Practicing after the Asking Bridges/Legacy of Ng Mui course in St Petersburg 2018

[Grimlock]

In the general discussion of the St Petersburg 2018 Chi Kung and Kung Fu courses with Sifu, Ami asked the following:

Also, in terms of training, we learned a lot. I understand that with the sets we follow the process for routine, form, flow and force. Any additional advice for our home practice? And how much to train with Double worshipping Buddha vs Big Boss for example.

This gives us an excellent opportunity to discuss different ways to practice the course material as well as share our experiences as we continue to train the material over time. While this will primarily benefit the course attendees, there's no rule saying others can't learn a bit from Sifu's videos and join in the fun (please check with your Sifu if you aren't sure whether you should)! My hope is that this thread will also generate some good discussion and shared wisdom on good practice habits and effective ways to practice after a course, but let's see where it goes!

For reference, Sifu posted the course videos here: https://shaolin.org/video-clips-17/a.../overview.html
For the Asking Bridges portion, we focused on Asking Bridges Sequence #1, which can be seen here (from the 2011 course): https://shaolin.org/video-clips-6/fi...equence01.html
The two Flower Set sequences used for the course are here: https://shaolin.org/video-clips-17/general/ng-mui.html

Later, I'll post what I'm practicing and what my students are training in our weekly class. For now, though, two simple questions:

What are you practicing after the course? What have the effects been so far?

[LeeWeiJoo]

Thank you for starting this discussion on the St. Petersburg courses Chris

I look forward to what the course participants have to say.

With Shaolin Salute,
Lee Wei Joo

[Molly]

Hi Chris!

Thanks for starting this. I was super bummed I couldn't attend so I just had to be there in spirit and thank the internet and Sifu for uploading all of the videos to his website. The course was a lot of material for Michael to assimilate all at once, so we've been going through the material she learned bit by bit in class the last few weeks.

It's also a great opportunity for me to bone up on the Flower Set as well as the basic principles of chi sau. I'll be posting what we're working on as I help Michael unpack the contents of the course!

All the best,

Molly

[David Langford]

I was lucky enough to practice with Michael Helgeson after he had attended the Asking Bridge course. With my background primarily in Chi Sau it was interesting to compare and contrast the methods which seem to be conceptually identical: The practice of sensing how much force is incoming, feeling which direction is it travelling, and redirecting that force in the most efficient way to seek an advantage. What are people's thoughts on the commonalities and differences between Men Kiew, Chi Sau, Tui Shou, and Chai Sau?

[Brian Boldt]

Hello everyone!!!!

I'm so sorry and, indeed, embarrassed that this has taken so long for me to contribute to this. In fact, not just this thread, but the whole forum/kwoon. This is my first ever post.

;-)

Thus, I suppose I should offer a very brief background. I first learned from Sifu (Grandmaster Wong) in the 2012 Las Vegas Chi Kung courses on the recommendation of my Siheng (an old college friend of mine, Sifu Chris Didyk). At the time, I had no martial art experience, but a plethora of medical conditions, namely a weak immune system, failing joints, and gut and back problems. I was not a very happy person. Between 2013 and 2016 I embarked on a long and thorough journey to heal myself, of which, for the most part, I did! Then in 2017, my Siheng Chris kindly taught me the Shaolin Kung Fu basics and I began training with my other Siheng Michael Helgeson in Portland (I live in Seattle). My chi kung practice was reinvigorated and my "healed" body got instantaneously propelled into the cosmos! LOL! I was hooked!

This course, Asking Bridges/Legacy of Ng Mui, will forever be a very special event in my life, as it was my first time learning Kung Fu directly from Sifu. It was very much a re-birthing process for me and laid the framework for so much more to come... indeed, I am writing you today from Malaysia, where I begin learning the Small Universe in less than 24 hours... a feat unimaginable for me just a few months ago!

Because I have been preparing, nearly 'round-the-clock, for the upcoming Practitioner's course, Asking Bridges and the Flower Set sequences that we learned have been relegated to a brief bi-daily review. I have had two opportunities to practice with Siheng Michael, which reaffirms my excitement for diving into deeper work with this after I return home. I have also had to be careful with skills like Double Worshiping of the Buddha, for fear of over-training, in light of the volume I have currently taken on.

So, in short, I am in a holding pattern with much of this course's teachings. However, my future plans include training/drilling partner work and increasing tactile awareness and letting go of my fears around sparing and "doing the right thing." I believe that Asking Bridges holds the key to this for me, as it will deepen my intuition, decision making, and reaction. With more experience will come more to talk about (LOL!); so, I'll certainly be back to this thread in the future.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this course the magic that it was!

Much love,

Brian

[Alexey Garshin]

excellent answer! and has to be)