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

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  • #16
    Thanks to Barry Siheng for this thread and to Sifu for what I know will be wonderful answers to the selected questions.

    I have a couple of related questions that seem to arise from time to time over the years:

    - what is the potential for each Shaolin Wahnam student to attain to? Is every student, in principle, able to attain to the same potential depth and development of the core skills, or are some individuals more gifted than others? How much is down to our correct and perseverant training versus just our pre-existing potential or good karma?

    - is it best to have very specific aims and objectives, planning out our development stage by stage? Or is it better just to enjoy our practice and have fun letting oneself develop in a spontaneous and carefree way, trusting that the the cosmos will take us where is best for us over time? Is one approach better than the other depending on the personality and needs of the individual student?

    - I know that Sifu often says that in our school we achieve in an hour what students in other schools take many years to achieve, including himself when he first began learning as a young man - Sifu has written that it took him 17 years of diligent training to achieve what beginners now get in an hour with him. So my question is: are there certain advantages to the 'old fashioned' way like Sifu first learned where skills arise only after many years of dedicated and humble training that perhaps we miss or under appreciate as a result of the amazing transmission and teaching of Sifu? Do these two paths arrive to the same destination in the end? Are there risks or challenges associated with the '17 years in one hour' way of learning that those who take the 'slow road' are not exposed to?

    Shaolin Salute to all!

    Omar

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    • #17
      Thank you for all of the questions so far.

      Tim has just posted some details of one of the courses at Summer Camp this year in the announcement thread:

      Developing and deepening the fundamentals of Chi Kung 4th June 2016

      There are many techniques and systems of Chi Kung [e.g. Zi Fa Dong Gong, Wu Xing Si, Dao Yin, Sap Pat Lor Hon Kung, Ba Duan Jin, Cosmic Shower, Small Universe]. Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit has been practicing and teaching many of them for over 50 years. Rather than focus on techniques, this course, and the others at the summer camp, will focus on ensuring you develop and deepen the fundamental skills on which all Chi Kung is based.

      Why is that important?

      Because they ARE the fundamental skills of ALL Chi Kung. For instance, all great tennis players have great footwork. All great gymnasts have great balance and physical co-ordination. They achieve the outcome they do by developing other skills on top of these fundamentals – not basic or simplistic but FUNDAMENTALS. The same is true for achieving the best outcome from Chi Kung – developing wonderful fundamental skills as the basis.

      What is possible…

      The great masters of Chi Kung throughout the ages have promised the following outcomes through the practice of Chi Kung:

      Being able to clear any illness
      Maintaining good health
      Increasing energy and vitality
      Having mental clarity
      Improving performance in any, and every, aspect of life
      Living at ease in an open-hearted way


      They were able to achieve this by understanding the fundamental skills and practicing in a way that ensured they improved in these areas.

      That is what this course is about.

      Being very specific about what the fundamental skills of Chi Kung are and how to practice in a way that makes sure they develop reliably and consistently. That will have an effect on your everyday life, ensure you achieve the promised outcomes of Chi Kung and, if you want, prepare you to get the benefits of more advanced Chi Kung techniques or approaches.

      From beginner to master

      This course is obviously useful for beginners or those who have never practiced Chi Kung before – it sets them on the right road.

      If you are an already skillful Chi Kung practitioner this then becomes a Masterclass. A chance to learn from a Grandmaster to refine or tweak your practice and skills to increase your ability to get the benefits of the most advanced Chi Kung practice as well as: maintain a Chi Kung state of mind, generate a smooth flow of energy and be able to maintain and apply a smooth flow of energy to any and every aspect of daily life, whatever the external circumstances.

      “The fundamentals can be taken and used at any level. People who take this course can aspire to the highest levels, if they understand, practice and realise that’s what they can aim for”. Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit
      We still have some time to take some more questions. So, if the above prompts you to want to know something more about this topic please join in.

      With metta,

      Barry
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      • #18
        Clarification

        If anyone has any more questions they want to ask and needs clarification about which thread to ask it in

        This one, the Developing and Deepening the fundamental skills of Chi Kung thread, is for those questions around "what are the fundamental skills", what are the best ways of practising them and how to improve in them.

        The Realising and manifesting the fundamental skills of Chi Kung thread is around how to best get the outcomes (realising) from the fundamental skills. Maybe, for people who have a particular objective in mind and want to know what skills it might be most useful to develop and/or how best to train.

        The Applying skills thread is about how to use the fundamental skills in everyday life.

        The "Deviating" thread is about how to notice the signs it might be happening and/or how to avoid doing so.
        With metta,

        Barry
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        • #19
          Highlighting

          Hey Folks,
          I just wanted to highlight one of the feature's that Fully Alive is doing with this thread , Here is a post I put on the Realising and Manifesiting Q=A

          Discussion and Filtering

          Hey Matt,
          Thanks for asking the question about any potential confusion that may have arisen and I am sure that Barry's post has clarified the different topic more clearly. I would also like to you to be aware that there is is a difference in these threads than other past one's.


          The Fully Alive team are going to screen any questions and pass them onto Sifu to answer. One of the reasons we are doing this is so that we can allow an overall understanding to emerge that can help students realise the difference between applying, realising, manifesting and deviating and how there may be an overall lap.

          Part of our aim is to let students know some of the outcome'a that may be experienced directly at the Summer Camp

          Peace

          Mark
          Sifu Mark Appleford

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          • #20
            Letting Go

            Dear Sifu,

            Letting go is one of our fundamental skills, yet there are many things in this world that we hold on to: family relationships, friendships, possessions, obligations, being just some of them. Does "holding on" to these worldy attachments hinder us in our progress? If so, how and why?

            Sifu, How can we discern what it is that we need to let go of? And how can we effectively let go of those negatives that we may be clinging to unconsciously?

            With Shaolin Salutations,

            Charles
            Charles David Chalmers
            Brunei Darussalam

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            • #21
              Letting it Flow

              Dear Sifu,

              We understand that allowing our chi to flow will in time overcome any blockages we might have, and that self manifested chi flow is a great tool for this.

              Has sifu made any recent discoveries regarding chi flow that will allow Shaolin Wahnam students to develop and deepen our practice? What are the differences between the levels and types of chi flow, say, from beginner to master level? How can we moderate our chi flow in order to achieve the best benefits.

              Thank you, sifu.

              With Shaolin Salutations,

              Charles
              Charles David Chalmers
              Brunei Darussalam

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              • #22
                Question and Answer - 1 - Part 1

                And the fun begins .

                As Tim explained in the thread on Applying the Fundamental Skills we have looked through the four Q&As and moved some questions to what we think is a more appropriate thread. We have also combined some questions where it seemed to make sense. This first Q&A is one of those - a question combined from two of those asked by Sifu Andrew.

                Question and Answer - 1 - Part 1

                Question 1 ​

                What are the fundamental skills of Chi Kung?

                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


                Answer

                It may be trite to Shaolin Wahnam members as I have mentioned it many times but it is true that more than 80% of chi kung practitioners all over the world today are not practicing genuine chi kung; they practice gentle physical exercise – using genuine chi kung techniques – and many of them are unaware of this fact. The reason is that they don’t have fundamental chi kung skills.

                In other words, the chi kung techniques they practice are genuine, and they are diligent in their training. But they don’t have the benefits of chi kung. – simply because they have not practiced chi kung, which is an energy art.

                The most basic chi kung benefit is good health. Many chi kung practitioners, including masters, are obviously sick, although they have practiced chi kung techniques for years.

                A good analogy is Taijiquan, which is a martial art. The Taijiquan techniques practiced by these Taiji practitioners are genuine, but they cannot defend themselves.

                Why don’t these chi kung and Taiji practitioners have the most basic benefit of their arts if the chi kung and Taijiquan techniques they practice are genuine? It is because they don’t have the fundamental skills.

                By now we in Shaolin Wahnam know this fact very well, i.e. if we wish to perform any art, we must have both its skills and techniques. We also know that both the skills and the techniques are the means, not the ends. The ends are the results. In other words we practice chi kung not because we want to know its skills and techniques, but because we want to have good health, vitality and longevity. But to have good health, vitality and longevity, we need the skills and the techniques to get the results.

                This fact, however, is not known by many people. I did not know this fact when I was a student. I discovered this fact in my early teaching days, not suddenly but gradually. Most chi kung practitioners, including masters, do not know this fact.

                It is easy to get the fundamental skills of chi kung. There are only two. Practitioners must by relaxed, and practitioners’ mind must be free of all thoughts. If practiti0ners have these two skills, and perform the appropriate techniques, they will get the results, which are good health, vitality and longevity. It is like a scientific law. If you have A and B, you will get C. A represents the fundamental skills, B the appropriate techniques, and C the desired results. More than 80% of chi kung practitioners the world over do not enjoy even the most basic chi kung result of good health because they do not have the fundamental skills. ...

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                • #23
                  Question 1 Part 2

                  Hey Barry,
                  Looking forward to Part 2 of the first question

                  Peace

                  Mark
                  Sifu Mark Appleford

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                  • #24
                    Question and Answer - 1 - Part 2

                    Question and Answer - 1 - Part 2

                    Question 1 ​

                    What are the fundamental skills of Chi Kung?

                    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


                    Answer (contd.)

                    ...
                    It is not possible to neglect the basics even when students perform advanced chi kung techniques. It is simply because the basics, i.e. the fundamental skills, are already incorporated in the advanced techniques. If students can perform the advanced techniques successfully, they would have performed the fundamental skills successfully.

                    Let us take a simple analogy. Suppose you have to go up a stair of 10 steps. The fundamental skill is that you are able to go up one step. If you don’t have the fundamental skill of moving up one step, you just cannot go up the stairs of any steps. If you can go up a stair of 10 steps, you would have revised and improved your basic skill of going up every step.

                    Looking at the same issue from the other way, it explains why even our beginning students can perform advanced material, like Cosmic Shower and the five levels of Bone Marrow Cleansing, in regional courses. It is because they have the fundamental skills. They are able to relax and clear their mind of all thoughts. When they have entered into a chi kung state of mind with these two fundamental skills, they are in a ready position to receive my heart-to-heart transmission by following my instructions.

                    How should students of all levels ensure that the fundamentals are correctly built, nurtured and maintained? This is simple, and easy for our students, though it may not be easy for other students simply because they don’t have the fundamental skills. All the students have to do, if they already have the two fundamental skills, is to practice any chi kung correctly. By practicing any chi kung correctly, they will maintain their fundamental skills. If they do not maintain their fundamental skills, they simply cannot practice any chi kung correctly, which is what more than 80% of chi kung practitioners all over the world are doing, and they do not realize the difference between techniques and skills.

                    It is also what about 90% of kungfu practitioners are doing, although their art is different, because they don’t have the fundamental skills of using their techniques to defend themselves. They only use their techniques for demonstration, or to exchange blows if they have to spar.

                    Having maintained their fundamental chi kung skills, practitioners who perform chi kung correctly also build and nurture their skills. If the techniques are elementary, they build, nurture and maintain their fundamental skills by repetition. If they techniques are different or progressively more advanced, they build, nurture and maintain their fundamental skills by using different means and in different situations.

                    However, we have come to a ridiculous position. Our concern now is not further build, nurture and maintain our two fundamental skills of being relaxed and clearing our mind of all thoughts. Our concern now is purposely lower the level of these two fundamental skills so that we do not over-train.

                    In this case, why do we focus on fundamental skills in the coming chi kung courses during the UK Summer Camp 2016. First we revise, but not necessarily going deeper ino, our fundamental skills. Then we learn to apply our fundamental skills for various practical purposes, including how not to over-train, and how to handle different situations in our daily life. The courses will be exciting, what beginners and masters alike should not miss.

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                    • #25
                      Elightening answers, Sifu. Many thanks.
                      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
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                      • #26
                        Question and Answer - 2

                        Some wonderful questions and here are some more wonderful answers. Simple, direct, effective.

                        Question and Answer 2

                        Question 2

                        Dear Sifu, one of the things that inspires me most is your open heart.

                        How important it is to keep an open heart in order to progress in our chi kung training? In other words, what is 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?

                        Santi


                        Answer

                        Thank you for your kind words. Many people also have told me that they find me always happy. In the Chinese language, to be happy is “kai cxin”, which literally means “open heart”.

                        Chinese masters discovered from direct experience that when people opened their heart, they became happy. It is worthy of note that opening the heart comes first. Then people experience happiness.

                        The causes for opening the heart vary. Giving money to a child or a priest may not open their hearts. But if you give a child a toy, or devote yourself to the religion the priest is preaching, you can open their heart.

                        In our school, we have an excellent method to open our heart. We smile from our heart at the start of every lesson. When we do so, our heart opens, and we feel happy. Many students have told me that it is the best lessons they have learnt from our school.

                        Keeping an open heart is not only very important in the progress of our chi kung training, but it is more important in life. There is a saying in Chinese that the greatest fear is to close the heart. When a person’s heart is close, he loses the ability to experience joy. He becomes depressed for life.

                        Having an open heart also means being open to new learning. When a person’s heart is close, he close himself to all learning. When a person’s heart is open, i.e. when he is happy and open to learning, learning becomes a joy.

                        One of the best ways to open a person’s heart is to give him what he needs for the present moment. If a person is dying of thirst in a desert, giving him a lot of money may not open his heart, but giving him water to drink will.

                        Another of the best ways to open a person’s heart is what we do every time we start our practice, i.e. to smile from the heart. You can try it right now. Sit up and be relaxed. Smile from your heart. Immediately your heart opens and you feel happy.

                        If you practice our chi kung every day for six months, you will have smiled from your heart, and subsequently will have experienced happiness for six months. If you do this every day for three years, you heart will be habitually open. This is an excellent way to keep your heart open, and it will not close again.
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                        • #27
                          Thank you :-)

                          Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

                          I would like to thank Sifu for another wonderful, beautiful and inspiring answer. Thank you Sifu for answering my question. :-)

                          Every day it passes I feel more grateful for belonging to this amazing family.

                          For me, Smiling from the Heart has been and still is the most meaningful skill that Sifu has taught me. For that I will be forever grateful.

                          Thank you Sifu for always guiding my path and for your endless patience and compassion while doing so.

                          Thank you to the Fully Alive team for all the passion and hard work in spreading these arts.

                          Thank you too to the ones formulating the very interesting questions.

                          With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

                          Santi

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                          • #28
                            Question and Answer - 3

                            Question and Answer 3

                            Question 3

                            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?

                            Bernard


                            Answer

                            It does not only seem, but many students have actually told me that smiling from the heart and forgiving themselves and others are two of the best lessons they have learnt from our school.

                            It also does not only seem, but these two very important skills are directly connected with the heart. In Chinese, the heart refers not just to the organ that pumps blood, but also to the spirit or mind as well as the intellect and the emotions.

                            The heart affects and controls all other organs. When you smile from your heart, and forgive yourself and others, not only you bring benefit to your liver, you bring benefit to your whole being, including your mind and your body.

                            There are many types of chi kung practiced in our school that train fundamental skills connected to various organs. Some examples of courses that involve these skills and organs are Five-Animal Play, Massaging Internal Organs and Bone-Marrow Cleansing at the organ level.

                            Each of the five animals in the Five-Animal Play relates to each of the five storage organs and their corresponding transformational organs associated with various emotions. The bird is related to the heart and the intestines, associated with joy. The deer is related to the liver and the gall bladder, associated with anger. The monkey is related to the spleen and the stomach, associated with anxiety. The tiger is related to the lungs and the colon, associated with sorrow. The bear is related to the kidneys and the urinary bladder, associated with fear.

                            In Massaging Internal Organs, you can direct your chi to the kidneys to clear yourself of fear, or to the spleen to clear yourself of anxiety. You can also practice similar skills in Bone-Marrow Cleansing at the organ level.

                            Knowing the relationship between various organs and their emotions is very useful. However, if you don’t have this knowledge, you can still benefit a lot from our chi kung practice. Every time you start your practice, you smile from the heart and be happy. As a matter of course of your dedicated practice, you will have good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity and spiritual joys, irrespective of religion.

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                            • #29
                              Thank you very much Sigung for this great answer :-)

                              o\

                              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.

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                              • #30
                                Question and Answer - 4

                                Direct experience passed on ...

                                Question and Answer 4

                                Question 4

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

                                Karol


                                Answer

                                From my experience in helping people to overcome cancer, for which I was awarded “Qigong Master of the Year” in 1997 in the 2nd World Qigong Conference in San Francisco, I discovered that cancer was caused by frustration or grief which clogged the energy network that naturally kept people healthy. The energy network can also be clogged by other negative emotions like fear, anxiety and anger.

                                When a person forgives, he releases this blockage. Hence, the first person who benefits from forgiving is the person who forgives. This reminds me of my mother telling me long ago that the one who blesses is the one more blessed.

                                If the person who forgives has a powerful mind, his forgiveness can affect the one forgiven. But usually the persons forgiven may not know anything about their being forgiven. In my many years of teaching, many students told me how wonderful they felt when they forgave others or themselves.

                                When a practitioner forgives, he opens his energy network. His energy flows. Not only his energy flow will ensure his future progress, there and then it gives him an exhilarating effect. He feels wonderful. He feels there is joy in living.

                                Forgiving not only influences deepening fundamentals but also enables sophisticated progress. Deepening fundamentals and sophisticated progress are possible when energy is flowing, and this is due to forgiving that opens up blockage.
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