Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

10 Questions on Cosmos Palm

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • #16
    Answer 1, part 3

    Sifu's answer, part 3:
    (Continued from Part 2)

    The techniques of One-Finger Shooting Zen are easily found in our webpages. Anyone can learn them. But unless he learns the necessary skills from a competent teacher, he will not develop internal force.

    The techniques of Cosmos Palm are Pushing Mountain and Forceful Big Windmill, which can be found in our webpages. Anyone can learn them. But unless he learns the necessary skills from a competent teacher, he will not have internal force.

    We are very generous with information. We are also very generous with deserving students who want to learn from us. But others who think otherwise, who believe they can learn techniques from books or videos and attain the art, or who think we are talking non-sense, it is their problem.

    Basically, the specific skills trained and developed in One-Finger Shooting Zen are to generate flowing energy, and to consolidate this flowing energy into internal force. The specific skills trained and developed in Cosmos Palm is to channel this flowing force into an opponent to damage him, and at an advanced stage to channel this flowing force through layers of obstacles to damage an opponent but without harming these obstacles.

    The specific skills are expressed clearly, without any play of words. But before acquiring these specific skills, a practitioner must have attained other more basic skills. For example, before channeling energy into an opponent, as in Cosmos Palm, one must be able to generate an energy flow. Before generating an energy flow, as in One-finger Shooting Zen, one must enter Zen, i.e. he must be relaxed and his mind free of thoughts.

    More importantly, one must realize that these are skills, not knowledge that can be read from books or learnt from videos. Indeed, many people often confuse themselves with skills and knowledge. Many schools, for example, publicize that their training increases energy level, and enables their students to defend themselves. It is just shocking that instead of increasing their energy level, these students become more tired after their training, and instead of defending themselves, they expose themselves to a generous exchange of blows.

    One-Finger Shooting Zen and Cosmos Palm are wonderful arts. Besides combat, they are also very useful for healing – provided, of course, that one is already a trained healer. One trained in Cosmos Palm may channel his energy into a deeper part of his patient to cure illness or injury without harming the outer parts. Many years ago, I used this skill to cure Wong Yin Tat, my early disciple who is well trained in Iron Shirt, of an internal injury.

    Actually I was the one who inflicted this injury with Cosmos Palm. I demonstrated to a few students how internal force could pass from one shoulder to another without harming the person. Yin Tat tensed his muscles, and my internal force was logged in his chest, causing damage. There was nothing outwardly, but two days later, Yin Tat who is normally full of vitality, was pale and sickly. I used Cosmos Palm to relieve him of this injury.

    More immediately, One-Finger Shooting Zen and Cosmos Palm enrich our daily life. Not only they give us good health, vitality and longevity, they also give us internal force and mental clarity, enabling us to attain peak performance in daily life.

    <End>

    Comment


    • #17
      Brilliant

      Comment


      • #18
        Q&amp;a #2

        Question #2:
        If I am not mistaken, I read that Cosmos Palm can be used not only for fighting but also for healing. Nowadays, we are very lucky as many of us won't ever have to engage in a real fight. Also, many of us are not healers. So my questions are:

        How can learning Cosmos Palm enhance/enrich our daily lives and the lives of others? In other words, what would the daily applications of Cosmos Palm be when not being a healer or having to fight?

        Would you please share with us how Cosmos Palm has benefited you and any "aha" experience that might have happened while using/practicing it?

        Santiago
        Sifu's answer, part 1:
        Cosmos Palm is one of the treasures of all martial arts. Not many martial artists, even masters, have a chance to learn it. Not only it is excellent for combat, damaging opponents without leaving external marks, but it also enhances the results of a healer. I am very sure that my success in healing, especially in overcoming so-called incurable diseases, was much due to my training in Cosmos Palm.

        However, as you have rightly said, we are fortunate to live in an age when fighting is rare, and not many of us are healers. Then, is Cosmos Palm useful to us? Certainly. Cosmos Palm enriches every day of our life.

        Practicing any internal art will also enrich our daily life. But not many people have a chance to practice a genuine internal art. Even those who have a rare opportunity to practice a genuine internal art may not know how to use their internal art to enrich their life.

        As a very rough but generous estimate, less than 0.0001% of people in the world have a chance to learn an internal art. This means 1 person out of 10,000 persons. The estimate is based on the total number of students in our school, which is estimated to be 60,000, and the total population of the world, which is estimated to be 7.4 billion.

        Of course, there are also other people outside our school who practice internal arts. But most of them only perform the external forms of the internal arts, and not their essence. An estimate of those who obtain the benefits of internal arts, i.e. those who practice genuine internal arts, and eventually become masters, is 10,000 persons.

        But not many of these 10,000 masters consciously apply their internal arts to enrich their daily life. I believe ours is the only school that does so systematically and progressively. Even if we take 70,000 against 7.4 billion, we have less than 0.0001%.

        Cosmos Palm is not just an internal art; it is a very high-level internal art. This means the benefits of Cosmos Palm to enrich our daily life are very much higher.

        What are the benefits of an internal art that can enrich our daily life? Firstly, an internal art gives good health, vitality and longevity. Those who are sick in the first place, should practice a low-level internal art, like low-level chi kung, to overcome their sickness before attempting more advanced internal arts.

        Many people outside our school may be surprised at my statement that low-level chi kung is more effective than a higher-level one to overcome illness, especially so-called incurable diseases. They believe that any chi kung that can overcome cancer or heart problems must be of a very high level. This is no surprise to us when we know that the types of chi kung they are usually exposed to are not genuine chi kung but gentle physical exercise.

        Asking a sick person to perform high-level chi kung is like asking him to run a marathon or lift heavy weights. The tremendous amount of energy generated from high-level chi kung will be too much for his physical body to bear.

        Besides enabling practitioners to have good health, be full of vitality and have longevity, an internal art also provides spiritual joys, like making them peaceful and happy. The result is intrinsic, i.e. practitioners will naturally be peaceful and happy when they practice internal arts, unless they channel the energy for other purposes, like for combat. Hence, some kungfu masters in the past, despite having a lot of internal force from their internal art training, were agitated and depressed.

        (Part 2 to follow)

        Comment


        • #19
          Some interesting insight into the effects of training Cosmos Palm in part 2 of this answer. Also, some very intriguing stories of Sifu's use of Cosmos Palm!!

          Sifu's answer, part 2:
          (Continued from Part 1)

          Internal art training also gives practitioner a lot of energy and mental clarity, which they can employ to attain peak performance. It is helpful to know that a lot of energy and mental clarity are the ingredients, the skills; practitioners must also have the techniques and philosophies. If a practitioner wants to make his family or work place happier, for example, he must also know what to do and why he does so, besides having a lot of energy to carry out his activities, and mental clarity to see the necessity of what he does. It was probably because of this lack of opportunities to gather the necessary techniques and philosophies that some past internal art masters were not happy.

          But today, with the great advantage of the information age, techniques and philosophies can be learned from books, videos or the internet. Skills, like a lot of energy and mental clarity, still need to be learned from a competent teacher.

          Besides these benefits that practicing any internal art will give, except that Cosmos Palm being very high-level will give more, what other special benefits that one may get from practicing Cosmos Palm in his daily application when he is not a healer or having to fight?

          A special feature of Cosmos Palm is to channel energy to other persons, even through obstacles in between, to affect their energy flow. You may not be a professional healer, but you can use this ability to help other people. If a child falls and hurts himself, you can channel your energy to help him to relieve him of swelling, bruise and blood blockage. If an adult is depressed, you can channel your energy to help his energy flow to relieve him of his depression.

          Many students told me that their chi flowed better when they attended a course with me. I believe this had to do with my training of the Cosmos Palm.

          I haven’t investigated into this , but I believe that those with Cosmos Palm training not only have better chi flow themselves, but also can influence others to have better chi flow, which will bring good health, vitality and longevity. This benefit is intrinsic. In other words, those with Cosmos Palm need not do anything special. By their presence, other people will also have better chi flow.

          Will the Cosmos Palm practitioners be depleted of energy? No. As they are relaxed, another benefit of practicing any internal art, they will be recharged instantly from the Cosmos.

          Cosmos Palm as well as other internal arts have benefitted me tremendously. I really cannot remember the last time I was sick. I am full of vitality, even after a trans-continental flight. As I am now way past 60, I can claim to have longevity. These are the unspoken, but sure, benefits of Cosmos Palm.

          Here is a story which I seldom tell to other people. One night I returned home to find a fish dead, or appeared to be dead, in a fish pond. I channeled chi to it. Then I left the fish pond and did not think much of it. Some time later I found the same fish swimming happily in the pond! It was an aha experience.

          Another aha experience was when I broke a sugar cane supported on two eggs without breaking the eggs. Still another aha experience was later when I broke the bottom of two bricks, one on top of the other, without breaking the top brick

          I gave a demonstration of breaking a sugar cane supported on two eggs without breaking the eggs at the University of Science, Penang, Malaysia . An office-bearer of the kungfu club that invited me for the demonstration, asked his adviser, a physics professor, how he would explain that in science. I remember the professor saying that according to science, that was impossible.

          <End>

          Comment


          • #20
            Than you :-)

            Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family,

            I would like to thank Sifu for taking the time to answer my questions so generously and with such an immense wisdom.

            Thank you Sifu for sharing your experiences. It is really amazing what these arts can do! :-)

            I would like to thank also to Sidai Matt for starting another wonderful thread and, of course, the participants of this thread for the fantastic questions.

            With Love, Care and Shaolin Salute,

            Santi

            Comment


            • #21
              Q&amp;a #3

              Question #3 is simple, direct, and effective - asked by someone who has direct experience practicing Cosmos Palm. Part 1 of Sifu's answer really breaks down how very, very lucky we are to be able to attend such a course. It also helps to explain why I was so shocked (in an amazingly great way) that Sifu agreed to teach this course!!

              Question #3:
              As with many things, I assume there are multiple developmental levels of Cosmos Palm (rather than either one has achieved it or not). Could Sifu please describe the levels of development and attainment?

              Sifu Andrew Barnett
              Sifu's answer, part 1:
              Yes, as you have rightly commented, there are different levels of development and attainment in Cosmos Palm, just as there are different levels in development and attainment in other aspects of life.

              To be systematic, let us divide the answer into two main parts, namely development and attainment of Cosmos Palm.

              Following the rule of three as suggested by Damian, development is sub-divided into three stages, namely knowing the existence of Cosmos Palm, starting to train it, and attaining the Cosmos Palm. Attainment is also sub-divided into three stages, namely elementary level, intermediate level and advanced level.

              Not many people have heard of Cosmos Palm, and even those who have heard about it may not believe it. For this very large group of people, the development in the training of Cosmos Palm is irrelevant.

              Amongst the very few people who have heard of Cosmos Palm, and they form the first group of the development of Cosmos Palm, are informed kungfu practitioners, not those who perform external kungfu forms but indulge in generous exchanges of blows. Some informed persons who have heard of Cosmos Palm may not practice kungfu, but they have heard of a very advanced art that makes use of Cosmic energy and may damage opponents without physical contact, even with obstacles in between.

              The first group, i.e. those who have heard of Cosmos Palm, is small. The second group, i.e. those kungfu practitioners who have heard of Cosmos Palm and have a chance to train it, is smaller still. This group usually consists of masters who have practiced kungfu for at least 10 years, probably 20.

              For a point of mental clarity, it does not mean that those who have practiced kungfu for at least 10 years will have a chance to learn Cosmos Palm, but amongst those who have practiced kungfu for at least 10 years, a very small percentage, and who probably have reached a master’s level, will have a chance to learn Cosmos Palm.

              As a rough estimate, out of 1000 persons who practice kungfu and so-called kungfu, including kungfu forms for demonstration and free exchange of blows, about 400 would have continued to practice for at least 10 years. Out of these 400, 100 would have become “masters” by name, and 10 would have become genuine masters. Only 2 of these genuine masters would have a change to learn Cosmos Palm.

              The third stage of development is the attainment of Cosmos Palm. While the chance to learn Cosmos Palm is very low, the chance of attaining Cosmos Palm is very high, as high as 80%. Two reasons are that Cosmos Palm is taught only to those who have proven themselves to be reliable and of a high moral character, and those who have a chance to learn it greatly value it. Hence, out of 1000 persons who practice kungfu, probably 2 persons would have attained Cosmos Palm.

              (Part 2 to follow)

              Comment


              • #22
                3-5 years of practice, skill, and attainment packed into 2 days??? Make sure you're doing your homework, because this is going to be intense!

                Sifu's answer, part 2:
                (Continued from Part 1)

                The attainment of Cosmos Palm normally takes many years, about 3 to 5. This is because both teachers and trainees do not differentiate between skills and techniques. They believe that if they know the techniques and train consistently and correctly, they would attain the art. Attaining Cosmos Palm in a 2-day course, as in New Hampshire, is simply ridiculous.

                Strictly speaking, it is not attaining Cosmos Palm in 2 days. Those who attend the Cosmos Palm course are already kungfu practitioners, and they have to perform Pushing Mountain, one of the two major techniques in the way I developed Cosmos Palm, for a few months to have sufficient force. Because we differentiate between skills and techniques, our trainees will be able to acquire sufficient force in a few months what other trainees will need a few years. The other technique, Forceful Big Windmill, will be taught at the course. It is easy to perform Forceful Big Windmill wrongly.

                For convenience, we can divide the attainment of Cosmos Palm into three levels. The elementary level is when practitioners have reasonable force to damage an ordinary opponent, yet their palms are still gentle.

                The intermediate level is when they can channel their force through obstacles to hurt opponents without hurting the obstacles. This level can be demonstrated by breaking a sugar cane supported on two eggs without breaking the eggs, or breaking the bottom of two bricks one on top of the other without breaking the top brick.

                The advanced level is when practitioners have progressed beyond the intermediate level, have a clear philosophy of Cosmos Palm, and be able to teach it successfully to others.

                Needless to say, the classification of the development and attainment of Cosmos Palm into three levels each, as well as the estimates of success in these levels, are arbitrary and subjective. Nevertheless, they provide a clearer picture in answering the question.

                <End>

                Comment


                • #23
                  Question and Answer #4

                  If Sifu's answer to question 4 does not make you want to join the Cosmos Palm course, I don't know what would! Keep in mind, all of these benefits are above and beyond the benefits of training in One Finger Shooting Zen (which we already know gives amazing benefits)!

                  Question 4:
                  Can you talk about why someone would train Cosmos Palm over One Finger Shooting Zen?

                  Sifu Mark Harnett
                  Sifu's Answer:
                  Both Cosmos Palm and One-Finger Shooting Zen are highly valuable arts, and are rarely taught. In our school, as well as in the tradition of the Shaolin Monastery at Quanzhou during the time of the Venerable Jiang Nan, our Patriarch, One-Finger Shooting Zen was taught to all kungfu monks but Cosmos Palm was taught to only a selected few,

                  In the kungfu practiced today, where it is either a demonstration of form for show or a generous exchange of blows using Kick-Boxing or other martial techniques, to have a chance to learn either One-Finger Shooting Zen or Cosmos Palm is very rare indeed. It is an opportunity not to be missed. Hence, it is not a question of why a practitioner should choose one art over the other, but he should train any one art if he ever has the chance.

                  But our school is really funny. One-Finger Shooting Zen is taught to all Shaolin practitioners, and kungfu students can choose to attend the Cosmos Palm course or not. The funnier thing is that the Cosmos Palm course takes only two days, though course participants will still have to practice for a few months to attain the art. Normally it would take other practitioners, if they have the rare opportunity, to practice for many years before he has Cosmos Palm.

                  Why does it take a few years for other practitioners to attain Cosmos Palm, whereas our practitioners take only a few months, and the Cosmos Palm course takes only two days? It is because we understand the philosophy of Cosmos Palm, we differentiate between skills and techniques, and the necessary skills are transmitted from heart-to-heart to the participants at the course.

                  But for a philosophical answer, and presuming that he can choose one of these two high-level arts, why would a practitioner train Cosmos Palm over Once-Finger Shooting Zen?

                  Firstly, Cosmos Palm is rarer than One-Finger Shooting Zen. Both arts are very rare nowadays. Talking about the real arts, not just their outward forms, less than 5% of all those who practice kungfu, including form demonstration and generous exchange of blows, have One-Finger Shooting Zen, and less than 1% have Cosmos Palm.

                  Their outward forms are common. All those who practice Hoong Ka in kungfu, and Nanquan (or Southern Fist) in wushu, use the One-Finger Shooting Zen hand-form. They shake their fingers on purpose, instead of their fingers shaking involuntarily due to internal force. The Cosmos Palm hand form is even more wide-spread. All those who use the palm, especially those who practice Taijiquan, Cotton Palm and other internal arts, use the Cosmos Palm hand form. But they only have the external hand form of Cosmos Palm, not its essence.

                  The second reason is flowing force. The internal force in Cosmos Palm is more flowing than the internal force in One-Finger Shooting Zen. This aspect of flowing force is very useful to those involved in genuine chi kung healing. A healer trained in One-Finger Shooting Zen is also more effective in his healing, but if all other things were equal, one trained in Cosmos Palm is more effective.

                  Another reason concerns good health, vitality and longevity. One-Finger Shooting Zen contributes greatly to good health, vitality and longevity, but if all other things were equal, Cosmos Palm contributes even more.

                  The fourth reason is relaxation. Training Cosmos Palm enables practitioners to be more relaxed than those training in One-Finger Shooting Zen. As relaxation is essential for good health, vitality, longevity, peak performance, and spiritual joys, it is an important consideration for choosing Cosmos Palm over One-Finger Shooting Zen.

                  Another reasons is contribution towards internal arts. Both One-Finger Shooting Zen and Cosmos Palm develop internal force, which is an essential ingredient of any internal art. But the training in Cosmos Pam is more conducive. Even if a practitioner does not consciously apply his Cosmos Palm into his internal art, the fact that he has been trained in Cosmos Palm is more likely to develop internal force in his internal art movement than if he had been trained in One-Finger Shooting Zen.

                  In other words, had he been trained in One-Finger Shooting Zen, when he only performs his internal art movement, he may not develop any more internal force (other than the internal force he had earlier developed in his One-Finger Shooting Zen training.) But if he has been trained in Cosmos Palm, just performing his internal art movements can further develop internal force (besides the internal force he already has from his Cosmos Palm training.)

                  Hence, there are five good reasons why a practitioner would train Cosmos Palm over One-Finger Shooting Zen.

                  <End>

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Thank you so much Sifu. Amazing answer

                    I want to come to the US now

                    Best wishes
                    Mark

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Wowza, this is going to be a phenomenal course, I'm really looking forward to it.

                      Thank you Sifu for taking the time to answer all of our questions and provide us with a background in Cosmos Palm. I find that always helps the learning process.

                      I admit I'm a bit late to the party, I didn't have a look at this thread until a few days ago, a few weeks after signing up for the course. The funny thing is that, about a month ago, out of nowhere, I decided I needed to practice Pushing Mountains more, and have been practicing daily since. Oh good. I guess I know why now.
                      有志著事竟成

                      Shaolin Wahnam Twin Cities

                      Genuine Shaolin Kungfu and Qigong in Minnesota
                      https://www.shaolinwahnamtc.com/

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Remembered this thread was still here; then remembered that there was just a course less than a week ago that answered ten million questions... and now I rest content.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Dear all,

                          I just had a look at this series, fascinating and illuminating as usual. Thank you so much, Sifu.

                          I think we are very lucky to be able to train both Cosmos Palm and One Finger Shooting Zen. I was wondering if the combination of the two would be more powerful than the sum of them, and also thought of the converse question, namely why someone would prefer One Finger Shooting Zen training over Cosmos Palm.

                          Best regards and Shaolin salute,
                          Javier Silió

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Thank you Matt Fenton Sihing for the series, and all brothers and sisters for their questions.

                            The 10 Questions to the Grandmaster series are all brilliant, all the questions raised there are very interesting and clear-headed. Thank you again Sifu and thank you brothers and sisters for that.

                            In appreciation,
                            Javier Silió

                            Comment


                            • #29
                              Hey Matt!

                              We are still at Question 4. Do you have any updates?

                              With kind regards!!
                              Anton
                              Engage and maintain joyful practice!

                              May all of you get the best benefits from what you do.

                              Anton Schmick
                              Shaolin Wahnam Germany Nord

                              shaolinwahnamchina.com
                              http://chikunghamburg.wordpress.com
                              http://shaolinwahnam-nord.de
                              http://kungfu-luebeck.de

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Originally posted by Anton S. View Post
                                Hey Matt!

                                We are still at Question 4. Do you have any updates?

                                With kind regards!!
                                Anton
                                Dear Anton,

                                Sifu saw your post, and has sent me his response to your question! His answer to question #5 will follow!

                                -Matt

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X