qi_39v2

Cover Master Chen Guizhen

Qi Magazine is published by the Tse QigongCentre. Its aim is to bring you information not readilyavailable in the West.

Editor: Michael TseDeputy Editor: Darryl MoyAds Manager: Sheila WaddingtonEditorial Assistants: John Hayes

Sarah BloomfieldSimon BedfordCaroline Garvey

Illustrator Jamie MaslinMarketing/Distribution Jessica BlackwellSubscriptions Janet ThomasUSA Adam WallaceSweden Barbro Olssen

Consultants (Listed in alphabetical order):

Grandmaster Chan Chi HoGrandmaster Chen Xiao Wang

Grandmaster Ip ChunGrandmaster Yang Meijun

Columnists: Dr. Shulan TangGlen GosslingTse Sihn KeiDaniel Poon

We encourage all our readers to contribute articles,letters or questions for possible inclusion in futureissues ofQi Magazine.

Articles appearing in Qi Magazine do not necessarilyreflect the opinion of the editor.Adverts appearing in the magazine are not necessar-ily endorsed by it or the editor.Exercises appearing in Qi Magazine are for referencepurposes only. Thus anyone wishing to study shouldseek qualified tuition.

MichaelTse 1998.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored or transmitted in any way without

the written permission ofMichael Tse.

Advertising: Qi Magazine has proved to be aneffective way of reaching a wide variety of people. Allenquiries welcome.Contact Sheila Waddington.

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Qi MagazinePO Box 116Manchester,

M20 3YN, U.K.Tel:0161 9294485 Fax:0161 929 4489

email: [email protected]://www.qimagazine.com

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ISSN 1358-3778

In the Qing Dynasty there lived avery famous martial arts master named LiuDe Huan. His skill in martial arts was veryhigh, whether it was barehanded forms orweapons, but he only had forty-six students.This was because he was very strict and wouldchoose his students carefully.

Amongst his students was a youngman named Jiu Ginzhou. Whenever JiuGinzhou went to visit his teacher he wouldalways bring a freshly roasted duck becausehe knew his teacher liked to eat fresh roastduck.

One day he bought a very fresh roastduck in his village as he was going to see histeacher. On the way it suddenly started torain very heavily but he had not brought anu m b r e l l awith him, sohe put theroast duckunder hisclothes andran to hist e a c h e r ’ sh o m e .H o we ve r,his teacherlived quite far from thevillage. The weatherwas still very bad andthe rain kept pouringdown. When Jiu reachedhis teacher’s house, hiswhole body wascompletely wet through.

Jiu took out theduck from under his shirtbut the duck had changedcolour. It had turned white!The rain had peeled off the skinof the duck and the water hadwashed all of the taste away. The skin is thebest part of a roast duck.

Jiu was very upset, now his teacherwould not be able to enjoy the duck. Whenhe looked up at his teacher, Liu De Huan, hesaw his eyes were red as if he were upset andangry. However, his teacher then said, “I haveno children. Even if I had some, I do notthink they would respect me like you do. IfI cannot pass on my skill to you, who can Ipass it to?”

Finally Jiu became Liu De Huan’sbest student and inherited all of his skill. JiuGin Zhou eventually went on to become thechief of security inside the Qing Palace (todaywe call it The Forbidden City).

Nowadays many people study withteachers whose skill is very good, but theydo not respect them very much. All they wantis the teacher’s skill. After they have learntit then they leave and never contact theirteacher again. It is sad to see that this culturehas gone. In school, children do not need torespect their teachers. If they like the subject,they listen, if they don’t like it they don’tlisten.

The traditional Chinese way is thatno matter what kind of skill you learn,

whether it is cooking, sewing, Chinesemedicine, martial arts or Qigong, the teacher(who we call Sifu, no matter whether theyare male or female) and student are very close,like father and son. In the West a lot ofstudents choose their teacher, but goodteachers also choose good students as well.

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“If I cannot pass onmy skill to you, whocan I pass it on to?”

Qi Magazine 3

Contents Issue 39

1. Editorialwith Michael Tse.

4. PO Box 116News, views, short items and questions.

7 What is a Spiral?Chen Taijiquan is famous for its spiralling energy - Chansijin. Foryour Chen to be very good it is very important to understand howthis energy works. But first step however, is to understand what aspiral is and what its strengths are.by Glenn Gossling

9 Stances and RelaxationFor your Qi to sink to your Dantien, you need to be relaxed. To berelaxed your stance must be good enough to support your body.The problem is, how do you know if your stance is good?by Daniel Poon

10 Reiki - A High PlainReiki is now becoming a very popular form of alternative therapy.Many people attest to its effectiveness, but what is Reiki?by Beryl Vale

13 99 Years of PractiseGrandmaster Yang Meijun’s fame spread throughout China and evenfurther afield. People travelled far and wide to see her and some werelucky enough to be accepted and have the opportunity to learn someof her skills.by Michael Tse

15 Matters of ConfidenceMany women today would like to learn some sort of self-defence.The confidence it gives can often deter a would be attacker. However,the key is being confident enough to start training and keep at it.by Darryl Moy

16 Dayan Gong 2nd 64More movements from this advanced Qigong form.by Michael Tse

19 Moving Qi the Tui Na WayTui Na is a powerful method of massage. It not only works on themuscles and joints, it also helps to stimulate the flow of Qi andopen acupuncture points.by Maria Mercati

28 Shaolin Taiji?There is great debate over who created Taijiquan. Some believe it wasChen Wanting of the Chen clan and others say it was the DaoistZhang Sanfeng. Now there is a third group who say it was actuallythe monks of Shaolin Templeby Tony Leung Yanlon

37 24 Step Simplified TaijiquanThe third part in this series.

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38 Man Ho Kwok - The Chinese AlmanacThose of you read books on Feng Shui and Chinese Astrology musthave come across the name of Man Ho Kwok. He has written manybooks on these fascinating subjects. Fortunately for Qi Magazine hewas able to take time out of his busy schedule and have a chat.by Jessica Blackwell

42 TCM & SeasicknessSufferers of seasickness are often the butt of jokes and comedysketches. For those who suffer from it, it is far from funny, especiallyas they are likely to be on their holidays when they get it.by Dr. Shulan Tang

44 Whats in a Word?For western people the Chinese language is very confusing. Thesounds and tones are very difficult to say. For the written word, thesituation is even more confusing.by Daniel Poon

47 Engineering Our Future.Modern science is continually pushing its boundaries wider and wider.Today, much emphasis is placed on finding out what makes up lifeand how our genes work. If we are to go this way we must considerall the possible implicationsby Tse Sihn Kei

22 Chen GuizhenThe Queen of the Double Swords

Master Chen Guizhen is one of thetop masters of Chen Taijiquan.Born in Chen Village she was taughtinitially by her father and then by thetop masters in Chenjiagou. Today herspecialities are the double swords anddouble broadswords.In this exclusive interview she tells ushow women should approach thissoftest of arts.by Michael Tse

Qi Magazine 4

Many people have recently asked mehow to become an instructor for the TseQigong Centre to teach Dayan Qigong. Youcan say to become an instructor is quite easy,but at the same time you can say it is quitedifficult.

There are two things that are required1. You must have studied for at least

three years with the Tse Qigong Centre, eitherin a class or through seminars and you caneither have studied directlywith me or withany of the alreadyqualified Tse Qigong Centreinstructors.

2. You must know how to behave andhave a good heart. It is as simple as that.After studying consistently for three years Ibelieve that we would know each other quitewell and I can see what sort of person you are

To Be An Tse Qigong CentreDayan Qigong Instructor

and whether you have a good heart. Your skillmight not be that good, but this can improve.Having a good heart is the most importantthing.

After you have considered theseconditions, and you find you would like toapply, you would also need to ask yourinstructor’s permission. If your instructoragrees, then he or she will write a letter ofrecommendation for you.

To be an instructor with the TseQigong Centre you must know how to respectthe skills and their teachers and your seniors.In this way the skills will keep passing downproperly, without losing anyof the traditionalways. They will not become mixed up withother skills and change into manydifferentstyles. Michael Tse

GrandmasterYe Xiao Long

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If there is anything you want to discuss, if there is anything you want to share withothers, any news or any announcements you would like to make, send them to us:Qi Magazine, PO Box 116, Manchester M20 3YN.

GrandmasterYeXiao Long(b.1925)ofShanghaiwill bevisitingEnglandfor the first time this year fromSeptember14th until 28th. Accompanied byMaster XuGuo Ming, alsoof Shanghai, the two will beholdingspecial workshops in London andCambridge to give serious students theopportunity to workwith one of China’sgreatest survivingproponentsof the InternalArts.

GrandmasterYebegan training inChinese Kung Fu from 10 years old and is apractitioner ofYangStyleTaijiquan and LanShou. He is recognised for his exceptionalNei Jingor internal strength, which hedeveloped through the practice of PowerStretching. He believes that in order to raise

your level of practice you must open thebody to develop room in the hips and jointsandoverallflexibilitywhilstmaintainingpower.Moreoverhis trainingemphasisesZhongDingorcentralequilibriumtraining.His PushHands skills areremarkable and undefeatedinalifetimeofchallenges.He asserts that in order todevelop earth or rootpower youmust be straightand connected to the earth.

GrandmasterYe isaveryhumbleand quietmanhavingsurvivedthroughsomeofChina’smost tumultuous

historic episodes. He is very serious about histrainingandattributeshis longevityandfitnessto hisdaily routine. On hisprevious visits tothe United States he has been generous andprecise inhis instructionexhibitingagenuinedesire to see to it that the students understandthe transmissionanddigout theirown full

potential. Oneparticipantlikened him to a wise old cat.“He doesnot exert himselfunnecessarilybut likea tigercan move very fast andpowerfullywithaquickfinish.His body is very loose andextended, withan incrediblereach but not weak. Verypowerfulbuthidden.”

Master Xu GuoMing, whose two previousUK tours met with excep-

tional success, will be acting as interpreter forthe seminars andwill alsobe presentingdetails throughout the tour. MasterXu, whohas studied withYe for over twenty years,has the highest respect for the old Master andsays this is a great opportunity for thosewishing fora chance to studywith a genuinemember of thepassingelder generation. “Thereal treasures of China are rapidly passingand we will not see their likes again. Mymotivation inbringingGrandmasterYe toEurope (He will be touringDenmarkGermany and Italyas well) is to give seriousstudents thechance to study with the finest ofChina before their passing.”

TheLondon Seminarswill be heldat:TheChina CulturalCentre, 18 IslingtonRoad, on Saturday 19 September 10 am –5pm(LanShouTraining) and TheWinches-ter Project, Winchester Road, SwissCottage Sunday 20 September 3:30pm –9:30 pm(Yang & Chen Style Push Hands)

For informationTelephone/Fax(01359) 271779 or (0402) 017484 [email protected]

Qi Magazine 5

“From BadComes Good”

Often it is easy to believe that peoplein the world are becomingmore self-centred,so it is like a reaffirmation in the kindness ofhumannaturewhen onehears a story of generosity.This storybeginswithwhatcould have been a tragicaccident. One would notnormallythinkthatfallingdown asteep flight ofstairs as being good.However, oneTse QigongMember hadexactly thisthinking.Althoughextremelybruised andemotionallyshaken, shewas verygrateful that nobones were broken. Shewas so thankful, that eventhough thefallmeant thatshe could not attend a Qigongcourse whichshe had been looking forward to for months,she had enough generosity of heart to see ifsomeone else could take her place. Someoneas she put it, “who really deserves and wantsto go but who thought theycould not affordto do so”. I know the recipient of this kindgift is sendingher own thanks to the giver, butwe also thought that others would like toknowthat there is much goodness in theworld if we only look for it.

Free KnowledgeDearMichael,

I recentlycame across this story in abook, and thought your readers might like it.

There was once a great master whowas asked how he started on the road toknowledge. He answered, “As a young man,I spent many years looking forboth the rightpath and the right teacher but each time Ifound that there was something towhich Iobjected to, either in the teacher or the art,and I despaired of ever reachingmy goal.”

“Thenoneday,after travellingmanyroads, I finally reached the house of a masterwhose actions seemed to reflect his words. Inlookingat his students, theyalso impressedme verymuchwith theirbehaviourandattitude. I decided to stay, and for a while Iwas content to be the student of this Master.However, one day I was asked for money. Ithought tomyself, ‘men of wisdomdo not

charge for knowledge’, so I left the Master’shome that veryday. I did not tell of myreason for leavinghowever”.

“That evening as I made my bedbeside a wooded glade, I shared my mealwith anold priest who madehis homenearby.As I stared into the fire, he looked at

me and saidquietly, ‘Whenaperson givesmoney, does hedo so to place avalue onwhat hehas received ordoes he givewhat he canspare at thattime? Perhapson the otherhand, he said, aperson findsreasons for notgivingatall,imagininghim-

self toovirtuous at the sametime’ ”.“I looked at the old man and felt a

shock run through my body. I saw that myattitude wasonly a mask for stinginess so thevery next day I returned to the teacher whomI had just left. As soon as my Master sawme, he smiled and said, `Those who say thatone should not charge money for knowledgecannot receive knowledge, even as a gift.This is because one can learn only after thematter ofchargingor not charginghas beenexpelled fromthemind. Thenwisdommaytake its place. There is no room for both theattitude, ‘I do not want to pay’, and, ‘I wantto learn,’ in one and the same person.Therefore, to deter a greedy person or showhimhis shallowness, we always ask formoney’”.Adapted fromthebook, “The CommandingSelf” byIdries Shah.

Many thanks to Paul Blakey forsharing this story with Qi Magazinereaders.

FindingGuidanceDear Qi Magazine,

Thankyou foryour wealth ofinformation on TCMand Qigong. I have

been re-reading some past articles in theApril to August (1998) editions and feel Imust comment. Thearticles in question were,“ASuitable Path” and “ASorcerer’sApprentice”. I hadquite strong feelings aboutthese. I am a recovering drug addict andalcoholic andamalways in needof spiritualguidance. I beganpractising KungFu overthree years ago and most of the time hasbeen spent learningWingChun. However,the recovery groups that I attend have anunderlyingspiritualcontext that abelief inahigher power will return me to a sane state.

One older member suggested I beginto go to church. I began but very soon I feltthat I did not fit in and that I was wrong orevil forwanting to practise KungFu. Irecently left universitybecauseof this feelingand the alienation it was causing. Mostpeople in societynowadays seemto believethat a career is the only acceptable path andif you differ fromthe master plan, you areunwanted. Power, sex, and drugs are used toadvertise everything, even mobilephones.There seems to be no place for those whowant to be different. I do not consider myselfa devil worshipper just because I refuse tobelieve thismedia imageofwhat life issupposed to be like, because it is nothing likethat. Thankyou.JH

Dear J,Thank you for your letter. I am

glad that the articles in Qi Magazine wereof some use to you. It is often easy toassume that because something is goodfor us, then it is automatically good foreveryone else. Sometimes we are right andsometimes are wrong, but we shouldalways remember to give others room tomake up their own minds.M.T.

Five Days ofPerfectionDearMichael,

I had such a wonderful time on theDayan Qigong residential course last weekthat I felt I had to put pen to paper to thankyou for making it such a special week.Withersdane Hall is a magical place to hold acourse. Set amidst mature gardens, it offerseverythingaQigongpractitionercouldwishfor. I found the air surprisinglyfresh andclean, but amore remarkable phenomenon,

Qi Magazine 6

and one that is so rare these days, was thecomplete lackof traffic noise. Thevast lawnstretchingawayfromthe house offered aspacious practise ground, givingus all roomto stretchour ‘wings’.

While some arrived at the coursehavingnever seen Dayan Qigongbefore, andothers wishing to add new sequences tothose they alreadyknew, or polish theirperformance, Michael’s teachingstyle is soeffective that he catered for everyone’s needssimultaneously.

So enthusiastic werewe all that manystudents were up early before breakfast,goingoutwith the dewstill on the ground.Dotted around the gardens, solitary figurescould be seen practising in their chosen spot.Some opted for the space and airinessoffered by the lawn, while otherspractised inthe shade of a favourite tree. I chose one ofthe formal gardens at the side of the house,rimmed with yewhedges, with the headyscent of roses in the air and the sound of fishplopping in a nearby pond.

Time stoodstill for five days. I learnta huge amount, ate an even larger amountand made many new friends. We workedhard and had a lot of laughs. Our 4 o’clock(am) forayoutside one night to practise wasan inspiring experience, once we had gotoversomeinitialgiggling.

So many thanks to Michael forsharingsomuchwith us.Kind regards,Kate Britton

Dear Kate,I am very glad you enjoyed the

course. It is amazing how the rightsurroundings affect us. Just a few daysaway can make all the difference.

M.T

Relief ThroughPractiseDearMichael,

Thankyou foryour great magazine.My partner and I learn a lot from it and weboth enjoy reading it. My partner is a teacherofTaiji and Qigongand I amlearninghowtobecome one. Weare specialising in helpingand trainingpeoplewithchronic pains anddiseases. This requires an adapted form ofTaiji, we call this ‘Tai ChiTao’. My partnerhas fibromyalgia andI have rheumatism. Wenowboth function verywell. Thiswasquitedifferent acouple of years ago, especially for

my partner who was not able to do anything.He had to be helped with everything,

includinggettingdressed, gettingoutofbedor even taking a shower. Then one day hemet a teacher ofTai Chi Taowho invited himto join classes. A few years later my partnerwas a teacher himself and was able to doeverythinghimselfagain.Two years later Ilearned aboutTai Chi Tao and joined classeswith the manwho is nowmypartner. I’mstilllearning howto become a teacher. I now helpmypartner duringclasses bygivingextraattention to those who need it.

Please continue your good workwiththemagazine.A.S

Best Ever?DearMichael,

Inmyhumbleopinion, the last issue(issue 38)of Qi Magazine is simply the bestever. The contents were superb, with youreditorial andarticle by Ip Chun, “The BestTimes” and the latest instalment of“99Yearsof Practise”, the fascinatingbiographyofMasterYangMeijun – are all inspiringandhugelyinformative.

Concerning the cover, I think that thestyle developed for this issue, which reveals

the etheric aurasurrounding Ip Chun isbrilliant! Iwould like to recommend that youconsider using this sort of artworkon futurecovers to reveal the Qi, as an aide tounderstandingtheentirephilosophyofQigong– which is the central thrust to yourwork and the principal message of yourexcellentmagazine.

In addition to new artwork or

photographs and new or old drawings todepict formations ofQi swirling round thehuman body, Iwould enjoyseeingmoreillustrationsofChinesemasters, similar to thaton page 7 of issue 38.

Another type ofeditorial I findinspiring, areyour translationsof stories fromclassical Chinese literature. I enjoy the storiesof Qi, magicpowers, Daoist magicians andadventures in the older and more profoundorders of ancient learning, that arealmost lostand forgotten today – and would have beendestroyed by the excesses of the CulturalRevolution. (In the west, a greatdeal of thisprofound knowledgewas destroyed throughtheCatholic Inquisition,which in turn inspiredthe horrors of the holocaust during WWII,and encouraged Maoto initiate the CulturalRevolution)

YourssincerelyM. Oxford

Dear M,Thank you for your kind words. I

am glad you enjoyed last issue so much.We all work very hard to make eachmagazine better than the last. Hopefullywe can keep moving forward and maybeyou will find this issue even better.M.T.

ARTICLESWANTED

WerequirewellwrittenarticlesonChineseculture,martial arts,Qigong,FengShui, TuiNa, Shiatsu andotheralternative therapies. If youwould liketo submit anarticle toQiMagazine,please sendaPCdisc alongwith ahardcopyprintout to:

QiMagazinePO Box 116ManchesterM20 3YN

Articles shouldbebetweenoneand two typewrittenpageswhich isbetween 500-1000words. Photos andartworkwill be returned.Weare happytohavemorepeople share their viewsand storieswithQiMagazine readers,howeverwecannotguarantee that yourarticlewill appear as itmaybe that thereis alreadysomethingplannedonthistopic.Wewill let youknow .

Qi Magazine 7

The spiral is one of the fundamentalshapes of geometry. It expresses anorder and proportion that is often

found in the dynamic creativity of nature.From the growth of a sunflower’s head tothe harmony of the human body, the spiralcan help us to understand something of theimm inent pattern that connects humanity,nature and the universe.

Spiralling energy exercises are one ofthefundamentalsofChenTaiji, and more thananything else, it is the way that Chen usesspiralling movements that differentiates itfrom other styles of Taiji. The concept ofthe spiral informs not only the Chan Si Gong,but the movements of the forms and pushhands as well. The Chen family even use aTaiji symbol in the form of a spiral torepresent their system. The spiral is animportant subject forTaiji students and one thathas both practical andphilosophical aspects. Sothen - what is a spiral?

Most dictionarieswill contain at least twobasic definitions of aspiral: that a spiral isanother name for a helix(i.e. a curve that lies on acone or a cylinder at aconstant angle to theline), and that a spiral isone of several planecurves formed by a pointwinding about a fixedpoint at an ever increasing distance from it.Both of these definitions can be useful tohelp understand the way that Chen usesspirals.The Helix Spiral

A cylindrical helix looks like the coilspring that you sometimes see used on carsuspensions. We can consider this kind ofspiral in relation to the body in many ways.Even if we only consider the relatively trivialimage of the spring we can learn somethingabout the basic stances of Taiji. Stancesshould be at a comfortable height from whichyou can either sink or rise. This ‘natural’

height should be the basis for yourequilibrium. The suspension on a car allowsit to absorb the impacts of bumps or holes ina road. If a force is applied to a spring itbecomes compressed until it has absorbedthe energy, then it snaps back to itsequilibrium position. The same should betrue of a stance. You should be able to useyour stances to absorb and return someone’senergy. The image of the spring can belikened to the fundamental energy of Taiji –peng.

The helix spiral illustrates the waythat energy travels from the feet to the hands.When pushing with the right hand youshould root with the left foot creating anupward spiral movement around the body.Part of the trick of Taiji is the way that energyis seldom moving in only one plane. A Taiji

push, althoughseemingly horizontal, will often have avertical aspect to it (either rising or sinking)and it is this that makes it difficult to resist.

Of course, in Taiji you seldom if everonly use one hand. The hands often form ayin / yang relationship with each other,creating a double helix of movement aboutthe body. As energy extends upward andoutward from the left foot to the right handit also travels inward and downward from the

left hand to the right foot. A similar helicalrelationship can also be observed in the waythat hexagrams pair up in the conventionalarrangement of the Yijing. This is one of thefundamental ways that Taiji has taken up theteachings of Daoism and applied them formartial purposes.

A helix always operates in at leastthree dimensions. It is the way that ChenTaiji uses multiple dimensions thatsets it apartfrom many other martial arts. A normalattack such as a punch can be understood asa straight line from one point to another. Theadvantage of this form of attack is itssimplicity. It makes use of what is in theorythe shortest distance betweentwo points thusmaximising speed and minimising the use oftime. Martial theories of lines are extremelyuseful. You can understand another person’smovements in terms of lines - advance andretreat. If you develop the line into a grid itis also a good way of coming to terms withthe fundamentals of footwork. Anunderstanding of lines provides an excellent

foundation from which to develop. It evenexplains it’s own weakness.

Once a line has been committedto, it is relatively easily avoided orbroken. A helical attack is different.

It advances simultaneously along severalseparate and constantly changing lines. Ifthe path of any one of these imaginary linesis blocked, others will still be open andthe very existence of a blockage mayactually suggest or create new lines.

The absence of tension allowsTaiji to generate and channel Qi in anatural way producing effortlesspower. To understand how Taijiaccomplishes this, one only needs to

read a little of the Tao Te Ching - ‘Being andnon-being produce each other’ (‘TheEssential Tao’ – T. Cleary). The Taiji spiral isfundamental to Daoist concepts ofmanifestation. By making the spiral centralto all its movements Chen Taiji aims to followthe way of unimpeded harmony

GlennGossling

WHAT IS A SPIRAL? – PART 1During Chen Taiji classes questions often arise about

spirals. Why does Chen use spirals? What do we mean byspiralling? What is a spiral?

“When pushingwith the right hand,root with the leftfoot creating anupward spiralmovement aroundthe body.”

Qi Magazine 9

S tances are designed to transmitforce through the body. ForQigong, the only force you need to

consider is the weight of the body itself.Therefore a Qigong stance has to transmitthe weight of the body down into theground. However, for martial arts thestance has to transmit force from theground, through the body, into theopponent.

There are several mistakes we canmake. The first mistake is not to line upthe joints correctly. This is most often seenin the knees when in a squatting position.If everything is lined up, then the legs arecapable of taking a lot of weight. If youhave seen a suspension bridge, such as the“Golden Gate” in San Francisco, then youhave seen how a lot of weight can besupported simply by a strong cable andtwo supporting towers.All the weight of thebridge is translated intotension in the cable.However if thesupporting towerswere not alignedcorrectly the bridgewould not be ableto support its ownweight.

The muscles along the top of theleg, such as the quadriceps, are like thecable, and the bones in our lower leg arelike the supporting towers. Misalignmenthere will damage the joints in our legs, andin the case of martial arts, prevent thestrength from our legs from beingtransmitted upwards.

The second mistake is to lock thejoints in the legs and support your weighton them. For example if you want toperform a low stance, it is tempting tolock your hip joint, and sit on top of it.This takes the load off the muscles andputs it on the ligaments of the joint,eventually damaging the joint. Instead,you should gradually develop the strengthof the muscles so that they are strongenough to support you in low positions.In order to increase the flexibility of the

hip, however, you can break thisrule a little.

The third mistake is touse too much tension in yourback or stomach muscles tokeep your stance stable. Thisusually happens when there isa mistake in the lower body,and the upper body has to be

tense in order to compensate.The fourth

mistake is morerelated to martialarts, and is to usemuscles that directly

STANCES & RELAXATIONWhen performing martial arts and Qigong stances, you will alwayshear your teacher telling you to relax. However, no matter how muchyou think you are relaxed, you are told that you look tense.

oppose the direction that the force isbeing expressed. For example, pushingsomeone with your arms uses the tricepsunder your arm. However it is commonfor people who weight train to developthe biceps. The biceps oppose the tricepsand will prevent you fromd e l i v e r i n g your punch.Using the triceps only,and other r e l a t e d

m u s c l e sunder

your arm is ac o m m o ntheme inmartial arts,and is knownas “Zhou di

li”, or“Strength that

comes from underthe elbow”. It is

difficult toachieve, since

when we think we are going to get hit,we automatically tense our biceps in orderto cover our face.

Relaxed means that the joints arebending the way that they are supposedto bend, and that the load on the body istaken by the appropriate muscles. Initially,these muscles will be uncomfortable, butwith time they will develop strength, andwill feel relaxed even under load. The bodywill feel loose, and Qi will be able to flowfreely. Most importantly, the strength willcontinue to develop by itself.

byDanielPoon

“To perform a lowstance, it is tempting

to lock your hipjoint, and sit on topof it.”

Qi Magazine 10

The word Reiki (pronounced Ray-Key) can be split into two,the Ki is the life force, that flows through every living thingand is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese Chi or IndianPrana; the Ray meaning Universally or Spiritually guided.The utilisation and expression of this energy, in the form

of Reiki, was developed towards the end of the 19th Century by DrMikao Usui who undertook a search for the secret of physical healingthat lasted 14 years. A quest which culminated in the discovery offour symbols in an ancient sutra (sacred text) and a mysticalexperience. During the experience he was given the meaning of eachof the symbols and the understanding of how each played a part inacting as a portal, or doorway, for the healing force to flow through.These symbols are central to Reiki, together with a series of

attunements or initiations into the energy, and continue to be treatedwith great reverence by the majority of Reiki practitioners.

The technique or practise of Reiki is so simple it can be learnedover a two-day period, during which time students are attuned intothe energy and are taught how to give themselves and others atreatment. A treatment involves the placing of the practitioner’shandson the body, using a firm yet gentle touch. However, the implicationsof consciously connecting with this energy often have a powerful,and sometimes dramatic, effect on both the healer and their clients.

Reiki falls firmly into the arena of the ‘intangible’ aspects oflife, in that it does not fit into a neat package that our logical mindcan grasp. Yet, as our conscious awareness of our universe and physicalreality steadily increases, we are beginning to understand thatwhich

A HighPlain

The art of Reiki isbecoming morewidespread. Itsfollowers claim to tapinto a special energycalled ‘Reiki’ andchannel it into theirpatients in order toheal them. But what isthe Reiki energy andhow does it work?

Qi Magazine 11

locking painful emotional experiences within our system. Our beliefsand focus in life become our reality. So, for example, if a womanholds on to the belief that she is likely to die of breast cancer becauseher family has a strong history of this disease, evidence shows thatthis will contribute significantly to her genetic susceptibility.Alternatively, if we are constantly bringing into focus past experiencesthat were traumatic, then we continue to relive that experience, andits associated pain, on a daily basis. Naturally, this takes its toll onour bodies. Whilst a large number of us are beginning to realise theinter-relationship between these aspects of ourselves, most of us,unfortunately, do not know how to effect the necessary changes.The problem is that often we are dealing with unconscious processesthat just seem to well up and possess us. Either we do not knowwhat the core problem is (i.e. it is our blind spot) or, if we do know,any attempt to get rid of it or push it away seems to result in the

problem gaining in strengthuntil eventually it

overwhelmsus.

Reikiworks ho-listically byaddress ingimbalanceswithin thep h y s i c a l ,mental, ande mo t i o na l

aspects of ani n d i v i d u a l .

Moreover, itworks with ouru n c o n s c i o u s

processes, hon-ouring and

acknowledging them as hidden orfragmented parts of ourselves, parts that arereally trying to find an expression or are,misguidedly, protecting us in some way.Always working with compassion, withoutjudgement, it assists us in turning and facingall that we are sothat, ultimately, our expressionin the world becomes whole. The way theenergy moves in and works with an individualcan never be predetermined through theexpectations or cravings of our consciousminds since it works primarily in co-operationwith our soul needs. As we begin to bring theenergy into form, through our bodies, it starts

to connect us with the unconscious energies that underlie our everyaction, building a bridge between the conscious and unconscious. Itbrings us the means to understand ourselves, to confront issues weare not looking at, and to step outside our limitations. With its infiniteintelligence and compassion, we are guided and nurtured throughour pain and re-united with our creative expression. The energy hasa cumulative effect in our bodies, so the more we work with it themore it takes us through our own evolutionary growth.

Reiki can be experienced by either receiving a treatment, froma Reiki Practitioner, or by undertaking the training and attunementprocess and becoming a Reiki Practitioner.

has been perceived by mankind as physical and tangible is, in fact,not as solid and definable as we originally believed. Our universeconsists wholly of energy and, at its most simplistic level, can bedescribed as energy patterns vibrating at different frequencies. It isthe limitations of our sensory filters that cause us to perceive themas separate and solid matter. If an energy does not fall neatly withinhuman perception then we describe it as intangible, an illusion, orphenomenon. Of course, science can find ways to harness or measuresuch energies through technology and thus bring them into theconsciousness of the masses, as for example, with electricity. Reiki isan energy that vibrates at a very high frequency and, as yet, remainsout of conscious acceptance by the majority of mankind. Yet thoseof us who work with this energy can see very real and tangible resultsthrough connecting with it and giving it a focus. When working withthis energy we are essentially bringing it into form; that is, we aregiving it expression in our physical realm.

From a scientific perspective we are bringing a fasterfrequency into a slower one, and whenever you merge a fastermoving energy with a slower moving energy it will havethe effect of speeding the slower one up or shifting itsvibrator rate. The implications of this are important whenwe consider that disease, or disharmony within our energysystem, can be located in those areas where the energy hasbecome stagnant or denser in frequency. Modern medicine,through technology, has found a number of ways tointroduce high frequency energies into the human body totreat illness, for example radiotherapy and laser treatment.Reiki energydiffers in that itworks naturallyand in harmonywith thei n d i v i d u a l ’ senergy system. Itadapts itsvibration in orderto work with ourdenser, slowerenergies. Ananalogy with anelectric powersupply and a lightbulb can helpexplain this, inthat, thefrequency ofelectricity mustbe slowed downc o n s i d e r a b l ybefore we can plug a light bulb into it, otherwise it would explode.

Similarly Reiki slows itself down until it emerges at a ratethat can be accepted and taken onboardby the individual/s concerned.However, as the relationship between an individual and Reiki builds,so the vibration begins to increase. In short, we become higher wattagelight bulbs. In essence Reiki has an intelligence that is pure andpurposeful in its intent. Awareness about the inter-relationshipbetween physical, mental and emotional aspects of human beings hasincreased considerably during the last few decades, due to thededicated work of a wide variety of therapists, researchers, andwriters interested in complementary therapies.

Many of us now understand that physical illness is often theresult of storing either beliefs that are no longer serving us, and/or

byBerylValeBerylcanbecontactedon01457763991

“Reiki energydiffers, it worksnaturally & in harmonywith the individual’senergy system. It adaptsits vibration in order towork with our denser,slower energies.”

Qi Magazine 12

I travelled from Hong Kong to Wuhan just to seeher. I remember the first time I met her. I walked

into her room and she was sitting on a chair veryrelaxed, the room was very peaceful and calm. I

told her who I was and that I had beenintroduced by one of her students. She

smiled and at that moment I noticed thefragrance of Jasmine and some incense.(At that time I did not know what thiswas. After a couple of years practise Icame to know that this was a high levelof Qigong, called ‘Opening the ChestFragrance Transmission’. This means thatif you are very healthy the body willrelease fragrant Qi like a flower, but ifyou are unhealthy the body will releasenegative Qi which can smell like rottenfruit or sick. So now when I meet people,if they are ill, I can tell straight awaybecause I can smell their negative Qi, andfrom different smells you can diagnosetheir problem.) I introduced myself andafter some conversation I started my

Qigong journey proper training. Since then, I have

Years of Practise

Yang Meijun taught in Wuhan forthree years and this time was the highpoint in her teaching. Her name and

accounts of her in the newspapersattracted a lot of people, particularly

younger people who came from manydifferent places to study with her. I was

one of them.

Qi Magazine 13

mannered you will not have a good level of Qigong. This is ‘Characterand Life Development’, mind and body become one. So unhealthypeople will become healthy and those with a bad temper will becomegood tempered.

Each time I study with her, I listen to what she says and Ihave come to realise and understand more about nature and Tao, andthat they are part of Qigong training as well.

Once she said “Many people finish practising and chat toeach other. Actually they don’t realise this releases their Qi. Duringpractice they gather Qi to make their bodies strong, when they finishthey release it by chatting! Keep the mouth shut for five minutesafter practice, do some meditation.

On one occasion a man brought his daughter to see YangMeijun. When he came to her he closed his eyes for a while and thensaid to her “Yang Laozi, I have come especially to ask to learn ‘TwoDans’ technique (two energy crystals technique)”. After she heard

this she said toherself “I can notavoid those who usetheir Sky-eye towatch me.” So YangMeijun just talkedwith him for a shortwhile about basicQigong techniques.After a while hementioned hisdaughter’s Sky-eyewas also open andthat she used thisability working in ahospital, checkingpatients. Her

findings were the same as theX-rays. Yang Meijun hadalreadynoticed that their Sky-eyeswere open. The father then said“My daughter can see throughthings all the time, she is goingto become exhausted, can youhelp her?” Yang Meijun said“To open the Sky-eye is not easyand to close it is also difficult.If your Sky-eye is open all thetime it is like a light without a

switch to turn it off, soon the energy will run out. I suggest you weara pair of glasses and never take them off during the day and practisemy Dayan Qigong, hopefully it will bring your Qi back to normal.”Afterwards they left. This was one of the most unusual cases she hasmet.

She said, “Many people are crazy for Qigong. They want todevelop supernatural powers, but they do not notice that this canuse all their Qi and shorten their lives. Qi is good to store.Concentrating on transmitting Qi and using the senses might oneday cause your life to run out because your Qi has all been used!Save it, then you can live longer.” At the end she said, “I talk toomuch, it is up to you if you believe”.

There are still so many stories about her to tell. We will leavethem for now and maybe another time I will tell you about them.Anyway, nowadays we can still see all these Wild Geese flying becauseof her efforts, and many have benefited and gained good health.

By the way, this year she is 101byMichaelTse

realised the many benefits of practising Dayan Qigong and differentexercises such as: Cotton Palm, Twinning Hand Bagua, Long DistanceVision Dan Gong and Jade Pillar Gong, etc. that have really changedmy life and my concept ofQigong. Also she pointed outsome of the mistakes in mytraining.

Sometimes peoplemistakenly concentrate on‘secret’ breathing or ‘secret’exercises for gathering energy.This is why many people whopractise Qigongstill feel or lookill, because they are too‘enthusiastic’ to study manydifferent styles of Qigong, andas a consequence miss thenatural way. If the way is not natural, even if you feel alot of Qi when practising, you might have problems lateron. So practising Qigong should be natural and regular,not just enthusiastic.

Laozi said, “Dayan Qigong is Daoist Qigong,training your character and your life. Each movementmust have yin and yang; understand what is the Dantien(the centre of the body). Upper body is yang; lowerbody is yin. Back is yang; abdomen is yin. Right is yang;left is yin. The Lower Dantien is located below yournavel and is connected with the Qihai point. It is forstoring energy; if you are male it stores your Jing(sperm); if you are female it is the area of the womb andmaintains your unborn child, and it develops your ‘YuenQi’ (Original Qi). In the 1st 64 movements there areabout twenty-one movements which relate to the lowerDantien. The others relateto the Middle Dantien,which is located at theShanzhong point at thecentre of the chest. This isthe middle point betweenthe Upper and LowerDantien, it is connected tothe lung and heart, to theoverall physical strength ofthe body, and it controls thepostnatal Chung Qi(Centre Qi). The Upper Dantien between the forehead and Baihuipoint (top of the head) controls the channels and relates to theintelligence and spirit, or Shen Qi (Spiritual Qi). In the entire DayanQigong about twenty percent of the movements relate to the UpperDantien.”

She also explained “When you start Dayan Qigong you needto stand with your feet as wide as your shoulders. This is the basicDayan Qigong leg stance, which can smooth the three yin channelsof the inside leg. Open the thumbs to connect the Laogong and Hegupoints, and to smooth the three yin and three yang channels of thehand. This will allow the Qi to flow down the fingers to maintain theblood circulation. Closing the mouth is a major part of Dayan Qigongto keep the Ren and Du Channels connected together so the Qi isstrong and it can stay in the Dantien. But the main part of studyingDayan Qigong is not the movements, opening the Sky-eye ortransmitting Qi but understanding Tao, following nature. Yourcharacter will change; you will become a nice person and goodmannered. Your body will become healthy naturally. If you are bad

“They gather Qi to makethem strong, then release itby chatting! Keep the mouthshut for five minutes, dosome meditation.”

Qi Magazine 15

When talking to ladies on the subjectof self-defence I am often told, “Iwish I knew a few things just in case

anything ever happened.” I am sure mostwomen share this view.

As a male who has been training inmartial arts, Wing Chun in particular, for anumber of years, it is all too easy to forgethow vulnerableladies often feel.Something assimple as walkingacross the citycentre at dusk maynot sound such abig deal, but formost ladies it canbequite an unnervingexperience andsomething to beavoided as much aspossible. Whilst Iam not claiming tobe fearless, I wouldsay that I know mylimits a little betterand the knowledgeof my own abilitiesgives me someconfidence. It hasoften been said thatpeople who appearvulnerable willattract unwelcomeattention and it isrecommended that you walk talland confident. It sounds simpledoesn’t it? However appearingconfident is not at all easy if youdon’t feel very confident.

Martial arts have alwaysbeen dominated by men. In the pastwomen were not taught martial artsas it was not very lady like. Today,though wewould hope this thinkingwould have changed, it still exists.But, since women are often the target ofphysical violence and are more vulnerable,then a martial arts class is an obvious place togo.

Most women, compared to theaverage man, are not as big or as strong.

However, contrary to popular belief, you donot have to be very big and very strong to beable to defend yourself. Of course the biggerand stronger you are, then the moreadvantages you will have. But if you are notso big, then what you need to do is developwhat you have and learn how best to use it.

If you train consistently with goodinstruction, youshould notice thatphysically youstart to develop.The techniquesand movementsshould start tocome together andof course, themore you practisethe better andbetter theybecome. Sur-prisingly quickly,your focus andpower gets moredefined.

At times,during trainingyou will realise justhow vulnerableyou are. Youropponent movesfaster and isstronger and nomatter what you

do they can defeat you (this is common forboth men and women). You becomecompletely confused, start to panic, and haveno idea what is going on. This can be quite ashock and a little scary. On one hand this isone of your most important lessons, since it

shows you your limits, but on the other handit is easy to become discouraged and give upaltogether. However, this is the precisereason you are training, to be able to faceand overcome your opponent. In class youare safe, no one is going to hurt you, so youhave time to become familiar with this typeof situation. The more you train the moreyou will face this situation. But each timeyou do, it is not so alien and you start to lookat it less emotionally and more analytically.After awhile you will start to see how tocope, begin to move and start to use whatyou have learnt.

With more training, your knowledgeand skill will increase together with yourexperience. You will also know what youcan do and what you cannot. Thus you knowyour limits better and become much calmer.With time your limits will expand andtherefore you will be able to do much more.As belief in your own abilities grows, so willyour confidence.

Awareness of your surroundings willalso increase. I am not saying you will have

developed some magicalpower, only that yourperception of distance andangles will change and youwill automatically analyseyour surroundings and weighup possible threats. People’smovements will also tell youmore about their intent andso you can decide which isthe best way for you to go.

Almost instinctivelyyouwill be able to see trouble aheadand avoidit. Together with your confident mannertrouble will also be more likely to avoid you,but if it should come to it, then you do havea few tricks up your sleeve

byDarrylMoy

MATTERS OF CONFIDENCEMore and more women would like to learn some sort of

self defence. However, many are put off as the training can bean ordeal in itself.

“Women are oftenthe target of physicalviolence and morevulnerable.”

Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan Gong 2nd 64 Dayan

Qi Magazine 16

11 Pass Through the Legs

ZhongchongPoint

12 Transmit the Qi to the Ankles

i. Bring your left hand to your back sothe Hegu point touches the Shenshupoint. The right hand drops down tothe inside of the right ankle, so theLaogong point faces the ankle. Keepboth legs straight. Fig 46a - 46b

ii Turn your waist to the left, keep yourright leg straight, but let your leftbend. Your right palm moves frominside to the outside (Fig 47), howeverkeep the Laogong point facing yourankle.

iii. Move back to the centre so both legsare straight and bring your hand backto face the inside of your ankle. Fig48

iv. repeat ii & iiiv. Bring your right hand to your back

and touch the right Hegu point to the

middle fingers touch to connect theZhongchong points which are on thepericardium channel. This helps tostrengthen the heart and also clear the mind.

ii. Quickly separate the arms so thepalms face down. Fig 45This releases negative Qi.

i. Bring your hands back between yourlegs, your right hand goes betweenyour legs and your left goes behindyour left leg. Touch the middle fingersof each hand together. Fig 44This part is for clearing the yin area of

the bodybetween the legs. Also, after releasingQi, this movement brings the Qi back. The

Fig 44 Fig 45

Fig 46a

Shenshu Points

Dayan Gong 2nd 64part 4

MnigmenPoint


Qi Magazine 17

right Shenshu point. Then drop yourleft hand to your left ankle. Fig 50

vi. Repeat i to iv for the left side. Fig 52to 54. Finishing with both hegu pointstouching the Shenshu points. Fig 56

Jeixi Point

This movement is good for your legs andyour Qi. It is also good for lowering theblood pressure and preventing headaches.

Fig 46b Fig 47 Fig 48 Fgi 49

Fig 50 Fig 51 Fig 52 Fig 53

Fig 54 Fig 55 Fig 56


Qi Magazine 18

13 Rubbing the Legsi. Push your hands up your back, so

your Hegu touches your back alongthe Du Channel. Fig 57& 58.

ii. Turn your hands over so the palms andLaogong points are touching yourback. Smooth your hands down yourback and down the back of your legs,following the Gall Bladder Channel.Fig 59 & 60.This movement helps to smooth the Gall

Bladder Channel.

14 Clap Handsi. Stand up straight and lift up your

hands so your palms face forwardsslightly. Fig 61

ii. Clap your hands together in front ofthe Sky-eye. The two hands shouldcross, so the fingers of the left-handface away from you, the right fingersface up and the thumbs interlink, rightthumb over left thumb. Fig 62.

Gall Baldder channel(Lower Limbs)

Fig 57 Fig 58

Fig 59 Fig 60

Fig 61 Fig 62

Qi Magazine 19

Moving QiThe Tui Na Way

Tried and tested over 4000 years and still going strong, Tui Na is still littleknown in the West. But not for long! Tui Na is about to explode onto thecentre stage of complementary medicine as the efforts of Maria Mercati andan ever-growing team of practitioners spread the message about this uniquehealing system. Maria, who is an established teacher of oriental therapies,learned her skills in China, Indonesia, and Thailand from acknowledgedmasters in their respective fields. Here, she introduces its basic principlesand shows how relevant its healing powers are in today’s world.

Tui Na is one of the main branches of TCM along withacupuncture, herbal medicine, and Qigong. The nameTui Na means “push” and “grasp” which well describesthe fundamentals of this remarkable hands on medicine.

It is a healing system in its own right withthe most diverse range of techniques of

any of thesystems ofmassotherapypractised at

the presenttime. Tui Na has

been the inspira-tion for many of

the methods used in various forms of oriental bodywork. Some1200 years ago Tui Na was introduced to the Japanese whoradically modified it to suit their needs calling it “Shiatsu”. Inrecent times this was further modified to suit Westerntemperaments leaving it with little resemblance to its Tui Naprogenitor.

There are still many in the West who refuse to acceptTCM as bona fide medicine. “It is not scientific” or “It cannotbe verified by scientific methods” are two of the criticisms oftenheard. This type of thinking comes from those who know verylittle or nothing about it. TCM is rigidly based on a science -Chinese science - of great complexity that it is quite differentfrom Western science. It regards life and all life functions as the

result of an interaction between the fundamental energiesof the universe collectively known as Qi,pronounced “chee”. The internal organs of thebody are seen as functional units rather thananatomical structures. Each organ has its owncharacteristic Qi in respect of the precise balancebetween Yin and Yang functions. For a healthy,pain-free body the overall balance between theQi energies of the internal organs must be correctand so must the Yin/Yang balance of theindividual Qi energies. All the therapeuticmethods of TCM aim at achieving andmaintaining this balance. Tui Na, like acupuncture,is designed to maintain, and, when necessary,restore the normal flow of Qi within our bodies.It treats the whole being, not its component partswhich are the focus of attention for Westernmedical practitioners. All branches of TCM aretruly holistic in this respect.

Qi Magazine 20

The uniqueness of Tui Na is in its ability to stimulate themeridians and acupoints with a very diverse variety of techniques.Tui Na is not acupressure, though acupressure is one of the TuiNa therapeutic methods. The meridians are not vessels withobservable physical boundaries. They cannot be exposed bysurgery or dissection and they do not follow the courses ofspecific nerves, muscles or blood vessels. Ocean currents thathave position and direction but no observableboundaries are the nearest analogy. The acupointsare even more difficult to conceptualise. There areover 300 of them precisely, but irregularly positionedalong the meridians. When stimulated by deeppressure or the insertion of needles theymodify the flow of Qi along the meridian intheir immediate vicinities and sometimes, even indistant parts of the meridian system.

THE TUI NA THERAPYThe fundamental aim of Tui Na is to

move and regulate Qi. It achieves this throughthe application of pressure with movement in a verydisciplined manner along the courses of the meridians.There is very little in this massage that could be describedas static. Tui Na moves and moves continuously. Itstechniques bring subtle varieties of direction to everypressure inducing force that is applied. This isparticularly significant for effective soft tissuemassage. Just as different materials offer variableresistance to the flow of electricity, so differenttissues and different conditions of the tissuestructures offer variable resistance to theflow of Qi. Thorough soft tissue massagelowers the density of fibrotic and connectivetissue, promotes lymphatic drainage andaccelerates blood flow through the capillaries,all of which facilitates Qi flow. The uniqueness ofTui Na is in its ability to affect rapid and deepchanges in the soft tissues whilst at the same timemodifying the Qi status throughout the meridiansystem. Remarkably, it can also treat problems in placeswhere thetherapist’s handscannot reach orwhich, for onereason or another,cannot bemassaged. Thisdepends on theability of certainacupoints to affectthe Qi status indistant parts of thebody. The well-trained Tui Natherapist will knowthe exactprescription ofacupoints andmeridian massage to produce the desired result. A fullbody Tui Na is rarely performed in China. The TuiNa doctor is usually required to treat just the

problem presented by the patient very much like a Westerndoctor does. The Tui Na treatment will seek to regulate andbalance Qi in the affected area. Any improvement in the Qi statusof one part of the body always improves the overall Qi balancethroughout with its consequent side effects, which are invariablygood ones! Tui Na, working as it does on the most fundamental

energies of the body, treats all those conditions that inthe West would be treated by osteopathy, chiropody

and physiotherapy plus many others that wouldrequire drug therapy. It excels in the treatment ofchronic pain, particularly that associated with themusculo skeletal system such as neck, shoulders andback pain, sciatica, “tennis and golfer’s elbow” and“frozen shoulder”. As a treatment for sports injuriesit is unsurpassed. Add to this list headaches,

constipation, IBS, insomnia, and many otherchronic conditions.

Tui Na is brilliantly effective but it is nota miracle cure-all. Some migraines resist even the

best efforts of the therapist, and knee problems can alsobe resistant to Tui Na while responding well to acupuncture.In combination Tui Na and acupuncture are very powerfulmedicine. Both work on the body’s Qi balance and both

achieve their effects holistically by treating the wholeperson to help the individual parts functionmore effectively. A lack of negative side effectsor any damaging impact on the environmentmust surely make Tui Na, and the other

branches of TCM, medicine for the newmillennium.

THE MECHANICS OF TREATMENT.Chinese therapists always assume the need

for several treatments in quick succession, ideallyevery two or three days. These usually follow a pattern that

is summarised below:

1. MASSAGE OF SOFT TISSUES TO LOWER THEIRRESISTANCE TO QI FLOW.

Techniques used here are aimed atloosening connective tissue, particularly

“It excels in the treatmentof chronic pain, particularlythat associated with themusculo skeletal system andfor sports injuries it isunsurpassed.”

Qi Magazine 21

myofascia, relaxing over-tense or spasming muscles, releasingstagnated lymph and enhancing capillary blood flow. Initiallytechniques are used that spread the force over a large area. Thisavoids deeply penetrative pressure before the “softening up”process has been completed. Palm pressing, andkneading, and whole-hand squeezing aremost frequently used at this stage. As thetissues respond, these more gentletechniques give way to ones that focus themassaging force to produce more deeplypenetrating pressure. The unique rollingmethod, which uses the knuckles anddorsum of the hand like a rolling pin, isbrought into action to complete thispreparation of the soft tissues for thetreatments that are to follow.

2. STIMULATING QI FLOW IN THEMERIDIANS.

The courses of the meridians are nowsubjected to a wide variety of squeezing;kneading and rolling applied with muchmore vigour. Fingers, thumbs, heels ofpalms, forearms and even elbows are thetherapist’s tools. In all the techniques,pressure is accompanied by movement froma vast spectrum, be it vibratory, rotational,rocking or percussive, to large scale pushingand rubbing. Unlike Shiatsu or Thaitraditional massage, practitioners who usea very steady and unhurried approach, theirTui Na counterparts constantly changetempo. Two handed chaffing, for example,

is done at lightning speed; rolling is effective at up to 140 rollsper minute, while much kneading and plucking is very slow tofacilitate sustained pressure.

3. STIMULATING THE ACU-POINTS.Thumbs and elbows are the most frequently used tools

for focusing pressure into the acupoints. This should only bedone when the soft tissues have become softened and relaxedto encourage Qi flow. Accuracy is essential and short thumbnails a must. Pressure is applied to the acupoints with movementusually of a rotary or rocking kneading action. Very tender orpainful acupoints can indicate a Qi blockage and for these,penetration must be progressive. It may take several treatmentsbefore penetration can reach the ideal depth for complete releaseof Qi blockages. Most people adapt very quickly to this deepand vigorous treatment. Some even become quite addicted toit! It should be emphasised, however, that a successful treatment

depends more on thecombination of acupoints used,than on the depth ofpenetration into them. Expertknowledge is required beforethe right choices of acupointscan be made with certainty.Many of the acupoints thatfigure prominently in Tui Natreatments are well known toQi Gong practitioners because

of their ability to boost Qi levels and the immune system. LargeIntestine 4, Stomach 36, Bladder 23 and Ren 6 are good examples.Points such as Pericardium 8 (Laogong) and Yintang are used inTui Na and Qigong to clear and calm the mind.

4. MANIPULATIONS.These are left until all the soft tissue

work and acupressure have beencompleted. So important is the attainmentof a good degree of muscle and myofacialrelease to render the softtissues permeable to Qithat the first three stagesof a treatment willrequire at least three-quarters of the timedevoted to the massage.

Manipulations done onbody parts that are tense,

fibrotic and cold are not usually veryeffective. Some Tui Na manipulationshave an apparent simplicity thattotally belies their effectiveness. Theextended arm and leg shakes aregood examples. The success of somedepends on the simultaneouspressing of specific acupoints.Many involve relatively smallscale, subtle movements othersare very vigorous with very bigmovements across joints.Whatever their scale, mostmanipulations are designedto capitalise on increasedQi flow and balanceto improve mo-bility. The author,after spendingcountless hours inTCM hospitals inChina, is stillamazed at theseemingly endlessvariety andsubtle nuances ofapproach thatcharacteriseTui Na man-ipulations, some of which are illustrated here.

THE FUTURE FOR TUI NA.In China, even hospitals of Western medicine have

departments of Tui Na and acupuncture. The author stronglysupports the view of a rapidly growing group of people whohave experienced its benefits that this should become normalpractise in the West. Both Tui Na and acupuncture can standalone as powerful healing systems for most chronic and manyacute conditions. Together they compliment one another toperfection and gel into a system of therapy that has no equal

byMariaMercati.Photo’sfromMaria’sbook‘TuiNa -MassagetoAwakenBody&Mind.Courtesy

ofGaiaBooks. Mariacanbecontactedon:01242582168

Qi Magazine 22

Qi Magazine 23

Chen GuizhenQueen of theDoubleSwordsTaijiquan is the most famous of the softinternal arts. It is very popularthroughout the world. However, even inthis, the softest of arts, most of therecognised top masters are men.Chen Taijiquan is the oldest form ofTaijiquan and also retains its roots as amartial arts. As such it is moredemanding and has its hard side. One of the top masters of the youngergeneration, is Master Chen Guizhen.In this exclusive interview she tells how this art should be approached andwhich areas are more suitable for women.

Qi Magazine 24

Qi Magazine 25

aster Chen Guizhen is one of the most famouswomen within Chen Style Taijiquan and she isthe 21st generation heir of Chen Taiji. Aboutten years ago the Chinese government made atelevision programme, in English and Chinese,

which introduced the martial arts of Shaolin Temple andTaijiquan. In particular, they went to Chenjiagou (Chen Village),Wenxian County, Henan Province – ‘The Home Town ofTaijiquan’. They filmed many famous Taiji masters and inparticular they introduced one famous master – Master ChenXiaowang. His performance had such softness and power thatit still impresses those who see it today. This programme alsohelped to open up Chen Style Taijiquan to the general public. Ithas been shown over fifty times all over China and most peoplewho study Chen Style Taijiquan in the west have also seen it.

If you have seen it, do you remember that there weretwo ladies featured in it. One of the ladies was over seventyyears old, her name is Chen Lau Lu, and she was performingChun Qiu Da Dao - ‘Big Sword’ form. This showed she was fitand strong, even at her age! The other lady was very young. Sheperformed the form Pao Choi (Cannon Fist) and did a lot ofpowerful Fajing (releasing power). You can see her waist shakingand this is where her power comes from. I am sure everyonewho has seen this programme was very impressed by her skill.Today she is a very famous Chen Style Taiji master. She nowteaches Taiji in Henan at Wenxian Sports School.

Master Chen Guizhen was born in 1959 in Chenjiagouand inherited the skills of her ancestors. When she was only nineyears old, her father had already begun teaching her and hersisters’ Taijiquan. She liked Taiji very much and practised themovements more than her sisters. Under their father’s guidance,they performed their forms at least twice a day at home.

Master Chen Guizhen hasbeen invited to many differentcountries to give demonstrations andto teach. She was also invited to Japanwith her Grand-Uncle:– Master ChenXiaowang. In 1985 she won a goldmedal at the first National SportsCompetition and has since won many

medals incompetitions inmany differentprovinces. Dueto this success,she has becomefamous for Taijiforms.

However,Master ChenGuizhen is notonly famous forher hand forms,she is also famousfor her skill withw e a p o n s ,particularly thedouble broad-swords anddouble swords.

Qi Magazine: Master Chen, do you find it more difficult forwomen to study Chen Style Taijiquan?

Chen Guizhen: At first it was a little difficult, but because Iliked it straight away I did not mind the difficulties. When Iwas little I found the techniques and the energy were themost difficult parts. Also, how to use the waist as the centreand create more energy with it was very difficult. Manywomen can do very soft movements, but they can find itdifficult to do the hard movements. I was very fortunate tohave so many uncles and granduncles to help me, like, Chen

Xiaowang, Chen Zhenglei, Wang Xianand Zhu Tian Cai. They gave me verygood guidance and helped me a lot.

QM: Do you find that Fajing in Taiji isdifficult for ladies?

CG: Yes it is a little bit more difficultfor a woman. This is because men arestronger than womenare, but with morepractise the skill will come. Powercomes from the waist and strongstances. A lot of successful masters inChenjiagou practise ten to twentytimes a day and this builds up goodstrength.

QM: How do ladies practise Tui Shou(Pushing Hands) with men. Are the

men able to just push them away?

CG: That’s a very interesting question. Many people thinkthat a man will be able to push a woman away very easily, butit is not that simple. At the beginning, men are usuallystronger than women, but when you come to a certain standard,power is not the only way to win. Who wins is based ontechnique and sensitivity. If you can sense the energy of your

“Many womencan do very soft

movements, but theycan find it difficult

to do the hardmovements.”

Qi Magazine 27

opponent beforethey use it, youcan change. InTui Shou thereare so manytechniques thatuse less energythan youropponent does.It is not only thestrong personwho wins, youneed energy andskill together.

QM: When youwere young, didyour family forceyou to studyTaijiquan?

CG: My father, Chen Qi Wang did not force us to study. Hewould always encourage my sisters and myself to practise.His Taijiquan was very good so he helped us to get it right.He also wanted us to perform theform at least twice a day andwe all liked it. I am thesecond daughter and Ithink I was the keenest one,but my whole family knowsTaijiquan, even my mother.

QM: I know you are famous foryour skill with weapons. Inparticular you are known foryour skill with the doublebroadswords and doubleswords. Do you think this isbecause they are easier forwomen?

CG: Yes, I thinkwomen can pickthese up easierthan men, butthere are also alot of men who canperform them very well. The doubleswords and double broad-swords are slightly different fromthe hand forms. They move faster and involve more footwork,but the principles are the same. If you have a good foundationin the hand forms then this will help your weapons forms,but even in Chenjiagou many people do not know them.

QM: Do you find doing Pao Choi more difficult than doingweapons forms, and does that mean men should practise PaoChoi and women should practise weapons?

CG: No, although it does sometimes look like this.Everything depends on practise and how much time you put

into it. The more time you put into a form, the better it willbe, but when you study Chen Style Taijiquan you shouldcomplete all the skills.

QM: Is Chen Style Taijiquan good for health?

CG: Yes, I remember when I was little I was always ill, butnow over the many years I have not had any serious illnesses.A lot of masters in Chenjiagou live long lives. Chen StyleTaijiquan works the whole body. Moving from the waistdevelops the Dantien, smooths all the channels (meridians)and exercises all the joints, so it is good for your health.

QM: Do you feel that western people find practising Taijiquanmore difficult than Chinese people?

CG: No, maybe at the beginning they do not understand theprinciples. If they practise more then they will have a goodresult. It is all based on practise.

QM: What do you think the future holds for Chen Style Taiji?

CG: I find that Chen Style Taiji has still not developedenough especially if you compare it to Yang Style Taiji, whichis more popular. In the past, most people in Chenjiagou werevery conservative and they did not like to pass their skill out,they would only teach family members. Even daughterswould not be taught because they were afraid that when theymarried, and left, they would pass the skill outside and notremain within the Chen family. I hope that more masters

can break this traditional rule in the future and introducethe skill to more people outside. I believe that many

people have not even seen Chen Style Taiji and sothey don’t even know about it. Even if they study

Yang Style Taiji, once they see Chen StyleTaiji they willlike it. This isbecause ChenStyle has softand hard, slowand fast and a lotof Fajing. Somany people willenjoy it more. Inthe future weneed morepeople to domore promotion,so more people

will know about Chen Taiji.

QM: In conclusion, thank you Master Chen Guizhen for yourtime and your good opinions.

Talking with Master Chen Guizhen it is obvious she isquite a shy lady, very polite and very easy to talk to. She is a veryhappy person who is very talented. She also has her own familyand a son who is now nine years old. I believe that through her,Chen Style Taijiquan will be promoted more in the world and atthe same time have a very nice image

InterviewbyMichaelTse

“I think womencan pick these up

easier than men, butmen can performthem very well.”

Qi Magazine 28

Shaolin Taiji?

oday nobody can deny thatamongst all the five styles ofTaijiquan, Chen, Yang, Wu, Sunand Woo, Yang style is the mostpopular throughout the world.

Recently, much research has been doneinto the history and roots of Taijiquan andresearchers have used the old registry ofChen Village (Wen County, HenanProvince) to conclude that Chen style isthe oldest and it is from this that the Yang,Wu, Sun, and Woo styles evolved. To thispoint there is no contest raised becausethe oldregistry holdsthe earliestw r i t t e nrecords onTa i j i q u a nwhich dateback to1600AD, theperiod inwhich ChenWang Tinglived. Nodoubt hisf o l l o w e r swould have hailed him as the founder orthe first person to begin practising theslow – fast, soft – hard format of trainingwhich was later to become known asTaijiquan.

Although there are no writtenrecords, only those that have been passeddown orally, some Chen villagers believethat a man named Chen Bu, who livedaround 1374AD, was the first Chenclansman to have practised similar martialarts. If this theory can be proved thenthere is no doubt that Chen StyleTaijiquan is the oldest form of Taijiquan

being practised today. Being a follower ofChen Taijiquan since 1985, I wasconvinced that the results of these factfinding missions must be true. That wasuntil I came acrosss o m e t h i n gdisturbing in thelibrary of theSongshan ShaolinTemple.

During one ofmy training/research tripsback to the Shaolin Temple

I witnessed one of theolder monks practising aslow hand set that wascompletely differentfrom all other Shaolinforms that I had seen.The slow – fast, soft –hard approach of themovements wasintriguing and arousedmy curiosity. As apractitioner of ChenTaiji I saw a similar framework. The stamping of

the foot, the ‘shock’ explosive techniquesdelivered could easily be mistaken as oneof the Chen forms. I thought I

was in Chen-jiagou (Chen

Village), but itstruck me that Iwas still standing

inside the SongshanShaolin Temple.

Afterwards I was ableto get the name of the formfrom the monk. The form wasknown inside the Temple asShaolin Rouquan or ShaolinSoft Hands. However, the oldmonk declined to reveal any

more information. Still curiousto find out more, I quickly wentto the Abbot , then the late ShiDechan, seeking permission tolook at some old Shaolin texts.

I believe that I hadwitnessed the father of all Taijiquan

and since this incident, it has takenme some years to conclude my own

research. Obviously I was reluctant to

For some time a debate has been raging over the actual origins of Taijiquan. Some say itwas Chen Wanting who created the skill whilst others argue it was the Daoist Zhang San Feng.However, now another contender has entered the fray, read on to discover more...

I believe I witnessed thefather of all Taijiquanand it has taken mesome years to concludemy own research

Qi Magazine 29

immediately present my view point as Idid not have the support of the Shaolinmonks and I would have definitely stirredup a storm within Taiji circles. However,after convincing martial monk Shi Yantzito hold a seminar on this topic, I can nowboldly report of the new findings and theirimpact on the history of Taijiquan. This isbased on the following points of research.

1. TimescaleIf we accept that the Chen Village

registry is correct then it provides us witha history of some three hundred years.However the Shaolin Temple has prevailedfor some one thousand five hundredyears. Would it therefore be fair to say thatShaolin Rouquan predates ChenTaijiquan?

2. TechniquesThe stamping of the feet,

contracting of ‘shock’ explosive power ofthe classical Chen Taijiquan is exclusive toChen Taijiquan. Could it only be acoincidence that these methods are foundamong many of the ancient Shaolin forms.Would it not be fair to say that since ChenTaijiquan has only three hundred years ofhistory it could have evolved from the onethousand five hundred years of Shaolinpractise?

3. Hard and SoftIf we accept that Yang Taijiquan’s

soft movements developed from Chen’ssoft – hard mode, then where did Chen’ssoft – hard approach come from?

4. Zhang SanfengMany Taiji practitioners believe

that it was not Chen Wang Ting whocreated Taijiquan, but the Daoist monkZhang Sanfeng of Wudang Mountain.They believe it was his followers whopassed it on to the Chen Clan. There arewritten records in the library of ShaolinTemple that a martial monk called ZhangSanfeng was expelled from the temple dueto some wrong doings. It was known thatthis Shaolin monk travelled around Chinateaching his martial skill. Could it be thesame person? Could it be that this monksettled down in a Daoist establishmentand taught his Shaolinquan, but gave it anew name – Taijiquan?

During recent seminars in Londonand Dublin, Shaolin instructor monk ShiYantzi successfully demonstrated theancient Shaolin Rouquan or Shaolin Taijiform to many and varied Taiji teachers and

students. At the beginning of the eventthere were many a raised eye-brow. Buttowards the end of the event everyonewas convinced that the ‘missing link’ wasthere to be seen. One could not dismissthe obvious relationship between the twomethods.

Obviously there is still anenormous amount of research and workto be done. Yet one cannot commentwithout first knowing the slightest thingabout Shaolin Taiji

byTonyLeungYanlon

Qi Magazine 37

aijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan

24 Step Simplified TaijiquanThis form of

simplified Taijiquan wascreated as a means topromote Taijiquan to thegeneral public. It hasbeen promotedthroughout China andthe world by the Chinesegovernment, and is nowpractised by millions ofpeople.

Fig 41 to 54“Left & Right RollingArms”

aijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan



Fig 46 Fig 47 Fig 48 Fig 49

Fig 50 Fig 51 Fig 52 Fig 53 Fig 54

Fig 40 in lastissue wasprintedincorrectly thecorrect postureis given here

Qi Magazine 39

f you have ever seen a Chinese almanac, called the TongSing in Cantonese, then you will know that it is like abook of magic, especially to one unschooled in Chinesecharacters. Its cheaply printed newsprint pages add evenmore allure to the black and red symbols, Baguas and

strange columns of writings. Every year as the Chinese NewYear approaches, I eagerly await the arrival of the new almanaceven though I cannot read it. I keep hoping that someday Iwill become miraculously fluent in Chinese characters or that

Man Ho KwokSigning the times for Feng Shui,Fate & Fortune.

Man Ho Kwok is a popular name. He hasauthored many books on Feng Shui andChinese Astrology and so has helped many non-Chinese enter into this fascinating world. QiMagazine was fortunate enough to track himdown and find out what he has coming up next.

Qi Magazine 40

someone, someday will produce an English translation.Therefore, you can imagine my delight when I learned that authorMan Ho Kwok had done just that.

Man Ho Kwok was born in China but moved to HongKong with his parents when he was less than a year old. Laterstill he immigrated to England where he now residespermanently with his family. He has been studying the art ofFeng Shui, Ba Zi (Chinese horoscopes) and Head/Face andHand reading for over twenty years. He says, “In those days,during the 60’s, study was not like it is today where you haveclasses and colleges. You studied in a one to one relationshipand if you had any questions, you had to write them downand then ask the next time you saw your Master.”

Mr Kwok studiedwith three Masters, one ofwhom was a priest in ShaTin. Two of his threeteachers are still alive andhe visits them each time hereturns to Hong Kong.His studies took placeduring the summerholidays, after school andweekends. During hisstudies he quickly came torealise how important theTong Sing is to a fortuneteller. A fortune tellerneeds to be able toidentify auspicious daysfor any number ofdifferent occasions. Themost common is to find agood day for a couple tomarry. To do this, oneneeds to look at thepersons’ Ba Zi, (their fourpillars of destiny thatrelate to their hour, day,month and year of birth)and see which day isfavourable to theirpersonal element, knownas Yat Yuen.

As he talks, MrKwok leans forward andopens his almanac to thisday’s date. “For example,”he says, “Today is a very

auspicious day but it is not suitable for everyone. It dependsupon your element which is gained by astrology from your dateof birth. Today is a gold (metal) day, so if the animal sign isagainst you, then you will need to choose another day.” I quickly

“You will see a picture of a youngshepherd with an ox. If the shepherd iswithout shoes, then it means that it willbe a dry year. If he is wearing shoes, thenit means that there will be lots of rain.”

Qi Magazine 41

scanned the page and found that for me this was not the case. Itwas an auspicious day for me.

“You need to know what element you are and also whatChinese animal sign you are. Sofor instance if you are a horse,then the rat is against the horse.So even though the rat day is alucky day, you would need tochoose another day. You cannotuse this day.” There are many,many things in which a person canconsult an almanac for. Forinstance, if a woman is pregnant,it will advise not to do certaintasks, like nailing some-thing tothe wall. You can find a daysuitable for a baby’s first hair cut.

As Mr Kwok continued toexplain in more detail, I felt surethat this was basic stuff but forsomeone who knows little aboutthe Chinese five elements and thetwelve animal signs, then it can bequite confusing. However, Mr Kwok has made his book quitesimple for Western readers so that if you know your year ofbirth, then all you have to do is refer to the footnotes at thebottom of each day to see if your year comes up. If it does,despite it being a lucky day, you will know that it is not lucky foryou personally. Having said this, the method is not foolproof. Ifyou were born very close to the beginning of Chinese spring,usually 4th or 5th of February, then it may be that your animalsign year does not correspond to your actual Western year ofbirth. You should look at a table or seek advice if not sure as towhen the “Li Chun”, or beginning of spring, is according to thesolar calendar.

Traditionally the almanac was used by farmers whoneeded to knowwhen theyshould planttheir fields orwhen theyshould plan theirharvest. Notmany of thefarmers knewhow to write,however, theycould read am e s s a g ethrough apicture and ifyou look in any

Tong Sing today, you will see a picture of a young shepherd withan ox. If the shepherd is standing with shoes, then it means thatit will be a dry year. If he is wearing shoes, then it means thatthere will be lots of rain. There is also a message in where theboy is standing, before or behind the ox. However, he says that

today thispredictionmethod isnot always correctas so much of thenature’s balance hasbeen destroyed byindustry and such.

I asked MrKwok how he wentabout pre-paring analmanac. It seemedto me that this taskalone is somethingakin to fortunetelling as it is not justa translation that heprepares every year,but he is actuallycreating, in English,a Chinese almanac.Looking at his notes for his forthcoming almanac for the yearof the Rabbit, I could see it involved a lot of calculations andmuch reference to charts relating to the Heavenly Stems andEarthly Branches, the foundations of Chinese astrology. Hesmiled at me and said, “There is only one way to tell how accurate

my book is and that is to compare it tothe Tong Sing when it is published andhe proceeds to do just this.

As we chatted over tea, MrKwok took great care in explainingseveral details about the almanac, usingthe Chinese terms freely. So often onefinds that you are looked down uponfor being western and wanting to learna Chinese skill, so you are given little oroccasionally even incorrect information.So his sincerity and openness wasgreatly appreciated. I did not want totake too much of his time as he is a busyperson. Once he has finished next year’salmanac, he has already committedhimself to two further books, one onthe I Ching and one on a predictionmethod called, “Holy Cup” which iscommon to see in Hong Kong temples.What began as a hobby in the early 80’s,assisting a local university in translatingChinese classics, has now developed intoa career. I hope that the readers of Qi

Magazine will have another opportunity to learn more from MrKwok. Perhaps he will tell us more about the Holy Cupprediction method.

There is one thing that I know for sure and that is that Ishall consult my almanac for another lucky day in which to planfor a second interview

byJessicaBlackwell

Photos&CalligraphyfromManHoKowksbook‘ChineseAstrology’,courtesyofCassellBooks.Tocontact ManHoKwokpleasecontacttheTseQigongCentre.

“You will see a picture of a youngshepherd with an ox. Ifthe shepherd iswithout shoes, then it means that it willbe a dry year. If he is wearing shoes, thenit means that there willbe lots of rain.”

“Personality”

Career

Qi Magazine 43

It is well known that a good proportion ofthe population suffer from sea-sickness.Is there anything we can do to help with

the problem? The answer is yes! A lady inher forties came to see me earlier this yearseeking help for her sea-sickness. She hadarranged a cruise holiday with her friends inthe summer. She had suffered from sea-sickness since she was a small girl, but eachtime she went out to seashe felt sick and wouldvomit. Dizziness, ageneral feeling ofcoldness, drowsinessand loss of appetiteaccompanied this. Onceshe was off the boat, shefelt very hungry. Whenshe came to see me shecomplained that she hada very stressful job, herstomach had bloatedup,she had cold hands andfeet, and a palecomplexion. She had apink tongue with awhitish coating and asoft pulse.

In terms ofTCM diagnosis, her body’sconstitution is deficiency in thespleen and stomach with excessivecold and dampness. While on thesea, the extreme dampness andcold could easily invade the bodyto trigger the sea-sicknesssyndrome. The first step would beto strengthen the spleen andstomach, to expel the cold anddamp, to promote the bloodcirculation in order to change herbody’s constitution from weak-cold-damp toone stronger, warmer and damp free. Shereceived acupuncture working with thepoints, Tiansu, Zhusanli and Neiguantogether with a week’s prescription ofChinese herbal medicine, Hou Zhu San, toawaken the spleen.

She came to see me two weeks afterthe treatment and said she felt warmer,although she did not like the taste of thepowder. She received a second session ofacupuncture with the same herbal treatment,but this time in a capsule. Five weeks latershe felt much warmer and more energetic.She received the same treatment toconsolidate the results. Eight weeks later,

after anothersession ofacupuncture,she felt veryrelaxed andenergetic. Thesame herbaltreatment wasgiven again.

Beforeshe went on hercruise holidayin June, shecame to see meonce more. Shewas full ofconfidence andready for herholiday. Besides

her acupuncture treatment, she wasprescribed Xiang Sha Yang Wei Wan to takewhile on holiday to keep the stomach warmand Hou Xiang Zheng Qi Shui to keep in herhandbag in case she felt sick. The next time Iheard from her was in July, when she calledme after coming back off holiday. She was

very cheerful and had not suffered from sea-sickness during her entire holiday.

In terms of TCM, the spleen has thefunction of absorbing and transportingwater.The abnormality of this function can causeaccumulation of dampness and even waterretention. The excess dampness will then giverise to the adverse flow of Stomach Qi. Wheninvaded by external dampness, the weakspleen can be overloaded and unable toperform its function and the adverse flow ofstomach Qi worsens. When this happens onefeels sick, nauseous, dizzy, etc.

Based on the above understanding,one would be able to employ the preventativemeasures for this particular sickness asdiscussed in the case above.

As is well known, TCM is verydifferent in its approach from conventionalmedicine. TCM emphasises the analysis ofall the symptoms and experiences of thepatient, and all aspects of the individual as awhole. Its object is the patient and the causeof disease. Its method is to draw an overallpicture of the patient in order to evaluate anypatterns of disharmony that may have arisen.

Its aim is to regain harmonythrough the bodily systemitself with the assistance of acarefully drawn-upprescription of Chinesemedicine. This is why a lot ofChinese can look after theirhealth quite well since in a lotof cases, the conditions havebeen taken care of before ithas developed. As an oldsaying puts it, “A greatphysician is good at treating

non-existent illness, rather than treatingexistent disease.” The scope of Chinesemedicine is enormous

byDr.ShulanTangForfurtherinformation,pleasecontact

Dr.ShulanTang,50SandyLane,Chorlton,Manchester,M218TN.01618818576.

The movie Titanic – what an epic love story, it movedthousands and thousands of people to tears. Also surprisingly ithas created more interest in sea travel even though the tragedyclaimed so many lives.

TCM & SEA SICKNESS

“TCM emphasises theanalysis of all thesymptoms, experiencesand all aspects of theindividual as a whole.”

Qi Magazine 45

When people say ‘Tai Chi’, theymean ‘Taiji’. ‘Taiji’ is the correctway of writing and pronouncing

the word using Pinyin. If you listen toChinese person speaking Mandarin theywill pronounce the word more as “Tai gee”and so the Pinyin spelling of Taiji is morecorrect. The Cantonese is “Tai Gik”. Soyou see the spelling ‘Tai Chi’ is not veryaccurate.

Pinyin means ‘phonetics’, and isthe standard method for writing downChinese using the Western alphabet. It isthe only system used on Mainland China,and the Library of Congress has adoptedit as the International standard. For thisreason, Qi Magazine uses Pinyin.

However it is a relatively recentsystem, so there are a lot of hangoversfrom the older systems still in used in thewest. The most common of the oldsystems is the Wade system, created by anAmerican. Wade is still used in Taiwan,(because the Taiwan government likes toexercise its independence from theMainland).

Wade sacrifices clarity for ease ofuse. Wade is easy for an English speakerto pronounce roughly, but using Wade itis impossible to know how it should bepronounced properly. Here are someexamples:-

Pinyin WadeQi Ch’iQigong Ch’i KungGongfu Kung fuTaijiquan T’ai Chi Ch’uanXingyiquan Hsing yi ch’uanBaguazhang Pa Kua ChangYijing I Ching

To be able to read a pinyin word,you need to know how to break it up intosyllables. Wade places each syllable as a

separate word, so use the Wadetranslations above as examples.

Next you need to know how topronounce certain letters that you don’tsee in English very much, such as ‘z’ and‘x’. Here are some tips so that at least youwill be able to vocalise something.

i - pronounced as “eee”j - pronounced as ‘gee’q - pronounced as ‘chee’c - pronounced as ‘sea’x - pronounced as ‘sss’s - pronounced as ‘tss’z - pronounced as ‘css’

As you can imagine, it isimpossible to capture the correctpronunciation without actuallylistening to the sounds.

At first, the Wade systemis much easier to follow,however the Pinyin system,once you have got use to it,more accurately capturesthe sounds and tones ofMandarin.

Lastly, due tothe number ofCantonese

in the west, and thus the popularity ofCantonese martial arts, Qi Magazine usessome Cantonese terms when referring tothe practice of Cantonese Martial arts. Forexample:

Cantonese Pinyin MandarinWing Chun Kuen YongchunquanHung gar HongjiaHei Gong Qigong

byDanielPoon

Whats in a Word?For western people the Chinese language is very confusing. The sounds and tones are very

difficult to say. For the written word, the situation is even more confusing. As you will knowChinese writing is made up of many different characters and so unless you know the character, itis impossible to guess what the word is or how to say it. For this reason, the Chinese language hasa number of systems that make it more accessible to the western ear.

Qi Magazine 47

It seems that soon the secrets of whatmakes up a human being will soon besolved. Recently, scientists at China’s

Fudan University have discovered newhuman genes at a cost of 100 million yuan.Biotechnology is a hot topic, not only interms of its popularity but its morality,and companies around the world areinvesting huge amounts of financialresources to capture a market share.

Already, the US Patent Office isbeing deluged with applications forbiotechnology related patents.There are patents that havealready been granted on genesidentified as causing breastcancer, epilepsy, Alzheimer’sdisease and obesity. This yearalone, the US Patent office hasalready received over 13,000biotechnology applications.

But where do thesecompanies findthe genes that theyexperiment on?One man in theUS who hadleukaemia wasfound to have agene that foughtagainst the cancercells attacking hisbody when hisspleen swelled toseveral times itsnormal size and hewas hospitalised. “His” gene was isolatedfrom his removed spleen and was thenpatented and sold for several hundredthousand dollars to a biotech company –all without his knowledge. When he didfind out and sued for compensation,incredibly he lost.

Even more frightening than this,however, is an application for the creationof a part human-part animal. It is surmisedthat such a creation could be used as slave

labour for menial tasks or even as a livingsupermarket in which its internal organscould be harvested for human transplants.The ramifications are enormous –economically and also socially.Biotechnology creates a lot of money butit also creates many questions of ethicsand morality. The US Patent Office is notable to assess an application based upon

morality. However, in

Europe this is not the caseand the application for parthuman-part animal willtest the waters here onour own shores as Iwrite.

Scientists and bigmuscle corporations around the world arevying with each other to unravel themysteries of the human body. Bill Gates,a major investor in the field, has said that

information is the way forward in thefuture and what is happening now willtransform mankind as nothing in our pasthas done before, not even the Ice Age orIndustrial Revolution. They say that bythe year 2005, a mere six years away,scientists will have decoded the over threebillion DNA fragments that constituteshuman life. Even sooner than this, in thenext few years at most, scientists will havecompleted identifying all of the over60,000 genes that make up the humanbody.

But what will all of this knowledgereally tell us and enable us to do. Will itmake us more compassionate towardseach other? Will it make us less selfish?

Would you want to know every singlething about your partner, yourboss, your teacher? Would you behappy knowing both the good

and bad and, more importantly,would this knowledge bring you

any greaterunderstanding of the

person or only confuseyour image of who they

really are or who you wantthem to be. It seems that the

more scientists seek to defineand clarify people and things, the

more questions they are creating to beanswered by future generations. Whatif their part human-part animalcreation has a consciousness? What

about a soul, and would it feelrevengeful of the “Gods”, theScientists, that created it? Wecannot stop biotechnology

from moving forward, but weshould, I feel, approach it with a goodheart and not merely in terms ofcorporation profits.

byTseSihnKei

ENGINEERING OUR FUTUREMore people in the west now seem to be returning to more

natural things. However we also hear more of how scientists havealtered genes or even cloned animals. This is certainly not nature’sway, so what does the future have in store.

“What is happeningnow will transformmankind as nothingin our past has done

before.”

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