Qi_72.pdf

Cover: Bronze Buddha, Lantau IslandHard Qigong

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

Editor: Michael TseDeputy Editor: Darryl MoyAssistants: Martin Gale

Caroline GarveyBernard LiSarah MoyClaire SpruceMike Stenson

Legal Adviser: Tony WalshMarketing/Distribution: Jessica BlackwellSweden: Barbro Olsson

ConsultantsGrandmaster Yang Meijun

Grandmaster Ip ChunGrandmaster Wu Chun Yuen

Grandmaster ChenXiao Wang

Columnists:

Peter Andersen Kate BrittonMartin Gale GlennGosslingJohn Hayes HelenMassyDr. ShulanTang Sihn KeiAdam Wallace Julian Wilde

Readers may contact any of our contributors c/oQi Magazine.We encourage all our readers to contribute articles, lettersor questions for possible inclusion in future issues ofQi Magazine.Articles appearing in Qi Magazine do not necessarily reflectthe opinion of the editor. Adverts appearing in themagazine are not necessarily endorsed by it or the editor.Exercises appearing in Qi Magazine are for referencepurposes only. Thus anyone wishing to study should seekqualified tuition.

Michael Tse 2004.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

reproduced, stored or transmitted in any way without thewritten permission of Michael Tse.

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http://www.qimagazine.comISSN 1358-3778

Continuedon page 9

Everything in the world is connectedto something. Nothing is totallyindependent. Recently, whilst I was

teaching at Venice University, I mentionedthat we should look after ourenvironment, as this is where our energycomes from. If you live in a goodenvironment your energy will be good. Ifyour environment is bad, then yourenergy will be bad.

I also said that we should getalong with our neighbours because if yourneighbours like you, then you will haveeven better energy. One studentsaid, “I don’t get along with myneighbour, but it does not mean Iam not a good person.” I replied“You are right, but which wouldyou prefer: to get along with yourneighbour, or not to get along withyour neighbour?” Of course theanswer is, you would like to have agood neighbour rather than have abad relationship. We can all haveproblems with other people, but don’tyou think we should try and not haveany enemies? At least to minimisethem. So if we can sort out our problemsand make friends, it does not meanyou have to be best friends, but at leastyou have a mutual respect for eachother. Once you have aneighbour as an enemy itmeans you have a blockageat that side. A blockage ofenergy will affect yoursituation and your life and thiswill also affect your health too.Therefore you can see that theprinciple of Qigong is also thesame as Feng Shui. Once youhave one bad neighbour, then youcan easily have two bad neighbours oreven three. So the problem will grow. Inthe end, you might not be able to live inthat area. Therefore it is better to try andsolve your differences with yourneighbour so that you can be friends,then you can clear up the problem.

During our lives we are connectedwith every single thing in the universe.The things that are closer will be affectedthe most, but even those things furtheraway will be affected somehow.

If we can take care of them, thenwe will have better luck because luck isabout good communication. Good

communication brings us goodrelationships with others. The morepeople that like you, the more chancesyou will have and the more luck youhave. Daoism says, “Train the body andthe attitude together”. If you have a niceattitude then you health will naturallybe good.

Life is communication. Goodcommunication means a good life. If youonly think about yourself then you willfind that people do not like you as much.If you find yourself thinking, “Why don’tpeople like me?” You should askyourself, do you like others? If you donot like other people, then how canpeople like you?

“Train the bodyand the attitude

together”

“Train the bodyand the attitude

together”

Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004 page 1

1 Editorialwith Michael Tse

4 PO Box

10 One Day’s Clear MoonOften we see only what we want to see and blind ourselvesto everything else. Why do we do this and if we do, howcan we make any real judgements?by Julian Wilde

12 Taijiquan - More PractiseThere are many people who like to read, talk and discussTaijiquan. They are captivated by its principles and the storiesof the great masters and they search for the secret of theskill.by Michael Tse

14 Rubbing the Abdomen to Aid the StomachA simple set of exercises that can help to balance thestomach and help any gastro-intestinal problems.by Zeng Qingnan & Liu Daoqing

17 Paint the Clown’s Nose Red (A speculation onTaijiquan’s punch)A punch may look like a simple technique, but in Taijiquan,everything must follow the correct principles. As such, themechanics of Taiji’s punch are very different to other martialarts.by Glenn Gossling

18 Hard Qigong BreathingHard Qigong is internal training, butmost people only see the externalmovements and results of training. Thesecret is in the breathing, as this is howthe Qi is strengthened.by Michael Tse

21 Instructor InsightFeaturing one of the instructors of theTse Qigong Centre

22 Chen Taijiquan Self DefenceChen Taijiquan is famous for being amartial art. So how do you use it? Hereare some examples which might helpyou.by Julian Wilde

28 A Song of Advice for our LivesAdvice comes in many shapesand forms. 400 years ago, aBuddhist monk wrote a poemwhich has become verypopular with many Chinesepeople. They follow its adviceand wisdom as it helps themin their lives. Here we translateit into English and offer somecommentaries to shed light onits meaning.Translation and commentary by Michael Tse

23 Book ReviewTwo very important new books on Chen Taijiquan, byGrandmaster Chen XiaoWang.

24 Plum Blossom Yijing Prediction part 2Continuation of our story about Yijing Master Shao KangJie. Having been given the book by the Old Man’s family,Master Shao uses it to great effect.by Michael Tse

26 Falling InThe principles of Wing Chun Kung Fu are very practical.They teach you many things not just about Kung Fu,but about life as well. Sometimes it can also work theother way round.by Martin Gale

27 Hot and Spicy CucumberA delicious recipe to try at home!

Cover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...

Cover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...

page 2 Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004

Hand madein ChinaHand madein China

Traditional Chinese Weapons

Prices include UK p&p and are by express courier service.*telescopic sword includes UK p&p by standard post.Please make cheques payable to ‘Michael Tse’.Specifications may vary. Prices valid for cover dates onthis issue only. Please see the latest issue for up to date prices.For orders or more information contact:Tse Qigong Centre PO Box 59 Altrincham WA15 8FS.Tel. 0161 929 4485. Fax. 0161 929 4489. Email. [email protected].

“For the serious

practitioner!”

Longquan (Taiji) Dragon SwordDouble edged straight blade, engraved & finished withbrass and copper. Comes with scabbard and tassel.

Length 81cm. £100

Kang Li Telescopic Practice SwordWell-balanced, steel practice sword. Comes with carryingcase and tassel.

Length 78cm. £41*

Longquan Dragon Knife (Broadsword)Engraved blade finished in copper. Includes engravedlacquered scabbard with brass finish.

Length 77.5 cm. £105

Chinese SpearChrome plated spearhead with white wax wood shaftand red ying (hair). Requires cutting to size.

Length 215cm. £57

White Wax Wood StaffLength 200cm. £45

Wing Chun Knives (Baat Jam Dao)(Out of Stock) Length 45cm. £108.95

34 Relax Your Mind to Improve Your TaijiquanRelaxation is not as easy to achieve as you might think.Often the secret is to relax your mind, then your body canlet go as well.by Kate Britton

35 Kindness for BreakfastWhilst living in China, the author experienced many things.Here he made a judgement which proved to be wrong, butmade him appreciate another's kindness.by Peter Andersen

37 Murder on the Orient ExpressChina has many surprises for the unwary traveller. It can bedifficult if you don’t know your way around. However, alittle local advice is welcome, so long as you take it.by Sihn Kei

38 Chinese WhispersThere are many misconceptions regarding Wing Chun. Howthey started is uncertain. All we can do is work out what ispractical and what is not.by Darryl Moy

39 Undefinable Chi SauChi Sau or Sticking Hands is Wing Chun’s famous trainingexercise which teaches you how to apply the skill that youknow. Sounds simple?by John Hayes

44 Healthy Living Gong IIITwo versions of the exercise “Tiger Pushes theMountain”.by Michael Tse

48 Empty CupOften we have a lot of emotional and mentalbaggage. We carry this everywhere we go, whenwe really need to put it down.by Helen Massy

49 What’s in Name?A name is a label. We use labels to recognise anddefine things. However, sometimes by doing so wecan blinker ourselves.by Adam Wallace

50 Shades of GreyGrey is a concept. It is not a colour and liessomewhere between black and white and is neverexact. Chan and Ma discover that life is very grey.by Darryl Moy

51 Feng Shui in the KitchenThe final part of this series showing us how to creategood Feng Shui in one of the most important roomsin any house.by Michael Tse


POBox POBox POBox...

Grandmaster

Ip Chun’s80th Birthday

September sees the 80th birthday of Wing Chun Grandmaster, Ip Chun. Forreaders who don’t know him, Grandmaster Ip Chun is the eldest son of the lateGrandmaster Ip Man, whose teachings have made Wing Chun one of the most

widely practised forms of Kung Fu in the world today. Ip Man was also the teacher ofBruce Lee, and so his teachings have literally changed the world.

Grandmaster Ip Chun has continued his father’s teaching and his skill is quiteremarkable. What is even more amazing is that he has reached such a high levelwhen martial arts were not his first passion. His father began teaching him when hewas very young, but his interest did not really catch until he was in his thirties. Everynight he had to wait until his father had finished teaching so that he could make uphis bed to go to sleep! The more he listened to his father teaching, the more interesthe began to have, until he eventually decided to put all his energy into studyingWing Chun. When his father retired from teaching, Grandmaster Ip Chun and hisyounger brother took over. When his father passed away, it was out of duty thatGrandmaster Ip Chun continued his father’s work.

For many years, he travelled to different countries teaching seminars andpeople were amazed at his openness with his skill and knowledge. No question wasever too much and he would talk about any aspect of Wing Chun without holdingback. Even more amazing is his skill in Chi Sau. He would openly invite anyone todo Chi Sau with him and was able to control everyone, employing his skill with aneasy smile and laugh.

Wing Chun has given him good health and a great zest for life. He is not thetypical image of a Kung Fu master. On meeting him for the first time people oftencomment on how easy going and happy he is. He is also a very highly educatedman and scholar in the true sense of the word. His knowledge of the world, historyas well as current events and trends is quite amazing.

During his lifetime, has been a museum currator, a school teacher, amongother things and is also an acomplished muscian. He even drove a taxi for while!

Now his has reached a milestone of 80! Though he has retired from teachingaround the world, he still continues to teach in Hong Kong and has not lost any ofhis skill or his love of life. In fact on our last trip to see him, he wanted QiMagazine to let everyone know that he had not had lost his skill. On the contrary,he seems to have got even better!

We would like to wish him a “Very Happy Birthday” and thank him forsharing his skill, knowledge, wisdom and humour with us all. Like his father, hehas also changed the world.

80th


PushingTaiji QigongDear Sir,

I am writing to you about themovement in Taiji Qigong in whichwe stand in the bow stanceposition and we push out onepalm with the other palm fromthe waist. Can you tell me whichpart of the body is beingexercised? If I stand with my legsbent like in the photo, then itstarts hurting.S Bandor, Malaysia

Dear S,You asked about the

movement Pushing Palm fromthe set Taiji Qigong and whatit works for. This movement isgood for many things. The firstthing is that it helps the kidneys,back, bones and legs. This isbecause the movement is donewhile we are standing in bowstance which makes us put allthe weight on one leg or theother and so it makes the legsstrong and also the bones. Whenthe kidneys are weak, the boneswill be also be weak as they donot have enough energy and themarrow is affected. It is easyto have back pain, extremetiredness, forgetfulness, etc.So to strengthen the kidneys,we first must make the legsstronger. This will create a lotof strong circulation in thebody and bring up the Qi andblood and then we will behealthier. Just keep practising,following the correct principlesof the movement and you will gethealthier and feel good.Best wishes,Michael Tse

Rememberingthe IdeaDear Michael Tse

I am sending this, because acolleague of mine lent me the 1998book “Wing Chun - Traditional ChineseKung Fu for Self-defence & Health”. Mycolleague had heard that when I was ayoung man I had studied Wing Chun inLondon. I was one of the first Englishstudents at a class run by Joseph Cheng

(Cheng Chong, who had himself studiedunder Lee Shing, who had studied underLok Yiu, who had taken instruction fromIp Man, I believe). That was in the 1970s.

I am now 54, and have notpractised or trained for along time, as I moved along way from London,

and could not find ateacher as expert as

Joseph Cheng. Idon’t think he was

a perfectteacher, but hewas quiteremarkable inhis own way.

May Isend mycongratulationson the claritywith which thebook waswritten. I havecompared it withthe books whichI have read,which I havefound again inmy loft! - thoseby R Clausnitzer

and Greco Wong,J Yimm Lee, and

the series of flimsy paperbacks by LeungTing. I also made a lot of notes when Iwas a student of Joseph Cheng inLondon, and I have rediscovered thosetoo.

As a result of reading the book,and rediscovering my old book collection,I have decided it would benefit my healthand fitness if I also “rediscovered” Siu LimTao. So I have made up my mind to sparea little time each day to go through theroutine as I remember it. By the way, Iam glad to know, from the web-site, thatIp Chun is fit and well.Kind regards, and best wishes,P ThompsonScone,Scotland

Dear S,Thank you for your kind words. I

am glad you have rediscovered WingChun and Siu Lim Tao. Good skills staywith us no matter how old we are, andthey even keep us healthy, fit and active.They improve our quality of life and thisis a precious thing.Yours sincerely,Michael Tse

BurningQuestionsDear Tse Sigong,

I have been learning andpractising Qigong with Sifu Barry PaulHorrell (Nottingham) for the past threeyears or so, and wanted to extend mygreetings to you for the first time, andalso take the opportunity to ask a fewquestions relating to my own health. Iwould be very grateful if you are able tooffer any words of advice orencouragement relating to questions onhayfever, breathing, being vegan andalso on eyesight. In a sense, I wish I hadcontacted you much earlier as myquestions have been building up over theyears!

As a university lecturer I do a lotof thinking and the job itself is quitestressful. However, I have found that

through doingregular Balanc-ing Gong andHealthy LivingGong practice Ican move into mybody more andstop thinking somuch. When Istarted I hardlyhad the patienceto stand still for

more than a few minutes, but now Ipractice every morning before breakfastfor about an hour or so. Although mygeneral health has improved greatly andI benefit every time I practice, I wouldlike to improve my health further. Overtime I have come to identify the followinghealth issues which I would like to addressinternally.

1. My main health problem is hayfever,which I have suffered from for manyyears. It starts subtly around this timeof year (May) and then getsprogressively worse until around theend of the summer (Septem-ber).My nose becomes blocked, I sneeze,

“I do a lot ofthinking and my jobitself is quite stressful.”

Running and QigongRunning and Qigongmy eyes water, and even breathingbecomes difficult. Last year I decidednot to take any medication butinstead do the Qigong exercises Ihad learnt outdoors (for example‘Separating the Fog’ from HLG PartI). Although my lungs were definitelystrengthened and my breathingbecame stronger, I still suffered fromthe other symptoms. What wouldyou suggest I do this year?

2. Related to the first point is my noseand general breathing difficulties.Even when it is not spring/summermy nose often gets blocked, runnyor sniffly, and I generally have tocarry a tissue around to blow it. I donot have a cold or flu, I just havethis regularly sniffly nose. I havenever been able to breathe throughmy nose at night and insteadbreathe through my mouth and assuch often wake up with a drymouth. Although it sounds like asmall and insignificant issue, I wouldlove to be able to breathe throughmy nose at night and not have torely upon tissues in the day! I amwondering whether this problem isrelated to my pre-natal Qi, becausemy grandfather suffers from catarrhin his nose. However, when I visitedVermont (USA) for two months aboutfive years ago I was free of both theblocked nose and the hayfever. Is itbecause of the British climate, myown health, or a combination of thetwo?

3. For health and ethical reasons, twoyears ago I became vegan. I wouldlike to know if there are any specificconcerns about this kind of diet froma Chinese health perspective?

4. Finally, I have a question aboutsight. I think as a result of theamount of reading I do, my eye sighthas suffered over the years. I canread books fine and see things closeup, but it is my long distance visionwhich is not so good. I’m reluctantto get glasses and would rather tryto correct the problem internally.Would Long Distance Vision DanGong help me with this?

Thank you very much for your timein looking over my questions.All the best,S. Nottingham

Dear S,Thank you for your letter. About

your asthma:- actually you have already

Hello,I would like to use Qigong exercises to help with my long distance

running. Do you have any advise on what exercises would be most benefical?I have the book Qigong for Health and Vitality. Are there any books on thetopic of Qigong that address exercises specific to sports? I’m looking forwardto the new book Qigong for Healing and Relaxation.

Any advice would be much appreciated.ThanksJ Bennett, Southampton

Dear J,Your question about

running is very good. InHawaii, running is verypopular but most peopledo not know how toconserve their energywhen they do this. Asa result, running canmake their musclesmore toned andburn fat, but it willmake them lose Qi.One of the reasonsthey lose Qi whenrunning isbecause theybreathe throughthe mouth. Whenyou breathethrough themouth, the Qi willnot sink to theDantian and store.So if you can runand breathethrough the nosethe whole time, thisis much better.

Running canbring up the bloodcirculation in the body veryquickly, but you also need Qi tosupport and maintain the internal organs in the body. Exercises like Roc Extendsthe Wings and Supporting the Sky can help you to open the lungs and take inmore Qi. You should also make sure to keep a good posture and not dropyour head or tense your shoulders when you run, as this will block Qi andmake you use more energy. If you can stay relaxed when you run, then youwill use less Qi. All of the Balancing Gong or Healthy Living Gong execisescan help you make your body more relaxed and open the channels and makeyour body healthy. If you can do some Qigong and meditation after running,then this will help the Qi move through all the body and heal any stress orinjuries and the meditation will let you store the Qi for developing your healthand energy.Yours sincerely, Michael Tse


started on the right path and just need tocontinue on. When I used to travel downto London every week on the train forteaching, in the summertime I wouldsuffer so much. I could hardly breathethrough my nose and my eyes werealways red and itchy.However, I did not want totake anything for it, evenChinese medicine, and so Ijust did more practise.

Slowly, every year ithas gotten better and betteruntil now, it is onlyoccassionally and usuallywhen I go to a new countrywhere theair and pollens aredifferent that I will still havea bit of an itchy nose anditchy eyes, though this goes away veryquickly.

Sometimes it is our environmentthat causes us problems until we canadapt to it. For instance, you said youdid not have problems when visitingMaine in America. It may be that the airthere is fresher and not so polluted. Onholiday, I am sure you also did not havethe stress that you have in your job andso your body was more relaxed and soyour lungs did not have to work so hard.Also, when thekidneys are weakened fromstress, tiredness and overwork, they willnot regulate the water in the bodynormally and so this will affect thefunctioning of the lungs and breathing.The more you practise and bring the bodyback to harmony, the less problems youwill have.

About being vegan, I have manystudents who are either vegetarian orvegan and they can manage their livesand training just fine. However, ifsomeone is very weak or ill, then maybethey might find that it is useful to havemore sustenance than that obtained byeating vegan and so they try to eat someeggs which will help give them moreenergy. They can also train more of theYang exercises like Chun Yuen or HardQigong which will bring up the energylevels in the body much more quickly thanthe soft Qigong practise.

About your eyesight, there aresome special Qigong exercises that wehave put in the magazine in the past andI am sure that your Sifu can share thesewith you. However, doing exercises liketraining the eyes to look far away, if thatis the weakness, or look close if yourproblem is short sight, covering one eyeand then the other can help to train theeyes to adjust to different perspectives.

Also, all the Qigong you practise andparticularly, more horse stance, can helpyou to maintain your sight. Long DistanceVision Dan is actually more for openingthe Sky Eye and not training our normaleyesight.

Good luck with your training andI look forward to meeting you in thefuture.Michael Tse

Sheer EnthusiasmDear Sir,

I am a student, and also apractitioner of martial arts. I amconsidering taking a ‘year out’ fromstudies to extensivley trainin martial arts. Pleasecould you tell me, doyou have the facilitiesand instructoravailability to teachthe healing andhealth arts, Qigongand Chen,preferably fromMichael Tse or ahighly experiencedinstructor. I wouldbe aiming to train 3to 4 hours a day,Monday to Friday,for around 3months. I live inNorth London. AndI also wondered ifthere would bebenefits from thistraining or if the timescale is simply tooshort to receive anyreal benefit?Best wishes,R. Noth LondonDear R,

You sound very enthusiastic anda bit like me when I wanted to begin mymartial arts training. Although this kindof concentrated training can be very

good, it is not often we have thecircumstances where we can do this. Youare actually very lucky as there are fourdifferent classes a week in London whereyou could begin your Qigong and ChenTaijiquan training in the evenings, giving

you time topractise in themornings.

All ofthe instructorstaking theLondon classesare veryexper i encedand can helpyou a lot asthey have beenstudying with

me for many years. So if you want to trainthis many nights, totalling eight hours aweek plus any seminars you might attend,then this would be fine. However, if youalso have the opportunity to study steadilyover a longer period, then it will give yourskill a chance to become a part of you.

Good skill should be for life.Everyone learns at different levels andspeeds. If you rush too much, then it iseasy for the skill to become only externalskill and not develop to an internal level.

Skill is not justabout learningmovement. If youwant to begood, it is alsolearning aboutthe principles,ph i l osophy,how tocommunicatewith yourteacher andc l a s s m a t e sand knowingthe history ofthe skill you aregoing to learn.This takes timeand is all part ofthe journey.Even whent e a c h i n gs o m e o n eintensively, I will

not teach morethan two hours at a

time as they need timeto digest the information and movements.

I wish you well in your studies. Bestwishes,Michael Tse

“I did not wantto take anything, evenChinese medicine .”


UKQi MagazinePO Box 59,

Altrincham WA15 8FS. UK.email [email protected]

USATse Qigong Centre

PO Box 15807,Honolulu, HI 96830. USA.

email [email protected]

Everyday we receive many letters from people all over the world, sometimes asking for advice,sometimes just sharing their experience. Unless specifically asked otherwise, we will considerthese letters for possible publication in Qi Magazine. In this way, we all come together like afamily and share and help each other. That is the reason I began Qi Magazine and particularlythe PO Box. - Michael Tse

If there is anything you wish to share with others, any news or any announcements you wouldlike to make, send them to us. We also welcome articles (800 - 1000 words in length) on topicsappropriate.

Please write to:

News::::: Demos & SeminarsNews::::: Demos & SeminarsNews::::: Demos & SeminarsChen Taiji Sword,Norwich

This proved to be a very popularcourse. Sifu Tse followed his usualformula, beginning with a talk anddiscussion toallow thestudents tolearn theprinciples andb a ck g r ou n dknowledge toTaiji. This is veryimportant, asstudying is notjust aboutcollecting newforms andexercises, but also about leaning how toapply the principles to your life. Then youcan say you are, “doing Taiji”.

After the lecture the groupdivided into two, those were just startingand those who had already begun theform. Sifu Tse has a great ability to beable to cater for everyone with histeaching and time and so everyonebenefited from his skill and teaching.

New York DemoThis year is a very busy year for

teaching with seminars all around theworld.

In New York, two Qigongseminars were offered:- Five ElementSelf Healing Qigong and Eight PullingWaist Gong. The previous evening, aQigong Demonstration was offered byMichael Tse and Adam Wallace at the

Cabrini Medical Centre in the GramercyPark section of Manhattan.

The demonstration was very wellappreciated, and due to the venue, it

attracted a lot of attention from the localWestern Medical community. Many hadheard about the Chinese system, but fewhad experienced Qi and Qigong forthemselves.

During the workshop that followedthe demo, a few questions arose. One

question was:“What is thedifference be-tween Taijiquanand Qigong?”Sifu Tse repliedby saying,“Taijiquan is amartial art andQigong is forhealth. Manypeople todayconfuse the two,

as both contain relaxed, gentle andflowing movements and talk about Qi.However all the movements in Taijiquanhave a martial art or self defenceapplication, in the movements you seepunches and kicks. Qigong is much olderthan Taijiquan, over 3000 years old. ForQigong you also need to relax, but noneof the movements is for fighting, theyare to make the Qi flow and exercisethe body. For example Qigong will havemovements were you bend down andtouch your toes, you may shake the bodyto release the negative Qi, of connectacupuncture points together, Taijiquandoes not do this.”

Another interesting question thatwas asked was: “How do you find a goodteacher?” Sifu Tse answered by saying,“There a few things you need to look at.Does the teacher have a clear backgroundwith a good teacher him or herself? Ifthey cannot talk about their own teacher,then something is not quite right. Alsoyou should look at his or her behaviour.Finally you need to look at the teacherand the students to see if they are

healthy. If they have all these things, thenthey should be OK.

VancouverFrom New York, Michael Tse

travelled westward across North Americato one of the less travelled but beautifullyscenic areas of Canada, to Duncan B.C.Here he gave a demo and workshop atthe "Funky Theatre" and became part ofthe local culture, where the hostings wereof usually of bands and theature groupsrather than Qigong Masters.

One of the questions asked was,“How long should we practise Qigong?”

His answer was, “Movement is veryimportant. In Qigong we move to healout Qi. That is to say, clear the body ofnegative Qi and gather fresh Qi. Onceall the channels are clear and full thebody will automatically heal itself. So youneed to practise long enough to clearthe blockages. If you relax enough whenyou practise you will be able to tell. Yourbody will tell you when to stop.”

Sifu Tse was also invited to give aWing Chun Kung Fu seminar for JK’sWing Chun School. During the course,Sifu Tse covered many points on WingChun, from basics to more advancedtopics.

When someone asked why WingChun teaches to always go forward and

The Chen Taiji Sword Group

Qi Transmissionat NY Demo

Sifu Tse on stage in Canada


There is always someone higherthan us that we look up to. For exampleyour parents, grandparents, uncles,aunties, your boss, your teachers and yourmentors. Then there are people lowerthan us. I do not mean they are not asgood or mean this to put people down, Imean they are junior to us, and we areresponsible for bringing them up andtaking care of them, educating them andgiving guidance to them. Of course,sometimes it is not easy and they caneven not be ready for this and so youhave to leave them for a while until theyare willing to listen. Just like a hot cup oftea. You cannot drink it straight away buthave to wait until it hascooled down, until thetime is right.

This is wisdom. Ifyou try and force juniorsto listen to you they willjust rebel against you.Then it takes a lot longerto fix the situation andsometimes, you will evenbecome enemies. If thishappens, then that person has no wisdomto take care and teach the juniors.

If someone does not know howto look after their own children, juniorsor students, they should ask their seniorsfor help. We are always in the middle.We have people above us who can helpand advise, the same as we have thosebelow. This is a good society and if youcan balance everything, then you havegood communication. Never think thatyou are the King or Queen and that youare absolutely right. You must have anopen mind and listen to all differentadvice and balance your own thinking.Everybody makes mistakes, that is whywe need somebody above us. We needjuniors below us to reflect our mistakesback to us so we can learn more. If youare not good, they will not respect you.

We also have people equal to us.These are like our brothers and sisters,friends and colleagues. We should treatthem how we like to be treatedourselves.

They will help us see ourselvesand open up our hearts. As they areequal, you can share your thoughts andideas with them. Our friends are in thesame shoes and we can talk and sharemore with them than even with our

parents. So, a good friend will help andtell you the truth, this might upset youas it points out your mistakes. This is agood friend. If a friend only comes whenhe or she can share the benefits withyou, but is never there when you ask forhelp, then they are not good for you.The Chinese say, “Difficulties show thetrue friendship.” But if they are yourfriend, even though they are not a goodfriend, you should still help them. Insidewe should not have any enemies andremember one enemy will create twoand two will create three and three willcreate many.

Of course we should have ourprinciples. If a friend tells you to dosomething bad, you should be able tosay say "no", and even reason with themand bring them back to the right track.That is what friendship is all about, notjust going along with everything. It isimportant to have wisdom to see thingsclearly and help everybody.

Since I started teaching, I havebeen lucky enough to have so muchhappiness, friendship and a lot of goodhelp. I try to be a better communicator.The more I try to help others, the morepeople come forward. When we allcommunicate well, we all help eachother out. Also we have people aboveus who we respect and who help us. Wealso have people equal to us whom welearn from and who also help us. Thenwe have juniors who we need to takecare of and guide. We are the Dantian,the centre of the communication. We justneed to hold the balance of it. This isthe meaning of our lives, it is for everyone of us, not just for ourselves.

never step back, Michael Tse replied quitesimply by saying this was wrong. Heexplained that when you are defendingyourself you can never tell which wayyour opponent will move, so how canyou just move forwards. Also the bestway to avoid your opponent’s strengthis to step to the side or back. So if youonly go forwards, then you are fightingwithout any understanding and areputting yourself in great danger.

SeattleThe final leg of Sifu Tse tour was

to Seattle. Old and new students alikejoined together to learn to learn PlumBlossom Gong. This is one of the longerforms in the Dayan Qigong system, whichrelates to the Five Elements, five internalorgans and Five Acupuncture points.

The students were very taken bythe beautiful and sometimes unusualmovements and everyone found itchallenging and very enjoyable.

TaiwanUniversity

On 15 May, Jessica Blackwell wasinvited by Dr. Christie Chang to give aQigong lecture at Taiwan Da (University),which is the most prestigious universityin the country. All of the students werevery sincere and asked many very goodquestions, such as ‘Will practisingdifferent kinds of Qigong give you thesame results?’. Later, theyenthusiastically tried their skills at someHealthy Living Gong exercises and foundthat just because you are good at

studying does not mean you have thesame skill for balancing on one leg. Afew of the students were so keen thatthey stayed on to have tea and a mealand ask many more questions.Afterwards, for dessert, they got to tastethe bitter-sweet fruit of Horse Stance. Itseems already as if they are part of theTse Qigong Centre family.

“Difficultiesshow the true

friendship.”

Jessica Blackwell teaching at Taipei University


There are many things that blind us to what is really happening aroundus. Somtimes it is our emotions, sometimes it can be our preconceptions. Theimportant thing is to be able to take a step back and look at things moredispassionately, then you can see things clearly.

One Day’s Clear MoonDuring the Southern Song Dynasty

(1127-1279), there was a greatZen master called Shan Neng. One

of his most famous and least understoodquotes was, “Don’t let one day’s clearmoon obscure the eternal emptiness ofthe interminable past.” This enigmaticcommand can be interpreted in manydifferent ways but the one I find the mostuseful is, “Don’t lose the big picture in asmall moment of joy.” However, ShanNeng also said the reverse, “Don’t losea small moment of joy against the vastbackdrop of eternity.”

I remember two or three yearsago at Amaravati Buddhist Monastery asmall group of meditators were invitedto have tea with the abbot, AjahnSumedho (whose name I believe means“nothing left unattended to”). A woodenreclining chair was moved into a smallside room for him to use and for a fewmoments this sixty eight year old monkwas a delighted child as he playedaround with all the chair’s settings, up,down, slumping, flat on his back, grinningall the time. Then he stopped, had a sipof tea and proceeded to answer all ourquestions about life, the universe andeverything with great warmth, insightand clarity. He has the most infectiouslaugh, a kind of breathless chuckle, which

usually happens when he’s discussing thedarkest side of the human psyche.

As a very senior monk Sumedhowas invited to the funeral of theCambodian dictator and mass murdererPol Pot. He said to him it seemed like athinly disguised case of dancing aroundthe bonfire, chanting, “The beast isdead.” He felt it was up to him to saysomething reflective and Buddhistic,something compassionate about theoccasion. Long pause…”It took me a longtime to think of something.” He dissolvedinto laughter again.

For Ajahn Sumedho the big pictureand the small moments seem to be thesame thing. He’s in control and neverloses sight of both ends of the spectrum.Not like me. Picture this scene…

It’s a swelteringly hot and stuffysummer evening and it’s been that wayfor days. Everyone is brain-dead andexhausted and the Qigong class isflagging badly. I’m trying to help thestudents improve theirmovements and gettingfrustrated overwhat

One Day’s Clear Moon

“Don’t lose the bigpicture in a smallmoment of joy.”

“Don’t lose the bigpicture in a smallmoment of joy.”


Charts are a great way to be able to learn a formor set of exercises as you do not need to keepreferring back to a book each time you change to anew movement. This two sided chart has bothmovement and descriptions on one side and fullset of all the main channels in the body as well asthe acupoints used in Part I of Healthy Living Gong.The size of the chart is 841 x 594 mm (just over 33inches by 23 inches).UK £15.95 / Europe £17.45USA $19.95 / Worldwide £18.45

Healthy Living GongPart I Wall Chart

To order contact:UK/Europe: Tse Qigong Centre PO Box 59, Altrincham, WA15 8FS, UK.

Tel:0161 929 4485 Fax: 0161 929 4489 email: [email protected] USA/Canada: Tse Qigong Centre PO Box 15807, Honolulu HI 96830 USA

Tel: (808) 528 8501 Fax: (928) 441 6578 email [email protected]

Healthy Living GongPart I Wall ChartTwo ColoursLarge ScaleIncludes movements andAcupuncture Meridian charts!

I perceive as their lack of involvementand commitment. “What’s wrong withthem?” I thought, “What are they doinghere?” And then, “What am I doinghere?” Still, I did my best and we finishedthe session. At home that evening I stillcouldn’t let go of the frustration. Thensuddenly it hit me. What a self centred,insensit ive andungrateful idiot Iwas! Yes, thestudents were tiredand couldn’t takemuch on board.But where had theybeen that hot,c lau s t rophob i cevening. At homewatching TV?Having a coolshower and anearly night? In thepub? No, they’d come to class to seetheir Sifu and practise their Qigong. AndI was angry with them for notconcentrating enough!

I suppose we can all think ofsomeone in particular that is a constantdrain on our energy. They seem unableto get themselves together in any lastingway and we’re always waiting for the

next crisis. This sort of person can reallytry your patience sometimes. And yetwho’s to say that we weren’t like thatonce? Maybe we did the same to themin a previous life. Looking at the bigpicture, my tribulations are my way ofpaying for past mistakes. Karmic kickback– there’s a good catchphrase!

So, on this particular occasion, Ifelt ashamed of myself and determinednever to take that unreasonable attitudeagain. The students had done their bestand I couldn’t ask for more. I’d allowed asmall moment of frustration to blind meto the big picture. I’m not usually the sortof person that takes anything or anyonefor granted. As I said in a previous article

–it’s like being a tiger on ice, trying tobe very wary of each step. But that nightI’d allowed a loss of awareness. The tigerhad roared for no good reason. So, nowI’m determined to appreciate things andpeople even more. Life is like a big river,it moves people on, things change andwe never know if this is the last day, thelast chance to see a certain person orhave a certain experience. If you knew itwas the last chance to see a loved one,to see the stars, to say something fromyour heart, wouldn’t you treasure it? Ofcourse you would. It’s not until you’rebusy or have an injury and can’t trainthat you realise how many forms youusually practice. It’s not until someonedisappears that we realise how much weliked having them around.

So keep the big picture in mind,keep the ultimate goal in sight, whateveryour particular goal may be, know thateternity waits for all of us and that we’llmove through countless incarnations,changes, conditions. We’ll play manyroles on this slow tortuous journey towardsperfection – but on the journey pleaseappreciate and enjoy the little things inyour life, your friends, the weather, thatone day’s clear moon too!

by Jul ian Wilde. jules@qimagaz ine.com

“Things changeand we never knowif this is the last day,the last chance.”

Taijiquan –

Practising Taijiquan should be like brushing your teeth.You do it every morning when you wake up. Themore you practise the better you will get. This is verytrue. Studying Chinese skill is not aboutunderstanding, it is about repetition. There is a

Chinese saying, “familiarity brings skill.” This means when youdo something so many times you will eventually understandthe principle of the skill and reach a high level.

It is like driving home after work. After a few monthsyou get to know which way is thequickest way to go, which is slower,which is better when the traffic is badand which is better when the traffic isclear. This is because you have gonethat way so many times.

In the West when people learnsomething, they want to analyse allthe small details before they do it incase they miss something, don’tunderstand the meaning and neverreach a high level. If you really wantto be good at Taijiquan, you need torepeat the movements thousands oftimes. Then, after you have done this,you will understand the essence ofTaijiquan. After repeating themovements many times, you will cometo know which movements are easyand also understand the difficult partsof the movement. Then you will thinkabout what your teacher mentionedto you before and understand whatmistakes youare making.For example,are youmoving fromthe waist?Are youtense in anypart of yourbody? Areyou doingthe move-ments too quickly or too slowly?

However, if you have no teacher and just repeat manytimes, then you can have a big problem because you do notknow what is right and what is wrong. A teacher is someonewho points out what is right and wrong in us, so with a goodteacher and a lot of practise you can easily reach a high levelof skill.

Practising Taijiquan is also martial arts training. If youjust treat it as a health exercise, then you will only get half ofthe benefit. When you understand the principle of Taijiquan,

you can practise Tui Shou (Pushing Hands) with a partner, whichis very important.

During Tui Shou you will understand the meaning ofTaijiquan, understand the principle of Yin and Yang. In Taijiquanthere are no secret deadly skills. Nobody has one skill ortechnique that will defeat everybody. Only the changingbetween Yin and Yang is better than that of someone else. Ifyour understanding is better than your opponent, then youwill defeat him. It is like playing chess.

When practising Tui Shou, we have tounderstand how to follow the opponent andnot use force, until the situation is safe. If theyare strong, you let go, if they are weak, yougive them some strength. As long as you stillhave your balance, you have a chance.Therefore, the movement of the waist is veryimportant. It is like turning the steering wheelof your car to avoid an accident and changingdirection to go the way you want to go.

No matter how strong a person is, thereis always a weak area. For example, if someone uses the right hand, the left hand will beweak. If they use two hands to push, then itmeans their energy can be too far forwardand so we can step back, pull them and makethem lose their balance. If they attack high,then you can go low, if they go low, then youcan attack high. If they use strength, stay awayand relax, if they relax, then you can give themstrength. So you see, we must learn how tounderstand the opponent.

How do we do this? We need to practisemore Tui Shou. The more you do the betteryou will get. Everyone is different, so the more

hands you touch, the better your understandingof different people’s energy. Eventually, nomatter what happens, you will know how tochange and so survive.

Taijiquan skill is a martial art, and byunderstanding the martial art, we understandour health. If you can understand your health, itmeans you understand the principle of natureand if you understand the principle of nature,then you understand the meaning of life. This is

because life is practise. We practise our own lives everyday.We need to find out what we are good at, so we can enjoyand understand it

by Michael Tse

More

There is only one secret to reaching a high level of skill in Taijiquan, that is to do a lotof Taijiquan. For the movement to become natural, the principles have to sink down, deepinside you. Then you are not just doing Taijiquan, you become Taijiquan.

“You need to repeatthe movementsthousands of times.”

“You need to repeatthe movementsthousands of times.”


MorePractiseQi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004 page 13

Rubbing the Abdomen toAid the Stomach

This exercise is intended to mainly accelerate the bloodcirculation in the abdomen and stimulate the nervereceptors on the membranes of the stomach andintestines this is done by rubbing certain acupoints andaffected parts and massaging and pulling the internal

organs directly. This causes the nevous system to be stimulated,thus promoting the contraction of the smooth muscles in thestomach and intestines. At the same time, it also helps promotethe secretion of gastric juice, bile, pancreatic juice and smallintestinal juice, improves the digestion and absorption of foodby the stomach and intestines, and increases the liver’smetabolism of sugar, protein and fats.

It helps cure certain gastro-intestinal diseases, includinggastric ulcer, duodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, gastric andintestinal neurosis, inflammation if the colon and habitualconstipation. Starting form: Sit or lie on your back. If sitting,keep the upper part of the body upright, feet on the groundand apart to a little wider than shoulder width. If lying, bendthe knees slightly, feet slightly apart and heels on the bed. Inwinter, or when it is otherwise cold, lie on the bed with a quilton or sit under the quilt with the clothes on.

Methods:1. Rub Zhongwan: Put the cushions of the three middle

fingers of the right hand on the pit of the stomach and pressthe three middle fingers of the left hand on them. Exert forcewith both hands and press-rub gently around the Zhongwanpoint (the midpoint on the anterior midline of the upperabdomen between the joint of the ribs and the navel clockwise36 times. (Fig. 1)

2. Rub the navel: Massage gently the parts around thenavel 18 circles clockwise, with the cushions of the three middlefingers of the right hand and the left hand fingers on the topof the right, starting from the left side of the navel. Thenchange to the left hand, start from the right side of the naveland rub gently around the navel counter-clockwise 18 times.

3. Rub the Qihai and Guanyuan acupoints (Fig. 1): Turn-rub around with the cushions of the three middle fingers ofthe right hand and the left hand fingers on top of the righthand, starting from the Qihai acupoint downward to the lower-left, past the Guanyuan acupoint, upward to the upper-rightand back to Qihai. Massage this way 18 times. Then changeto the left hand and turn-rub gently in the opposite direction18 times.

4. Push the Ren channel (Fig.2) Push gently with thecushions of the three middle fingers of one hand (the threemiddle fingers of the other hand on top of them) from the pitof the stomach, along the midline of the abdomen down tothe joint of the pubic bones. Move the three middle fingers ofthe hands separately outward, and push–rub along the fossailiaca upward along the line under the nipples to the rib-bows,then toward the pit of the stomach with the three middle fingers

Rubbing the Abdomen toAid the Stomach

Fig 1 Fig 2

The abdomen rubbing exercise is also called the method ofcuring diseases and prolonging life. It is a common techniqueused for health preservation among the Chinese and has beenwidely practised since the Qing Dynasty.

page 14 Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004page 14 Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004

of one hand on top of the other three middle fingers. Thiscounts as one circle. Repeat this 36 times. Women do thisexercise by using the turn-rubbing method.

5. Rub the entire abdomen (Fig. 3) : keep the left handakimbo with the thumb in front (left hand in position whenlying), push and rub gently from the lower right of the lowerabdomen (the right fossa iliaca) with the right palm, past theright hypochondrium (above the breast line), the left

hypochondrium to the left side of the lower abdomen of theleft fossa iliaca, and finally back to the lower right of the lowerabdomen. This counts as a circle. Do this 18 times. And thenchange to the left palm and go along the same route in theopposite direction 18 times.

6. Point-press and rock: use these techniques to assistthe above-described techniques to achieve an even better result.

Point-Press:Use two or three middle fingers of one hand to press

the Zhongwan, Guanyuan and Qihai acupoints. Push the fingersdownward and lift them up slowly. This is one repetition. Presseach acupoint 5-7 times.

Push-press:Use the base of the palm to push and press the loins.

Before pressing, put the hands on the loins, fingertips aheadand the thumbs tightly against the lower edge of the rib-bows.When push-pressing inward and forward energetically with thepalm bases, the abdomen bulges, and when loosening thepalm bases, the abdomen withdraws to its original position.This is one repetition. Do this 9 times in a row. (Fig.4)

Rock:Place the hands to the knees and sit with the legs

crossed, rock the upper body clockwise 9 times and then counterclockwise 9 times, with the rocking range increased gradually.(Fig.5)

Number of times:Press-rub the abdomen two or three times a day, in

the morning and in the evening. The number of times foreach movement depends on your own physical condition. Whendisease occurs, greatly increase the number of times. If youhave abdominal pain, you can increase it to several dozen oreven several hundred times until the signs of the illness areeased or gone. In short, you should feel soothed, relaxed andfree from fatigue after rubbing and pressing.

Points for attention:a. Concentrate the mind, focus the attention and

breathe naturally.b. The movements should be gentle, slow and

continuous. Do not exert too much force in order to avoidinjuring the internal organs.

c. Sometimes, during or after rubbing the abdomen,you may have intestinal gas, break wind, feel warm in theintestines or feel hungry or want to urinate or have a bowelmovement. These are normal reactions, because the peristalsisof the stomach and intestines changes the physical functions.Do not worry about it.

d. Contra-indications: Women should not rub theirabdomen when they are pregnant. Patients suffering frommalignant tumours, gastric and intestinal perforation, internalorgan bleeding or peritonitis must not rub their abdomen. Also,do not rub the affected part of the abdominal wall if there isan acute infection. Women can rub their abdomen during themenstrual period, but they should be sure not to catch a cold.It is not good to rub the abdomen when you are too hungry ortoo full. If you want to urinate or have a bowel movement,please do so before rubbing

by Zeng Qingnan & Liu Daoqing

Fig 3

Fig 4

Fig 5

Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004 page 15Qi Magazine Jul/Aug/Sep 2004 page 15

Perhaps the most important thing inTaijiquan is actually applying theseprinciples throughout every

situation, and every technique.Over the years I have found

that the punch is one of the thingsthat most people have problemswith. It is also one of thetechniques that most people thinkis easiest - the technique thatthey know how to do. These twofactors are not unconnected.Thinking that you knowsomething is perhaps thebiggest single factor thatprevents development.

For most martial arts thepunch is one of the simplesttechniques. The fist movesalong a straight line frompoint a to point b. At point b- the point of impact - thebones of the hand and armform a straight line from theshoulder to the knuckles ofthe index and middle fingers.Simple mechanics - bones arestrong in compression - so theforce of the punch istransferred efficiently into thetarget. The major problemswith this simple technique is tomake sure the fist is clenched atthe point of impactand that the wrist isnot bent. If the fist isloose, the fingersmay get broken. Ifthe wrist is bent, itmay get broken orsprained.

H o w e v e r ,with Chen Taijiquan,the punching armdoes not alwayshave to be straight,it can actually bebent, though thealignment of the joint is still importantto avoid injury. This is becasuse of Taiji’suse of Fajing (releasing power). So the

fist can be very powerful at long distance,when the arm is straight, and also at

shorter distances, when the arm will bebent . Therefore the punching arm cansometimes be straight and sometimes it

can be bent, it depends on how far yourtarget it away from you.

The second principle that thisillustrates is understanding the limits ofthe circle. In Taijiquan understanding the

limits of the circle is fundamental toall posture. If the arm is too straightit is viewed as being overextendedand outside the circle. This is madeworse if the body is made to over-reach as well so that you finish thepunch out of balance.

Chen Taijiquan has its ownTaiji t’u (Taiji diagram) rather thanusing the more common Yin/Yangdiagram. This diagram has aninner circle that is empty, which isconnected to an outer circle by aspiral that divides the spacebetween the two circles into lightand dark, Yin and Yang.

The outer circle can beviewed as the maximum that youwould extend (not yourmaximum extension). If you gofurther, your balance may becompromised. The inner circlecan be viewed as the limits of the

Dantian’s movement. If theDantian moves outside of its circle,you will have lost your centre ofgravity and your posture will be outof balance. The inner and the outer

circles are connected, so if you over-reach, you will start to break yourposture and compromise your centreof gravity. Again this is a very commonmistake. Many students concentratetoomuch on the hand that is extending.The mind follows the hand and youend up out of balance - a very smallpull will completely unroot you. Acanny opponent will tempt you tooverextend by shifting just beyond thelimits of your circle. This is what ismeant by the Taiji expression ‘usingten ounces to move a thousandpounds’.

to be continued..by Glenn Gossling.

gle nn@qimagaz ine . com

Paint the Clown’s Nose Red(A speculation on Taijiquan’s punch)

One of the most profound aspects of Taijiquan is the way thatit works as a fully integrated system. There are a few key principlesand these are at the heart of every technique.

Paint the Clown’s Nose Red(A speculation on Taijiquan’s punch)

“Understanding thelimits of the circle isfundamental to allpostures.”

“Understanding thelimits of the circle isfundamental to allpostures.”



Soft Qigong is for healing and Hard Qigong is for power.However, they are both based on good health. Withoutgood health, they would not be good for your futurelife. So whether we are studying Soft or Hard Qigong,we must be healthy.

A lot of people will now know about soft Qigongexercises such as Balancing Gong, Healthy Living Gong andWild Goose Qigong etc. but how much do you know aboutHard Qigong (Yi Qigong)?

Many people like to study Hard Qigong because theyhave seen the very powerful and impressive Hard Qigongdemonstrations of people having bricks broken on the head,spears pressed against the throught slabs broken on their chestor even getting run over by large vehicles.

However impressive the demonstration, the first step isto make you healthy. To do this we need to make our organs:the heart, lungs, kidneys, liver and stomach healthy and strong.To make them strong we need to open up the channels andacupuncture points, because these are the paths and the doorsto the body that let the Qi flow and come in and out. Ofcourse, the main technique for taking in Qi is breathing.

We all need to breathe and if you cannot breathe, youwill die. This is because the air is the fundamental energy weneed to live. It means that the air is equal to Qi. Good airmeans good Qi. Qi is the key and it is the most importantelement for opening the channels and acupuncture points.It goes to the organs to strengthen them and to preventinjuries in the future. To increase the Qi that comesto the body we need a stronger way of breathing.

Breathing through the nose is notenough. We need more Qi to come tothe body. How do we do this? We needto breathe through the mouth, butthere is a special way to do thisbecause if you just breathethrough the mouth you willfeel tired, dizzy anduncomfortable.

Whilst I was giving a seminar at Venice University to agroup of psychology students, one of them asked, “Do webreathe through the nose or through the mouth.” My answerwas to always breathe through the nose. So I told them to allpinch their noses and just breathe through their mouths forone minute. Afterwards almost all of them felt uncomfortableand some even felt dizzy. This is because the lungs are notmade to take the air like that. They like to take the air inthrough the nose.

Then I asked them to breathe only through the noseand not to use their mouths at all. They all followed and didthis. Afterwards they all felt good and normal. However therewere a few students who found breathing through the nosevery difficult. This is because their lungs are weak. I told themthat they need to develop their lungs and try tob r e a t h e

Hard QigongBreathing

Hard Qigong is often kept a closely-guarded secret. As a result, it isshrouded in mystery and there is not a great deal of useful information to befound. To gain a good level of Hard Qigong, you must understand theessence of the exercises and this is quite simply all in the breathing.


through the nose as much as possible, otherwise they mightdevelop problems in the future, such as asthma.

The nose is for breathing and the mouth is for eatingand talking. We should follow this natural way.

For Hard Qigong, however, webreathe in through the mouth and outthrough the nose. Why is this? We dothis so that we can can take more airinto the body, however, there is aspecial way of inhaling, and aspecial way of exhalingthough the nose.

There is astory set in a villagein Old China. Thepeople there lived verypeacefully. Unfortunately, warsuddenly broke out and thefighting affected the village.Many people left to find safety.However, there was one fatherwho had a very young boy whowas only 3 or 4 years old. Thefather knew it would be verydangerous to carry his son andtry to escape. Moreover theyhad no food to eat, so hehad no choice but toleave the boy behindin the village. Ofcourse, this was thevery last thing hewanted to do, but hecould not think of anotherway. To keep his son safe from theenemies who were coming into thevillage he looked for some-where tohide him so they would not find him,and so that, if they left quickly, hecould come back to gethim. So he hid his sonat the bottom of a drywell and then left.

Seven dayspassed by until theenemy left the village.The father sadlyreturned to collect thedead body of his son.He knew that a youngboy with no food couldnot survive. When he got to the well he looked down and wasshocked to see his son still alive! He looked at him and hecould see him moving his mouth as if he was eating something,but there was no food in his mouth. The boy was eating theair. Beside him was a frog whose body was expanding andcontracting as if it was also eating the air. The father realisedthat his son was copying the frog’s way of breathing. Usually,no one could survive like this without food or water for sevendays. So the only reason he could survive was because hecopied the frog’s breathing. Since then, some people copythis way of breathing to survive in certain circumstances.

Today, when we practise Hard Qigong we use a similarmethod, which we call “Tun Qi” (Swallow Qi). This is a specialway of breathing in through the mouth as if we are eating theair and swallowing it down to the stomach. Apart from Tun Qi,we also have two other kinds of breathing called “Ding Qi”

and “Pun Qi”. All these methods use themouth to breathe in and the nose to

breathe out. Using these methods, themouth can take in more Qi and thatthen opens the channels and createsthe power.

Ding Qi sucks the air inthrough the mouth and then quicklyexhales through the nose and the Qi

is directed to the Baihui point which ison the top of the head.

Pun Qi uses the same inhalationwhere you suck in the air through the mouth.

Again you exhale quickly through thenose, but this time the Qi is directed

to the Dantian.This means Ding Qi

directs the Qi up to theBaihui point and Pun Qi directs

it down to the Dantian. This is toopen the Chong Mai (Channel). In Qigong,the Chong Mai is seen differently to theway it is seen by acupuncturists. In Qigong,we see the Chong Mai as straight andmore direct. It goes from the Baihui pointon the head to the Huiyin point betweenthe legs. It passes through the Dantian,which is around the navel area.

The Chong Mai is very importantin Hard Qigong training as it helps theQi to travel quickly from the head to

the Dantian and this makes theQi strong and fast.

Tun Qi is gentler thanthe others. We still suckthe Qi in through themouth. When you suckthe Qi it should be longand hard. Then youswallow it and breatheout through the nose,but this should be anatural release.

If we canmanage these breath-ing techniques, we

have the foundation of hard Qigong Breathing. However, inorder to do properly and not cause any injuries to yourself,you need to learn properly from a qualified teacher. Manypeople whom I have taught will get it wrong without continuedinstruction, and a lot do not even know how to do it.

Hard Qigong is a very important part of Qigong training.If we only do Soft Qigong, then we will only know how to relaxand be soft, we will never know about strength and power. Soyou miss the other side of the coin

by Michael Tse

“This is a special way ofbreathing as if we areeating the air.”


FOR HEALTH & LIFEYOUR CHINESE HOROSCOPE

Instructor Insight

YOUR CHINESE HOROSCOPEFOR HEALTH & LIFE

Your Chinese horoscope can help you learn more about your family, children, your personalityand your health. It can tell you which career or studies which would suit you most, even thenumbers, directions and colours which are favourable or not.

Most people have similar things they want to know from their horoscope, so Michael Tse isoffering an opportunity to ask five specific questions about your horoscope, for instance, whenyou will get married, how many children you should have. The fee for this would be £50 (GBpounds) and $75 (US dollars) and can be sent to the appropriate Tse Qigong Centre office.

To Place YourHoroscope Order :-1. Enclose address or email where your answers are to be sent.

If it is a gift for someone, please provide their name & address clearly.2. List the five questions. Try to be clear and concise in your questions.

3. Include Birth Details. Please spell month, do not use numeric. Order should be: Year, Month,Day, and if possible, the time of your birth and also the country in which you were born.

4. Forward payment by either cheque or credit card to appropriate Tse Qigong Centre office.£50/$75 USA

For UK/EuropeTse Qigong Centre

PO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS UK

Tel:0161 929 4485Fax: 0161 929 4489

email: [email protected]

For USA/Canada:Tse Qigong Centre

PO Box 15807,Honolulu HI 96830 USA

Tel: (808) 528 8501Fax:(928) 441 6578

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Emma HayesStratford Upon AvonEmma HayesStratford Upon AvonI find myself thinking too hard, pushing to find words to do justice to explain the depth

of gratefulness I feel to the people who have given me the gift of Qigong- fromGrandmaster Yang Meijun to Tai Sigong, Sigong Mike Baker, to my Sifu Kate Britton.

Then I remember that I am a Qigong student and have been taught to relax;don’t force things,let it flow, just move- and already things have become clearer- I’ve even managed to startwriting something.

This is my constant wonder at how Qigong has changed my life. The simplicity of changingmy attitude whilst doing a simple action like walking down the road- in a hurry, rather tense, ahead full of things that need to be done- to just remembering the principle of Qigong andrelaxing, feet on the pavement, eyes to the sky, move, flow. Now the world is already a betterplace and I can smile.

I began this Instructors Insight still in shock at being asked to write something. I decidedto reread all the Instructor Insights from my growing pile of precious Qi Magazines since I joinedthe Centre in 2000. I found myself surrounded by the faces and wise words of so many inspirational people. Some I have alreadyhad the honour of meeting, some I am yet to meet, but after reading about their Qigong journeys and feeling the connectionof Family that the Tse Qigong Centre has created, I feel deep gratitude for the path I have been given the chance to follow.

My class is in its infancy, just like my skill and knowledge, and I would like to thank my students for their good hearts andfor teaching me to learn with them. I hope we shall all grow into old trees.

Thank you Sifu for all this.

Emma is qualiifed to teachthe Dayan Qigong syllabus.

She can be contacted on01926 435 391


Chen Taijiquan Self Defence

Through Taijiquan Pushing Hands(Tui Shou)we begin to learn thebasics of distance, timing andweight transference and, lateron, footwork and angles. At first

our attack and defence is limited towarding off, rolling back, pushing andpulling. When we’re comfortable with thiswe can begin to use a few techniquesfrom the various forms. However, asuccessful technique relies a lot in anygiven situation: your own height andweight, the angle you’re attacked at,where your weight is at the time, thesize of your opponent etc. Not everytechnique will work all the time and therewill always be some techniques we’ll beable to pull off successfully on one personbut not on another. By pushing handswith as many people as possible, welearn our weaknesses and also what wecan make work for us most of the time.

When we watch our teacherperform some of the applications it alllooks so smooth and easy and yet whenwe try it all feels jagged and forced. Mostof the time it’s just that we need topractice and ensure we’re using theturning of the waist, transference of theweight etc. rather than muscle power.However, maybe that technique is justunsuitable for you. Some applicationswork better if you are tall and some ifyou are shorter than your opponent. Atechnique such as Wild Horse Parts ItsMane will work well if your footwork isgood, but you have to attack a tall personslightly differently from a short person.Your lead arm will thread through theircentre below the chin on a smaller personand through their centre under the armon a taller assailant.

The forms contain kicks andpunches too and these are not usually

practiced in most push hands sessions. Itis the locks we tend to concentrate on andthis is reasonable as it is both safe anduser-friendly for beginners. We should notget stuck in this stage though, we needto practice blocking and striking andeventually kicking. Eventually our pushhands sessions will become freer andmore wide ranging in terms of the numberof form-based techniques being utilised.

The examples of self defenceshown below are those which thedefender (Elaine Tattersall) could makework for her against the attacker (BobBulmer). I’m sure there are many morewe could have illustrated but didn’t thinkof at the time and many we could havemade look good but which would not havebeen a hundred per cent workable forElaine. My thanks to Bob and Elaine fortheir time and for the enthusiasm whichthey brought to the project.

Bob grabs Elaine in Fig. 1.She steps back to give herself morespace and raises her hand up toBob’s face for leverage in fig.2. Using“Step back with whirling arms” shetransfers her weight backwards, pullsBob’s arm forward andsimultaneously pushes his chin backin Fig.3.

Fig 4 Fig 5 Fig 6

Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3

Chen Taijiquan Self DefenceTaijiquan is a martial art with a very long history. Each movement of

the form cantains some self defence application. So how is it used in reality?

Bob gets hold of Elaine’swrist in Fig.4. Using “Flash theBack” from the 19 Step form, shesteps and transfers her weight backto straighten Bob’s arm in Fig.5. InFig. 6 she applies a downwardpressure against his elbow joint.


In Fig. 7 Bob grabs Elaine’s shirt. She traps his hand with hers in Fig. 8 and twines her armoutside and over his elbow in Fig. 8. Using “Three Times Changing Palm” she applies pressure to hishead in Fig. 9.

It is interesting that all the abovetechniques use opposing forces to worksuccessfully. Elaine simultaneously pushesand pulls or traps one limb while applyinga forward pressure, circling up or downwith the other. She also found that if shecould control Bob’s head she could dictatethe movement of the rest of his body. If

Fig 7 Fig 8 Fig 9

their roles of assailant and attacker werereversed, Bob’s techniques wouldprobably be similar, but his superiorweight and arm length would mean hewould not have to step back so far ortransfer his weight as much. When theypush hands together Bob’s sensitivity andstrength are matched by Elaine’s speed

and evasive footwork. We all have variousoptions to use in Tui Shou, so regularpractice with various partners of all shapesand sizes will help us find our strengthsand weaknesses, our habitual responsestoo, which may work with some partnersand not with others. There is nosubstitute for just getting on with it!

by Jul ian Wilde.

BOOK REVIEWBOOK REVIEWChen Shi Taijiquan 1 & 2

Chen Style Taijiquan is the oldest form of Taijiquan. The current head of theChen family is Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang and as such he is a highly sortafter teacher. In the past few years Chen Taijiquan has grown rapidly in

popularity and to help people’s thirst for knowledge, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowanghas, over the last few years, travelled many times around the world teachingseminars and courses.

To help students further, Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang has produced twonew books. Although only available in Chinese, the books contain hundreds ofphotos detailing many of the Chen Taijiquan forms:

Book 1 contains Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang performing the 19 StepShort Form and Old Frame (Laojia).

Book 2 contains Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang performing the 38 StepShort Form, New Frame (Xinjia), it also feature Master Wang Xiang preformingthe Chen Taiji Sword, Zhu Tiancai performing the Chen Broadsword and MasterChen Xiaoxing demonstrating Pushing Hands.

These books are quite unique as they feature not only Grandmaster ChenXiaowang, but also many of the other leading 19th Generation masters. Amust buy for all Chen Taijiquan enthusiasts.

Prices UK £15.95 / Europe £17.45 / USA $19.95 / Worldwide £18.45


PlumBlossomYijingPrediction

PlumBlossomYijingPrediction

Part 2


After many years of studying, Master Shao Kang Jie reacheda very deep and profound level of understanding. Heunderstood that everything in the universe had a system

that was based on one formula or one theory.Everything in the universe is changing and underthis system everything in the universe separatesfrom one to many things and then unites againto become one. So, everything starts from one,separates into many and in the end becomesone again. Hot temperatures will eventuallybecome cold and cold will eventually become hot.Everything is going round in a cycle. Spring turnsto summer, summer changes to autumn, autumnbecomes winter and winter becomes spring thisis another cycle; birth, old age, sickness and deathis another natural cycle. Everything has its ownroutine, and whenever something changes, thereis always a sign that it will happen before itchanges. If we notice that sign, we can use it topredict the future and know what will happennext.

So Master Shao began to use the Yijingbook the old man left for him. He used andfollowed it and found some amazing results.

Once he waswatching two birdsfighting on a branchof a plum blossomtree. Suddenly bothfell to the ground.This was very unusualand so Master Shaomade a Yijing Gua.Gua means “sit-uation”. The Yijinghas 64 Gua andthese are based onthe Bagua. Ba meanseight and so Bagua means 8 situations. Sixty-four Gua comesfrom 8x8 (we will explain more about the Gua in future articles,or you can refer back to old issues of Qi Magazine).

In Master Shao’s method of Yijing prediction, if there isnothing special happening, you do not make a Gua. You donot make predictions if there is no reason to do so. Aseverything has a cycle, things usually happen in the sameway. If something out of the ordinary happens, then it meansthat something different is going to happen. So in a normalsituation, there is no need to make a Gua. Also, if we haveno reason, we should not make a Gua, just let things happennormally.

From the Gua Master Shao made, he could tell that inthe same garden, a young lady would try and break a branch

off the plum blossom tree. Someone would notice this andshout, “Thief!”. This would scare her and cause her to fall andinjure her leg.

The nextday in theevening, thisexact thinghappened, justas he hadpredicted. This iswhy peoplecalled MasterShao’s method,“Plum BlossomYijing NumberMethod”.

There aremany storiesabout MasterShao. Once, hesaw a tree withvery beautifulflowers on it.From this heknew that when

the flowers fell to theground a horse would runover and damage them.

Another time, afterlooking at the decorationsof Xi Lin Temple and hecould tell that there was avery bad woman affectingthe people in the temple.

On anotheroccasion, he saw an oldman get a fish bonecaught in his throat and he

knew that in five days time the old man would pass away.There are a lot more stories of Master Shao’s predictions.

This is actually a science, but unlike Western science, ithas a spiritual side. Today, Western science is still a long waybehind for things like Qi, acupuncture, Yin and Yang, FengShui, Hard Qigong and Martial Arts.

The West is very good for materials and technology, butfor human skill, human relationship and the balance of nature,it is still a long way behind. Eventually, all these artificialmaterials and modern technology will damage the wholebalance of nature, and then we will all suffer from new diseasesand problems, so watch out!

To be continued – learn how to apply the Plum Blossom YijingNumber Method and understand the principle of nature.

by Michael Tse

Continuing our story about Yijing master, Shao Kang Jie.Having been given the old man’s Yijing book, Master Shao finds thathe is able to make many very accurate predictions.

“If there is nothingspecial happening, youdo not make a Gua.”

“If there is nothingspecial happening, youdo not make a Gua.”


One Christmas when I was about seven years old, thebest present I received that year was from mygrandmother: it was a clockwork motorboat. I still

remember it vividly to this day. It was sky blue in colour andwas constructed of two pieces of moulded metal fitted togetherto create a hull and an upper deck and cabin. The only featuresthe boat really had was a little movable rudder to steer it byand a little red bung on top of the cabin where the key went into wind it up. Although it was plain and simple in design, to aseven year old boy it was the QE II. Now, having such a brilliantvessel there was only one thing left to do: take it for a sail. Somy brother, who had also received a similar boat to mine andwas just as eager as me to take it for a try. I started to get towork on my dad to persuade him gently with persistentpleading and whining until eventually, under relentlessharassment and bombardment on two fronts, he caved in andpromised that he would take us to the local park after dinner.

So that afternoon, we all set off for the park and thegrand launch. When we got to the side of the pool my dadwound up the boats and set the rudders and then placed theminto the water. Off theyset, with loud whirringnoises across the pool,and as they went, theyslowly turned andstarted to curve backin towards the side ofthe pool. On seeingwhere my boat wasdue to come back in,I ran to meet it.When the boattouched the side Iknelt down andpicked it up, turnedit around andplaced it back intothe water and off itset. At the sametime as I let go ofthe boat, my dadshouted, “Don’t putit back in yet, itneeds winding up!”So I reached out toretrieve my boat,but my boat wasmoving away frommy reach, so Ireached out a little bitmore, but still the boatwas eluding my grasp, so I stretched just a little further, unawarethat the extra little stretch was already beyond me. Followingthe laws of gravity, there was only one place left for me to go:for a headlong freezing cold dive into the boating pool. I hadended up in the pool, because I had tried to reach out for

something that was eluding me. I had overreached andcompromised myself because I had only one aim in mind, toget my hands on the boat. And in that single-minded act I wasunaware of not only my own position and movement, but alsothat of the boat.

Sometimes when you practice Chi Sau with a partner,you can easily find yourself heading for a big splash. This isbecause when you attack your opponent, you have only onethought in mind, to reach the target. This is like reaching outfor the boat, you strike or reach out towards your partner, butin this singule-minded act, you are not aware of either yourmovement or that of your opponent’s and, therefore you canoverreach or even underreach your attack and put yourself ina compromising position.

If you are attacking your opponent in such a manner,your commitment to the target is being made too early. TheWing Chun way of striking is to only use power and strengthwhen it contacts its objective, and up to this point it is relaxedand non-committal. If your strike is like a bullet being firedfrom a gun, this is not the Wing Chun way. When a bullet isfired from a gun, it has a set trajectory, the line of sight ismade by the firer and when the trigger is pulled, the bulletcan not change its commitment to the target and will traveltowards, and will hit it depending on the accuracy of the

marksman. Although the principle of WingChun’s strikes are not the same as that of abullet being fired from a gun, a similarity thatthe marksman and the Wing Chun practitionershare is distance. Before a marksman pullsthe trigger, he must know his range, thedistance between him and his intended quarry.If he misjudges this distance, the bullet willbe spent, the quarry will be alerted and,depending on what sort of target he wasshooting at, give it a chance to run away oreven shoot back. Either way, whethermarksman or Wing Chun practitioner, you havenot correctly gauged the situation and now

they are gunning for you. Any element ofsurprise or edge you might have had has now

evaporated. In order to improve your perception of distance inWing Chun, you practice Chi Sau. This training technique willhelp you to understand the space that exists between you andyour partner. It will not only help you to gauge whether or notyou can reach them but also whether they can touch you. If

When things are just out of reach we try our best to get them. The problem is, weonly realise they are out of reach once we have failed and suffer the consequences. Wetherefore need to learn to recognise when we are reaching that little bit too far.

“There was onlyone place left forme to go;headlong into theboating pool.”

Falling InFalling In


you do not have a person to practise with, an exercise you cando to practice your perception of distance is to slowly walktowards a wall with your hands down by your side and stopwhen you think you can touch the wall with the tips of yourfingers with an extended arm. Reach out slowly. How accurateis your judgement? Too far away or too close? Step back fromthe wall and repeat the exercise using your palm or fist; practicethis exercise slowly at first, because if you get the distancewrong you might hurt your hand.

Sticking with the theme of ballistics, the Wing Chunstrike or attack would more likely be akin to that of a heatseeking missile. These types of projectiles are generally firedfrom fast moving jet fighter planes, usually at other fast movingobjects, such as another jet. When such a missile is fired, it isnot restricted to line of sight targeting, this is because itsintended target is turning and weaving at a very high speedand is unlikely to have remained in the original strike zone. Soinstead, it locks onto the heat signature or the radar of itsselected objective, enabling it to track and match the targetmove for move; and the only chance the pilot of the otherplane has is his seat-of-the-pants flying manoeuvres, like seenon the film starring Tom Cruise, Top Gun.

When you attack in Chi Sau, it is not a good idea tocommit all your force into one straight blow. Although youropponent may not be able to move as fast as a fighter jet,they will more than likely detect your movement and moveaccordingly. If they step back, you will not reach them, and ifthey turn, your strike will go past them. Either way you haveoverreached and compromised yourself. In order to get through

to your opponent you need to make an attack which is just aschangeable in direction as a heat-seeking missile. If you striketowards your opponent, and you feel them move, then do notpursue your original line of attack, otherwise you are like aspeeding bullet and you will miss. Instead, follow theirmovement or switch your attack to your other hand. You cantry probing with one hand, to see how your partner reacts,e.g. pushing forwards with one hand and testing their response.For example, if you try to Chi Sau with a partner and you bothhave a hand on the inside and a hand on the outside, in otherwords, you have a Tan to their Fook and a Fook to their Bong,and when the positions rotate and the hands are reversed,push with Bong Sau on their Fook Sau. If they push back, youstop pushing and change your challenge to your Fook and tryto strike forwards from the outside. Remember that the strikingin Wing Chun is relaxed and does not use its power until itreaches its destination. So when you strike forwards and don’tmanage to get through because they react to your attack,maybe with a Bong Sau, you will be able to transfer your lineof attack back to your inside hand and persue endlesspossibilities from here.

Over-reaching or under-reaching could be summed upin several well-known phrases or proverbs such as: don’t putall your eggs in one basket; look before you leap; don’t go outon a limb; or act with haste and repent at leisure. These phrasestell a tale of caution, but being cautious means you can testthe water and find your present limitations without gettingsoaked to the skin

by Martin Gale. martin.gale@qimagaz ine.com

Hot & SpicyCucumber

1 cucumber1 red chilli2 cloves garlic1 tsp salt1 ½ tsp sugar1 tsp sesame oil

1. Rub some salt on the cucumber skin andleave for ten minutes. Then wash the cucumber andcut into sticks. Add a little bit of the salt to the cut cucumber and leave for half an hour. Pour anyexcess liquid away.

2. Remove seeds from chilli and cut diagonally. Chop garlic into fine pieces.3. Add seasonings, including sesame oil and sugar, to cucumber and stir. Refrigerate until ready to

serve. Best served at room temperature with a dash more sesame oil added.


A Song ofAdvice forour Lives





Over 400 years ago, during the Ming Dynasty, there was afamous Buddhist monk called Han Shan who wrote this Buddhistpoem. Today many people who know it by heart and they use itto help them in their everyday lives.

Red dust and white waves both are boundless,Patience and gentleness are a good prescription.

Wherever we go, follow the flow or fate to spend the time,Follow the rules throughout the whole of our lives.

Do not put ourselves up. Be careful when treating others and never complain,Whatever you do, be patient when doing things and communicating withothers.

The string on a strong bow will always break first,Every time we see the steel cleaver, we will be injured.

Trouble comes because we like to gossip,Making big mistakes, most likely we have a bad heart.

We do not need to fight about who is right or wrong,There is no need to compare who is better than the other.

Everything in the world has a lot of mistakes,False bodies will never exist forever.

Taking some disadvantage never has any problems,Let go three Fen there is no trouble.

Spring time will see green willows,Autumn time we see the chrysanthemums turn yellow again.

Luxury is only a dream in the middle of the night,Money and power are like snow in the 9th month.

Birth, old age, illness, death, who can replace us?Sour, sweet, bitter and spicy, we taste all of them.

People use all kinds of tricks. They think they are clever,Heaven is relaxed and has its own idea.

Pretending, being false, manipulating, greed and hatred, all kinds of badbehaviour will fall to hell,Fair and honest are in heaven.

Musk has a strong fragrance, so it will die early,Silkworms give a lot of silk and this makes them die early.

A prescription of a calm mind and a balanced stomach,Two kinds of harmonising energy and two ways of taking soup.



In our lives we try thousands of strategies,During our lives we try so many different ways to make our relationships, work andlives successful, so we can have more money and fame.

After death both hands are empty,Sadness and happiness, separation and joining together happen everyday.

Longevity and short life - work hard everyday,Do not fight to be number one.

A life of a hundred years is an opera, when the gong and drum stop playing,Do you not know where the home village is?


The first line talks about “Red dust and white waves”and this means everything in the world. Red dust alsorelates to the earth and white waves refer to waterand this means the environment we live in. A lot ofthings happen and there are good and bad times in

our lives. So nothing is fixed as everything always comes andgoes.

The poem then says that patience and gentleness arealways the best way to deal with problems. When you go tosee a doctor he will give you a prescription which says whatmedicine you need. So our problems are like an illness andthe prescription is patience and gentleness.

The next two lines talk about the rules we should havefor our lives. We should follow the flow and fate of our livesand also follow the rules, which are moral values. We shouldnot take advantage of others during our lives.

The poem then goes on to say that we should not try topush our fame and wishes on others by telling them what wewant and what we wish for. Also, whenever we deal with otherpeople, we should always be sincere, careful and patient. Weshould not complain and moan about it as this is not a goodway to behave.

Be patient when working and communicating with otherpeople. When things go wrong try to talk to each other, asthere is always a solution. If we are tough with other people,in the end it will damage us. So the strong bow meanssomething that is tough and the string will always break firston a strong bow.

The ninth line of the poem says, if we see the sharpcleaver, knife or sword, we will be cut and injured very easily.So weapons will only damage us in the end. The same can besaid about fighting and arguing with other people.

If we like to gossip about other people, then we willonly make trouble for ourselves and make enemies of otherpeople. This is not very good. We should not make enemies ofpeople and so we should be careful of what we say. So if wecannot say anything nice, then it is better to keep quiet. Themore bad things we say about others, the more trouble willcome back to us.

If we make a lot of big mistakes, then it is because wehave a bad heart and, at that moment, this unbalances ourthinking. So if your mind is not clear you can easily do thewrong thing. When we make our hearts good, automaticallyour minds will be calm and clear, and then you will always dothe right thing and you will not make many big mistakes.

We do not need to argue and fight about whether thingsare right or wrong. If you spend too much time on this, it willcause more problems. Wise people will know later on. Also wedo not need to compare whether something is better thansomething else, or whether someone is better than someoneelse. Once we talk about these things we will wind everythingup and spend too much time on gossiping and we will loseourselves.

The fourteenth line says that basically nothing is perfect.Everything we see or hear, eventhose things that have happenedin the past and those things thatwill happen in the future will havea lot of mistakes. So there is noneed to fight about that.

In Buddhism, our bodiesare not real, they are illusions andwe just imagine that they exist. Sothe next line is saying, our bodiesdo not exist forever and thismeans no one lives forever.

Whenever we do things that put us at a disadvantage,we will never have a problem. If we can let go, whatever thedisadvantage is, it might end up becoming an advantage.This is the principle of “Whatever goes around comes around.”So for example, if you go out of your way to help someone,then in the future some else will help you even more.

Line 17 mentions a fen, which is a Chinesemeasurement. A cun is a Chinese inch and there are 10 fen inone cun. So this line means, if you let go a little bit it willnever cause you any trouble, so why do we need to fight overevery small thing?

“We do not needto argue and

fight whetherthings are right

or wrong.”

“We do not needto argue and

fight whetherthings are right

or wrong.”


The next two lines mean, time passes very quickly. Thespring comes and the willows are very green and then it isautumn and the Chrysanthemumsturn yellow. So timepasses very quicklyand everythingcomes back again,good or bad. It ishard to tell which iswhich.

L i n e stwenty andt w e n t y - o n eadvise us howwe should treatmoney andwealth. Richesand fame areluxuries. These donot last foreverand so are like adream. When wedie, they will not gowith us. In certainparts of China, snowwill fall in October. Inthe Chinesecalendar October isthe ninth month. Sothe snow falls andwill not last long. Soagain, money andwealth comes andgoes and will notstay long.

The poemthen goes on totell us thateveryone has togo throughcertain things.One is the cycleof birth, old age,illness and death.No one can takeyour place, so it doesnot matter whether you are richor poor, famous or ordinary: everyone is equal. Likewise, lifeis sour, sweet, bitter and spicy. Which means we experience allkinds of times, good and bad, easy and difficult. We have togo through these by ourselves; no one can take our place andgo through them instead of us.

The next lines tell us that nature will solve everything.People try to be clever and trick other people to benefitthemselves. They think they are smart and clever, but heaven(nature) already knows the way to take care of everything.Heaven does not need to hurry and be aggressive to punishpeople. It has its own way to even everything up.

The next line talks about what will happen if we are notgood. All kinds of bad behaviour like hatred, greed, beingfalse and manipulative are immoral things and will lead us tohell. However, hell has many meanings. One meaning is a

place you go after you die to suffer for your wrong-doings.Another meaning can be that you will suffer in your life. All

the bad things you do to others will damage your heartand then you will suffer

in your life, like beingin hell.

On theother hand, if you

are fair toeverything andeveryone, if you

can treat othershow you like to betreated, aresincere andhonest and donot play gameswith people,then people willlike you and soyour heart will betotally happy.You will have nodoubts aboutyour deeds andyour mind will behappy. That is afeeling of beingin heaven(happy/content).You might feelguilty for beinghappier thanthe rest of us,but that isbecause you

are a goodperson and it is notyour fault.

A musk isa small animala bit like a deerbut it has noantlers. It re-

leases a verystrong fragrance which

many people like. So many hunters kill them. The poem issaying that sometimes we have things that we think are betterthan others, but this causes jealousy. In the end, good luckbecomes bad luck. This is also true for the silk worms thatmake a lot of silk so people make beautiful clothes out of it.When the worms have made enough silk, the farmer will putthem into hot water to kill them so he can easily take the silkout. This is sad for the silk worms and it is all because theymake the silk.

Chinese people also say, “Beautiful women will not havea long life.” In the past, powerful men who saw a beautiful girlwanted them so much they would kidnap them, and this couldeven start a war between two countries. So, beauty was notalways a good sign.

The 30th line talks about the prescription for illness beinga calm mind. A balanced stomach is the prescription for a way


of dealing with troubles. When we have troubles, wemust calm the mind and not get too excited. Balancingour stomachs means to sink the Qi the to Dantianand relax, no matter what happens. When we cando this, we will find the way to handle our troubles.

Another prescription for illness is taking herbs.In the Ming Dynasty there was no Western medicine.Plants were dried and these were (and still are)used in Chinese medicine. The herbs are put intoa pot and boiled in water to take out their essence,which they release into the hot water, making akind of soup. The patient would then drink thissoup to help them recover. As it is a soup, thepatient who could be very ill could easily digestit. These herbal soups are the way Chinesemedicine is used to balance the body.

The kind of energy that needs to beharmonised is when two people have adisagreement. If people can talk through theproblem they will solve it. This is the other “soup”(medicine) for solving our problems.

The next two lines tell us that it is pointlessto try so many different ways (strategies) to makeour relationships, work and lives successful, so wecan have more money and fame. This is because

we are empty when we die, which means we cannot takeanything with us. Everybody is the same. So no matter howhard we try to get money, fame and power, or other thingswe think are important, nothing is going with us.

Sadness and happiness are always together, becauseone will come behind the other. Too much happiness willthen turn to sadness. It is the same with too much sadness,which will turn to happiness. People separate and jointogether with others all the time. If you are with someonetoo much, you will eventually separate, which can be formany reasons. Basically, sadness and happiness are thesame. Separation and joining together are the same aswell. Then we should not be too happy or too unhappyabout things. So, the poem is telling us that we should nottake things to extremes.

No matter how hard we work everyday, whether wehave longevity or die young, one day things come to anend. For their entire lives, everyone fights to be the best.What for? We do not need to fight for this. Even if we liveto be 100 years old, our life is just like a drama or play.

In tradit ionalChinese opera, actorsperform on stage andmusicians play traditionalinstruments. The actorswould often sing andperform certain martialarts and the most commoninstruments were the gongand drum. The opera startswith music and finisheswhen the music stopsplaying. This means our lifeends – we die.

So the poem is nowtalking about the meaning

of your life. Life is one big opera, but, no matter how long youlive, it will be over one day. The opera will be finished and thenwe need to go home. So this means when we die, we shouldknow where we belong. Whatever we have done in our lives willdetermine where we belong and what is the meaning of life?

I have read this poem many times and can remember itoff by heart without looking at it.

Fighting, failure, winning, being the best, are all desiresthat we have. We will all die and no matter if we live a long lifeor die young, the meaning of life is more important. Enjoy yourlife, but do something meaningful and good for society, otherpeople or nature. Do not fight over small things or get upset withpeople or relatives you have known for a long time. It is notworth it. When the opera is over and we look back at our lives weshould be happy with what we have done. Fame and moneydoes not mean you will win more respect from others, particularlyafter we have gone and are just part of history. Whatever wehave now we cannot take with us, but whatever we have donewill be counted and left behind and traced back to us – this is ourhome village

by Michael Tse

“No matter how hard we workeveryday, whether we havelongevity or die young, one daythings come to an end.”

“No matter how hard we workeveryday, whether we havelongevity or die young, one daythings come to an end.”


When we start to learn a new skill,such as Taijiquan, we look at itfrom a very shallow viewpoint,

because, of course, we start from thebasis of having no knowledge of thesubject. When learning a Taijiquan ‘form’or choreographed sequence, it iscommon for students to becomeobsessed with every last detail, wantingto get the moves just right. This isprobably because, in the West,o u reducation system en-courages us to believe thereis only one correct answer,or one correct way of doingthings. However, if we applythis to learning Taijiquan, weare completely missing thepoint, and what is more,we are approaching thelearning process back tofront.

When an artist starts a painting,he first puts a colour wash on the canvas.He will then put on large blocks of colourto represent different areas of the picturesuch as sky and landscape. Gradually,layer by layer, the picture is built up, andonly at the end is the fine detail applied.After all, you cannot paint the leaves ona tree until you have painted the treeitself.

We can use the same approachfor learning Taijiquan. First, we shouldlook at how the movements flow from

one to another and try to imitate this.Once you have the flow, you can thenthink about the energy. Different stylesof Taijiquan have different energy, andit is important to differentiate betweenthese, and not bring the energy of onestyle into another. At this stage, formsare only a mechanism for practisingtechniques and posture,so if we get the fine

detail of themovement wrong, it doesnot matter. It only matters thatwhichever way we move, we follow theprinciples, and think about whether thepostures are basically correct.

If your hand position is correctedby your Sifu in a particular posture, it isnot because there is only one correctplace to put your hand, but because inholding it thus it is throwing out the stanceas a whole. Holding a hand too high,for example, may make you lift your

shoulder under your ear. Someone elsemay be able to hold their hand there,but keep their shoulder relaxed. So, donot try to remember where your hand ispositioned, but feel how relaxed yourshoulder is or how good the posture as a

whole feels. The precise positionof your hand will change, in any

case, as your skill,understanding and degree of

relaxation develop.Often students go

to a seminar and findthe moves are slightlydifferent from thosethey have learned inclass. It is importantto remember that notwo teachers will dothe movements exactly

the samebecause their

bodies arep r o p o r t i o n e ddifferently, but alsobecause eachteacher willemphasise differentaspects of the skill.Both will be equallyvalid parts of the whole,but there is far too much

detail for anyone tograsp all at once. You

build it up layer by layer asthe years pass. You will find

also, that no teacher willcontinue to do each movement in

the same way as time passes. As theteacher develops, so will the way theymove.

Look for the big picture first,before you start to colour in the detail.If you concentrate on detail first, you willmiss the flow, and your forms will alwaysbe stiff and awkward

by Kate Britton.kat eb@qimagaz ine . com

How many times have you put your pen or your key down in front of youand then you cannot find them? You swear blindly that you left them “Justhere”. Its only when you take a moment to calm yourself that you find them -usually just where you were looking!

Relax your Mind toImprove Your Taijiquan

Relax your Mind toImprove Your Taijiquan

“Relax yourMind to ImproveYour Taijiquan.”

“Relax yourMind to ImproveYour Taijiquan.”


On cold mornings the street outsidethe university gate was full of steambillowing from vats of boiling water

used to heat noodles and steam bao zi(a kind of filled bun) in the smallroadside stalls. My favourite start to theday was something called ‘re gan mien’(hot dry noodles), a unique Wuhanesebreakfast dish that consisted of hotnoodles, sesame paste mixed with soy,raw garlic, an assortment of pickledvegetables and, last but not least, chilli;enough to get anyone off to a flying start.

Of course, when we first arrivedin Wuhan, we didn’t know where to go,what to eat or even how to order it. Allwe did know was that there was nocroissant or muesli for miles. In a newcity and culture it takes a while to findsomething you like to eat and somewhereyou feel comfortable eating it.

The first time we walked down thisstreet we stopped at the stall of a smilingcouple and were given a bowl of re ganmien. As we paid and left we noticedthat the stall holder next door had begun

a heated exchange with the couple. Ididn’t like the look of him, he wasthickset, had a badly pockmarked face

and, apparently, an anger issue. Wemade ourselves scarce.

A couple of days later we arrivedat the same couple’s stall for breakfastbut they had run out of noodles. The scaryman next door beckoned us to his stall.He had noodles left, so we went. Wewere surprised, on leaving, to find thathe had charged us half the price of hisneighbours. Was he trying to steal customfrom next door? Well, to cut a long storyshort, it turned out that the first couplehad been shamelessly overcharging us.

Over the year, we went to thisman’s small restaurant a lot. He nevercheated us and, as he got to know us,would often insist on giving us small treats

and discounts. In contrast to my initialjudgement, he was a very kind man. Hewas also a very hard worker. He would

arrive at 5.30 every morning, set up therestaurant which he mostly ran with helpfrom his daughter, who had Down’ssyndrome, and a cousin who did thecooking. Lunch times were always frantic,and his daughter would often be givena hard time by clients (the Wuhaneseare not known for their polite restraint).On quieter afternoons he could often beseen sitting bolt upright in his chair, fastasleep. Usually he would shut up shopsometime between midnight and 1am.

Sometimes other members of hisfamily would come and help out, andwe soon realised that several familiesdepended on the income from this smallrestaurant. As head of the family he was

under enormous pressure. On oneoccasion I evenheard some of the otherstall holders giving him a hard timefor not charging the foreigners (us)more than the other diners. This madeus appreciate his decency towards useven more.

One day, a couple of monthsbefore we left, we went for our usualbreakfast and found the road emptyof stalls. It turned out that they had allbeen illegal and, since this part of thecity was now due for ‘beautification’,the police had come and cleared up.We never saw him again, but I’m surehe’s started up a stall somewhere new.His kindness to us was perhaps a smallthing but when you are a stranger in anew place, where even buyingbreakfast isn’t straight forward, a small

kindness goes a long wayby Peter Andersen.

pe tera@qimagaz ine .c om

Kindness for BreakfastKindness for Breakfast

Often we go off our first impressions, but sometimes we can getthings completely wrong. You should always give people a chance toprove you wrong.

“Other store holders givinghim a hard time for notcharging the foreigners

more.”

“Other store holders givinghim a hard time for notcharging the foreigners

more.”


Murder on the Orient ExpressMurder on the Orient ExpressSometimes, I still forget and use my

Western thinking in China and itusually benefits me little besides

frustration and impatience.If you can follow the local

customs, even to eating and drinking andespecially thinking, then you will managemuch more smoothly. My mistake on thisday was asking the advice of the localsand then doing just the opposite to whatthey had advised.

Friday had arrived and it was timefor me to move on to my next destination.It was only 60 kilometres away and I readin my trusty travel guide that it was only30 minutes by train, but they still advisedtaking the bus. The locals advised takingthe bus, my friend advised taking thebus, but that 30 minutes was justtoo much of a tempter and I didnot want to get snarled up ona bus in a Friday afternoontraffic jam.

Also, I will admit toyou all that I have a slightfear of Chinese buses.Unless you can readChinese, you reallycannot be sure about thedestination. Aside fromthis, there is abewildering array ofbuses from which to flagdown. There are the citybuses that seem to adhere,Chinese style, to a fixedroute and timetable of sorts.There are tour buses that areair conditioned and have roomfor luggage and passengers.Then there are the renegademini-buses that seemingly cango any place and pick you upanywhere. Depending on thecity, some will not even moveuntil they have enoughpassengers going that way inorder to maximise their petrol profits.So driver and impatient passengers willbe touting for customers out the windowso they can carry on with their journey. Itis my nightmare that I may board one ofthese and end up in some strange

province with locals who speak no Englishor Cantonese.

This is how I found myself standingin line in a ticket hall the size of a footballpitch with hundreds of others people, allChinese, all of us wanting to get out ofGuangzhou. I had already had tonegotiate fierce hawkers and swarthy andsuspicious looking persons wanderingaround with their eyes darting left, rightand centre. I tried to lookunapproachable and carried on withoutlooking anywhere but forward. However,as a white-skinned foreigner, you areconsidered a fair and possibly lucrativepigeon and pluck.

I hadbeen standing in line for

ten minutes when I saw one single otherforeigner being escorted to a specialwindow that opened just for her. Notwanting to be cheeky, but neverthelessthinking (my mistake) that this was a

window for non-Chinese, I asked a guardand he shook his head and pointed forme to go there. A few Chinese haddecided to cadge in as well and so I stoodas customer number four. I shifted myrucksack to a more comfortable position.Although small, it was packed to theseams with my camera, video recorderand tape recorder and money. Clothescould be stolen and replaced but notthese, so it had to stay on my backweighing at least 10 kilos. I figured Icould stand it, as it should not be longbefore I was on a train and not long afterthis that I could relax in my hotel roomwith a cup of tea.

That was my second mistake.Don’t dream of a brighter future in

China. Accept the reality of where

you are and make the best of it.I had a long while to consider those

words because I soon stood in utterdismay when the ticket agent finishedher transaction and then promptlyswung shut the curtain to close herwindow. I had lost my place in myprevious line, where I saw the man whoI had stood behind was now about tobe served, along with a long queue ofat least twenty others. My dream of acup of tea faded slightly.

I looked around for the shortestline, which in itself was a feat as all thelines were very long and seemed to bein a constant state of flux, because just

There are certain experiences in life whose memory will stay with you alongwith the lesson that it carried with it. My trip here in China has been rich withthese in the last few weeks.

“Don’t dream of a brighterfuture in China. Accept thereality of where you are andmake the best of it.”



as one person would get to the window,hubby, aunty, cousins and perhaps themilkman would crowd in around toreferee the transaction. Not an easy featgiven that the metal barriers weredesigned to allow space for just onecustomer. Finally, I settled on a line thatwas the shortest and stood with what Ihoped was at least external patience asI did not want to be seen as the grouchytourist. As I got closer, I began to relax.As I got to number three in line, I felt asmall smile coming and thought how Iwould ask for my ticket in Chinese. Thenit happened. What fate, I thought tomyself as I saw the agent swish his curtainclose with what seemed to be a sneer ofglee in my direction. I began to takemore notice. There was a reason thatline had been short...those little metalsigns beside the agent told what timethe window was open, so nothingpersonal, it was just his tea time.

Short lines meant you were thegambling sort and were bettting thattransactions would be brief and youwould get your turn before curtain call.Or you were a foreigner who did not yetknow the rules.

I decided to play my cards safethis time. I had already been standing inlines for over 40 minutes and my tummywas beginning to rebel at the press ofinfrequently-washed bodies, the noiseand the utter uncertainty of when it wasgoing to get fed and watered. I lookedaround for someone who could speakeither English or Cantonese, so I couldask for help. I had the worst thought thatmaybe this was not the ticket hall fortrains but for the bus station which wasjust adjacent. After all the big signoutside only said, ‘tickets’.

I found an old man who finallymangaged to understand my pigeon

Chinese, simple English and silly gestures,but what probably influenced him themost was the near desperation that wasjust trying to creep out. He assured methis was the train station and pointed meto the line for my destination. I got toline 32 and found the curtain was closed.

Still, there was a short line of Chinesestanding there and they were wise in theways of the ticket hall game. I stood withthem to wait. And wait and wait andwait. The little sign said the windowwould open in twenty minutes but it wasmore like forty. My tummy was reallyletting me know that it was not happybut I tried to ignore the ominousrumblings that were not just of hungerbut of something more sinister anddire...maybe those street marketdumplings were coming back to hauntme.

Then it seemed my fate hadchanged. A young woman stepped upbehind me and I asked her if she couldspeak Yingman (English). She said ‘Alittle’. Ah, manna from heaven. I almostwanted to kiss her feet as her ‘little’ wasactually quite a lot She said that thereason this station was so busy wasbecause it was the place for people togo back to their homes in all the otherprovinces and so it was a real hodgepodge of humanity, mostly very poor, asthey had not been successful in theirventure to try and improve their fortunedown south.

As we stood in line together, shelooked at the departures board and saidsorry, but it looked as if there were notrains to my destination (what! I thought).She said if this was the case, then sheand her husband would help me get ona bus. In the end, this is just what I had

to do as there was not another train forfour hours....there was no way I had thatkind of stamina to last it out in thatatmosphere, let alone with a dodgytummy.

I felt so relieved and thankful asthese two kind strangers escorted methrough all the pickpockets and hawkersto the bus station, her husband carryingmy little clothes bag. Less than fiveminutes later and for only 12 yuan, I hadmy bus ticket in hand and only a twentyminute wait.

As we said good-bye, I told themhow grateful I was to them for their helpand how I was so lucky they were thereto help me. They both looked at eachother and then at me with a smile andsaid, “This is the first time we havetravelled on the train and have been tothis ticket hall. Normally, we travel bybus.” I said that they must have beensent there to help me and she said, “Ithink so.” So I was glad then for mysuffering, to see that there is truly muchkindness left in the world. It alsoreminded me to help others when theyare in need, not just always thinking ofmy own comfort and good time.

To be continued... by Sihnkei.s ihnke i@qimagaz ine .c om




Although this is a game, unfortunately, thisis how the martial arts are often passeddown. One person can half understandsomething and when they teach and passit on, it quickly becomes something else.

Even worse, sometimes people do not understandeven half of the story and they have not studied forlong enough when they start teaching and so they have tomake up the rest of the story for themselves. Grandmaster IpChun once said that this was very true of Wing Chun and itwas his job to go around straightening everyone’s hair, i.e.correcting their skill.

One of the most overlooked parts of Wing Chun isfootwork. In any martial art, footwork is very important andWing Chun is no exception. It isquite common to see people withvery stiff and awkward footwork.You even come across people whoabandon it all together and adopta boxer’s way of moving. Nowthere is nothing wrong with aboxer’s way of moving if you area boxer. Boxers train a certain waybecause this is how they fight.However, this is not the way WingChun is used and you shouldalways train how you willeventually fight, otherwise thereis no point.

Without good footwork (including a good stance) youwill not have a solid foundation to defend or attack, also youwill not be able to move out of the way when defending yourselfor close down an opponent when attacking. Some people maysay that martial arts are for defence only and so they will justwait for the opponent to come to them, otherwise they will bethe aggressor. Perhaps there is some truth in this, but whathappens when you are facing more than one opponent? You

can’t afford to wait for all of them to jump on you, and youbetter not expect them to wait and attack you one at a time.Instead you have to be able to move around to protect yourselfand confuse them.

There is one whisper that has been passed down andthat is, “Wing Chun never steps back, always go forwards”.Unfortunately, this is completely wrong. Perhaps it has comeabout because the form Tsum Kiu only teaches Bui Ma (thrusting

Chinese WhispersYou must have heard of

Chinese whispers? It is agame where you whispersomething into yourneighbour’s ear and they passit on. By the time it has beenpassed along to a few people,what they hear and pass on isvery different to what youoriginally said. The resultscan be very funny.

Chinese Whispers

“Wing Chunnever steps back, you must

always go forwards”.Unfortunately, this is

completely wrong


steps) forwards, but this is like only being able to punch atarget that is directly in front of you because that is how it is inthe forms! Does this make sense? Of course not! If your targetis in reach and you can hit it, strike. The same as if you needto step forwards, step forwards, and if you need to stepbackwards, step backwards. The important question is: canyou step forwards and can you step backwards? Rememberthat Wing Chun does not pit strength against strength. If youonly go forwards, then you will definitely need to rely onstrength.

All the elements to train your footwork are in the form.The forms teach us – Yee Chi Kim Yuen Ma (Wing Chun stance),Juen Ma (turning stance), Jun Ma (forward step), Tui Ma(backward step), Biu Ma (thrusting steps) and Huen Ma (circlingsteps).

However, what the forms do not teach us is how to usestepping, combine steps and make them flow together. Thesame is true of the hand techniques in the forms. The formsteach us shape and structure. How do we learn how to usethem? The answer is Chi Sau and again the same is true forthe feet. Forms are fixed, but Chi Sau is not, so different thingswill happen and we have to respond in different ways. When

we Chi Sau we should not just concentrate on the hands, butalso we should also pay attention to the feet.

We need to lean how to close the distance betweenourselves and our opponent, how to open the distance, howto change the angles, how to break you opponent’s balance,how to move around them, how to step in to finish and how tostep away to avoid them. At all times your footwork must besteady and balanced, but at the same time quick and evasive.

Chi Sau is the best way to train your footwork, butsometimes it is hard to concentrate on the feet when someoneis trying to hit you. So you can try training the feet separatelyand then when you are getting the hang of it go back to ChiSau.

Chinese martial arts are full of Chinese whispers. It issometimes hard to know what is real and what it not. There isone way to judge, just ask yourself, “Is it sensible? Does itmake sense?” Always question, don’t just believe. As my Sifuonce said to me, “Don’t just believe me, prove if I am right.”

by Darryl Moy

Something you can try.

Face your partner in thebasic Wing Chun stance andhold out a Tan Sau. Let yourpartner hold your elbow.Your partner now starts togently pull your Tan Sauand you need to followhim or her, trying to keepyour Tan Sau elbow twofists distance from yourbody. They can pull, push,and turn left or right, goforwards or backwards. Theonly thing they cannot doit lift up and push down.

If you can keep goingto for two minutes withoutgetting stuck, losing yourbalance or losing your TanSau, then your footwork is verygood. The faster they move thefaster you have to move, andso it can be very challenging.

When used correctly,this exercise will make yourfootwork very smooth andquick. It still requires you to feelwhich way your opponent isleading you, so will alsoincrease your sensitivity.Eventually, when your footworkand sensitivity are very good, your partner will find theycannot lead you very far, as you move when they move andeven absorb their effort to pull or push you.

Whichever way they pull or turnyou, you must follow. Try touse all the Wing Chunstepping and turningtechniques so that you canmove quickly and easily.Begin slowly at first andthen let your partner speedup. You should feel verylittle resistance as youmove, then you know youare going the right way andkeeping up.


I remember Ip Chun, my Wing ChunSigong, saying that one of hisambitions in his later years is to write

a book on Chi Sau. My initial reactionwas, great! can I place my order now?but there was something in his tone thatsuggested that he might not achieve thisas it was quite a complex subject tocommit to paper. When I thoughtabout it, I realised thechallenge of trying toconvey this skill twodimensionally, todescribe thetechnicalities andally them to theintuitive nature ofChi Sau could belikened to teachingpeople how to knitfog. Having saidthat, if anybody isqualified to do so,he is definitely theman. Thinkingabout this ambitionI thought I would tryto see what theexperience is like.You, dear reader,are my experiment.

Now, forthose of you notpractising WingChun, Chi Sau istranslated as stickinghands or to stickhands. Like many directtranslations from Chinese toEnglish the expression suffers somewhatin interpretation. Just to call it stickinghands is to simplify it too much. Chi Sauis the essence of Wing Chun Kung Fuand has evolved as a way of interactivelytraining close quarter martial skills in asafe and constructive way. It has beenmisjudged and misinterpreted as atraining method by people from insideand outside the Wing Chun fraternity butremains an intriguing and absorbing wayto test and improve your skill underpressure.

All forms of combat must have away of safely training their skills without

going to extremes, examples of this canbe found in Taijiquan, Kung Fu, Boxing,Judo, Karate, Wrestling, even the BritishArmy have war games without using realbullets in order to train their skills so theycan be prepared for the real thing. Theobjective is to create a situation where itis safe to practice but not to lose too

much of the original vitality of the skill,otherwise it becomes a game devoidof meaning and purpose and ultimatelyany real effect. If practiced with goodheart, good skill, purpose and asmattering of animal cunning, practionerscan learn something of the essence of amartial art without risking life and limb.

I don’t regard myself as veryanalytical, so I am not going to attempta technical description of Chi Sau, but Ioffer you this more subjective effortavoiding the Chinese names of thetechniques for the non Wing Chunpeople.

Chi Sau training mostly starts attouching distance. The armsconnect forearm to forearm,once connected do not signalintention, avoid tension,

remain relaxed, keep the mindalert, touch lightly, pressslightly, give nothing away,feel pressure, returnpressure, no better torelease, give ground , stop,retake ground, pat fist away,slap face, no good, step tothe side, step back, stepforward, turn, twist, stepslap, punch, parry, stepforward, grab arm, kick,don’t think, just do, stayclose, move away,engage, anticipate,react, relax, do nothing,do something, hold thecenter, change thecenter, let go, step,slide. Be quick then

slow, stay relaxed, be soft, be firm, usestrength, no good, keep contact, let go,move quickly, move slowly, stay still,watch, wait, wait.

Easy Eh! Crikey! is that an hourgone already!

by John Hayes. john@qimagaz ine.comNext time Chi Sau Games

Some things are very hard to describe. Take the weather forexample, you can describe it to someone who has never experienced it,but when they go to see for themselves it is different. That it is the natureof it. Chi Sau is the same.

“It has been misjudged andmisinterpreted as a training

method by people frominside and outside”

“It has been misjudged andmisinterpreted as a training

method by people frominside and outside”

Undefinable Chi SauUndefinable Chi Sau


Healthy Living Gong Part IIITiger Pushes the Mountain (Slow Version)

i Stand still with your feet together and your hands by yourside.

ii Raise your right leg and bring your hands up in front ofyou from your Dantian to your chest. Fig 1-2.

iii Open your hands out to your sides turning your palmsout and circle then out and them back to your waist sothe palms are facing up. As your hands come to the waistslightly stamp down your right foot. Fig 3-4

Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3 Fig 3 (Side view)

Fig 4 Fig 4 (Side view) Fig 5 Fig 5 (Side view)


iv Step forward with your left foot, heel on the ground andtoes up. Keep the weight on your right foot. Fig 5

v Keeping your back straight, stretch your right footbackwards, meanwhile, push both hands forwards so thearms are straight. Keep your head up and look forwards.Fig 6-7

vi Stand up straight bringing your feet back to where theybegan and draw your hand back towards your Dantian.

vii Repeat the movement for the other side, lifting the leftleg.

Fig 6 Fig 6 (Side view) Fig 7

Tiger Pushes the Mountain (Fast Version)

Fig 8 Fig 9 Fig 10 Fig 10 (Side view)

Fig 7 (Side view)


i Standstill with your feet together and your hands by your side.ii Raise your right leg and bring your hands up in front of you from your Dantian to your chest. Fig 8-9iii Open your hands out to your sides turning your palms out and circle them out and then back to your waist so

the palms are facing up. Fig 9-10. As your hands come to the waist quickly stamp down your right foot andimmediately lift up the left foot. Fig 11- 12.

iv Quickly open the legs, left foot forwards and right foot backwards. The left knee should be bent 90 degreesand the right leg should be completely straight. At the same time as you open the legs, quickly push thehands forwards. Fig 13.

v Stand up straight bringing your feet back to where they began and draw your hand back towards yourDantian.

vi Repeat the movement for the other side, lifting the left leg.

Fig 11 Fig 11 (Side view) Fig 12 Fig 12 (Side view)

Fig 13 Fig 13 (Side view)


BreathingWhen doing the slow version, we inhale when the hands

open out. We then hold this until we push the hands out andthen we exhale as we push out. When we do the fast versionwe breathe the same way. Inhale as we open the hands andexhale as we push out, as simple as that.

ConcentrationWhen you open the hands out, it is not important whether

you make a big circle or a smaller circle. This part opens thechest so you can take more air into your lungs.

When you push out the arms, the back leg should bestraight and the front leg bent at 90 degrees.

Throughout themovement, from thebeginning position to theend of the pushing, thehead and body shouldremain over the same spoton the ground, so only yourlegs spread out, you do notstep forwards or backwards.

When doing themovement quickly thecoordination of the body isimportant so everythingshould move together. Thepush out should be quitevigorous and at the sametime you should shout out,but the sound should comefrom the Dantian and then it will be loud and strong.

The slow way has the same principle as the fast way.They only differences are that you do not jump to open thelegs, you step slowly instead and you do not shout. The positionof the arms and legs is exactly the same.

BenefitEverything in the world should have two ways or even

more. If there is only one way to do something, then it becomesrigid. The rigidness causes stiffness and that stiffness can causethings to break. I always believe that soft is better than hard,but we must understand hardness as well so we can either useit properly or avoid it. For example, if you have a knife in yourkitchen that you use for chopping vegetables, you should putit away until you need to use it. If you leave it out on thekitchen top or on the table, then someone will injure himselfor herself on it one day. A knife can cut, so you should alwayskeep it in a drawer when you are not using it. You should onlyget it out when you really need it and not play about with it oruse it when you don’t really need it.

Tiger Pushes the Mountain is Hard Qigong as it relatesto strength. Sometimes we need to use strength, for examplewhen we have heavy luggage to carry. Today we are lucky,most items of luggage have wheels so we can pull them, butyou still need to use strength.

If we need to use strength, we must understand how touse it. How many people have injured their backs, shoulders,knees and other joints when they are using strength? Thismeans they did not understand enough about using their ownstrength.

In the West there are a lot of people training theirstrength, but they use the body separately. If they are trainingtheir legs, they only use the legs; if they are training the arms,they only use the arms, the same with the abdomen and chest.It is the same in western society, everything is separate,someone is either a doctor, an accountant, a housewife, achemist, a teacher etc. They do not know what the others aredoing. So they cannot understand who is good at what theydo. In Chinese society people will recognise when someone isgood at something because the principles are the same.Chinese do not separate things so they are individual andseparate. A good scholar will be able to tell if someone isgood in martial arts or not. A carpenter will know whether youare good at farming or not. This is because the energy and the

attitude of the personwill tell everythingabout them.

Qigong train-ing does not onlyhave slow and gentlemovements. There isanother side thatincludes fast andvigorous movementsand we need to doboth sides to make ushealthy.

When we usestrength we need tobring the strengthfrom the Dantian andcoordinate the entire

body together then we will not put too much pressure on onepart. Also in this exercise we shout out when we use the strengthand this releases the energy from the organs and so they willnot be damaged. There are people who hold their breath whenthey use strength and this is not good as it can cause internalinjuries.

If we want to be healthy we need soft and hard, gentleand strong, and then we will be balanced.

BackgroundIn the Chun Yuen form Xing Shou, there is a movement

towards the end of the form that it like Tiger Pushes theMountain. This is where this exercise comes from.

In many Chinese skills an animal symbolises the energyof something. If we say some one is “strong like a tiger comingdown from the mountain” we can imagine someone who isreally strong and fierce, who is ready to do something. If wesay “moving like a loose rabbit” it means someone is very fastand active, like a rabbit jumping and trying to get away. If wesay someone has, “a dignified face without being angry,” itmeans they have a very serious face without having to losetheir temper. Usually that person can be a leader becauseothers will see them and respect them. If someone has a babyface it means they will never grow up and become a leader.

So there are many occasions where Chinese peoplewill use animals to represent the attitude of a situation orperson. So in Chinese movements, there are so many animalnames. The same name can be used for many differentmovements in different forms.to be continued... by Michael Tse

“Tiger Pushes theMountain is HardQigong as it relatesto strength.”


If you have the slightest preconceptionabout something, it clouds yourperception and interferes with seeing

exactly what it is. Prejudice meansjudging in advance. For example, ifsomeone has previously described asituation or person to you, that maycolour your perception. It also meansyou don’t really see the situation orperson as it/he/she is in that moment.Similarly, our most recent encounter withsomeone can colour our thoughts aboutthem and subsequent interactions. Whichis why we need to be clear and open-minded, without judgement.

In today’s society we are adeptsat judging – weighing up a situation inour minds to see whether or not it willbenefit us. However, our pastconditioning may cloud our judgementso we don’t see clearly and thereforebehave unskillfully or cause harminadvertently.

Of course berating ourselves fordoing so is like adding insult to injury.All we need to do when we make amistake is to let it go and to open ourminds to the new situation. There is nopoint in complaining or getting upset.That only prolongs the ordeal bygenerating negativity. Simply forgive theerror, learn the lesson and move on. Lifeis constantly renewing itself and we canbe part of that creative flow by choosingto be present with reality as it is.

I once read a card that said, “I’velearnt so much from my mistakes, I thinkI’ll make a few more”. Here there is nofear of making mistakes or failing. Noris there attachment to success. Howsweet the relief in giving up the rat race!Instead we can live peacefully andappreciate each opportunity for learningas it presents itself.

The process – forgive and moveon. Forgiveness does not implysuperiority on the part of the one whoforgives – simply recognition that amistake was made, giving anopportunity for learning and change - sothat we can move on to be present inthe next moment of experiencing.

It is said, “one teaches what onemost needs to learn”. I write to revealwhat I need to learn. Most of all I need

to learn forgiveness, especially of myself.Holding myself to ransom, I hold backthe joy and appreciation of life thatnourish and enliven. It is like imprisoningmyself and restricting my access toabundant energy and life. This is mirroredin my breathing at times, which becomesrestricted too! Interestingly, this becamemore common once I took an interest inhealth and how to be healthy. Iinternalised rules and then got upsetwhen I broke them. Hence, I’m back torelax, practise listening to my body andlearn forgiveness (in addition).

In our ignorance we may makemistakes but are we culpable for that?Consider dictators, terrorists,criminals, murderersetc. Yet we allact from ourbeliefs and dowhat we know.A man oncemurdered hiswife anddaughter be-cause he wastrying to make them‘good’, so they wouldlive out his ideal of whata good person should belike. In his frustration heused his hands to forcethem, with direconsequences.

Many of ushave elements ofthis. I occasion-ally get crosswhen I correct astudent whoisn’t listeningproperly. Hermind is else-where, orcluttered withpreoccupations or her own idea of whatis right. She may conform for an instantto what I say, but the old habit returnsagain.

Well, getting cross means that Itoo am attached to some prejudgementof how the student should be. So I needto work on myself (i.e. take myself lessseriously, challenge my assumptions,

think the unfamiliar) to rediscoverforgiveness and move on. Anyway myidea of right may change in the future!

Now, when I correct a student, Ialso clarify the reason for doing so - ifthat seems to be wanted. Then both ofus can collaborate in the process, ratherthan imposing a rule or inviting resistance(albeit unconsciously). We might discoversomething else is needed to reachunderstanding. The whole process needsto be conscious for all concerned.

So how do we apply thisunderstanding in our daily lives? Howdo we deal with the person who insistson parking his car outside the front doorwith the engine running whilst waitingfor a neighbour, so the fumes seep intothe house? How do we react to the

neighbour who lights a bonfire,so that the smoke

billows into thegarden as we arep r a c t i c i n gQigong? How dowe treat a relativeor close friendwho is abusive?Do we forgiveand forget or dowe need to takeaction and if so,how? Thedilemma ofcooperationarisescountless times.Sometimes com-promise isnecessary in thelong-term toallow commun-ication. At leastwhen we stopstruggling, wehave more energyavailable to use as

wisely as possible.When I ask

you “Is your cupempty?” it may be so. Yet

notice – did you agree with what I havewrittenor did you find counter-argumentsor neither of these? Surely, you reactedone way or another to this piece, if onlyto put it down till later or to laugh. Itdoesn’t really matter how you reacted,just that you noticed, “ Is your cup empty– or not?”by Helen Massy. he lenm@qimagaz ine.com

Empty CupEmpty Cup

How empty is your cup? How receptive are you to new ideas, or thoughtsthat go counter to your experience? How ready are you to listen deeply to whatanother person has to say, before jumping in with your opinion?


W hat happens when a babyattempts to run before he canwalk? Can someone with an O’

level (or high school diploma) in physicscomprehend a manual on nuclearfission? A penthouse apartment sits atopfoundations and intermediary levels, andexists solely because of what lies beneath.Higher knowledge should be taught whenit can be grasped by the student whoalready has foundations (and with whomit can be trusted).

Giving too much water tosomeone severely dehydrated can provedangerous, and if a fool is handed amillion pounds he will squander itcompletely in no time. In reality a novicestudent privy to advanced information orskill can easily cause problems for himselfor misuse it. Passing skill to certain peopleis as futile as attempting to teach apig to talk.

High level attainment in anypursuit is something that is onlyreached with effort over time. Why thendo some expect Qigong to be anydifferent? Deep understanding comesnot from textbook knowledge but throughactual experience. Those who seek or

inquire about mastership at the veryoutset are the very people unlikely toever attain it, as they are the onesgenerally too impatient or lazy to workfor it.

Some teachers promiseimmediate high level skill as a means of“saving you decades of wasted time”, buta wise person knows nothing of valuecomes so easily. The best ginseng is foundwithin the most dangerous-to-reachplaces. Actually, the end result meansnothing; it is the journey getting therethat matters, every day, little by little.Who feels a deeper experience – theperson standing on the peak of themountain having climbed it or the onearriving by helicopter? Skill too is valued

and respected more when you actuallywork for it.

Like chasing a rainbow, there isno ‘end’ to the process; you only becomebetter and better. If someone trains hardfor many years to attain a good standardwhy would he then suddenly stop? Themoment he becomes indolent his levelwill decline, and the skill will slowlyunravel until parts are forgotten and heno longer even feels comfortablepractising it. So skill, like money, is notdifficult to acquire, just hard to maintain.

High level skill has absolutelynothing to do with how many forms havebeen learned, or special abilitiesacquired, but how it is applied in dailylife. As Qigong is a health and self-healing art a high level exponentwill exude good health

and be free ofdisease. He orshe will use theskill to healinfrequent minorcomplaints (i.e.headache, stomach ache, injuries, or fluetc.). If a practitioner has learned ahundred skills but relies on otherremedies to recover, in place of Qigong,then he is not at any deepunderstanding, even if he can float onair, literally! Certain fledgling studentsproclaim the various Qi phenomena theyexperience through training, intimatingsome achievement, but to adepts thereis nothing awesome in this; it is all justas natural as breathing.

Wild Goose Qigong is considereda very high level skill as it covers muchmore than relaxation and movement. Itincludes special methods to develop lightbody, open the Sky-Eye, healingpotential, Qi transmission (fragrance,colours etc.), fitness, and even martialarts as well as philosophy and deeptheory. Actually high level skill only existswithin; it is the principles and methodsthat are passed down. These must betrained and developed in order tobecome good skill.

Genuine high level is where thebody, mind (spirit), and Qi (breath) areunified, and where man (woman), earth,and heaven become one (internal body

balances with externalenvironment). High level Qigongbestows health (vitality, inner

peace, no pain), wisdom( s e l f - k n o w l e d g e ,

i n t u i t i o n ,and soundjudgement),and a goodheart (com-

passionate,true, and unafraid).

Standard is evident, tosome extent, through personal

appearance and conduct. A true masterof Qigong will be balanced, physically(neither obese nor emaciated) andemotionally (not given to fits of tempernor easily excitable/hyperactive). Also,it is found within the grace and clarity ofmovement in demonstration, and indiscussing complex material in simpleterms.

In reality, you can never knowyour own level. Only your teacher, orseniors, can really discern how you areprogressing. Some people form theopinion that anyone can become amaster if he practises sincerely, even fromfollowing a book, but without a humanteacher who corrects one’s form? It isthroughcontinual ‘polishing’ (corrections)that one becomes a master, and arrogantto assume otherwise. There are so manyself-proclaimed masters todayfloundering without legitimate teachers,but with no example to follow how dothey even recognise the good skill thatthey claim to possess and impart tostudents?

by Adam Wallace. [email protected]

What is High Level ?

The promise of studying high level or ‘secret’ Qigong skills lures manyunwitting people into forking out colossal sums of money. But are there reallysecrets and what is high-level anyway?

What is High Level ?

“A high levelexponent willexude good health.”

“A high levelexponent willexude good health.”


Shades of GreyShades of GreyMa looked a bit put out. “No, its

not,” replied Ma, “it’s not the waySifu does it.” Chan nodded,

“True,” he said, “but that does notmatter, it is good enough for now.”

Ma was still not satisfied. “Howcan it be OK if it is wrong? I want to getit right,” he said. Chan sat down andMa flopped beside him. “We all want toget things right, but you know,sometimes it is OK to do things wrongas well,” said Chan. Ma looked at himpuzzled; “I don’t understand,” he said.

Chan smiled, “Sifu told a storyonce. A long time ago there lived a manwho liked to help people all the time.Every day hewould walk totown and pass abeggar sitt ingon the groundand every day hewould give himsome money. Thiswent on for quite awhile and althoughhe never reallystopped to talk to thebeggar, he wouldalways exchange apleasant greetingwith him and givehim somemoney.”

“Then oneday on his way totown, the kind man passed a monk whowas collecting money. The kind man saidhello and got talking to the monk. Themonk told him how he was trying to builda temple, he was then going to take inall the homeless people and teach themhow to make a living for themselves. Thekind man thought this was a great ideaand so reached into his pocket and gaveall the money he had on him to themonk.”

“The man continued walking totown. A little further along he passed thebeggar sitt ing by the road. “Goodmorning,” he said to him. The beggarwatched him go by and then shouted,“Hey! Where’s my money?” the kind manstopped and came over. “I’m sorry, whatdo you mean?” he said. “You know!

Everyday you give me my money!”shouted the beggar.”

Chan looked at Ma, “Do youunderstand what this is telling us?” Mashook his head, “Er no, but you haven’tfinished the story,” he protested. “That’show the story ends, but there is anotherversion,” said Chan.

“There was another man and hewas also good person. Everyday he wouldwalk to town and pass a beggar sittingon the ground. Everyday he felt sorry forthe beggar, but did not want to give himany money, as he thought he would useit to buy wine and get drunk, so everydayhe just walked by. Then he met a monk

who had just

moved to the area and wascollecting money to build a temple andtake in all the beggars and homelesspeople and teach them to look afterthemselves. The man thought this was agreat idea and so gave the monk all themoney he had in his pockets.”

“The next day on his way to townhe decided to tell the beggar to go andsee the monk as he would look after him.However, when he reached the spot,where the beggar usually sat, he wasnot there. The man went over to one ofthe shops by the road and asked wherethe beggar was. “Oh, he died last night,he got drunk and fell into the river”, saidthe shop-keeper.”

Chan finished again and lookedat Ma. Ma was even more confused, “This

one has no ending either!”said Ma. Chan nodded,“Yes, you are exactly right,there is no ending becausethere is no right andwrong, perhaps in oneversion right becamewrong and in the other wrong becameright. You see, all you can do is try yourbest. You cannot say for sure what willhappen at the end of the day. Sometimesyou cannot say something is completelywrong or something is completely right.Sometimes you will know something isnot quite right and then you have todecide whether it is better to do it a littlewrongly or better to not do it at all. Forexample, I might get ill one day. My

Qigong is not perfect, but am I betterdoing it when I am ill or better not

doing it at all?”Ma cut in, “But doesn’t

that depend on how wrong youare and what you are doing?If it is too wrong then it will

do you no good,” he said.“Yes, exactly, if something is too wrong youcan tell very quickly, andif something is so rightyou can also tell. Extremes

are always easy to recognise;it is the grey areas in betweenthat are the problem. As longas we do not harm other

people, you just try your best andlook how to improve. That’s all any of uscan do. Sometime we can only learn bymaking mistakes.”

Ma nodded, “So what you aresaying is: don’t worry about doing itwrong as long as you keep trying toimprove.” Chan nodded back, “Exactly!That is how Sifu teaches us. We cannotget things right straight away, so he letsus do it as best we can even though it isstill not quite right. Because we arelooking to get it right, we will improve,but this just takes time.”

Ma got up, “OK, but the next bit’snot right either,” he said with a grin. “Yes,that’s another story, isn’t it?” repliedChan

by Darryl Moydar r y l@qiamgaz ine . com

Ma was working on a movement, but was getting more and morefrustrated. Chan came over and asked him what was wrong. “Oh, I just can’t getthis right!” he huffed. Chan smiled and said, “Show me what you’re doing.” SoMa went through the movement the best he could. “That’s OK,” said Chan.


NN

N N

21. If your kitchen is on the North sideof the house, this is good for healthand wealth. This is because North isthe water element and the kitchenalso has the water element.

22. If the kitchen is on the South side ofthe house, it is not good for yourhealth and will cause arguments andfire in the house. The kitchen hasmore fire than water and the Southis also the Fire element. So, youhave two fires together and this willcreate even more fire. The monthMay and June are also the Fireelement, so the kitchen can easilyhave a fire. People living in thehouse will be over-excited foreverything.

23. If your kitchen is on the East side ofthe house, then again there caneasily be a fire. This is because theEast is the Wood element and woodcreates fire. The kitchen is alreadythe Fire element.

24. If your kitchen is on the West of thehouse, then this is good for the mindand good for luck and the future.West is the Metal element. Firemeets Metal and so the Fire will beused up to heat the Metal. So, theFire energy in the house will be low.This will make the people living therehave calm minds for making futureplans.

25. If the kitchen lies between directionsyou can determine the percentageof good or not so good energy,depending on the percentage of thekitchen which fall on the good or badside. The good sides are North,Northeast, Southwest, West,Northwest. The not so good sidesare East, Southeast and South.

26. If the kitchen lies on a crossing lineof the house, this is not so good foryour health.

Feng Shui in the KitchenFeng Shui in the Kitchen

Kitchen

Kitchen

KitchenKitchen

Fig 1: Kitchen on the North side Fig 2: Kitchen on the South side

Fig3: Kitchen on the East side F ig 2: Kitchen on the West side

Fig 4: If the kitchen lieson one of these crossingline, this is not good foryour health.

Many people like to make the Feng Shui in their houses good. Theywant to have better energy to live and have better luck in the future. Butusually one room that is forgotten is the kitchen and this is one of themost important parts of the house. This is because the kitchen representsgood health, good social life and harmony of the family life.


}

}Earth

Wood Fire Earth

Wood Metal

WaterEarth Metal

Bad

Bad

Goo

d

Bad

Good N

27. If the kitchen is next to the bedroomit will cause some people to havedifficulties sleeping and resting. Sothey will make a lot of mistakes inlife.

28. If the kitchen is opened up with thedining room, the people living therewill have a lot of friends and peoplehelping them.

29. If the kitchen is connected with theliving room, people living there willhave interesting lives and enjoycompany and parties.

30. If the tap in the kitchen is alwaysdripping, then you will lose moneybecause water represents money.

31. If the drain is blocked so water andwaste cannot go through, people willhave a lot of trouble in life. They willhave a lot of debts that need to bepaid.

ConclusionThe kitchen is very important for

your health, social life and communication.If we have good health, good social lifeand good communications you are halfway to being successful. However, thebalance of the entire house, both insideand outside, plus the individual people’shoroscopes and attitude is the key to goodFeng Shui and a good living environment

by Michael Tse

A Summary of Good and Bad Directions for the Kitchen

Fig 5: A modern kitchen opened up with the dinning room


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