If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You will have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.
Welcome to the Shaolin Wahnam Institute Virtual Kwoon and Discussion Forum.
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, communicate privately with other members (PM), respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free.
When considering joining our community, please read our Forum Rules and FAQ. Please also note that this forum, although open to the public, is actually a virtual extension of the Shaolin Wahnam Kwoon (Martial Arts School). Upon "entering" the school, we do expect our guests and members to conduct themselves in an appropriate manner at all times.
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.
Please follow this link to find out what a Virtual Kwoon is.
Thank you DarkCosmoz. I tried the first one and you get the rocking motion. I didn't feel much circulation probably because I'm not open enough but I though the different hand postures were interesting, would be interesting to know what manifestations occur in the body due to different hand postures. But thanks to Sifu for posting these remarkable chikung forms.
Don't try Sinew Metamorphosis. Wait until you learn it from Sifu. You will miss the essence without Sifu's transmission, which is the special ingredient that makes Sinew Metamorphosis so amazing. Instead, you may (very likely ) do it wong and harm yourself!
Learning this set from Sifu is better than gold, so if you ever get the opportunity, grab it!
I realised during the course that less physical movement gave more power, energy flowed much stronger. Like my Sifu said - I flick the chi, not fingers.
Just think about having possibility to train these arts personally with Sigung every day... I think that after some months with practise, with the right skill, it will be enough to flick only a small finger to generate more than needed force.
I realised during the course that less physical movement gave more power, energy flowed much stronger. Like my Sifu said - I flick the chi, not fingers.
Just think about having possibility to train these arts personally with Sigung every day... I think that after some months with practise, with the right skill, it will be enough to flick only a small finger to generate more than needed force.
Thank You so much Sigung for Your generosity.
I think your right regarding safety, its important that when the wave of energy rises up its important to let it come back down to dantien so you shouldn't create any undue tension. Feels like a flowing energy and it is indeed amplified when you don't physically flick the fingers but just using mind to flick.
Thank you Sifu for your neverending generosity and hard work!
...and thanks to all of you who have shared your insights and experiences on Sinew Metamorphosis.
If you practice Sinew Metamorphosis, which produces a lot of energy, it is more important that you have good thoughts.
Training high level Shaolin arts like Sinew Metamorphosis makes our minds very powerful. The fact that we generate so much internal force enhances the power of our mind even more. In turn, this power is molded and shaped by our conscious thoughts. The intent and quality of our thoughts shapes the final outcome of our reality.
If we have angry thoughts, the energy that is generated from our angry thoughts would be negative and distorted. The fact that our minds are now trained and enhanced with internal force is basically instant karma waiting to happen!
Training high level Shaolin arts like Sinew Metamorphosis makes our minds very powerful. The fact that we generate so much internal force enhances the power of our mind even more. In turn, this power is molded and shaped by our conscious thoughts. The intent and quality of our thoughts shapes the final outcome of our reality.
If we have angry thoughts, the energy that is generated from our angry thoughts would be negative and distorted. The fact that our minds are now trained and enhanced with internal force is basically instant karma waiting to happen!
Thank you Sigung for the reminder.
Best wishes,
Stephen
Yes thankyou for the reminder Sifu and thankyou DarkCosmoz for the explanation behind this instruction from Sifu. It helps one to follow instructions when you give an explanation and now that I am aware through your post I will make greater efforts to have good thoughts.
Hi George, here’s question 6 again with part one and two:
Question 6
1. I have learned Sinew Metamorphosis before, but for whatever reason it 'did not work'. This is in contrast to other advanced practices I learned at the time such as Cosmic Breathing or Cosmic Shower, which had noticeable "Wow!" effects. What advice can you give to people for whom there is no noticeable effect when they first learn Sinew Metamorphosis? 2. After several years of regular training I tried once again Sinew Metamorphosis after a refresher from your books. It initiates a gentle chi flow, but again I seem to get different results from other students. Is this an intellectual blockage, a meridian blockage, or both? As my regular training is very good and very beneficial, I don't hold on to this detail, but I thought I would raise the topic here as it is relevant. 3. Sinew Metamorphosis seems very esoteric to the uninitiated. If introducing the concept to the general public (non-student), what is a good and concise way of describing the practice and the effects?
Sifu Andy Cusick
Answer
If a student does not receive satisfactory result in the art he practices, the fault can be traced to three factors:
The art itself.
The teacher.
The student.
If the art is not genuine, no matter how good the student and the teacher are, the student will not get satisfactory result. This is the situation of most kungfu and chi kung practiced today. Kungfu has been so ridiculously debased that students cannot use their kungfu for combat, and chi kung has been so ridiculously debased that students are still sick and weak after many years of training.
If the art is genuine but the teacher is incompetent, the student will also not receive the benefit practicing the art is meant to give. This was the case when kungfu and chi kung first spread from China. In China in the past, kungfu and chi kung were genuine. But the teachers who later taught these arts were incompetent, resulting that only the external forms of kungfu and chi kung were taught.
If the art is genuine and the reacher is competent but the student is unable or unwilling to learn, he will also not receive the benefits the art is meant to give. This is the case in our school, Shaolin Wahnam, where the art is genuine and the teachers competent. In regional courses, for example, when I asked students to raise their hands to show that they received the benefits the art was meant to give, more than 90% of the class did so, indicating that the art was genuine and the teacher competent.
Thus, those who did not received the benefits had themselves to blame. Probably they were intellectualising or did not follow my instructions when I transmitted the skills necessary to receive the benefits. On some occasions I investigated further and found that those who did not receive the benefits intellectualised when I transmitted the skills, and a few did not follow my instructions though they never meant to be disrespectful. For example, when I asked them to breath out and be relaxed, they were still flicking their fingers.
My advice to people in general for whom there is no noticeable effect when they first learn Sinew Metamorphosis is to attend my regional courses on Sinew Metamorphosis. This sounds arrogant to those not exposed to our teaching, and that is their business. I am not going to waste my time persuading them to attend my classes. After all, I offer them a golden opportunity to experience the wonderful benefits of Sinew Metamorphosis in just 4 hours — an opportunity they are unlikely to get anywhere else in the world. For those who heed my advice and attend my Sinew Metamorphosis classes, I shall do my best for them.
My advice to students who attend my Sinew Metamorphosis class is to just follow my instructions and they will get the best benefits. Indeed, this is the exact instruction I give in all my Sinew Metamorphosis classes, and in most other classes. “JUst follow my instructions” means just follow my instructions. My instructions are always reasonable and can be performed by all students, like “opening your mouth gently”, “flick your fingers three times”, “breathe out gently”, “let go”.
When I ask the class to open their mouth gently, for example, and a student look at his feet to adjust them, he is not following my instructions. When I ask the class to flick their fingers three times, and a student continue flicking his fingers many times, he is also not following my instructions.
(Part 2 follows)
(Continued from Part 1)
Students need not follow my instructions perfectly. If they can follow most of my instructions, and more importantly have a mind-set to just follow my instructions, in contrast to performing the exercise the way they think is best for them, they will receive my transmission and the wonderful benefits of Sinew Metamorphosis.
The above advice is given to people, including our students, in general. You may be an exception. For some odd reasons, Sinew Metamorphosis might not be suitable for you at the time you practiced it. It may or may not be in future.
Sinew Metamorphosis is a powerful art, and it takes at least many months, of a practitioner is lucky, to develop the necessary skills to derive its powerful benefits. It is ridiculous, in a good sense, that students in my Sinew Metamorphosis can gain these wonderful benefits in just a few hours. This is because of my heart-to-heart transmission.
When you learned Sinew Metamorphosis form my books, you learned the technique but missed the heart-to-heart transmission. With your experience and knowledge you can develop the necessary skills to have the benefits if you continue practicing daily for a few months, but not acquire those benefits in a few hours.
You may have developed more power than students in my Sinew Metamorphosis class, but you would have an “wow” effect because your power has been developed gradually over the few months. This would be an intellectual blockage as you may be aware of its underlying philosophy, and not a meridian blockage as you would still obtain the benefits albeit gradually over a few months.
It is wise that you do not hold on to the details as you still obtain wonderful benefits from other exercises, but it is beneficial to know the underlying philosophy as it applies not only to Sinew Metamorphosis but also to other aspects in our daily life.
Indeed, this is one of the many benefits in reading these questions and answers. Not only we can be more efficient in our training in the respective arts, we can also enrich our daily lives with the understanding contained in the answers.
Not only is Sinew Metamorphosis but all our training is esoteric to the uninitiated. Even when other people are sympathetic and not hostile to us, they will find it hard to believe our claims even when we have abundant evidence, like most other practitioners are performing kungfu gymnastics and gentle physical exercise and not genuine kungfu and genuine chi kung, and that our typical student can attain in one month what a genuine master would take more than a year to attain.
It is our policy that what they believe and practice is their right and business, and we are not going to persuade them to learn from us. But if they do learn from us and abide by our rules, especially the Ten Shaolin Laws, we will be generous to share our knowledge, skills and benefits with them.
Not only we do not introduce Sinew Metamorphosis to the general public, we also not introduce Sinew Metamorphosis to our beginning students. When we introduce our arts to anybody, we give him the essence, not just the outward form. We want him to personally experience the benefits from his practice, not just orally tell him the benefits.
To experience the benefits of Sine Metamorphosis, one must be ready. The general public and our beginning students are not ready. The general public, for example, do not even know how to enter into a chi kung state of mind. For our beginning students, even if we succeed in transmitting the benefits to them, the internal force generated from Sinew Metamorphosis may be too powerful for them and it may result in their over-training.
Nevertheless, if we want to introduce the concept of Sinew Metamorphosis to the general public, but not to teach them the art, a good and concise way of describing the practice and the effects is tell them that Sinew Metamorphosis practiced in our school is very simple — simpler than what most people imagine a powerful and advanced exercise to be — but the effects are tremendously beneficial. It produces tremendous mental clarity and internal force, enabling practitioners to have better result no matter what they do.
But students in most other schools perform only the outward form of Sinew Metamorphosis but do not obtain the desired result. Most people may not believe in what we say, though we are honest as well as courageous in saying this, and some may be angry. That is their business, not ours.
In Taoist Chi Kung, Small & Big Universe and Sitting Meditation (jing zuo ) are used in sequence to attain Immortality (i.e become an immortal) and Enlightenment.
In Shaolin Chi Kung in the past did Shaolin monks or lay Shaolin masters also used Sinew Metamorphosis and Sitting Meditation (zazen) in sequence to attain Immortality and Enlightenment? May Sifu clarify whether the techniques and skills that Sigung Ho taught Sifu to aim for or attain Immortality and Enlightenment are actually a combination of Taoist and Shaolin Chi Kung?
Dr Damian Kissey
Answer
I do not know for sure whether in Taoist chi kung, Small and Big Universe and sitting meditation, or jing zuo, were used in sequence, i.e. one after another, or were used separately to attain Immortality and Enlightenment.
I also do not know for sure whether in Shaolin chi kung, Shaolin monks and lay masters used Sinew Metamorphosis and sitting mediation, or zazen, in sequence or separately.
Personally I think they used the advanced methods separately, though there might be a few masters who used them in sequence.
But I know for sure that Small and Big Universe was the most advanced art in Taoist chi kung, that Sinew Metamorphosis was the most advanced art in Shaolin chi kung, and that sitting meditation, known as jing zuo in Taoist culture and zazen in Shaolin culture, but were the same though there might be slight variations in their practice, was the paramount method to attain Immortality and Enlightenment. In other words, to attain Immortality or Enlightenment, one must practice sitting meditation, though in exceptional cases some Zen monks achieved Enlightenment while experiencing a gong-an (or koan).
When my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, taught me any skill or technique, it was never aimed at attaining Immortality or Enlightenment. When my sifu taught me sitting meditation, which was and is the paramount method to attain Immortality and Enlightenment, the idea of attaining Immortality or Enlightenment was never in our mind.
In fact my sifu did not teach me sitting meditation in a practical way. He just told me what to do in sitting meditation. As a good student I just followed his instructions.
I still remember that when my sifu taught me sitting meditation, I thought it was so simple. I thought to myself, but did not mention it to my sifu, that yoga meditation, for example, which I had read about a lot in my research, was so advanced. A yoga meditator, for example, could visualize different heavens he could go to, or even materialize a god to serve him!
But, as I said earlier, I was a good student. I just followed my sifu’s instruction and left out all other instructions I had read about. Basically the instruction was “think of nothing, and do nothing”.
(Part 2 follows)
(Continued from Part 1)
It was many years later that I realized what my sifu taught me was the highest meditation. It was Zen meditation. It aimed directly at Enlightenment. But I was not ready for Enlightenment, so I had many glimpses of Cosmic Reality.
Cosmic Reality is transcendental. Other types of meditation I thought was more advanced (but by themselves they were very advanced) were phenomenal. One may be so advanced that he could choose the heaven he would go to, or materialize a god to serve him, but all these are still in the phenomenal realm. In Zen meditation, an aspirant, when he is ready, attains the supreme transcendentality where there is perfectly no differentiation in infinity and eternity.
Yes, all the techniques and skills my sifu taught me, and what I am now teaching to students in Shaolin Wahnam, ranging from the most simple to the most advanced, are actually a combination of Taoist and Shaolin chi kung. But neither my sifu nor I made any differentiation between Taoist and Shaolin chi kung. I just learned what my sifu taught me, and he taught me whatever he felt was for my best interest.
But on hindsight, I now know that much of what he taught me was from Shaolin chi kung, and a bit was from Taoist chi kung, but it was the best of Taoist chi kung. This was no surprise as I learned Shaolin Kungfu, and my sifu was a well-known Taoist master.
Lifting the Sky, the first exercise my sifu taught me, was from Shaolin chi kung. However, it was also the first of the exercises from the Eight Pieces of Brocade which was a well known set of Taoist chi kung exercises. One-finger Shooting Zen, which my sifu taught me next, was also from Shaolin chi kung.
The outstanding Taoist chi kung my sifu taught me was the Small Universe. But I remember clearly that at the time my sifu taught me this famous Taoist chi kung exercise, it was never specified as Taoist chi kung. In fact I regarded it as a continuation of my Shaolin training.
As part of the Small Universe training, my sifu also taught me Reversed Breathing after I had spent quite some time on Abdominal Breathing. Abdominal Breathing is generally regarded as Taoist chi kung. On the other hand, Reversed Breathing is generally regarded as Shaolin chi kung, though it is also found in Taoist chi kung.
My sifu did not teach me the Big Universe, which was also from Taoist chi kung. I attained the Big Universe as a progression from my Small Universe training.
But when my sifu taught me selections from the Drunken Eight Immortals, he specifically told me that this was Taoist kungfu. I did not ask him the source of this kungfu as I knew he had learned from many masters besides his main lineage from Shaolin.
We process personal data about users of our site, through the use of cookies and other technologies, to deliver our services, personalize advertising, and to analyze site activity. We may share certain information about our users with our advertising and analytics partners. For additional details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
By clicking "I AGREE" below, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our personal data processing and cookie practices as described therein. You also acknowledge that this forum may be hosted outside your country and you consent to the collection, storage, and processing of your data in the country where this forum is hosted.
Comment