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  • Dragon in Zen

    Dear Shaolin Wahnam Family and Friends,

    Yesterday I completed a second session of Sifu Markus's Dragon in Zen special Chi Kung course. The first lesson was already excellent, but now it was just simply incredible. We began with gentle stance training, but it ended up being pure beauty in motion. No joke! Sensations of beauty, softness, and smoothness were abundant and it was super fun, even though we are only doing the routines focusing on form and energy levels at the moment. Learning to do the signature Shaolin greeting "Dragon and Tiger Appear" from Heart was already worth taking the course. If only I could experience the same benefits of beauty and smoothness daily... That is a day I am now really looking forward to, no matter how many decades it may take!

    The aim of the course is to teach the eponymous Kungfu set as a means for meditation and mind cultivation. Combat applications are de-emphasized. There might be impressive "Wow!" courses like Sinew Metamorphosis and Merging with the Cosmos, but these represent quite different type of attainments that emphasize energy training and spiritual fireworks. In contrast Dragon in Zen is subtle and earthbound, which I find even more amazing. Majestic elegance is another fitting description, as Markus Sipak has repeatedly encouraged us to practice the form as in to make each pattern a masterpiece.

    It is clearn now that after the Dublin Zen Intensive this is the highest level course I have taken. If you ever have the chance to take the Dragon in Zen with Sigung or a senior instructor who understands its essence, don't miss it!

    I feel incredibly lucky to be able to take part on this course. I would like to offer my profound thanks to Markus Sipak for teaching this incredible course, Sigung for teaching the skills that led to its crystallization, and Past Masters for leaving us such a precious legacy.

    EDIT: I recall that Sigung taught a Dragon in Zen course during the wedding celebrations of his youngest son Sifu Chun Yian. Maybe course participants could share their experiences?

    With sincere gratitude,
    Olli
    Last edited by understanding; 25 January 2017, 06:44 AM.

  • #2
    Hi Olli

    It's a beautiful set indeed. Some of my student learned it during the wedding courses and we have started to repeat it from time to time in our advanced Tai Chi Chuan class.

    Most of its pattern are also part of our initial Tai Chi Chuan set (White Crane Flaps Wings), yet as some of the students remarked, the set feels different and gives different results. After the Dragon in Zen set students felt that their mind was very clear and they felt stronger, ready to make decisions, while after Tai Chi Chuan sets such as "White Crane Flaps Wings" or "Cloud Hands Grasp Sparrow (24-Pattern Set") students felt more flowing, relaxed, ready to let go. Of course this is relative as it depends also how you practice a set (focus on flow, force etc)... but I thought it is interesting how the same patterns can produce different results in different sets.

    Maybe others can share their experience with this set.

    Happy practice!
    Andrea
    Enjoy some Wahnam Tai Chi Chuan & Qi Gong!

    Evening Classes in Zürich
    Weekend Classes in other Swiss locations


    Website: www.taichichuan-wahnam.ch
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/Taichichuan.Wahnam.ch

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    • #3
      Hei Olli,

      I am glad you are enjoying the Dragon in Zen course. It's a wonderful short set with many applications.
      When used as training of the mind, as you are currently learning at our course, it gives many wonderful benefits that you can directly apply to all of your kungfu and chi kung practice.

      It is actually the first set I taught to my then 7-year old daughter. It's easy to learn and most of the basic kungfu forms are in the set.


      Happy practicing!

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

      www.shaolin-nordic.com

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      • #4
        Honorable Sifu,

        Thank you for your encouragement!

        Originally posted by Nessa View Post
        When used as training of the mind, as you are currently learning at our course, it gives many wonderful benefits that you can directly apply to all of your kungfu and chi kung practice.
        The applications we have been taught so far are numerous. We have trained different hand forms, focusing mind in specific manners to enchance concentration, and energy direction and cultivation. Frankly, it's so high level that at my stage I wouldn't dare to use these methods but every once in a while. I have done both Cosmic Shower and Merging with the Cosmos once or twice after learning them anyway because the basic skills are already a mouthful to chew.

        On our latest lesson Markus Sipak briefly mentioned about the combat applications and asked if we got any questions regarding any pattern. Not wanting to waste an opportunity when no one asked, I volunteered to ask about Yellow Oriole Drinks Water. In return I received very effective demonstrations, so I know first hand that it works well enough against me.

        Dear Andrea Sije,

        Thank you for your input. Increased decisiveness and mental clarity are certainly there among the first benefits of Dragon in Zen. What I neglected to explicitly mention earlier is that this course has an extra emphasis on flowing aspects of the set. This flow is remarkable and characteristically different from what I have witnessed so far with Wahnam Taijiquan. If the expression of Dragon in Wahnam Taijiquan is playful and carefree, then Shaolin Kungfu's Dragon in Zen captures its majesty and focused intent.

        How can this high-level Shaolin Kungfu set improve your flow? Linked here is a personal testimony of mine that directly explains how dramatic the consequences can be after practicing it for an hour once a weekunder instructor supervision. I might add that after the third week my fists finally started feeling chi circulating and the form became good on its own, instead of fingers awkwardly held in a cluttered bunch it used to be. I am honestly surprised and delighted just how pleasant and natural holding a fist now feels. The residual numbness in my hands also decreased with this development.

        Dear Kwoon readers,

        I thought to add this quote from the Dragon in Zen video page:

        This set was composed by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit for those who wish to practice Zen by performing a kungfu set. It was posted in his book, "The Complete Book of Zen", published in 1998.

        Two new patterns are added in this set, namely "Fell Tree with Roots" and "Old Eagle Catches Snake". The addition is to make complete with all the four categories of attack, i.e. striking, kicking, felling and chin-na. Previously the set consisted only of striking and kicking techniques.
        "The Complete Book of Zen" is generously available for preview in Amazon.com. It's an excellent book even if you are only intellectually curious about Zen.

        Even though the Dragon in Zen is freely demonstrated in Sigung's website and also printed in the book for enthusiasts, learning it from an instructor who can safely and efficiently guide you into high-level internal arts makes a world of difference.

        The I wanted to share an amusing personal experience from the course so far. Before commencing with any formal teaching, each of the lessons have begun with entering Zen and having a chi flow. In my case that chi flow has been Monkey in Zen.

        With sincere respect,
        Olli

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        • #5
          Dear everyone,

          The course keeps on delivering. On the fifth week my final chi flow had me whirling around with extended arms, but the expression originated directly from the Heart. The rest of the week was then simply splendorous with many heart opening moments, and the usual persistent headache I have had became much less oppressive for a while. So what did we do then to produce such an affect? We trained internal force intensively through One Finger Stabilizes Zen.

          The sixt week was another special occassion, although its means and ends were completely different. Markus Sipak announced that today we were training with our breathing, but without any regard to the physical breathing. Instead we would forget about physical complications and just breathe in energy instead. Next it just happened without any obvious technique or preparation: we were basically just told to let the body breathe on its own while relaxing into each of the set's patterns. Now I am really curious about just how well our instructors can transmit skills from Heart to Heart.

          The force we were getting soaked with was both strong and gentle, unlike anything else, and it got just much more subtler and smoother when we performed three patterns in a single breath. Afterwards my mind has felt very peaceful, powerful, and focused, as if I had just been in Sigung's Zen course or UK Summer Camp's "Developing and deepening the fundamentals of Chi Kung". Later Sipak commented that this was most likely because I had already been to such high-level courses and could readily manifest good results. In addition to other benefits mentioned before, during the weekly intermission my kidneys started to feel genuinely plesant and healthy, even if still a bit sore, and for the first time I started to experience genuine compassion for myself when faced with feelings of insufficiency and failure. It was a very beautiful healing experience that I hadn't expected but had missed for all my life.

          On the seventh lesson we learned to use sound and fa-jing. Exploding energy was very powerful and deeply cleansing. For me the immediate effects were sensations of openness and compassion, and when we did the set faster and using more force, these would become even more innocent and pristine. On the road home I felt simply beat up. The next morning I developed cold symptoms, similar to what I had only twice so far while having intense force training with Sigung. This should tell you something of the level we operated on within the scope of an hour!

          In a way it's completely ridiculous that Markus Sipak had decided to call Dragon in Zen an advanced Chi Kung course. Spiritually it feels much more like "How Deep Can We Practice Shaolin Kungfu Without It Becoming a Kungfu Course" course. Beginning students, friends and kind visitors of the Shaolin Wahnam Virtual Kwoon, please make a special note of this fact: the quality of teaching is incredibly high, which may not be apparent to the uninitiated and fresh beginners. The advanced teachings, once the students have enough health and internal force, are a real cornucopia.

          Three more lessons to go, and we still haven't really entered the mind level... Better keep that seat belt tightened fast!

          With sincere gratitude,
          Olli

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          • #6
            Greetings earthlings,

            I have come from planet Dragon-In-Zen in the constellation of Lohan. I have received a transmission of four speeds with different emphasis.

            These are form done very slowly, energy done very slowly, mind done slowly (simple and pure Zen training), and self-manifested chi flow done very fast (simple and pure fun training). It was the first time we directly engaged in mind level, and it was sublime and powerful: almost similar to Merging with the Cosmos. The transmission made use of practically everything learned so far, but especially of relaxing to breathe in energy.

            It was unexpected how effortless and natural everything felt yesterevening. As I had been tired when arriving, I instead became very refreshed.

            With farout gratitude,
            Olli

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            • #7
              A Late Recap

              Dear readers,

              Dragon in Zen, but not in time.

              Second last lesson introduced performing the set blind, utilizing explosive force in a few more variations, and finally performing the set without any thoughts and then entering sraight into standing meditation. Personally I found the session quite unsettling as weird sensations and thoughts were bombarding me out of the blue.

              Our last session was awesome. The special emphasis this time was on review and having FUN. We trained the set in the three general levels of Chi Kung benefit: health, peak performance, and spiritual cultivation. During the final exercise and meditation I initially felt something similar to expanding into Cosmos, but surprisingly the experience settled into the phenomenal sensation of being newly born and seeing the world with complete innocence. Could the finish had been any more beautiful?

              Thank you again Sipak for the terrific course! If Sigung ever decides to offer Dragon in Zen with his own touch, everyone please grab the chance immediately!

              With sincere gratitude,
              Olli
              Last edited by understanding; 18 May 2017, 05:55 PM. Reason: Had to add a bad pun.

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