If you go around with a long face,people will avoid you and you’ll feel even more miserable. If youwalk around aggressively sooner or later you’ll get into a fight. Ifyou do your best to help people you have a better chance of themhelping you when you need it. That’s the process of karma. Simple,eh? Anyway, back to our karmic bundle. It came into being becauseof past karma. Things you and other people did before, maybe evenin past lives, created the environment you get born into. What youdo in this life will create the environment for your next one if youbelieve in rebirth. This process, the karmic bundle continuing itself,doesn’t need the concept of a soul or spirit or a God to govern thewhole workings. The karma continues itself. Your karma “humanbaby’s” itself, just as a frog’s karma “frog’s” itself again. Imagine askier racing downhill.He or she has to godown, they can’t skiupwards but they dohave some degree ofcontrol, left, right, fastor slow. Our karma islike that in that ourpast behaviour andhabits have led us tothis point, it can’t beescaped, but we stillhave some control,some degree offreedom. We can stillmake choices, forbetter or for worse,that will create ourkarma of the future,our tomorrows.So you ask, andit’s a natural question,“We makechoices, for better orfor worse, that willcreate our karma ofthe future.”“how do I know I’ve lived before. Idon’t remember anything. How do Iknow I don’t just die and that’s it,finito?” If you were a member of theSangha, the religious community ofBuddha’s time, the Buddha’s answerwould be something like this: “This isjust speculation, more mentalentanglements that will get younowhere. Come back to here and now,deal with what’s in front of your nose.If you start to train yourself now, youwill notice the benefits. The serenityand compassion that make up yournatural state of being, will render anyspeculation about your death orultimate fate irrelevant. You won’t care.”Again, I have to stress, you don’t have to believe any of this.Work it out for yourself. How do you think the world really works?Why is your life the way it is? What will happen to you in the future?If you think there’s something relevant here, something real,something beneficial, you might be on your way to becoming aBuddhist. So what should you do about it? Well, you don’t have todo anything. It’s up to you. Read about Buddhism, but don’t swallowall those facts and figures willy-nilly. Compare them to your ownexperiences, accept and reject what you like. Remember there’s manydifferent schools (styles) of Buddhism. Start meditating. Go to a fewlectures. Start trying to live in what you think is a Buddhist way. Butavoid extremes. Don’t go mad, turn vegetarian, shave your head, chantuntil midnight. Be sensible and take things slowly. Affiliate yourselfto a good Buddhist Centre or teacher. Again, don’t take things onboard blindly. Let instinct and common sense guide you as much asanything.This could be of enormous importance to you, this lookingat Buddhism. It can change your life. Take it carefully and sincerely.I’ll end with a typical Buddhist prayer:I take refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha.May I be of benefit to my fellow beings, may all find healthand serenity.May all eventually attain complete enlightenmentbyJulianWildeQi Magazine 12

LUNG NOURISHINGSOUPWITHDRIEDPEARAccording to the Chinese calender, it is nowofficially summertime. For most peoplesummertime means sunshine, barbecues andholidays. But to many others it means a time ofsneezing, itchy eyes and a runny nose due tohayfever.Hayfever affects more and more people each year, youngand old alike. Whether this is due to the hotter summersor more air pollution, it is difficult to say. It would beeasier to say, however, that prescriptions and over the counterremedies for hay-fever sufferers are on the rise. Many peoplechoose to try alternative remedies, like acupuncture,homeopathy and herbal preparations instead.I wondered if one of the herbal soups would help me, soI decided to use one of the lung nourishing soups that we offer.In this case I chose the one with dried pears as it also containedsweet almonds which can help soothe coughing, as well as herbswhich help nourish the lungs. Although this soup is classified asa sweet soup, I was curious to see how it would taste if I omittedthe rock sugar and added some meat to the herbs instead. I choseto add chicken, which is good for creating blood in the body,but I could just as easily have used lean pork. I used a smallwhole chicken but you can use prepared portions to suit yourown taste.As usual I boiled some water and let the chicken soak init for a few minutes. Then I poured it off and rinsed the chickenin cold water. After rinsing the herbs in cold water, I addedeverything to a soup pot and covered with water. I havementioned before that I prefer to use an earthenware soup potwhich can be purchased in most Chinese supermarkets.However, you can also use glass or metal although the lattermay impart some taste to the herbs. Lastly, I added a teaspoonof salt and then brought the soup to the boil. After this I turneddown the heat and let the soup simmer for four hours. Addmore salt later if you find it needs it.The chicken will fall apart during the cooking, making arich stock which I found quite soothing, as at the time I was juststarting to feel the beginnings of a sore throat and cold. By thatevening, my sore throat had completely gone. The herbs are alledible and do not have much taste on their own. My partnerwho suffers from hay-fever found that it soothed his lungs andbreathing. This soup can be used as either a sweet soup or savourysoup (omit rock sugar) with equal successbyJessica BlackwellDeadlinesEDITORIALIssueSep/OctDeadline9th JulyNov/Dec 10th SeptemberHave you ever thought about contributing an article to Qi Magazine? If youhave any articles you wish to submit, or any ideas you would like todiscuss then please contact us. Our friendly staff will be pleased to helpand advise you. Our copy deadlines are below.Qi Magazine is an excellent way of reaching people of similar interests.We have a very wide distribution network, and unlike many othermagazines, Qi Magazines are rarely thrown away.Our advertising deadlines are below. If you would like more informationplease contact Sheila Waddington on 0161 929 4485.ADVERTISINGIssueSep/OctNov/DecDeadline23th July24th SeptemberThese deadlines are for unpreparedartwork - for camera ready artworkthere is an extra week.We cannot guarrantee inclusion if youmiss these deadlines.“Come on in!”Qi Magazine 13

YUN QI - TRANSPORTING ENERGYAt the heart of all Qigong exercises, taiji forms and otherChinese martial arts is the concept of Qi and how it is movesaround the body. Though the concept is the same, the methodused is quite different.If you have studied Chinese skills, suchas Shaolin, Taijiquan, Soft Qigong orHard Qigong, you will know that insome respects these skills are very similar,but in other respects they are verydifferent. Traditional classifications, suchas whether the art is Neijia (internal) orWeijia (external), are not always veryuseful, since external arts have theirinternal aspects, and internal arts havetheir external aspects.One way that I have found usefulis to look at how the exercise moves orcirculates the Qi around the body. This issometimes referred to as Yun Qi. TakeShaolin styles: the movements are usuallyvery direct, and so is the Qigong theytrain. They use a lot of strong posturesthat open the body, thus allowing the Qito circulate. Strong breathing is used tobring the Qi to the internal organs, andsometimes some muscular tensioncombined with concentration is used tobring the Qi to parts of the body, or toproject the Qi out.In contrast, Taijiquan usesChansijin (silk reeling strength) totransport Qi. This means that the bodymoves like a silk worm as it spins silk. Thetwisting and squeezing helps the Qicirculate around the body. When the bodyrelaxes, the taiji postures help to returnthe Qi to the dantien. Some style of Taijiuse stamping movements to improvecirculation and sink the Qi.Both Taijiquan and Shaolin aremartial arts, therefore their aim is tocombine martial arts training withbroader health training. Their Qigongtechniques tend to be limited to thosewith a martial arts element. As aconsequence, it is more difficult for abeginner to get immediate benefit fromthese styles untilthey haveachieved someaccomplishmentor ‘gong fu’.Soft Qigongstyles incontrast generallycontains manyd i f f e r e n ttransportationtechniques. Someof them are highlevel, while others are easy for evenbeginners to master. These techniquescombine to form a very comprehensiveform of exercise that covers the entirebody and accommodates all ranges of ageand ability.The high level techniques in SoftQigong tend to be closer to thetechniques contained in Shaolin orTaijiquan, and involve concentration ofthe mind, transmission of Qi, deepbreathing or whole body co-ordination,and take timeto master.“High level techniquesin Soft Qigong involvetransmission of Qi, deepbreathing.”L o wlevel techniquesarelike selfma s s a g e .Techniquessuch asr u b b i n g ,slapping andshaking parts of the body do not needbody co-ordination, nor do they needfocused concen-tration. Because of thisthey are of immediate benefit to thebeginner. Of course, if you are anexperienced practitioner and your Qifollows your yi, then you will get morebenefit than a beginner.In my experience, I like a stylesuch as Taijiquan and Shaolin because theyuse one principle and apply it to healthand self defence. It is very rewarding tosee how a style can be boiled down to asingle principle. But I also like Soft Qigongbecause of the diversity of techniquesemployed to transport QibyDanielPoonQi Magazine 15

Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 DayanDayan Gong 2nd 64part 38. Eliminating Sick Qii. Run the backs of your hands downfrom your Qihui points to yourDaimei points, following the StomachChannel (Fig 29).Using the back of your hands means theYang Channels of the hand connect with theStomach Channel.ii. Flick your right hand out so the palmfaces up. Fig 30This helps to clear negative energy andreleases tension.iii. Repeat the flicking movement for theleft hand. Fig 31iv. Turn the palms down. Fig 32v. Slowly lift your hands up to yourlungs, keeping the palms facing yourbody. As your hands come up youshould also stand on your toes. Fig 33vi. Gently drop on to your heels andpush your hands forwards at shoulderlevel to release negative Qi. Fig 34Fig 29 Fig 30Fig 31 Fig 32 Fig 33Qi Magazine 16

Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan9. Holding the Qi with the Wings at the Back.i . Spread your hands out to your sidesand bring them round so your Hegupoints face your Huantiao points, butdo not touch them together. Fig 35to Fig 35aThis movement will lift up the Qi,particularly as the chest opens. It also opensthe Huantiao points.ii. Turn your body to the right, but donot change your stance. Fig 36This movement is good for the kidneys.iii. Turn to the left side. Fig 37. Turn tothe right Fig 36 and turn back to thefront. Fig 35Fig 34 Fig 35Fig 37HuantiaoPointFig 35a Fig 36Qi Magazine 17

Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayani. Turn your palms to face the front.Fig 39ii. Lift up your hands and touch theforehead with both palms (Fig 40).Continue to move your hands up tothe top of your head, keeping thepalms touching your head.This movement smoothes your fore headand passes through your Yintong point (Skyeye),Shenting points, and Baihui point.iii. Continue smoothing down the backof your head, passing the Feng Fu andFeng Chi points. Fig 41iv. On reaching your neck, bring yourhands to the front and with the backof the hands, follow the StomachChannel down the body. Fig 4210 Put Qi in and Release Qi outFig 38BaihuiShentingFeng FuFeng ChiFig 39 Fig 40Stomach Channelof Foot-YangmingFig 41 Fig 42Fig 43v. Continue running the backs of yourhands down your legs and sweep yourhands out so that the body leansforwards. Fig 43This movement releases Qi out.Qi Magazine 18

The Sorcerer’sRecently a video was circulated around a college warningstaff against devil worship and witchcraft and includedtaiji and Qigong as examples to beware of. Somereligious groups require a denouncement of Satan and allhis works and have also included Qigong, taiji and somemartial arts in their lists of examples.It is not unusual to occasionally come across an article or adocument that warns against the dangers of practising Qigongor meditation as a means of opening yourself to an evil force.Mention this to a Taiji or Qigong student andthey will ask “Where do they get these ideas from?”Yet even in China there are people who considerDaoism and Qigong as sorcery.The study of Qigong is an illuminatingexperience. Primarily it is a health exercise using theenergy channels and acupoints to bring about balanceand a sense of harmony and well being. Most peoplewill recognise this, in fact it is the main reason peoplebegin to study.Yet other forms of exercise such as dance,swimming and athletics can all bring about the ‘feelgood’ factor, and can also make us healthier. The difference withQigong is that whilst the other exercises mostly release energy,Qigong also brings energy back into the body.Qigong enables changes to take place on subtle levels as thebody’s energy realigns to its natural position and becomes stronger.Whereas with other forms of exercise, after the effects of the exercisewear down, the body settles to its pre-exercise state and there is nosignificant change in the way the energy flows within the body.With Qigong, changes can happen on many levels. SomeQigong exercises affect our postnatal energy. They work to releaseany imbalances that we have brought upon ourselves since we wereborn. We begin to ‘collect’ our experiences in our bodies, past injuries,emotional upsets, mental dilemmas, all accumulate and affect ourresponses to various situations in the present. Even when we thinkwe have ‘let go’ of a particularly traumatic experience, we tend tohold on to a bit of it in order to protect ourselves should a similarthing happen again. Sometimes these ‘memories’ become so ingrainedin our physical make-up that in later life we are forced to look forremedies.However we also come into this world with an energystructure that is inherited from our parents and ancestors. This iseven more subtle and harder to identify. More advanced Qigongmovements work on this pre-natal energy and help us to releasedeeper blockages and to develop our potential.“The internal structurehas to release all blockagesbefore spiritualdevelopment can takeplace.”As we practise, our internal structure is changing andbecoming stronger. This change of the internal energy system is aprocess that is common to all spiritual traditions. The internalstructure has to release all blockages before spiritual developmentcan take place. This has to work not just on physical levels, but alsoon emotional and mental levels (Lower Dantien, Middle Dantien,Qi Magazine 19

“We have to become free withinourselves so that we can operatefrom our centre and not be pulledthis way and that.”and Upper Dantien) and when the body is clear, the energy flowsfreely through the channels then spiritual development can begin.Different religions or traditions use different methods toachieve this, there are many ways but the principle remains the same.We have to become free within ourselves so that we can operatefrom our centre and not be pulled this way and that by whims anddesires (either our own or other people’s).This internal alchemy is not possible unless we are preparedto work to make it happen.Not everyone is prepared to do that. The work is a longprocess. It could take many years, even generations. Everyone isdifferent, everyone starts from a different place, the thing is to startand to keep practising – and the younger you start, the more practiseyou put in – the better for you!The internal change that takes place is sometimes referred toas alchemy (where the word chemist comes from) The changes thattake place allow other things to happen which cause more changes,etc. Our body changes enable us to develop onto different levels,connecting with everything around us, and even with the universe.Originally alchemy was about this internal change. The firstalchemists studied how things changed and tried to develop ways tocreate this internal change more quickly and with less effort. Theyobserved and understood the natural cycle of things and became ableto create change and predict future occurrences. To the outsiderthis was considered magic and to some who did not posses theseskills it became something to fear and even try to annihilate. In orderto try to control these skills they had to be excluded and discouraged,and so to avoid total annihilation, the alchemists went into retreatand hiding, their skills became hidden or secret and therefore evenmore to be feared.The religions that judge Qigong as witchcraft do not knoweither witchcraft or Qigong. They have chosen to exclude somethingthey do not fully understand or can only understand within theboundaries they have set themselves. They promote themselves asgood, and by definition all that they exclude must therefore be evil.Actually everything is just as it is – it is people that make it good orevil. There is good and evil in everything – in every religion.One of the largest blocks to our development is ignorance.Yet we face ignorance every day. We are all ignorant of somethinguntil it is made known to us, it becomes a block to our developmentwhen we choose to remain ignorant through inertia or fear. It is thisfear that pushes some things out of our boundaries – it is easier notto disturb the equilibrium we think we are in, so we exclude it and inexcluding it we build a barrier around it in order to protect ourselvesfrom it. An open mind doesn’t need to exclude anything, a closedmind creates blocks for itself.Like a coin, heads and tails are both there but you cannotlook at both sides at the same time. You can operate from ‘heads’ andknow that ‘tails’ is also there, so be aware of the whole coin; or youcan operate from ‘heads’ and try to exclude or block off ‘tails, sooperating just from the surface of the coin. (‘Tails’ will have a nastyhabit of popping up when you least want them to and you’ll be leftwondering why?).Interestingly, the word ‘witch’ comes from a word that means‘to know’ – as the word ‘wizard’ also comes from a word that means‘to know’. To know is to be wise. To be wise doesn’t mean to knoweverything, as in an accumulation of knowledge. You only need toknow one thing – how to operate from your centre, then everythingelse becomes clearbySheilaWaddingtonQi Magazine 21

GrandMasterIp ChunThe remarkable thing about Grandmaster IpChun, apart from his skill in Wing ChunKuen, is his manner and his outlook on life. Ifspending anytime with him you easily forget heis over seventy years old as he has the energyand quick mind of someone fifty years younger.Qi Magazine 22

TseQigongCentre

TseQigongCentre

uring this trip to England, somebody in one of myseminars asked me when the best time in my lifewas. I said, “Now, this moment is the best time”. Ifhe asks me the same question next year, I will answerthe same.By this I mean that every year I am happier and happier. I startedgiving seminars abroad in 1981 so I have been doing them forabout seventeen years. Now I am seventy four. I am still happyand healthy and am still able to travel all over the world givingseminars about Wing Chun. I don’t think about retirement if Iam still able to teach.Every year the number of seminars I give gets more andmore. The first few times I came over to Engalnd to give seminarsI only gave two or three a trip. Now, this year, there are seventeenseminars. I think in the future there will probably be even more.So the reason I am so happy is that the work I have done andam doing is being accepted by more and more people.From all of these seminars I have given, there are somethings I find that many people do not concentrate enough on.Wing Chun basically covers three purposes. The first is selfdefence and almost every one is doing this. The other two,however, people are missing. The second purpose of trainingWing Chun is to have good health and the third is have a goodnature. The last two points many people miss developing becausethey are concentrating more on developing fighting skill. If WingChun just concentrates on fighting, within twenty years, theskill will become extinct because fighting in society is becomingunnecessary. Fighting is against the law so the more you fightwith other people, the more trouble you will get into.This does not mean that we should not develop fighting.We should learn the skill for self defence instead of just to goout and fight with other people. Butthe other two purposes are also veryimportant and that is what has keptWing Chun alive up until today. Doyou notice, if you practise WingChun a lot, you begin to becomehealthier? I remember some of myWing Chun brothers had heartattacks and even had operations.After they got out of hospital,because of their Wing Chun training,they recovered much more quicklyand were able to go back to normal.I remember even myself, when I wasgoing out for a walk one evening there were some childrenplaying soccer and they accidentally hit the ball in my direction.I went to stop the ball with my foot but my ankle twisted andbroke. However, I was able to walk again very quickly. This onlyhappened a few years ago, so for my age, the recovery was quiteremarkable. I know that this is because of my many years ofpractising Wing Chun, which has helped me keep my joints andmuscles flexible.The third thing is about a person’s nature. I find that themore you practise Wing Chun properly, then the more healthyand balanced you will be. Particularly, the first form, Siu LimTao, will make your mind calm and body healthy. Not aggressiveor tense. It will help to relieve your stress, therefore, it is easy tochange your nature to be more balanced.Many peopleask me how todevelop good healththrough Wing Chun.I know today manypeople spend theirmoney and timestudying a lot ofhealth exercises likeyoga and taiji orrunning. They allwant to be healthy. Ifind the way to behealthy is when youdo the exercise,forget everythingelse. Empty yourmind and don’t thinkof other things. Iknow that this helpsus to be healthierbecause today our society is very stressful. Whoever can reducehis or her stress can be more healthy. Everybody is looking forsomething to reduce stress and empty their minds.When practising Wing Chun, there is one part of trainingthat can make you empty your mind and this is Chi Sau. Whenyou practise Chi Sau, you have no time to think about otherthings. You have to concentrate on the movements you aredoing, otherwise you get ‘beaten up’. People who practise WingChun but do not do Chi Sau, are actually wasting a lot of timebecause it is in Chi Sau that you have the chance to apply all the“Do Chi Sau, even if yourskill is not very good, youcan empty your mind so foryour health it is very good.”applications and techniquesthat you have learnt. By doingChi Sau, even if your skill is notvery good, you can empty yourmind, so for health it is veryimportant and very good.Chi Sau also talks aboutwhole body movement, notjust the hands. Many peopledoing Chi Sau only repeat thesame skill and techniques overand over again. But when thesepeople come to do Gor Sau(irregular pretend fighting/Qi Magazine 25

Grandmaster Ip Chun &Michael Tse start in a basicChi Sau hand position.Michael uses Lap Sau topull the Grandmaster’shand attempting to punchforward.Grandmaster Ip changes toBong Sau to defend himself.To make his defencemore effective,Grandmaster Ip turns hisbody forty-five degrees.attack and defence), then they will have problems. This is becauseeveryone is different and they may use a different skill to attackyou. They may be smaller than you, they may be taller than youand the distance between you may be different. Therefore, thesame skill may not always work on other people because youare missing how to judge the distance between yourself and yourpartner. Therefore, you need to use footwork to get the rightdistance, i.e. Tsun Ma (forward step) and Toi Ma (backward step),and for defence, use Juen Ma (Turning left and right).In Chi Sau you have to concentrate. By touching handstogether, you sense your opponent’s energy. This will show youwhich way you should move and whether you should attack ordefend. However, in Chi Sau, footwork is actually moreimportant, so you should not only concentrate on the hands.Sometimes a simple technique will work much easier when youuse the right footwork with it. Sometimes when your opponentattacks you with a powerful punch, if you use footwork it ismuch easier to defend against it. Therefore, footwork candetermine the standard of Chi Sau.Wing Chun considers how to use energy. I remembersomebody asked me, “If you relax during Chi Sau, how can youattack people?” I think many people confuse relaxation withbeing weak. Relaxation does not mean weak or no energy. Equally,stiffness does not mean strong. Wing Chun uses relaxation tosense your opponent’s energy and to use power more quickly.In Wing Chun, you only use power when you need it. When youdon’t need it, you don’t use it. During Chi Sau, relaxation meansyou do not use energy, but that you relax to sense youropponent’s energy. So if your opponent attacks you when youare relaxed, you can sense his movements much more quicklyand respond by changingyour position. You can“A simpletechniquewill workmuch betterwhen youuse therightfootworkwith it.”even tell when the energyis finished and then youcan attack back. Butwhen attacking you mustalso relax in case you needto change your position.You should rememberyou only use energy atthe time of impact.Often people willwant to develop a morepowerful Wing Chunpunch. Actually this isvery easy. All you need todo is punch everyday,doing what we call“empty punching”,punching into the air. Doit 300-400 times a dayand after afew monthsyou will definitely have astrong punch. Then whenyou use the attack, allyour joints and bodyshould be concentrated in the punch. Punching does not justuse the energy of your arm, but your whole body, so thepunching will be very powerful. Relaxing when training WingChun does not mean not using energy, it means using energy atthe right time. For the beginner it is best to relax when doingChi Sau and build up good sensitivity, position and technique,and then slowly build up the strength. This is the best way. Ifyou develop strength first, it is very hard to tell you to relaxagain.Therefore when you practise Wing Chun you shouldconsider the whole system not just concentrate on fighting.Also consider good health, having a good nature and you willearn more respect from others than being just a fighterbyGrandmasterIpChunastranslatedbyMichaelTseQi Magazine 27

ReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsBOOK REVIEWSChinese Massage Therapy(Shandong Science andTechnology Press)Whilst this book is not impressive indesign and the photo illustrations are not ofthe calibre one comes to rely upon in Westernpublications, its textbook feel should notdeceive you. It is full of knowledge that isdetailed but understandable.In the beginning chapters the readeris given several exercises for helping toincrease stamina and flexibility. Some aresimple exercises for fingers and arms andothers deal with stretching and bending theentire body. I thought this was quite good asmassage can require a lot of strength in thefingers and arms. Tension can also build upin the therapist and these exercises can helprelease that tension and maintain energylevels.Next we are introduced to aids usedin massage therapy. The most unusual thingin this chapter is the herb and plant juiceextracts that can be used in conjunction withparticular health problems. For instance,scallion juice can be used on the Fengchi andDazhui points to help with common coldsor stuffy nose. Water chestnut juice can beused to clear away heat.There aretwo other sections,one on massage foradults, the othermassage forchildren, and theycover a whole host ofmassage techniquesfor internalproblems (cold,headache, hiccups,diarrhoea andvomiting), problemsstemming fromsurgery (such as mastitis), gynaecologicalproblems (pregnancy, irregular menstruation,prolapse of uterus), and injury (neck, back,tendons, etc.). The reader is given detailedtechniques to use that include pushing,grasping, kneading, rolling, as well as thespecific acupuncture points and which areasof the body to stimulate.The traditional Chinese Medicineterminology is kept to a minimum so it is abook that can be understood by the laymanas well as professional. It is a good referencebook for the family medical shelf and can bedipped into at random. It is best used,however, in conjunction with a good bookthat shows location of the acupuncture pointsas the charts shown are very basic. Thehardback format makes it a long lastingbargain that will be of much use.Bruce Lee Volume IWords of the Dragon- The Iterviews 1958-1973Edited by John LittleFor many people, Bruce Lee was theirhero. It could be said that he was the oneperson responsible for popularising Chinesekung fu in the West and for making itaccessible to a wide audience. It is remarkablefor a man so young to have been the catalystthat affected so many people’s lives. MostBruce Lee fans will know the details of hispath to fame but less readily so those of hispersonal life and the steps leading up to hisfame.Recently published are twelvevolumes on Bruce Lee which are a collectionof interviews, writings from his journals andletters and commentaries by those who knewhim. Volume I covers Interviews from theyears 1958-1973. The book begins with awell written introduction by his wife, LindaLee Caldwell, which is actually an article shewrote for a Hong Kong magazine called, “DoYou Know Bruce Lee.” What follows arecollections of press articles publicising hisfilms, and interviews which open up to thereader Bruce Lee a father, a husband, as wellas the martial artist and actor. I have watchedonly a few Bruce Lee films and know littleabout his history, so I found it interesting tolearn more about the legend who so inspiredmy own teacher to become a martial artist.Bruce Lee Volume IIJeet Kune DoA Study in the Way ofChinese Martial ArtsIn Volume II we are introduced toBruce Lee the philosopher. This volumecontains numerous pictures of him trainingand drawings that he has made illustratingmartial moves and techniques. It alsocontains his thoughts on kung fu, theDantien, and notes and cuttings from hispersonal diaries on other martial art legends,including Grand Master Ip Man. There iseven inclusion of one of his poems.Bruce Lee Volume IIIThe Tao of Gung Fu“Comentaries on the MatrtialWayVolume III, “Bruce Lee’sCommentaries on the Martial Way,” is hisnotes, comments and workout plans for JeetKuen Do. This is a detailed book with manydiagrams and photos.byJessicaBlackwellFor More NewBooks See“Reccomended Reading”SectionQi Magazine 28

THE DEMANDS OFChenStyleTaijiquanTraditionally, in China, one would not be expected tocompete in push-hands tournaments unless one’s form wasconsidered to be of a high level. Presented here is a list ofdemands on each part of the body needed to perfect one’sform and develop the foundation for Taijiquan’s combatusage. These requirements have been passed down forgenerations within the Chen family, but they are applicableto all styles of Taijiquan.Taijiquan theory states that “the Baihui (crown of the head) leads theentire body”. The chin should be tucked in very slightly and one shouldfeel as if the crown is suspended from above. The head must be kepterect, and not lean to the left or right while practicing, otherwise thebalance and co-ordination of the body will be lost.When the body moves or turns, the head must stay in line with the trunk. Theeyes should follow the leading hand and be focused distantly. The mouth shouldbe closed with the tongue at the roof of the mouth, to stimulate the secretion ofsaliva. The ears should maintain peripheral hearing (though during Zhan Zhuangone should concentrate on listening behind to aid relaxation and allow Qi to sinkto the Dantien). There should be no feeling of impatience or tension, and theform should never be rushed.The chest must be concave or hollow, empty and relaxed, so the Qi willsink to the Dantien. Failure to do this causes the energy to become lodged in thechest, which results in the heart having to work harder and causes the individualto feel very uncomfortable. The collarbones and ribs should be sunken and relaxed,allowing the centre of gravity to drop. The back must be convex, extended, androunded, but in the processbe conscious that the shouldersdo not become hunched,Qi Magazine 35

or else there will be pressure on the diaphragm which will disrupt thebreathing pattern and smooth flow of Qi.According to the Chen family, the spine of the lower backshould be “as straight as a flag pole”. Moving in this way the waistbecomes the axle and the hands the wheel. Everything becomesconnected and the whole body moves as one unit, uninterrupted, likeflowing water. The vertebrae in the waist should follow the naturalcurve of the spine, slightly tucked in and sunken.The Dantien (lower abdomen) is a junction through whichall the Qi within the body passes. It must remain relaxed, and open,so the Qi will flow freely. If the Dantien Qi isstrong, one will feel exuberant. When thestructure of the body is correctlymaintainedthe musculaturesurroundingthe Dantien is not needed and so theDantien can relax. If the stomachmuscles are contracted the Dantienwill be closed and the individual willfeel weak. The correct feeling is forthe chest to be loose and relaxed, andthe Dantien full.The shoulders must berelaxed and the elbows sunk sothat the movements will benatural, and the arms rounded,full, relaxed, and lively. Inescaping from qin na(jointlocking), Qi travels andchanges in the chest and waist,passes through the shouldersand elbows, and only when thestrength has reached the wristcan one escape. If the shoulderand elbow joints are obstructed,Qi cannot reach the fingers. Theshoulders connect with the hips, theelbows with the knees, and thehands with the feet. So, in order forthe elbow and shoulder to relax andescape from qin na, the body mustsink by bending the knees,sinking, and opening the hips.It becomes very difficult toescape qin na when one’sheels have already been liftedoff the ground, or after one’sbodyhassuddenly beenforceddown to the ground.The elbows shouldhang down to protect the ribsand a space of approximately onefistshouldbeheldbetweenthearmpitand the body to aid the free turningof the arms. The entire arm shouldbe strong and full, light but notfloating, sunk down but not stiff.The wrist must be coordinatedwith the entire body,andpliabletoproduceflexibilityandliveliness. One must never cause thewrists to be floating, or weak, in order to make theform’s movements appear more fluid. If this occurs the ‘PengQi’ (inflated energy) is lost, and when practicing push hands it will beeasy for an opponent to grab one’s wrists and control them.There are three hand positions in Chen Taijiquan: palm, fist,and hook. The palm should be like ‘a row of tiles on a roof ’. Thethumb and little finger are close to each other while the index, middle,and ring fingers are all slightly behind. All five fingers are slightlybunched together but relaxed, and they should never be spread out.The centre of the palm is empty.The fist should not be clenched too tightly, or tension will beincreased in the arm, affecting the muscles on the respective side ofthe body and causing them to stiffen which blocks the“Everyone’is slightly difbut as long asprinciples areadhered to thcannot be fauQi Magazine 36

smooth flow of Qi to the wrist. While storing energy the handsshould be loose. The instant a practitioner clenches his fists, theenergy rises up from the feet, travels up through the legs to thewaist, passes through the shoulders and elbows, then arrives at thefist. To avoid injury the wrist must be flat and straight and not softor drooping.The hook hand of Single Whip is formed by bunchingtogether the fingers and relaxing the hook of the wrist. If one usesstrength in forming a rigid hook, flexibility will be lost and Qi will beblocked. The hook hand exercises by twisting and rotating the wrist,vital for escaping from jointlocking techniques.The legs form the body’s foundation and source of strength.According to Taiji theory, “energy is rooted in the feet, issues throughthe legs, is administered in the waist, and manifests itself in the handsand fingers”. The groin must be rounded, empty, relaxed, and lively,to produce spring-like strength, but it should not collapse, and thebuttocks should ‘spread out’ but not protrude. This benefits themovement of energy in the waist and legs.A collapsed groin occurs when the buttocks sink to the knees,the knee joints lock, and the steps are not light. The Huiyin(perineum), located in the groin, connects the Ren and Du channels.When practicing, the Baihui point and Huiyin work together (thereshould be an imaginary ‘plumb-line’ straight between them) so thatYin and Yang become balanced through the flow of Qi, therebystraightening the body. If the upper body leansforward to counter-balance low postures, or thehead drops (when looking downwards), then thisline will be broken; the balance and beauty of theform will be lost and natural movement hindered.The hips should be relaxed and open,stretching outward. The Chen family state, “thewaist is like a carriage axle, the Qi is like a carriagewheel”. The free turning of the waist and thealternating of Yin and Yang in the legs depends onhow relaxed the hip joints are. If they are notrelaxed it is difficult for the waist to act as an axle.The power of a punch comes not from forcedstrength but from the sudden transference ofweight, which is only possible when the hips arerelaxed. It is not easy to relax the hips becausethey support the weight of the upper body. Whenthe hips relax the burden on the knee joints willincrease. Generally, novice student’s lack legstrength, and the knee joints cannot support theweight of the whole body so they are afraid torelax the hips. This causes the incorrect posture of knees forward,swelled abdomen, extended chest and the body tilting backwards. Forthe correct posture, prevent the knees going past the tip of the foot,and the buttocks should appear as if sitting on a stool.The height of the postures and the length of the steps all havea direct effect on the knee joints. When the posture is high the stepsare small and the load on the knee joint is light, and when it is low thesteps are large and the weight on the knee is greater. Beginnersshould gradually go from a high to low stance allowing mobility toincrease slowly and avoiding injury to the knee joints. Protection ofthe knees is exceptionally vital in combat. In offence the knees can beused to strike outward or hook inward, attacking the knees of theopponent. In defence they are used to protect the groin and shin.The feet are the root of the entire body and should be steadyand firm on the ground. One should feel the toes, balls of the feet,sides, and heel make contact with the ground. The Yongquan acupoint(‘PouringSpring’), located inthearch of the foot,should be hollow, orempty.Every time astep is taken, one legbecomes Yang (full orsolid) and the otherbecomes Yin (emptyor light). Yin and yangmust be allowed tointerchange freely.The ratios may vary.For those of a weakerdisposition orpracticing for healthalone, the ratio may be60 percent yang: 40percent yin or 70:30,while for those whoare more robust, orwho wish to develop Taijiquan for martial purposes, more effort isrequired to maintain 80:20 or even 90:10. Clearly differentiatingbetween yin and yang is a major secret to success with Taijiquan. Instepping, one must be very conscious of where to land. The footcannot be carelessly placed anywhere, nor should it land heavily.Actually one should step like a cat. The leg which is stepping outshould always be in a position to be withdrawn immediately andcomfortably without any adjustment to the height of the body’sposture to counter-balance, and the weight should not shift until it issafe to do so. Therefore the supporting leg must be firmly rooted,with the knees bent and the hips sunk and relaxed. If yin and yangbecome confused then the balance will be lost which could be costlyin push-hands but life-threatening in a personal attack.Although these demands are independent, they are connectedand interact with each other throughout the whole form. Incorrectposture in any one part will affect the performance of the whole. Fajing(issuing power) is only possible through complete relaxation,correct posture, and instantaneous weight transference. Themovements should be natural and not forced so that the Qi cancirculate properly. If one understands one’s own body structure,strength, and range of motion, then the width of the stance, howlow to sit, and the correct posture can be determined.Everyone’s interpretation and expression of the form isslightly different but as long as the principles are adhered to thenone’s form cannot be faulted and the chances of mistakes in combatare minimised. In Taijiquan one learns to control oneself first andonly after this has been achieved can one successfully control anopponent. In the beginning, the student merely copies the teacher sothe movements are externally generated, and inside has no substance.But after a time of dedicated practice, correction, and refining, themovement originates from the inside and is carried outwards. Fromthis moment the form can be said to be ‘internal’. When all of theseprinciples have been met, one’s movements will appear more fluidand graceful, but more importantly, Chen Taijiquan becomes a morehealthy exercise and a powerful combat system. Through dedicatedpractice and understanding, eventually one can apply the principles ofTaiji to everyday life, harmonising with other people, the environmentand nature!byAdam Wallace.Qi Magazine 37

Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan24 Step Simplified TaijiquanThis form ofsimplified taijiquan wascreated as a means topromote taijiquan to thegeneral public. It hasbeen promotedthroughout China andthe world by the Chinesegovernment, and is nowpractised by millions ofpeople.Fig 20 Fig 21 Fig 22 Fig 23 Fig 24Figs 20 to 22“White Crane Spreads itsWings”Fig 23 to 37“Twisting the Knees andWalking ObliquelyFig 38 to 40“Playing the Pi Pa (ChineseGuitar)”Fig 25 Fig 26 Fig 27 Fig 28Fig 29 Fig 30 Fig 31 Fig 32 Fig 33 Fig 34Fig 35 Fig 36 Fig 37 Fig 38 Fig 39 Fig 40Qi Magazine 38Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan

NATURAL BALANCEThere is a natural cycle that all life must follow. All too often we tryto rise above it or behave in ways that break it. At first we may notsee the damage we cause, but later on it will become very apparent.Three months ago Pfizer drugcompany released in the UnitedStates the new prescription drug,Viagra, which is a drug for relievingimpotence. Although not yet approved inmost of Europe, many are beingprescribed the drug via the internet orobtaining through the black market.Already over 1 million people have beenissued prescriptions. In Italy, in the onetown where it has been approved for sale,there are literally thousands of backordersfor the drug. It has been the worry ofmany in the medical profession that whilstthere are many genuine sufferers who willbenefit from the drug, there are alsomany others who will prescribe to thedrug merely as a “performance booster”.By US Federal law, themanufacturers must include warnings ofknown side effects and health risks in thepackaging. However, despite this, it seemsthat some unlucky ones have ignored orforgotten to read these warnings. It is ano-no to mix the drug with the heartmedicines that have nitro-glycerin inthem. Those who have done so have died.There are also many people who havechosen to indulge themselves far morethan the three times a week which mostdoctors prescribing the drug recommendas safe. It seems that using the drug inexcess, however, can result in “bluevision”, something like a blue tinged filmover the eyes.One can sympathise with genuinesufferers of impotence. Intercourse isafterall how we got here ourselves.However, when things becomeimbalanced, an opposite effect musthappen in order to restore harmony. Thisis nature. Sexual energy comes from thekidneys. In our youth and when we arehealthy, the sexual energy, also referred toas “jing” is strong. When the jing is weak,a person loses sexual desire and mayexperience tiredness and even illness.When the body’s kidney energy isdepleted and can no longer be restored,this is when we will die. It has long beenrecognised in Chinese medicine thatintercourse depletes our kidney energy.This is why many Taoists will refrain fromsexual intercourse or at least refrain fromlosing their jing through orgasm. Whenjing is retained, it is converted to anothertype of energy and is then stored in theDantien.In the Yellow Emperor’s Classic ofMedicine, the Yellow Emperor Huang Diis discussing with his minister, Qing Bo,why it is that people die prematurely whenin the past people easily lived to be over100. Qing Bo answered that it is becausein the past people led balanced lives,eating, sleeping and arising at regulartimes. They avoided stress and overindulgence in wine, food and intercourse,but instead nourished their Qi rather thandepleting it. He says, “In seekingemotional excitement and momentarypleasures, people disregard the naturalrhythm and order of the universe.”It is the natural rhythm of theuniverse that a seed ripens, grows tomaturity, bears fruit and then withers andeventually dies. However, we today arecontinually fighting against this and tryto prolong the sweetest part of this lifeprocess. Although we can change ourbodies outwardly, it is more difficult tochange our physiology internally. Ourinternal organs still follow nature. It is saidthat in a man, at twenty-four years of agethe kidney Qi is abundant and the bonesand muscles are strong. At thirty-two, thebody is at its peak of strength. However,at forty the kidney Qi begins to wane andby fifty-six, the liver energy is weakeningcausing the tendons to stiffen. By sixtyfour,the jing is drained and the body willbe tired. For women this process happensmuch earlier and it is when she is nearingfifty that the Ren and Chong channels areempty and her menses cease.However, if a persons conservestheir Qi through balanced living andpractise of Qigong, then this process isslowed. Modern advertising tells us to livefor the moment, take what today offersas we do not know about tomorrow. It isvery difficult to be balanced when thereare so many tempting things to see, to do,to taste and we can not all turn into Taoistmonks and find a mountain to hideourselves from society. If we practise moreQigong and meditation, then our bodieswill be healthier and our minds clearer.Instant gratification of the senses becomeless important as we come closer to natureand understand our bodies and our hearts.Qing Bo advises that, “When internalenergies are able to circulate smoothly andfreely and the energy of the mind is notscattered, but is focused andconcentrated, illness and disease can beavoided.”byTseSihnKeiQi Magazine 39

Years ofPractiseAfter eight years of war, the Japanese lostand left China. Yang Meijun, along withher family, went back to Beijing to stay.However, during the war she lost contactwith her son who was seventeen at thattime.A couple of years later, the Communiststook over China. She still rememberedthat her grandfather told her not to exposeher skill until she was 70. But shepractised every night and never stopped.Thus her potential developed, she couldsee energy and predict things before theyhappened.In 1965, the Cultural Revolution started. The Red Guardscriticised her as superstitious because she worshipped KuanYin (The Female Buddha) and studied Daoism. They punishedher by making her standfor hours and hours, but she just treatedthis as ‘standing meditation’! They isolated her, so again shepractised her meditation. Once when being criticised, one youngRed Guard threw a stone at her. She reacted very quickly, grasped itand avoided injury.During the Cultural Revolution Yang Meijun saw manyQigong masters and Martial Art masters being criticised, injured andexecuted. Fortunately, she followed what her grandfather had toldher about exposing her skills, so nobody knew of them. She survivedthe 10 years disaster of the Cultural Revolution.Following the incident with the police, Yang Meijun becamemore open with her Dayan Qigong teaching. She set up the firstDayan Qigong Centre in Beijing which soon became full, as manypeople registered wanting to study her skills.On one occasion a person came running to see her andsaid, “Laozi (teacher), my father has had an accident. He hasQi Magazine 40

een in a car crash. He is going to die! Now he is in hospital. Please,can you help him? I have heard that you can transmit Qi to peopleand save their lives!”When she arrived at the hospital the patient was wrapped inbandages, with tubes sticking in his body. It was obvious the situationwas critical.The doctor, Dr Shen Chun Chang, told her, “His bloodpressure is down to a very dangerous level; body temperature is veryhigh, up to forty degrees; the brain and liver have suffered seriousdamage; the cheek bones are broken and now he is suffering fromurine poisoning.” His life was coming to the end, and he was aboutto die.Yang Meijun examined the patient for about five minutes, andthen said to his family, “Take all the bandages and tubes away, I thinkI can help.” This shocked Dr Shen and he refused, but the familyinsisted and argued that with Western medicine he had done whateverhe needed to do and despite all his efforts the patient had reachedthis critical condition. What could he do? He also wanted the patientto recover.After overcoming all the medical arguments, Yang Meijun putone hand on the patient’s Renzhong point (the acupuncture pointbetween the nose and the mouth) and the other at the Upper Dantien(the forehead). After ten minutes the patient began to cough up spit,after twenty minutes he began to release urine. About two hourslater his blood pressure went up andhe began to regain consciousness. Allthese changes surprised everyonearound, including Dr Shen. He couldnot understand what had made thesituation change.So Yang went to visit himeveryday and spent half an hourtransmitting Qi to him to rid him ofthe negative Qi and to re-charge thepositive Qi.By the third day the patient’stemperature was back to 37- 38degrees and his blood pressure wasback to 110/70 mmHg. By thefourth day he could move his armsand legs and his mindwas clearer. Finally bythe fifth day hiscondition was undercontrol and he couldalso speak a fewsentences. The wholechanging situation waswatched by Dr Shen.Suddenly he realisedthat after many yearsTransmitting Qistudying Westernmedicine and many years experience treating with Western medicine,he only understood one side of health. Chinese Qigong is verypowerful and does not use any medicine. This really raised hiscuriosity, and he wanted to find out what Qigong was. This ninetyyear-oldlady also impressed him. So Dr Shen politely asked YangMeijun to accept him as her student. Yang smiled and said, “Youalready know Western medicine. If you also study my Qigong youwill be like a tiger with wings! Alright let me choose an auspiciousday, and I will accept you as one of my students.” So Yang increasedher close students by one, a doctor of Western medicine.Using the Yongquan Point to treat a patientBecause of her powerful Qigong treatment and her beautifulDayan Qigong, Yang Meijun attracted a lot of attention from all overChina, especially from the Chinese Government. They were verykeen to restore and preserve their culture since the CulturalRevolution had substantially damaged a great deal of it. Now all these‘cultural skills’ were positively promoted by the ChineseGovernment, so the Chinese Qigong Scientific Research Societyalways invited Yang Meijun to give seminars and treatments, andthey also made her an honorarymember of the Society. Many“After many years studyingand treating with Westernmedicine, he only understoodone side of health.”universities gave her honoraryprofessorships for research intoQigongand for teaching her family skill- Dayan Qigong.Suddenly, one day Yang Meijunaccepted an offer from Wuhan EasternLake University to teach her DayanQigong. So she started her secondCentre. Everyone knew Wuhan for it’sbad weather. It is one of China’s ‘FourStoves’ because in the summer it is sohot and in the winter so cold. Herstudents could not understand why shewanted to go there, and were afraid thatshe would not be used tothe extreme weather, butYang Meijun had her ownreasons. Due to all thepublicity she was nowvery famous throughoutChina, (she was in all thepapers, all the magazines,everywhere) and becauseof this her son ChenQuen Kwon, whom shehad lost contact withduring the war, had seen her pictures and was able to find and contacther. So Yang Meijun also wanted to go to Wuhan to see her son again(now he is a famous Dayan Qigong master and helps his motherteaching her many students). Also her husband had now been deadfor many years and she wanted to take his ashesback to hishometownin Wuhan to worship. As soon as she arrived in Wuhan, sheimmediately went to stay with her son, ChenQuenKwon and refusedto see anyone or even go out. She wanted to enjoy being a familyagain and also recharge her energy after the long journeybyMichaelTseQi Magazine 41

A high-level enlightenment Qigong. If you are interested in or havebenefited from Qigong, meditation, taiji, yoga, etc. you may also findFalun Gong of interest . In addition to being a powerful mechanism forself-healing, stress relief and health improvements,Falun Gong is different from other Qigong techniques inhaving the higher objective of enlightenment. Belongingto the ancient tradition of Taoist and Buddhist Qigong,Falun Gong is an advanced cultivation method practisedby millions in China. In this article we describe the keyfeatures of this form of cultivation practice.Zhen-Shan-RenOur school aims at integrated cultivation of “Zhen-Shan-Ren”. “Zhen” is to tell the truth, behave in a true manner, return tothe truth and one’s true self and finally become a true person. “Shan”is to grow compassion, do good deeds and offer salvation to others.“Ren” is especially emphasized. Only through Ren can a practitionerachieve very high virtues in cultivation. Ren is something verypowerful, more powerful than Zhen and Shan. In the whole processof cultivation, you are required to have forbearance, to guard yourXinxing and not to do anything inappropriate.The Cultivation of XinxingPractitioners of Falun Gong must give first priority tocultivatingXinxing, firmlybelievingthatXinxingisthe key to acquiringcultivation energy. This is the principle that governs high levelcultivation. Strictly speaking, the energy potency which decides thelevel of cultivation is not obtained by external exercises but throughthe cultivation of Xinxing. It is easy to talk about the improvement ofXinxing, but it is extremely difficult to put it into practice. Thecultivator is required to make tremendous sacrifices, enhance hisawareness, bear the greatest hardship, and endure what is difficult forhim to endureIn Falun Gong, Xinxing means more than what De (virtue)covers. It is used in a much broader sense than what “virtue” denotes.It covers various aspects including “virtue”. Virtue is merely onemanifestation of a person’s Xinxing. It is not enough to understandthe intention of Xinxing with “virtue” alone. Xinxing includes one’sattitude towards the two sides of the issue, “Gain & Loss”. “Gain”meansgainingassimilation to the cosmic qualities. The cosmic qualitiesare “Zhen-Shan-Ren”. A practitioner’s assimilation to the cosmicqualities finds its expression in his “virtues”. “Loss” means giving upsuch evil thoughts and immoral conducts as greed, gains, lust, desires,killing, fighting, stealing, robbing, fraudulence and jealousy. If onewants to enter into high level cultivation, he also has to give up all hisinherent obsessions with desires, i.e. give up all his attachments. Thatis to say, he should make light of and disregard such things as personalfame and gain .Distinguishing Features of the Practice SystemFalun is taken as the centre of Falun Gong. The Falun is aturning body substance with wisdom and high energy. Falun is plantedby the Master Li Hongzhi in the lower abdomen of the practitionerand keeps revolving 24 hours a day. Falun automatically helps thepractitioner with his practice. That is to say, Falun never stops refiningthe practitioner though the practitioner is not practising continually.This is the first and only cultivation way of “the Law refining thepractitioner” among all cultivation schools offered today both athome and abroad.The Turning Falun has the same characteristics of the cosmos,and is a miniature of the cosmos. The Dharma Chakra of the Buddhas’School and Yin Yang of the Taoist School, and everything in the TenDirections, all find their reflections in Falun. While Falun is rotatingclockwise, it offers salvation to the practitioner himself, to absorbgreat amounts of the ethereal energy from the cosmos so as to evolvethe “gong”; Falun offers salvation to others while rotating counterclockwise,to emit the energy to rectify all abnormal mental states andphysical conditions of people so as to save all sentient beings. Allindividuals around the practitioner will be benefited.Falun Gong makes practitioners assimilated to the supremequality of the cosmos, Zhen-Shan-Ren, which differs essentially fromQi Magazine 42

any other cultivation schools. It has the followingeight main distinctive features:1. It Cultivates Falun, not Elixir ofImmortality, nor Does it Develop ElixirFalun has the same quality of the cosmos,it is a turning body of high energy matter withwisdom, which will never stop rotating, butunceasingly collect and evolve energy from thecosmos, and also transform it into cultivationenergy, therefore in the cultivation of Falun Gongone can open the gong and become enlightened ina very short time. Those who had cultivated forthousands of years wanted to obtain Falun butcould not. Any other Qigong which are popularin the human society nowadays all belong to thecultivation of the internal alchemy, the refinementof the elixir of immortality, which is called alchemyQigong. It is very difficult for practitioners ofalchemy Qigong to open their gong and becomeenlightened in their remaining years of life.2. Falun Practises You Even when You arenot Practising ExercisesPractitioners need to work, study, eat and sleep everyday, sono one can practise 24 hours a day. But Falun never stops rotatingduring these twenty-four hours which help practitioners in theirpractice, and it takes such form: Falun keeps practising you while youare not practising exercises all the time. In simple terms: the Law ispractising the practitioner while he is not practising.Among all exercise practices imparted either domestically orabroad in the world today, no one has solved contradiction of timebetween work and practice of the exercises, but only Falun Gong has“Falun is planted by theMaster Li Hongzhi in thelower abdomen of thepractitioner and keepsrevolving 24 hours a day.”solved this problem, and is the only practice way of “the Law refiningthe practitioner”.3. It Cultivates the Main Consciousness, It is Yourself Who WillAcquire the GongFalun Gong cultivates the Main Consciousness, thepractitioner is required to cultivate his own mind clearly, remove anyattachments and improve his Xinxing. In the practice of the GreatPerfection Way, never get in a trance and forget oneself. Your MainConsciousness will control the practice all the time. The gong thathas been practised in such a way grows in one’s body, one acquiresthe gong oneself, and the gong can be taken away with him. Thetreasure thing of Falun Gong is that one can acquire the gong himself.For millions upon millions of years, other practice exercisesimparted among ordinary people all cultivate the Para-Consciousness,the human body and Main Consciousness play only a role of carriage.Upon one’s perfection in cultivation, the Para Con-sciousness hascultivated high and gone up with the cultivation energy. The MainConsciousness and Benti of the practitioner obtain nothing. Allprevious efforts are wasted, though the practitioner has cultivated allhis life. When cultivating the Main Consciousness, of course thePara-Consciousness also obtains a portion of cultivation energy, andfollows and upgrades itself naturally.4. Integrated Cultivation of Both Human Nature and LifeCultivation of human nature in Falun Gong refers to thecultivation of Xinxing, which comes first, and isfirmly believed to be the key to growing the gong.The gong determining one’s level does not grow fromthe practice but is achieved through the cultivation ofhis Xinxing. The height of the gong is determined bythe height of Xinxing. The referred Xinxing in FalunGong covers many aspects including De, which coversmuch broader sense than what “virtue” does.5. Five Sets of Exercises are Simple and Easy toLearnThe Great way is simple andeasy. At the macrolevel Falun Gong has a few movements, but what itpractises is of so many and very comprehensivethings, and controls many aspects of body and manythings it has cultivated out. The five sets of practiceexercises are taught to practitioners in the completeway from the start. At the very beginning it opens up places whereenergy is blocked in a practitioner’s body. It absorbs a great amountof energy from the cosmos, expels waste substance out of the body inan extremely short time, purifies the body, upgrades one’s level,strengthens supernormal abilities and makes the body reach a purewhitestate. These five setsof exercises are muchsuperior to the generalmethods of promotingenergy circulation or thegreat and small heavenlycirculations. It providesthe practitioners with themost convenient, thefastest,thebest andalsotherarest cultivation school.Qi Magazine 43

6. Practitioner Cultivateswithout Any Mind-intent; Practitionerwill not Go Deviant;His Cultivation Energy will GrowRapidlyPractising Falun Gong holds no mind-intent, no requirementfor mind concentration, no mind-intent guidance, so cultivation ofFalun Gong is absolutely safe. It’s guaranteed not to go astray. Falunalso protects practitioners from going deviant in the practice or beinginterfered with by someone who has evil mind, and corrects allabnormal states automatically.The Practitionerpractises in a very high hierarchy,if he is able to take the hardshipof hardships, to bear what is thehardest to bear, to have a firmcontrol of Xinxing, to devoteattention to real cultivation, hemay reach a state of “threeflowers gathering on the top ofhead” in several years, which isthe highest hierarchy ofcultivation of Shi Jian Fa (In-Triple-World-Law).7. No Consideration of Time, Place and Direction in thePractice, and No Ending of Practice as WellFalun is a miniature of the cosmos, the cosmos is spinning,every galaxy is revolving, the earth is also revolving, so there’s nodifference for the East, South, West and North. Practitioners ofFalun Gong practise in accordance with cosmic quality and principleof the cosmic revolution. So no matter what direction you practisetoward, you practise toward all directions. Because Falun turns roundall the time, there is no concept of time. And the exercises can bepractised at any time. Since Falun keeps revolving, practitioners haveno way to stop its revolution, so there’s no concept of ending thepractice. End only gesture but not practice.8. Protected by Master Li Hongzhi’s Law Body, No Worry to beInterfered by Any Outside EvilIt is dangerous for an ordinary person to obtain suddenlythings of the high hierarchy, his life is threatened at once. If the FalunGong practitioner practises genuinely and wholeheartedly after he“It is dangerous foran ordinary person toobtain suddenly thingsof the high hierarchy,his life is threatened atonce.”hasobtained Falun Gong, he will be protected by Master Li Hongzhi’sLaw Body. As long as he persists in the practice, the LawBody protectshim all the time until his perfection in cultivation. If you stop yourcultivation halfway; Master Li’sLaw Body will leave you automatically.Falun Gong’s Way of PracticeFalun Gong is composed of five sets of exercises, includingBuddha Showing the Thousand Hands, Falun Standing Stance,Penetrating the Two Cosmic Extremes, Falun Heavenly Circulation,and Way of Strengthening Supernormal Powers.The Buddha Showing the Thousand Hands exercise isintended to stretch and open up all channels of the body. This exerciseis usually done before the other sets of exercises.The Falun Standing Stance is a tranquil standing exercisecomposed of four wheel embracing movements. Eachmovement lasts for quite a long time. The exercise isdesigned to increase the practitioner’s energy potency.The third exercise “Penetrating the TwoCosmic Extremes” is intended to mix and exchangethe Qi from both the cosmos and the human body. Ina very short time the practitioner can expel thepathogenic or black Qi from his body and take in agreat deal of Qi from the cosmos so as to purify hisbody.The fourth exercise, “Falun HeavenlyCirculation”, exercise enables energy in the humanbody to circulate over a large area. The rotation of theFalun is used to rectify all the abnormal conditions of the humanbody.The exercise of Strengthening Supernormal Powers is atranquil cultivation way. The exercise should be practised in the Lotusposition although a single leg crossing is acceptable atthe beginningbyPeterJahualQi Magazine 44

Impotence and TCMOne in ten British men suffer from impotency. It is manifested as aninability to have an erection of the penis or lack of copulative powerin males.In terms of theory of Traditional ChineseMedicine (TCM) the kidney is the keyorgan in performing the sexual activity.Impotence is in most cases due toinsufficiency of the kidney. There are manyreasons which cause this, such as stress,overwork, anxiety, oversex, kidney disease,inappropriate diet, etc.TCM classifies the kidney into twoparts: The Yin of the kidney, - its materialstructure, including it’s essence of life andthe Yang of the kidney- its function and heat.The essence of life is stored in the kidney andthe Qi of the kidney is produced by thekidney’s essence of life.The earliest classical Chinese medicalbook the Huang Di Neijing points out,“Kidney Qi is the material basis on whichthe human body grows, develops andreproduces.” For example, milk teeth arereplaced by permanent teeth and hair growslonger when girls are seven yearsold and boys when they are eight.This is because the Qi of the kidneyis getting richer and richer. Atthe time when theyreach theage ofpuberty, theQi of the kidneyreaches its peak.This caused theirbodies to produce asubstance called“TianKui” in TCM.This substance notonly promotest h edevelopment of sperm in boys, but also thedischarge of eggs and menstruation in girls.Thesexual functionisperfected graduallyuntilat last the ability to reproduce is fullydeveloped. In old age, the Qi of the kidneybecomes weak, which causes sexual functionsand reproductive abilities to become everweaker and disappear, usually 64 years old formen.Common types of syndrome.Insufficiency of kidney - YangSymptoms: impotence, dizziness, tinnitus,soreness in the loins and knees, lustlesscomplexion, pale tongue with white coating,deep thready pulse(Yang insufficiency happens more to old agegroups)TreatmentTonify kidney yangPrescriptionWu Zi Yan Zhong Wan:She Chuan Zi 10g, Gou Qi Zi 10g, Tu Si Zi10g, Wu Wei Zi 6g, Yin Yang Hu 10g, HeShou Wu 30g, Ren Shen 6g, Yuan Zhi 6g,Gan Cao 3g.Qi Yang Zhi Shen Dan:Shi Di Huang, Shan Zhu Yu, Yuan Zhi, Ba JiTian, Rou Chong Rong, Rou Gui, Ren Shen,Gou Qi, Fu Shen, Du Zhong, Bai Zhu.Insufficiency of Kidney -YinSymptoms: Impotence, Semi emission,irritability, night sweats, backache, dizziness,tinnitus, red tongue with little or no coating,thready and rapid pulse.TreatmentNourish the kidney yin essenceApart from receiving treatment, it isalways wise to regularly take some tonics tostrengthen the kidney. When young, one canenjoy a sex life without exhausting the kidney,when reaching that so called age of forty, itcan improve and prolong one’s sex life. Onemay easily find out that ancient Chineseemperors all had to have some special herbalformulae for enriching kidney and sex lifebecause of their life style.The following are some patentformulae which have properties for tacklingthese problemsShen Rong Bian WanFormulated with Ren Shen, DuZhong, Ba Ji Tian, and many other renownedChinese herbs, it is acclaimed as a high qualitytonic for general health and a rich kidneyYang tonic.Nan Vao, Bao Jian Zhuang Yang Wan,Jin Kui Shen Qi Wan, Chun She Fen (SheBian Xing), Zheng Zhong Zhong Gu MengNan, etc.Dietary measures are alwaysrecommended for their ease of access andviability. People say, “Chinese Chives (HerbaAllii Tuberosis) are king among vegetables asfar as reinforcement of kidney Yang isconcerned.”Porridge with Chinese ChivesMade with 30 to 60 grams of freshChinese chives and 60g round-grained rice(Semen Oryae Sativae) as well as a tiny bit ofsalt, can be taken once in the morning andonce in the evening. It replenishes the kidney,invigorating Yang and arresting emission.Stir-fried Chinese Chives with Walnut KernelMade with walnut kernel (SemenJuglandis) 60g, Chinese chive stems 250g,sesame oil 30g. Taken as a normal dish withbread or rice, it replenishes Yin andinvigorates Yang, warming and recuperatingthe kidney Qi.Lamb is also widely claimed as a tonicsubstance for the kidney. Porridge with lamband Desertiliving Cistanche is another dishused for replenishing the kidney, invigoratingYang, improving the function of the spleen,tonifying the stomach and loosening thebowels to relieve constipation. The dish ismade with Desertiliving Cistanche 15g, lamb60g, round grained rice 60g, salt, scallionstalks and fresh gingerby Dr. Shulan TangForfurtherinformation, pleasecontactShulanClinic,50Sandy Lane, Chorlton,Manchester,M21 8TN, Tel. 0161 881 8576.Qi Magazine 45

An Ancient Art forFuture GenerationsTaijiquan or, as it is more commonly known,Taiji (Tai Chi), has in the last decadeblossomed in popularity throughout theWestern world. Twenty years ago the vastmajority of the British public would have beentotally oblivious to the art, with the exceptionof those returning from a trip to the Asiancontinent who would have probablycommented,” Its those strange movements theChinese do in the parks in the mornings”.During the eighties I was listening to BBC Radio One D JSimon Mayo on his breakfast show when hecommented,” Taiji is that thing the Japanese do in theparks in the mornings”. Whilst the Japanese are superblycreative in their own right, I felt obliged to put the recordstraight and after a short conversation with his assistant, an on airapology followed to clarify that it was in fact a Chinese art. This wasa good example of the lack of understanding of Taiji.Now as we approach the new Millennium all the hard anddedicated work of a growing number of enthusiasts like myself whohave since the seventies raised its profile in the UK, seems to bepayingoff as there nowappears to be a substantial demand for qualifiedteachers throughout the health and leisure industry.However, more work is needed to explain the full backgroundand benefits of the art. Today you may have heard of, or seen, it andfirst impressions may be deceptive, for example it has often beenassumed it is only for the elderly which is far from reality as all agegroups will greatly benefit from its practice.I will now explain its basic function and application as a formof introduction in the hope that current and future generations willseek out its knowledge.Taijiquan loosely translates to “Grand Ultimate Boxing orFist” and has been revered in China for centuries as a highly respectedsystem of therapeutic exercise and martial art. Although it combinesboth health and self defence in its teachings, it has become morepopularly known only as a health science as not everyone wishes topractise the martial arts.The broadly acknowledged creator of the art was a Daoistmonk calledZhang San-Feng who livedsometime betweenthe twelfthand fourteenth centuries AD. Having turned his back on society hetook to the mountains in search of enlightenment. Legend states hevisited the monks of the Shaolin temple where he was taught Shaolinquan, their form of boxing skill.Fromhere he movedto Wu-Tangmountain, the locationwherehistory tells us he conceived the idea of Taiji by combining his existingknowledge of traditional Chinese medicine with the boxing skills ofthe Shaolin masters, thus a uniquely balanced system of health andmartial arts emerged. Taiji was then passed down from master tostudent and over the centuries it became inherited by five famousfamilies known as Yang, Wu, Chen, Woo and Sun who popularised itthroughout China. The original style of Wu-Dang is still beingpractised today, however, the style I am demonstrating is ClassicalYang.Of all the styles Yang is accepted as the most commonlyknown, however, although the styles may differ slightly from familyto family they all follow the same fundamental principles which areknown as the Classics. These are the ancient texts based on theoriginal teachings and maxims of Chang San-Feng that have beenhanded down from master to student as the instruction manual forcorrect practice.Compliance with the Classics is therefore essential to ensureyou correctly combine and co-ordinate the external movement withthe internal thus creating total balance of Yin and Yang. Regularpractise on adaily basisbalances both Yin(internal) and Yang(external)Qi Magazine 46

where Yin represents the breath or Qi (life force energy) and Yangthe skin, muscle or outer shape of the body,Examples of the classics are as follows:“Keep the head erect as if it were suspended from a cloud” -This relates to the raising of the spirit and posture, which bringsabout a feeling of well being and improved breathing.“Relax the shoulders and sink the elbows” - This is somethingthat should happen naturally as tension and stress levels drop throughregular practice, when the shoulders and elbows relax the Qi sinksto the energy centre known as the Dantien, a point approximately50mm below the navel, and to the feet thus creating a strong rootfor postural balance.“It has become more popularlyknown as a health science only asnot everyone wishes to practise themartial arts.”The above Classics can be seen in the postures I amdemonstrating and by combining all the thirteen Classics into yourmovements, your spirit should radiate outward so that others willfeel your presence even from a photograph.As can be seen from the accompanying pictures the postureshave been named in a descriptive way to conjure up an image of ananimal or gesture which help to bring out the spirit of the movement.To practice Taiji you will learn the series of postures in aflowing sequence that is stitched together to create a form. Theform can be long or short, taking 15 or 8 minutes to completerespectively. The short form is intended for beginners whilst thePhotostakenfromPeterNewton’snewbook,“AnIntroductiontoClassicalYangTaiChiChuan”.long form will be practised by serious students who wish to advancetheir skills.Inclusion of Taiji into a daily regime will improve the qualityof 1ife on both emotional andphysical levelswhich iswhat the Chinesecall Taijii.e.: when a person acquires harmony with life and nature.To summarise, Taijiquan will rejuvenate, invigorate andcirculate vital Qi throughout the body which boosts the immunesystem and lowers stress levels. It is the ideal discipline to envelopyour life, a new start for the 2lst century guided by the knowledge ofthe ancientsbyPeterNewtonQi Magazine 47