Combat & Healing - March 2003

7/30/2019 Combat & Healing - March 2003

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Combat & Healing

The Complete Guide to the Internal Martial/Healing Arts

March 2003

Volume 52

Us ing the

Tongue P rop -

er ly

1

AN INTRODUCTIONTO THE MARTIAL ANDMEDICAL USES OF ACU-POINTS

3

Baguazhang 5

Letter fromtheUSAF 10

TrainingAt Taiji

Farm

11

BaguasLighteningPalm

14

6

Inside this issue:

WTBA WTBA has no re-

sponsibility for arti-

cles written by oth-

ers. We give every-

one a chance to be

published.

All material is

2002 Moontagu.

PO Box 792

Murwillumbah, NSW

2484, Australia

www.taijiworld.com

+61 2 6672 1611

Goodbye Combat & HealingLast Issue

See back page for why.


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Page 2 Comba t & Hea l i ng Vo lume 52

by Michael Babin

Learning to keep the tipof the tongue gentlypressed up against the roof ofthe mouth and held behind thetwo front teeth is an integralpart of the internal martial artsand qigong. There are excep-tions to this rule of course; forexample, when using a

cleansing breath by exhalingthrough the mouth the tonguewill drop temporarily awayfrom the upper palate. Simi-larly, issuing power by strikingwhile using a Ha sound willalso mean that the tonguedrops temporarily away fromthe upper palate. In generalthough, in qigong for healthmethods, the tongue stays up

and behind a gently closedmouth.

Instructors who have beentrained in a traditional mannermay talk about the importanceof doing this in conjunctionwith lifting the huiyin pointbetween the legs when exhalingto maintain a more efficient

flow of qi (internal energy orvital force) through the Gov-erning and Conceptor Vessalsthat flow up the spine anddown the front of the aroundthe torso and head respectively.

However, there are two othervery pragmatic reasons to keepthe tongue against the roof ofthe mouth:

ONE -- Particularly if you

dont make a conscious effortto only inhale through thenose, deep breathing can drythe mouth out surprisinglyquickly leaving that orificemore rone to infection by vi-ruses and bacteria that moreeasily cross the membranes ofthe mouth and throat undersuch conditions. However,keeping the tongue lifted

stimulates the production ofsaliva which moistens the mem-branes and also has antibioticproperties to defend against mi-nor infection.

This flow also stimulates thedigestive system which may alsohelp explain why a very com-mon by-product of doing slowform and qigong is feeling hun-gry after you train. Similarly,saliva is full of hormones but,aside from sperm, is the onlyone of the bodys fluid secre-tions that isnt polluted bywaste products from the kid-neys and liver.

Swallowing this fluid duringpractice, as is often recom-mended during qigong practiceand ensures that these hor-

mones are not wasted. As ErleMontaigue has often said onlypartly in jest, the internal artsare very green (ie., in favour ofrecycling).

Swal lowing th is f lu id

dur ing prac t ice , as i s o f -

t e n r e c o mme n d e d d u r in g

q igong prac t ice and en-

sures that these hor-

mo n e s a r e n o t wa s t e d

TWO -- Martial bad habits are often

very difficult to overcome andone of these is not keeping yourmouth shut and your tongue inplace BEHIND THE TEETHAND NOT BETWEEN THEMwhile practising combat skillswith a partner, much less whilefighting. Over many years ofteaching the internal arts, I havenoticed that a number of other-wise talented practitioners havehad difficulty breaking thehabit of letting the tip of thetongue protrude or keeping themouth slack while training.Such habits are more likely todevelop when there is little orno contact to the head as inmost modern forms of taijiquanand other martial sports.

Its one thing to constantlyverbally remind someone that

they should pull their tonguein and close their mouth butsome have to be tapped in the

jaw once or twice before theyrealise how painful it can be toignore the teacher about whatseems like a meaningless detail.Small details, like this one, arewhat make up the bulk of onestraining once you are no longera beginner. From all this -- the

seeds of true skill are sown.

Oh, and by the way, theres theissue of learning to avoid gettinginto a scrap that would otherwisenever had happened if you hadremembered your teachers goodadvice to hold your tonguewhere it belongs. (I say this onlypartly, tongue-in-cheek, hich initself is also a very bad pun!)

Using theTongueProperly


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Page 3 Comba t & Hea l i ng Vo lume 52

By Rick Bauer

According to legend, theChinese art of Tai Chi Chuan("The Supreme Ultimate") wasdevised in the 13th Century AD

by a man named Cheng Shan-

feng. Chang Shan-feng was adoctor, studying fighting tech-niques at Wudang Temple inSouthern China. During thecourse of his studies, he createdTai Chi Chuan as a means of

promoting health, well beingand longevity. One day, whilehe was walking on the Templegrounds, he happened to wit-ness a fight between a crane

and a snake. The fighting pat-terns of the animals intriguedhim. Soon after, Chang Shan-feng set about trying to capturethe essence of animal's naturalfighting styles, so they could beused in the martial sciences.The result was Dim Mak("Death Point Striking"); anadvanced striking techniquedesigned to take advantage of

weaknesses in the humanphysiology, based on traditionalChinese medical concepts.

Before long, the martial andmedical concepts of Tai ChiChuan and Dim Mak had madetheir way into a number of ad-vanced Martial Arts Systems.The martial fighting forms were

used to develop striking energy,and to teach the proper angleand direction of attacking ana-

tomical weak areas. The artand science of Dim Mak wasused to employ it, fully andcorrectly. The ten-year curricu-lum was rigorous, complex, andchallenging. Over time, thetraditional training programitself became shrouded in mys-tique, and became known as the36 Chambers.

THE ROLE OF THE 36CHAMBERS

The term "36 Chambers" refersto the traditional training se-quence used to teach the medi-cal and martial aspects of TaiChi Chuan and Gung Fu. In

particular, it was used to teachDim Mak completely and fully,as well as the three pillars oftraditional Chinese Medicine

(Acupuncture, Herbology andPressure massage). The exactorigin date is unknown, but itappears to have been fully sys-tematized by the Southern SungDynasty (1127-1279 AD). Theclassical approach to the 36Chambers required a student tostudy directly under a MasterInstructor (preferably a GrandMaster) for a period of ten

years. Once a student com-pleted the 36 Chambers, theywere considered an instructorof the temple order, and werealso considered a doctor of ori-ental medicine.

THE CHI MERIDIANSYSTEM

Part of the 36 Chamber trainingconsisted of learning tech-

niques to target specific centersalong the body. These anatomi-cal locations are known as Acu-

points. There are 361 classicalpoints sprinkled across the hu-man body, classified by the or-gan group they influence. Theclassical acupoints are situatedalong the twelve organ Meridi-ans, and two principle midlinechannels (called Vessels or Col-laterals). Collectively, this sys-tem of meridians, collaterals andacupoints make up the internalChi (Qi) network.

THE PERPLEXING ROLEOF CHI

The concept of Chi energy iscentral to Chinese medical the-ory. Chi is sometimes describedas "electricity being introduced

into a sensitive spot on thebody." Other sources have de-scribed it as "nerve stimulation."Still others describe it as beingmuch more than that, and speakabout "72 manifestations of Jing"and the "three treasures." Thisleads to the question, what ex-actly is Chi, and how does it re-late the traditional Asian martialarts, and the 36 Chamber training

curriculum?

One of the things that make thesubject of Chi so puzzling is itsvery broad conceptual applica-tions. Since the publication ofThe Emperor's Classic of InternalMedicine (circa 200-100 BC),

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MARTIAL AND MEDICAL USES OF ACUPOINTS


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Page 4Combat & Hea l ing Vo lume 52

ous aspects and combinationshave been fully discussed in the

published material.

training.

The Old Masters viewed DimMak techniques as inducing adetriment to the internal Chisystem. Through empiricaltrials, the Old Masters em-

ployed the strikes, and care-fully recorded the cause andeffect outcomes. As their stud-ies in applied violence pro-gressed, the Old Masters sys-tematized the information theycollected, using the medicalframework of TCM to describethe cause and effect relation-

ships they observed. This con-ceptual view remained un-changed until recently, and isthe major reason why the causeand effect nature of Dim Makstrikes is classically describedusing TCM-based terminology.

Of special note: The cause /effect relationship of certain

acupoint strikes / manipulationsis not always a singular out-come. The ultimate outcomeof an attack can be dramaticallyvaried by a master instructor,

based on the:

A. sequential set-up's used

on the body,

B. the type of strike used,

C. often the level of force

used, and

D. the intent of the practi-

tioner.

A highly skilled practitionercan consistently generate multi-

ple and varied responses from ahost of points. To date, only a

small percentage of these vari-

there have been numerousscholarly attempts to "define"its nature, function, and numer-ous facets. The Old Masterstypically used water as a meta-

phor to relay these concepts.For example, the Old Masterswould always point to the threestages (liquid, solid, gas) thatwater can exist in, and theywould apply this concept ofchange to describe the broaderaspect of the changing "face" ofChi. This is another one of theaspects of Chi that perplexes alot of martial arts practitioners.

THE CLASSICAL VIEW

In the traditional study of DimMak, Chi is an important con-ceptual idea. The Old Masters

based their martial theories onthe effects caused by attackingthe bodies various "internal en-ergy" conduits. The Old Mas-

ters felt a martial artist mustunderstand the nature of Chi,and its role within the body, inorder to understand Dim Makcorrectly and fully.

In TCM, the relationship of theinternal network to the internalfunction of the respective or-gans is very dynamic, and can

be a real factor in the eventsthat unfold from the martial andmedical aspects of Dim Mak.Dim Mak always contained adual nature, and the ClassicalStudy of Dim Mak mandated astudent learn both sides of theequation: both medical andmartial. In the traditional 36Chamber sequence, the OldMasters felt this was an indi-visible requirement of proper


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The confusion in the

heart - comes from the confusionin the eyes,

Thousand technikquescannot compare with onepenetrating palm.

Aiming for the noseenables fluidity,

Step to the side,controling the man, goes either leftor right.

Comment: being that the spiritshows in the eyes, one needs tostrike to the eyes with thepenetrating palm, disturbing hissight. To amplify the effect it isnecessary to change the

position of the body, going in circleot he loeft or to the right, alwaysusing both palms, either

to his eyes again, or to his nose.

29. Secret of opening andclosing

You want to close - firstyou must open: that is the generalprinciple.

If you see the opening-protect yourself from closing: twicein a row,

it isnot possible.

Fake attack, fake retreat- blow the dust away.

Pointing to the east andstriking to the west hides thethoughts in the heart.

Comment: opening and closing -it is a pair of antagonistic positionsin the techniques of

wushu, united in the singleprinciple. If one sees an opened

form in the opponent - it meansthat the closed form will follow; bygoing forward you control the

Well trained iron palm is

like a weapon itself,

Two hands need to movefrom the side, across the wrist.

Comment: it said here that if onemeets an armed opponent emptyhanded, one should know that theblade, although dedlier than thehand, is inferior to it when thequickness and the mobility is takeninto account. Therefore, one shouldnot loose his head. One should pay

atention to the fact that the masteryof the hands of the man trained inbagwazhang is as powerful as theweapon. One just has to be skilledin changes (transformations) whilewalking

and turning, decidedly looking theopponent's hands and wrists,coordinating strikes and grabs, andyou will have the advantage.

27. Secret of protecting the body

To control the weak withthe strong - that's not it,

Defeating the strong withthe weak - that is the true method.

He is powerful and fastlike the flying arrow -

By turning left and right Iprotect myself without holes.

Comment: In bagwazhang onetrains to achieve the victory of weakover strong, to prevail

the the hard with the soft. Whenfighting fast and strong opponent,whose hands like arrows,

one should move close to his bodywhile turning left and right. Theopponent will get mad, but there isnothing he can do.

28. Secret of confusing the man

SECRETS OF HTE APPLICATIONOF BAGWAZHANG

TECHNIQUES

Translated into English by DraganMllojevic Jugoslavia.

by Xin Xhenchicommentary by Sun Baoyin

25. Secret of aquiring the looks

The swords and spearsfrom all four sides, demse like ahemp,

But when in the nightthere is no light of the moon,

Lower your body, aquiringthe visibility, doing the techniquesoutwards and inwards,

Step after step, followingthe circle, you defeat the enemies.

Comment: if one meets numerousopponents in the night, or when it isdark, one should lower

the body and bend the squatslightly. Firstly, this lessens one'sown target area; secondly, it is

easier this way to watch over theopponents and control them. Oncethe body is lowered - one

relies on the quickness and

liveliness of variety of movementsto make the opponent attack intoemptiness, at the same timelooking for the right moment tocounterattack and win the fight.

26. Secret of actions againstweapons

Long, short, single,double - the weapon is very

powerful,But it should be known

that it is not as quick empty hands.

BAGWAZHANG SHIYUN XIFA MIXYUE


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opponent - if he is suffering

from your actions, or that may bea fake retreat in order to be readyfor defense, once "the wind blowsthe dust away". If one's opponentis using the strategy of "pointing to

the east andstriking to the west", it isnecessary to be able to seethrough his intention, and use theeffective means of defense andcounterattack.

30. Secret of securing the body

Even if he is so fast, likehe has a thusand arms and eyes -

Protect your center lineand everything will be futile.

If the right time has notcome - don't extend your hands,

Hand is extended - youmust do one strike after another.

Comment: in the fight, howeverfast one's opponent maybe, oneshould pay attention to theprotection of his own center line.

Control the center line effectively -and the toughest attack

of the opponent will turn out to beuseless. When one iscounterattacking himself - heshould not do it recklessly, oneshould see the right moment andperform the technique impercep-tibly. If you have attacked -continue striking without aslightest pause, giving youropponent no chance to defend.

31. Secret of the necessarycloseness

Hard pressure -technique of defense

Evade the opponentand hide far away

Remember: moveaway further than one chi

It' the same as going

around the wall with the door

opened - the method is weak

Comment: if the opponent isn'attacking actively - one canalways use effective handtechniques ti imobilise him, and

protect himself. But the aim ofthe imobilisation - getting closeto thr opponent's body, nofurther than one chi. In such acase, it is possible to block andhit the opponentsimultaniously, when thetiming is right. If one is afraidof his strikes, and stays away,one cannot block effecively,and will wander around,spending energy uselessly.

32. Secret of the six paths

For someone else, sixpaths is - an emtpy expression,

But, using palm forms,I control the six paths.

I can see all thedirections while moving,

Without experiencingany difficulty in looking to thefront or behind.

Comment: "the eyes controlthe six paths, the ears listen toeight directions" - this is a basicneed of a wushu technique, butnot everyone can do it. Thanksto characteristics of bagwa-zhang footwork, it is possible tosee the entire horizon in onemovement, therefore "lookingto the front and behind" isnatural and not forced.

33. Secret of "not twice"

If the method is notaccurate - don't hurry with thestrike,

Strike hasn't hit thetarget - repeat it.

However quick hishand techniques may be

When spirits of "hung"and "po" are separated - the

body falls apart.

Comment: obeying theprinciple of not "shooting thearrows into emptiness, in

bagwazhang, if one hasn'treally adopted a technique - it is

better not to use it. But, if oneneeds to hit the opponent, andis afaid that he might miss -attack non-stop untill theopponent is shattered.

34. Secret of defense on theslippery ground

Frozen sky and icedearth - the step is unstable,

The front one acrossand the rear one straight fixesthe center and the end.

When turning, be sureto use the small steps,

Refrain fromstraightening the body, andusing the high-aiming methods.

Comment: when fighting on aslippery surface, one should

pay attention his own lowerlevel and footwork. Whenstepping, the front foot should

be placed across and the rearone staight (perpendicular tothe front one). When walkingthe circle, the steps must besmall. If the body isstraightened, the step is big -weight center is unstable, thefeet are sliding, you can loosewithout fighting.

35. Secret of the stable step

The step isn't solid -


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the body will shake,The foot, standing

comletely on the ground - willdefeat a thousand techniques.

When advancing youfollow with your toes, inretreat, you hang your heels,

If the step is nottwisted - you cannot turnaround.

Comment: key point ofbagwazhang is the stability offootwork. In adwancing, oneshould "follow with your toes"along the circle, as if walkingin the mud. In retreat, it isnecessary to"hang your heels", ie. lift themslightly, and retreat on the ballof the foot. If one wants to turnaround, than he must remember- firstly, do the turning(twisting) step.

36. Secet of the small step

When turning, thestep must be short,

If it is too long - thebody will not be quick.

You want to turn - dothe half-step,

It will be hard for himto apply chin-na, and hard todefend.

Comment: the short step is oneof the most often used ways tomove, in bagwazhang. Whenthe step is small - the turn isfast, it is easy to approach theopponent without giving your

plan away. Besides that, in ashort step, the power of theentire body is concentrated,which makes it difficult for theopponent to perform any chin-na holds, and it enables me tostrike with power.

37. Secret of the methods ofpalm actions

Although there areupper, middle and lower levelsof palm actions,

The upper and lowerare simply a frame.

While walking thecircle, only the middle level isnatural,

The upper and lowerdevelop from it.

Comment: in bagwazhang, onecan make a distinction betweenthree levels in turning the

palms - upper, middle andlower. In training, every one ofthem needs different approach.In the fight though, one shouldonly use the techniques of themiddle level, because they arenatural, and the techniques ofthe other two levels are easilytransformed from the middle,where it is also to perform allkinds af attack and defense.

38. Secret of avoiding leaningforwards

When the head isbowed - it is as if the eyes areclosed,

Body falls forwardseasily.

The head is bowing,the body is leaning, the spine isdead -

No hand technique,nor step will happen.

Comment: Bowed head andleaned body - one of the biggestmistakes in fighting. When thehead is bowing, as if one isafraid to open his eyes, it oftenleads to leaning the body anddisturbing it's weight center. If

the waist is bent, it's axis isstiff, and it influences the

perfor-mance of handtechniques and footwork.

39. Secret of avoiding leaning

backwards

Keep the spinestraight and the chest empty,you need the inner peace,

When the chest isstretched and the abdomen

pushed forward -it is

difficult to pull it quickly.Don't let yourself to

pull the abdomen in and tobend the waist,

But most of all,beware of the unnatural turn.

Comment: just like the bowedhead and the leaning body,outstretched chest and theabdomen that is sticking outalso have a big influence ontechnique. When the spine isstraightened and the chestemptied - qi will go down todantien, and that is when it willhelp the strenght, and thetechniques will be fast andstrong. But, if one stretches thechest and sticks out theabdomen, qi goes up, therooting is weak, the turns

become slow, and one willattack slowly and without

power, and the defense ispassive, so the strikes will passit.

40. Secret of the straightbody

The power of theentire body - is in the spine,

When the body is bent- the power is broken.


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From aside it isvisible that the legs are bent butthe body is straight whenwalking,

Than the hands fly likearrows - without hesitation.

Comment: in bagwazhang onetrains to shoot the force fromthe waist, so the waist must bestraight, not leaning to any side.Than the lover level is stable ,and the power can be used init's entirety. In bagwazhang,when walking the circle, thelegs bend naturaly, but thespine and the waist are still keptvertical. In this case it is

possible to strike with one'shands like shooting the arrows -quickly and sharply.

41. Secret of helping thebody

The body is like anaxis, head - waist, the legs arethe help.

If the main is weakand auxiliary is strong - it ishard to control the man.

Advance, retreat andevade by relying on themethods of the body actions,

But, if there is noconnection between the legsand the waist - the spirit won'tappear.

Comment: in bagwazhang, aspecial attention is given to theuse of methods of body actions.Although advance, retreat andevade rely on those methods,equal attention should be payedto full coordination of handsand feet. If hands are notcoordinated with the feet(especiallythe footwork), the applicati0n

of body actions will be verylimited.

42. Secret of different bodypositions

He has decided to takecontrol over me, and he hasalready come close,

At that moment neitherhands nor legs will help.

Pulling the waist fromleft or from right, turn the bodyaround it's axis,

Avoiding the danger ofbeing caught.

Comment: in fight, if theopponend has alreadyapproached me with sometechnique, there is no doubt thathe has an advantage. My

blocks, using hands and legs,will be passive. But, it is

possible to pull the waist andturn the body (to the left orright), and doing the openingstep simultaniously, get behindthe opponents back, changingfrom passive position into anactive one.

43. Secret of steping sidewayswith turn around the flank

The boat is going hereand there, straight ahead - thetechnique is difficult

tointerrupt,

First try to control himand find out his possibilities.

If you've met anopponent who is attackingwithout stopping,

Don't compete with hisquickness, but step sidewaysand rotate your body

around the hip.

Comment: if one meets thestrong and fast opponent, whois concentrating all his powerinto continious attack, at firstone should retreat, avoiding his

pressure. If he continue with hisattack and one retreats again,the retreating one will probably

be beaten. Therefore, it is betterto apply an active defense bystepping ideways,

perpendicular to the directionof his attack, and rotating the

body, the result of which willbe that his attack is going to fallinto emptiness.

44. Secret of avoiding to the

left and to the right

Avoid it from the east- it comes from the west,

One evasion turns intoanother.

Acting the sameway,to the left and right,without interruption,

Strike forwards andpull back, controling everythingwith the waist.

Comment: if one is surroundedby the bucnh of enemies, thansimply evading to all directionsis too passive. It is better to usethe waist as an axis and, whilemoving around, with all your

power strike the opponents andpull them, attacking activelyand confusing them.

45. Secret of half-squat stepwith lowered body

If you've met a strongman -

It is difficult toperform techniques on him.

Squat a little, lower


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your body, enter low,The methods of

mechanics from him and mewill be longer.

Comment: If one has met verypowerful man - "one tsunfarther - one tsun stronger".One can not use the usualmethod - by using low

positions one should force theopponent to act lower,losin the advantages of heightand arm reach. One should alsouse the transformations inwalking the circle to themaximum, in order to strikethrough the wholes in theopponent's defense.

46. Secret of avoiding theholds

Bagwa masters do notaccent the holds,

You grab a hold ofhim - that's a mistake already.

It is especially badwhen the enemies arenumerous,

It is by far much bettersimply to strike.

Comment: in bagwazhang, thetraining of grabbing is notcompletely rejected, it is justthat there is no emphasisesolely on chin-na. When onegrabs the opponent - the handare busy,and there is little chance for thecounterattack. And if there ismore than one opponent, it isobvious that the holds are"useless victory", you grab one- and there is nothing to fightthe other with. It is much betterto strike the opponent whilemoving around.

47. Secret of avoiding beingstatic

Mixed and pure - theunited qi - walk the edge ofheavens,

The miraculous law ofeight trigrams is hiding in itscenter.

Technique aftertechnique never split from thetransformations of the feet.

Satnding - you are likea flower growing from theground.

Comment: one of the mostdistinctive features of

bagwazhang iscontinioustransformations,while walking the circle. Allthe techniques are hidden inthat circular movement.Walking around the circle - oneis active, standing in place -one is passive, "like a flowergrowing from the ground",trodden by any man. Thus, infight it is necessary to walk thecircle and turn withoutstopping, making opponent's

plans more difficult to achieve.

48. Secret of the highest

Power must be fulland alive, techniques must beaccurate,

Either you pass intoemptiness or the threesimplicities.

There is a techniquewithin technique, inexhaustibly.

It is necessary to reachthe essence of the teaching.

Comment: "the highest"denotes achieving the highestqualifications in techniques andmethods. When I say "the

highest", what I have in mind isthat the tachniques arewonderfull,the strikes are perfect, the

power is great, there are thequickness and the speed, thatone cansiddenly pass the attack into theemptiness, reach "the threesimplicities", i.e. the heart isnot pannicking, the hands donot interfere with each other,the feet are in coordination.Quickly transforming thetechniques one attacks againand again, hiding one techniquewithin another,they follow each other withoutinterruption, unpredictably.Reaching this level - one will

be tought of as an expert inapplying the essence of

bagwazhang.

In "Rhymed rules of

practising the 48 methods" itis said:

Forty eight methodsare very hard to find,

You see thetechnique - you let it achievethe natural state.

After ten years ofpractise and hard training

The man relying on

the art will walk across ftvecontinents.


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P a ge 1 0Combat & Hea l ing Vo lume 52

Since training in yoursystem over the years Ive met

hundreds of people all across

the USA, Ive always been asked

"that is some of the best stuff

Ive ever seen, where did you

learn that?" In fact -even other

Tai chi people, one of which

came to class after doing 10years of training elsewhere

joined up recently. After train-

ing with some of today's well

known Chinese Masters (Wei

Lun Huang) said that you and I

were the real deal when It came

to Tai Chi. He could tell from

the way I moved that I "had it

right". This was of great com-

fort to me training much onmy own and also much by cor-

respondence and seminar work.

I am now teaching 3 karate in-

structors, training with a

shoofighter, and a Bagua

teacher all of different back-

grounds separate from the

WTBA. Every single one ofthose people have a great re-

spect for me, and of course you

since I attribute my skill to

your teachings.

I practice at least a few

hours every day, then I sit down

to work at the computer and

find emails from people whom

I haven't met telling me that

"dim-mak is fake", or "anyone

who says Erle is good is afraud". Id like to know their

training schedule, or at least be

able to have a logical friendly

discussion with them, but they

remain anonymous and illogi-

cal. Im just thankful that for

every single detractor, I have at

least a dozen other emails tell-

ing me the opposite, those just

arent put on public debate fo-rums. So a note to all those that

would slander the WTBA for

any reason, please come down

and train with someone, Ive

never had anyone speak ill of

myself or Erle afterwards.

The point is I don't think any-

one has the right to judge you

or myself without coming to

meet us first hand and taking a

class or at least a friendly dem-

onstration.

Even though we cannot win

them all over, for what its

worth your teachings have al-

ready saved my life from an

attack, so it has been more thanworth the investment. I con-

tinue my training only to better

myself in both health, and bal-

ance in all I do.

Best regards,

Seargent Gary Romel

USAF

Letter From Gary Romel: US Air Force


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By EddieBurke

Another great weekendof training at Taiji Farm. Itseems Taiji Farm is living up toits name by cultivating somegreat Tai Chi.

There were at lest a dozen of usthis time all very happy to bethere and support Rob andMause in their quest to providesuch a facility, with a good timebeing had by all.

The training began around 9.00Sat morning and continuedthrough until dark and into theafternoon the next day. Imquite sure it would have kept

going except when the temphits close to 40 c. the beach be-comes a much better prospect.

It feels good to have such a fa-cility available in which to meeton a regular basis. As one ofthe hardest things is to be ableto get together to train. Beingable to leave the main streamworld behind and enter the Tai

Chi world for a while is truly agreat thing.

Every time after these weekendsI come away feeling verycharged and satisfied with myown achievements and lookingforward to the next time.

Erles surprise presence and tui-tion each time has made theworkshops very special.

I feel nothing but praise andsupport for Tai Chi Farm and

hope it continues long into the

future.

And Another Thing

By Erle

The training facility that Roband Mause Eaglen have createdis an excellent training venuefor simply people getting to-

gether to practice with eachother or for a week long work-shop catering for up to 50 peo-ple.

This year I will be personallyholding a number of workshopsat the facility as well as weekendtraining workshops and the oddsurprise visit at the WTBAsregular practice sessions.

At the May week long work-shop, I will be presenting forthe first time, the amazinglybeautiful but very deadlyBa-guazhangDeer Horn Knives.

This form is a must for anyonewho is wishing to take up Ba-gua, or who is already practisingthe empty handed art. Not onlydoes it build a very powerfulbody, but also helps to preventmany diseases. And if one waslegally allowed to walk downthe street with these weapons,no-one would bother you ever!

The form comes in 8 parts injust the same way that theempty handed form does and isalso performed around the cir-cumference of a circle. Nowa-days however, because of the

huge importance placed upontournament performances n

China, the form (like all oth-

ers!) has become watered downwith less or no importanceplaced upon the circle walking,which is the very heart of Ba-guazhang!

The form that I will be teachingis the original Jiang chung-chiao form with emphasis uponpracticality and health.

March 2003

15th and 16th of march 2003: Arrivelate on Friday 14th. Training begins7.30 a.m each day. We will be coveringwhatever people wish to go over in-cluding Bagua, Taijiquan, Power Pushhands, Weapons etc.

May 2003: BaguazhangDeer Horn Knives Work-shop Plus.

May 15th to May 22nd Arrival andleaving dates. Erle will be teaching for5 days, Friday to Tuesday inclusive.

The other time will be spent with oursenior WTBA instructors, Rob andMause Eaglen. We will be again cover-ing whatever people fancy at any giventime plus Baguazhang Linear formand Circular form plus weapons andpush hands as well as fa-jing punch-ing. The bulk of the training however,will be covering the very beautifulBaguazhang Deer Horn Knives, themost beautiful and deadly and usefulof all the Baguazhang weapons. It isindeed one of the most deadly weap-ons ever invented.

A 4 part video series is now be-ing made with volumes 1 & 2already done.

Training at Taiji Farm


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June 2003

June 6th Arrive late on that day, train-ing begins 7.30 a.m on the 7th and

8th of June. Push Hands Power train-ing and practice. Plus whatever ticklesyer fancy. Bagua, Taiji Dim-Mak Fa-

jing etc. etc.

August 2003

Arrive Friday 8th August. Trainingbegins 7.30 a.m on the 9th and 10th.

September 2003

19th arrive, 26th leave. Erle will beteaching for 5 days during that time.

Please note that a small depositis required to book your place

at any of the workshops. Pleasephone or write or email for pric-ing (very reasonable!) Pleasebook well in advance. Pleasesee the info about the facilityfor details on how to get thereetc.

NEW VIDEO TTILES

FROM

ERLE MONTAIGUE

When I made my first video

tape back in 1980, I was thefirst person ever to put a train-

ing tape out for Taijiquan.

Then when we went over the

the VCD format, I was also the

first to put Taijiquan (Bagua

etc.,) onto that format. Now,

with great effort and taking 18

months, we have successfully

converted all of our video titles

over to full DVD format. I be-lieve that we are also the first to

do that. SO now, all of our

video titles are available in glo-

rious indestructible (provided

that you handle them correctly!)

DVD format. There are a cou-

ple of things to know when

purchasing our titles on DVD

however, as follows.

1/. In theNTSC systemcountries(USA, Japan, most of South Americaetc.,) You must make sure that yourdesktop DVD player is capable ofplaying in thePAL format. All mod-ern DVD players will have this capa-bility with only older ones not. If youintend playing them on your com-puterhowever, there is no problem ascomputers will play any format just aslong as you have appropriate DVD

player software (such as Power DVD)and a DVD ROM drive.

2/. The DVD media is quite expen-sive so there will be an increase inprice for each DVD mediasupplied.NOTE:Some of our titles such asMTG11, MTG18, MTG21 are in 2DVD disks. So for each DVD disk, AnextraUS$7.00will apply in the USA.

In the UK an extra5.00and inEurope an extra7.00will apply. In

Australia it will be an extraAUD12.00.

POSTAGE FOR DVD:

USA: $US8.00 for everytwo DVD Disks.

UK: 6.00 for every twoDVD Disks.

EUROPE: 10.00 for everytwo DVD disjs.

Australia: $5.00 for every twoDVD disks

3/. Because DVD players (bothcomputer and desktop) run at ahigher temperature, we are unable toput nicestomper coversdirectly ontothe DVD disk as they may come off inyour player! So you will receive yourDVD with hand written titleson theDVD disk.

4/. Please always send us a confir-mation email to [email protected] for ANY ordersyou might place either using the order

form or by normal email etc. And inthat confirmation please tell us if yourequireDVD, VCD or VHS.

5/. Note that if your order is rela-tively larger like 8 and over titles, itmay take some time to copy the indi-vidual DVD's, so please be patient.

MTG237:Bagua Deer Horn KnivesVolume One. Covers the first twoKnife Changes.

MTG238:Bagua Deer Horn KnivesVolume Two: Covers the 2nd twoKnife Changes.

MTG239: Bagua Deer Horn KnivesVolume 3. Covers the 5th and 6thKnife Change.

MTG240: Bagua Deer Horn Knives V.4 Covers the 7th and 8th Knife

Changes.


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Sean WillisUSA

My Pa Kua ExperienceMy journey into theintri-

cateart of pa Kua began in 2000under my instruction Rick Pickensof Burkesville, Kentucky. MasterPickenslearned Pa Kua in 1983under Master Dr, John WingLokNg. Master Pickenssaid that Dr,

Nghasbecomelikea father to him.At thetimeMaster Pickensdidntwant to learn Pa Kua, hesaid itlooked too soft for himheliked thefiveanimal stylesof KungFu. Itwasnt until 1991 that hebegan topour hisself into thePa Kua. Nowall hedoesisPa Kua and hesaidit hastaken on a new meaningforhim. I only hopeto behalf asgoodasMaster Pickens.

The mysterious art PaKua is a very beautiful, mesmer-izing martial art. It possesseswithin its ever-changing struc-ture a myriad number of vis-cous fighting techniques. Thesetechniques are not at all suitablefor a tournament fighting wherethe goal is to gain a point with-

out hurting your opponent. Itis not really suitable even forthe infamous octagon where thegoal is not to kill or cripple. PaKua is an art that is very muchat home on the street whereanything goes and often does.

Pa Kua is a very versatileart when it comes to fighting. It

sports a wide range of powerful

strikes utilizing almost everypart of the body from the head,to elbows, knees, and fingertips.It also offers a wide range oftraps, sweeps, and kicks. Indi-viduals who like to grapple willfind a unique portfolio of jointlock, bone breaks, and vertebraldislocations mixed with a fewneck breaks and strangulationtechniques. Pa Kua also offersseveral throwing techniques thatother arts will find attractive. Pa

Kua and its techniques are thusmade up of layers that can bepeeled back to reveal deepermore sophisticated natures. Ifwe lift a few layers we can findthat the beautiful movementshide one of the most deadlyarts known to man, the art ofDIM MAK. DIM MAK is reallyat the very heart of Pa Kua. Peelback a few more layers and we

find that Pa Kua has an esotericside where one learns to notonly send a vibratory wave withcertain strikes, but one learns tosend true internal energy intothe attackers body to disruptand damage his energy layers.

There is an extremely high levelthat can be reached but you canonly go to this level with theright teacher and there are few

who have the knowledge. As wecan easily see, Pa Kua is a fasci-nating and multifaceted art.Furthermore, it is an art that iswell known for its powerfulpalm strikes which is the PaKua Practitioners primaryweapon of choice.

PA KUAS POISONE-OUS PALMS

The art of Pa Kua re-volves around its famous palmtechniques. We find that thereare eight basic palm postures.Each palm posture has severallayers, so there is much depthto each one. These eight palmscan be put together like the let-ters of the alphabet to create anendless number of combina-tions and techniques.

Each palm has evolved into a

highly specialized fighting

tool. The hand itself is much

like the warhead of a ballistic

missile in that it can be

changed at will, depending

upon the need and the type of

damage one wishes to inflicton the target.

Each palm has evolved into ahighly specialized fighting tool.

The hand itself is much like thewarhead of a ballistic missile inthat it can be changed at will,depending upon the need andthe type of damage one wishes

to inflict on the target. Like theballistic missile, the Pa Kuahave developed uniqueconfigu-rations through countless hoursof trial and error by the oldmasters. These unique configu-rations will cause different typesof damage to the target, whichnormally will be the delicateanatomy of the human body.For example, if one wishes to

cause external damage to anopponent, then the jutting

PA KUASFABULOUS LIGHTING PALM


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palm will fracture bones andcause trauma and contusion toexternal body parts. If I usewhat is called an ox tonguestrike, where the palm is slightlyconcave, then a vibratory wave

will transfer through the exter-nal body structures causing verylittle if any signs of passing.Deep inside the body, internalorgans, nerves, and blood ves-sels will suffer the trauma andpossibly destruction. This isalso one of the methodswhereby an adept can stack upthree bricks and break the bot-tom or middle brick leaving the

others intact. Sometimes cer-tain palm techniques are linkedtogether to form a more versa-tile technique. One of thesehighly specialized combinationsis called Lightning Palm.

THE FABULOUSLIGHTNING PALM

My teacher once toldme that Pa Kua boxers weresometimes called rolling thun-der boxers. He said it was hisopinion that the name came asa result of the use of the infa-mous lightning palm technique.When struck by the lightningpalm, the body shakes as nervesand electrical impulses inside

the body are disrupted. Thereis also a sensation, of one losingtheir senses of time and spaceor their relativeness to time andspace. This would be as if light-ning hit you or hit very nearyou causing the same effect.

The lightning palm receives itsname from the brilliant flashesof lightning that suddenly ap-pear and then disappear during

thunderstorms. Like its name-

sake, the lightning palm oftenflashes down from above withbone numbing power and aloud resounding pop on impactleaving behind a deep and oftenserious wounding. A lightning

bolt we know receives its powerfrom both top and bottom aspositive and negative ions col-lide. The power that fuels PaKuas lightning palm also re-ceives energy from the bottomthrough the legs and waist aswell as descending coiling en-ergy. Both energies mesh as thehand comes into contact withthe target to create a sudden

explosion of energy. In ourstyle, we use the ox tongue con-figuration when using the light-ning palm so that a strong vi-bratory wave can be sent deepinto the opponent. The light-ning palm, however, is a dualnatured technique.

THE GRASPING NA-

TURE

The lightning palm isvery effective when it is used toblock and then grab an oppo-nents arm. The lightning palmworks on the basic principle ofmovements, such as rising up-ward then spinning over likethe propeller of a boat so that

the palm is now facing upward.The hand then begins to falland midway through the fallthe palm turns over so that it isnow facing down as in the be-ginning of the movement. Thisis the same movement used instriking as well as grabbing.

The grab is violent and explo-sive so the opponent is oftenhurled forward with damage to

the arm and wrist area. Internal

energy can also be transferredinto certain points on the armscalled antistimosis point in or-der to further harm the oppo-nents energy transport system.

STRIKING NATURE

The lightning palmtruly excels in the area ofstrikes. The lightning palm isquick and explosive. It appearsand disappears like its name-sake. It is therefore best usedsuddenly when the opponent

least expects it when that choiceopening simply happens or iscreated. Speed is of the essence.It is said that Masters of oldcould pull this technique off inthe blink of an eye. The powercomes from the waist and legscoupled with the quick down-ward spiraling motion of thehand. The turning of the waistcauses the palm to snap into

the target like cracking of awhip. There are many ways todevelop the power of the light-ning palm, but I can only giveyou Dr. Ngs method.

POWER TRAINING

Those who have knowl-

edge understand how real poweris developed. Real power does-nt come by the road of medita-tion, nor by the ultra secretbreathing exercises. We are al-ready equipped with all the en-ergy that we need. The energypowers our bodies from within.It is supernaturally given and itleaves our bodies at death. Thesecret is not conceived with itsdevelopment because it is al-ready developed. It is about


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becoming sensitive to what onealready has. It comes by faith,believing, trusting, and develop-ing sensitivity through practicewith internal power, with an-other person. I am talking of

true internal power. We oftenwaste time and effort doing ex-ercises that have very little bene-fit in giving us true ability, al-though there is an esoteric sidethat we should look at.

The lightning palm re-quires the use of certain exer-cises for its development. We

want to develop muscle fibersthat have strength and endur-ance, but at the same time wemust develop a natural heavi-ness. Walk the circle whilepressing down on some type ofobject that your palm will easilyturn on top of. This type ofexercise will give the musclesendurance and strength as wellas necessary heaviness in the

strike.

SPEED TRAINING

To shorten the musclefibers and achieve a high levelof explosiveness, one shouldwalk the circle performing thelightning palm technique with

speed. You should strike theair. Raise and lower hand assmoothly and quickly as possi-ble. The hand should literallycrash down in a FA JING move-ment. You can also holdweights while practicing. Thismaneuver allows you to furtherenhance your speed and power.Walking the circle while per-forming this maneuver will

teach you to strike quickly andpowerfully while in motion.

PROPER BODY ME-CHANICS

The waist, if you areblocking with the right hand,

will turn clockwise while thehand itself will turn counter-clockwise. It is opposite on theleft side. The body coils up likea spring. Suddenly the bodyunwinds with the waist turninginto the strike. A short stepforward with the left foot en-hances the explosiveness andhelps direct the energy of thestrike. The hand is in the ox

tongue position concave withthe fingers slightly curled. Thispoison hand configuration willsend the vibratory wave deepinto the bodies vital organs.

HIT SOMETHING

Finally, place an iron

palm bag on something, walk acircle around it and lightlystrike the iron palm bag usinglightning palm technique. Thistype of training is necessary.Eventually, youll be able tostrike the bag harder. If youfollow this procedure, youlladd a powerful weapon to yourarsenal.

Sean Willisisthehead instructor oftheGolden Dragon Martial ArtsAcademy and an Inner Door stu-dent of Master Rick Pickens, who istheSuccessor of Grand Master Dr.

John WingLok Ng. I hopeyouenjoy thisarticle. Any questionsorcommentsE-mail [email protected]

COMBAT & HEALING

LAST ISSUE!

This is the last issue of

COMBAT & HEALING

MAGAZINE.

This has come about be-

cause we just cannot get

most of our WTBA mem-

bers to write for the maga-

zine! We have literally

thousands of WTBA mem-

bers worldwide and only a

handful ever write any-

thing.

I have tried to keep writ-

ing articles, however, a

whole magazine of Erle

Montaigue articles is not

the way to go and I just

cannot spare the time

nowadays.

I would like to thank all of

those who HAVE contrib-

uted to this wonderful

magazine over the past 13

years especially Michael

Babin who has written

something for almost

every issue and those he

missed were not his doing.

It just came to the point

where I was relying upon

articles from outsiders and

whose views I often could

not agree with and the

Magazine was becoming

something other than the

Magazine of the WTBA.

I will continue to write ar-

ticles as I get the urge and

will publish them on our

site at

http://www.taijiworld.co

m

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Combat & Healing - March 2003

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