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

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  • #16
    Clarification

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

    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.

    This one, the Applying skills thread, is about how to use the fundamental skills in everyday life.

    This one, the "Deviating" thread is about how to notice the signs it might be happening and/or how to avoid doing so.
    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
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    • #17
      Thank you again to Sifu, the Fully Alive, team, this school, God... everyone and everything in existence! Last night I had a wonderful epiphany while reading through the UK Summer Camp website regarding the courses, and not a 'mental'/theoretical epiphany, but a wonderful feeling and certainty of clear awareness that something beyond value will be transmitted and developed in these courses and something which lies at the core of mastery in these arts and skills... I don't really even know how to put it into words, but if anyone looks into the course descriptions with a keenness of sight, I think you'll also probably perceive the rich depths and ingenious construction of all of the courses and the way and order in which they will be taught. I feel like, at last, the road to successful achievement of so many sought-after skills and goals in practicing these arts, to the HIGHEST degree/s, are placed before anyone willing and able to go take the courses and that they should be renamed 'the essence of mastery' courses or something haha I can barely even call myself a beginner, but even I can FEEL the tremendous blessings waiting behind these courses and, if I get the chance and somehow have the means, I would LOVE to discover what it is that's making me, even at this very moment, feel like melting away into a sense of blissful success in training, mindset, and sense of accomplishment and being okay, on the right (and most amazing) track in practicing arts that are priceless in their value and which I still can't imagine deserving.

      In considering these feelings and my excitement, a question just 'popped' into my mind while I was falling asleep, and that was simply:

      Dear Sifu,

      How will this year's Summer Camp, with its diverse and profoundly deep array of courses, compare to taking a Chi Kung or Kung Fu Intensive course with you in Malaysia in terms of impact on and through fundamental (core and vital) skills from the level of beginners to masters operated in daily life situations, what impact will these courses have on the aspect of spiritual cultivation and/or zen cultivation (perhaps one or two courses are to be especially focused on some part of these in some way?), and what role does our being deserving students play in the full actualization of these central skills over the course of our practice and lifetime development and journey?

      Thank you very VERY much again to all and for whatever we have done in the past to even be able to deserve to be exposed to such arts, let alone practice them at the highest levels and have a teacher so generous and incredible in ability and care!

      Hope this wasn't too much of a ramble;

      Kristian

      Comment


      • #18
        Dear Kristian,

        that is very much the feeling that Tim, Mark and I have been getting about these courses as we have had the opportunity to be developing them with Sifu. It is also very similar to the feelings we had about the Dragon Strength in 2014 and Legacy of Zhang San Feng course at last year's Summer Camp. Both of which have continued to have a massive effect on me.

        Thanks for your question.

        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
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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
            Dear Tim, just to say the topics chosen are all worth contemplating and then formulating with a clear focus.
            I have somethng in mind but not yet manifested as a clear question.

            Best Wishes
            James


            Originally posted by Tim View Post
            For some reason this excellent opportunity to find out how to apply the fundamentals of the arts you train has failed to move many or most of you to put forward a question. This could mean a few things:
            1. You already know everything there is to know about applying the fundamentals and are doing very well. In which case, excellent, carry on
            2. You don't have any questions to ask or can't think of any. In which case you might like to share how you are applying the fundamentals of these arts for others benefit.
            3. You are not sure what the question means? Which could be possible!


            Sooooo, I am just checking with you that this question hasn't confused people. Said another way the question could be - how can I apply the fundamentals of my training and also deepen that experience? What are these fundamentals and how can they help me live a more rewarding life?

            So get typing, don't miss this opportunity.

            Aaahhhhh!

            Comment


            • #21
              Dear Sigung,

              How can we best apply the fundamental skills of Qi Gong towards living a righteous life?

              Many thanks,

              David
              Shaolin Wahnam USA

              "Every morning you are born again. What you do today is the most important thing".

              Comment


              • #22
                Sifu's Answer's to Applying the Fundamentals.

                After going through the various questions for this years Summer Camp we have moved some across from where they were originally asked. So, if you don't see your questions answered where you put it, you may want to check out the other Q&A's.

                Here is the answer to the first question on Applying the Fundamentals:

                Question 1

                After learning so many advanced arts, how can we stay rooted in the fundamentals of our practice? What is the best way to progress safely through developing such advanced arts while keeping our fundamental skills clear?


                Answer

                We are indeed in a very privileged position in teaching and spreading the wonderful benefits of kungfu. We are like the Shaolin Monastery in the past, becoming a treasure house of great kungfu sets. As far as I know, it is unprecedented in kungfu history that any school has such a wide range of kungfu sets to teach. Our kungfu sets range from Four Gates and Lohan Fist to 12-Amimal Form of Xingyiuan and Swimming Dragon Baguazhang,, from Flowing Water Staff and Plum Flower Sabre to Taming-Tiger Trident and Three-Sectional Soft Whip.

                In some ways we are even more favorable than the Shaolin Monastery. The Shaolin Monastery taught many styles of Shaolin Kungfu, but it did not teach Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and Baguazhang, whereas we do. The Shaolin Monastery did not purposely and systematically transfer its arts to enrich the daily life of its students, but we do.

                Yet, we emphasize the fundamentals. We not only say that the fundamentals are important, but actually practice them in our daily training. Our syllabus, from Level 1 to Level 12 of both Shaolin Kungfu and Taijiquan, are built on the fundamentals. All the other wonderful kungfu sets, like Drunken Eight Immortals, 50 Sequences of Eagle Claw, and Seven-Star, are supplementary.

                We consider the latter parts of our basic kungfu syllabus, like weapon training, and single against multiple attackers, as fundamentals too because we consider that anyone who train kungfu should know these topics. For lack of a better term, we may call them advanced fundamentals.

                Both the Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course and the Intensive Taijiquan Course, which all Shaolin Wahnam kungfu practitioners should attend at least once, are based on the fundamentals. Many of the advanced arts, like Tiger-claw, Triple Stretch and Iron Wire, were taught in regional courses.

                What constitute the fundamentals? Different people have different views. Many regard the fundamentals as elementary, i.e. what they first learned when they began kungfu. But without consciously realizing it, they first learned a kungfu set, and continue learning kungfu sets throughout their kungfu career, and often nothing else!

                To us in Shaolin Wahnam, the concept of fundamentals is quite different. Our fundamentals constitute the foundation upon which all future development will depend. In practical terms our fundamentals include the follow:

                1. Entering Zen (or entering Tao in Taijiquan)
                2. Generating an energy flow
                3. Footwork
                4. Stances
                5. Basic patterns
                6. Six harmonies
                7. Right spacing
                8. Right timing
                9. Combat application
                10. Developing internal force
                11. Exploding force
                12. Breath control

                What we consider fundamentals are regarded by other martial artists as advanced material. For example, we learn how to enter Zen or Tao right at the beginning, as all subsequent trainings are based on this skill. Many other kungfu practitioners may not have a chance to learn this fundamental skill at all. Indeed, they do not even learn combat application, although they call theirs a martial art. They only exchange blows generously.

                No matter what advanced arts or kungfu sets we learn, we repeat our fundamentals. When we learn Tiger-Claw, for example, we have to generate an energy flow. When we learn a set of Sun Style Taijiquan, we have to pay attention to the six harmonies.

                Hence, we automatically stay rooted in the fundamentals when we learn any advanced art or kungfu set. The better we are in the fundamentals, the better will be our advanced art or set. If we are poor in our fundamentals, we will be poor in our advanced art or set. Remember, the fundamentals are the foundation upon which our advanced art or set depends. If the foundation is shaky, the advanced art or set, or any art or set, cannot be good.

                In an earlier example, I used generating energy flow as a fundamental skill in learning Tiger-Claw. Generating energy flow is our fundamental, but other students may not have a chance to learn it. So we use another common example, that of footwork. If students do not have good footwork, they cannot have good Tiger-Claw. Later, they may learn to develop internal force using their Tiger-Claw. Our students have a great advantage over other students, because our students already learned how to develop internal force as a fundamental. Our students could also explode force as a fundamental.

                Hence, the question of keeping our fundamental skills while developing advanced arts, become irrelevant because the fundamental skills are already incorporated in the advanced arts. As students progress to advanced arts, they revise their fundamental skills while practicing the techniques of the advanced arts. There is no need to choose some elementary techniques to practice the fundamental skills.

                An analogy may be useful. You learned the fundamental skills of driving by using a small car. Now you use a bigger and better car, a Volvo. You just revise your fundamental skills of driving using a bigger and better car, and as a result your skills of driving will also become better. You need not go back to your small car to practice your fundamental driving skills.

                But if a driver had difficulty driving a Volvo, he would have to go back to a smaller car to learn the fundamental skills of driving. Similarly, if a student had difficulty learning an advanced art, he would have to go back to more elementary techniques to hone his fundamental skills, which he can later apply in his advanced art.

                The coming kungfu course in the UK Summer Camp 2016 is an excellent way to hone and further develop fundamental skills. Besides learning to apply the strategy, which helped me to be undefeated in free sparring against other martial artists, course participants will have a good opportunity to revise and further develop fundamental skills, which they can apply to enrich their daily life. It is a course for both relative beginners and masters.
                Tim Franklin

                http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                • #23
                  Prayers and Blessings

                  Dear Sigung,

                  In mid-March I started Taijiquan and I recently begun experiencing over-cleansing, even though I have cut down my practice by leaving out the Three Circle Stance after consulting my Sifu. I feel that I shouldn't neglect my daily practice of foundational stances by training any less, but then lowering my level is quite difficult at the moment when my stances are not that solid yet.

                  There are two methods I can think of getting rid of the excess energy: gently thinking of all the excess energy going to the ground as taught in our school, or using the excess energy in blessings and prayers. I don't wish to think myself as smart by doing the "charged prayer" because it just happened today morning on a spur of the moment without any reflection.

                  Regardless of the actual consequences for the recipients (whom I can't observe), I am feeling very refreshed after the experience, just like I did when learning how to lower my level in Dublin, which is an experience I haven't been able to duplicate despite that I have certainly done all my basic Chi Kung in a lower level ever since. Somehow it also felt like a very fortunate thing to do. Philosophically and practically it seems more satisfying than just grounding the energy. Now I am seeking your experienced guidance to settle if this is safe and skillful use for the excess energy we may train.

                  When is a prayer/blessing a good supplement to our practice? Am I correct in assuming that there is a big difference between empowering a prayer/blessing with energy and sending energy through prayer/blessing, and that we should prefer the former method? Do the usual caveats about distant chi transmissions apply in either case?

                  With sincere respect,
                  Olli

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Application of You Wei/Wu Wei

                    Worth the wait I am sure you will agree. This sometimes confusing term and translation of ‘Wu Wei/Yu Wei’ has been beautifully and simply answered. Thank you for the question.

                    Question 2

                    It would great if Sifu could discuss the application of "Yu Wei / Wu Wei" in our practice and our daily endeavors.


                    Answer

                    “Wu wei” is often explained by Western writers as “don’t do anything, and everything will be done for you”. This puzzles many people, including many Chinese. How can everything be done for you, if you don’t do anything? Worse, “wu wei” is often regarded as spiritual.

                    “Wu wei” is a very important concept in Taoist philosophy. Here, the Taoist masters give you only half the secret. The other half is “yu wei”. Considering that Taoist philosophy is arcane, giving half the secret is already generous. But I shall explain the other half to make the secret clear.

                    “Yu wei” means “yes action”, and “wu wei” means “no action”. “Yu wei” comes before “wu wei”. In other words, you have to perform an appropriate action, then don’t do anything, and everything will be done for you.

                    “Yu wei” and “wu wei” are employed every time we practice chi kung. First we perform an appropriate chi kung exercise, which is “yu wei”, then we let the chi flow do its work spontaneously, which is “wu wei”.

                    Suppose a practitioner has some pain at his elbow. Without his knowing, this pain is due to some blockage at this heart. If he performs a suitable chi kung exercise, then let chi flow do its work, the chi flow will clear his blockage at his heart, and the pain at his elbow will eventually disappear. Most importantly, the blockage at his heart is overcome, which may save his life, and he probably may not know about it.

                    But if he goes against this important concept of “wu wei” by directing chi flow to his elbow, the pain at the elbow may go away temporarily, but his heart condition may become worse as the energy that is supposed to work on his heart blockage is now used for a less important purpose.

                    We also use this important concept of “yu wei” and “wu wei” in our kungfu training. If a practitioner wants to develop some internal force, he practices an appropriate internal force training method, which is “yu wei”, and then let the internal force be stored at a rightful place in his body, which is “wu wei”. He does not interfere into where and how to store his internal force.

                    An an opponent attacks him in combat, he makes an appropriate response, which is “yu wei”, and then he lets the effect of his response take care of itself, which is “wu wei”. He does not interfere into how seriously the response may hurt the opponent.

                    However, in the first example if the practitioner wishes his internal force to be stored at his palm so that he can speedily explode force, this part of storing internal force at his palm will become the “yu wei” part, and how his internal force when exploded out will affect the opponent becomes “wu wei”. If, going a step further, he wants his opponent to be sent flying away instead of being injured on the spot, this part of using “release force” instead of “striking force” will become “yu wei”, and how his opponent is sent flying back becomes “wu wei”.

                    The concept of “wu-wei” is often applied in our daily life. When someone attends an interview for a job, the interview is “yu-wei”. Then he lets “wu-wei” take over. He does not worry whether what he has said was right or wrong. He does not worry how the interviewer would interpret his answer.

                    If you want to invite your friends for dinner, the invitation is “yu-wei”. Having done your “yu-wei”, you let “wu-wei” take over. You don’t have to worry how your friends will arrive, whether they will bring their wives with them., or whether it will rain on that night. That is their problem and you let them enjoy solving the problems.

                    Why is “wu-wei” considered spiritual? It is because having done your part you leave evetything to God, knowing fully well that God will always do His best for you. But you have to help God to help yourself.
                    Tim Franklin

                    http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                    A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                    www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                    Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                    UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                    • #25
                      Letting Go - When and How Much...

                      Letting Go has become an important and integral part of our training. ‘Let Go’ are just words though, and could mean a lot of things. So how does one know if they have let go, or let go enough. How do we let go on an everyday level to make it useful and practical. And how do we know if we are doing it right. Is Letting go something we can get more skilled at?

                      Question 3

                      Maybe Sifu would also offer his thoughts on if or when letting go is inappropriate in our practice and daily lives.

                      How can one learn to let go better in various situations?


                      Answer

                      Letting go is a very important requirement in chi kung training. In other words, if a person cannot let go, he cannot train chi kung; he only uses chi kung techniques to perform gentle physical exercise, like many people use Taijiquan techniques to perform Taiji dance.

                      Letting go may be carried out in degrees. For convenience, we may classify the extent of letting go into three levels:

                      1. Letting go a little.
                      2. Letting go a lot.
                      3. Letting go completely.

                      Suppose a practitioner’s chi kung training is 10 minutes. If the total time of his letting go, which may not be consecutive, is between 1 to 3 minutes, we may say he lets go a little. If it is between 4 to 7 minutes, we say he lets go a lot. If it is between 8 to 10 minutes, we say he lets go completely.

                      Someone may argue that if a practitioner lets go for 8 minutes, and in the other two minutes he is tensed, he has not let go completely. Or, if a practitioner has let go for 5 minutes, and the other 5 minutes he is tensed, he is only average, and has not let go a lot. This is true, but we are not going to split hairs. We just use the above categories for convenience bearing in mind that chi kung terms are loose, unlike scientific terms which are definitive. We may classify the same category as little letting go, intermediate letting go, and advanced letting go.

                      Basically, although this is not exact as other factors may be involved, when a practitioner lets go for 2 minutes out of his training of 10 minutes, he gets 20% benefit of his potential benefit for that training. If he lets go for 8 minutes, he gets 80% benefit.

                      This is the background, but understanding the background is necessary to understand the answer clearly.

                      If a person has over-trained, letting go completely is inappropriate in his training. If he wants to train, probably because he enjoys his training or he does not want to break his good habit of daily training, he should let go for only 80%. If he has over-trained just a little, he should let go for about 60%

                      How does a practitioner not let go? Or how does he let go for only 20%?

                      He intellectualizes. If he continuously intellectualizes, he has not let go at all. If he intellectualizes 60%, he has let go 40%.

                      If a person asks how he knows he intellectualizes 40%, and not 38% or 43%, he is being dogmatic. Letting go 40% is an approximation. We also have left out details like letting go lightly and letting go heavily. A practitioner who lets go lightly at 40% may let go more than another at 35%.

                      Letting go completely may be inappropriate for some people in daily life. If all other things were equal, one who lets go more will produce better result than another who lets go less. However, other things are not equal. Some people work best under some stress. For them, letting go completely may make them lazy and produce no result.

                      Do these people produce better result if they do not let go at all? Generally not, but there may be exceptions. But they should not be heavily stressful; they should only be slightly tensed.

                      Letting go is natural. We are born with the natural ability to let go, and this natural ability is well seen in small children. But for most people, because of their ways of living and other factors, they become tensed as they grow into adulthood. So, most people have to re-learn how to let go.

                      (Part 2 follows)
                      Tim Franklin

                      http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                      A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                      www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                      Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                      UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                      • #26
                        Revised answer to Letting Go

                        Please note the revised answer below to letting go:


                        >> Letting go is a very important requirement in chi kung training. In other words, if a person cannot let go, he cannot train chi kung; he only uses chi kung techniques to perform gentle physical exercise, like many people use Taijiquan techniques to perform Taiji dance.

                        Letting go may be carried out in degrees. For convenience, we may classify the extent of letting go into three levels:

                        1. Letting go a little.
                        2. Letting go a lot.
                        3. Letting go completely.

                        Suppose a practitioner’s chi kung training is 10 minutes. If the total time of his letting go, which may not be consecutive, is between 1 to 3 minutes, we may say he lets go a little. If it is between 4 to 7 minutes, we say he lets go a lot. If it is between 8 to 10 minutes, we say he lets go completely.

                        Someone may argue that if a practitioner lets go for 8 minutes, and in the other two minutes he is tensed, he has not let go completely. Or, if a practitioner has let go for 5 minutes, and the other 5 minutes he is tensed, he is only average, and has not let go a lot. This is true, but we are not going to split hairs. We just use the above categories for convenience bearing in mind that chi kung terms are loose, unlike scientific terms which are definitive. We may classify the same categories as little letting go, intermediate letting go, and advanced letting go.

                        Basically, although this is not exact as other factors may be involved, when a practitioner lets go for 2 minutes out of his training of 10 minutes, he gets 20% benefit of his potential benefit for that training. If he lets go for 8 minutes, he gets 80% benefit.

                        This is the background, but understanding the background is necessary to understand the answer clearly.

                        If a person has over-trained, letting go completely is inappropriate in his training. If he wants to train, probably because he enjoys his training or he does not want to break his good habit of daily training, he should let go for only 20%. If he has over-trained just a little, he should let go for about 60%

                        How does a practitioner not let go? Or how does he let go for only 20%?

                        He intellectualizes. If he continuously intellectualizes, he has not let go at all. If he intellectualizes 60%, he has let go 40%.

                        If a person asks how he knows he intellectualizes 40%, and not 38% or 43%, he is being dogmatic. Letting go 40% is an approximation. We also have left out details like letting go lightly and letting go a lot. A practitioner who lets go a lot at 40% may let go more than another who lets go lightly at 50%.

                        Letting go completely may be inappropriate for some people in daily life. If all other things were equal, one who lets go more will produce better result than another who lets go less. However, other things are not equal. Some people work best under some stress. For them, letting go completely may make them lazy and produce no result.

                        Do these people produce better result if they do not let go at all? Generally not, but there may be exceptions. But they should not be heavily stressful; they should only be slightly tensed.

                        Letting go is natural. We are born with the natural ability to let go, and this natural ability is well seen in small children. But for most people, because of their ways of living and other factors, they become tensed as they grow into adulthood. So, most people have to re-learn how to let go. <<

                        Best regards,
                        Sifu.
                        Tim Franklin

                        http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                        A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                        www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                        Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                        UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                        • #27
                          The Ultimate Chi Kung Technique...

                          The Ultimate Chi Kung Technique...

                          Question 4

                          In the same way that there are kung fu patterns that can be utilized to counter many attacks, is there a single chi kung skill that we can develop that will be able to counter any situation that we encounter? In the absence of, or in addition to, such a singular skill, what other skill or skills would represent all we ever need?


                          Answer

                          Yes, there is a single skill that can enable us to apply chi kung to counter any situation!

                          If a person has this singular skill, no matter what chi kung technique he uses, or in some cases he may not use any specific chi kung technique, he can perform chi kung!

                          To top it all, this singular skill is natural. We are born with this singular skill. But for some reasons, such as the way of living, many people have lost this singular skill as they grow up.

                          This singular skill is letting go.

                          There are two dimensions to this singular skill, namely not to tense muscles and not to think of anything. If a person tenses his muscles or think of anything, or both, he does not let go.

                          Letting go is mentioned in all chi kung classics and most chi kung books. In Mandarin pronunciation, it is “fang song”, and in Cantonese, it is “fong soong”. In the written Chinese characters, both “fang song” and “fong soong” are the same, it is the pronounciation that is different.

                          But most readers just go over the words. They do not really appreciate its great significance. Some readers do no really know the meaning of the words. Even if they know the meaning, they do not know how to do so. Literally “fang song” or “fong soong” means “let loose”. Figuratively it means let go of any tension and let go of any thinking.

                          It is natural not to tense our muscles and natural to not think of anything. A person has to do something if he wants to tense his muscles, or think of something. To tense or to think necessarily involves hundreds or thousands of mechanisms in our body. It is simpler not to tense and not to think than to tense and to think.

                          But for those who have tensed themselves habitually or think of countless thoughts constantly, suddenly to let go completely, or completely not to tense and not to think, can be difficult. But it can be done – if we know the philosophy and have the method, besides willing to put in some time and effort.

                          No matter what chi kung techniques a practitioner may be performing, if he lets go a little, he has a little result. If he lets go a lot, he has a lot of result. In other words, as long as a practitioner can let go, he will be performing chi kung and have chi kung benefits.

                          However, the situation today is that more than 80% of chi kung practitioners all over the world, including in China, cannot let go. As a result, they use genuine chi kung techniques to practice gentle physical exercise without deriving chi kung benefits of overcoming illness, and attaining good health, vitality and longevity. If they haopen to overcome their illness, or have good health, vitality and longevity, it is due to other reasons, and not due to their practice.

                          (Part 2 follows)
                          Tim Franklin

                          http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                          A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                          www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                          Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                          UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                          • #28
                            Not quite in the right order, sorry. Here is part 2 of question 3.

                            Continued from Part 1)

                            It is simple to let go, though it may not be easy for many people. Just don’t do anything, especially don’t tense muscles and don’t think of anything. Practicing chi kung, genuine chi kung where there is chi flow, is an excellent way to learn letting go. If a person has practiced chi kung successfully for 6 months, he has learned how to let go for 6 months. If he has practiced chi kung for 3 years, letting go has become natural again for him.

                            Many people outside our school may say that it is easier said than done. It is easier to say not to tense muscles and not to think of anything, than to actually do it. Actually what they mean is that they are too lazy to do it.

                            We do not say it is easy for them to let go if they have been tensed and stressful habitually. But if they put in some effort and time to do it, they can eventually succeed. If they cannot let go a lot, they can at least let go a little. In my courses, virtually everyone succeeds in the first half hour.

                            When a person can let go in one situation, he can usually let go in any situation. However, there may be some special occasions when people are tensed or stressful, like when they practice Boxing, write a company report, or in a frightful condition.

                            If they have practiced chi kung from us, when they practice Boxing or write a company report, they become tensed or stressful because, usually unconsciously, they allow themselves to be so. If they have trained with us for some time, they can let go while practicing Boxing or writing a report. In Boxing or any other physical activity, they use their internal force, in writing a report or any intellectual activity, they let their mind flow, and they can, unless those who are abnormal, maintain their good health and produce better results.

                            When a person is in a frightful condition, despite his ability to let go at normal time, negative energy of fright is produced and results in him being frightful. If he can let go, his natural energy flow at normal time will flush out the negative energy and he will be emotionally clam again.

                            But if he cannot let go, or if the negative energy is very powerful, it may be locked in his body and manifested as fright for no apparent reason in the later part of his life or in later lives when he has long forgotten the condition that caused it. The same applies to other negative emotions. Practicing chi kung in our school can flush out these negative emotions, even when they were formed in previous lives.

                            The coming UK Summer Camp, irrespective of whether participants take chi kung courses or kungfu courses or both, is an excellent opportunity to learn or revise letting go so as to enjoy good health, vitality, longevity, mental clarity, peak performance, and spiritual joys irrespective of religion.

                            <End>
                            Tim Franklin

                            http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                            A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                            www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                            Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                            UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                            • #29
                              Question 4: Part 2

                              Question 4: Part 2

                              (Continued from Part 1)

                              To practice chi kung means to practice energy exercise, and the essence is to have energy flow. Unlike as in our school, the energy flow of genuine chi kung practitioners in other schools may not be obvious or vigorous. But as long as they have energy flow, even when it is not obvious or vigorous, and the practitioners may not consciously know it, they will have chi kung benefits. It is the energy flow, not the chi kung technique, that provides the benefits.

                              But different techniques as well as different levels of letting go and other chi kung skills give different results, or the same results at different intensity.

                              Hence, besides letting go, there are other techniques and other skills that enable us to meet our different needs. For example, if a person has some back problem, performing some appropriate exercises like “Carrying the Moon” or “Embracing Buddha” will be more cost-effective. However, if a practitioner is skilful, he can be more effective in overcoming his back problem performing any chi kung techniques than another less skilful practitioner performing an appropriate technique.

                              Nevertheless, if a practitioner can let go, at least in theory, he can generate energy flow to meet any chi kung need. But in practice this may not be so. Some needs are time-limited, and some techniques and skills produce minimal results that even if the chi kung needs are not limited by time, the resultant effect is negligible.

                              We are very fortunate in our school. We have an extremely wide range of techniques. We also have an extremely wide range of skills. We can meet any chi kung needs ranging from the basic needs like overcoming illness and being relaxed, to intermediate needs like mental clarity and internal force for peak performance, to advanced and life-changing needs like having a glimpse of Cosmic Reality.

                              The coming UK Summer Camp is a golden opportunity for us to learn or revise these fantastic techniques and skills that enable us to meet all our needs any time and anywhere.

                              <End>
                              Tim Franklin

                              http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                              A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                              www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                              Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                              UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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                              • #30
                                The Secret of success

                                Ah, the question so many people want to know the answer to... What is the secret to success.

                                Question 5

                                I have always been amazed by your capacity of always making the best of every situation. At the courses, I saw how some people were rude to you but somehow you where able to turn the situation around and make a win - win situation. In fact, in all my years in Shaolin Wahnam I have always witnessed in you a very inspiring way of dealing with people of all cultures, races and religions. And to be honest, I have not met until date anyone with better skills than you in matter of dealing with people.

                                What is the secret of your success when dealing with people? Is this success caused by your Chi Kung practice? If so, could you share with us which skills have you found more useful for this purpose and why?


                                Answer

                                Thank you for your kind words.

                                There are always two perspectives to every situation – the good and the bad, or yin and yang in chi kung training.

                                What about a bad situation? Is there a good perspective to a bad situation. Yes, there is always a good perspective even to a bad situation. The question is whether a person can see the benefit of the good perspective, and more importantly to act on it.

                                Let us take a bad situation. Someone is sick. The bad perspective is that he suffers because he is sick. The good perspective is that he will recover, and practice chi kung so that he will not be sick in future.

                                Someone has lost his job. The bad perspective is that he will not get income from his job. The good perspective is that he can get a better paying job, or better still become a boss himself.

                                A person met a serious motor accident. The bad perspective is that he has to be hospitalized. The good perspective is that he has not died. He has a chance to live a better life than before.

                                The good perspective cannot change the existing bad situation. If a situation is bad, it is bad no matter how well a person thinks about it. But how he thinks about it has a direct effect on the future unfolding of his life. I

                                f he thinks badly, he feels badly and the future is likely to turn out to be bad for him. If he thinks well, immediately he feels better, and the future is likely to turn well for him.

                                My chi kung practice certainly contributes greatly to my success in dealing with people, including people who are rude to me. But I had two very good foundations. I was a boy scout and later an assistant scout master in school which gave me good training. Secondly, my father taught me, since I was small, to be courteous and humble.

                                Besides giving me some of the happiest moments of my life, scouting also provided me good training in dealing with people. Scout Law number 5 states that a scout is courteous. Scout Law number 8 advises a scout to smile in all circumstances. When a person is courteous and smiles at all times, as well as is humble, as taught by my father, he has a great advantage when dealing with people.

                                Many people know that to be courteous, cheerful and humble is a great advantage, but they may not be able to do so. Here is where chi kung training comes in. Chi kung training not only opens people’s heart, therefore making them possible to be courteous, cheerful and bumble if they choose to be, but also gives them desirable qualities like strength, courage, mental clarity and quickness of thought and action to be so.

                                One of the best advice came from Emiko, who said that every problem is an opportunity for improvement. When a person is rude to you, you have a problem. You can choose to be rude back and both become unhappy, or you can choose to turn the table round and both become happy.

                                Suppose a student in class was rude to you. You told him to repeat an exercise, and he answered rudely that he already knew how to do it. You could shout to him saying that it was an order and as a student he had to obey your order. Or you could tell him cheerfully that he might know how to perform the exercise in a mediocre manner, but if he did it well he would have benefits that could enrich his daily life.

                                One needs strength and courage to be courteous, cheerful and humble, and needs mental clarity and quickness of thought and action to turn the table round in achieve a win-win situation. The courses in the coming UK Summer Camp will provide all these qualities.
                                Tim Franklin

                                http://www.theguardianlions.co.uk
                                A story of finding Courage and Wisdom

                                www.zenarts.co.uk Classes and Courses for Shaolin Kung Fu, Taijiquan and Qigong in Bognor Regis, Chichester, West Sussex

                                Fully Alive on Facebook Energy Flow for Health and Happiness

                                UK Summer Camp Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Kung Fu, Spiritual Cultivation with Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit

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