Issue 53 - Tse Qigong Centre

Cover: Dachengquan master -Wang XuanjieQi Magazine is published by the Tse QigongCentre. Its aim is to bring you information notreadily available in the West.Editor:Deputy Editor:Assistants:Michael TseDarryl MoySarah BloomfieldJohn HayesShahriar SepangiRick CharlesProof Reading: Yvonne DixonMike StensonMarketing/Distribution: Jessica BlackwellSubscriptions: Jayne RowlandsSweden:Barbro OlssonConsultants (Listed in alphabetical order):Columnists:Grandmaster Chan Chi HoGrandmaster Chen Xiao WangGrandmaster Ip ChunGrandmaster Yang MeijunGlen GosslingJ. Reynolds NelsonDr. Shulan TangSihn KeiAdam WallaceReaders may contact any of our contributors c/oQi Magazine.We encourage all our readers to contribute articles, lettersor questions for possible inclusion in future issues ofQi Magazine.Articles appearing in Qi Magazine do not necessarilyreflect the opinion of the editor. Adverts appearing in themagazine are not necessarily endorsed by it or the editor.Exercises appearing in Qi Magazine are for referencepurposes only. Thus anyone wishing to study should seekqualified tuition.Michael Tse 2000.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored or transmitted in any way without thewritten permission of Michael Tse.Advertising: Qi Magazine has proved to be an effectiveway of reaching a wide variety of people. All enquirieswelcome.For UK call: 0161 929 4485For USA call: (425) 823 0199Subscription: Costs per year:UKUSAEuropeWorldwide£20 inc p&p.$35 inc p&p£25 (airmail) inc p&p.£30 (airmail) inc p&p.For UK/Europe/WorldwidePlease send payment in Pounds Sterling. Payment can beby Credit Card or Cheque, drawn on UK bank, payable toQi Magazine:Qi MagazinePO Box 59 Altrincham, WA15 8FS, UKTel:0161 9294485 Fax:0161 929 4489email: tse@qimagazine.comFor USA/CanadaPlease send payment in US Dollars. Payment can be byCredit Card or Check payable to Qi Magazine:Qi MagazinePO Box 2697, Kirkland WA 98083Tel:(425) 823 0199 Fax:(520) 441 6578email tse@wildgooseqigong.comhttp://www.qimagazine.comISSN 1358-3778Often we do things that can hurt otherpeople’s feelings and we do not evennotice it. It is not because we want tohurt them, only we have never been inthat situation before. But if you canrealise what you have done it can helpyou to understand more aboutrelationships and so in the future you willbecome maturer.When I was a teenager, aroundeighteen or nineteen I had two very goodfriends. We used to go out together a lot,we would go to see movies, go for dinnerin restaurants and try out many newthings. We also had some part-time workto earn some pocket money.Once the three of us went awayfor a few dayson holiday, and so ate out every day. ForChinese, it is customary for people notto pay for their food individually. Usuallyone person will pay, so if one personpays, then you will know that you shouldpay the next one. So, every time Chinesepeople go out together they know thatthey have a certain duty to pay backsomething. You cannot allow otherpeople to pay for you every timeotherwise you will be criticised by yourfriends who will say you are tooconcerned with money. Then your friendswill not get so close to you.This Chinese custom is verydifferent from the Western customs.Chinese people will often “fight” eachother to pay the bill, but you mustunderstand that this is part of Chineseculture to be hospitable to your friends,relatives and guests so they do not needto worry about money. However, youmust understand that if someone treatsyou well, you must treat him or her thesame. You cannot just take advantageof your friends and relatives who arebeing nice to you.Let us go back to my story …While we were away, at night wewent out for dinner. At the end of thefirst night’s meal one of my friends paidfor the meal and the next night my otherfriend paid the bill. So on the last night itwas obvious that it was my turn to pay.But when the bill came and I pulledout my wallet, I only had aHK$500 note. At that timeHK$500 was a large note, themeal only cost around HK$100and it seemed too much to askthem to change such a large note.Then one of my friends tooka HK$100 note out and paid for thebill. At the time I did not think anythingwas wrong, I only thought that my friendwas being very considerate.However, after we had beenhome for around three weeks, I had notheard from either of my friends whichwas very unusual. We were very goodfriends and usually talked abouteverything, personal things as well aseveryday things. We often argued aswe had a lot of different opinions, butthere was never anything personal. Thatkind of friendship was very innocent andsincere and I respected it very much. Butafter three weeks I had not heard fromthem, so I called them up and arrangedfor us to go out.When we got together theytreated me as a good friend the same asbefore and I could not notice anydifference in them.A few months went by, then onone occasion, one of my friends said tome, “Do you know you are sometimesquite tight with money? We pay for youand you do not like to pay for us.” I was... continued on page 7Qi Magazine 1

1 Editorialwith Michael Tse.3 PO Box8 Walking Forwards & BackWhen performing Taijiquan it is important that the body moves fromthe Dantian and is not lead by the legs and arms as this breaks theprinciples of the movement.By Glenn Gossling10 TCM & DiabetesDiabetes effects a great many people. In the West it is controlled byuse of drugs and also by diet, but how is it treated by TraditionalChinese Medicine?By Dr. Shulan Tang12 Chinese Horoscopes – 2001 Year of the SnakeWith the Chinese New Year we see the start a Snake year. What animalare you? Find out how the coming year shapes up for you.By Michael Tse14 Hand Gesture QigongThere are many different types of Qigong exercises. Some use manydifferent and varied movements while others use static postures. Thisone however is quite unusual as it uses hand gestures and numbers tocultivate your Qi.By Shi Feng Zhi15 Drug Use in the Internal ArtsToday drugs of varying degrees effect every level of society. Popularsports have for a number of years been scrutinised and drug userslabelled as cheats. So how does drug us effect pastimes such as Taijiand what view is taken of those who abuse them?By J. Reynolds Nelson18 Wudang QigongWudang Mountain is a very famous place for Daoism and also internalarts. Here we look at a set of Qigong exercises that are especiallygood for those with blood pressure problems, but also good for overallhealthBy Fei Shi Wong20 Yijing Imagery, Taiji and Internal Alchemy part2Continuing our look at how the Yijing and Taijiquan practise relatetogether. Here we look at how the Gua relates to your Qi and effectsyour internal body.By Stuart Olsson22 Cover StoryDachengquan – The MartialEssence of Wang XiangzhaiDachengquan is an unusual martialart as it is largely based on standingmeditation. How then does standingstill relate to self-defence? To manyof you this may sound a very strangeconcept, Master Wang Xiangzhaiwho developed this skill came to hisconclusions after many years ofresearch and meeting many famousmasters in China.By Michael Tse28 Path to AwakeningBuddhism teaches that all the answers you need can be found withinyourself and that all you need to do is to be able to see and listen toyourself. If this is the path to true awakening how do you start to walkit?By Ticht Nhat Hanh30 FirecrackersChinese people love firecrackers. The noise is exciting and alwayssignals a celebration. But where does this custom come from andwhat do they symbolise?By Jessica Blackwell30 Book ReviewIntroducing two new books, Concise Tuina Therapy and A Guide toMartial ArtsBy Jessica Blackwell35 Instructor InsightA look at two instructors of the Tse Qigong Centre36 Playing to Our EmotionsAll of us have emotions and to a large extent they shape how webehave and how we react to others. Should we then try to control ouremotions and change them when we do not think they are right, or dowe let them run free?By Sihnkei38 Eternal BattleThere is a struggle going on in us that has been raging since the dawnof man. Some may think it is a result of our intelligence and ability tojudge and make informed decisions others may think it is due to otherforces trying to effect how we behave.By Adam Wallace40 Swimming Dragon Gong - Part 3Swimming Dragon Gong from the Dayan (Wild Goose) Qigong Systemis good for strengthening the kidneys and relieving backache.By Michael Tse44 Climbing the MountainWe all think we are open minded. However it is our actions and wordsthat will prove whether we are or not. Often it is only when we trulysee ourselves can we say for certain can we know.By Darryl Moy45 Feng Shui and the Main Entrance of a HouseThe entrance is the most important part of your house, as this is wherethe energy comes in and shapes whether it is good or not. What thenmakes a good entrance and what should you try and avoid.By Michael Tse

POBox POBox POBox...News, views and your letters and questions answeredWushu?Dear Sifu TseCould you please enlighten me onthe subject of “Wushu”, as I am notexactly sure what the term means. Thereappear to be various people in theNorthwest teaching a style of Kung Fuwhich seems to be quite vigorous withmovements that appear to be verygymnastic in nature.For people of “more matureyears”, this would seem to be mostunsuitable, even though the style seemseffective. I would think it would be onlysuitable for young people, say up to an ageof 25. Watching a class going through itspaces, I wonder how they will be able totrain like this when they are older, and whatuse their Kung Fu will be to them.Yours sincerelyG. ManchesterDear G.Wushu literally means martial artskill or martial art technique. There aredifferent parts to martial art skill:-fighting/self defence, health philosophyand performance. Of these, performanceis the one most people in the west thinkof as being Wushu. This is because thereare Wushu schools and championshipsheld all over the world today, not onlyChina. However, most of the skilldemonstrated in these competitions hasbeen modified from the original fightingforms to make it more flashyand appropriate forcompeting. Moreemphasis is put ongymnastic flexibilityrather than a powerfulstance. As a result, mostWushu competitors areyoung children andadults.Good martial artskill, however, should be ableto be practised even when youare old, hence health is one of the mainparts of martial art skill. Every traditionalChinese martial art has an internaltraining side, not only concentrating onfighting or building up power. If you onlyconcentrate on building power, withoutbalancing it with a soft side, likemeditation and stretching, then you willcause stiffness and joint problems in thebody. Therefore, a good martial artshould cover not only fighting andperformance but health as well.Yours sincerely, Michael TseSelfMassageSifu Michael,What kind of Qigong self massagecan one do to enhance one’s health.L.Dear L,There are many books whichoffer basic massage techniques for theself, some of which we sell through QiMagazine. The massage should follow theprinciples of smoothing the channels andbalancing blood and Qi. Usually, Irecommend rubbing down the arms andlegs and only on the yang channels.Rubbing the feet and hands is very goodas well as this will help you releasenegative energy and feel more relaxed. Ihope this helps.Michael TseBuilding CorrectlyHello,I am very keen on learning practicalself-defence through Wing Chun training.I am 42 years of age and quite busy with“Better todevelop yourself ina natural way.”day time work. However, throughdedication I can manage to allocate anhour to per day.I already do some training toimprove the strength of my elbows andgeneral stance work or rooting. Overall Ineed to build on the basics. I have doneMuay Thai in the past, but understandWing Chun to be quite different. I amattracted to Wing Chun because it suitsmy small build and is designed for closerange fighting. Another attraction is theway it teaches to flow with and to feel anopponent’s force.I also would like to know, apartfrom the wooden dummy, whether thereare any other training tools. For one reasonor other I find it difficult to find trainingpartners to test my strength or Qi, Chi Sau.It’s one thing to practise the movements/forms against thin air but another withresistance behind it. Currently I practiseagainst the resistance of a fire hazard doorand it seems to make a big difference. Iam thinking of purchasing a proper weightresistor to do the job. Can you make somesuggestions in this area? I await to hear atyou earliest convenience.V. Co DublinDear V,Personally, I have never trainedwith any weights or any other machines.If you do the Wing Chun training properly,then the forms, weapons and the woodendummy will cover everything. Usingstrength is not the objective in Wing Chun.Instead we should develop sensitivity andfootwork. Even without a partner, you canpractise Siu Lim Tao which will calm yourmind and cultivate your Gong Lik(internal energy). Practising Siu Lim Tao,particularly on one leg, for half an houror more a day will achieve more thanpractising with a weight resistor an houra day. If you do toomany repetitiousmovements likepunching on a weightbag, then eventually,your joints will take theimpact and be damaged.If your goal is to just testyour strength, then yourWing Chun skill will not bevery high as it will be easy for anopponent to control you. Better to developyourself in a natural way and do whatyou can on your own until you can find apartner or a class.Michael TseQi Magazine 3

Helping CancerHello Sifu,I was talking to someone yesterday regarding a patient of his who has liver cancer. I started to wonder what were theprinciples involved in the use of Qigong as a cure? I know there have been several articles in Qi Magazine regarding successfulQigong cancer cures but I wondered if you could tell me the underlying concepts regarding this.I know that Qigong restores the body’s natural energy balance and enables you to store energy and cultivate healthy Qi butwhen working with cancer how does one prevent the cancer cells from taking this energy and actually growing faster?It is a fact that older people can have cancer for years before it starts to cause problems because their cells tend to growslowly. Younger people are more at risk because their cells grow more quickly.So are there specific Qigong exercises for older or younger people relating to cancer and specifically for liver cancer? (Idon’t know the exact type of cancer involved but it is primarily located in this person’s liver and has not spread yet as far as Iknow.) What would be your general advice?PB, CanadaDear PB,Thanks for your email. Regarding the cancer situation, most people think that cancer is an incurable disease and areafraid of that. I believe that no matter what kind of illness, from simple flu and cold, that if you do not take care of it well, thenit will create something else more serious and can even die by that.So the most important is to make yourself healthy rather than how to treat a particular illness. Otherwise, itbecomes like western medicine using all kinds ofmedicine to treat different kinds of disease. The followingis my suggestion, first try to get rid of any stress andhave enough rest. You should not make yourself tired,particularly when you are ill. Take plenty of freshair but keep yourself warm. Eat proper food, thismeans don’t just concentrate on one particularthing. Try to eat all kinds of things to balance thebody.The last thing is exercise. In China therehave been successful cases where cancer hasbeen cured by special walking exercises. Ibelieve Wild Goose, Balancing Gong, HealthyLiving Gong also will help. If you want touse a walking exercise, I recommend doingthe Cloud Steps particularly because everymovement connects with the breath, inhaleand exhale and this will help exchange theQi. Everytime you exhale, you will help torelease the cancer energy from the bodyand other kinds of negative energy fromthe body. Everytime you inhale, you gatherenergy from nature to increase yourmetabolism. So slowly, this will helpchange the cancer cells to be freshcells.The method is very simple, butmore importantly, can you keeppractising this every day for two orthree hours. My suggestion is thatyou practise three times a day, inthe morning, sunset and laterevening. Everytime you finish themovement, you should do meditationfor at least ten to fifteen minutes.If a person can do this, then I think itwill improve their condition andthey may even recover.The most difficult part iswhen a person hears that they have aterminal illness and that they losehope. They cannot think clearly and thenthey believe all kind of information laterand are confused when the method does notwork. Eventually, they will die from no hope. Sometimes, the family will not support them and this makes the situation worse.Some people also have to worry about their job and money and any worrying will not improve their condition but make itworse. So if they can concentrate on their health and not have to worry about any other things, then I am sure this will helptheir health and will do them good. At least they can live longer and not have suffering.About your question on the cancer cells spreading if you move and exercise more, although I have heard about this,personally I do not believe it. It is just like when you go to clean underneath your bed. When you don’t see it, you don’t thinkabout there being dust there. However, once you move the bed and see all the dust, then are aware of it. With cancer it is thesame. Cancer does not just happen overnight. It takes a while to develop. When we exercise, we just become more sensitiveand can feel our bodies more and are aware of everything, like when moving the bed. Exercise does not create more cancer,it just makes you more aware of the problem.I hope that this can help you.Yours sincerely,Michael TseQi Magazine 4

Good EyesHello Sifu Tse,Recently I went to the optician fora routine eye exam. She said that my eyeshad not changed much. She said that theeye looked healthy inside when sheexamined it internally, but when shemeasured the pressure inside the eye sheGrandmasterIp Chunsaid it seemed a little high. She thenconducted the most advanced test calleda field test to see if the optic nerve wasokay. I passed this test. She then told meto come back next Friday to check theinternal eye pressure again. She said thatthe pressure can vary according to the timeof day etc. I am writing to you to ask ifthere are any Qigong exercises that mightThis year I was once again lucky enough to attend Grandmaster Ip Chun’s(Ip Sigong) seminar. I was greatly disappointed when last year he announced thathe might be retiring. So when I heard he was coming back I jumped at the chance tosee him again.I just wanted to thank Michael Tse and all those at the Tse Qigong Centrefor organising this event. Although I have attended a number of these, I amcontinually impressed by Ip Sigong’s knowledge and energy. At the age of 76 andweighing around one hundred pounds, it is incredible to see him ‘dispatch’ talentedmartial artists half his age and twice his size. Through amazing sensitivity, timing,technique and precise use of strength he is able to control everyone he plays ChiSau with.Whilst teaching heis very open and explainseverything clearly anddoes not hold any of hisknowledge back. He evensaid that when hediscovers a new idea, thenhe tells his students and inthis way he improveshimself further. It is goodto meet someone so openand willing to share hisknowledge and skill.Each year seminarIp Sigong manages to reinforce the basics, plus impart some new knowledge, nomatter how many times you attend his seminars. This year he covered virtually allthe aspects of Wing Chun in just two days and it was a pleasure to see him gothrough the entire Wooden Dummy form in such detail. He made everything lookvery easy, though, when we all had a go for ourselves we found it anything but easy.Over the weekend I counted around 100 people attending the course andeveryone I spoke to had a great time. One person was amazed that he could actuallyspeak directly to Sigong and even be taught by him. Apparently he was never allowedto speak to his previous teachers directly. Each time a question was asked Sigongnever avoided answering and in fact he seems to relish challenge of “tricky” questions.It is easy to marvel at this great man’s consummate skill. However, this isonly part of what makes Ip Sigong such a fantastic teacher. I am continually amazedby his energy and fantastic attitude to life. He is a man of great humour and vitality,which make his seminars really special. I feel sorry for those who were unable toattend this year, as they have missed something really special.by Peter Walfiszhelp. I would like to know what you woulddo in this position.M.Dear M,There are many exercises you cando for the eyes, some of which we havedescribed before in Qi Magazine. Weoften, through looking at the televisionor using the computer for long periods,use only a short distance range for seeing.Everyday I exercise my eyes as I know howimportant it is take care of them. I usuallydo it as part of my regular Qigongpractice but you can do it anytime. Irecommend to do it outside as it is goodto take in fresh air as well.First, try looking as far as you canand then change the distance after 15-30 seconds, alternating between closerand very far away. Repeat while eitherwalking or standing still. Next try lookingat object like a tree or building and countthe leaves or the windows or bricks. Thiswill help stimulate the eye and the brain.I also recommend gently tapping theeyelids with the finger tips to stimulate theQi in this area. After you have finished,place the palms of the hands over the eyesto transmit Qi to them. If you do thisregularly, it will help make the eyesstronger but also them to relax when theyneed to.Michael TseQuestions &AnswersQuestion: Can a person reach a highenough level of Qigong to kill someone?Answer: If you are asking if a person cankill another by just transmitting Qi(energy), then I would say no that it wouldonly make the other personuncomfortable or feel some pain.However, if they actually hit you on oneof the weaker points on the body, like thetemple, eyes, the Yamen point at the baseof the skull or Huiyin point between thelegs, then yes, they could kill you. Even ifyou do not believe in acupuncture points,then hitting in any one of the body’s weakareas can have the same result.Meaning of LifeDear Mr Tse,Thanks again for your marvellousmagazine, it is a treasure. To be able tounderstand better the relevance of things,Qi Magazine 5

GrandmasterChen XiaowangFor those modestly practised in the art of Taijiquan, theprospect of training with a Grandmaster can be an awesome, ifnot downright frightening prospect. One imagines a stern andserious personality goes with someone whose skill level islegendary. But all those who have met Grandmaster ChenXiaowang before know that intimidated is the last thing youneed be. As he enters the room there is no strict formality, for he is all ease and friendliness, waving hello to all who have cometo train with him. In fact, so kind and gentle is he that it is easy to forget his immense status.He moves with such perfect synchrony that it beggars belief. One is immediately struck how soft and flowing his formis. His hands, arms, waist and legs all moving in complete harmony. As he corrects a student’s posture he makes a tinyadjustment to a hand, imperceptibly straightens the spine and lowers the stance a fraction, thus turning a poor posture into onewhere the energy can be seen flowing smoothly around the whole body. Interspersed with his teaching of the form he holdsQuestion and Answer sessions that allow us to enquire further about a move we have not quite grasped, or which help us tounderstand a posture further.When teaching a form that was new to many of the participants, such as the straight sword and broad sword, he showedus such a large number of moves that many of us thought we would never grasp all of it in one go. But by pushing us a littlebit further than we instinctively wanted to go, we achieved much more than we would have done otherwise. Many timesthroughout the lesson, as we stood in readiness to practise what we had learnt so far, he entreated us to “Calm down”. Hisvoice is so gentle and persuasive that we did so without any effort.What comes across with Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang is that he has no ego, and no need to show off. It has been animmense privilege to train with him. I overheard one person say, “he’s the nicest person I’ve ever met”. What more fittingtestimony can Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang have? That, more than anything, demonstrates the depth of his skill.by Kate Britton, Leamington Spaincluding Tai Chi, in my world I amconstantly searching for the meaning oflife. One method to achieve this is toattempt to understand what happensfollowing death. Please can you advise mewhat you believe happens at death andbeyond. I am intrigued to understand yourviews on this subject. I suspect others willalso be interestedThanks, NGDear N,Your question is very interestingand is one as you say all of us havethought about. Death is one thing thatwe cannot avoid and all of us must passon, but who really can know whathappens after this. I think that the mostimportant thing is how you conductyourself in this life. If you do good thingsand help others and develop yourself tobe a benefit to society, then it does notmatter what is the next step because thenyou will have no regrets. Sometimes wecan think too much about the future andmiss what is most important and that isright now. Everyone needs to find the waythat is right for them and so will havedifferent ideas but this does not matteras long as you are happy with yourself.Thank you for such a good question.Michael TseWeight ShiftsDear Sir,I have been practising Qigong andI feel better each day. However, there somechanges in my body that I felt bizarre. Myweight use to be 65kg, but now it is 75kg,and my stomach has grown bigger. I haveold injuries ( like shoulder, leg cramp andsome hair loss problem) and recently, Ioften felt pain/ hair drop in that area veryoften. I sweat a lot when practisingIf 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. Wealso welcome articles (800 - 1000 words in length) on topics appropriate. Please sendthem to Qi Magazine.UKQi MagazinePO Box 59,Altrincham WA15 8FS. UK.email tse@qimagazine.comPlease write to:Qigong. Is it true that if we have illnesses,Qigong will uproot them (thereby causingthe area to degenerate/have pain moreoften) and later cure them.CL, SingaporeDear CL,Yes, it is true that Qigong helpsthe body to release negative Qi thatcauses illness. That is why you areexperiencing sweating when practisingthe Qigong as this is one way the bodyreleases negative energy. This is naturaland so can be your weight gain. Whenwe practise Qigong, the body balancesand so will naturally find its right weight.I hope this helps.Your sincerely, Michael TseUSAQi MagazinePO Box 2697,Kirkland WA 98083. USA.email tse@wildgooseqigong.comQi Magazine 6

surprised when he said that and then hementioned the time we were on holidayand I did not pay for any of the meals. Iwas shocked at what they thought aboutme and I had completely forgotten that Idid not pay that night and that I did nothave change. I felt very guilty about it.This was the reason they had notcontacted me for a few weeks.I was fortunate that they stilltreated me as a good friend and I learnta very important lesson for my future.Today we are still very goodfriends. We still talk a lot like before andare open minded and do not hold backour opinions. However we are not liketeenagers, we are maturer and do nottry to impose our opinions on others. Weare also more forgiving of other people’sfaults. I hope that we can keep thisfriendship forever.The friendships we build duringour childhood are not the same as theones we develop as adults. When we arematurer we are more careful andconsider more of what other people willthink of us and so we behave better. Thefriendships we have as children areinnocent, truer and sincere.Maybe as we grow up we change,but when we meet each other we willremember when we were little and howhappy we were. Thus we do not put on amask, but still act the same as when wewere young. If you make a mistake yourfriends will forgive you, but when you areolder, your friends might still rememberwhat you did and though they will stillsay hello to you they will keep a certaindistance from you.Sometimes you cannot expecteveryone to like you and treat you like agood friend. It takes time until they trustyou and then they will be more open toyou. Some people are afraid of beingtaken advantage of by others. Of course,there are people who like to takeadvantage of others as well and so welearn how to protect ourselves as we getolder.If one day we can all be friends,trust each other and forgive each other’sfaults then we will not have to wearmasks anymore.Tse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 7

In the final part of this series on the first set of Silk Reeling Exercises we gothrough the last two exercises. One of the more difficult parts in Taiji to get right are thewalking movements since the body still needs to follow the movement of the Dantian.Walking Forwards & BackQian Jin Bu -Walking ForwardsThis is the walking version ofShuang Shou Chan Si. To start Qian JinBu you begin in Shuang Shou Chan Sibut as you move into frame 4 you drawthe right (back) foot up to the left foot asyou transfer your weight into the left footand bring your hands forward. Then asyou bring your hands up to the sameposition as frame 1 you transfer yourweight so that it is slightly in the backfoot.Frame 1Hand position: left hand isforward at shoulder heightwith the palm facing up andthefingers forward.The right hand isroughly in front ofthe throat, palmfacing down andfingers pointing forward.The elbow of theleft arm should be lowand bent while the rightarm’s elbow should beslightly lower than theshoulder with thearm bent.D i r e ct i o n :the body should beturned slightly more towards front than45 degrees. Hips and shoulders likewiseat an angle. The left foot is pointingforward and the right foot faces 45degrees with the heels almost together.Weight: slightly in the right leg.Qi: sinking to the waist for the lefthand and rising up the back to roughlybetween upper shoulder blades for theright hand.In this frame the left hand ismoving from a fully yang state and is halfway to becoming fully yin, while the righthand is moving from the most yin part ofthe cycle and is half way to becomingfully yang. To move to the second frametransfer the weight fully from the left legto the right, allowing the left leg to slideforwards and the body to turn back to45 degrees as you move. The left handtwines back with the elbow closing a littletowards the body. The right hand twinesoutward and backwards in a smooth arc.Frame 2Hand position: left hand in frontof the body palm up and fingers pointingdirectly away from the body, right handextended to the right, palm away fromthe body with the fingerspointing forwards. Theright arm is curved.Direction: thebody faces 45degrees, shouldersand hips are 45degrees.W e i g h t :your weightshould be inyour right leg tothe proportionof 60% – 70%.Qi: at Dantian and at right hand.In this frame the left hand is fullyyin while the right hand is yang. To moveback to the next frame turn the body backslightly while allowing both hands totwine in an arc to waist height with thepalms turning out until the fingers pointback.Frame 3Hand position: left hand is in frontof the abdomen with the palm facing outand the fingers back, the right hand’spalm faces forward roughly above theright knee at waist height with the fingerspointing back.Direction: the body facesa little further back than45 degrees.Weight: your weightshould be in yourright leg to theproportion of 60%– 70%.Qi: between theshoulder bladesfor the left handand at the waistfor the right.In this frame the left hand is halfway between being fully yin and fullyyang while the right hand is half waybetween transferring from yin to yang.To move to the next frame transfer yourweight gently into the left leg and drawthe right foot forward until the feet aretogether while the hands twine forwardin front of the lower abdomen.Frame 4Hand position: left hand atabdomen height a little in front of thebody, palm facing down and fingers back,the arm should be curved. The right handis in front of the abdomen, palm up,fingers pointing away from the body.Make sure that thearmpits remain slightlyopen.Direction: thebody faces 45degrees.Weight: yourweight should be inyour left leg to theproportion of 60% -70%.Qi: in the lefthand and at theDantian.In this frame your left hand is fullyyang and your right hand is at its mostyin. To move to the next frame turn thebody slightly to the left while the weighttransfers slightly to the right leg. Allowthe hands to spiral upwards in front ofthe body until they are at shoulder heightas in frame 1.Hou Tui Bu –Walk BackwardBegin by relaxing and standingupright as with Zheng Mian Chan Si. Sinkyour weight into your legs and raise theleft hand in front of the body until theforearm is parallel with the floor and theelbow is 90 degrees. To move to frame 1allow the weight to sink into the rightleg while sliding the left foot directlyback, maintaining shoulder widthQi Magazine 8

etween the feet. The left hand sweepsbackwards in an arc slightly to the rightand then to the left until it is by the lefthip. The right hand twines forwards inan arc: out to the right and then back tothe left, until it is directly in front of thebody at middle Dantian height.Frame 1Hand position: left hand to the leftside of the body at waist height palmdown, fingers forward. Right hand infront of the body, elbow down, palm upat about middle Dantian height, fingersforward.Direction: body, hips andshoulders face forward.Weight: you will be in a backstance with the left leg back and theweight almost entirely in the left leg.weight in the left leg to the proportion ofabout 70%.Qi: sinking to the waist for the lefthand and rising up the back for the righthand.In this frame both hands are intransition, the left hand from yang to yinand the right from yin to yang. To moveto the next frame shift the weightbackwards into the right leg so that youare in a back stance. The right handlightly flexes and twines minutely downand out bringing a slight tension to thepalm. The left arm moves minutelytowards the centre of the body and itsangle deepens slightly to create a line tothe Dantian.Weight: you will be in a frontstance with the left leg back and theweight in the right leg to the proportionof about 70%.Qi: sinking to the waist for theright hand and rising up the back for theleft hand.In this frame both hands are intransition, the right hand from yang toyin and the left from yin to yang. To moveto the next frame shift the weightbackwards into the left leg so that youare in a back stance. The left hand lightlyflexes and twines minutely down and outwith a movement that is no more thanan inch but which brings a slight tensionto the palm. The right arm movesminutely towards the centre of the bodyand its angle deepens slightly to createa line to the Dantian.Frame 2Hand position: left hand to the leftside of the body at waist height palmdown, fingers forward with a slightflexing of the hand. Right hand in frontof the body, elbow down, palm up atabout middle Dantian height, fingersforward.Direction: body hips andshoulders face forward.Qi: at the fingers of the left handand for the right arm it will be at thelower Dantian.In this frame the back hand – theleft hand – is entirely yang and theforward hand – the right – is entirely yin.To move to frame 3 allow the weight tosink completely into the left leg whilesliding the right foot in an arc backwards,finishing with shoulder width betweenthe feet. The right hand sweepsbackwards in an arc slightly to the leftand then to the right until it is by the righthip. The left hand twines forwards in anarc: out to the left and then back to theright, until it is directly in front of the bodyat middle Dantian height.Frame 3Hand position: right hand to theright side of the body at waist heightpalm down, fingers forward. Left handin front of the body, elbow down, palmup at about middle Dantian height,fingers forward.Direction: body, hips andshoulders face forward.Weight: you will be in a frontstance with the right leg back and theFrame 4Hand position: right hand to theright side of the body at waist heightpalm down, fingers forward with a slightflexing of the hand. Left hand in front ofthe body, elbow down, palm up at aboutmiddle Dantian height, fingers forward.Direction: body hips andshoulders face forward.Weight: you will be in a backstance with the right leg back and theweight almost entirely in the right leg.Qi: at the fingers of the right handand for the left arm it will be at the lowerDantian.In this frame the back hand – theright - is entirely yang and the forwardhand – the leftt – is entirely yin. To moveto the next frame (Frame 1) allow theweight to sink completely into the rightleg while sliding the left foot in an arcbackwards, finishing with shoulder widthbetween the feet. The left hand sweepsbackwards in an arc slightly to the rightand then to the left until it is by the lefthip. The right hand twines forwards inan arc: out to the right and then back tothe left, until it is directly in front of thebody at middle Dantian heightby Glenn Gosslingemail Glenn@qimagazine.comChen TaijiquanQi Magazine 9

Diabetes effects manypeople. Some people are bornwith the condition and othersdevelop it later in life. How doesTraditional Chinese Medicinetackle the problem?Diebetes & TCMTraditional Chinese MedicineDiabetes mellitus is a commonmetabolic endocrinopathyresulting from absolute or relativedeficiency of insulin and leading tometabolic disturbance of carbohydrate,fat and protein. The disease is frequentlyfollowed by water-electrolyte imbalanceand acid-base disturbance. According tothe age of patients, clinicalmanifestations and requirements forinsulin, diabetes mellitus can be dividedinto many types. In TCM, the disease iscategorised as ‘Xiao Ke’ which meansdiabetes.I. Differentiation andTreatment of CommonSyndromes1. Dryness-Heat in thelung & stomachMain symptoms and signs:Restlessness, polydipsia, polythagiawith tendency to hunger, drynessof the mouth and tongue, polyuria, redtongue with yellowish coating, slipperyand rapid pulse.Treatment principle:Nourishing Yin and clearing awaypathogenic heatPrescription: modified Yu Niu Jian andYi Wei TangShi Gao25g Zhi Mu 12gSha Shen 20g Sheng Di 20gYu Zhu 15g Tian Hua Feng 30gDi Gu Pi 12g Xuan Shen 12gGan Cao 6g Mai Dong 15g* All the above herbs are to bedecocted in water for oral administration.At the stable stage, Jin Ju Di Dan Wan inherbal pills can be taken for a long term.2. Deficiency of thekidney-YinMain symptoms and signs:Polyuria with turbiddischarge, soreness and debilityof the lambs, dryness of themouth and tongue, dysphasiawith feverish sensation in thechest. Palms and soles, redtongue, deep, thready andrapid pulse.Treatment principle;Nourishing Yin and supplementing thekidneyPrescription: Modified Liu Wei Di HuangWanSheng Di 15g Shu Di 15gShan Yao 20g Fu Ling 10gShan Yu Rou 10g Mu Dan Pi 10gWu Wei Zi 10g Tian Dong 12g* All the above herbs are to be decoctedin water for oral administration. At thechronic stage, Liu Wei Di Huang Wan orZhi Bai Di Huang Wan in herbal pills canbe taken for long time.II. Dietetic ChineseHerbsRecuperation by proper diet playsa very important role in relieving thesymptoms of the diabetic patients.Therefore, dietetic Chinese herbs andmedical diet are comparatively desirableaids in treating this disease.The following herbs can be usedin a diet for diabetic patients:1. Shang Yao (Chinese Yam)Make a decoction of 1500ml with120g of Chinese Yam, sip it warm as adrink at short intervals.2. Shan Yu Rou(Sarcocarp of Dogwood fruit)Make a concentrated decoctionwith 30g of sarcocarp of dogwood fruitand take it a drink* The above-mentioned herbsare applicable to the type of deficiencyof vital essence due to unconsolidationof the kidney. They can be used eitheralone or in combination.3. Tian Hua Feng (Snakegourd Root),Mai Men Dong ( Lictturf Root)Make a decoction with 30g ofeach and take it as a drink.* These two herbs are applicableto the type of dryness of the lung andimpairment of Yin fluid.4. Yu Mi Xu (Corn Stigma)Shan Zha (Hawthorn Fruit)Dan Shen (Red Sage Root)Put 30g of each in 1500ml ofwater to decoct it until 700ml is left. Takehalf of it at a time, twice a day.* This recipe is especiallyapplicable to patients suffering fromdiabetes and hypertension concurrentlyby Dr Shulan Tangemail Shulan@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 10

Chinese HoroscopeThis new year is the year of Snake. Generally, people in the west,do not like someone to call them a snake because it is not very good andmeans you are not honest and a bit sneaky. Actually, it is not that simple.The year of snake means this year has a snake character.Asnake is self-conscious and cares about itself. Itknows how to protect itself and is generally quiet andwill know its territory very well. Actually a snake willnot attack people except out of defence. However,when it does attack, the action is very quick withouthesitation. These characteristics also show the energy of theyear of Snake.This year is a metal Snake year. In the whole circle ofChinese Horoscope, 60 years is one cycle. We have 12 animals,one for each year, from the year of the Rat to the year of Pig.We also the Five Elements which are wood, fire, earth, metaland water. Each element has its own character as well. So, ifthis is the year of Snake plus the year of the metal element, itwill be different from the previous snake year twelve yearsearlier, which was during an earth element year. The metalsnake is more tough than the earth snake, but earth snake ismore grounded than the metal snake. That is thedifference.The Snake in terms of month energy is July whichis warm. In the west, this is the beginning of the holidayseason. Students are having examinations before theholiday. Adults are planning on going for a holiday withtheir family, so in the beginning a hard time but the goodtime is coming. In China it is very hot already and farmersare working very hard. The summer is beginning, but theycan see a little result already. So this is a working time butwith planning for the good things which are coming as well.In the hours of the day, the Snake time is 9-11 am,which is after sun rise, but not noon yet. So it is warm witheverybody already working or doing something. Only afew people are still asleep, so this represents a goingforward time.The proper way to calculate the Chinese New Yearbeginning is the 4th Feb, which is when the springtimebegins. However, the Chinese New Year is on 24thJanuary 2001. This is very confusing for people tounderstand but actually, it is because there are twocalendar calculations. One is using the lunar calculationwhich is when 24 th January is the beginning of the NewYear, as this is when the moon has finished one rotationaround the earth. The other calculation is the solar one inwhich it is the earth which rotates around the sun. Of course,the solar calculation is much more popular than the lunarsystem. But basically, Chinese use two systems in order tounderstand the nature of how the universe works to affect ourhuman life.The Chinese horoscope method of Bazi uses the solarsystem, which is the most common. However, another methodis called Tzi Mei which used the lunar calendar to work out ourhoroscope.Let us now find out how this coming New Year’s energyworks for all of our animal years. This year has four earth, twometal, one water and one wood and one fire element. Whenwe put these elements together along with our own year ofbirth animal, then we be able to see certain things that canhappen. Although, this is not 100%, because there are so manypeople born at different times and even places which will affectthings, we can predict some interesting things for the next year.Hope you will find something interesting, but do nottake it too seriously because in the end our good future is basedupon our hard work. Nothing comes from nothing.2001 - Year of the SnakeQi Magazine 12

1 . The year of the Rat: will receive a good result which they have been workingtowards a for long time.2. The year of the Ox: will find themselves in a stubborn situation which is hard tomove out from.3. The year of the Tiger: will find themselves starting some good projects whichwill be good for their future.4. The year of the Rabbit: will find everything is coming in the right place.5. The year of the Dragon: will work too hard for small results and sometimes willbe frustrated by the situation.6. The year of the Snake: at first the beginning of the year is good and everythingis smooth, but the last half of the year, will find themselves exhausted and tired.7. The year of the Horse: new life will begin and they will find happiness there.8. The year of the Sheep: life is changing with a new beginning which is cominggood and better.9. The year of the Monkey: will find a good romance and get a bit more financialsupport.10. The year of the Rooster: will travel a lot, see new things and make more friends11. The year of the Dog: this is a stable year. Nothing changes too much, butfamily will become stronger.12. The year of the Pig: Some part is good and some part is bad, but after awhilewill overcome the problem and the good result will come.by Michael TseTse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 13

Hand Gesture QigongPart 2There are so many different ways to gather energy from the universe. ChineseQigong that we usually see applies movements, postures, breathing and mind.However, there is one Buddhist method which uses special hand gestures and thesound of numbers to gather energy from nature.Before continuing with our look at more Qigong handgesture, let us recap the Mandarin pronunciation of thenumbers 1- 9. They are as follows:-0 : Dong 1 : Yee 2 : Er3 : San 4 : Si 5 : Wu6 : Liu 7 : Qi 8 : Ba9 : Jiunaturally through the nose. Letyour mind calm down, enjoythe fresh air, allow the Qi tocome in to your body. Leteverything go back to itsnatural state. At the end letyour mind go back to yourheart. Repeat the sound.4. Xiu Yi ( Concentrating on one thing)Stand still, facing the east. Keep the hand gesture on top ofthe head at the Baihui point for 15 minutes. Breath throughthe nose. Let your mind calm down, relax your body, allowingyour eyes, nose, ears and mouth to connect with nature. Letthe Qi come in to your body. During the meditation make thefollowing sounds following the Chinese Mandarinpronunciation.1-8-1—5-0-0-0—( Ye e -Ba -Yee — Wu-Dong-Dong-Dong—)66 times6.Gu Yuan Qi (Strengthening the original Qi)9-9—0-0-0—(Jiu-Jiu— Dong-Dong-Dong—)55 times5. Lian Nei Gong ( Internal training exercise )Stand still facing south. Keep your hand gesture at the MiddleDantian, i.e. at the Shanzhong point, for 20 minutes. BreatheStand still again facing south. Keep your hands in front of theUpper Dantian, which is Sky-eye for 30 minutes. Relax the body,allowing yourself to become part of nature. Let the air comethough the body, ignore any noise around you and let yourmind calm down.1-0-1-0—0—( Yee-Dong-Yee-Dong—Dong— )55 timesby Shi Feng ZhiQi Magazine 14

Recently the press has widely reported theuse of drugs in sport and our society. At the2000 Olympics in Sydney many high levelathletes were expelled from the games for theiruse of Anabolic Steroids. In September 8members of the Conservative Party in Britainpublicly admitted their use of Cannabis. TheUnited States Government currently wages anexpensive war against drugs across theCaribbean and Latin America while allowingthe advertising of prescription drugs ontelevision programmes viewed by children.Internal MattersDrug Use in theInternal ArtsOver the counter, prescription, and illegal drugs arecommonly available in modern society. This state ofaffairs, promoted by advertisers and doctors,romanticised by the media, and required experiencefor admission to counter culture cliques has led to the explosionof drug use in all fields, including the practice of the ChineseInternal Arts.Over the past twenty years as a practitioner and teacherof the Chinese Internal Arts I have witnessed a variety ofindividuals using drugs as a part of their everyday routine,including their practice of the Chinese Internal Arts. In fact someof these individuals utilized drugs specifically to enhance theirperformance, sensitivity, flexibility or to deaden their mindsduring practice.I may have a unique perspective as a witness in thisregard for over the years of my career, drugs have been a majorissue in our society. I have studied with a great many Mastersand their students, attended countless seminars, travelledextensively throughout my training, and met individuals acrossthe globe engaged in these practices. I have endeavoured todocument this subject and have accumulated interviews andresearch in this field in anticipation of this report.Drug use in the Chinese Internal Arts is as varied andwide spread as the individuals involved in the sport. Indeed insome cases the search for the magical cure has lead them toattend classes in the first place. Unfortunately, they bring alongall the baggage of prior drug use to their training and in someQi Magazine 15

cases fail to move on to the real message offered by theirteachers.Broadly I have found the drugs used mirror those of othersports and society in general. Over the counter medicationincluding tobacco and alcohol is the most prevalent form ofabused substance, followed by prescription and illegal drugs.Drug use may be a one off experience, intermittent dabbling,or habitual long-term use. While it is not the scope of this articleto detail the consequences of this custom I shall endeavour todisclose through a sampling of case histories the nature andbreadth of drug use in our sport.Over the counter drugs, alcohol, tobaccoThe most commonly abused drug I have witnessed over theyears prior to, during, or after engaging in practice, is tobacco.The substance recognizes no bounds of gender, age, race, orlevel of experience. I have seen Masters in China pushing handswith a cigarette in their mouth and students nipping outside fora quick smoke in the middle of class. Mostrespondents say smoking helps them torelax even though it is a stimulant.However I once had a lady smoker passout during quiescent Qigong practice inclass. Her pallor had a green tinge, shehad broken out in a cold sweat, and herheart was racing uncontrollably. She wasquite ill and wondered what the Qigonghad done to her. When I explained thatthe deep breathing exercise helped hercirculation to flush toxins from her systemshe said she felt like she had just inhaleda whole cigar. Unfortunately theexperience did not encourage her to giveup smoking; rather she felt Qigong wasnot for her.Alcohol is another drug widelyused by individuals prior to, during, andafter practice. Again this drug was inevidence in virtually every location andamong all demographics studied. While most subjects saidalcohol helped them to relax and let go of the stresses of theireveryday lives, others said they simply liked the feeling. Allseemed to ignore the fact that the substance was a depressant,that it adversely affected their balance and memory, andreleased inhibitions, which were necessary in a learningenvironment.Long term habitual use of alcohol, like that of tobacco,has serious debilitating effects on the practitioners’ ability toevolve and grow through the Art. Throughout the history of theChinese Internal Arts these two substances alone account forthe untimely death of many promising Masters and studentsalike.The use of over the counter drugs is less widespreadthan the above but some interesting cases have come to myattention over the years.I once met a man in his early thirties who took caffeinetablets after work so that he would have enough energy tomake it to class at 7PM. Another man, also in his mid thirtiesused to take anti-histamines tablets to give him enoughstimulation to make it through class. Occasionally he also usedan over the counter asthma inhaler or Amyl Nitrate “for a buzz”before class.These types of stimulants are short-lived and very hardon the heart.On the other hand a young woman in her early twentiesused to take a sleeping preparation to help her calm downbefore class, she said it made her feel more comfortable whilelearning.I have also met many individuals, both men and womenof all ages who have used OTC pain remedies, like aspirin andparacetamol for minor aches and pains before class.Prescription drugsUse of prescription drugs during sporting activity such as TheChinese Internal Arts including Qigong is a foolhardy if notdangerous practice even with the knowledge of one’s doctor.However over the years I have seen countless individuals usingand in some cases abusing prescription medications to enhancetheir sporting performance.For example I know a man in his early forties who usesthe very strong pain killing medication Codeine in order toimprove flexibility. This drug allows him to go beyond the normalrange of motion bydeadening sensation.“I knew peoplewho in their questfor greater powerhave utilisedanabolic steroidsin their practice ofthe internal arts”Needless to say he isoften recovering fromone injury or another,which occurred whileputting his bodybeyond it limits.Another young lady inher late twenties usesmuscle relaxants likeMethaqualone for thesame purpose. Whileher stretching andflexibility may seemextraordinary it iswithout purpose orusefulness for the Artshe is pursuing.Another drug Ihave occasionally seenabused is the corticosteriod Prednisone. An anti-inflammatorydrug generally prescribed for asthma sufferers, this drug givesone a general feeling of well-being and invincibility. I saw aman in his late forties using this drug during a week longseminar practising up to 16 hours a day and sleeping as littleas 4 hours. Unfortunately for him long-term use of this drugsoftens bone and thins the skin to the degree that the lightesttouch can cause interdermal haemorrhage.More recently the new psychotropic mood enhancingdrugs like Prozac have made an appearance in the classroom.They also create a feeling of well being and confidence in thestudents while fighting depression. However they may leadcertain individuals to attempt techniques or practices for whichthey are not prepared or qualified and result in severe emotionaldistress.I have also known individuals, who in their quest forgreater power and endurance have utilized anabolic steroidsin their practice of the Chinese Internal Arts. One such man inhis early twenties wanted to develop heavier bone mass forXingyi fighting techniques. He used injectable testosterone forthis for over twelve weeks at a time. Unfortunately he had todesist his practice at his teachers’ request because hisaggression levels rose to such a degree he was attacking theother students in the class. Another man, in his thirties used anoral form of Durabolin but developed pain in his liver after onlyQi Magazine 16

8 weeks. He said it did give him greater endurance and fasterrecovery but at what price.Clearly the use of prescription medication is a misguidedattempt to rapidly enhance performance by some individuals.In most cases that I have seen the students had to end theirtraining, either due to some injury or side effect of themedication.Illegal drugsThe use of what oursociety currently calls“Illegal Drugs” bypractitioners of TheChinese Internal Artsgoes back into themists of time. Oneneed not have readDing Ming Dao’sChronicles of Tao orstudied the history ofThe Fists of RighteousHarmony to learn of theassociation betweensome Boxers and Opiumor other drugs discussedhere.It is significant formodern times however that whenCheng Man Ch’ing opened his studioin New York City in the late 1960’s it was inThe Bowery, an area of the city populated at that time byCounter Culture groups including the SDS, the Weathermen,hippies, gays, and others advocating the legalization ofMarijuana. From the time Taijiquan and Qigong were introducedin the west until today some of the individuals who havepartaken of the Art have come from this background.It was not unusual therefore that over the years I metmany individuals who have used or are still using illegal drugsas part of their every day practice.The most commonly used drug in this regard isCannabis. All across the United States, Latin America,Europe, and parts of Asia I have met practitioners whohave used this substance claiming it helps them relax,develops greater sensitivity and awareness, and helpsthem to get in touch with internal rather than externalpower.Some say that it robs the user of aggressiveinstincts and drives thereby better suiting theInternal Arts. However research has shown thatsmoking cannabis is as dangerous, if not more so, tothe users health than tobacco. Lower sperm counts inmales and immune system damage to all users howevershow this drug to be hardly benign.Two other, what are commonly termed naturaldrugs, Mescaline from Peyote, and psyllicibin mushrooms,have also been touted as harmless consciousness expandingtools. These substances are actually hallucinogens, which whilegiving strong bodily sensations also induce vivid hallucinations.Those individuals which I met that used these drugs wereinvariably uncentered and disoriented and found the drugs oflittle real use to their practice.Likewise with those rare individuals whom I met thatinjected heroin or smoked opium. They were robbed of thelittle energy that they had in their pursuit of inner contemplation.Moreover their health deteriorated rapidly and they lost desirein pursuing their studies further in lieu of the drug. Those menand women I knew that used cocaine and crack played out asimilar story. While they were initially energized by theexperience, most often verbally, they soon lost all interest inThe Chinese Internal Arts and went about their own destructionin a more systematic way.I have also known people who have used the syntheticdesigner drugs starting with meth-amphetamine and MDA andon to the modern version of Ecstasy and Ice. I have even knownthose who attempted to practise while under the influence ofLSD. In all cases the effect of the drugs was so strong that thepractitioner was unable to centre, maintain equilibrium, orconcentration. These individuals were clearly not trulyinterested in improving or enhancing their practice via theuse of drugs, rather using the drugs themselves was theirmain goal.The pressure to use drugs in modern society is high.We are often told by pharmaceutical manufacturers, doctorsor peers we can not possibly feel fine unless we are takingone preparation or substance or other. Advertising mediaconstantly bombards us with the latest sure cure for this orthat. Role models for our society often include athletessome of who are accused, rightly or wrongly, of takingbanned substances to enhance their performance.Hollywood, and Pop stars are often discussing their sordidhistory of substance abuse and it is the latest chic forpoliticians to come clean about their youthful experimentswith drugs.It is little wonder that even in the pursuit of good healthand longevity through the Chinese Internal Arts we findindividuals ready and willing to experiment with drugs toenhance their performance. It may seem the height of hypocrisyfor some to be aiming for clean and alternative methods to ourcurrent system of health provision while utilising drugs of onetype or another. In our complex social milieu however the pointmay be lost on some of us.Perhaps the result of constant and continuousbombardment that some drugs areokay leads to a state of confusionwe are unable to sort out.Perhaps we are living in anage on the cusp of politicaland socio-economic changeand some types of drugs willeventually no longer betermed bad, banned, or evenhard drugs.Whatever the reasons arethat some people use drugs, illegalor not, the problem itself will not soongo away. Rather than ignoring theproblem perhaps we that are pursuingthe study and practice of The ChineseInternal Arts need to take greaterresponsibility for our own. Acting as arole model for those misguidedindividuals who do use any type of drugwill set us apart and on the true path toclean and healthy living. Greater pastoralconcern for both our own students and the Art in general willmaintain its reputation as a study worthy pursuit for its ownsakeby J. Reynolds Nelsonemail JRN@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 17

WudangQigongWudang Mountain is an area that is famous for its Daoisttemples which have a history of over one thousandyears. Many monks have Daoist religion and philosophythere, following the Daoist principles of following nature, todevelop their Qi and achieve longevity.They maintain the body in a natural way, making surethey avoid stress and always trying to have a good and relaxedattitude. They also practise Qigong to maintain a healthy bodyand so many Daoist monks reach a very old age, seventy, eighty,ninety and even one hundred years old.Here are some Wu Dang Qigong exercises that aresimple and easy to follow.1. Wuji (No Limit) Positioni. Stand still with your legs together and both heels touching.The arms should rest at your side so your fingertips touchthe Fengxi points on the outside of your thighs. The Baihui,Wuyin and Yongquan points connect together in one straightline.ii. Breathe naturally allowing the Qi to sink to the Dantian.This position is very good for relaxation. Fig 1Qi Magazine 18

2. Yi (Two Poles) Position4. Taiji (Yin & Yang) Position.i. Stand still with your feet as wide asyour shoulders, back straight andlook forward, but do not focus onanything and keep your mouthnaturally closed. Position your handsas if you are holding a ball in frontof your Dantian. Again stand as longas you can, but you must feelcomfortable. This position is good forevery body.i. Stand with your feet shoulder width apart and bend yourknees. Raise your arms to your sides with the palms facingdownwards. Keep your back straight and look forwardswithout focusing on anything. Relax your body.ii. This position is good for relieving high blood pressure. Youshould breathe naturally and stay in that position for a fewminutes so you feel good.3. Bagua (Eight Situations) Position5. Si Xiang (Four Images) Positioni. Stand still with your feetshoulder width apart andbend your knees. Yourheels should pointtowards each other soyour feet make a straightline. Position your handsso your palms face yourDantian. Again keep yourback straight and lookahead without focusing.Let your Qi sink to yourDantian, relax your wholebody and breathenaturally. This position isgood for strengtheningthe body.i. Bends your knees as in the last exercise – Yi Position.However, this time raise your hands up above yourshoulders, so the palms face forwards and the thumbs pointto each other. Keep the elbows slightly bent to allow theQueqi points to open. Breathe naturally and stand as longas you feel good. This exercise is good for low bloodpressure.The above Qigong positions are good for many differentkinds of conditions. If you do not know your own condition,you can do any of the exercises, as they will not harm you. Justremember to stand still, relax the whole body, breathe naturallyand keep your eyes open, but do not focus on anything. Whenyou find a lot of saliva builds up, swallow it down to yourDantian. Hold the position and relax your mind until you feelgood. If you can practise daily, then you will find a lot of benefitto your health as they are not only good for blood pressure,but also good for chronic disease such as stress, a weak bodyand legs and kidney problems.by Fei Shi YongTranslated by Michael TseQi Magazine 19

Yijing Imagery Taiji andInternal Alchemypart IIThe Process of RefinementPart One—Stimulation of Qi, or Restoring1. Heaven (BH*) and Fire (AH*) represent the movementof Qi, or the Mind-Intent of stimulating the breath to movedownwards.4. Wind (BH) and Earth (AH) represent the Jing and Qirising, like a gale of Wind streaming upwards from the Earthinto the head, or like the vapours rising off a heated pot ofWater. The Jing, Qi, and Shen then unite and illuminate theBH= Before HeavenArrangement of the BaguaAH = After HeavenArrangement of the BaguaSee part 1 of article in lastissue of Qi Magazine2. Valley (BH) and Wind (AH) represent the breath and Qibeginning to move down towards the abdomen.3. Fire (BH) and Thunder (AH) represent the stimulation ofQi and breath.4. Thunder (BH) and Mountain (AH) depict the Qi beingstimulated in the Dantian.5. This is the spiritual process of heating and stimulatingthe coarse essences of Jing and Qi. In the material sense, thiswould equate to becoming excited and prepared for the sexualact of reproduction.Part Two—Mobilizing the Qi, or Returning1. Earth (BH) and Water (AH) represent Water (Jing), orthe coarse essences of blood (Jing) and breath (Qi) beginningto heat the Lower Cauldron.2. Mountain (BH) and Heaven (AH) represent themovement of these two coarse essences up along the spine.Heaven produces the movement of breath and Qi up theMountain as it did initially down into the Valley.3. Water (BH) and Valley (AH) represent the two coarseessences flowing like flood Waters into a Valley, filling theMiddle Cauldron.brain, like the sun sitting high in the sky—Fire (AH) and Heaven(BH).This is the spiritual process of returning the coarseessences of Jing and Qi into the brain, and then uniting themfor refinement. In the material process this would equate tothe orgasm and the union of sperm, egg, and the spirit of thebeing. The Chinese believe that the spirit of the child entersimmediately at conception.Part Three—Accumulating the Qi, or Refining9. The refined essences then move down into theUpper Cauldron, the Hsuan Kuan (Mysterious Pass) Cavity—Valley and Wind, like a bellows being filled with air, which willbe blown over the fire to stimulate it.10. The refined essences then move into the MiddleCauldron, the Ming Kuan (Bright Palace)—Fire and Thunder,the essences in the cauldron are being cooked and begincongealing.11. The refined essences are then brought into the LowerCauldron, the Dantian (Field of Elixir)—Thunder and Mountain,like an explosion in the cauldron the essences congeal into theQi Magazine 20

elixir, or an earthquake shaking and a volcanic eruption withina mountain. It is here that the spirit embryo is formed andready for nurturing, called in Taoism the “Immortal Fetus.”12. There is then the process of revolving the Elixir nine timesthrough the Jen Mo and Tu Mo channels to prepare and clearany obstructions for the ascent of the Immortal Fetus up throughthe Three Cauldrons, so it may leave the body through the(Heaven). Jing and Qi unite with the Shen. This process relatesto the statements in the treatises on “mobilizing the Qi,” “raisingthe Spirit of Vitality,” and “attaining Shen Ming (IlluminedSpirit).”The essences must then be lowered into the Hsuan KuanCavity (Valley), the Upper Cauldron, and then to the Ming KuanCavity (Fire), the Middle Cauldron, and then into the DantianCavity (Thunder), the Lower Cauldron, where they can berefined and begin to create the spirit embryo. In the Taijitreatises this process is found in the statements “direct the Qithrough nine crooks of a pearl,” “nourish the Qi,” and “Taiji isborn of Wuji, the mother of Yin and Yang. In motion theyseparate, in tranquillity they unite.” In regards to this laststatement, it is not only referring to the commencement ofTaiji, it is also referring to the completion of it. “In tranquillitythey unite” is likewise referring to the essences of the Elixir. “Inmotion they separate” means the Immortal Fetus leaves thephysical body, and this then is the Yin and Yang bodies of Hunand P’o—Heavenly and Earthly bodies. The spirit body is thenfreed to roam the sublime Tao, Wu Chi.The above material is but a brief overview of theprocesses in Taoist self-cultivation, the internal alchemy. On amore practical level the initial benefit of Taiji practice is seen ina very simple and natural process or refinement, which alladherents of Taiji who practice with regularity can achieve.Breath which is concentrated low in the abdomen warmsthe blood, and the blood that is warmed circulates morehead, “the Heavenly Portal.” The material child, on theother hand, leaves the womb through the “Earthly Portal.”These Three Spiritual Cauldrons of Heaven, Earth,and Man represent stoking a fire, stirring and cooking,and simmering the fully cooked essences.In material concerns, this would be the unitedsperm, egg, and spirit making their way down the falopiantube into the placenta in the womb to undergo theincubation process, which is then symbolized by the imageof Water within the Earth, and the beginning of a ninemonthterm of pregnancy. The actual birth of both thespiritual and material child also relate. The material childis born when dilation is complete, then the twisting throughthe cervix must take place, finally the umbilical cord must besevered. The spiritual child likewise must be prepared with theclearing of cavities and meridians (spiritual dilation), then itmust make its way up through the Three Cauldrons and leaveout the Heavenly Portal Gate (the spiritual cervix), and lastlyleap into the Void (Wuji) and sever itself from all feelings andpassions.Summary of the Internal ProcessWhen the breath is moved down from the lungs (Valley),the heat and Qi (Fire) in the solar plexus falls, which then createsthe stimulation (Thunder) for the coarse Jing and Qi to uniteand be restored in the abdomen (Earth). So when reading theTaiji treatises and such phrases as “stimulate the Qi,” “sink theQi into the Dantian,” and “abide by the Dantian” are used,this is the process to which the text is referring.The coarse Jing and Qi (Spirit of Vitality) must then bemoved upwards into the Wei Lu Cavity (Mountain), and intothe Shuang Kuan Cavity (Water). From here it must be mobilizedto the Taodao Cavity (Wind) and returned into the Baihui Cavity“Direct the Qithrough ninecrooks of a pearl.”completely. This warm blood then travels through the arteriesin all the muscles of the body, and likewise is transported intoall the veins that enter into all the sinews and tendonssurrounding the bones. Form here the increased circulationand supply of blood reaches not only the skin but the actualbone through the capillaries. All the muscles, tendons, sinews,and skin are nourished by this warm blood. But, moreimportantly, this warmed blood contains Qi and this enters thebone, turning it to marrow. When this occurs the body againfeels light, nimble, and active. This process restores the body,flesh, and bones to the pliability of a child.The preceding excerpt really presents the heart of Taijiinternal practice, as it is the foundation on which all the previousmaterial on Qi cavities and Lesser Heavenly Circuit depend.The process is also quite simple: put your attention below yournavel when practising the postures of Taiji. Nothing more.by Stuart OlsonAn excerpt from the author’s new book T’ai Chi ChangesAbout the AuthorStuart Olson teaches Yi T’ai Chi and Taoist practices in Minneapolis,Minnesota. He is the author of several books on these subjects. You can write tohim at the following E-mail: StuartJFP@aol.comQi Magazine 21

Qi Magazine 22Master Wang Xiangzhai’s studentWang Xuanjie

FightingPositionRubbingStrengthDachengquanMartialEssenceof Wang XiangzhaiThere is a saying in Chinese martial arts that “All heroeshave the same ideas.” On doing some research into differentmaster and founders of styles this seems to hold very true. Butalthough the ideas might be the same, the way in which they makethem into reality can be different.Chinese martial arts are fascinating. They contain manyunusual movements that you will not find anywhereelse in the world. Even Hollywood movies today, likeMission Impossible, The Matrix, Charlie’s Angels, etc.have all been influenced by Chinese martial arts andmovement. They have flying kicks, tumbling and otheracrobatics and in these you can see the shadow of Chinesemartial arts. Some people will say there is also a Japanese andKorean martial arts influence as well, but do not forget, theseoriginally came from Chinese martial arts as well, althoughthey eventually developed into their own styles. Of course, therewill be other people who will say the movies also have Brazilian,Thai and Philippine styles in them as well. This shows that filmmakers will take all different stylesand movements to create an actionmovie and its fight scenes. However,the deeper influence still comes fromthe Chinese martial arts. If the movieskept to their old ways to movie fighting,only punching and perhaps boxing, Ido not think the audience would likeit.If you ask yourself who hashad the most influence on martialarts movies, your answer will mostlikely be Bruce Lee. His popularity isChen Lihwa a student ofMaster Wang XuanjieQi Magazine 23

still growing today and I do not think it will ever stop. Since hisdeath, his skills and philosophy have attracted the newergeneration and the older generation still love him, maybe evenmore than before.What made Bruce Lee’s fighting style different to thetraditional martial arts was the fact he said that in martial artsyou should be able to freely express yourself. You should belike water, when water is poured into a cup, it becomes thecup and when it is in a teapot, it become the teapot. From thisyou can see his fighting style Jeet Kune Do is about freedomand freedom of expression. You are not controlled and do notneed to follow a traditional style, thus, his fighting style couldbe any style and anything. This is what made him so powerful.However, how can you be free and not follow any system,without learning anything first? In some way, beginners needto learn something first, and that something is fixed. Otherwise,if you had some one who had learned some martial arts andsomeone who had not learned anything, there would be nodifference between them. If these same people were to fightand as long as one person defeats the other, then that soundsokay. But if you think about how injured they will be and thatthe longer it takes to win the more tired they will be, thenfinally you will see that you need to learn f r o msomeone who has more experience offighting.So therefore, even Bruce Lee’sJeet Kune Do still has a way to teachyou how to fight. Of course, at the end,when you have learned enough, then youcan freely express yourself. When you fight,you will have your own style. So everyonewho studies Jeet Kune Do will be different toeach other because even the teachers will havethere own style and way to interpret Bruce Lee’sJeet Kune Do. But if fighting is really about “freefighting”, then should we then say that thethousands of years of martial arts developmentin China has been a waste of time?In the 1920’s there was a famousmartial arts master who had very similarthinking to Bruce Lee. He combined all hismartial arts studies into one style. In particular,he was very good at Xingyiquan, which is a verypowerful and popular martial art style in China.“Somethingcomes from nothingand steadiness isthe mother ofmovement.”People always talk about, Taiji, Xingyi and Bagua together asinternal martial arts, although, personally I do not like toseparate martial arts styles into internal and external styles asall Chinese martial arts have internal and external training.Only the training is different. As long as they develop Qi, thenit is internal training.This famous master’s name was Wang Xiangzhai. WangXangzhai started his martial art’s training when he was fourteenunder the guidance of the famous Xingyi master, Quo Yunshen,who had a very high level of skill and was very a traditionalteacher. Wang Xiangzhai inherited his teacher’s skill, and whenhis teacher died, he travelled all over China meeting mastersof different martial arts styles.On one of his journeys, he met a Buddhist monk fromShaolin Temple named Xing Lin who had a very high level ofShaolin Martial Arts skill. They compared their skills with eachother, shared their knowledge and had friendly discussionsabout the differences between their martial arts skill. Theybecame each other’s teacher and also good friend. Even XingLin’s teacher, Ben Kong Shang Ren, who was already ninetyyears old, liked Wang very much. He also passed some of hisskill on to Wang. Wang Xiangzhai stayed at Shaolin Temple fora while and absorbed more martial arts knowledge.Afterwards Wang continued to travel to differentareas, provinces, cities and villages to meet famousmartial arts masters. In Zhejiang he met a famousmaster named, FangShizhuang, who was veryfamous for his skill at “FiveHands Technique” whichcontained some verygood fightingtechniques.In Xian hemet Master LiuPeixian who wasQi Magazine 24

very famous for his unpredictable kicking technique. In Fujian he meta famous Wudang martial art’s master, Xie Tie Fu. Xie Tai Fu had avery long beard and people called him “Big Beard Xie”. He was famousfor his Crane Fist which was well respected in Southern China. BothWang and Big Beard Xie compared their styles and learned together,not only bare hand techniques, but also weapons, especially the sword.In the end they had a great respect for each other’s styles, skill andknowledge.Wang Xiangzhai he also met one of Dong HaiChuan’s (the creator of Bagau Palm) students,Cheng Jianhwa. They studied together andWang realised that hand techniques inBagua were very smooth, and couldtwist in all directions and angles andco-ordinated with the fast andturning footwork. All this meantyou could really take youropponent by surprise.In Beijing Wang visitedthe famous Yang Style Taijimaster Yang Shouhou.Meeting all kinds of differentmasters and learning aboutdifferent styles gave Wang alot of knowledge and alsomade him understand hisown style, Xingyiquan,more.“Xing” means shapeand refers to externalmovements, “Yi” meansmind and refers to theinternal mind. “Quan” meansfist. The whole name means“External Shape and InternalMind” martial art. However,when Wang went back to Beijing,he realised that many people onlyconcentrated on the external shapesand missed the internal mind. OriginallyXingyiquan was called Xinyiquan. “Xin”means heart, and so the name meant “Heartand Mind Fist”. This meant the heart and mindwere more important than the external shapes.Master Wang had seen any different martial arts styles in Chinaand found that most people only concentrated on the external shapesand forms and missed the internal spirit. When they were confrontedwith another high level martial artist they were lost, because theyonly concentrated on the external shapes and did not spent too muchtime on them in order to develop the internal Jing, Qi and Shen. Jing,Qi, Shen is the martial arts meaning of internal spirit.So he began to change his Xingyiquan and called it Yiquan.This went back to the internal spirit, and he said that studying martialarts was for developing true spirit and the mind and not externalshapes. Master Wang found that the most important thing in all martialarts skill was true spirit and mind or internal spirit. At the end he evengave up the external shapes and had no forms, only concentrating onZhang Zhuang - standing positions and Tui Shou – pushing hands(Although this is not exactly the same method as Taijiquan’s pushinghands, it is similar , but the method of training is not the same althoughthe meaning is the same.) This new art he called “Dachengquan”which means, “Great Success Fist”. It also means the essenceof martial art.The late MasterWang XiangzhaiDachengquan’s Tui Shou -Pushing HandsQi Magazine 25

Zhang Zhuang develops internal power, the mind, Qi,spirit, relaxation and breathing. Tui Shou develops fightingtechniques, by learning how to read different people’s energywhen you come into contact with it, and how to use your ownenergy in all different kind of techniques.Master Wang combined all his knowledge of Xingyiquan,Taijiquan, Baguazhang together with principles ofConfucianism, Buddhism, Qigong training and philosophy tocreate Dachengquan. He used Xingyiquan’s strong foundation,Taijiquan’s sticking and contacting skills, Baguazhang’s fast andtwisting body movements and footwork, plus his ownknowledge.The principle of Dachengquan, Master Wang said is that“There is no method for martial art. Even with a method thereis still nothing. If we do not accept any method, then we canhave all kinds of methods.” In this case method means styles,skills and techniques. He also said, “Something comes fromnothing and steadiness is the mother of movement.”Dachengquan concentrates on developing the mind andspirit. Practising Zhan Zhuang will develop the mind, calmness,relaxation and a strong foundation. When the spiritual energyis high and you need to defend yourself, you will be able tomove naturally, powerfully and instinctively. Just like an animalliving in the natural world fights instinctively and powerfully.Everything comes from natural instinct, just like a babyneeds milk from its mother and bees need honey. Sometimeseven a very weak person, if they have a sudden mad fit, can bevery powerful and it can take many people to hold them down.This is spiritual instinct, but this power needs to be developedthrough stillness and a calm mind. This is what meditationdevelops and so when you need power it will come naturally.With spiritual development there are three methods.1. Look a Long Way Away and EmptinessThis means you need to stand still and look as far into thedistance as possible. Look at the sky, the clouds and thebirds. Even though you look at them, sometimes you willnot see them. Your whole body should be calm and relaxedand your should calm your mind.2. Listening to the RainStand still and forget all the sounds around you. Imaginethe sound of the rain falling. Feel comfortable and relaxed.3. Warm Bath of WaterImagine you are in a warm bath of water. It makes you feelwarm and comfortable, with no stress and your Qi is flowingall over your body.Today Dachengquan is becoming more popular.Although Master Wang Xiangzhai has passed away, his skill isstill developing and so Dachengquan is becoming better andmore effective. Sadly another famous Dachengquan masterpassed away on March the 6th this year. He was Master WangXuanjie who promoted and taught Dachengquan all his lifeand has students all over the world. Though another masterhas gone, I believe that if a skill is good it will live foreverby Michael TsePhotos of Master Wang Xiangzhai and Master Wang Xuanjie courtesy ofMaster Wang Xuanjie’s book of Dachengquan.For information about Dachengquan contact:China: + 86-543-6323243When Wang Xiangzhai created Dachengquan halfa century ago, wushu which was popular amongthe folk was not close to the original and hadbecome a show piece rather than a fitnessexercise and combat skill. To preserve thequintessence of traditional Chinese wushu, there was everyneed for all martial artists to pay attention to the prevailingdeviation and make concerted efforts for a renewal. Hisdetermined resolution strengthened as he saw the Japaneseinvaders beating their victim of occupation for fun in Beijing.“We are a great nation”, he said indignantly. “How can we putup with such insults?”.Then, while absorbing strong points of various schoolsof wushu, he created a style of barehanded exercises –Dachengquan. To spread the newly-emerging routine far andwide, Wang recruited a large number of youngsters and gavethem lessons personally. His aim was very clear and that wasto help boost the morale of the Chinese people and counterforeign pugilism. He issued a statement in a local newspaperand declared that he was ready to take on any rivals includingthose coming form foreign countries.Wang’s remark angered Kenichi Sawai, a Japanesemartial artist then living in Beijing. Sawai was good at karate,swordplay and judo. In his eyes, Chinese wushu was onlysomething like gymnastics, having little value in actual fights.So, one day he went to call at Wang’s in the hope of showingoff his prowess, when he saw Wang Xingzhai, he found thatthe Chinese shadow boxer, a man of middle stature clad in along gown, looked very gentle and suave. He was very happyto meet with such a weakling, thinking that he would winwithout fail. After introducing himself and explaining why hehad come, he produced a newspaper which carried Wang’sstatement and tossed it on the table.“You are ready to have a duel, aren’t you?” asked theJapanese karate practitioner, his face wreathed incontemptuous smiles. “Yes, I am”, retorted sneeringly myinstructor. “I always mean what I have said. I would never refuseanyone who wants to compete with me. Foreign martial artistsare especially welcome”. Hearing that, Sawai went out of thedrawing room and stood in the courtyard waiting for a duel.Without any hesitation, Wang came out with his hands placedbehind his back. Directing his strength to both hands throughconcentration, Sawai assumed a horse-riding stance andlaunched a sudden attack on Wang’s face with hands. Seeingthis, my instructor, his left hand remaining still, extended hisright forearm to parry Sawai’s hands. Then with a slight exertionof strength, Wang threw the Japanese muscleman 10 feet away.Before realizing what had happened, Sawai was already lyingon the ground on his back.Not admitting defeat, Sawai wanted to have a swordplaycontest with Wang because he was so skilled at it that he couldcut an apple on the head of a man into two without hurtingthe head. Considering that Sawai should get an idea of whatChinese swordplay was, Wang agreed to have another contest.With a sword held overhead in his hands, Sawai delivered ahard blow at Wang’s head. Wang stepped a bit to the rightand wielded his sword to block the opposing sword. As thetwo swords clanked, Sawai was also thrown several feet awayand flattened with his palms benumbed.Irreconciled, Sawai rose to his feet and pounced uponWang with his sword towards the throat. This skill is very famousin Japanese swordplay, with which one can catch his rival offQi Magazine 26

ANECDOTES OF DACHENGQUANFOUNDER WANG XIANGZHAIguard. However, Wang was so good at Chinese swordplaythat it seemed as if he did not make use of eyes but sense onlyin a fight. Wang turned his body to the right slightly, leavingSawai’s attack wide of the mark. In another instant, Wangpressed his sword against his opponent’s. Sawai tried hard todraw his sword back, only to no avail, since it was“pasted” to Wang’s at the guard of the hilt.When Wang mustered up his strength, Sawaiwas flung out and slammed against a nearbydoor, which caved in as a result.Later on, Sawai engaged Wang in aqinna contest. By then, he was already a5th dan judoka in Japan. However, he couldnever get hold of Wang by the sleeve orthe front in competition, no matter howhard he tried. Instead, he was graspedby Wang as soon as they came to grips.Then came an Italian boxer whohad made a name for himself in WestEurope. His surname was James.When he was on a tour inBeijing, he learned that WangXiangzhai, founder ofdachengquan, was lookingfor a rival, so he was alsoeager to have a try, believing that it was a good chance forhim to earn fame in China.James was an experienced boxer endowed with long apowerful arms and highly proficient in the art. With his righthand in front and left hand at his lower jaw, he suddenlydelivered a straight left to Wang’s face. As James raised hisright forearm for a parry Wang in quick succession made apowerful push that shot James up and grounded him six feetoff. Without knowing what it was all about, James rose to hisfeet and composed himself for another bout. This time, hechanged tactics. He first made an arm feint and then gave hischest a right uppercut. Turning slightly to the left, Wang puthis right wrist gently on the left elbow of James, who feltbenumbed all over at once, and collapsed on the ground aftertottering for a moment.Now, he realised that he was not as good at fightingskills as Wang, which should account for his previous defeats.However he thought he could outplay his rival in the third bout;he believed that he was much more powerful than Wang. Toshow this Italian boxer what Chinese boxing was really like,Wang asked James to punch his chest and ribs. A hail of hardblows followed and Wang was as firm as a rock. Gettingdesperate, James gathered all his strength and landed a heavypunch on Wang’s abdomen with his right hand. Wang’sabdomen heaved a bit and James fell down onto the groundwith his right wrist sprained.Later, a Mongolian wrestler, who had been living in thesuburbs of Beijing, came to compete with Wang Xiangzhai.This story sounds quite incredible,but it has been on the lips ofmartial artists to date, namedBator, this lad was a son of a formerofficial in charge of military affairsin the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Bator began to learnXingyiquan(form-andwillshadowboxing) from hisfather at the ageof 14 and took afancy to archeryand horsemanshipfour yearslater. When he was 20years old, he started to practise wrestling under the guidanceof a former imperial court trainer. After five or six years oftraining, he made rapid progress and became quite versed inwrestling. He was strong enough that he could subdue agalloping horse. One day on his way home, a shying horseran up to him, pursued by a yelling crowd. When the horsearrived in front of him, this Mongolian wrestler first movedaside, then to the great surprise of the pursuers, jumped forthto catch the horse by the neck and upset it.When he heard that Wang Xiangzhai was willing to havecontest with other wushu devotees, Bator went into the city torise to the challenge. At the start of the contest in Wang’scourtyard, the two stood a few metres apart, face to face. Batormoved forward, trying to throw Wang down with a unique skillhe had mastered in wrestling training. As they were about tocome into contact, a small insect buzzed into Wang’s left ear.Disturbed as he was, Wang continued with his form stepsforward while picking his ear with his left little finger. At thesight of this, Bator jumped out of the way and, bowing to Wangwith his hands folded in front, said, “You are so good at martialarts. I am no match for you”. The two exchanged a smile outof their tacit understanding for each other and the contest thusended. The onlookers were all in amazed. One of them askedBator, “How come you acknowledged defeat? You should havea try for it”. “As an old saying goes, a master knows what aman is fighting against the moment he takes the opponent on.He was so sedate and self-assured at this juncture that he couldafford to pick his ear. If he was not an adept in the art, howcould he have so much confidence in winning the contest?”In the year he developed Dachengquan, WangXiangzhai kept having contests with dozens of martial artists,Chinese and foreign. They all came in confidence, but went infailure. Since then, the name of Wang Xiangzhai has spreadfar and wide and Dachengquan become a beautiful blossomin the flower garden of Chinese wushuby Wang Xuanjie (Translated by Chen Shengtao)This article first appear in China Sports magazineQi Magazine 27

Often we have the feeling that there isnothing good, beautiful or true inside us. We feelincomplete, so we wear cosmetics and otheradornments or even undergo cosmetic surgery tocompensate. When we do these things, we feelsomehow we are being deceptive but we cannotstop. At the same time, we realise that others arealso deceiving us.Path toAwakeningAll of us are victims, trying to make ourselves feel lessunworthy. We feel we are half a person and wanderall over the globe looking for our other half. If wewould look more carefully, we would see that thisfeeling arises from a wrong perception. We all wantsomething that is good, beautiful and true, something we canbelieve in. Yet we look for these qualities in others and not inourselves. Then, when we think we have found goodness,beauty and truth in someone, love arises in us and we becomeinvolved in a relationship. It is only after some time that werealise that we have not seen clearly - that what we thoughtwas good, beautiful and true was really just superficial. Wethen feel wronged and go and look for another relationship,another object on which to project the ideals of goodness,beauty and truth.For our spirit, we do the same. We look for a perfectteacher and sit at the feet of this teacher and that teacher aspart of our search. We are a ‘spiritual seeker’ and as such, weare happy that people see us as good, beautiful and true. Wehave the appearance of virtue and of loving others but theseare only more cosmetics. Then we find a teacher we like andwe feel that we have found our missing half. But like so manyteachers, our new teacher turns out not to be in touch with hisown truth, beauty and goodness. When we discover this, weabandon him and go forth looking for another teacher. Wecan continue these patterns the whole of our life, always lookingfor someone to love and someone to guide us.Qi Magazine 28

Then one day, we meet a very special teacher who tellsus, “Don’t look outside yourself. Within you are all of thequalities you have been looking for!” She is our root teacherand she tells us “All living beings have the pure, clear, completenature within themselves. You only have to return to yourselfto be in touch with the good, the beautiful and the true thatare already within you.” The search that has been going on formany lifetimes finally comes to an end.Sitting at the foot of the Bodhi tree, Buddha discoveredthat the good, the beautiful and the true are to be found ineveryone and he said “How amazing that all living beings havethe basic nature of awakening yet they don’t know it. So theydrift on the ocean of great suffering lifetime after lifetime.”Buddha wants us to see this. He does not want us to be a slaveor to lean on him, so he says very clearly, “You are what youhave been looking for.” Someone who speaks this way is worthyof being our teacher. He can show us how to take refuge in theteacher in ourselves and not look outside. When we touch thesequalities in ourselves, we have deep faith and confidence inthe practice.Buddha’s love is sogreat that we want to bearound it all the time. ButFrench author Antoine deSaint Exupery warned usthat to love each otherdoes not mean that we justsit and look at each otherbut that we both look inthe same direction.When we take thehand of Buddha, wediscover that we not onlylove each other but that welove all species. True loveis always collective. Weand the Buddha are‘associate lovers’,protecting ourselves andeach other, being faithful to ourselves and each other andalways bringing transformation to ourselves and to manyothers.Sometimes when we fall in love, we forget to look inthe same direction. We just sit there and look at each other.In the time of Buddha, a monk named Vaikali was veryattached to Buddha. Whenever he was near Buddha, he feltpeaceful and happy and that was all he wanted. He did notlisten deeply to the Buddha’s Dharma talks. He only wantedto be near Buddha. Because of that, he was only able totouch the shadow of Buddha and not Buddha’s deepestaspects which are great wisdom and great love.Buddha observed that Vaikali was not getting strongerin his practice and so he forbade Vaikali from coming nearhim. When Buddha walked to the Jeta Monastery, he did notallow Vaikali to join him. And he did not allow Vaikali to be hisattendant. Vaikali felt that Buddha had cast him off and thathe did not love him anymore. Vaikali wanted to commit suicide.However, Buddha understood what was happening and he wentto Vaikali and said, “Dear Vaikali, your love is sincere but it isnot the deep love of a monk. It is a superficial attachment. Inyourself, deep down, there are good, beautiful and truequalities. You should be looking for these in yourself and notrunning after a mere image of them in Buddha. These qualitiesare the ground of your being, your basis. I always practise thisway myself and I always teach this to others.” After that, Vaikalipractised properly.A good teacher is someone who shows us that there isalso a teacher in us and a student in him. We have to learn totake refuge in the teacher in us and not just be attached to theexternal teacher. If our teacher is a true teacher, he will alwaysencourage us to go back to ourselves and be in touch with thetrue teacher within us. When we learn how to practise thisway, we will never be disappointed. We will always be able tosee the good, the beautiful and the true in ourselves and others.We will not be deceived by adornments. When we see peopledeceive each other, we will only feel compassion and do ourbest to help them wake up.Real beauty is always good and truthful. True goodnesscontains true beauty and real truth. Truth is always good andbeautiful. If what we thought was beautiful does not containgoodness and truth, it is not real beauty. When we lovesomeone, we have to avoidlosing contact with our owngoodness, beauty and truth andwith theirs as well. Then we willnot be deceived byappearances. This is the GreatAwakening. When we areawakened, we understand whatBuddha meant when he said,“How amazing that all livingbeings have the basic nature ofawakening, yet they do notknow it. So they drift on theocean of great suffering lifetimeafter lifetime.”Love is a greatopportunity. If it happens thatyou can touch the truth, beautyand goodness in someone you“A good teacher issomeone who shows usthat there is also ateacher in us and astudent in him.”love, you will be able to go back and touch the same withinyourself. A true lover always helps his or her beloved do this.The same is true in the teacher-student relationship...Teachersand students need to be ‘associate lovers’, helping each otherand all living beings touch the goodness, beauty and truth inthemselves. This is the Path of Awakeningby Thich Nhat HanhThis is an excerpt from a talk given by Thich Naht Hahn at Plum Village,France on 20 November 1997. It was translated from Vietnamese by SisterAnnabel Laity and edited for publication in the Mindfulness Bell by ArnieKotler. More information about the Mindfulness Bell can be found onwww.parallax.orgQi Magazine 29

FirecrackersThe first firecrackers were actuallypieces of dried bamboo sticks whichwere burnt to release explosive sound.These were called baozhu or crackingbamboo and the same word is still usedtoday in many books to refer tofirecrackers. These baozhu were used toscare away wild animals, particularlya legendary unicorn which wassupposed to appear at theend of winter andbeginn-ing of spring.This unicorn, called anian was supposed tocause all sorts oftrouble and mischiefamong people. Nowthe word nian hascome to mean yearand so it has becomecustomary to set offfirecrackers at theNew Year, a traditionthat dates back over2000 years.With theinvention of gunpowder,it was usedto fill the bambootubes which werethen lit. These firecrackerswerecalled baozhangor exploding sticks.According to theSong Dynasty workOrigins of Things, thefirst scientist who usedgunpowder in firecrackerswas a man bythe name of Ma Junwho lived during the periodof the Three Kingdoms,over 1,700 years ago.Eventually, bambootubes were replaced withthe gunpowder being rolledin paper which were easier toproduce, especially in greaternumbers. Today, the use offirecrackers in celebrations hasspread throughout the world. Fromthese first simple baozhu, we nowhave amazing firework displaysusing many bright colours andthemes to create explosions of not onlysound but of visual beauty against a nightskyby Jessica BlackwellConcise Tuina TherapyTuina, or Chinese massage, has becomeincreasingly popular in the West. Tuina is theexternal treatment of traditional Chinesemedicine. The Tuina therapist uses varioustechniques, like kneading, pressing, rubbingand stroking on specific areas and points onthe body. It works on the channels andacupressure points in the body to help stimulatethe flow of blood and Qi and to releasenegative pathogens which cause pain andillness.This book gives the reader a simple butgood introduction to the method of Tuinatherapy which a lay person can grasp. It aimsto guide the reader in various Tuinamanoeuvres with basic illustrations showinghow they would be demonstrated on a patient.Other chapters include treatments for variousdiseases and how Tuina can be used to help.This is a conveniently sized book which can be used for reference or for anyonewanting to learn some basic massage techniques for use on themselves or family.£6.95/$9.95 incl postage & packing.Guide to theChinese Martial ArtsGuide to the Chinese Martial Arts is aninteresting little reference book which gives abrief overview of how Wushu skills developedin China. It classifies the various styles,methods and weapons used in Chinese Martialarts. Although small, it has some niceillustrations and photos. There are alsoillustrations of various stretching exercises andpopular Wushu positions for the legs, waist andhands. These include step by step descriptionsof the movement and its purpose.These stretching exercises are a preludeto some samples of the Chinese martial artsdiscussed. These include the how toillustrations and descriptions for LianhuanChang Quan (Extended Fist), a simplifiedTaijiquan form and Shaolin Tiangan Quan(Heavenly Warrior Fist). This book is easy toread and adds useful background to theChinese martial arts.£5.95/$8.95 incl postage & packing.BookReviewQi Magazine 30

Instructor InsightAdam Wallace: New York, USA.Adam Wallace is qualified to teach theDayan Qigong syllabus. He can becontacted on + (212) 330 8327I began Dayan Qigong with Tse Sifu around 1988 in London, came to New York in1992, and began teaching in 1995. I endeavour to raise my standard by studying with Sifuonce or twice a year (whenever possible).I find teaching Qigong very rewarding (to see people becoming healthier, happier,and developing themselves) but it can also be challenging. There is increased responsibilityto yourself (to constantly improve), to your teacher (to maintain standards set) and to yourstudents (to set an example). So you need to work hard, harder than the average person.As a teacher you need to have good communication skills and convey the material in away which is easily understood, systematic, and fresh. This is an evolving process whichrequires constant re-evaluation. I believe that traditional Chinese skills should be taughtin the traditional manner, a little piece at a time. There is no benefit from acceleratedlearning. You can change the teaching style to fit your personality but not the learningprocess itself. You must be open and unequivocal, and if you cannot answer a question, itis better to say so, then ask your own teacher or conduct some research, rather thanmislead a student.If you are a teacher you must enjoy teaching or quit. Some teachers are awesomeand inspirational practitioners but fail as teachers as they lack the passion, patience andunderstanding required. Others possess these qualities but lack true skill. Therefore, theteacher’s main goal should be to constantly perfect both his/her skill and teaching method.To instructors I would say, “Try to be the best that you can be without becoming arrogant,and never think you know everything. Reward your good students and encourage them, asthey will represent you in the future and carry the skill forward. A successful teacher is notone with the most students but one who has produced the most teachers (who remain loyal students). And remember that highlevel teaching involves teaching without words”. To students I say “You get out of Qigong what you put in. Remain true to onestyle.” (Stick to one thing and all will come or as Sifu has said ,“ One sharp knife is more useful than a drawer full of bluntblades”.) The principle is more important than the skill. More important than learning quickly is walking the right path in theright direction with the right heart”Mike Baker: Birmingham, UK.I first met Tse Sifu in 1993 when I had the opportunity to join the Manchester class, (I had moved up from Wolverhamptonto study Physics at university).Previous to this I had spent many years studying various Japanese martial arts and by the end of 1991 had reacheda point where I wanted to learn more about Qi and Qigong.Looking through back issues of martial arts magazines I found a series of articlesfeaturing Sifu on Qigong, Wing Chun and Chen Taijiquan. These fuelled my interest andI decided that I would like to study with him. I felt that when the time was right anopportunity would present itself and this was to come 2 years later.After finishing university and leaving Manchester, I still continued to attend seminarsand classes whenever possible and in 1999 I was given the pleasure of being asked toteach the Birmingham class, which I readily accepted.Teaching really changed the way I looked at things, it made me further myknowledge and obtain a better understanding of everything I did.I feel that it’s important to be clear when teaching so the essence of the skill isn’tlost, this way once the students understand the principle, waving their arms about iseasy!Being part of the Tse Qigong Centre is important to me, as it is more than just “aQigong/martial arts association.” It is a family. It is this atmosphere that makes theCentre stand head and shoulders above the rest of the martial arts community. To knowthat you can walk into any class or seminar and be welcomed as “one of them” and nottreated as an outsider provides an instant feeling of belonging, which is not easily foundin today’s society.As far as my plans for the future go, I want to help the Birmingham class to growstronger and to see my students develop their full potential. And personally, I never wantto stop learning!Mike Baker is qualified to teach theDayan Qigong Syllabusand Wing Chun Kuen.He can be contacted on 07713 696815Qi Magazine 35

Should we try to change who we are, particularly if who we are hurts others?How often have you heard someone say, “oh, he has a bad temper, always has done.”or “oh, she always wants things her own way.” Everyday we see children throwingtantrums or crying because they cannot have their own way. As we get older, we maynot throw tantrums in public, but we have our own methods of wanting our own way.Playing into ourEmotionsLife TrainingWhen our body is not in harmony,then our emotions become outof balance and we can becometoo excessive in anger, joy, passion,sorrow, fear, worry and fright. These arethe seven emotions often referred to inBuddhism. Our emotions are also theresult of our beliefs and desires. If webelieve that someone does not like us,then we will feel upset or angry in thatperson’s presence, regardless if thatis how they truly feel. This is becausewe believe it to be so and hence thecorresponding emotion will arise.Another way of thinking is that wecreate unhappiness in ourselvesand even in others when we searchfor happiness. Greed and selfishnessare two of the strongest emotions thatcan lead to much hurt and negativeemotions.Gandhi said, “The world isenough for everyone’s needs, but notever enough for man’s greed.” We allwant something; better health,happiness, romance, not to be lonely, tobe understood,financial security,“Maybe we haveeverything we wantbut are afraid tolose it.”fame, power,good skill. Oncewe get what wedesire, how-ever,maybe we findthat it is notexactly in theshape or colourwe wanted it.Then we feelunhappiness ordissatisfaction. Maybe we have gottenour wish of great wealth but only at thecost of working so hard that we havebecome ill. Maybe the boy gets the girlhe loved but finds that she does not lovehim as much as he loves her. Maybe wehave fame but there are many who arejealous and who try to damage ourreputation. Maybe we have everythingwe want but are afraid to lose it. Ormaybe we are happy but lose ourdirection because the happiness isexternal.There was a case where a younggirl grew up alone with her mother andher boyfriend. The girl was always jealousof the time her mother spent with herboyfriend because all she wanted was tobe ar e a lf a m i l ywith her realparents. Whenboth her mother andfather eventually remarried, she becameeven more stubborn and more wild andhard to control. She even began drinkingand taking drugs and had outbursts oftemper. She was not happy with hermother, so she went to live with her fatherbut she found him too strict and this justmade her want to be free. So in the end,just a teenager, she ran away withanother friend. She had no money andso had to find someway to make a living.She experienced many things, things thatsome of us would not even like to thinkever happened in the world. Althoughshe had freedom away from herparents, she had found a different kindof prison, one where she had to sellherself to survive.Qi Magazine 36

There was a man who shouldhave been happy. He had a nice home,many people who loved him and noworries about money. He had workedhard in his life but he also had enjoyedlife. Yet he worried about things that hecould not change and this eventuallyaffected his sleep and his digestion. Hishealth affected his emotions and alsothose of the people around him. Whenpeople tried to cheer him up, he wouldbecome angry or not speak at all. Heeventually became very negative forthings and often was depressed. His voicewhich was once strong became low andlacking energy. Eventually, his circulationbecame blocked and his heart came tohave problems even though he did noteat or drink with excess and liked to takefresh air every day. He no longer foundmuch joy in life and although his familyloved him, his attitude made thingsdifficult.There was another case of awoman who had all that she wanted. Shehad a nice home, a husband whoprovided financial security and let herhave her freedom to do things shewanted. She had a job which she likedand many friends. But one day, she camehome early and found another ladythere. It seems her husband felt unhappyand had found friendship in another. Shewas very heartbroken and angry and hadto leave her marriage.All around us is another case andanother story. All of you have your ownstories, but if we look around us, we canalways see someone who is sufferingmore than ourselves. The way to findhappiness is not to make a list of all thethings we want, like children writing aChristmas list to Santa Claus. The lesswe think about what we want and themore we help others, then happiness willfind us. That is not to say we must putour heads in the sand and ignore badthings. We should face problems and tryto see their cause clearly and from adistance so that our emotion will notcloud our thinking. We should thinkabout how we ourselves have contributedto the problem instead of always puttingthe blame on someone else.So how can we do this? Morepractice of Qigong and martial arts canhelp settle the mind and release negativeenergy and stop us from gettingdepressed. When we move the body inthese ways, it helps us to focus onsomething other than ourselves and ourthinking. So movement is very good butwe should not neglect meditation.Meditation will help us to settle ouremotions and heart. When we areconstantly wading in a stream, the mudfrom the stream bed will make the waterscloudy. We must step out of the streamfor that time we are meditating and letthe waters become clear. Lastly, we mustlearn to let go of what we want and showmore kindness to others. In helpingothers, we can heal ourselves. This isperhaps more difficult than movementand meditation as it goes against all theattitudes fostered in today’s society.Children are taught to express what theywant, graduates are told to go for thejob they want, books and tapes tell us tofind the soulmate we want. The cost toour emotional well being in looking onlyat what we want is great. We may thinkthat we sacrifice ourselves in showingkindness to others. I think that wesacrifice ourselves if we do not. There isa saying which says, ‘Doing good toothers is not a duty. It is a privilege and itgives pleasure leading to better healthand happiness.’by Sihn Keieamil Sihnkei@qimagazine.comTraditional Chinese WeaponsHand made inChinaPrices include UK p&p and are by express courier service.“For the seriouspractitioner!”*telescopic sword includes UK p&p by standard post.Please make cheques payable to ‘Michael Tse’.Specifications may vary.For orders or more information contact:Tse Qigong Centre PO Box 59 Altrincham WA15 8FS.Tel. 0161 929 4485. Fax. 0161 929 4489. Email. tse@qimagazine.com.Longquan (Taiji) Dragon SwordDouble edged straight blade, engraved & finished withbrass and copper. Comes with scabbard and tassel.Length 81cm. £85Kang Li Telescopic Practice SwordWell-balanced, steel practice sword. Comes withcarrying case and tassel.Length 71cm. £35*Longquan Dragon Knife (Broadsword)Engraved blade finished in copper. Includes engravedlacquered scabbard with brass finish.Length 77.5 cm. £90Chinese SpearChrome plated spearhead with white wax wood shaftand red ying (hair). Requires cutting to size.Length 215cm. £50White Wax Wood StaffLength 200cm. £40Qi Magazine 37

What is ‘evil’ and from where does it originate ? How can we recogniseit and protect ourselves ? Evil is generally accepted as a malevolent force, orentity, existing outside of ourselves. Murderous dictators like Hitler, andserial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer, are generally considered ‘monsters’ butthey are nonetheless human.The Eternal BattleQi MattersEvil is a very real force that can actwithin us and overwhelm us, andeffect terrible consequences. It isborn out of ignorance, intolerance,laziness, greed etc. and positively thriveson weakness and fear. There areno evil people but ratherpeople possessed by evil.Evil is the inability of aperson to respond to thedeeper reality withinand to those aroundhim. For example, apyschotic sadistexhibits no humanresponse to hisvictims’ anguish, andfails to see the victimas a fellow being.The Nazis viewedJews as ‘pigs’; U.S.soldiers in Vietnamsaw the enemy as‘gooks’; andAfrican-Americanslaves wereconsidered ‘subhuman’.Thus,murder andtorture becomeeasierwhen we feeln o t h i n gtowards thevictim.Since timeimmemorial evil has existed amongst us.‘Good’ cannot be defined without it.However, when we live simply and closerto nature these terms have no realmeaning and no place in our lives. Ismankind fundamentally good or evil ?The answer is both and neither - man isequally capable of kindness andsympathy as well as hatred and violence.If we begin the journey towardsself-knowledge and cultivation, gobeyond the outer layer of the ego andconnect with our centre, we canexperience the Divine, and consequentlyfathom the meaning in life. When we aredrawn away from this and indulge ourdarkest desires, weattract all manner of evil andspin out of control into forces largerand stronger than ourselves and becomepossessed by them.Despite documented historicalaccounts of actual possession mostpossession is mundane, as in the case ofthe alcoholic or drug- addict. Manypeople in life are compelled to commitacts beyond their own awareness,against their will, or out-of-character,such as the shopoholic, gambler, orcleptomaniac, invariably with selfdestructiveconsequences.When people lose all meaningand purpose to their lives theybecome consumed withdespair. A terminatedrelationship or careerbecomes overwhelmingand they loseperspective, failing tosee beyond thesituation or the lessonto be learned from it.Suicide is the ultimatedenial of the spirit itselfand isolation fromeverything. Schizophreniaor manicdepression are alsosymptoms of beingdisconnected fromdeeper, spiritual energy.Are people bornevil, do they becomeevil, or are they just inthe clutches of evilpossession? No-oneis wholly evil, buteveryone is capableof it. Evil is a humanpotential, albeit of anunbalanced, splintered,and spirituallystunted self. Evil begetsevil. Very often mentally orphysically abused childrenperpetrate the very same offencesas adults without any knowledge ofwrongdoing.Today, evil is more visible thanever before. Innocent children canwitness images of cruelty and depravity,from Hollywood films to global massmurder on the news; Holocaust, Kosovo,Rwanda, Chechnya etc. We graduallyQi Magazine 38

The Dragon is a symbol of China, as we see very often in manyChinese stories. Swimming Dragon Gong is one Qigong form from KunlunSystem. It is very dynamic and challenging, and the movements imitate adragon’s behaviour.Swimming Dragon Gong8. Immortal Crane Lifts up the WingsPart 3aba. Keep the same position as before, butdrop both hands in front of theDantian.b. Lift up both hands from the side ofthe body lifting up the right leg at thesame time.c. As you set down the right foot, let theheel reach the ground first before thetoes. At the same time slightly dropthe arms, elbow first, with the palmsfacing out to the side of the body.Repeat movements a-c another 7times in an anticlockwise direction.Then repeat the same movements butthis time in a clockwise direction.Basically, the movement is walking ina figure eight, from anti-clockwise toclockwise.This movement works for thelungs and makes us take more airfrom nature. It is particularlygood for people who get tiredvery easily. Walking in a figureeight covers both a clockwise andanticlockwise direction. In theQigong knowledge, clockwise isfor gathering prenatal Qi formen and postnatal Qi for ladies.On the other hand, moving anticlockwiseis gathering prenatalQi for ladies and postnatal Qi formen. Therefore, when we arewalking in figure eight, either aman or lady will gather prenatalQi and postnatal Qi.cQi Magazine 40

9. White Crane Tests the Watera. After the last step, which is the leftfoot forward, shift the weight forwardonto the left leg and at the same timeturn both palms upward.b. Turn the fingers inward towards thesides of the body as the elbows turnout.c-d. Press both hands down with palmsfacing to the ground, while having theHegu points pass the Huantiao points.At the same time, slide with right footforward, with the Yongquan makingcontact with the ground. Make surewhile sliding forward that you keepthe sole of the foot on the ground anddo not lift the heels. Now, shift theweight forward as you move bothabc d e fhands slightly forward, like circlingthe hands around the side of the hips.e-f. Repeat this movement on the otherfoot and then carry on another sevensteps.When you complete walking eightsteps anti-clockwise, walk anothereight steps in a clockwise direction.g. On the last step in which your left footis forward, step forward in a parallelline with the right foot together. Atthe same time put both palmstogether in front of middle Dantianat the Shanzhong point. The Laogongpoint of each hand faces each other,however, the palms do not need touchtogether tightly, as the hand musclesshould be relaxed.This movement is opposite to the lastone “Immortal Crane Lifts up the Wings”.The last one is for gathering the Qi fromthe nature, and this one is for releasing theQi from the body through the Yongquanpoint which is on the bottom of our foot.As we slide the foot forward on the ground,the toxins will release from the body. At thesame time, as the Hegu point in the handscycles past the Huantiao point at thebuttocks, this helps the Qi flow downwardtowards the Yongquan point more strongly.g

10. Child Worships the Buddhaa b c de f gha. Keeping the same hand position,lift up the left leg and extendoutwards.b. Cross it over the right leg so that theleft ankle is resting on top of the rightknee, with the Yang Kunlun pointagainst the Liangqiu point.c. Bend the right knee three times.d. Place the left leg on the ground asbefore, making sure the stance isbalanced.e. Lift up the right leg as was donepreviously with the left leg.f. Place the right ankle on top of theleft knee, so the Yang Kunlun point isagainst the Liangqiu point.g. Bend the left knee three times.h-g. Place the right leg on the ground asbefore, making the stance balancedagain.i. Now bend down with both kneesthree times. Make sure that in allthese movments your palms still sticktogether.In this movement, we put all the Qi tothe middle Dantian, which is good for ourheart. This movement will also create a lotof heat to make the circulation better.Standing on one leg will make our innerbody balanced and help balance both sidesof the brain which can help prevent a strokewhen we are older. Standing on one legwithout losing balance is based on thebrain balance not the leg strength ormuscle. In this movement, even someonewho has big muscles will find it is not easyto do. Sometimes a slender person can doit better. We work on both sides of the bodyiwhich helps both kidneys. In total we do“Child Worships the Buddha” nine timeswhich is good for both the heart and lungs.Qi Magazine 42

11. Zhoutian Circlea b ca. Straighten and open the palms sothey are facing the front.b. Bend over, and as you do let yourpalms follow the body in an outwardsscooping movement. At the end, theywill reach in front of your ankles.c. Without stopping, bring your handsup along the Stomach Channel onboth legs to the chest at the Qihupoints as you stand up again. Repeatanother 2 times, forming a cycle withthe hands.In our body, there is big cycle goingthrough our body and both legs and hands.We call it the Zhoutian. This cycle is veryimportant for moving our Qi. If the cycleis open, then Qi can flow much better andwithout interruption. Three times means‘multi’ in the Yijing, so it mean more Qiwill be created as we do this movement.12. Smooth Internal Linesaba. When you finish the last movement,“Zhoutian Circle”, you body shouldstay bent over. Close both palmstogether, like the hand position for“Child Worships the Buddha”, onlybetween your legs. Your wrists shouldface the Huiyin point.b. Stand up and bring both palms abovethe head so that the wrist now facesthe Baihui point. Repeat thismovement another 2 times.The body has internal lines which arenot the same as the channels. These rundown the body in straight lines from thetop of the body to the feet. While going upand down with the body, then the internallines will be smoothed and Qi will Qi flowbetter. The internal lines also relate to ourhuman potential. Three times means multias in the previous movement.Qi Magazine 43

There are many paths that lead to the same result. If you are openminded then you will find this out very quickly, and be more accepting ofothers around you.Climbing the MountainWing Chun KuenChan and Ma were always talkingabout different martial arts. On oneoccasion they were discussing theadvantages and disadvantages of twoparticular styles however, they could notagree which one was the best. Theytalked for hours and even tested varioustechniques against the other, but they stilldid not come a conclusion. Just then theirSifu walked by and noticed their ratheranimated discussions. Curious he wentover to find out what they were doing.He listened to them for a couple ofminutes and then beckoned them overand told them to sit down while he toldthem a story.Long ago there were two masterswho both had very good reputations intheir towns. They lived quite close toeach other and often people wouldwonder which one was the best asboth were undefeated. The stylesthey practised were quitedifferent. Both had long illustrioushistories but they seemed toapproach things from verydifferent, almost oppositepositions.Both the masters thoughttheir own particular style was bestand were a little closed minded.After a while they heard the localpeople talking and they decided tohave a contest to prove once andfor all who was the best.Though the two towns were quiteclose to each other, a range of mountainsseparated them. It was decided that thetwo masters would meet at the top of FiveTigers Peak as this would be neutralground and neither would gain anyadvantage. The climb, however, wouldtake a few hours for both of them.Both masters set out early to makesure they would get to the top of themountain in time. The terrain they hadto climb up was quite difficult. One sideof the mountain was very rough and rockyand required a lot of careful climbing, theother side, though not as rocky, wascovered by a thick forest.Although they were very fit andstrong, they found the climb very difficult.After two hours the master climbing therocky side was covered in grit and dustand had torn his clothes. The other masterQi Magazine 44had to hack his way through the thickforest and he too was covered in mudand had snagged his clothes on thebranches and ripped them. However,each was spurred on, determined toprove he was the best.Finally the master climbing therocks reached the top and came to aclearing with a large flat stone at one end.He was quite tired and needed a rest.Suddenly he heard a sound and a ratherscruffy and dirty man appeared from theforest.The two men looked at each other.They were both very dirty and clearlyexhausted from their climbs butthey both immediately recognised eachother.“Why don’t we have a short restbefore our match?” One called out. Theyagreed and as the flat rock was the onlyplace to sit they both climbed up and satdown. However, both were surprised atthe view that met them. They could seefor miles around and everything lookedpicturesque and peaceful.After a few minutes one pointedto a town in the distance and said, “I wentto that town a few years ago, they have atemple there with a tree which is athousand years old.” “Really”, replied theother “I went there myself, did you alsosee the lake that is next to the goldenpagoda? “Oh yes, it is beautiful isn’t it?”The two men talked and shared theirmemories of their visits. They even startedto point to other places down below.Some they had both been to and othersonly one had been, but theyrecommended where to visitand what to see. As theyrelaxed more, they evenbegan to laugh together.They had a lot in commonand after a while all thoughtsof their challenge had beenforgotten.“It’s funny how this mountain hasmirrored our lives.” One said finally. “Youare right,” said the other, “What is thepoint in fighting? It is better to go andhave tea. There is supposed to bea very good restaurant in thatvillage just over there.” Hepointed to a small village afew miles down themountain and so they bothgot up and set off for thevillage.“Sifu, I don’tunderstand.” Said Chan.“Ma do you know what mystory is about?” Theteacher asked. “I’m notsure, what did he meanwhen he said the mountainmirrored their lives?”The teacher laughed,“Nature is very clever,there is actually nothingnew in nature, all thequestions already exist as dothe answers, you just have to find them.Both men had worked very hard tobecome masters of their styles, but theirtraining was very different, just like theirclimb up the mountain. One had toovercome steep slopes and rough rockyterrain, the other had to battle throughthe thick forest. However, afterovercoming all the difficulties they bothcame to the same point and could seethe same view. They even hadexperienced many of the same things. Sothere is no point arguing over which isbetter. The wise man will try to appreciatethe other and understand how both leadto the same place.”“Hmm, that’s great,” said Manodding. Now he understood. “You’reright about another thing as well,” he saidwith a grin, “its better to go and have tea,I’m starving.”by Darryl Moyemail Darryl@qimagazine.com

The entrance to your house is one of the most important aspects of yourFeng Shui since this is where all your energy comes in. Therefore if you wantgood Feng Shui, you need to know what makes your entrance good or bad.Feng Shui and the MainEntrance of a HouseWhen you enter a house, you liketo feel good and you will not liketo see things that make youupset or feel disturbed. So the first sightof the main entrance is very important.Here are some suggestions which mightbe able to help you when you go backto correct them to make your house Qibetter. This may help bring you more luckand energy.1. When we walk in a house weshould not straight away see a stairway.This is because a stairway representswalking upward and means we will havea lot to do. Every stair is going higherand higher and that means you need towork hard, and even that you might needto do so until you reach the next level.Therefore, we should not see astairway when we opena door. Somehow, inmany English h o u s e s ,we will see the stairsstraight away when wewalk in the door. However, if there is alot space before you reach the stairway,then this is all right, because it meansthe space will separate the stairs for you.If this is the case, there is good easy timeand benefit for you before you move onthe next level as we all need to work hardFeng ShuiIn this entrance, the stairs are right in front of you. There is also a low hanging light that you need to avoid. Nota good entrance.This long hallway creates a chong“Every stair goinghigher and highermeans you need towork hard”to reach our success. No oneis doing nothing to get agood result. So if you really can see thestairs immed-itately close to the mainentrance, then you need a curtain or afence to block them. Another option isQi Magazine 45

move your stairs or change the mainentrance, but that is difficult.2. If you come home after openingthe door and you find something hangingfrom the ceiling, like a light fixture orwind chimes, this should not touch yourhead. If it does or if you have to movearound it as you to walk in, then you mustmove it so that it will not touch your head.I know there are some people who liketo hang windchimes at their frontentrance. Actually this is not very goodfor your head and can cause youheadache, stress and worry.3. When you come home, if youneed to walk across a long hallwaybefore you reach any rooms, such as theliving room or bedroom, this is not goodas well. Any long hallways in the houseare no good, because it will create aChong means against and it means it canattack our health and luck. A longhallway means it is also a long way togo to get something as well. The solutionis to break one of the walls to make aspace as creating space is very important.4. When you enter the home, themain entranceshould not bedark. Dark is notgood for theenergy, except inthe evening whenwe are sleeping.Any darkness inthe house willcreate negativeenergy. So anywherein the“Chong meansagainst and it meansit can attack ourhealth and luck.”dreams. Chinese say that if the house hastoo many dark areas, then it will catchsome spirits. So you should set up lightsin these areas to make it brighter andthen it will be better. If the light burnsout, you should replace the bulb straightaway.From this entrance you can see the bedroom and thereare also doors facing each otherdraught, which the Chinese call “Chong”. Basically, this is a negativeenergy which attacks our house. Qi whichruns on a straight line is called Chong.This dark hallway will createnegative energyhouse should be able to get light even ifnot fully. A dark entrance means no luckin the beginning, and can bring bad luckto the house. People there can be ill veryeasily and can also easily create bad5. When you walk in the doorfrom outside, you also should not seeyour own bedroom door as this is Chongas well. Chong can create negativeenergy, so you must find some way toblock the vision from door to door. Thisway the energy will change direction andnot be Chong. Also if there are any doorsfacing doors, it means that there will befighting in the home. It may be difficultto change an entrance, although thatmay be best, so instead you can try touse a fence or plants or a curtain to breakthe energy between the two doors.There many things we might needto consider inside our home, but basically,we should feel good when we are there.If there is anything that makes youuncomfortable, then you should changeit or it could affect your luck andhappiness. So look at your house, see ifthere is anything wrong and change it inthe beginning of the Snake year, whichshould bring you more good luck infollowing new year.“Kung Hei Fat Choi”by Michael TseQi Magazine 46