SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS JULY 2017 PART 2 BY GRANDMASTER WONG KIEW KIT
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SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS MARCH 2016 PART 1 BY GRANDMASTER WONG KIEW KIT
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/answers/ans16a/mar16-1.html)
Grandmaster Wong performing a Taijiquan pattern, “White Crane Flaps Wings”
Question 1
I will be taking part of the next Intensive Taijiquan Course in Sabah. It is the course I have been waiting for since I asked to be accepted as a student in 2009.
— Sifu Angel Perez Oliveras, Puerto Rico
Answer
The Intensive Taijiquan Course in Sabah from 25th to 31st March 2016 is excellent for you. It is a course that you must not miss. You will find that not only your martial art will be brought to a new wonderful level, but more importantly your life will be a joy everyday. It is indeed difficult for those doing Taiji dance to realize what they have missed in daily life.
You were already an international sparring champion. But when you apply Taijiquan on your opponents, who may be half or one-third your age, you will find them like children!. There is simply nowhere your opponents can counter your attack. I mentioned this before a few times, and I also realized that some people thought I was boastful, though I never meant to be, but I am merely stating the truth.
But, of course, another truth is that very, very few Taiji practitioners today, including many so-called masters, know Taijiquan combat. But Taijiquan combat is easy for you; you only have to change your Taekwondo techniques into Taijiquan techniques in sparring.
Yet, the best benefit of the Intensive Taijiquan Course is not combat efficiency. Combat efficiency is secondary, only a bonus, something some course participants may not even pay much attention to. One of the greatest benefits of the course is that you will be healthy, fit, fast and powerful, physically and mentally, even beyond 70. I am happy I can speak from personal experience.
Question 2
I remember very well your advice then. It was during a Sinew Metamorphosis course in Las Vegas. I asked what to do in order to improve my Taiji dance, though I was not fully aware I was doing Taiji dancing at that time, but I could sense something wasn’t right.
Your advice was to incorporate what I had learned during the course with my Taiji practice — to enter the qigong state of mind, generate qi flow and perform my sets in qi flow. As expected my practice became alive!. I am very excited that I will finally be able to take part in an Intensive Taijiquan Course.
Answer
What you have done with your qigong training on Taijiquan, before you attend the Intensive Taijiquan Course, is excellent.
For those who have been doing Taiji dance and may not have the opportunity to attend an Intensive Taijiquan Course but have the opportunity to learn qigong from us, should follow you example and draw inspiration from your results.
When they perform their Taiji dance, they should enter into a qigong state of mind, generate a qi flow and perform their Taiji sets in qi flow. Their Taiji dance will come alive, it will become an internal art, no more just an external dance-like form.
But for the martial aspect of Taijiquan, they have to learn from our Taijiquan instructors or attend my Intensive Taijiquan Course.
We are incredibly generous with our Intensive Taijiquan Course. Even those who are not our Shaolin Wahnam students but have practiced Taiji dance for some time, can still join our course.
They have heard that by practicing genuine Taijiquan they can be fit and healthy as well as combat efficient even at old age. But if they do not believe in our claims, that is their business, not ours.
In fact, I am now thinking of offering the Intensive Taijiquan Course as well as the Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course only to our Family members, and not open to the public. We need not be generous to the point of casing pearls before swines.
“Shift Horse Ask Way” from San Feng Wudang Set
Question 3
I experienced some breakthroughs performing the 24-Pattern Set, which I had been practicing following your first advice. But since I was able to finally perform Dragon Strength Circulation Chi Set completely, I feel that the rest of my training had gone to a complete new dimension.
I cannot even imagine what will happen when I could assimilate and incorporate the full scope of what you will transmit in Sabah. I want to be as best prepared as possible, so I am training daily for the Intensive Taijiquan Course. I have been doing my stance training for quite some time now, learning and perfecting the 12 basic combat sequences, the four basic sets and of course the 24 Pattern Set
Answer
It is no surprise to me that you have some breakthroughs with the 24-Pattern Taijiquan Set. Although it is called a simplified set, it has wonderful benefits, especially when you practice it with the skills you have learned in our school
The Dragon Strength Circulation Chi Set is incredible, It is the pinnacle of my kiungfu development. Having attended the course, you will enhance whatever kungfu you practice, as well as whatever you do in your daily life.
You are preparing very well for the Intensive Taijiquan Course. You already have much internal force from your qigong training, but at the course we shall further learn the skills and techniques of developing internal force using Taijiquan methods. Most Taiji dancers have the techniques, but they don’t have the skills, and they don’t realize it.
Question 4
Would now be a good time to ask what discoveries and ‘ah ha’ moments you have experienced while composing the San Feng Wudang Set?
— Sifu Tim Franklin, UK /p>
Editorial Note: This question was asked before the UK Simmer Camp 2015, but because of a long waiting list the answer is released here only now.
Answer
The discoveries and aha experiences occurred mostly not during the composition of the San Feng Wudang Set, not even during the reconstruction of Wudang Taijiquan from which the San Feng Set derived, but from the time I first practiced Taijiquan.
When I composed the San Feng Wudang Set, it was mainly shortening Wudang Taijiquan to a manageable length, while maintaining the spirit, principles and benefits of Wudang Taijiquan.
When I reconstructed Wudang Taijiquan from classical sources, I already have practiced and benefited from Taijiquan for quite some time. But what struck me impressively was that the Wudang Taijiquan Set was more like a Shaolin set than what many Taijiquan practitioners conceptualized Taijiquan to be.
Even the patterns from the Wudang Taijiquan Set were like Shaolin patterns, and their names were poetic like Shaolin pattern names, and not technical like many Yang Style Taijiquan patterns and some Chen Style Taijiquan patterns.
There were many discoveries and aha experiences when I first practiced Taijiquan, which was Yang Style Taijiquan at that time. I discovered that if I performed a Taijiquan set fast, it looked like Shaolin Kungfu, and if I performed a Shaolin set slowly it looked like Taijiquan.
Even at this early age I knew that Taijiquan had to be performed fast if it had to be used for combat. This was not a problem for me, I just performed it like Shaolin Kungfu. I was able to apply all Taijiquan patterns for combat because of my training in Shaolin combat application. This was quite an aha experience as most Taijiquan practitioners did not know the martial aspect of Taijiquan.
I was quite good at Taijiquan but did not teach it despite many requests. I considered my best to be Shaolin Kungfu, and I wanted to teach my best. It was Rama who rightly commented to me that although my best was Shaolin Kungfu, many people preferred Taijiquan for some legitimate reasons, and it would be a great pity if I did not teach them, that I changed my mind.
When I taught in Australia in the 1980s, before my regular travels to teach in the West in the 1990s, Ken, a Taijiquan instructor in Bendigo, requested me to show him some Taijiquan. I taught him how to develop internal force using Lifting Water. Not only he could develop internal force in just that session when he only heard about internal force before that, I myself was amazed at the tremendous amount of internal force I developed after lifting my arms only a few times.
With hindsight I later realized that I entered in a deep chi kung state of mind, and I also led Ken into a chi kung state of mind. I concluded that if I used the same methods but different Taijiquan patterns, I could also develop internal force.
This was a discovery and aha experience. If a practitioner performs his Taijiquan set or part of it slowly and gracefully, without intellectualizing and without tensing his muscles, he could develop internal force without having to perform other internal force training methods.
It also led to my discovery and aha experience that Taijiquan itself was chi kung, and that it was unnecessary to incorporate other chi kung methods from elsewhere, like Lifting the Sky and Carrying the Moon from Eighteen Lohan Hands, into Taijiquan to develop internal force.
This discovery had far-reaching effects, and later contributed to the flow method and the otherwise ridiculous concept that making any movements, including comical or odd movements, in a chi kung state of mind, we could generate a chi flow or develop internal force! This was indeed amazing, considering that many masters had spent years chasing after internal force but to no avail.
I also discovered and had aha experiences how Taijiquan could enrich Shaolin Kungfu. If a student was rigid in his movement, by practicing his Shaolin sequences as if he was perfroming Taijiquan, he could not only overcome his rigid problem but make his movements flowing.
I discovered two important reasons why a small-sized Taijiquan exponent could defeat a bigger-sized opponent. One reason was internal force. The other reason was Taijiquan mechanics, and the core of Taijiquan mechanics was waist rotation. By rotating the waist, many Shaolin techniques that were otherwise difficult to perform, became easy.
Waist rotation led to fa-jing, or exploding force. The Taijiquan principle of “starting from the back leg, rotating the waist and ending at the hand” became very useful. By applying the principle of rotating the waist, I could help Shaolin students not only to explode spiral force in “Black tiger Steals Heart”, but make their palm strikes powerful, realizing the Shaolin principle that the palm was more powerful than the fist.
Waist rotation and exploding force were also found in Shaolin Kungfu, but were emphasized in Taijiquan. My discoveries and aha experiences in Taijiquan enriched my practice and teaching of Shaolin Kungfu.
The Complete Book of Shaolin
Question 5
Can we apply this positive attitude in our everyday life even when situations are negative?
— Raphael, Austria
Answer
Yes, we can. There are countless attitude one can adopt in any situation, but all these attitudes can be divided into two broad categories, the negative way which most people adopt, and the positive way which is the Shaolin Wahnam way.
This positive attitude, or the Shaolin Wahnam way, can be applied to all situations, including negative situations. Suppose a person is very sick and he consults a doctor. After examining the patient, the doctor can adopt a negative attitude, like telling the patient that he is going to die, or adopt a positive attitude, telling the patient that he has a chance to recover.
It is important to note that in both cases the doctor is not telling a lie. The patient will die one day, regardless of whether it will happen in a few months’ time or after fifty years. It is also possible that the patient will recover even when he suffers form a so-called incurable disease.
The doctor’s attitude is very important, not only to the patient but also to himself. Whether his attitude is negative or positive will not change the present reality; irrespective of what the doctor thinks, the patient is still sick with a serious illness. But it will greatly affect how the future will unfold. It will not only bring grief or joy to the patient, but also affect what his treatment will be like.
The patient’s reaction can also be negative or positive irrespective of other people’s opinion. If the doctor told hem that he would die, he could reply that the doctor was wrong and he would live. If the doctor told him that he had a chance to recover, he could say that it was not just a chance but he would certainly recover, and return to thank the doctor with a bunch of flowers.
Question 6
What is the most important character trait for a Shaolin practitioner to have to take his art to the highest level?
— Jinne, Canada
Answer
The main character trait for a Shaolin practitioner to have to take his art to the highest level is gratitude. This may be a surprise to some people who may think it is determination or intelligence or something else, but from my many years of experience both as a student and a teacher, it is gratitude. In fact, gratitude is needed at all levels.
At a beginning level, a student needs to have gratitude to learn effectively from his teacher If he lacks gratitude, like if he practices according to what he thinks is correct and not according to what his teacher asks him to do, which many students do often without their realizing, he will miss the essence of the art right at the beginning.
If a student lacks gratitude at the intermediate level, he will not progress to the advanced level. Compared to other students he may have accomplished much, especially when kungfu and chi kung today have degraded beyond recognition. where students hurt themselves with free exchange of blows instead of learning to defend themselves in kungfu, or perform outward forms as gentle exercise without any experience of energy flow in chi kung. But he will be stagnant at this level. But if he is grateful that he has an opportunity to learn an esoteric art, he will follow his master’s teaching and progress.
It is often at the advanced level where students would one day become masters themselves that these students fail. As they have attained abilities not available to most other practitioners, they become disrespectful and arrogant, thinking that there is no much they can get from their masters. If they have gratitude, they can overcome this hurdle. As they are arrogant they will also not benefit from other masters or other sources.
One-Finger Shooting Zen
Question 7
Besides the books you have written, what other books you would recommend?
Answer
I read many books in my younger days, especially when I was at university, ranging from science to religion, from literature to medicine, and many of them were wonderful. I would mention a few that come readily to mind. Most of which were published many years ago.
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The Limits of Science by Pierre Rousseau
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Frontiers by Isaac Asimov
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Mathematics for the Million by Lancelot Hogben
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Chariots of the Gods by Erich von Daniken
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
I also read many kungfu and other martial art books in English, but generally I was not impressed except Tai Chi Chin Na by Dr Yang Jwing Ming which was outstandinig.
Of course I read many kungfu and chi kung classics in Chinese. Three of the classics I cherished much are
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Classic of Shaolin Kungfu — a rare collection of 40 volumes compilled by the Venerable Fu Ju in the year 901 in the Song Dynasty
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Internal Cultivation of Zhang San Feng
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Shaolin Internal Arts
The classic that has a great impact on my spiritual cultivation is “Awakening of Faith in Mahayana”, written by Asvaghosha in Sanskrit in the 2nd century Before the Common Era, and translated into Chinese by Paramartha in the 6th century of the Common Era. The Chinese text was very concise and short, but has very profound significance.
It inspired me to write a long translation, interpretation and commentary of the work. The manuscript, written many years ago and entitled “In Quest of Cosmic Reality”, is still unpublished, but I consider it to be one of my best writings.
Many people kindly wrote to tell me that they had enjoyed and benefitted much from my published books, and some said that they had found my books the best they had read on the respective subjects.
Of these books, the one I like best is my autobiography, “The Way of the Master”. It contains many interesting stories, and reveals many secrets.
Other recommendable books include:
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The Complete Book of Zen
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The Art of Chi Kung
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The Complete Book of Shaolin
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The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine
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The Complete Book of Tai Chi Chuan
In writing these books, I ensured that even if readers were not interested in the subject matter, they would enjoy reading them.
Question 8
If you could choose one stance or move to train to the highest level, what would it be?
Answer
If I would choose just one stance or move to train to the highest level, it would be “One-Finger Shooting Zen” in kungfu and “Lifting the Sky” in chi kung.
“One-Finger Shooting Zen” provides tremendous internal force and mental clarity, which enhance not only all aspects of kungfu but also all aspects of daily life.
The benefits of “Lifing the Sky” range from the very basic to the very advanced and everything in between. At the very basic level, “Lifting the Sky” enables a practitioner to be relaxed. At the most advanced level, it enables a practitioner to merge with Cosmic Reality, called variously as returning to God the Holy Spirit, attaining Enlightenment or merging with the Great Void. “Lifting the Sky” both circulates and builds energy, satisfying the two essential dimensions of all chi kung training.
Of course, a practitioner must perform “One-Finger Shooting Zen” and “Lifting the Sky” correctly as internal arts. Unfortunately, most practitioners today perform “One-Finger Shooting Zen” as gymnastics and “Lifting the Sky” as gentle physical exercise, missing their essence and wonderful benefits.
These two wonderful exercises have great sentimental values for me. They were the first exercises I learned tom my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam.
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at secretary@shaolin.org stating your name, country and e-mail address.
SHOWING RESPECT TO THE MASTER
(reproduced from http://www.shaolin.org/general/respect.html)
Creating the right mental frame for the best learning.
An old photograph showing Sifu Wong (in his teens) performing a Hoong Ka kungfu set with his master, Sifu Lai Chin Wah, popularly known as Uncle Righteousness (middle behind in white T-shirt), looking on.
An art is best learnt in its culture. One remarkable difference between the culture of the East and the West is the respect shown to a master. In this connection I have little complaint because my students, from both the East and the West, generally show much respect to me. But I have met many Eastern masters commenting on the lack of respect, sometimes utter disrespect, shown to them.
Often it is because of the Western students’ ignorance of Eastern ways rather than their wilful discourtesy that their Eastern masters of chi kung or kungfu (including taijiquan) regard as disrespect. The following are some simple and helpful points both Eastern and Western students may follow to show the respect deservedly due to their masters.
ADDRESSING THE MASTER CORRECTLY
Sifu Wong (in his 40’s) with his master, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, the third generation successor from the Shaolin Monastery
First of all you must know how to address your master correctly, something which many Western students are ignorant of. Never, never, never call your master by his name, especially if he comes from a Eastern culture. In some Western societies it may be considered personal and desirable to call your senior or even your boss by his first name, but in chi kung or kungfu culture it is considered extremely rude.
It is worthwhile to remember that your master is not your peer or equal. Your master is at least one, but usually many levels above you, otherwise he cannot and should not be your master. The proper way to address your chi kung or kungfu master is “Sifu”, which is the Cantonese dialect of the Chinese language for “Master”. The Mandarin pronunciation is “Shifu”.
Actually if a great master answers you when you call him “Sifu”, you are, not he is, honoured; it shows he accepts you as a student. I always felt greatly honoured whenever I called my masters Lai Chin Wah and Ho Fatt Nam “Sifu”, because they were two of the greatest masters I had found.
If your master’s surname is Chen, you should call him “Sifu”, or “Master” if you want to sound Western, but strictly speaking not “Sifu Chen” or “Master Chen” for that is the address the public, not his students, would call him. If you call him “Sifu Chen” or “Master Chen” you are distancing yourself from him.
SHOWING PROPRIETY
Besides showing propriety in your address, you should also show propriety in your behaviour. Do not, for example, put your hand around him, pat him on his shoulder, or hug him — leave that to his wife, which following Eastern social etiquette is also only done in private.
When you stand or sit in front of or near him, hold yourself upright. You need not stand at attention like a private in front of his sergeant major, but you should not stand sloppily, with arms akimbo or hands in your pockets. When you sit do not cross your legs with a foot pointing at him, or expose your groins to him even though they are hidden by your pants.
It is only sensible that you should listen when your master speaks, especially if he is explaining some points. Yet, it is not uncommon to find some adult students (male as well as female) lying on the floor, sometimes with their hands folded at the back of their head, their eyes close and their legs open in an inviting position! This shows not so much a disrespect to the master, but an utter lack of good manners on the part of the students.
ENTERING AND LEAVING A CLASS
It is also bad manners to arrive at your class late. In the past in the East, late students would be asked to go home, or to leave permanently if they were late habitually. The logic is simple: the master has something invaluable to offer; if you come late you tacitly show that you do not value his teaching. But if there is a valid reason for your being late, you should first greet him from the door, walk quietly but briskly to him, respectfully wait if he is pre-occupied, then explain your reason and apologize.
On the other hand, you should wait patiently if the master is late — even for hours! If you think this is unfair, you are probably not ripe for great arts. There are stories of great masters who purposely arrived late, not for hours but for days, and then passed on their secrets to the few wise, patient students. Although it seldom happens nowadays, it will reflect a splendid grasp of chi kung and kungfu culture if you and your classmates stop whatever you are doing, stand up respectfully, bow and greet your master as he comes in.
Do not leave your class half-way. But if you have to leave early for some reason, explain that to your master before-hand and politely ask his permission. At the appointed time, ask his permission again, then bow and thank him before leaving. At the end of a class, the students should leave after the master, not before he does. However, if the master stays back for a considerable length of time, such as explaining some points to some students who stay behind to ask him, other students may leave first, after bowing to the master.
In the East, it is customary for the teacher to arrive last and leave first. Interestingly, it is often the reverse in the West. The teacher, Western in culture if not in race, often arrives the earliest, sweeps the floor and prepares cookies and drinks which he will serve during recess to his students, who will joke and laugh. At the end of the class, the teacher will stand at the door, shake the students’ hands and thank them for their attendance. He will then throw away the garbage his students have left behind if he still has energy left, and check that everyone has gone home before he closes the door.
OFFERING A CUP OF TEA
In Eastern culture it is always the students who offer drinks to the teacher. When you offer your master a cup of tea, it is preferable to do so with two hands. In Eastern societies, accepting a cup of tea and drinking it has deeper significance than merely quenching thirst.
In the past, even if someone had done you great wrong, if he or she offered you a cup of tea, usually while kneeling down and then knocking his or her head on the ground, and you, sitting down in front of other witnesses, accepted and drank it, it meant that you accepted his or her apology, were ready to forgive all the wrong, and would not take any action whatsoever in future.
The students should also offer a seat to the master, and the seat chosen is usually the best one available. If the master is not seated, the students should remain standing, unless the master asks them to sit down. If they dine together, the students would wait until the master has made his first move to eat or drink.
DON’T BE INSULTING
When your master is explaining or demonstrating something to you, listen attentively and respectfully. Do not bluntly say you already know what he is teaching, even if you really know. In chi kung and kungfu culture, doing so is not being straight-forward, it is being insulting — you are implying that the master does not know what he is doing.
I recall some occasions when my masters taught me something that I already had learnt quite well. Thanks to my training in Eastern culture, I followed their instructions faithfully although they appeared very simple and below my level then. Only much later did I realize that had I not follow these apparently simple instructions I would not have acquired the foundation necessary for advanced development.
Do not ever make the fatal mistake of telling a master what or how to teach you. This is not only unbecoming, it is also very foolish, for you will be denying yourself the very purpose why you need him. If he is a master, he knows best what and how to help you attain your best results; he is able to see your needs and development in ways far beyond your limited perspective.
FOR THE STUDENTS’ INTEREST
Some westerners may find the above-described master-student relationship odd, just as those accustomed to Eastern culture would find the behaviour of some western students unbelievable. It may be more surprising, especially for those who think they are doing the master a favour by paying him a fee to learn, to know that all these customs of respect for the master are actually for the students’, not the master’s, interest.
Someone who teaches kungfu dance or gentle exercise for a living will probably care more for your fees than your respect, but a master whose art gives you good health, vitality, mental freshness and spiritual joy actually does not care whether you respect him more or your dog. But those students who have experienced the wonderful benefits of genuine kungfu and chi kung will understand that the respect given to the master is not only a sincere token of appreciation to the master for sharing his art, but also constitutes an ideal psychological state for the training to take place.
SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS AUGUST 2016 PART 1 BY GRANDMASTER WONG KIEW KIT
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/answers/ans16b/aug16-1.html)
Grandmaster has often said that he remained unbeaten in his early days not because he was combat efficient but because he was smart; he spent a lot of time preparing for his upcoming free sparring
Question 1
Sigung, you were unbeaten in sparring in your young days. Can you please share your secret with us?
— Peter, Ireland
Answer
I used to say “in my young days”, but Douglas, my most senior student in Europe, reminded me at the time when I was about 50 that I was still young, so I have changed the expression to “my younger days”. Even now when I am over 70 and still feel young, I use the expression “in my younger days”.
In my younger days, especially between about 20 to 40 years of age, I spent a lot of time looking for sparring partners. At first I could beat them not because I was good but because I was smart. I chose opponents whom I had confidence of beating.
I made my victory doubly sure by doing a lot of homework, i.e. by practicing over and over again sequences which I used in the sparring. I devised the sequences from the way I expected my opponents would fight. This was not difficult because most of my opponents then were Taekwondo and Karate exponents, with some Boxing and Judo practitioners, and the way they fought was quite stereotyped.
For example, if I had to spar with a Taekwondo black-belt, I knew that he would probably start with some jabbing or side kicks, then round-house kicks, and eventually reverse round-house. So I would avoid his initial jabbing and side kicks, slant my body backward to avoid his round-house kicks, and when he executed a reverse round-house I would swiftly move forward with a coup de grace. I would practice this sequence many, many times, sometimes with modifications. When the actual situation occured during sparring, and this planned scenario almost always happened, I could use my practiced sequence to defeat my opponent easily. I always gently tapped my opponents; I never hurt them.
Having learnt from Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, my combat efficiency, including my internal force, improved tremendously. But initially I still used the same strategy. I chose sparring opponents whom I had confidence in beating, and I did a lot of homework. But gradually I did not have to do much homework as I could respond spontaneously and correctly to opponents’ attacks. As I became confident of my combat efficiency, I did not go out to look for sparring opponents.
I always used kungfu, including good stances, in my sparring. I never used Kick-Boxing, Muay Thai or any other martial arts, although I sparred with opponents from all styles. The difference was that in my earlier years of sparring I used simple punches and kicks, whereas in my later years my techniques were more sophisticated, like felling and chin-na. I discovered that when I used sophisticated kungfu techniques, my opponents just did not know how to defend against them.
So, if I have to give a secret for my unbeaten sparring record, I would say that I used a superior fighting art against opponents whose fighting arts were inferior to mine. Presuming that the skill levels were about equal, if I used simple punches and kicks, my opponents would have no difficulty defending against them. But if I used sophisticated techniques, like subtle felling and chin-na attacks, together with tactics and strategies that created situations for me to apply these attacks, my opponents had no techniques in their repertoire to defend.
Question 2
What are the effects of over-training?
— Sascha, Switzerland
Answer
For convenience, over-training may be divided into three stages.
At the most serious level, a practitioner who has over-trained becomes very weak and sick, or may even die. It is unlikely that practitioners who have over-trained will arrive at this serious stage, certainly not in our school.
But in my younger days, before I started Shaolin Wahnam Institute, I met a well-known kungfu master, who was a daughter-in-law of a kungfu patriarch, who either had over-trained or had practiced wrongly. As I knew him previously he was strong and full of vitality. When I last saw him, he was extremely weak and sickly. I regretted that I did not know chi kung healing them, or else I would have helped him recover.
The intermediate stage of over-training was when over-cleansing was clearly noticeable. Over-cleansing is the result of over-training, but practitioners are often confused over both these conditions. The symptoms are pain, tiredness, sleepiness and feeling of nauseousness. The practitioner who has over-trained feels unpleasant and uncomfortable, and is sometimes sick.
At the beginning stage of over-training, the practitioner feels tired and sleepy after his chi kung training, instead of feeling energised and fresh. The symptoms of cleansing are mild and may not be noticeable. Many practitioners over-train mildly at one time or another, and he will soon adjust to the excess energy from his training even without doing anything special.
What a typical Shaolin Wahnam student achieves in one day, it took Grandmaster Wong more than a month to achieve in his student’s days. Hence, it is important to guard against over-training.
Question 3
In a chi kung class, people had different diseases but they overcame their diseases by practicing the same exercises you taught. How did chi kung know which disease to cure?
— Roberto, Spain
Answer
In the chi kung perspective, which is also the traditional Chinese medical perspective, all diseases are caused by energy blockage. Western medical perspective uses different names for the different types of energy blockage.
In Western terms, if energy is blocked from inhibiting harmful micro-organisms from attacking a person, he is said to suffer from an infectious disease. If energy is blocked from working an organ normally, the patient is said to suffer from an organic disorder. If energy is blocked from flushing out negative emotions, he is said to suffer from psychological problems.
Chi kung works at the root cause, which is energy blockage. Other Chinese therapeutic methods, like herbalism and acupuncture, which also deal with energy blockage, work at higher hierarchical order. An acupuncturist or a herbalist will find out where the energy is blocked, and applies acupuncture or herbs to clear the blockage accordingly. Hence, in other Chinese therapeutic methods, correct diagnosis is very important.
It may sound ridiculous to those not familiar with chi kung philosophy that diagnosis is not necessary in chi kung healing! This is because chi kung deals with the root cause. Once the energy blockage is cleared, the patient recovers as a matter of course.
Different students in a same class might suffer from different diseases, like rheumatism, diabetes, cancer, chronic infection, and depression. But regardless of what the disease was, the root cause was energy blockage. Once the energy blockage was cleared, the patients recovered.
How did practicing chi kung clear energy blockage? It was through chi flow. The chi flow generated by chi kung practice cleared the energy blockage.
How did the chi flow know where the energy blockage was? Or, how did chi kung know which disease to cure?
It was a natural characteristic of chi flow to flow from high energy level to low energy level. Disease areas were areas of low energy level where there was insufficient energy to perform natural physiological and psychological functions to maintain normal good health. The energy generated by practicing genuine chi kung would naturally flow to these low energy areas to clear the blockage. When the blockage was cleared, the students would recover, regardless of what diseases Western medicine might call them, as their energy flowed to these areas to resume natural physiological and psychological functioning to restore good health.
Question 4
Can we transmit chi to friends to clear their blockage and help them recover?
Answer
You can but you may not. In other words, it is within your ability to do it, but you should not do it. In fact, every person has the natural ability to transmit chi, or energy, to another person. Mothers do this to their babies when the mothers comfort them. When your girlfriend is cold, if you hug her you transmit chi to her to warm her.
But unless you are trained, the chi you transmit to friends to help them clear their blockage is unlikely to work. You may harm them and harm yourself.
If your friends’ energy is blocked, which is the reason why they are sick, adding more chi to them will aggravate their blockage causing more harm. Their sick chi may back-flow to you making you sick too.
Transmitting chi to patients to clear their blockage and help them recover is an important part of chi kung healing. A chi kung healer must be properly trained. Chi kung healing is not something any person can play about with.
Many people may find it hard to believe, but practicing high-level chi kung can overcome any illness
Question 5
Some schools pay much attention to visualisation. Can you please tell us more about visualisation in chi kung training?
— Dimitry, Switzerland
Answer
Chi kung operates at three levels — the levels of form, energy and mind. The proportions of benefit by practicing chi kung at these three respective levels are 1, 3 and 6. In other words, if all other things were equal,. practitioners operating at the form level may obtain 10% of the benefit of the chi kung training, those operating at the energy level obtain 30%, and those operating at the mind level obtain 60%.
As most chi kung practitioners practicing genuine chi kung operate at the form level, where they perform many chi kung techniques for a long time and get some chi flow, whereas we practice chi kung at all the three levels of form, energy and mind, our benefit is 10 times more than what most other practitioners get.
A common misconception among some people is that when a practitioner operates at the mind level, he has to visualise. This is not true. Operating at the mind level, the practitioner may or may not visualise, but he must be in a chi kung state of mind, or at a heightened level of consciousness.
Many practitioners, especially those who learn from books and videos, confuse visualisation with intellectualisation. They think they visualise when they actually intellectualise.
Even if they visualise, it is still different from visualisation in the mind level of chi kung. These practitioners visualise while in their ordinary state of mind, whereas visualisation in chi kung must be performed in a chi kung state of mind. It is actually having a gentle thought rather than visualisation.
We do not need to employ visualisation at the elementary level of our chi kung exercises, but we still operate at the level of mind (even without visualization). Hence, our students get more benefits practicing our elementary chi kung exercises than other practitioners practicing advanced exercises. Many people may not believe it, and some may become angry at this statement, but it is a fact. Some examples of our elementary chi kung exercises are 5-Animal Play, 18 Jewels, and 18 Lohan Hands.
We use visualisation for some of our intermediate chi kung exercises, and do not use visualisations for other intermediate chi kung exercises. Some example of our intermediate chi kung exercises where visualisation is needed are Cosmic Shower and Abdominal Breathing, and some examples where visualisation is not needed are stance training and 18-Lohan Art.
We generally use visualisation in our advanced chi kung exercises, though they are some exceptions. Two remarkable exception are Sinew Metamorphosis and Cosmic Breathing which are very powerful. Examples of advanced exercises where visualization is needed include Bone Marrow Cleansing and Expanding into the Cosmos.
Question 6
What, in your opinion, will Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiuan be in a hundred years from now?
Answer
In my opinion in a hundred years from now more people will practice genuine Shaolin Kungfu and genuine Taijiquan, instead of practicing Shaolin forms for demonstration or for free exchange of blows, and Taiji dance. The total number of people who practice the genuine arts will still be small, but it will be bigger than the number now where most people, despite their good intention, cannot differentiate the genuine from the bogus.
Genuine Shaolin Kungfu and genuine Taijiquan give practitioners wonderful benefits. Besides being able to defend themselves when needed, these genuine arts provide practitioners with good health, vitality and longevity, as well as mental clarity and spiritual joys. Masters who teach bogus Shaolin Kungfu and bogus Taijiquan also say that their arts give good health, vitality and longevity as well as mental clarity and spiritual joys, but their students never attain these benefits, and they don’t realize it. By the time they realise this fact, they are too proud to change to genuine arts even if they have the opportunities, but usually they may not have the opportunities as genuine Shaolin Kungfu and genuine Taijiquan are very rare nowadays.
It is precisely to preserve genuine Shaolin Kungfu, and later genuine Taijiquan, that I established Shaolin Wahnam Association in the early 1980s, which later evolved to our school, Shaolin Wahnam Institute, in the middle 1990s. We have progressed very well. We now have more than 60,000 students spread over more than 35 countries in the world. Even if I were to retire tomorrow, our Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiquan as well as chi kung will continue to spread as we have very good instructors.
It is legitimate to ask what justification we have to claim that our Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiquan are genuine. The benefits our students get correspond exactly with what genuine Shaolin Kungfu and genuine Taijiquan will give. Besides being able to defend ourselves using our arts, our students have good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys.
Internal force is not only used for combat; more importantly it is used to enrich our daily life
Question 7
What is the difference between chi kung and nei gong?
Answer
Chi kung means “energy art”, and nei gong means “internal art”. In this case, “chi kung” is in English spelling, and “nei gong” is in Romanced Chinese spelling.
In Romanized Chinese spelling, chi kung is “qi gong”, and in English spelling hei gong is “nei kung”. Because we are used to English spelling, we may think that Romanize Chinese spelling is funny. Actually it is English spelling that is funny. “Bus”, for example, is pronounced as /bas/, not /bus/, and “phone” is pronounced as /fon/, not /phone/.
The two terms, “chi kung” and “nei gong”, can be used interchangeably, i.e. they have similar meaning though the connotation may be different. Chi kung is a modern term, nei gong is more classical.
For example, 18 Lohan Hands and Sinew Metamorphosis can be called chi kung or nei gong. Calling some exercises as chi kung gives a connotation that they are modern and are practiced to maintain some general well-being. Calling them as nei gong gives a connotation that they are classical inheritance practiced for martial art purposes.
In this connection, most of our chi kung exercises are more aptly described as nei gong than as chi kung, especially when chi kung has today degraded into gentle physical exercise, or “ti cao” (pronounced as t’i c’ao) which is bodily exercise. But we still call them chi kung exercises because the term “chi kung” has been established.
Question 8
We develop a lot of internal force in our chi kung or nei gong exercises. What are we to do with the internal force?
Answer
It is like asking what we are to do with money when we have earned a lot of money. Use it, force or money, wisely.
There are three main functions we can put internal force to use:
-
To maintain life.
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To enhance life.
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To enable us to have better results no matter what we do.
Maintaining life is the most important function of internal force. It is also the function that many people with internal force, including genuine masters, fail to realize. The force that changes the breakfast you ate into blood and flesh as well as vital energy is internal force.
The second function of internal force is to enhance life. It is similar to but not the same as the first function. Enhancing life can be manifested in many ways. Having zest in your work and joy in spending time with your family are some of the manifestations of enhancing life.
The third function is to enable those with internal force to have better results than when they did not have internal force, in whatever they do, including martial arts, intellectual work, sports and playing games. Take a few seconds to reflect on this tremendous benefit. No matter what you do, because you have internal force you will do better than when you did not have internal force!
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at secretary@shaolin.org stating your name, country and e-mail address.
SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS DECEMBER 2015 PART 2 BY GRANDMASTER WONG KIEW KIT
The great Bodhidharma
Question 1
First I would like to again give my most heartfelt thanks to Sigung for the Legacy of Bodhidharma course in 2012. Since then Iron Wire has become my most prized possession. iI has given me health, a strong body, vitality, a strong mind, and courage on one level.
On another level it has continually brought my kung fu to new levels. As each of the 12 Bridges manifests in my practice I feel as though I take baby steps closer and closer to realizing what past masters experienced, not to mention Sinew Metamorphosis, and Bone Marrow Cleansing. — just wow!
— David, USA
Answer
I am very glad of your progress, which is expected as you have been very diligent in your training.
What you are making are not “baby steps”, as you modestly reported, but “gigantic steps”. We do not mean to be presumptuous, but it is good for you and others of our Shaolin Wahnam Family to know that what you and many of our students can achieve in one year what past masters would take at least 10, but more probably 20!
I myself took more than 20 years of training before I could achieved what you described below, and I was very lucky, I learned from some of the best teachers in the world. Not many past masters had my opportunity.
My mentioning of this fact is not to glamorize our school, but to remind you and others not to over-train. Over-training has become an issue with our diligent students in both chi kung and kungfu. You should avoid their mistake.
Question 2
All the force training I know seems to be almost too powerful now that I’ve been training for some time. I am immensely looking forward to taking all the courses at the UK Summer Camp! Looking forward even more to attending an intensive kung fu course and consolidating all my Sifu has taught me.
Answer
It is important to differentiate my courses, both regional and intensive, from the regular classes taught by your sifu and other Shaolin Wahnam instructors.
My courses, including regional ones, are intensive. My intensive courses in Malaysia are very intensive. Course participants learn in a few days whet they would learn in a year or more in regular classes. Most other students in other schools will never learn what our students will learn, no matter for how long they may train. They may be angry reading this; that is their problem and their business. Frankly, I don’t want to waste my time on them.
What I write here is for our students. It is useful for our students to know the difference between what we practice in our school, and what most other people practice in other schools.
I always justify my statements. What do participants in my courses and students taught by our instructors in regular classes learn in a few days or a year that most other people may not learn even when they have trained for many years? Let us leave aside details like ensuring safety first and rotating the waist, and focus on main points. How many kungfu practitioners today have internal force and are able to apply their kungfu techniques for combat after having trained for 20 years? It is indeed shocking how much kungfu has degraded.
Why don’t our instructors teach in a few days instead of spreading the instructional material over a year? It is for our students’ benefit. Students need time to develop the appropriate skills, which will not only improve their kungfu but also enrich their daily life. The students also need time to adjust themselves to the new levels of energy, otherwise they will over-train with adverse results.
Then, why do I teach a year’s material in a few days? It is also for the students’ benefit. For obvious reasons, it is not feasible for students to learn from me over a year like in a regular class. So I condense the material into a few days so that more deserving students all over the world can benefit.
My courses and the regular classes taught by our instructors complement each other. The focus of my course is to learn. The focus of the regular classes is to practice. Learning constitutes only 5% of practical success; the remaining 95% is practice. Students in our school are indeed lucky to have these two learning opportunities that complement each other.
The Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course is unbelievable. It covers material ranging from beginners’ to masters’ level. You will learn all that you need to become a genuine master.
Iron Wire is probably the most powerful kungfu set to generate internal force
Question 3
The main reason I am emailing you is to ask for advice in two matters. Firstly it is somewhat odd but my situation started after practice a few months ago when I was walking around and then relaxing. I started having visions. The earliest one began with me as a very young boy except it wasn’t me as I am now, I was learning a Tiger Kungfu similar to my experience in Post 20 in my training journal.
I recall vague images of some brutal training as well as pleasant chi kung and meditation in a beautiful garden. Then some time later I started getting images of wandering the streets, stumbling around and getting into many fights as well as demonstrating kung fu, and receiving a few coins for food and drink.
These visions got more and more vivid as time went by. The most vivid one to date was a couple of months ago. I think I was walking down a narrow street and got jumped by many men. They were screaming at me, I couldn’t understand them. I think it was Cantonese but I don’t speak the language. They attacked me and I defeated them. But one of them managed to cut me with a knife.
When I came back to my awareness I was sweaty, and my breath was deeper like I just got done fighting for real. I was also bleeding a little bit where I got cut in the vision. This was the last vision I had. I don’t know if another will come.
Answer
It was probable that you relived your past life when you were a skillful kungfu exponent. Just enjoy the visions like you enjoy a movie, but don’t be attached to them.
Experiences in past lives were imprinted into one’s consciousness, but these imprints are not normally accessible to the person in his current life. However, some training, like high-level chi kung and meditation, can erase defilement that blocked these imprints and allow them to surface. Yours appear to be the case.
Question 4
Similarly a couple of months ago I started having very interesting chi flows. I’ve had chi flows that resembled kungfu in the past but nothing like this. I feel so incredible during these flows. It feels like Drunken Eight Immortals but a lot more straight forward and “hung gar-like.” I can feel my spirit and chi expanding and spinning during transitions, contracting and coiling, and exploding straight out again in focused ways with great force.
It is these expansions, contractions, and explosions that seem to cause my body to move in very drunken ways. It is my first time experiencing chi flows at such a deep level like this. Could you give me any advice on how to deal with these emerging memories and “drunken” kung fu flows?
Answer
Enjoy the experience, but do not be attached to them. In other words, when they occur, fine. You can learn a lot and benefit from the experiences. If they don’t occur, fine too. Don’t crave for them.
Many students in our schools have similar experiences, and have enjoyed and benefited from them. There experiences are odd to most other people, especially in Western societies. Some may even think you have gone crazy. But these experiences are not uncommon in our school.
There are two explanations for these interesting experiences. As explained above, chi kung training has erased some defilements allowing some past life memories to surface. The second explanation is that your own training of internal force has enabled you to progress to this high level.
It does not matter which explanation is the actual reason, though I think the first one is more likely. As an analogy, when you go to your bank and key in the right particulars on a teller machine, cash will flow out — provided you have the cash in the bank, just as provide you had the past-life experiences or the necessary high-level internal force training. It does not matter whether it was an officer-in-charge or the bank manager himself who first put the money in the teller machine. In both cases, just enjoy the benefits.
Drunken Eight Immortals
Question 5
The second thing I want to ask you about is the 12 Bridges. They have been manifesting in my practice in interesting ways.
My striking speed was first enhanced incredibly by the manifestation of straight force and inch force. It felt like my punch started off full speed, and then at the last 6 inches or so inch force kicks in and gives a sudden acceleration and an explosion of force like the cracking of a whip. This gave me a sudden flash of intuition that all twelve bridges might be combined simultaneously into an “ultimate strike.”
Since this flash of insight I’ve managed to have 7 bridges manifest spontaneously in my strikes — Lifting, Circulate, Soft, Hard, Straight, Inch, and Press.
Answer
This is an expected result of your diligent training.
All the 12 bridges may be combined into an “ultimate strike” or used separately, depending on the situations. We are the master of the 12 bridges, and we decide how and when to use them. We should not be a slave to rigid theories.
Your manifesting 7 bridges in your strikes is very good. Carry on.
Editorial Note: David’s questions will be continued at March 2015 Part 2 issue of the Question-Answer Series.
Question 6
About 15 years ago some chi kung practitioners opened my chi points. I have been experiencing jing being converted to chi and then to shen. This is a wonderful but powerful feeling, which has made me feel and look younger.
— Ivan, Russia
Answer
Jing being converted to chi and chi being converted to shen are descriptions of two important stages of energy transformation in everyday life or in chi kung training. It may occur naturally at basic levels or through advanced training at masters’ levels.
Jing being converted to chi, or substance being converted to energy, happens to every person in everyday life. It describes, for example, that the food a person eats is converted to vital energy that maintains life.
Chi being converted to shen, or energy being converted to spirit, is also present in everyday, irrespective of whether a person practices chi kung. It describes, for example, that when a person is full of energy, his spirit is u;lifted.
At an advanced level of internal art training, jing being converted to chi may describe some specialized training where a practitioner develops a lot of internal force. Where does the internal force come from? In modern scientific terms, the practitioner breaks down his subatomic particle to release energy.
This modern explanation is from me. The practitioner may not know the scientific operation behind his training. He just trains according to the method taught by his master. Past masters described this process as jing being converted to chi. As I have the benefit of both Eastern and Western education, I am able to explain the Eastern concept using Western terms.
Chi being converted to shen describes another advanced state of training where a practitioner’s energy is converted to spirit. In some of my advanced courses, like Cosmic Breathing and Merging with the Cosmos, many practitioners had this experience. They generated a lot of energy, which greatly strengthened and enriched their spirit to expand beyond their physical body, resulting in a spiritual awakening.
Understandably other people may not believe this happened. But to the practitioners who had direct experience there was no doubt that this happened. More significantly, it was life-changing. If it happened to one or two practitioners in a class of thirty once in a blue moon, critics may say it was their illusion. But if this happened to more than half the practitioners in every class of Cosmic Breathing and Merging with the Cosmos, critics were just stubborn to not accept facts right before their eyes.
When chi if vibrant, the spirit is bright
Question 7
Sometimes I have to slow down or stop everything when this occurs at certain times of the day. My body mass and muscle have consequently reduced significantly much to my disliking. I do not know whether this may be due to ageing, I am 45, but I am only a fraction of the size I used to be. I have also lost weight.
Can I increase my body mass and muscles to my former self? Should I try to oppose the conversion of my jing into chi?
Answer
Your shrinking in size and weight is a serious problem. Either those chi kung practitioners who opened your energy points had done something wrong, or you practiced wrongly.
Irrespective of whether jing being converted to chi, and chi being converted to shen occurred at the basic level of everyday life or at the masters’ level of advanced training, the conversion should not result in a practitioner shrinking in size and weight. It should contribute to his health and vitality.
Of course, you can increase you body mass and muscles to your former self. But you should not do it yourself. You don’t have the knowledge and skills. You should consult a qualified chi kung healer. If you seek treatment at the Holistic Health Cultivation Centre, your recovery is guaranteed.
Question 8
What can I do to improve the results of my chi kung practice?
— Wswaldo, Ecuador
Answer
Contrary to what is practiced in other schools, in our school you don’t have to try to improve your results! In fact we would ask you not to aim at getting the best results when you practice at home. You would have done very well when you practice at home on your own to get only 30% of what you get here in a regional course.
This is indeed very odd, and I need to explain further. In this course not only we practice high-level chi kung, we are very cost-effective. You gain in one day what other students may not gain in one month. The benefit is very powerful. This is alright if it happens once a while, like when you attend a course. But if you get powerful benefit like this every day, it will be over-training.
So, at home when you practice on your own, if your daily result is only a portion of what you get here, like about 30%, that is fine. Your attitude for your daily practice is not that you must get the best of your practice, but to enjoy your practice.
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at secretary@shaolin.org stating your name, country and e-mail address.
GRADUATION SPEECHES OF INTRODUCTORY CHI KUNG COURSE
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/video-clips-10/holistic-health-cultivation-centre/overview.html)
Holistic Health Cultivation Centre
The Holistic Health Cultivation Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome so-called incurable diseases conducted an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th June to 15th June 2015. The course was taught by Sifu Dr Foong Tuck Meng and Sifu Wong Chun Nga.
During a special training session taught by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, the Grandmaster mentioned two important points:
-
As a matter of course, students who daily and correctly practice the exercises taught at the course will overcome their illness if they are sick, or will prevent illness happening if they are already healthy.
-
Students should choose the right techniques and practice at the right level to attain their aim of overcoming illness or maintaining good health.
Grandmaster Wong explained the difference between “as a matter of course” and “as a matter of fact”. If a person drove on an expressway from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, arriving at Singapore was a matter of course. But as a matter of fact, he might not arrive, if, for example, he stopped half way or turned off to other roads.
Grandmaster Wong also pointed out that medical chi kung, which was meant to overcome or prevent illness, was the lowest in the following hierarchy of chi kung
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Medical Chi Kung
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Chi Kung for Health and Vitality
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Chi Kung for Scholars
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Chi Kung for Warriors
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Spiritual Chi Kung
If a practitioner practiced at a higher level, i.e. if his chi kung was too powerful, he might harm himself. It was like, Grandmaster Wong explained, asking an untrained person to run a marathon or lift heavy weights.
Hence, practitioners who wished to overcome or prevent illness must not practice at a high level even when they had the knowledge and ability to do so. It was the same in daily life. One must chose the best method and operate it at an appropriate way that fulfilled his needs.
During a graduation dinner on 14th June 2015 of the Introductory Chi Kung Course conducted by Holistic Health Cultivation Centre which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome so-call incurable diseases, many people gave speeches of gratitude for overcoming their so-called incurable diseases.
Grandmaster Wong concluded the speech giving session assuring that those with so-called incurable diseases would overcome their illness as a matter of course if they practiced what they had learned at the course, and mentioning that the speeches of those who had overcome their so-called incurable diseases were a great inspiration to all of us.
GRADUATION DINNER OF INTRODUCTORY CHI KUNG COURSE
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/video-clips-10/holistic-health-cultivation-centre/overview.html)
Holistic Health Cultivation Centre
The Holistic Health Cultivation Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome so-called incurable diseases conducted an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th June to 15th June 2015. The course was taught by Sifu Dr Foong Tuck Meng and Sifu Wong Chun Nga.
During a special training session taught by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, the Grandmaster mentioned two important points:
-
As a matter of course, students who daily and correctly practice the exercises taught at the course will overcome their illness if they are sick, or will prevent illness happening if they are already healthy.
-
Students should choose the right techniques and practice at the right level to attain their aim of overcoming illness or maintaining good health.
Grandmaster Wong explained the difference between “as a matter of course” and “as a matter of fact”. If a person drove on an expressway from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, arriving at Singapore was a matter of course. But as a matter of fact, he might not arrive, if, for example, he stopped half way or turned off to other roads.
Grandmaster Wong also pointed out that medical chi kung, which was meant to overcome or prevent illness, was the lowest in the following hierarchy of chi kung
-
Medical Chi Kung
-
Chi Kung for Health and Vitality
-
Chi Kung for Scholars
-
Chi Kung for Warriors
-
Spiritual Chi Kung
If a practitioner practiced at a higher level, i.e. if his chi kung was too powerful, he might harm himself. It was like, Grandmaster Wong explained, asking an untrained person to run a marathon or lift heavy weights.
Hence, practitioners who wished to overcome or prevent illness must not practice at a high level even when they had the knowledge and ability to do so. It was the same in daily life. One must chose the best method and operate it at an appropriate way that fulfilled his needs.
This was the graduation dinner of an Introductory Chi Kung Course on 14th June 2015 organized by Holistic Health Cultivation Centre which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome their so-call incurable diseases.
DAY 3 OF INTRODUCTORY CHI KUNG COURSE BY HOLISTIC HEALTH CULTIVATION CENTRE
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/video-clips-10/holistic-health-cultivation-centre/overview.html)
Holistic Health Cultivation Centre
The Holistic Health Cultivation Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome so-called incurable diseases conducted an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th June to 15th June 2015. The course was taught by Sifu Dr Foong Tuck Meng and Sifu Wong Chun Nga.
During a special training session taught by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, the Grandmaster mentioned two important points:
-
As a matter of course, students who daily and correctly practice the exercises taught at the course will overcome their illness if they are sick, or will prevent illness happening if they are already healthy.
-
Students should choose the right techniques and practice at the right level to attain their aim of overcoming illness or maintaining good health.
Grandmaster Wong explained the difference between “as a matter of course” and “as a matter of fact”. If a person drove on an expressway from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, arriving at Singapore was a matter of course. But as a matter of fact, he might not arrive, if, for example, he stopped half way or turned off to other roads.
Grandmaster Wong also pointed out that medical chi kung, which was meant to overcome or prevent illness, was the lowest in the following hierarchy of chi kung
-
Medical Chi Kung
-
Chi Kung for Health and Vitality
-
Chi Kung for Scholars
-
Chi Kung for Warriors
-
Spiritual Chi Kung
If a practitioner practiced at a higher level, i.e. if his chi kung was too powerful, he might harm himself. It was like, Grandmaster Wong explained, asking an untrained person to run a marathon or lift heavy weights.
Hence, practitioners who wished to overcome or prevent illness must not practice at a high level even when they had the knowledge and ability to do so. It was the same in daily life. One must chose the best method and operate it at an appropriate way that fulfilled his needs.
This is Day 3 of an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th to 15th June 2015 conducted by Holistic Health Cultivation Centre which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome their so-call incurable diseases.
DAY 2 OF INTRODUCTORY CHI KUNG COURSE BY HOLISTIC HEALTH CULTIVATION CENTRE
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/video-clips-10/holistic-health-cultivation-centre/overview.html)
Holistic Health Cultivation Centre
The Holistic Health Cultivation Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome so-called incurable diseases conducted an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th June to 15th June 2015. The course was taught by Sifu Dr Foong Tuck Meng and Sifu Wong Chun Nga.
During a special training session taught by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, the Grandmaster mentioned two important points:
-
As a matter of course, students who daily and correctly practice the exercises taught at the course will overcome their illness if they are sick, or will prevent illness happening if they are already healthy.
-
Students should choose the right techniques and practice at the right level to attain their aim of overcoming illness or maintaining good health.
Grandmaster Wong explained the difference between “as a matter of course” and “as a matter of fact”. If a person drove on an expressway from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore, arriving at Singapore was a matter of course. But as a matter of fact, he might not arrive, if, for example, he stopped half way or turned off to other roads.
Grandmaster Wong also pointed out that medical chi kung, which was meant to overcome or prevent illness, was the lowest in the following hierarchy of chi kung
-
Medical Chi Kung
-
Chi Kung for Health and Vitality
-
Chi Kung for Scholars
-
Chi Kung for Warriors
-
Spiritual Chi Kung
If a practitioner practiced at a higher level, i.e. if his chi kung was too powerful, he might harm himself. It was like, Grandmaster Wong explained, asking an untrained person to run a marathon or lift heavy weights.
Hence, practitioners who wished to overcome or prevent illness must not practice at a high level even when they had the knowledge and ability to do so. It was the same in daily life. One must chose the best method and operate it at an appropriate way that fulfilled his needs.
This is Day 2 of an Introductory Chi Kung Course from 11th to 15th June 2015 conducted by Holistic Health Cultivation Centre which has an outstanding record of helping people overcome their so-call incurable diseases.
CHIN-NA IN ONE-FINGER SHOOTING ZEN
The Way of the Master, written by my Sifu, Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit, is now officially launched.
You can order the book through Amazon or write a review.
You can also read more delightful stories, or order the special edition directly.
Please enjoy one of the memorable stories from my Sifu’s book below:
CHIN-NA IN ONE-FINGER SHOOTING ZEN
(reproduced from http://shaolin.org/general-2/way-of-master/way09.html)
The One-Finger Zen hand form in One-Finger Shooting Zen
Dim-mark and chin-na (擒拿) are the two advanced Shaolin arts trained in One-Finger Shooting Zen. Dim-mark uses One-Finger Zen, and chin-na uses Tiger-Claw.
My sifu also told me a story of how he used chin-na from One-Finger Shooting Zen to defeat a Taekwondo master.
My sifu was teaching One-Finger Shooting Zen to a class when a Taekwondo master came in. He watched my sifu teach for a while, and asked my sifu.
“What’s it that you are teaching?”
“It’s called One-Finger Shooting Zen.” Answered my sifu.
“Can it be used for fighting?” He asked.
“Of course,” my sifu said. “Every technique in Shaolin Kungfu can be used for fighting.”
The Taekwondo master looked puzzled. “Can you show me?” He asked.
“Yes,” my sifu said. He asked his students to move aside, and then told the Taekwondo master, “Now you can attack me in any way you want.”
The Taekwondo master gave my sifu a fast side kick.
My sifu retreated a small step to avoid the kick, and used his right forearm of Single Tiger-Claw to support the kicking leg. Then, he circled his arm in the Single Tiger-Claw pattern so that his forearm and upper arm locked the opponent’s foot, his Tiger-Claw gripped the opponent’s knee with his thumb pressing on the opponent’s vital point causing him much pain. The opponent, standing on one leg and being off-balanced, was quite helpless.
“This is not a choice pattern in his situation but I want to use the same Tiger-Claw pattern in the One-Finger Shooting Zen sequence to show him there is combat application in what we are training,” my sifu added.
Shaolin Wahnam Kuala Lumpur 