Stages of cleansing, building and nourishing: 10 Questions to the Grandmaster

[JasD]

Great answers,

I feel my practice is better when doing more sequences after force training.

Thank you Sifu and thank you Barry.

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 6a, 6b and 6c

Thanks for all of the positive feedback. The opportunity to consolidate all of these questions and the resulting wisdom is really quite amazing.

Sifu has decided to group some questions, which have relatively short answers, into answer 6. I will post part 2 tomorrow.

Question and Answer - 6a, 6b and 6c
Question 6a

If we follow (or don't follow) instructions, and if we trust the Master (or think that we know better than the Master), how will this effect the processes of cleansing, nourishing and building?

Sifu Mark Blohm


Answer:

If students follow instructions and trust their master, the processes of cleansing, building and nourishing will be smooth and they will get the best benefits.

The master may sometimes make mistakes in his judgment, but the chances of his making mistakes are much lower than those of the students themselves. It is more likely that he will realize the mistakes faster, and recommend remedial exercises for the students.

On the other hand, if students don’t follow instructions or think they are smarter than their masters, at best they do not obtain as good a result as they should get, and worse, they may harm themselves due to deviated practice.

This is true if the master is genuine. If he is a great master, the benefit or harm applies not just to the arts the students practice but to life in general too. Some students, often without their conscious knowing, think themselves smarter and act against the master’s sincere advice, resulting in harming themselves.

Let us look at some examples.

When cleansing occurs, some students do not realize it and stop practicing. Hence, they deny themselves the chance of overcoming their pain and illness, and obtaining subsequent benefits. If it is over-cleansing, the master will realize it and recommend slowing down or remedial exercise.

When building occurs, the students are pleased, and in their desire to want more benefit, may over-practice resulting in over-building. The master will recommend less powerful exercise. If the students ignore the advice, they may head for serious trouble.

When nourishing occurs, especially in high-level arts where the students’ spirit may expand beyond their physical body, some students may become afraid which may harm them psychically. The master would lead them step by step so that their progress will be safe and pleasant.



Question 6b

Is it correct to say that both non-practitioners and chi kung practitioners experience cleansing , building and nourishing throughout their lives but randomly haphazardly in the former and progressively systematically in the latter?

Dr Damian


Answer

No, non-practitioners as well practitioners of chi kung experience cleansing, building and nourishing in the same order. This is natural. The difference is in degree, not in kind.

The processes of cleansing, building and nourishing of non-practitioners are little and take a long time. The benefits are often negated by other activities in their daily life.

If we presume that there were no counter-activities, a non-practitioner would naturally overcome his illness (without taking any medication), attain general well-being, and attain emotional, mental and spiritual balance. But in real life, disease-causing agents will attack him again, stress will affect his well-being, and other activities will affect his emotional, mental and spiritual balance.

Where does a non-practitioner obtain his chi flow for his natural cleansing, building and nourishing? Chi flow is natural. But practicing chi kung enhances it.



Question 6c

What is the method for and nature of cleansing, building and nourishing in sentient beings like immortals, arahants and boddhisattvas?

Dr Damian


Answer

I believe the method and nature of cleansing, building and nourishing in sentient beings like immortals, arahants and bodhisattvas are the same as those for mortals, except that the former operates at the supra-mundane level, whereas the latter operates at the mundane.

I believe supra-mundane beings practice chi kung and meditation like mortals do. At the supreme level of cleansing, building and nourishing, they merge into the Cosmos, described variously as attaining Buddhahood, attaining the Tao and returning to God the holy Spirit. Mortals, too, may attain this highest and most noble achievement.

Thanks again to Sifu for all of the time and care he puts, and has put, into helping us get the most from life, ourselves and our practice.

With metta,

Barry

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 6d, 6e, 6f and 6g

Question and Answer - 6d, 6e, 6f and 6g

Question 6d

What are the similarities and differences between building and nourishing?

Sifu Adam Bailey



Answer

Semantically, building enables a practitioner to become stronger, whereas nourishing enables him to become richer (in the sense of spiritually purer).

The similarity between building and nourishing is that both add on to what a practitioner already has, in contrast to cleansing which takes away unwanted things from him. All the three processes make him better. Over-doing any one of the processes may be harmful.

The difference is that building relates to quantity, whereas nourishing relates to quality. In building the amount of energy increases though the quality may be the same. In nourishing the amount remains the same but the quality increases.



Question 6e

When we face fierce, intense (but upright) emotions through cleansing; should we embrace our fire or find the middle path (cool down) in these extremes?

Tim Hoorens



Answer

When you have not reached the optimum point of cleansing, you can embrace your fire, i.e. continue your fierce, intense and upright emotions. For example, when a timid person finds that he is becoming confident and have zest for life, he should continue and make good use of benefit.

If you find that you have reached or passed the optimum point, you should find the middle path or cool down. For example, if a robust person finds that his confidence and zest are overwhelming, he should slow down or stop his training, and spend his energy on wholesome activities like performing kungfu sets or spending time with good friends.

It may not be easy to know what exactly the optimum point is. Hence, under-training is always better than over-training.



Question 6f

How does one judge whether to keep practicing through a cleansing period, or to stop practicing for a while?

Sifu Andy Cusick


Answer

In theory, one should keep practicing through a cleansing period when he has not reached the optimum point of cleansing, and stop practicing for a while when he has reached or passed it.

In practice, he knows the difference from direct experience. A general guideline is that when he feels pleasant, including feeling good pain, he should continue. When he feels unpleasant, like feeling sharp pain and being nauseous, he should stop practicing.

Experience will improve his judgment. To be safe and comfortable, he should follow the principle that under-training is always better than over-training.

Question 6g

Several times when I began cleansing, I incorrectly guessed that the symptoms were the beginning of a cold or flu. I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that we should treat cleansing differently. How do we tell the difference when the symptoms are similar? Should we treat cleansing differently than a minor sickness?

I should add that I have rarely been sick in the six years I've been practicing Chi Kung. When I have been sick, the symptoms are so much milder and the progress of healing is so much faster, that I cannot use my older references for how healing happens.

Zach


Answer

Cleansing and the beginning of a cold or any minor sickness are different descriptions of the same reality. The symptoms are, therefore, the same. You can treat them similarly though you can describe them differently.

When a cold or any minor sickness is about to surface, cleansing occurs as a result of chi kung training to clear out the disease-causing agent so that the sickness is overcome before it happens. The same operation applies to serious sickness like heart problems and cancer.

Cleansing may occur at different points of time. For convenience we may classify the occurrence into three points of time, the initial point when disease-causing agents have entered the body but have not caused any trouble, the intermediate stage when the illness is surfacing, and the established stage where has surfaced as a clinical disease.

For many of us cleansing occurs at the initial stage. That is the reason why you have rarely been sick since practicing chi kung. It is not that disease-causing agents do not attack us – they do to all people all the time – but we overcome them before they have a chance to create trouble.

To some it occurs when the illness is coming out. Here is where practitioners find it hard to distinguish between cleansing and illness, which are actually the same process but described differently from different perspective with different emphasis.

For others the cleansing process occurs when the illness has established itself as a clinical disease. Here practitioners may not call it cleansing, but overcoming their illness.

[wooden shoes]

Dear Sifu, dear Barrys,

Thank you for all these wonderful Q&As!

Roeland

[Zach]

Sifu,

Thank you very much! This has been a wonderful question and answer series. Very enriching.

Best,
Zach

[barrys]

Lets share our experiences and benefits

Through these questions and answers an amazing resource is being built. Lets also bring it alive through sharing our own experiences and any benefits we get from the answers Sifu is providing.

To keep this thread relatively 'clean' I have started another thread for the discussion. I have a lot of interest and responses to this thread from outside our school. Please join in the separate discussion thread and lets build a log of experiences and benefits we get directly from Sifu's teaching.

With metta,

Barry

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 1

I am off on holiday for a week now and not sure if I will have access to the internet. However, just before I go here is the first part of the answer to Q7. Three more parts to come .

Don't forget you can share experiences you have had that relate to Sifu's answers and any benefits you have got out of reading his answers on
this thread.

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 1

Question 7

How do the stages of cleansing, building and nourishing differ between the arts practiced in our school?

Suppose you had three people who were identical in every way possible. The first person practices the 18 Lohan Hands Chi Kung exclusively. The second person practices Wahnam Taijiquan exclusively. The third person practices Shaolin Kung Fu exclusively.

How would their respective journeys through cleansing, building and nourishing be similar? How would they differ?

Kevin


Answer

This is an interesting question that will contribute to the philosophy of chi kung, Taijiquan and Shaolin Kungfu in future. Despite a lot of knowledge recorded in chi kung, Taijiquan and Shaolin philosophy at present, there is not much about cleansing, building and nourishing the way we are looking at these processes, though these are actually very important developments in any person practicing these arts.

There are two main reasons why classical literature on cleansing, building and nourishing as a genre is lacking. In fact, the terms “cleansing”, “building” and “nourishing” are coined by me, or at least popularized by us if these terms already existed elsewhere in English literature of chi kung and kungfu, to describe processes that our students undergo in their training.

The first reason is because of the linguistic as well as cultural difference between English and Chinese. It is worthwhile to note that a great language not only enables its speaker to communicate ideas and emotions effectively, but also influences what and how they think – an important fact that those who do not have the opportunity to use more than one language, or the opportunity to use a great language even when they use a few languages, may not realize.

Both English and Chinese are great languages, but they are vastly different. Hence, what English speakers think of as cleansing, building and nourishing will be quite different from what Chinese speakers do. In chi kung, Taijiquan and Shaolin classics, which are written in Chinese, there are no descriptions of cleansing, building and nourishing the way we look at these processes, but this does not mean that the concepts of cleansing, building and nourishing, in different context, are not there.

The equivalent terms for cleansing, building and nourishing in Chinese classics are “da tong jing mai” which can be effected by “yun qi”, and “yang qi”. (“Yang” here is different from that in yin-yang). “Da tong jing mai” means “clear meridians so that energy can flow smoothly”. “Yun qi” mans “circulate energy” and “yang qi” means “nurture energy”. The Chinese classics do not make a distinction between “building” which is increasing the quantity, and “nourishing”, which is increasing the quality, and refer to both as “yang qi” which is nurturing energy.

The second reason, which transcends the linguistic and cultural difference between English and Chinese, is that phenomena of cleansing, building and nourishing were not prominent in the past like in our situation. They are also not prominent in other schools in the present.

Past practitioners and present practitioners of other schools (if they practice genuine chi kung, Taijiquan and Shaolin Kungfu) also underwent and undergo the processes of cleansing, building and nourishing, but the effects were and are spread over many years. Hence the effects of cleansing, building and nourishing were and are not drastic. For us, because of our cost-effectiveness which was unprecedented, we have better results in shorter time. What past masters took years to cleanse, build and nourish, we take months, sometimes even days. Hence, the issues of cleansing, building and nourishing are immediate to us.

With this background let us now have some fun as well as benefit examining how each practitioner practicing Eighteen Lohan Hands chi kung, Wahnam Taijiquan and Shaolin Kungfu exclusively differs from the others in cleansing, building and nourishing, presuming all other things being equal.

Of the three arts, if the practitioners use the same level of skills, Eighteen Lohan Hands chi kung is the least powerful, Taijiquan is in between, and Shaolin Kungfu the most powerful. As I have often mentioned, “least powerful” does not mean “least useful”.

Eighteen Lohan Hands chi kung is also the least demanding, Taijiquan is in between, and Shaolin Kungfu is the most demanding. “Most demanding” does not mean “least fun”.

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 2

I did have access to the internet at times while away but I was enjoying the time with family, the sun and the snow so much I decided to focus on that.

In the meantime I have got really behind Sifu's rate of answering . There are another three parts of the answer to Q7, a four part answer to Q8 and an eight part answer to Q9 . So, the next few weeks are going to be interesting.

And remember, this is all leading up to the Shaolin Summer Camp 2013, where Sifu will be teaching in person the things he is passing on here, as well as Xingyiquan. If you haven't booked yet there are still some places left.

Also, don't forget about sharing your own experiences you have had that relate to Sifu's answers and any benefits you have got out of reading his answers on this thread. Sifu is looking forward to seeing what you share and sees it as a useful addition to his answers. As he said

It will help to build up a log of useful information which was not found in the chi kung classics.

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 2

Question 7 (original question)

How do the stages of cleansing, building and nourishing differ between the arts practiced in our school?

Suppose you had three people who were identical in every way possible. The first person practices the 18 Lohan Hands Chi Kung exclusively. The second person practices Wahnam Taijiquan exclusively. The third person practices Shaolin Kung Fu exclusively.

How would their respective journeys through cleansing, building and nourishing be similar? How would they differ?

Kevin

Answer (Contd)

... Compared to the other two practitioners, the chi kung practitioner will go through cleansing, building and nourishing in a breeze. Unless he uses high-level skills, which will be explained later, he is unlikely to over-train, and his progression from cleansing to building to nourishing is gradual. He may not realize each process, or the transition from one process to another. But he will know that he has become healthier, have more vitality and is more peaceful and happy.

But he will take more time to attain results than the other two practitioners. As a rough estimate, if he is sick he may need 9 months of cleansing to recover, whereas the Taijiquan practitioner may need 6 months, and the Shaolin practitioner only 3. If he is already healthy but wants to build enough energy to run round a football field without panting and without feeling tired, he may need to practice for 6 months, whereas the Taijiquan practitioner will need 3 months, and the Shaolin practitioner only 1 month.

If he wishes to nourish his energy so that he may expand into the Cosmos, he will need to practice for more than 10 years. Both the Taijiquan practitioner and the Shaolin practitioner will need about 3 years.

Then, why is it that many chi kung, Taijiquan and Shaolin students can run round the size of a football field without panting and without feeling tired, and expand into the Cosmos after just a few days of an Intensive Chi Kung Course, an Intensive Taijiquan Course or an Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course? This is because they use high-level skills even when the techniques remain the same.

For example, if the chi kung practitioner has attended an Intensive Chi Kung Course or a regional course on Cosmic Shower, for example, he can use Lifting the Sky or Carrying the Moon not just to generate an energy flow, which is the main skill of Eighteen Lohan Hands, but to generate a cosmic shower. He can then run round the size of a football field or expand into the Cosmos after a few days of the course. The Taijiquan practitioner and the Shaolin practitioner who do not have the skill will have to practice for 3 months and I month respectively.

If he has the skills to expand into the Cosmos which he can acquire at an Intensive Chi Kung Course or a regional course on Cosmic Breathing, he can do so after a few days of the course. The Taijiquan practitioner and the Shaolin practitioner without the skills will need to practice for 3 years.

He must, however, guard against over-training, especially if he uses high-level skills to perform the Eighteen Lohan Hands. If he just perform the Eighteen Lohan Hands to generate an energy flow or self-manifested chi movement, he is very unlikely to over-train. But if he uses high-level skills like cosmic shower, building internal force, bone marrow cleansing or merging with the cosmos, his chance of over-training will be higher than those practicing Taijiquan or Shaolin Kungfu.

The result of over-training is over-cleansing, over-building or over-nourishing. Adverse effects are pain and discomfort, feeling tired and sleepy, and feeling agitated and restless respectively. He should slow down his progress and spend more time on out-door activities. ...

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 3

Sorry for the delay. Here is the next part of the answer to Q7

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 3

Question 7 (original question)

How do the stages of cleansing, building and nourishing differ between the arts practiced in our school?

Suppose you had three people who were identical in every way possible. The first person practices the 18 Lohan Hands Chi Kung exclusively. The second person practices Wahnam Taijiquan exclusively. The third person practices Shaolin Kung Fu exclusively.

How would their respective journeys through cleansing, building and nourishing be similar? How would they differ?

Kevin

Answer (Contd)

... The energy derived from Taijiquan and Shaolin training is more powerful than that from the Eighteen Lohan Hands. Yet, the recommended time for a training session for a Taijiquan practitioner or a Shaolin practitioner is I hour, whereas that for a chi kung practitioner is 15 minutes. Why is this so? Isn’t practicing more powerful exercises for an hour more likely to cause over-training than practicing less powerful exercise for 15 minutes?

No, it is not so in this case because the nature of training is different. There is more movement in Taijiquan and Shaolin training than in Eighteen Lohan Hands training. Initially, the force training in Taijiquan and Shaolin Kungfu takes only about 5 to 10 minutes, and the rest of the time is spent in set practice and combat application where there is a lot of movement to spread the internal force all over the body. In Eighteen Lohan Hands, although the energy developed is less, it is accumulated. Hence the chance of over-training is more.

As a Taijiquan practitioner or a Shaolin practitioner progresses, he increases his time for force training. The increase is gradual, giving his body sufficient time to adjust.

Comparing Taijiquan and Shaolin Kungfu, the processes of cleansing and building are both stronger in Shaolin Kungfu than in Taijiquan, but the process of nourishing is about the same. Hence, if both are sick, the Shaolin practitioner will recover faster than the Taijiquan practitioner. If both practice to attain vitality, the Shaolin practitioner will achieve his aim faster.

On the other hand, if they practice wrongly, the Shaolin practitioner will have faster as well as worse adverse effects. Hence, over-cleansing, over-building and over-nourishing will be more acute and happen sooner in the Shaolin practitioner than the Taijiquan practitioner.

As mentioned earlier, we in Shaolin Wahnam have improved our training methods in a ridiculous manner. While past practitioners took years to acquired certain force or skills, we take only months or even days! We are able to do so because of three main factors – we understand the underlying philosophy, appropriate skills are transmitted from heart to heart, and we have the magic of chi flow.

Knowing the underlying philosophy enables us to aim straight at our goal instead of progressing haphazardly as other practitioners do. Transmission of skills enable us to work straight at the result, instead of spending much time practicing techniques with the skills being developed often unknown to the practitioners. Chi flow erases adverse effects unwittingly sustained and speed up result remarkably.

While this is a great advantage and privilege, it can also easily lead to over-training with the result of over-cleansing, over-building and over-nourishing, especially for students who think that our school is like any other school (despite the obvious and vast difference), and, worse, who think they are smarter than their teachers, though they do not consciously mean to be disrespectful

It is difficult for many people, including some of our students, to appreciate the fact that our school is vastly different form other chi kung, Taijiquan or Shaolin schools. They may acknowledge that our school produces better result, perhaps even two or three times better. But they will not be able to comprehend, or even imagine, that it is a hundred times better, which will make our school totally different from other schools!

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 4

Just a reminder about the invitation to share about Sifu's Q&A on the stages of cleansing, building and nourishing:

experiences you have had that directly relate to Sifu's answers

benefits the answers have brought you

It is a wonderful opportunity to re-read this Q&A and bring the answers to life through your own experience. It is a chance to share with non-Shaolin Wahnam students, or people with less experience. An opportunity to fulfil Shaolin Law No 10. A win-win-win .

And as Sifu remarked:

It will help to build up a log of useful information which was not found in the chi kung classics.

You can be part of this historic undertaking

And here is the final part of the answer to Q7

Question and Answer - 7 - Part 4

Question 7 (original question)

How do the stages of cleansing, building and nourishing differ between the arts practiced in our school?

Suppose you had three people who were identical in every way possible. The first person practices the 18 Lohan Hands Chi Kung exclusively. The second person practices Wahnam Taijiquan exclusively. The third person practices Shaolin Kung Fu exclusively.

How would their respective journeys through cleansing, building and nourishing be similar? How would they differ?

Kevin

Answer (Contd)

... Let us take an example, a very meaningful example directly related to the topic we are discussing, that of chi flow. It is chi flow that operates cleansing, building and nourishing. In other words, if there is no chi flow, there will be no cleansing, no building and no nourishing. Not many practitioners in other schools know this fact.

If practitioners of other schools can generate a chi flow in a hundred days, it would be a remarkable achievement. Most practitioners, even at masters’ level, cannot generate a chi flow on purpose even having practiced for many years. Some of them do have chi flow, but it was not generated purposefully, and usually they are unaware of it.

But in our school, any student can generate a chi flow the very first day they learn from us. Some students attending regular classes may take a longer time. This is not because their teachers cannot help them to generate a chi flow in one day. It is because their teachers purposely take more time to instill the skill in them for their benefit.

Hence, if these students do not realize that our school is vastly different from other schools, and take our teaching like the teachings of other schools, they are likely to over-train and suffer the adverse effects of over-cleansing, over-building and over-nourishing.

The other group of students who are likely to over-train are those who think they are smarter than their teachers, even when they do not mean to be disrespectful. For example, when their teachers ask them to practice certain exercises in a certain way, they practice them in other ways, thinking that their way is better. When their teachers ask them not to think of anything, they start thinking how not to think of anything. When their teachers ask them not to worry about unnecessary details, they particularly worry about such unnecessary details like must their fingers be close or open, or should they breathe out exactly when they lower their hands.

Comparing the three groups of students in our school, chi kung students are most likely to have these two problems of not appreciating that our school is vastly different from other schools, and that they try to be smarter than their teachers. Taijiquan students are less likely, and Shaolin students are the least likely. The good thing is that the actual number of such students is small.

Regardless of whether they practice Eighteen Lohan hands chi kung, Wahnam Taijiquan or Shaolin Kungfu in our school, the journeys of cleansing, building and nourishing of the three practitioner are generally similar. First they go through cleansing, next building, and then nourishing.

If they are sick or in pain, they overcome their illness and pain. Next, they have good health, vitality and longevity. Then they enjoy mental clarity and spiritual joys. They may go through the various processes cyclically or spirally.

However, depending on the respective arts they practice, there are differences in intensity and speed of cleansing, building and nourishing. The processes of cleansing, building and nourishing are the most powerful in Shaolin Kungfu, less in Taijiquan and the least in Eighteen Lohan Hands chi kung.

If they use higher-level skills, even when the techniques remain the same, they will achieve more powerful results. However, if they practice wrongly or over-train, they will have the adverse effects of over-cleansing, over-building and over-nourishing, the seriousness of which depends on the art they practice and the level of skills they operate on.

To avoid adverse effects as well as to attain the best benefits, it is highly recommended to follow the three golden rules of practice, which are don’t worry, don’t intellectualize and enjoy the practice.

[barrys]

Question and Answer - 8 - Part 1

Question and Answer - 8 - Part 1

Question 8

Since practicing I have had many benefits of practice like overcoming asthma, haven't been sick/had a cold for at least 8 years, much happier than before and having a lot of energy.

Despite that, there are still some physical blockages which I wish to overcome.

My practice in general is as follows. Sometimes I miss morning or night.

Morning: Chi kung and chi flow 1 out of 2 times. Iron wire+ chi flow 1 in 2 or 3 times

Evening: Chi kung chi flow, Stance training 20-30mins (All stances but I end when I start to feel more than minor discomfort and do some short chi flow in between), Chi flow, leg stretching, Sequences and sets 30 mins, end with chi kung chi flow.

Night: 5-10 min of small universe and end with chi flow.

I am training so I can use my kung fu for fighting and intend to enter competitions. I go to MMA class once a week to get used to sparring with and understand how the MMA people fight. I do feel that I need to increase my internal force/ presence of mind/ solidness and agility of stances/ stamina in order to win against good fighters.

Can you shed some light to improve my practice? Should I practice less? Would I get more result from practicing more? What type of practices/ skills should I focus on? To get more result in breaking through blockages and also sparring.

Is training for fighting (especially force training) contradictory to breaking through blockages?

I understand that past masters practiced 8 hours a day including 2 hours stance training without chi flow. How can they manage such a thing?

I understand there is gradual progress. But in the past I tried to increase my stance training for example by increasing by 1 minute per 2 weeks in order to stand in Golden Bridge for 20 -30 minutes. It seemed to aggravate blockages, getting angry, tensed and negative thoughts occasionally in daily life. Is it positive or negative? I discontinued that type of training just in case.

Jas


Answer

Although yours are personal questions, the answers also apply and are very beneficial to many people. I shall faddress your questions point by point.

>> Since practicing I have had many benefits of practice like overcoming asthma, haven't been sick/had a cold for at least 8 years, much happier than before and having a lot of energy.

Congratulations. Considering that nowadays many people are sick, depressed and lacking of energy, you achievement is remarkable.

This shows not only you have been practicing correctly but also smartly. Thousands of chi kung and kungfu practitioners have been practicing correctly according to what they have been taught for much longer time than you, but they remain sick, depressed and weak. They have not been smart.

They are not smart enough to realize that their practice does not give them the benefits it is supposed to give. They are also not smart enough to learn from the best available teachers, whose fees may be higher but eventually they will get better returns for the money and time spent.

>> Despite that, there are still some physical blockages which I wish to overcome.

This is natural. There are also emotional, mental and spiritual blockages which may be more important but which you may not be so aware presently. The cleansing which clears blockages, as well as building and nourishing which will make you stronger and better, are cyclic.

You need not do anything extra or special. Just carry on with what you have been practicing, which has brought you remarkable results, then let the benefits come naturally. In chi kung terms, this is yu-wei followed by wu-wei.

>> My practice in general is as follows. Sometimes I miss morning or night.

Don’t worry or intellectualize on it if you occasionally miss a session or two. So long as your practice is regular, it is very good.

>> Morning: Chi kung and chi flow 1 out of 2 times. Iron wire+ chi flow 1 in 2 or 3 times.

Your practice routine here in the morning, and the other two in the evening and at night are good even without any changes. But I make some suggestions to make them even better.

You can skip the “chi kung” exercises at the start but go into a chi kung state of mind, have a brief and gentle flow, then proceed with Iron Wire. Follow with chi flow. If practicing Iron Wire every day is too powerful, you can interspace with exercises of a similar genre, like One-Finger Shooting Zen and Triple Stretch. The whole session takes about about 15 minutes.

How often has anyone, ever, had the opportunity to ask a Grandmaster a detailed question about their training and got a personal, in-depth answer? Lucky Jas and lucky us for getting to learn from it as well . More to follow ...

[Fleur]

I’ve often thought of Sifu’s Question and Answer series as a ‘living encyclopedia’. Even in this more focused thread, the depth and range of Sifu’s answers are truly amazing. Thank you for your generosity, Sifu.

It will help to build up a log of useful information which was not found in the chi kung classics.

I’m sure future generations will view Sifu’s writings as chi kung classics.

With gratitude and respect,

Fleur

[Nick Jones]

Thanks to Sigung, Barry Sisook and Jas for this answer. I think this will help refine a lot of people's practice, including mine and it's only just begun!

All the best
Nick

[Nick Jones]

This morning I followed the advice Sigung gave Jas regarding Iron Wire to the letter. I'm glad I did.

I had felt that practising a chi kung session prior to Iron wire would increase the benefits, but I was wrong. Actually this is a case of trying to be smarter than the master, since I now recall Sigung gave us the exact same procedure in the course in Ireland.

Following Sigung's advice exactly, rather than my interpretation of it, I noticed a massive increase in the level of consolidation of the internal force. Where before the force would feel less differentiated from the flow other in Chi kung exercises and comparatively less tangible, using this enhancement it was very solid, just like ice and very clearly 'Iron Wire force'.

Looking forward to the remaining parts of the answer

N

[Kevin_B]

This question and series is quite extraordinary.

Thank you Sigung.

Thank you Barry Sisook.

Simply extraordinary.