Cover Grandmaster Yang Meijun

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.

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ISSN 1358-3778

Once my son Anthony asked me totell him a story. I thought for a moment thensang him a song in Chinese. The song went,“There was once a man named Mok Dai Mao(which means Big Hair and Mok is hissurname). Everyday he lay in bed being lazy,he never shaved his beard, even gambled aswell ...”

When Anthony heard this he said, “Idon’t believe that is a real song, you made itup”. I smiled and told him it was a songwritten by a famous Hong Kong singer SamHui who was now retired. He said, “I stilldon’t believe you.” So to prove it I turnedon the CD player and played him the song.He was very surprised. Ever since then,he has liked this song very muchand even other songs by thesame singer.

The song says,there was once a mannamed Mok Dai Mao.Everyday he lay inbed being lazy, henever shaved hisbeard, evengambled as well!

Then oneday he went to aDaoist templenamedWongTaiSin.Everyone in Hong Kong knows thistemple and people like to go and worship theDaoist god, Wong Tai Sin in the hope that hewill tell them how to overcome theirdifficulties. Everyone in Hong Kong believesthat Wong Tai Sin can really help and givethem direction.

So Mok Dai Mao followed onetraditional way to discover his future andwhat he should do. What he did we call “KauTsin” which means, “Asking for a note”. Thisnote we call “Tsin”, “Kau” means, “askingfor”. This note is marked on a stick, a littlelike Yijing prediction, each stick has a numberon it and each number relates to a poem. Eachpoem tells a story and tells you about yoursituation. Usually, people do not understandwhat the poems mean, so there is alwayssomeone there who is responsible fortranslating the poem, but usually, you haveto pay them to do this.

Mok Dai Mao did not understand hisTsin’s meaning so he went to have ittranslated. The man said, “This Tsin means

you should look for a job straight away.Everyone should know their own talent andwork hard at it. Then you will have yourfuture.”

So Mok Dai Mao listened what themanat the temple toldhimand founda simplejob. From this low position, he worked hardand eventually rose up to a high position, heeven had his own business. In the end he hadhis own house and even a Mercedes Benzmotorcar as well. By the time he had successhe had grown old.

However, at the same time, he lookedat his son, Mok Yee Mao (which means twohair), he also lay in bed doing nothing, andhe was lazy. So he told him how he hadbecome successful, with hard work. Then thesong ends.

This is a very good story for youngpeople and children. We are always easily

jealous of other people’s success and wedo not see all their hard work. I

always think, you work hardwhen you are young,

when you have

more energy,then when you are older you can plan toenjoy your life and take it easy. Otherwise,if you enjoy too much and play too muchwhen you are young, you will lose yourenthusiasm for your future. You will thencomplain and moan to other people and neverlook at yourself.

Then it will be too late. When youare older and want to fight for your future,you will find out it is too late. So personally,I think I should work hard when I amyounger. Then, after seven or ten years, Ican enjoy life more and take things a littleeasier. I can let go and let other people whohave some potential take charge, then the TseQigong Centre and Qi Magazine can keepgoing forever.

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Qi Magazine 3

Contents Issue 40

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1. Editorialwith Michael Tse.

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

7 What is a Spiral part 2The second part examining the spirals within Chen Style Taijiquan.This time we look at their use and their connection with nature.by Glenn Gossling

8 How Much Power?Within all forms of martial arts, power is very important. Chinesemartial arts distinguish between two forms of power and it isimportant to know the differences between them.by Daniel Poon

11 Concerning QiIf you are interested in Feng Shui you will very concerned withthe Qi around you. People talk of ways to release or stimulate Qi.But what Qi are you releasing or stimulating? You should knowotherwise you could be doing more harm than good.by Derek Walters

16 Dayan Qigong 2nd 64 part 5More movements from this very famous Qigong exercise

15 TCM & MigraineMigraine headaches affect a lot of people. They can be very painfuland stop you in your tracks. TCM has long recognised thesymptoms of Migraine and has different ways to treat them.by Dr. Shulan Tang

19 An Intensive TimeHave you ever wanted to pack in your job and devote yourself toyour training? Many people would love to do just that, but cannot.One thing you can try is going on an intensive, residential trainingcourse.by Darryl Moy

26 Book Reviews

27 Lam Kam Chuen – A Master of StillnessMaster Lam has been teaching in the UK for quite some time, butshot into the public eye with his TV series ‘Stand Still and Be Fit.’The Qigong exercises he teaches have been very successful andeven helped him to survive an horrific accident.by Jessica Blackwell

37 Family MattersIn all cultures, family is a very important. They can help protectyou, teach you, provide for you and support you. However, bloodrelatives are not the only family you can have.by Tse Sihn Kei

38 Simplified 24 Step Taijiquan

39 When Healing HarmsAlternative medicine is now very popular andthere are many peopleout there making a living giving therapy to others. Some are verygood and are well qualified, others are not. How do you tell who isqualified and who is not? After all they are taking your life in theirhands.by Brian Hayward

42 Qigong Treats CancerIn China there are many cases of Cancer patients helping themselvesto recover using Qigong. Recently a study was done, and the resultsshowed that 80% of those treated found an improvement in theircondition. Here we look at the exercises used in this study.by Michael Tse

44 The Central Message of BuddhismBuddhists seek enlightenment. In order to do this Buddha leftthem pointers and tools to help them along. Over the years thesemay have evolved in to many different things, but at their heartthey are still the same.by Julian Wilde

22 Healing – The Qigong WayQigong is famous for being a veryeffective ‘self cure’. The good thingabout it is once you have learnt theexercises you do not need anything else.However, there is another side toQigong that is attracting a lot ofattention, that is Qigong HealingTherapy. This therapy has been used formany years in China and hospitalsregularly use it as one of their forms oftreatment. So, what is it, and what doesit involve?by Michael Tse

Qi Magazine 4

Whilst preparing this issue (inearly September), we realised thatthis is the last issue beforeChristmas. So we would like to takethis opportunity to wish all ourreaders a very merry Christmas and aprosperous New Year. As always the

Recently, one method of Qigonghas become quite popular. It is taughtfree of charge and like many things thatare free, easily attracts a lot of people.

However, this Qigong is moreconcerned with your soul and your spiritand if you want your soul to progressbeyond that of a normal human being,you have to follow many rules, you haveto be true to certain things and cannot doother things. You are not allowed to haveany negative thoughts. With this methodthere are so many restrictions, andpersonally I find that it is more of areligion rather than Qigong.

Qigong is for health. Qi meansvital energy and gong means work. Sowhen you do Qigong you are workingfor your energy. It is that simple andvery grounded.

When Qigong gets confused withreligion, it can be very dangerous.

MichaelTse

Did Theyor Did They Not?Dear Editor,

Not wishing to come across as beingarrogant, but I have to disagree withsomething that Darryl Moy wrote in his article“Matters of Confidence”, namely, thesentence “ In the past women were not taughtmartial arts.” This is not true. Some womenwere taught Gung Fu/Wu Shu or whateveryou would like to call what was taught –‘Martial Arts’ as that is the term Sifu Moyuses. In folk tales and literature there arefemale characters with unsurpassed martialskills, such as Ten Feet of Steel in the classic

Still in the spirit of Christmas,we would like to announce that the TseQigong Centre Christmas parties willbe held once again in London andManchester.

The London party will takeplace on Friday the 11th of December,7pm, at the Harbour City Restaurant,Gerrard St., China Town, London, andthe Manchester party will take placeon Saturday the 12 th of December,7pm, at the New Hong KongRestaurant, Faulkner Street, ChinaTown, Manchester.

As has now become tradition,there will be plenty of party games,prizes, and a demonstration byMichael Tse, and of course there willbe plenty of delicious Chinese food.

Last years parties were sopopular they each took over one floor

of the restaurant. So please book inadvance to reserve your place.

The cost is £18 per person.Please let us know in good time whetheror not you are coming so we canorganise everything, also if you arevegetarian, vegan etc.

Contact Tse Qigong Centre, POBox 116, Manchester, M20 3YN. Tel.0161 929 4485, Fax 0161 929 4489,Email tse@qimagazine.com.

team here has been working hard toimprove Qi Magazine and we hopeyou are happy with our efforts, butrest assured we will keep pushing toimprove further still. The next fewissues have some very interestingarticles and interviews planned, butremember, if there is anything youfeel we are missing then please let usknow. Better still if you have anyarticles ready, or any ideas for some,then drop us a line, or give us a call.

Party Times

SeasonalGreetings

QigongNot Religion

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.

Qi Magazine 5

Outlaws of the Marsh. It may be objectedthat this is but fiction and does not reflectreality on the ground. However, to bringthings up to modern day, a famous Gong Fucontemporary style’s adoption of a SouthernShaolin five animal form was through amaster of that styles wife. But, moreimportantly, Sifu Moy’s own style of WingChun was founded by a woman. Yim WingChun, a young girl, was taught some Shaolinboxing by the nun Ng Mui, one of the famousVenerable Five, credited with escapinganother razing of the Shaolin monastery.Further, of the five who survived, Ng Mui’sopen hand boxing was considered to be thebest.

I agree that the teaching of women inthe past in China of Martial Arts would nothave been very common, but it happened andsome of the women’s martial skills have beenof the highest order. Knowing this ought togive women more confidence to comeforward and begin to learn to defendthemselves.Yours with respect J. North Yorkshire.

Dear J,Thank you for your comments. In

my article I wrote “In the past womenwerenot taught martial arts as it was notvery lady like.” And in the vast majorityof cases this was true. Of course there arealways exceptions but these were very,very rare. In China women were chargedwith looking after the home and they didnot have much independence or say inwhat they did. Traditionally young womenwere to be married off to another family.Ideally to one wealthier and moreprosperous, so it was thought studyingmartial arts would make them lessattractive.

As a practitioner of Wing Chun Iknow the story of Ng Mui and Yim WingChun very well. However, my Sigong –Grandmaster Ip Chun has himselfquestioned the role of Yim Wing Chun inthe history of Wing Chun Kuen and othersdoubt the very existence of Ng Mui or herlegendary skills.

Historically these discussions arefascinating, but practically the fact thatWing Chun, for so many years, is thoughtto have come from a woman has mouldedthe way we practise and the approach wetake. This, to me, is more important, as itmeans Wing Chun relies on skill and socan be trained equally by men and women.

You are quite right – Women haveachieved martial skills of the highestorder. There are also ladies training today,

and some thinking about starting who canachieve the same or even more.Darryl Moy.

Healing SuccessDear Michael

Just a short note to say how much Ienjoyed the Healing Day in London onSaturday. Thank you very much for findingspace for me, it was both entertaining andeducational.

As well as learning new information,everything you spoke about anddemonstrated, confirmed and supported whatI am already practising, which is veryreassuring now that my own teacher is nolonger with me. Of particular personalsignificance was identifying several massagetechniques you demonstrated as specificmovements within the Lee Family form. Itnever ceases to fascinate me that themovements of the Taiji form contain bothmartial application and healing potential, ifyou look beyond the close picture, as yousaid so appropriately several times during theafternoon.

Your advice on conserving Qi duringhealing and clearing negative Qi wasextremelyhelpful, this is something that isconcerning me as I am called upon to domore healing. It is impossible to refusegenuine cries for help, but I am conscious ofthe drain on my own Qi. It may be that Ineed to learn Dayan Qigong, since mypresent Qigong practise may not be enough.If you are considering organising anyweekend workshops in the Midlands, pleaselet me know.

Thank you also for yourdemonstration of Qi transmission, I foundmyself lifted almost out of my seat as your Qifound the weakness in my neck and pulledthe vertebrae into alignment!

It was a pleasure to work with yourstudents and share the experience. I lookforward to the next session.G. West Midlands

Not a BuddhistDear Michael

Could I suggest that your magazineinclude more articles on Qigong andexercises and tips for correctness andexecution for such examples? I notice thatthere is more coverage of Buddhism, butunless you are aiming to convert people tothis way, then I can’t really see the point. Forexample, if a reader is not a Buddhist, thenwhat interest is it to have a lot of articles on

this? If a reader is a practising Buddhistalready, then they would know most of thisalready. Besides if a reader wishes to knowabout the spiritual side of life then that isgreat, but please don’t get to the point whereit becomes a ‘Buddhist Magazine’ with a bitabout Qigong. I am sure all the readers of QiMagazine come from different backgrounds.

I feel that Qi Magazine has lost someof the personal qualities that it had. It seemsmore commercialised and directed towardsconglomeration.

Big and popular may be good, butplease don’t lose the personal side of themagazine. I hope you consider this and youknow that I have been pleased with themagazine over the last five years.Good luck and best wishesB. Plymouth

Dear B,Thank you for your letter. We are alwayshappy to hear from our readers. We alwaystry to offer a wide spectrum of articles thatmany people, not just Buddhists or Qigongpractitionerswill find interesting.M.T.

Serious QuestioningDear Michael,

I have a couple of questionsregarding the article on Falun Gong in Issue38 of Qi Magazine. In Li Hongzhi’s bookZhuan Fa Lun, he says (according to a friendof mine who has read it) that it is wrong touse Qigong to heal people of disease, sincethe purpose of the disease is to trigger thesufferer to investigate the cause of the disease(immoral behaviour, etc.) by him/herself. If aQigong therapist treats that person, he/sheinterferes with that person’s destiny and, inaddition, takes on responsibility for thatdisease. Thus, over time, the therapist canfind him/herself burdened with a lot ofaccumulated bad karma. Since I amcurrently studying to become a Qigongtherapist myself, I find these ideas somewhatdisturbing.

The article itself also, I felt, openedup a lot more questions than it answered.First of all, it never actuallyexplains what“Falun” is. Nor does it tell us anything aboutLi Hongzhi. Who is this man and how has hecome to possess such power (if indeed hedoes)? By what authority does he endowand withdraw this “Falun”?

In my experience, nothing of realvalue is ever acquired without considerableeffort, and yet Falun Gong, with the ideas first

Qi Magazine 6

that Falun is given to you from outside (byMr Li), and second that Falun practises evenwhen you are not practising exercisesyourself, seems to offer a short cut toenlightenment. Nor, as in traditional Qigongpractice, is the practitioner required toexercise his mind intent. Without doing so,can the practitioner ever truly know himself?

Not having read Mr Li’s book (canyou tell me if it is also available in English?), Icannot be sure that I have represented hisideas accurately here, but I suspect that manyreaders will have been confused by the ideasin this Qi Magazine article. Many of themseem to contradict conventionalunderstanding of what Qigong is. I would bevery grateful if you could take the time toaddress these issues.

With respect, and gratitude for anexcellent magazine.C. Japan

What do other readers think? Canany of you help with these queries? Pleasesend your letters to Qi Magazine.M.T

On the otherhand...Dear Mr Tse,

For the past two and a half years Ihave been a student of Qigong here inKingston, Ontario, Canada. Our teacher,who came from China in 1993, is very giftedand we all feel very fortunate to be able tobenefit from such an accomplished instructor

Recently, one of my friends wasthinking whether or not to join the class. Sheis a very spiritual woman, sensitive andstrong. She is left-handed and my question toyou is, should she practise as a right-handedwoman, or as a right-handed man? I askedour teacher who said that it did not matter. Itis my impression, however, that he did notunderstand the question, or he had neverheard this question. Therefore, if you knowthe answer, could you let me know so I caninform myfriend?

I know that men (who make rareappearances in out class) are to practisemirror like, i.e. using their left hand whenwoman use their right hand and vice-versa. Itis possible that it does not matter how myfriend practises, but I think it is worth askingthe question. With her heightened sensibilities,it may well be of consequence for her, ifindeed there is a difference. I have theimpression that she will reallyenjoy theclasses and that she will become a committed

student.Let me take this opportunity to wish

you well in your work. I think that weWesterners are so fortunate to learn thesebeautiful practices that you and others arebringing from the Orient. I hope that in return,you feel at home in your new country and thatyou are happy.K. Ontario, Canada

Dear K,There are many different ways.

Some people say that it does not matter,some say that men should use their lefthand and women their right, others say itshould be the other way round and somesay that everyone should just use theirright hand.

In my experience, coming from myown style (Dayan Qigong) the left hand is‘in’ and the right hand is ‘out’ for men,and the left hand is ‘out’ and the righthand is ‘in’ for ladies. Daoists considerthe left side to be yang and the right to beyin. This is prenatal. Also, we believe thatfor men, the Qi starts on the left and forladies, the Qi start on the right. Of course,there are some movements that do notconsider which hand is on top.

There are also many palm and facereading skills that start reading on the leftfor men, and then move to the right, andare the opposite way round for ladies. (Itdoes not matter whether they are left-handed or right-handed).

Thus a lot of traditional skills usethe left side for men and the right side forwomen.

So far, I have been practising fortwenty-five years and in that time I havefound this works very well. My teacher isover 100 years old and she follows thesame rules. So I believe it works very well.However, maybe different styles of Qigonghave different meaning for the left andright sides. So it is always better to askyour own instructor. It is like eatingdifferent kinds of food in different ways.M.T.

Another Form?Dear Michael,

I have a question which I knowothers must have faced and solvedsuccessfully and hope that you might be ableto provide an answer. It relates to learning anew Tai Chi form.

I have been practising a 108movement long form for some 9 years nowand would very much like to try another

form. I feel that continuing to practise myoriginal form whilst learning a new formwould not only cause conflict of stances andpostures, but might be construed as beingdisrespectful to any new master. Clearly it isthe transition period that is problematic. Iwould not like to lose the benefits I currentlyget from my present Taiji, but it would takesome time before I could start to get thesame benefits from any new form. I supposeI am trying to get the best of both worlds, butI am not certain that it can be done. Howhave others who know more than one formsolved this question and can you reallypractise more than one form successfully?Yours A.. Edinburgh

Dear A,Traditionally most teachers were

not pleased if a student was also studyingwith another teacher, but times havechanged greatly and now many do notmind. However, as a matter of courtesyand respect you should ask your currentteachers permission first.

When you find a new teacher, youshould introduce yourself and tell him orher what you have done in the past. Thenas long as you have the agreement of bothteachers, there should be no problem.

The important thing is that you donot confuse yourself when studying. Thebest way to prevent this is to spend yourtime developing one style first beforegoing onto another. I would say youshould spend at least three or four yearson one first.

As you have already dedicated nineyears to your current style, you shouldknow the movements very well and bequite comfortable with them, so I wouldnot see any problem for you. Theimportant thing is that you keep the twoexercises separate and do not mix themup. There are many ways to do this, forexample practise them on different days,one in the morning and the other in theevening, etc. When you first start a newform you should concentrate on it, andwhile not completely stopping the other,place less emphasis on it.

All Taiji forms are based on thesame principles. Some of the postures aredifferent and some quite similar. As longas you know one of them very well beforeyou start the other, then it is quite hard tomix them up. As you learn more about thenew form, it will actually deepen yourunderstanding of Taiji and this knowledgewill improve your original form.M.T

Qi Magazine 7

There are many, many spirals in ChenTaiji: spirals that can be seen in thetwisting and turning of the body, spirals

that can be seen in the paths traced by thehands. If you try to keep track of the numberof spiralling movements as you practice theChen forms you will quickly lose count.

Daoism has always studied andreflected upon nature, looking for thepatterns and principles that connect suchdiverse phenomena as the growth of plants,the formation of clouds and the movementof the seasons. The principles of Daoism arebased on nature and the way theTao manifests itself innature. For centuriesDaoism has studiedthe cycles ofcreation and decay,the way thatenergy increasesand decreases.The Taiji diagramis one of the bestknown of Daoistrepresentations ofthese natural cycles.Daoismclearly recognisesthe links between spiral,proportion, and nature. Thenumerical progression in theabove quotation from the Tao TeChing can be seen a spiral – a planecurve formed by a point winding about afixed point at an ever increasing distancefrom it.

This is the kind of spiral that isfrequently found in nature – from theunfurling of a fern frond to the growth ofseeds in the head of a sunflower or thebreaking of a wave. It is also the same kindof spiral that is expressed by the movementof the left hand as it opens from the Dantiento single whip.

If we examine the patterns of suchphenomena closely we often find that theyare not the result of one single spiral but twocomplementary spirals moving in oppositedirections. On the head of a sunflower wecan clearly trace the two spirals moving inopposite directions through the pattern made

by the seeds. Similarly, in Chen Taiji it iseasy to see the frequent complementarymovement of the hands as they spiral inopposite directions – one up, one down; oneleft one right; one forward, one back. Thisunion of opposites either in the growth ofthe plant or the movement of a body can beseen as expressions of yin and yang.

The numeric proportions that makeup a spiral can be divided into unequal pairsof numbers typified by major and minorsections. The progression from one to two,two to three and three to five can be seen as

a continuous movement from lesser togreater. The lesser and greater,

minor and major can be seenas a relationship of

c o m p l e m e n t a r yopposites, making

yin and yangfundamental

to the

structure of the spiral.If you examine the Taiji forms you

will notice that most of the spiral movementsemanate from the Dantien. The Dantien canbe said to be the centre of movement. Thisholds true on both the vertical and thehorizontal planes. We can also consider thespiral in relation to the body in another way.If we consider a spiral as an expression ofproportion we can look at the proportionsof the human body in terms of a spiral. Thebones of the limbs are smallest at theirextremes (the tips of the fingers) and getprogressively longer, from finger to knuckle,to wrist, elbow, and shoulder. Thus as theleft hand describes an outward spiral, in the

single whip movement, the bone structure ofthe body creates an inward spiral on the rightside of the body from the hook along the armto the Dantien.

The skeletal structure of the body isan important consideration in the way thatTaiji is used. The pattern of proportionsshows how the hands can be made intocentres, and used to take control of thebalance of the whole body. The skeleton andthe mobile parts of the body can also beconsidered to be in a yin yang relationship.The skeleton can be considered to be yang inthat it is hard while the rest of the body issoft but it can also become yin in that it canbe made to be extremely still. Now that wehave come this far we can see so many spirals,moving in so many mutually opposingdirections, in ever changing relationships of

yin and yangthat createn u m e r o u sc e n t r e sc ons ta nt l ymoving aboutone anotherthat it mayseemthat Taijiis too com-plex to beginto contem-

plate. However, Taiji is about doing and it isonly by doing it that the contradictory canbecome complementary. The spiral is theprinciple of the Tao that can be tracedthroughout the manifestation of creation. Itcan be seen in the progressive divisions ofyin and yang delineated by the Yijing thatleads from Wuji to the ten thousand things.Chen Taiji makes use of this generative powerof the spiral in its movements to increase andtrain the Qi. Taiji is a ball and you cannothave yin without yang. As you train your Qiyoualso train your bones, until eventually yougainan inner stillnessandstrength that cannotbe achieved in any other way.

byGlennGossling

WHAT IS A SPIRAL – PART 2‘The Tao produces one, One produces two, Two produce three…’

(Verse 42 – ‘Tao Te Ching)Chen Taiji expresses the principles of Daoism through themovement of the spiral.

“Most of the spiral movementsemanate from the Dantien. The

Dantien can be said to be thecentre of movement.”

Qi Magazine 9

If you train martial arts, you will haveto train movements with power. Aquestion that often springs to mind is

“How much power should I use whenperforming the movement?” If you use alot of power surely it is better, becauseyou are preparing yourself for the realthing.

However using a lot of power hasa drawback. Firstly, it may injure yourtraining partner. Even incontrolled exercises like“Sticking Hands” or“Pushing Hands”, if you usetoo much power you willinjure your training partner.Secondly you may injureyourself. Even when wethink we have warmed upsufficiently, occasionally youmight pull a muscle or straina ligament if you perform aform with too much vigour.

The rule that I use isthat the power shouldconnect through your body.

When practising a punch, I always makesure that the power travels through mybody. To do this, there has to be sometension, however the minimum tensionrequired is actually very little. The moretension there is, the faster the power willtravel, and the stronger the punch is.

The less tension there is, the slowerthe power will travel, but the timing ofthe power is very similar. So if you ask “Is

it possible to performa soft exercise toosoftly?” Then theanswer is the same.Make sure you don’tgo so limp that thereis no connectionthrough the body.

It’s a bit like aguitar string. Therehas to be a littletension in it for it toproduce a note. Whenyou pluck it, thesound is produced bya wave travelling alongthe string. The tighterthe string, the quickerthe wave travels. Ifyou make it too tight,

there is a risk that the string might snap,but if you make it dangle loosely there willbe no sound either.

If you practice Chinese martialarts, you may have heard of the term ‘jin’.

Jin means power or strength, butin martial arts jargon it has aspecial meaning, and refers to anykind of loose connected powerwhere the whole body is used. Itis usually used in contrast to ‘li’.Li also means strength, but inmartial arts jargon it refers tooverly stiff or rigid force. Yourtraining goal should always be touse jin and not li. However jin andli are connected. Master YangZhendou says jin comes from li,so who are we to disagree withthat?

You should not make thecommon mistake of confusing jin

with jing. Jin is to do with physicalstrength, muscles and bone, all be it in arefined way. Jing, usually mentioned alongwith Qi and shen, means essence, and isto do with internal energy. However, asyou should know by now, nothing can becompletely isolated. So there is aconnection between jin/li and jing/qi/shen, but it is beyond the scope of thisarticle.

To summarise, as long as you feelsomething travelling through your body,you can punch as slowly as you want,because you will still be training the basictiming of your muscles, and you will betraining jin, rather than li. The same goesfor locks and throws. Sometimes, though,you should punch as hard as you can,though not at your training partner

byDanielPoon

HOW MUCH POWER?Often, people who study martial arts are virtually obsessedwith developing powerful techniques. However, from theChinese perspective, there are two types of power.

“Your traininggoal should alwaysbe to use jin and notli. However jin andli are connected.”

Qi Magazine 11

i is often thought of as a single,mysterious force. But the word‘Qi’ can refer to a wide spectrumof currents, fields, and energiesranging from the tangible to the

esoteric. Indeed, the number of kinds of Qi isprobably limitless. But in Feng Shui, as in Chinesemedicine, there are five basic types, derived fromthe Five Elements of Chinese philosophy. Thus, thereis first Wood Qi, which in the body belongs to theLiver; Fire Qi is related to the Heart; Earth Qi to theSpleen, Metal Qi to the Lungs, and Water Qi to theKidneys. We can take a look at these different types ofQi, and how they are manifested in the body and thehome, though it will be easier to understand the role ofthe Five Elements if we depart from their usual order.

In Feng Shui,harmonising Qi is veryimportant. Without it youcannot have good FengShui. However, to be ableto balance the Qi aroundyou, it is not a case of justputting up a mirror here, orplacing crystal there.Knowing what to do andwhere to do it are veryimportant and thisknowledge is based on theprinciple of the FiveElements

Qi Magazine 12

Psychologically, Fire Qi is revealed through theemotion of laughter. A building in which theFire Qi is balanced will be full of humour.When the Fire Qi is weak, the house will becold, metaphorically as well as physically. Toimprove the Fire Qi, vertical stripes and greensboth represent the Wood Element and help tostimulate a more joyous atmosphere.But too much Fire Qi leads to hysteria. EarthElement related shapes and colours can tonedown excessive Fire Qi.

Metal QiMetal Qi in the body is related to the lungs. Itis the need for fresh air. Buildings need freshair no less than the body. Often, the notorious‘sick building syndrome’ is a result of poorMetal Qi. This is a recent phenomenon. Untilthe later part of this century, buildings werenotoriously draughty, but these draughts wereactually beneficial. An open fireplace drew freshair through the rooms, preventing damp,mould and the rot that went with it. The oldertraditional Chinese houses had no windows,while the inner court was open to the skies –so there was no lack of stimulating Metal Qithere! But the advance of building technology

Fire QiAll buildings are virtually living organisms, andthe various kinds of vital Qi that keep abuilding healthy are remarkable in their closeparallels to the five basic types of Qi in thebody. Take, for example, Fire Qi. Traditionally,at the ‘heart’ of the house was the kitchenstove, which radiated warmth throughout thebuilding. In far off days, the problem was howto conserve and transmit the heat through thewhole building. Today, our central heatingsystems and radiators do the job ofmaintaining an even temperature, just as, inthe body, the heart circulates the blood. InChinese medicine, the Heart is the seat of FireQi, and its healthiness is revealed by thetongue. The tongue sits in the mouth, whichin a house is its door. So, as we enter a building,and step through the door, we should be ableto tell immediately whether the Fire Qi of thehouse is effective or not. But while in mostnew houses, the circulation of Fire Qi throughthe central heating system is no longer aproblem, unfortunately, in solving one problemanother one is created. Fire melts Metal: if theFire Qi is too efficient, the Metal Qi might bedestroyed.

Mirrors in the bathroom stimulate Wood Qi

Qi Magazine 13

with double-glazing and draught proofingstifles the Metal Qi. Ceiling and desk fans maygive the impression they are providing freshair, but they are not; all they do is stir stale airaround. The body needs to be able to breathefreely and so does the house.Metal Qi, psychologically, represents grief. Alack of Metal Qi portends a lack of humansympathy. Too much Metal Qi, however, leadsto over-emotional outbursts and depression.This can be relieved by toning down the Metalelement with irregular shapes, forms andpatterns.

Wood QiIn traditional Chinese medicine, the zonerepresented by the Wood Element is the Liver,and its healthiness is revealed through the eyes.(Yellowish eyes are often a symptom of ajaundiced Liver). In Feng Shui, Wood Qi is thelight which a building needs, entering throughthe eyes of the building; its windows. It is amistake to think that lots of windows make aroom lighter. This is a common fallacy. Oureyes adjust themselves to the amount of lightthey perceive, just as a camera does. Whenthere are too many windows, our eyes see thewindows, but not what is in the room betweenthem. Much of the practical aspect of FengShui, the side with which most people will befamiliar, deals with the Wood Qi. Seating desksso that they do not face the window,utilisation of drapes and hangings, and everimportant positioning of mirrors – all thesematters are concerned with the flow of theWood Qi.The Wood Element governs the emotion ofanger. Anger has its rightful place in ourchemistry of emotions; without it, we wouldbe compliant and ineffectual. But anger shouldspring from righteousness, not frompeevishness. The Wood Element is balancedwhen the lighting is quiet and comfortable, nottoo bright and harsh, nor too dim to bepractical. Water and Wood together canprovoke a crusading spirit; while what isusually thought of as an aggressive colour, red,actually converts peevish anger into goodhumour.

Water QiThe Qi of the Water Element is another aspectwhich one owes much to the engineeringadvances of the past couple of centuries. We nolonger have to dig wells and trenches (as oldbooks on Feng Shui frequently exhort us to do)since nearly everyone has access to mains waterand drainage. But the subject of Feng Shui is an

EarthMetal

Water

Wood

Fire

Wood

Water

Metal Earth

Fire

The Five ElementsTo be able to understand Feng Shui knowing the

Five Elements is crucial. In fact this theory underlies muchof the Chinese culture and philosophy, whether it is FengShui, Chinese Astrology, Chinese Medicine, cooking,martial arts etc.

The elements are given in the diagrams above. Thefirst diagram shows how the elements create each other,e.g. Earth creates Metal, Wood creates Fire and so on.The second diagram shows howeach element is controlledby another, e.g. Fire controls Metal, Metal controls Wood.

Thus we see howthe elements create and control inorder to maintain a natural balance. However, by creatinganother element, an element must first release its ownenergy, e.g. Metal must release some energy in order tocreate Water. In this waywe have another wayof balancingthe system. Thus if metal is too strong we can use water tohelp release some of the metal rather than trying to controlit using fire.

Qi Magazine 14

art in itself, far too wide to be dealt with properlyin a couple of paragraphs. Nevertheless, it is stillworth remembering that Water should not flowunder the house. Of the emotions, Water isrevealed by fear. Fear is an important emotion,in our everyday lives fear is revealed as caution.We take care to avoid traffic, watch ourexpenses, and look after our health. These areall positive manifestations of fear. Though theworld needs fearless adventurers, theirfoolhardiness can be seen as a lack of fear whichfor the rest of us is common sense. But excessivefears are revealed as phobias – mice, spiders,going out without an umbrella and so on.Sometimes these phobias can becomeoverriding. In Feng Shui terms, the Waterelement is excessive. It can be toned down inthe same way that the Five Elements can bestimulated – through the introduction of theWood Element, shown by the colours green andlight blue, and vertical stripes. Green plants arealso beneficial.

Earth QiThe Earth Element Qi has been left to last,because in the body, the Earth Qi is shown asthe passage and transformation of foodthrough the body. People are the food of abuilding, they feed it and repair it, and without

humans, buildings would crumble and die.Earth Qi is revealed in a building by effectiveand economic use of passageways for peopleto pass through. Cupboards which areblocked by other furniture and doors whichopen the wrong way impede the flow of EarthQi.Emotionally, Earth Qi represents thought andcontemplation. If the Earth Qi is deficient, itleads to rash decision making and carelessness.If excessive, the Earth Qi is revealed bybroodiness, introversion and sullenness.Stimulate the Earth Qi with bright reds,crystals, sparkling points, candles and otheraspects of the Fire Element, or tone it downwith silver ornaments, round shapes, or thecolour white.

These five examples of Qi serve to show how a buildingactually functions as an organism, and more importantly, showthe effects of the different kinds of Qi. I despair when I hearthat people have put up wind-chimes, or crystals, or whatever,‘to improve the Qi’ without really knowing whether they aretrying to stimulate one aspect of Qi when they really should betrying to activate another.

So, before trying to improve your Qi, think about theresult you are trying to achieve, and what type of Qi would beneeded to produce it

byDerekWalters

“Earth Qi” is the path taken by people

Qi Magazine 15

Migraines affect about one in ten ofthe population, about 70% of allmigraine sufferers are women. It is

believed that changing hormone levels duringmenstruation, ovulation and menopause maytrigger attacks.

The headache pain is thought to becaused by a spasm which occurs in the bloodvessels of the brain. These blood vessels firstcontract and then expand resulting inthrobbing pain.

Certain types of foodmay also triggermigraine - such as overripe cheese, citrusfruits, chocolate, red wine, coffee, red meat,etc. The pill can also provoke migraine insusceptible women.

In terms of Traditional ChineseMedicine (TCM) there are different typesof migraine. External wind-cold or wind-heatboth cause headaches but are not classifiedas migraine. Its primary pathogenic changesare mainly due to the following four types:-1 Rising Liver Yang.

Due to stress, emotional problems,Liver Qi stagnation, or kidney yin deficiency,causing Liver Yangto disturb thehead. Symptomsinclude: migraine,blurring of thevision which ismade worse whenstressed, also thesufferer mayexperience hotflushes, thirst, redtongue and a tautpulse

This type is often seen in high bloodpressure sufferers.

Treatment: Calms the Liver andsuppress Yang.

Prescription: Tian Ma Gou Teng YinTian Ma, Gou Teng, Shi Ju Ming,

Shang Yao, Huang Qin, Chuan Niu Xi, DuZhing, Yi Mu Cao, Sang Ji Sheng, Ye JiaoTeng, Fu Shen2. Blood Deficiency

Blood deficiency is caused by failureof the blood to nourish the head correctly.

Symptoms: Headache, dizziness,palpitations, often worse in the afternoon,

tiredness, pale complexion, associated witha heavy period, or in women who have hadmany children. Also pale tongue and threadpulse, often seen in people who are anaemic.

Treatment: Tonify the Yin-BloodPrescription: Gui Pi TangBai Zhu, Fu shen, Huang Qi, Long

YanRou,ShuanZaoRen,RenShen,MuXiang,Zhi Gan Cao, Dang Gui, Yuan Zhi.3. Damp - Phlegm Type

Damp Phlegm clogs the head.Symptoms: migraine pain in

a fixed place or needle like pricklingpain. This may occur if thepatient has a history ofexternal injury. Alsoassociated with a purpletongue, thread andhesitant pulse, often seenin head injury victims andmay include a stubbornheadache.

Tr e a t m e n t :Disperse blood stasisand dredge collateral.

Prescription: Xue Fu Zhu Yu TangDang Gui, Chuan Xiong, Chi Shao,

Tao Ren, Hong Hua, Niu Xi, Chai Hu, JieGeng, Zhi Ke, Sheng Di Huang, Gan Cao.

Acupuncture is also an effectivetreatment for migraine, most cases arerelieved during or immediately afteracupuncture. The selection of acupuncturepoints will depend on the different type ofmigraine.

For mild migraine or severe migrainestabilised, there are herbal patent medicineswhich help to prevent the attack with theadditional bonus of improving general health.Essential balm (Feng You Jing) a special

Chinese herbal oil with cool properties canbe used externally to relieve the attack.

For Heat-Type-Migraine headacheswith a burning sensation, Feng Shi You,another Chinese herbal oil with warm

properties, can be used externally for damp-cold type migraines.Case History

A shop owner, suffered frommigraines since 1995. The patient had 1to 14 attacks each month, lasting up to 3days. She first came to visit me in March1998. At that time she was she washaving 14 migraines a month, with thepain on the front, back and top of thehead and a hot feeling with the pain. Shealso had hot flushes, felt lethargic,constipated and her tongue was redwith a little coating on it. This was theraising Liver Yang type of migraine.

I gave her acupuncture, usingthe points Tai Yang, Yang Bai, Qu

Chi, He Gu, Lie Que and San YinJiao, five days of herbalmedication and one week ofherbal patent Qi Ju Di HuangWan.

Only 2 weeks latershe felt a lot better with justmild headaches, after another2 weeks the migraine had

r e c e d e d even more and the patient hadmore energy. Although she admitted shedisliked the taste of the herbal tea afteranother treatment things improved again.

By her third visit the patient had nothad any bad attacks for two weeks. She nowhas follow up sessions once a month toprevent further attacks.

The corollary is that the migraineshave now ceased but in general TCM hasresulted in the patient having overall betterhealth and feeling more relaxed and lessstressed

byDr.ShulanTangForfurtherinformationpleasecontact:

Dr.ShulanTang,50SandyLane,Chorlton,ManchesterM218TN.Tel.01618818576

TCM & MIGRAINEMigraine headaches are characterised by throbbing, often severe

pain, usually on one side of the head. It may also be accompanied byvisual disturbances and/or nausea and vomiting. Attacks may lastfrom a few hours to several days.

“The headacheis caused by a spasmin the blood vesselsof the brain.”

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

Qi Magazine 16

Dayan Gong 2nd 64part 5

15 Rub Armsi Open your hands and clap them again,

this time the back of the right handhits the left palm. Let the rightLaogong point faces the Sky-eye. Fig63, 63a.

ii Rub your left palm down your rightarm, along the three yang handchannels, to the Jiquan point, underthe armpit. Fig 64, 64a.

iii Clap your hands again, this time theback of the left hand slaps the rightpalm, and the left Laogong point facesthe Sky-eye. Fig 65

iv Rub the right palm along the left armto the Jiquan point. Fig 66, 66a

This movement stimulates the Sky-eye,and also clears heat in the head. It also helpsto balance your heart as the Jiquan pointbelongs to the Heart Channel.

Fig 63 Fig 63a

Fig 64 Fig 64a Fig 65 Fig 66

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

Qi Magazine 17

16 Hitting the Points

i Drop arms with your elbows bent andto your sides. Close your fingers,touching the tips together. Fig 67

ii Using the right hand, gently hit theleft Qihu point. Fig 68

iii Bring the hand back to its originalposition, keeping the elbow close tothe body. Then using the left hand,gently hit the right Qihu point. Fig 69.Return your hand to its originalposition. Fig 67

iv Lift your left shoulder and gently hitthe left Dabao point with your righthand. Fig 70. Bring the hand back toits original position.

v Repeat for the other side. Fig 71vi Using the right hand, gently hit the

left Daimai point. Fig 72vii Using the left hand, gently hit the

right Daimai point. Fig 73viii Finally, using the right hand gently hit

the Dantien (Qihai point). Fig 74Fig 66a Fig 67

Fig 68 Fig 69 Fig 70 Fig 71

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

Qi Magazine 18

This movement opens the Upper, Middleand Lower Warmers. The body is dividedinto three parts. The upper part we call theUpper Warmer, this is the area from theMiddle Dantien (Shanzhong point) to theneck. The Middle Warmer is from the MiddleDantien to the Lower Dantien (Qihaipoint) and the Lower Warmer is from theLower Dantien to the Huiyin point.

Each warmer controls different organs,the Upper Warmer is for the heart and lungs,so we hit the Qihu points. These points relateto the Stomach Channels. The MiddleWarmer is for the Stomach, Spleen and GallBladder. So we hit the Dabao points andthese points relate to the Heart Channel.The Lower Warmer is for the Kidneys,intestines and Urinary Bladder, so we hitthe Daimai points. The Daimai belong tothe Stomach Channel.

Finally, we hit the Dantien so all the Qiconnects to the Dantien. In all we hit seventimes. In Dayan Qigong we use the numberseven a lot. Seven means ‘Fire’ and relatesto the Heart. The number seven also relatesto the seven stars of the Big Dipper, whichalso relates to the North and so to theKidneys as well.

Dabao Point

Daimai Point

Qihai Point

UpperWarmer

MiddleWarmer

LowerWarmer

Qihu Point

Fig 72 Fig 73 Fig 74

The Points

Jiquan Point

Qi Magazine 19

ave you ever dreamed aboutdedicating your time fully to yourpractise of Gong Fu? Even if youenjoy doing something other thanmartial arts, I am sure there are times

when you would like to stop everything else and just concentrateon what you enjoy doing most. Unfortunately, very few of usever have the chance to do this. The demands of just surviving intoday’s society prevent us. There is always the question of payingthe bills, putting food on the table and clothes on your back. Sofor most of us, we can only spend the odd few hours a week.

Everyone needs a holiday, a break from the normal routine,but have you ever thought of ‘killing two birds with one stone’?Well in August of this year I did just that. I had a holiday and

spent it training Wing Chun Kuen at the Tse Qigong Centre’sWing Chun Residential Course.

The course took place at Brackenhurst College in themidst of the Nottinghamshire countryside. Usually the Collegeis a dedicated agricultural teaching centre, but for a week inAugust it’s landscaped lawns resembled a scene from a ShaolinTemple movie. The course was lead by Michael Tse, who as mostof you will know is a very senior student of Grandmaster IpChun. People from all over the UK and even from overseasjoined the course. Some had been training for many years andothers were completely new. But Michael was able to look afterall of us, answering everyone’s questions in-depth and with asmile.

Each day consisted of around seven hours organisedteaching and another four or so hours of informal practise.People were up and about practising when the sun came up beforegoing for breakfast. Breakfast was followed by a training sessionuntil lunch. Another session followed after lunch and a thirdsession followed the evening meal up to about 9pm. People thenjust kept going, some until midnight! Enthusiasm for trainingseemed to sweep away any feelings or tiredness.

Practising Gong Fu and Qigongcan be an all consuming passion.Unfortunately, there is so little sparetime left over once you have taken careof the everyday chore of modern life.However, if you don’t have enoughtime to practise everyday, then you cancompromise and go crazy for a fewdays at a time.

AnIntensiveTime

Qi Magazine 21

Each morning session began with training Siu Lim Tao,the first form of Wing Chun. On the very first day Michaelmentioned that this would be ‘a little serious’ and I think thateveryone would agree that he was right. The first time took onehour to complete.Most were verysurprised at thetime, as they hadnever done morethat thirty to fortyminutes in the past.Each sessionpushed the timeeven further andculminated is a SiuLim Tao that tookover two hours! Itwould have beenlonger still had itnot been lunchtime.

This train-ing pushed every-one to his or herlimits and further.Moving so slowlyfor such a long timetaught us whatinternal trainingtruly felt like. Eachsecond was achallenge and theonly thing youfaced was yourselfand what you weredoing. Awarenessof one’s own bodygrew enormouslyand it was possibleto feel every part,every joint andevery muscle. Thetraining madeeveryone stronger,more groundedand mentally much clearer. It also showed us what we couldachieve if we gave ourselves the chance.

Personally I was so impressed by all the beginners. Theynever once gave up and stayed the distance along with everyoneelse. Michael’s son Anthony should also be mentioned. He isonly ten years old and he stood along side the rest of us anddid not give up!

On each day, following Siu Lim Tao, we looked at certainelements of the forms in Wing Chun. This highlighted the essenceof each form and what we should look at when training them.

The afternoon sessions allowed everyone to have a gousing the weapons of Wing Chun, namely the Six and Half PointPole and the Baat Jam Dao (Wing Chun Knives). The pole is avery physical weapon requiring a strong body and good

foundation and the knives were very technical, and to use themquite confusing. For the majority, this was the first time theyhad touched these weapons. Others had learnt some of theforms, but none had really had a chance to ‘play’ with them and

find out how to use them.The afternoon sessions

were filled with laughter aspeople got themselves tied up inknots, or re-enacted a scene fromtheir favourite Jet Li/Jackie Chanfilm. Branches and odd pieces ofwood were brandished as‘weapons’ as the others would tryto use their newly learnttechniques to defend themselves.

The evening sessions weregiven over to self-defencetechniques and applications, thenat the end, the evening wererounded off with a Chi Sausession. It is very rare that youhave so many different and new

partners to trainwith and I am sureeveryone’s level ofskill improved agreat deal.

The wholeweek was filled withexcitement, laugh-ter, effort andlearning. Theatmosphere was sogood you could nothelp being sweptalong with it. Ioften say training is

like being in water. Some people justpaddle up to their knees, others go inright up to their waists, a few venturein deep enough for it to cover theirchests, but for those few days we alldived in at the deep end and werecompletely immersed.

The hassles ofeveryday life werewashed away and all you had to thinkabout was enjoying the training andwhat was for dinner. You got up,practised, ate breakfast then practised,ate lunch then practised, ate dinner

then practised once more. Finally you flopped into bed withyour reflections of the day and anticipation for the next.Everyone was relaxed, happy and always laughing. Friendshipswere made and bonds forged as we all practised together andencouraged each other.

The training was intensive, but so was the fun. I wouldnot have missed it for the world. If you get the chance to gonext year take it, you won’t regret it. I’ll see you there

byDarrylMoy

Qi Magazine 22

How can Qi heal the body? This is a very commonquestion. Actually, the answer is very simple. All youneed to do is pass your Qi to someone who needs it andthen it will work. But of course, there are many otherthings you need to know as well. Usually, if you decide

to use your Qi to heal other people, you have to first make sure youhave enough Qi yourself. We all know that Qi is energy and thisenergy relates to your life. Like a battery, electricity or petrol in acar. Even if you are inherently physically strong if your Qi is low,then you will still be weak. It is important to have enough Qi. Whenyou want to heal other people with your Qi you must make sure youhave enough Qi and do not use it when your energy is low. Themore Qi you have, the more you can give, it is the same as money.The more money you have, the more things you can buy. It is verysimple.

To develop more Qi you need to practice Qigong or maybeother techniques which are similar such as Yoga, Taijiquan, internalmartial arts, meditation etc. I would suggest you have two elements,one should be Yin and the other Yang. Yin is still, steady and calm.You do not move your body, like in meditation whether standing,

sitting, in lotus position or even lying down. All these can help,when you meditate the most important thing is to calm your mindand do not think too much. You should reach a state betweenconsciousness and unconsciousness. This is the best way to meditate,but of course many of you will find it harder. Once you close youreyes, many things will happen in your mind. Sometimes you mightthink about your career, the future and even relationships, particularlywhen your energy is low or you are upset. So we have a way to helpus forget all these distracting thoughts. You shouldbring youattentionto your Dantien which is your centre below your navel. You shouldbring your attention to your Dantien until you feel calmer, then youdo not need to concentrate on the Dantien. Just relax and let the Qiflow, let any feelings or sensations you may have happen, becausethese feelings are created by your Qi as it finds a way to balanceyour whole body. It will find any problems you have and heal them.So as you meditate, your body becomes healthier and your Qibecomes stronger.

The second method is Yang - movement. Any kind of Qigongwill help as long as it is a natural way and you feel good doing it.There are thousands of different Qigong movements. Some are fairlynew and have been created quite recently by certain teachers. Thesestill need more time to see whether they are good exercises or not,but so long as they are natural they will always be good. Otherexercises are very old, over a thousand years old, like Wild GooseQigong. Any form of Qigong that has passed down over such a longtime is definitely better, because time proves everything and testswhether it works.

Movements help to release negative energy, energy that isstuck or old energy. Moving helps clear the blockages and relieveany pain. It also makes the body more flexible, the joints more suppleand this is a sign of a good healthy body.

Anybody who wants to have more Qi and be healthy shouldhave both sides to their practice. Then when your Qi is strong andyou are healthy you can help other people. It means you make sureyou have enough money before you want to buy anything. It is verysimple. Actually, nature is very simple, ‘one gain, one loss, one loss,one gain.’ Yin and Yang - balance, nothing comes without effort.

HealingThe Qigong Way

As awareness of Qigong increasesso the interest in Qigong therapy grows.It seems those studying Qigong want tobe able to use their skills to help others.Healing is a magic word, the meremention of it attracts the attention ofmedical people and alternative therapistsalike. Qigong has been very successfulin treating all manner of conditions.

So what is Qigong Healing andhow does one go about learning it?

Qi Magazine 23

Qi Magazine 25

People use to say to me, “We do not need to use our ownenergy to heal other people, we can channel the Qi from heaven andnot use our own.” Personally, I do not agree with this view. It is doesnot follow the rule of nature, and Qi is natural and follows nature. Ialways use the example of a cup of water. Let’s say that Qi is thewater and the person is the cup. The water is fresh and pure with nonegative elements or pollution. When the water is poured into thecup, the cup will influence the water. If the cup is not clean then thewater poured into it will no longer be pure. Then, when someonedrinks this water, they will take the dirt into their body. It isobvious, even a three-year-old child knows this, but itappears many adults refuse to believe it.

Qi is used whenever you touchsomething, think about anything, look at

anything, in fact any form of com-munication. Anything that requires

concentration will use Qi, and this iswhy you feel tired afterwards.

When giving Qigongtherapy the most important thingis to be healthy first. Secondly, youneed to know how to heal peoplebecause no matter how strong andhealthy you are, like my teacherwho is over one hundred years old,

youcannot just give andgive like machine,because you willbecome tired and ill. Soas well as giving Qi, wealso use other methods,like Tuina (massage).

Before usingyour Qi it is good tomake the other personrelax and keep themcalm. So we use massageto rub the muscles tomake them relax andloosen the joints. So later, when you use your Qi it will make theeffect much stronger, because the person will be able to receive itmuch better.

When I give massage I like the patient to sit upright ratherthan lie down as many people prefer. They sit upright with theirhead and back straight. This means their Baihui and Huiyin

(acupuncture) points are in astraight line and this lets the Qiflow properly. I do not have theperson lie down except forcertain situations, such as theyare very ill or I am working ontheir legs or feet. When they situpright and the Qi flowsproperly they will not loose theirQi. Have you ever noticed after

you have a massage, when you are lying down, that you feel verytired? This happens because when you lie down your body releasesa lot of Qi. Of course, this is very good if someone is very ill and has

a lot of negative energy in the body,but not for someone who still hassome good energy. When they sitproperly, the negative energy willbe released, and the good energywill stay. Sitting up lets the negativeenergy sink down to the feet andmore energy can come in. Thus theQi will be refreshed much better,but if the person lies down it willtake a long time to clean up theirQi.

There are four Yangtechniques and four Yin techniquesin Tuina. The four yang techniquesare touching, stroking, pushing andgrasping. The four yin techniques

are rubbing, shaking, pulling and slapping.Yang techniques are used for gathering Qi and the yin

techniques are more for releasing Qi. Therefore you can make theperson relaxed and looser and eliminate negative Qi. However, youmust also know how the Qi flows in the body.

Part of this is understanding theacupuncture points and channels and howthe Qi follows them, but to heal people youshould also know how to allow the Qi toflow down the body to the ground. Youshould never push the Qi up because this is

not natural. Naturesays that heavythings fall down tothe earth whereasclear, fresh, lightthings will float up.So when we are ill,we should run theQi down to the feetand the fingers. Todo this we rub downthe body, in particular the back, as this will release the negative Qiquicker. Then more fresh Qi can come in and the body will berefreshed and healthier.

After Tuina, when the patient is relaxed you can use yourenergy - Qi transmission.

Tobecontinued…. ByMichaelTse

“When you lie downyour body releases alot of Qi. This isvery good if someonehas a lot of negativeenergy in theirbody.”

Qi Magazine 26

Change the PictureQigong Workbook – Part IBy Master Yu-Chang Huang

You may remember that wefeatured Master Huang on the cover ofIssue 35 of Qi Magazine earlierthis year. When I was senta copy of his book forreview, I felt surethat many QiMagazine readerswould beinterested.

Presentedin the style of aworkbook with aseries of lessonsi n c o r p o r a t i n gLevels I & II toXuan Ming DaoQigong, it is a usefulbook for those who want anintroduction to Qigong but who do nothave access to a teacher. It is simply done,with line drawings of the exercises andintroductions to the acupuncture points

relating to the movements. The beginningtells you how to prepare for the Qigongexercises.

At the end of each lesson, there isan area called the Student’s Journal which

has a quote from the Tao Te Chingprefacing a blank area where

one can make notes,observations, etc. Master

Huang is quiteconscientious in hiswriting and tries tomake understandingof both the exercisesand theory behindthem clear enoughfor beginners to

understand. Whilst hedoes recommend that

the book only be used forreference and that the

student visit a teacher forqualified instruction, it is a good tool

for those not able to do so. Master Huangoffers good advice for cultivation ofenergy through Qigong and is sensible in

his approach. He advises patience for it isonly one step at a time that we will reachour goals properly and with health.

byJessicaBlackwell

Blades from the Willowsby Huanzhulouzhutranslated by Robert Chard

Robert Chard has done a fine jobtranslating this martial arts cum Chinesefolk tale. Itfollows theadventuresof threeyoung men(the bladesfrom thetitle), asthey meetan ancientD a o i s tmaster whoi n v i t e sthem tojourney to hismountain home. There they meet allmanner of Daoists, immortals and wizardsand get to exercise the very talents thatyou may have been trying to developyourself. For instance those of you whohave read 72 Consummate Arts of theShaolin Temple will recognise the lightbody concept that the blades use to scalevertical walls and cliffs to avoid certaindeath at the hands of angry monsters.

Huanzhulouzhu, a famousChinese writer who wrote dozens ofbooks before the Cultural Revolution,originally wrote this novel. His storieswere loved by small boys and martialartists throughout China. This is the firsttranslation, into English, of the first bookin the ‘Blades Trilogy’. The second shouldbe out later this year. Good fun and highlyrecommended.

BOOK REVIEWS

ReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviews

A Qigong exercise manual and a classical Chinese novel areunder scrutiny in this months review round up...

ByAntonyWozencraft

ReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewsReviewReviewsReviews

Qi Magazine 27

s I entered the clinic of Lam KuenChuen, the smell of herbs wasoverpowering but yet somehowpleasant and reassuring. Before thedoor had closed, Lam Sifu wasstanding before me, gesturing me to

a chair and saying he would be with me as soon ashe had finished with his patient.

Lam Kam Chuen

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Qi Magazine 29

Lam Kuen Chuen is more widely known in Englandfor his Zhan Zhuang skill, however, he is also a qualified bone-setter and herbalist. He is also author of The Way of Stillnesswhich was the subject of a Channel 4 television series, “StandStill and Be Fit,” from which followed the popular sellingvideo-tape that brought standing meditation into the homesof young, old, experienced and inexperienced alike.

Lam Sifu was born in Hong Kong and served in theRoyal Hong Kong Police Force before coming to England.He has studied Choy Lee Fat, ( a southern Shaolin style),Hard Qigong and Sun Style Taijiquan which he later adaptedto become Lam Style Taijiquan. He came to England for avisit with his wife while they were on their honeymoon andit was a friend who knew his martial arts background thatsuggested to him that he stay here and teach Taiji. It seems tohave agreed with him. Lam Sifu’s face is round and largecheeked and his skin shiny and pink with health.

He says abouthis Qigong studies, “Ibegan studying ZhanZhuang in Hong Kongand had studied forabout a year when myteacher said that Ishould contact a mancalled, Professor Yu,who lived in Beijing andwas a master of theskill.” I looked to whereLam Sifu pointed to aphoto of a gray hairedgentleman with brighteyes and perfectposture. “That is my

teacher. He is over eightynow and was just here inEngland for a visit.”

When he metProfessor Yu, China wasstill closed culturally and ittook him many letters andmany months before hefinally established contact.It turned out that he hadonly received one or twoof the letters out of all thathe had sent. After that hewent to Beijing to meetProfessor Yu and wasaccepted to study withhim. Professor Yu studiedwith Grandmaster WangXiang Zhai who created DaCheng Chuan, thefoundation of which wasZhan Zhuang. Professor

Yu began studying Zhan Zhuang with Grandmaster Wang whenhe was 24 and already a practising dentist.

The principle of Zhan Zhuang is to stand still like a tree,letting the body settle. Then the energy will rise from the rootand travel throughout the body. It calms the mind and creates alot of heat. Most people who study Taijiquan will be familiarwith at least one Zhan Zhuang posture. In his studies withProfessor Yu, Lam Sifu learned several different Zhan Zhuangpostures and their meanings. All of these are covered in his book,“The Way of Stillness”. In addition to the calming aspects ofZhan Zhuang, it is also used for healing.

He pointed to a picture of one his students fromDenmark. She and several friends had gone on a mountainclimbing expedition when they were caught unexpectedly in ablizzard which stranded them for several days without food andwater. Several of her companions died, however, she used theZhan Zhuang meditation to quiet her mind and body whenever

“The principle is tostand still like a tree,

letting the body settle.Then the energy will

rise from the root andtravel throughout the

body.”

Master Lam & his sons

Qi Magazine 30

she thought about food or felt the cold invading her body. Fortwo days she continued this practise. When she and one othersurvivor were finally rescued, the only injury she had sustainedwas frostbite on two fingers and now even this has recovered.

Even more traumatic is Lam Sifu’s own story. In the earlydays, he and his family owned a Chinese restaurant. One eveningone of kitchen sinks became blocked. He used caustic soda tounblock the drain but as he did so, an air lock forced the sodabackwards, causing it to explode in his face. He fell to the floor,blinded in both eyes, his face already swelling massively. You canimagine the panic as an ambulance was called frantically for. Inthe ambulance, Lam Sifu through his many years of Qigongtraining, could feel his circulation failing. So he then placed hishands over his heart and began to use his own energy to keephimself alive. Upon arrival at the hospital, the doctors said thathe would be blind in his left eye permanently and that he wouldmost likely recover sight in his right eye after a few months. Hewould also require several skin grafts on his face because of theacid burns. At this part in his story, Lam Sifu holds out his handand shows me a scar there and another one at the corner of hiseyebrow. They are both so faint as to be almost indistinguishable.

He recovered sight in his right eye after two days andleft the hospital one week later. He says that he owes it all to hisQigong training. After his accident, he began then to concentratehis energies even more on Qigong. He had already given uppartaking in martial arts tournaments but now he decided to

stop training his Hard Qigong and devote his energies to ZhanZhuang. H e began to introduce the skill to more Westernersand settled down to write his book the “Way of Stillness” whichhas now been translated into several languages. Although hestill teaches, it is only to a few close people who come for practisesessions at his clinic in London’s Chinatown.

He says that he will retire in another few years but hestill has several books being written and planned at the moment.He even talks of writing a book jointly with his wife on healthyeating. It is obvious that his is a close knit and loving family. Hissons still practise Zhan Zhuang today as adults.

Healthy and confident, Lam Sifu is a far cry from thelittle boy in Hong Kong who was bullied by the neighbourhoodboys. He smiles as he remembers this time. “That is how I gotinterested in martial arts. They laughed and made fun of mebecause I had no other playmates but girls. I then started tocopy some of martial art movements I had seen, and from thereI really did become interested. The boys stopped laughing andwanted me to teach them instead.” Lam Sifu seems to be anexample of how good can come from difficult situations whichis a bit like Zhan Zhuang. It can be difficult to quiet ourselvesto remain in the Zhan Zhuang posture but the benefitsare limitless

byJessicaBlackwellMasterLamKamChuencanbecontactedat:

TheLamClinic,FirstFloor,70ShaftesburyAvenue, LondonW1V7DF.

Tel0831802598

Master Lam kam Chuen and his teacher Professor Yu Yong Nian

Qi Magazine 37

There is one thing that I have foundbecomes more important as I growolder and that is family. When I

recently visited relatives whom I had notseen in several years, the feeling of joy inreuniting was so strong that I was quitesurprised. Although we enjoy differentthings in our life, there was also a lovethere to bind us together. Sometimes, wedo not always appreciate our families,thinking that they will always be there.Distance, illness or death can change thisso quickly, however. Also, children willgrow up so quickly and begin their ownjourneys. So we should learn to appreciatethe moments we have together or thepeople in ourl i v e s .Sometimes it iseasy to fear thefuture, worry-ing how ourchildren willgrow up and itsurely is moredifficult forchildren tofind a steadypath than itwas when I was young.

Television plays an important partin all of our lives but it can also haveunexpected effects as well. In America,commercial breaks happen so frequentlythat is a rarity to have more than tenminutes of un-interrupted programmetime. As a result, teachers find it quitedifficult to keep their student’s attention.Classroom lessons have become moreentertaining, more colourful in order toentice the children to learn. They have alsobecome more brief, small snippets ofinformation that students can learn for abrief time and then forget. To my fourteenyear old nephew and many others like him,including myself when I was his age,history is a real chore and somethingremote that has nothing to do with his

life. There is no connection to showchildren their roots and so as they growolder this sense of rootlessness becomesstronger and family ties looser.

Studying a Chinese martial art andQigong has not only taught me discipline,but it has also taught me more aboutfamily. Many of the students come to classlooking for something to make themhealthier or stronger. Soon they findfriendships developing with theirclassmates. As the years pass, thosefriendships become stronger. It takes agenerous and wise teacher to create thisfeeling of family. It is a special feeling tobe able to learn more about Chinese

culture through lectures, conversations ata Chinese meal as we share the dishesamongst several people. I was quite lonelywhen I began my studies and soon myclassmates became like brothers andsisters to me. I learned to laugh more,especially at myself when I made amistake, and found that it was not onlymy body that became stronger but myheart.

It is not only our relatives thatmake up a family. I know that if Ineed help with anything or need totalk about a problem that I have anextended family there to supportme. It is easy to see why studentsbegin and just keep on and on. It isnot only the skill but that feeling ofbelonging to a group of like-mindedpeople, people who care about eachother. And to me that is thedefinition of family

byTseSihnKei

FAMILY MATTERS

“I was quite lonelywhen I began my studiesbut soon my classmatesbecame like brothers andsisters to me.”

In all cultures, family is very important. They can helpprotect you, teach you, provide for you and support you.However, blood relatives are not the only family you can have.

Qi Magazine 38

aijiquanSimplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan

24 Step Simplified TaijiquanThis form of simplified

Taijiquan was created as ameans to promote Taijiquan tothe general public. It has beenpromoted throughout Chinaand the world by the Chinesegovernment, and is nowpractised by millions of people.

Fig 55 to 66“Left, Holding theMagpie’s tail.”

aijiquanSimplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan Simplified Taijiquan

Fig 55 Fig 56 Fig 57

Fig 58 Fig 59 Fig 60 Fig 61

Fig 62 Fig 63 Fig 64 Fig 65 Fig 66

Qi Magazine 39

WhenHealing

Traditional Chinese Medicine, indeed, all forms ofcomplementary medicine have experienced a boomin recent times. More and more people are turning tothese therapies looking for the cure that conventionalWestern medicine can not give.In response to this demand, more and more practiceshave opened and many people are finding that acareer in this field can be quite lucrative.Unfortunately, what seems to be part of humannature, some unscrupulous people are takingadvantage of this situation simply to make afinancial ‘killing’. This they do at other peoples’expense and at great cost to their health.How can this situation exist, and what can be doneabout it?

Nicole Chapman, 29, suffered intense migraine headachesfor years at the cost of her boyfriend, job, and friendsbut her aches stopped when she turned to ChineseMedicine.

“The results,” says Nicole, “were amazing. The migraine attackscompletely stopped and the depression lifted. But it wasn’t justphysically that I noticed the change — emotionally I had changedas well. I felt like a new person.”

Qi Magazine 40

But what is Traditional Chinese Medicine and why aresome of its practitioners concerned at the direction it seems tobe taking?

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is a system ofdiagnosis and healthcare based on the spiritual insights ofDaoism. Like Daoism, TCM has evolved considerably over thepast 3000 years, and has produced a highly sophisticated set ofpractices.

These practices include acupuncture, massage, herbalremedies, Qigong and Taiji.

The past ten years has seen a change in attitude towardsChinese medicine. Acupuncture in particular. At one timeacupuncture was thought of as ‘new age’ and practised by onlya few. Now it demands respect not only from the general publicbut the medical profession as well.

Books on the subject, not to mention courses and lectures,have all played their part in establishing this unique system ofhealth care amongst the Western population.

A recent survey showed that over one third of the UKpopulation would be willing to try TCM. And an estimated 43%of GP’s refer their patients to alternative therapists the majoritybeing practitioners of acupuncture.

It is this popularity, however, that is causing concernamongst some practitioners of TCM. They fear that loopholesin the law allow anyone, some with no training whatsoever, toset up and start work as therapists charging vast sums of moneyfor an hours consultation.

This is completely legal but, for people who areemotionally vulnerable, extremely dangerous.

One who shares this view is Carol Parker, a shiatsupractitioner and student of acupuncture (she is in her secondyear with the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine) with herown practise at Watchbell House, Newport.

“TCM”, she said, “has been shown to be very beneficialin treating chronic complaints such as asthma, arthritis, psoriasis,and stress. The methods of healing used are very safe and havebeen practised and refined over thousands of years.”

“However a treatment from a person claiming to bequalified in the practise of acupuncture, or herbs, could resultin serious difficulties for the patient.”

Like most therapies TCM aims to treat the whole person,not just the symptoms. It is based on the belief that all ailmentsare a sign of imbalance within the body caused by the flow ofQi becoming blocked or stagnant, and when this happens illnessis likely to occur. This Qi, or life energy, moves along circuitsknown as meridians and they form a network of channels thatcarry Qi to every tissue in the body. There are twelve majormeridians, each associated with a vital organ or function, andthe aim of Chinese healing is to restore the flow of healthy Qialong the body’s meridian network.

Various methods are used to achieve this, the most directmethod being the practise of acupuncture, using very fineneedles inserted at appropriate points along the meridians tocorrect imbalances.

Qi Magazine 41

Practitioners of Chinese medicine have been working withthe body’s energy fields for the past 3000 years. In skilled handsthe internal energy system can be manipulated to bring abouthealing to mind, body and spirit, sometimes with dramaticresults.

John Cassell, a bodywork therapist, with more than apassing knowledge of the body’s energy system, says, “Manypeople store trauma in the muscle tissue. If this is releasedsuddenly by some one who is not clear about what they aredoing there is a possibility of the trauma being recreated all overagain.

So what safeguards are there to ensure unsuspectingmembers of the public only see practitioners of the higheststandard? Unfortunately, there are none.

The only legislation there is forbids non-medicallyqualified practitioners toclaim to be Doctors,Dentists, or Physio-therapists.

Amongst theUK’s 1,500 acupuncturepractitioners there is theBritish AcupunctureCouncil, which has setethical, hygiene andeducation standards. Andit is via the Council thatthe members of theprofession are regulatedand ultimately willbecome state registered.

As yet, practit-ioners of Chinesemedicine do not have to be state registered, so the system iswide open to abuse.

Research has shown that members of the public are justnot aware of how easy it is for someone to screw a brass plate totheir front door, invent a string of letters after their name, andsay they are practitioners of Chinese medicine or anything else.

It seems that most folk still believe that letters meanknowledge, skill, and a guarantee of the highest professionaltraining. But this isn’t always so. A case involving Chinese herbalmedicine occurred in Belgium, in 1992, resulting in 70 youngwomen suffering kidney failure. It was misuse of Chinese herbsby people with little training that led to the tragedy.

Yet even though TCM contains the ingredients to harmas well as to heal for under £250, it is possible to gain a diploma,by home study, in acupuncture, herbal medicine, TCM, evenTaiji.

In most cases the training consists of 10 lessons, mainlytheory, in booklet form. Compare this with the average 10-15years of serious study it takes to properly prepare and pass thequalifying exams in TCM in the Orient today. Or the 4-5 yearsof dedicated study it takes to qualify in the West, in acupuncture,herbal medicine, or shiatsu.

And then consider the syllabus for one of the mainteaching schools, The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine.Their four-year syllabus covers theory, practitioner development,

Western medicine, diagnosis, and clinical practice, all to a veryhigh level.

So can someone with only 10 weeks training behind themreally be considered qualified to practise TCM? Can therapistswho have never actually worked on a body, or carried out clinicaltraining under supervision, the most basic skill needed; begin tounderstand and treat the body?

Yet, these therapists are in practise, considered qualifiedto treat clients suffering varying degrees of illness, after just 10weeks training. Whose qualifying exam is to answer 10 questionson the understanding that 7 of those must be answered correctlyto be awarded the Diploma in Chinese medicine?

Christopher Larthe, a certified instructor of the HealingTao and student of Master Mantak Chia, said, “It’s outrageousto think that unsuspecting patients are being treated by people

with very littletraining.”

“There areno short-cuts inmedicine” he added,“especially when itcomes to peoples’lives. But until thelaw changes there isvery little that canbe done.”

The advicegiven to anyoneconsidering a visit toa practitioner ofTCM is ask these

questions. What are your methods of treatment?Will they be suitable for my condition? What are your

qualifications? Where did you train and for how long? Do youbelong to any professional body? Are you covered by insurance?A registered acupuncturist will have one of the following setsof letters after their name; MBBAR, FBARR, MRTCN, NTAS,OR CSAS. A WELL TRAINED Chinese medical herbalist willhave the letters RCHN

byBrianHayward

“A case involvingChinese herbal medicineoccurred in Belgium, in1992, resulting in 70young women sufferingkidney failure.”

Qi Magazine 42

W hen I started to studyQigong with my teacher,Master Yang Meijun, therewas also another famous

Qigong master named Guo Lin. She hadsuffered from cancer and had beenoperated on seven times. However, shecreated one simple Qigong walkingmethod which she used to heal herself,and it worked very well.

Many people in China and evenabroad practise this walking method totreat their cancer. The results haveimpressed a lot of western doctors.

However, since Guo Lin died, herexercise has developed a lot. Anotherperson named Ming Wu created anotherQigong walking method in 1979, whichis very similar to Guo Lin’s style. Likehers, it relies on walking a lot to help thebody recover. This Qigong method iscalled “Self Control Qigong”.

Self Control Qigong is based on aDaoist Qigong book called, “Ling BaoHwa Fa” – Spiritual Treasure ChineseMethod, and combines many principles ofChinese medicine in it and Daoism.

These walking methods have beenused in China and Hong Kong and havebeen proved to help eighty percent ofCancer patients.

Here is the walking method calledSelf Control Qigong.1. Stand still with your arms by your

sides. Fig 1.2. Turn your right hand so the palm faces

forward. Then move it from theHuantiao point to your Shanzhongpoint, Laogong point passing theDantien as the palm moves to theShanzhong point. Fig 2-3.Start to turn your head left and beginto step forward with you left foot.Breathe in. Fig 4.

3. Drop your right hand down to yourDantien and bring your right footlevel with your left. Breathe out. Fig5-6. Repeat the above handmovements for the other side.

You should keep going, stepping againand again to exchange the negativeenergy for positive energy. The

Qigong Treats Cancer

exercise should be practised two tothree times everyday for around thirtyto forty-five minutes each time.

For many years China has employed Qigong to help treatCancer sufferers. There are hospitals that specialise in Qigongtreatments for Cancer. Recently a report was published revealingsome extremely positive results.

Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3

Fig 4 Fig 5 Fig 6

Qi Magazine 43

Fig 11. Then repeat the movementsfor the other side.

Gou Lin called this the wind breathingmethodBreathe in - left heel on the groundBreathe in – right heel on the groundBreathe out – left heel on the groundBreathe normally – right toes close to leftfoot

These Qigong methods have beenused to treat cancer and have worked verywell. Reports say that using these methods85% of people recover. Basically, all kindsof Qigong are good for all kinds ofillnesses as long as they are practisedregularly and naturally, you cannot justdo them occasionally in a poorenvironment. Therefore fresh air is veryimportant. So when patients go tohospital for this treatment, they must giveup their normal daily lives until theircondition has changed. You have topractise three to four times a day and thishelps you to forget everything else andconcentrate on your practise. Then thebad cells and energy will slowly start todisappear and change. Then the freshenergy and blood will be created and thismakes the metabolism speed up.

If we allow ourselves to practisethree to four times a day, eat correctly,sleep properly, are free of stress and letourselves go back to normal, then we canall definitely get better and healthier. Theonly thing is how many people can dothis?

byMichaelTse

This is Guo Lin’s walking method.Start on your right foot for

problems with your liver, gall bladder andeyes. Start on you left foot for all otherproblems.1 Start with the weight on your right

foot and the toes of you left footlightly touching the ground, 2 to 3inches to the side of your right foot.Your right Laogong point facing yourDantien and your left Laogong pointfacing your left Huantiao point.Fig 7.

2 Step forwards with your left foot, thetoes should point up and the heel onthe ground. Breathe in through yournose, you right hand moves so theright Laogong point faces theShanzhong point and keep your leftLaogong point facing the leftHuantiao point. Fig 8.

3 Bring your weight forwards, you lefthand moves up so the left Laogongpoint faces the Shanzhong point andthe right hand drops to your rightHuantiao point. At this point you arestill breathing in.

4 Step forwards with your right foot,toes up and heel touching the ground.Breathe out. Your left hand moves tothe Shanzhong point and the rightdrops to the Huantiao point. Fig 9

6 Step with your left foot again, breatheout. Fig 10

5 Then bring the left toes 2 to 3 inchesto the right foot, but keep the weighton the right foot. Breathe naturally.

For information about SelfControl Qigong: Jing Hwa CancerHospital, Beijing (00 86 10) 69011174

Kam Tin, New Territories,Hong Kong. Tel. (00 852) 2495 3838or 2648 9475. Treatment is free ofcharge, but a registration of threemonths is required.

Beijing

CancerHospital

CapitalAirport

Fig 7 Fig 8 Fig 9 Fig 10 Fig 11

Qi Magazine 44

Many discourses on Buddhism tend to focus on whatthe writer or speaker sees as the most immediatefactor in the call to walk the Buddhist path and thatis the reaction to dukkha or suffering. Buddhismmight be accurately termed the enlightened person’s

reaction to realising the universality of suffering but this can oftenlead to a negative feeling pervading either the discussion or thelayperson’s reactions to it. I think it better to focus on somethingobviously positive and desirable, that is, enlightenment or nirvanaand the noble path that leads to it.

It’s doubtful whether the Buddha ever intended his teachingsto become a religion. He refused to specifically name a successor,telling his followers that the teachings themselves would be theirsource of wisdom. It also needs to be emphasised that the Four NobleTruths, the absolute centre of the Buddha’s message, are not meantto be mere beliefs, handed down from above and unquestioningly

accepted but calls for action and experiment. The Buddha obviouslyconsidered The Four Noble Truths as absolutely fundamental – theycomprised his very first public sermon at the Deer Park near Sarnathin India. The four truths are these...

1) The reality, universality and inevitability ofdukkha – suffering orunsatisfactoriness.

2) The cause ofdukkha – ego-based cravings and habitual responses.3) The realisation that dukkha can be ended by our own actions, by

stopping the cravings.4) The way of making this happen – the eightfold path.

It’s no good these truths being taken as articles of faith. Thatway, the Buddha’s message is reduced to theory and it was alwayssupposed to be a practice. The Noble Truths are calls to action, urgingus to find out the truth for ourselves by experimentation. It doesn’t

TheCentral Message

of Buddhism

TheCentral Message

“The Buddha” means “The Enlightened One”. Putting aside for a moment the question ofwhat “enlightenment” means, we could with some confidence define Buddhism as the study ofthe Buddha’s spiritual journey and his teachings, the study of enlightenment. By extension, thestudy of the Buddha’s enlightenment becomes the study of our enlightenment. What is it, howdo we get it?

Qi Magazine 45

to bind, in the same way that the Indian word “yoga” is related to theverb “to yoke”. What we are being bound, or yoked to is only implied.We take it to mean a god but this is usage rather than an explicitstatement. It can also mean being bound to a discipline or set ofrules.

The Buddha broke through into a state of consciousness, astate of being we cannot really understand. He called it ”nirvana”,which basically means that all his ego-based desires were extinguished.He could see, feel and act with total clarity and compassion, withouthis ego, his personal prejudices filtering and colouring what heperceived. Compared to this nirvana, our present way of viewingthe world and the way we behave in this world is almost childish-ignorant and petulant, short-sighted and destructive.

Ridding ourselves of our childish preconceptions andemotions does not make us cold and inhuman. In fact, the reverse istrue. Buddhism has always attracted a certain kind of person – eithera questioner, someone who wants to know how the world works andwhy, or a caring person who is affected by tragedy and other’smisfortunes, or the plight of animals or the environment. Thesekinds of people are not usually superficial. If they are, they will eitherpay lip service to some kind of Buddhism until something moreexciting comes along. If they’re serious they will stick to the disciplineof livinga mindful life andmake progress. They may lose a fewillusionson the way, or a few inhibitions, a few ambitions. What they won’tlose is their true compassion. They may be clearer in their thinkingand not simply do a kindness for show or thought of reward. Theircaring nature will be amplified and made more effective by disciplineand insight.

The growth and diversity of Buddhism over the past twentyfive centuries means that there are many different kinds of practice

the Buddhist can pursue,many different techniquesto incorporate into dailylife. From lofty meditationto vivid imagery, fromchanting to study of thevarious sutras (sacredscriptures), fromdevotional service tomankind to retreating intoa hermitage – there aremany paths toenlightenment. Whatdistinguishes Buddhistpractices from othersystems of thought or beliefthat also boast a myriad ofdiverse offshoots is that theultimate goal of Buddhismis always kept in mind,

whatever the school or sect. The practitioner always reminds himor herself that the reason they are practising is to get as near to theBuddha’s experience as possible, to find for themselves the state ofbeing called nirvana.

If enlightenment may be described as a state of mindpermanently free from petty grievances, desires, preconceptions andillusions, a mind where the senses, the emotions, the instincts andintuition, the logical processes of thought, even the physical bodycan all operate at a much more effective, almost superhuman levelfor the betterment of humanity and the further promotionof a positiveway of life; then we can agree on two things. Firstly, that thisnirvanais a very desirable commodity to have in the world and secondly thatattaining it cannot be easy. So just how do we get it?

take much mental effort to understand the first of the Noble Truths,that some kind of suffering or unsatisfactoriness is inextricably linkedto the humancondition. We don’t alwaysget what we want, sometimeswe don’t want what we get, trying to get what we want can be stressful,trying to avoid what we don’t want is also stressful. However pleasantour lives, some kind of grief is inevitable. One look around the world,with all its hungry, sick, homeless and war-torn people will confirmthe precarious nature of happiness, the universality of dukkha.

The second Noble Truth demands slightly more attention. Itstates quite unequivocally that our suffering stems directly from ourown ego. We view the world through our own habitual cravings,wanting things to be this way or that way. While we do that we willnever experience reality directly and we will never break free of ourunhappiness. To try and quieten the mind enough to give ourselvesthe inner space we need to begin to observe how we function, howour cravings seem to stem from some deep part of us, beyond ourcontrol, is an enormous task that requires commitment andperseverance. It’s a task, however, that needs to be addressed if wecan ever hope to gain insight into our conditioned condition, thehuman condition.

Only when we achieve this insight can we really understandthe great import of the third Noble Truth, that we can, by our ownactions, begin to de-programme ourselves and find a way of livingthat will keep us orientated in the right direction, towards greaterunderstanding, greater wisdom and compassion, greater acceptance.The fourth Noble (or ennobling) Truth points to those attitudes andactions essential to a freer life all contained in the Eightfold Path,more of which below. Without the deeper understanding of the FourNoble Truths, the first teaching the Buddha transmitted at Benares,the Eightfold Path would be just a code of conduct, a set of moralguidelines rather than apenetrating practice based onfirst- hand experience andinsight. And that’s whatBuddhism should be – an on-going practice based on personalexperience of the truth andrelevance of the Buddha’steachings. Whether that makesit a religion or a philosophy wasprobably irrelevant to itsfounder and should perhaps beaddressed to those who walk inhis footsteps.

Buddhism may beregarded by some as aphilosophical system of thoughtand conduct, elevating men andwomen to a state ofconsciousness, a way of thinkingand behaving, that brings them closer to the consciousness of theBuddha, closer to enlightenment. To others it is a religion proper,which implies a kind of devotion and faith in the Buddha and theBuddhist path. According to the Buddhist definition of religion, abelief in a Creator-God is not important. Whether there is a God ornot, an individual’s spiritual evolution is still up to that individual.We still have the choice of actively trying to think and behave in amindful way, a way that promotes harmony and inner growth, orchoosingto ignore thatwhich is beyondthe most immediate or materiallevel. Who created the world, how the universe came into being, isirrelevant to the Buddhist who is trying to live his or her daily life ina way that nurtures and encourages enlightenment. I might add thatthe word “religion” stems from the Latin term “religare”, meaning

“Nirvana is a verydesirable commodityto have in the worldand attaining itcannot be easy. So justhow do we get it?”

Qi Magazine 46

The first thing to do is to train ourselves the way we wouldtrain children to be good citizens of the world. We give ourselvesreminders in the form of precepts or life guidelines to keep our mindsand body disciplined. We are told not to kill, not to steal, not to lie,not to engage in sexual misconduct or abuse, not to allow our bodiesor our minds to become dependent on drugs or alcohol etc. We needto understand these rules. They don’t exist just to make us goodlittle boys and girls but to teach us the effects that bad habits canhave, the bad karma that ill will, over- dependency, arrogance andother negative qualities can create, bothfor ourselves and for others. Theseprecepts are the first level, the basis uponwhich further spiritual progress is made.The law ofkarma, or universal cause-and-effect, is central to Buddhism and thecreation of better karma for ourselves,though not a direct goal of the Buddha’smessage, is surely a happy by-product.

The Buddha also formulatedwhathe called the Eightfold Path, a series ofguidelines for living in a mindful way. Theeight areas of conduct are –

1. Correct understanding (or views) ofthe Buddha’s message.

2. Correct purpose (or intention),having the right motivation for whatwe do every day.

3. Correct speech, not telling lies, notslandering or being verballyaggressive, not discouraging othersfrom attempting to betterthemselves.

4. Correct conduct, performing actionsthat are peaceful, honest andcompassionate. (This section of theeightfold path contains the five basicprecepts concerning killing, stealing,misusing sex, lying and misusingdrugs and alcohol.)

5. Correct livelihood, supportingourselves by honest means, avoidingactions such as exploitation, misrepresentation, selling drugs orarms.

6. Correct effort, not letting up in our endeavours and self-development, avoiding complacency yet not overreachingourselves and becoming exhausted or bitter and resentful.

7. Correct mindfulness, the ability to monitor ourselves so we don’tslip into apathy or extremism, seeking to always infuse our actionswith a spiritual content.

8. Correct concentration, a commitment to meditation and alwayskeeping our spiritual goal in mind.

The Buddha’s teachings, including the Four Noble Truthsand the Eightfold Path, became known as the dharma or law. Thoughit would be more accurate to describe dharma as the ultimate groundof reality, the natural laws that govern the universeand the teachingsthat point to an understanding of these laws and that reality.Dharmameans the way things are.

As with the Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path is meant to beinternalised. We need to be able to feel the difference when we behavenobly or not so nobly. We need to reflect on the differences goodand bad behaviour can make, for ourselves and for those around us.

We need to experience at first hand the consequences of skilful ornon-skilful conduct. Having had these kinds of insights we willspontaneously want to behave in a more ”Buddhist” way, for thepeace of mind, compassion and charity we experience when free fromour own egos, our own cravings for recognition, triumph, revengeetc. Living a mindful life is good for us and for others.

This kind of living will make us better citizens. It will makeus more thoughtful and honest, more sincere. It will set theconditions for the practices that will bring about enlightenment. It

won’t bring enlightenment itself –for that we need to go further.

The foremost practice ismeditation. Practice regularlyquietening the mind. Experience foryourself the wonderful calm andclarity on the rare occasions thechattering monkey that is ourinternal dialogue is subdued. Thisserenity, if nurtured, allows a basicchange in our consciousness – webegin to experience inner peace,discerning insights, compassion andempathy, even in the most hecticmoments of our daily lives. Furthermeditation deepens the insights,strengthens the compassion, andcalms the mind further, convincingthe practitioner that this is truly thepath to follow. Try and avoidmeditation techniques that useimagery or visualisation, these canbecome just further mentalprocesses. It’s better to just becomeaware of one’s breathingwhile sittingupright and try to keep the mindclear.

Don’t misunderstand –there’s a difference betweencalmness and clarity and merelybeing blissed-out. Using meditationjust to drift off away from the worldis merely another indulgence,

escapism. Buddhism is a path of transcendence and transformation –not escapism and not confrontation. If we succeed in transformingourselves, we transform everything around us. Nothing is ever reallysolved by turning one’s back on reality or attempting to impose anego-based order on the flow of the world, trying to bendcircumstances to one’s will.

Having begun to experience more and more the insights andthe love that springs from regular meditation, having made nobleconduct in thought, word and deed a way of life, we have preparedthe ground for the full flowering of enlightenment. We begin to havewhat may be termed mystical experiences, moments of supernaturalknowledge or empathy, manifestations of psychic abilities. These arenot an end in themselves, not to be sought or clung to, they are justby-products of the truly Buddhist way of life. They do at least act asa kind of “carrot” in that they further encourage the practitioner topersevere in their spiritual quest. They act as mini-enlightenmentsalong the path.

But enlightenment as deep and as permanent as the Buddha’s,it is said, never can happen in one lifetime. Many lives of selflesswork are required to bring about nirvana. It therefore follows thatsome kind of rebirth, or some kind of reincarnation, is pretty

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fundamental to a Buddhist way of life. The Buddha himself neverspoke much on this matter, considering it yet another diversion, buthe would have inherited a belief in reincarnation as a cultural normin India of that period. Certain hints in his actual spoken words implythat he was able to perceive the flow of his spiritual progress indifferent incarnations (the Jakata, folk tales of his earlier lives, arevery popular.) Having attained nirvana he will be born no more inthis world. He will be permanently at one with all of creation, havingreached what Hindus would call union with Godhead, where everyact is the will of God, the natural unfolding of the universe.

tobecontinued....byJulianWilde

“ We experiencepeace of mind,compassion andcharity when freefrom our ownegos & cravingsfor recognition.”