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Developing and deepening the fundamental skills of Chi Kung: 10 Qs to the Grandmaster

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  • Developing and deepening the fundamental skills of Chi Kung: 10 Qs to the Grandmaster

    Dear Family and Visitors,

    As you know, for the Shaolin Wahnam UK Summer Camp 2016, Sifu has put together an exciting program. The focus is on developing, realizing and applying the fundamental skills of Chi Kung and Kung Fu in all circumstances, whatever the situation, everywhere – something we can all benefit from remembering, regardless of the level we think we are at.

    Q&A montage.jpg
    (with thanks to Sifu Emiko and Sifu Hubert for some of these pictures featured in their excellent video)

    Relaxing, smiling, letting go - it is a wonderful time to be able to learn and practise these skills. To see the amazing benefits that come naturally out of this process. This course is an opportunity to have a Grandmaster teach and review the fundamentals (on which these skills depen d) and how they practically apply in every aspect of life - so that the right things happen naturally - physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually.

    We will all have an opportunity to get our questions answered in the areas of developing, realizing, applying (and deviating from) the fundamentals of Chi Kung. This thread is an opening to ask your questions about developing and deepening the fundamentals - anything that might want to let go of and handover to a higher or deeper understanding.

    Family and visitors are invited to ask questions. These might be about the general topic or specifically about challenges you have faced or are facing.

    Unlike in previous Q&A threads we have run, it won't automatically be the first 10 questions that get answered. Mark, Tim and I will consult and choose which ones to put forward to Sifu to answer. Obviously, we won't wait for them all to come in before we make our first choices - so get them in now
    .

    Another classic in the making.

    With metta,

    Barry
    Profile at Capio Nightingale Hospital London Click here
    Chi Kung & Tai Chi Chuan in the UK Fully Alive
    Fully Alive on Facebook Fully Alive
    UK Summer Camp 2017 Click here for details
    sigpic

  • #2
    Dear Sipak,

    Thank You so much for this opportunity. Some months ago my Sifu gave me a homework. Sifu told me to forgive - myself or others, every day after morning Chi Kung session.
    I have to honestly say that after couple of months this practice changed me, and is still changing, way beyond my expectations.

    Dear Sigung,

    Could Sigung be that kind and tell us about the importance of forgiveness in Chi Kung, and how does it influence deepening the fundamentals?

    With Shaolin salute
    Karol

    Comment


    • #3
      Dear Family,

      Its hard to describe how surprised I was this morning, when I opened my laptop after morning Chi Kung and found a message from Sigung, With answer for the question asked just some hours before!

      Thank You so much Sigung, we are blessed to have that generous Grandmaster!

      Here comes the answer:

      Firstly, congratulations for your success in implementing your sifu's advice. You may not realize it now, but you may realize it later when you look back, this is one of the best gifts you sifu has given you.

      Forgiving is not only very important in chi kung training, but more significantly it is very important in daily life, though many people may not realize it. From my work in helping many patients overcome cancer, I have found quite convincingly that a main reason why they had cancer was because they could not forgive. Hence, in my chi kung healing, I always -- repeat: always -- ask cancer patients to forgive -- others and themselves. This leads to their recovery.

      When a person does not forgive, the negative energy of subdued anger or frustration distorts his energy flow, thus disabling his natural ability to overcome disease. This applies not only to cancer but to all illness. Even if he is not ill, the locked up energy makes him less happy than he should be.

      When he forgives, he clears this blockage, especially when he also knows chi flow. He overcome his illness naturally and has a better quality of life. It is a good reminder of the teaching of the greatest teachers, like Jesus and the Buddha, that goodness always results in goodness. The one who benefits the most when a person forgives, is he (or she) himself.

      A main reason why our students can have such fantastic results when practicing chi kung is that we operate at the mind level. We have been so cost-effective that now I have to tell our students not to over-train. A good way is to aim at only 30% of what he obtained at a course with me or with his sifu -- not 30% of the potential benefit of the exercise.

      If a person cannot forgive, it will affect his mind set and chi flow, thus affecting his results. In my advice to students to reduce over-training and subsequent over-cleansing, I have mentioned performing negative actions like purposely tensing and intellectualizing. Not forgiving is certainly not one of these negative actions.

      Best regards,
      Sigung
      Last edited by Karol; 22 January 2016, 04:04 AM.

      Comment


      • #4
        Thank you very much Sigung, Sipak and Karol Sihing for sharing this great wisdom.

        Dear Sigung
        To me it seems that Smiling from the Heart and to forgive oneself and others are two very important skills connected to the heart and to the liver. Are there other fundamental skills connected to other organs, like letting go of fear or being more balanced connected to kidneys and spleen?

        with gratitude
        Bernhard
        "No matter what you do, you must be clear in your conscience." - Sitaigung Ho
        A single light can eliminate the darkness of millenia.
        Every moment is precious.

        Comment


        • #5
          Dear Barry,

          Thank you for presenting this wonderful opportunity.

          Dear Sigung,

          My life and career have been going through many profound changes. Often, I find myself being pulled in many directions at once and find it hard to relax during the moment. What are some efficient techniques to always maintain a Chi Kung State of Mind and remain positive?

          Thank you Sigung.

          Best regards,
          Stephen

          Comment


          • #6
            Good thoughts

            Thank you for this opportunity to ask questions.

            Sifu,
            As you often highlight how important it is to always have good thoughts, how can we best deal with habitual negative thinking, worrying and intellectualizing in our daily life, as we are becoming more conscious of ourselves and of our thinking? So that we do not become stressed about the amount of negative thoughts, but are able to gradually change our thoughts for better and let go of those that do not serve us?

            Thank you.


            Sincerely,

            Nessa
            Nessa Kahila
            Shaolin Nordic Finland
            Instructor
            nessa@shaolin-nordic.com

            www.shaolin-nordic.com

            Comment


            • #7
              Dear Sifu,

              within the years of my Chi Kung practice many things have changed positively. I love life much more than before, and I am deeply grateful to be alive, healthy and staying with so nice people around me. I feel more open towards other people, also foreign people (in the train, the streets, shops … ), and often I am smiling at them, just feeling happy at this moment.

              But the other side is, I have become more sensitive towards my environment, feeling the emotions of other people, sometimes carrying them home (to hopefully identify them as not belonging to myself). The sensitivity is also towards books (I am not able to read novels etc. before going to bed) or TV broadcasts. I am sleeping well, not being tired in the morning - but often I have lively, sometimes quite strange dreams, meeting people I never saw before in this life.

              Could you please tell me, Sifu, how my practice should be to avoid over-sensitivity but stay open towards others at the same time?

              Thank you, Sifu.

              With warmest regards,
              Dorit
              ... alles, alles, alles ist doch auf Liebe aufgebaut ..." (Ellen Auerbach, 1997)

              Comment


              • #8
                Thank you :-)

                Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

                Thank you Sifu for always being so generous with all of us. I greatly appreciate that you answer our questions and answers. Your answers are always very helpful for my practice.

                Thank you Barry Siheng for starting another wonderful Question and Answer Series. :-)

                I would like to make a question that arose in my mind:

                Dear Sifu, one of the things that inspires me more from you is your open heart.

                How important is to keep an open heart in order to progress in our Chi Kung training? In other words, what's the relationship between an open heart and progress in Chi kung training? What are the best ways to open our hearts? What are the best ways to keep always an open heart so it does not close again?

                With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

                Santi

                Comment


                • #9
                  Some great questions already. Thank you to Barry for opening the thread and, in anticipation, to Sifu for his wonderful answers.

                  I have been giving this all some thought and have a couple of questions:

                  The 3 Hearts: We know of the Heart of confidence, the Heart of determination and the Heart of perseverance. How do these 3 Hearts contribute to our progress and what happens when one or more of them are "lost" for some reason?

                  The 10 Shaolin Laws are an important moral basis for our Shaolin training. All of us who choose this path acknowledged and agreed to abide by these Laws. Why is it, then, that often even senior students fall or even fail on their path of development? And how can this best be avoided?

                  With so much advanced material now available to even beginning students at regional courses, etc. it is easy to neglect the basics. Like any great development, a solid basis is required for our training. How should students (of all levels) ensure that the foundations are correctly built, nurtured and maintained?
                  Sifu Andrew Barnett
                  Shaolin Wahnam Switzerland - www.shaolin-wahnam.ch

                  Flowing Health GmbH www.flowing-health.ch (Facebook: www.facebook.com/sifuandrew)
                  Healing Sessions with Sifu Andrew Barnett - in Switzerland and internationally
                  Heilbehandlungen mit Sifu Andrew Barnett - in der Schweiz und International

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Thanks for all of the questions so far. Looking forward to some more from regular forum visitors and newcomers alike.

                    With metta,

                    Barry
                    Profile at Capio Nightingale Hospital London Click here
                    Chi Kung & Tai Chi Chuan in the UK Fully Alive
                    Fully Alive on Facebook Fully Alive
                    UK Summer Camp 2017 Click here for details
                    sigpic

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Dear Sifu,

                      Thank you for this incredible and generous opportunity to ask questions and for the ceaseless openness and sharing of what were once considered secrets and what were always and will forever be considered treasures! If I may ask:

                      On the road to becoming masters of these arts, the fundamentals are the very first step and simultaneously the most continuously returned-to and endlessly refined phase of developing ourselves and reaching for greater heights, diverse attainments and wonderful joys. What is it that makes these specific skills so crucial in developing effective practitioners and masters so efficiently (especially compared to any other prior period in the history of these arts), what unique benefit do they offer to the development of any art in Kung Fu, Chi Kung, and Tai Chi Chuan, and what, if I may venture to ask, does Sifu both imagine our standard and practice of these fundamentals to be in three years' time, and in what condition would Sifu be proud and even thrilled to see our level of development of the fundamentals and arts as a whole in the future, despite even the current unprecedented state of successful practice and amazing potential in the school?

                      Thank you very much again for this opportunity, for your generous teaching, and for absolutely everything,

                      Kristian

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Thank you, Barry Siheng for the opportunity. And thank you for all the excellent questions so far.

                        Dear Sifu,

                        You gave me excellent advice some years ago about moving in stances while carrying heavy firewood. What made this advice so practical for me was that the job of carrying firewood flowed both physically and energetically. It's much more enjoyable and much less tiring. Thank you.

                        Do you have other suggestions for how to incorporate our arts in ongoing, heavy physical labor? As an example, last spring my father and I undertook a construction project on an island. When transportation issues prevented machinery from coming to the island, I dug holes as deep as three meters by hand for several weeks, 40-50 hours/week.

                        What would you suggest before, during, and after each day of heavy physical labor? I'd also like to hear your recommendations for those of us who sometimes go from sedentary jobs to periods of heavy physical labor with no transition time.

                        Thank you!

                        With respect,
                        Zach
                        .

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Dear Sifu,

                          Besides "don't worry, don't intellectualize, enjoy your practice", how can I better enjoy my Chi Kung practice?
                          少林華南台灣 Shaolin Wahnam Taiwan

                          Facebook

                          "Then how could chi kung overcome diseases where the cause is unknown or when there is no cure? The question is actually incorrect. The expressions "the cause is unknown" and "there is no cure" are applicable only in the Western medical paradigm. The expressions no longer hold true in the chi kung paradigm. In the chi kung paradigm the cause is known, and there is a cure."

                          -Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Dear Karol, Bernhard, Stephen, Nessa, Dorit, Santi, Andrew, Kristian, Zach and Mark,

                            Thank you for your questions and the beginnings of a wonderful thread. Looking forward to what other questions people have for Sifu about how to develop and deepen the fundamentals of their Chi Kung.

                            With metta,

                            Barry
                            Profile at Capio Nightingale Hospital London Click here
                            Chi Kung & Tai Chi Chuan in the UK Fully Alive
                            Fully Alive on Facebook Fully Alive
                            UK Summer Camp 2017 Click here for details
                            sigpic

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Zach View Post
                              Do you have other suggestions for how to incorporate our arts in ongoing, heavy physical labor? As an example, last spring my father and I undertook a construction project on an island. When transportation issues prevented machinery from coming to the island, I dug holes as deep as three meters by hand for several weeks, 40-50 hours/week.

                              What would you suggest before, during, and after each day of heavy physical labor? I'd also like to hear your recommendations for those of us who sometimes go from sedentary jobs to periods of heavy physical labor with no transition time.
                              Just want to say I think Zach's question is brilliant. I've sometimes had to help friends and relatives with hefty farming and building projects, sometimes for weeks or even months on end.

                              Also, if you take the time I was leaving school / graduating, loads of people who had good enough marks to go to university and study to be engineers, accountants etc, were taking up building trades like plumbing or bricklaying instead. I think this might sound strange to Eastern people, but in the economy at that time, a trainee engineer might have earned £12-16k per year for the first couple of years, a trainee accountant even less, whereas a builder could be earning £50k within a couple of years, so the traditional pay structures did not apply. There could be similar economic situations in future, or someone might just really have a passion to do a certain type of work that is very physical, so the answer to this question would be interesting.

                              P.s. Zach I too had to dig a lot of those holes by hand, maybe not as many as you, but I was very glad when we hired an excavator!

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