HoroscopesChineseNew Year

Health & Internal Training

PracticalSelf Defence

Taoist WhiteCloud Temple

Master WuBaolin

Master Chan PuiPreying MantisKung Fu

HealthyLivingGong

Snake &Turtle Qigong

Qi Magazine 1

Cover: Master Chan Pui

Qi Magazine is published by the Tse QigongCentre. Its aim is to bring you information notreadily available in the West.

Editor: Michael TseDeputy Editor: Darryl MoyDesign Assistant David DrennanAssistants: Sarah Bloomfield

John HayesMartin Gale

Legal Adviser: Tony Walsh

Proof Reading: Yvonne DixonMike Stenson

Marketing/Distribution: Jessica BlackwellSweden: Barbro Olsson

Consultants (Listed in alphabetical order):

Grandmaster Chan Chi HoGrandmaster Chen Xiao Wang

Grandmaster Ip ChunGrandmaster Wu ChunyuenGrandmaster Yang Meijun

Columnists: Glen GosslingJ. Reynolds NelsonDr. Shulan TangSihn KeiAdam Wallace

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 2002.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be

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

Advertising: Qi Magazine has proved to be an effective wayof reaching a wide variety of people. All enquirieswelcome.For call: 0161929 4485For outside UK + 161 929 4485

Subscription:Costs per year:

UK £20 inc p&p.USA $35 inc p&pEurope £25 (airmail) inc p&p.Worldwide £35 (airmail) inc p&p.

For UK/Europe/WorldwidePlease send payment in Pounds Sterling. Payment can beby Credit Card or Cheque, drawn on UK bank, payable toQi Magazine.

Qi MagazinePO Box 59 Altrincham,

WA15 8FS, UKTel:0161 929 4485

Fax: 0161 9294489email: tse@qimagazine.com

Website: www.qimagazine.com

ISSN 1358-3778Continued on page 7

Throughout my life I have admireda hero called “Kiu Fung”. He wasa very high level martial artist and

the leader of a band of beggars. In theold times the beggars would jointogether to protect each other, societyor even the government. This was duringthe Song Dynasty (1127-1279AD).During this time the Mongolians and XiDan from the North tried to invade andconquer the South of China. Wheneverthey tried, Kiu Fung always brought hisgang of beggars to fight against theenemy. So he became a hero for all theSong people. However, he was not justa good martial artist and the leader ofbeggar gang, he was also a verytruthful and honest person. He said,“There is nothing that I need to hideand nothing that I cannot tellothers.” This sentence has affectedme a lot, and it is something that Iwould also like to be, “Nothing Ineed to hide and cannot tellothers.”

Unfortunately, Kiu Fungeventually lost his position as leaderof the beggar gang, because hediscovered that he was not one ofthe Song people, but actually a XiDan, who were the enemies of theSong. At the time the Xi Dan peoplewere in the North of what is todayChina and the Song people were inthe South. There was much hatredbetween the two and a lot of fighting.When he was a small baby, the Songpeople mistakenly killed his parents.When they found the little baby, theyfelt guilty for what had happened andwanted to try and make amends fortheir terrible mistake. So they lookedafter the baby and treated him very well.They educated him, brought him up andhelped him to become a good martialartist. Eventually he went on to becomethe leader of the beggar gang andalways thought his parents were Songpeople and that they were farmers.

Sadly, when Kiu Fung found outhis real background, that he was not aSong, and had been helping the Song’sto kill his own people, his lost his positionand his friends. When his friends foundout that he was the enemy of theirpeople, some turned their backs on him,some had no choice but to go against

him and others just left him. In the endhe was alone and lost and did not knowwhat to do. But, there was one girlnamed Chu, who respected him verymuch, she stayed and took care of himand eventually, they fell in love. So KiuFung had one understanding friend, whowas good company and stayed with himat the worst time of his life.

Kiu Fung wanted to find the manwho was responsible for all the thingsthat had

happened and had caused all thistragedy in his life. He eventually foundthe man he thought was responsible, buthe did not know that it was Chu’s father.

Chu did not want Kiu Fung tokill her father so she disguised herself

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

Cover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...22 Master Chan Pui’s - Wah Lum Preying Mantis

Wah Lum Preying Mantis is afamous style of Chinese Kung Fu.It is a highly effective fighting skilland also a means of keepingyourself fit and healthy. Mast Chanhas been pass on his skill for manyyears and has recently realised oneof the dreams that has kept himgoing over the years.by Jesscia Blackwell

1 Editorialwith Michael Tse.

3 PO Box

8 Chen Taiji SpearGrandmaster Chen Xiaowang gave the first UK seminarin November 2001 teaching the Chen Style Taijiquan Spear.by Glenn Gossling

10 Wing Chun Power KickingKicking in Wing Chun, like any martial art is very important.Here we outline some ways of training your kicks to becomevery powerful.by Darryl Moy

12 Phlegm and Chinese MedicineEveryone has suffered from a phlegm. It can be veryirritating and annoying. There are many reasons why thisoccurs and also a number of ways that TCM can treatthem.by Dr Shulan Tang

13 Healthy Living GongThe Tse Qigong Centre has many different types of Qigong.Here we look at one of the forms that Michael Tse hascreated to help beginners with their studies.by Michael Tse

17 One More AlohaHaving moved to Hawaii to set up an branch of the TseQigong Centre but outside events have had a profoundaffect.by Sihn Kei

18 Qigong in the WildernessSometimes it is necessary to take a break from everythingand ‘get away from it all’. The author explains one way ofcombining a break with Qigong practise and getting backto nature.by Andy Mishkin

26 Turtle and Snake QigongThis is a rare Qigong method based on the characteristicsof these two animals.by Zhou Renfeng

28 Kung Fu BreakfastGood teachers embody their arts and their very characterand attitudes can give a clue how achieve a better level ofskill.by J.Reynolds Nelson

30 Instructor InsightA look at 2 Instructors of the Tse Qigong Centre

35 A Well Diggers AdventureA tale that is entertaining and imaginative but as youmight expect, also has a lesson within it.translated by Zhang Guangqian

36 The Water HorseChinese New Year is an exciting time. The energy changes asthe new animal moves in. Find out what this year has in storefor you with these Horoscopes.by Michael Tse

38 Testing TimesA test does not have to be a problem to solve, they canpresent themselves in many ways. The only problem then, isrecognising them.by Darryl Moy

39 Basic Self Defence TrainingMore techniques that can be practised with a partner.by Xia Bai Hwa

41 Master Wu BaolinThe Second part of the fascinating story of Master Wu. In thisissue he continues to tell us about his training in the famousWhite Cloud Temple, and recounts many things that happenedthere.by Michael Tse

44 Central Principles of DaoismDaoism plays a very big part in traditional Chinese culture,and is even growing in the West. What then is Daoism andwhat are the core principles of Daoist thought?by Adam Wallace

45 Feng Shui and your DeskThe Feng Shui of where you work is very important. It effectsyour work and your livelihood, as well as your health. So it isimportant to make the best of it.by Michael Tse

Qi Magazine 3

POBox POBox POBox...Declaration of theRelationship BetweenGrandmaster Ip Chunand Samuel Kwok

Hawaii Office to Close

We hereby give notice that with effect from the 3rd ofNovember 2001, Mr Samuel Kwok ( ) of the UnitedKingdom of Great Britain will have no further association withWing Chun Grandmaster Ip Chun. Any unauthorised use

thereafter of the name of Grandmaster Ip Chun,commercial or otherwise, by Mr Samuel Kwok( ) or his fellow students, will be treated asan act of deceit. Grandmaster Ip Chun reservesthe right of legal action to be taken against theoffending parties.

As of the 1st of January 2002 we regret to announce that the Tse QigongCentre office in Hawaii will close for the time being. However, although theoffice may be closing the Centre is not ceasing its activities in the USA. Classeswith authorised instructors will continue as normal and we have a full seminarschedule planned. Details can be found in the Whats On pages towards theback of this issue.

Those of you who wish to place orders please use our Website’s on-lineshop at www.qimagazine.com. Payments by check in US Dollars can still besent to our UK office, however, they should now be sent to our UK office.Please note that cheques should be made payable to “Michael Tse”. No othercheques will be accepted.

For information about classes and courses please contact the followingpeople:

East CoastAdam Wallace on (212) 330 8327

West CoastAdah Masaoka on (206) 367 7256

Tse QigongMembershipAnnouncementFrom the 1st of February singlemembership to the Tse QigongCentre will increase slightly.

UK price will be £45

Europe price will be £55

USA price will be $70*

* Please note that cheques shouldbe made payable to Michael Tseand sent to our UK address. Noother cheques will be accepted.

Membership to the Centreincludes a year’s subscription toQi Magazine (six issues), a CentrePolo shirt and discounts on TseQigong Centre seminars andcertain merchandise purchasedfrom the Centre.

Family memberships will remainthe same price. Familymembership is available toimmediate family members livingat the same address and includesa subscription to Qi Magazineand two Centre polo shirts, aswell as the other discounts.

For more information, pleasecontact the Centre or your localinstructor.

Hard QigongLevel IINew Test DateThe Tse Qigong Centre will beholding a test for Hard QigongLevel II on Saturday the 4th ofMay 2002. This will give thosepeople who were unable toattend the test in December achance to take the test beforeLevel III begins in June. For moreinformation please contact theCentre on 0161 929 4485. Startpractising...

Ip Chun

Qi Magazine 4

Leaning toWing ChunDear Sifu Tse,

About three years ago, I starteddoing Karate at a localclub. I thought it wasgreat, but the moreinterested I became inMartial Arts, the moreI realized that I wouldnot get very far withthis club. For nearly twoyears I have beenlooking closely atdifferent styles with theintent of changingstyles. For the past yearI have trained very littlebecause I do not find itfulfilling. My Shihaninsists on teaching thephysical techniquesonly, he does not talkabout, or help todevelop the mental andspiritual strength of hisstudents, though Ibelieve you cannot havethe physical, without themental, without thespiritual, because that’swhat makes a MartialArt different from self-defence and boxing.

I have a greatadmiration for Chineseculture, so have lookedto starting a ChineseMartial Art. I have aspecial fondness for Canton and have aburning desire to learn Cantonese, as itis such a beautiful language. WingChun is a style I have been leaningtowards for a while now, but I did notknow it originated from Canton. Lastweek I saw the book you co-wrote withGrandmaster Ip Chun, entitled ‘WingChun - Traditional Chinese Kung Fu forSelf-Defence and Health’, for sale in ashop. I recognised your name from the‘Combat’ magazine, as I read yourarticles, ‘Talking Qi and Qigong’, everyissue with great intent, so I bought thebook.

Once I started reading the book,I could not put it down. It was sointeresting, and the importance of Qiwas emphasised regularly, which issomething I have been severely lackingin my training up until now. When I readthat the style originated from Canton,

it was like a perfect coincidence. I havelearnt Sui Lim Tao, as best I can withouta teacher to guide me, from the book. Ifind it really peaceful and enjoyable toperform. I feel totally in control duringand after practising the form, a state of

mind I have felt veryrarely in the past.

At the backof the book wasyour email address,to contact you forinformation ontraining, so Idecided to take theopportunity. Every-thing I have learntabout Wing Chunso far urges me onto learn more. I ameager to find out ifyou know of anyreliable Wing Chunteachers in SouthWales, or if youcould pleaserecommend me tocontact someonewho might know. I

am also interested to know of any otherWing Chun or Qigong books you havewritten, as I would also like to purchasethem.

I would be extremely grateful ifyou could help me in my search forknowledge and to eventually achieve ahigh level of competence in Wing Chun.Thank you for the help you have alreadydone for me, and for any other helpyou are able to give me in the future. Iam grateful for your time and patience,thank you,Yours Sincerely,JL, Wales

Dear JL,Thank you for your letter. At this

moment, I do not know of anyoneteaching Wing Chun in South Walesalthough we may have an instructor whowill be beginning in a class in Bristol in

the New Year. If you would be interestedin intensive training, the Centre holds ayearly Wing Chun residential course in thesummer which covers basic and moreadvanced training over a period of fivedays. It is a good opportunity for bothbeginners and seniors to train intensivelytogether. If you would like furtherinformation on books and seminars,please visit our website at:www.qimagazine.comWith kind regards,Michael Tse

Strongor Relaxed?Dear Mr Tse,

I’ve had a lot of debate on theFook Sau positioning and energy in WingChun and would be very interested toknow your thoughts. After the Wu Sau,when you drop into Fook Sau, do youpress inwards towards the centrelinewith the elbow as well as pressingforwards or do you just drop the elbow,with hand relaxed and go forward,without pressing towards the centreline?How do you relax the shoulders fully?

There seem to be some peoplethat also pull the wrist back quite

strongly in the fook sau, whatare your thoughts on this?Thank you for anyinformation you can provideon this movement, and thankyou for your time. Keep upthe good work with the siteand the excellent magazine.R, email

Dear R,Thank you for your letter. In regard

to Fook Sau, we do not use energy to pressthe wrist/arm into the centreline. Yourshould drop into the correct position afterWu Sau and then use a forward energy,however, this is not with force. Anythingwhich uses force in Wing Chun willdamage the sensitivity. Siu Lim Tao is forbuilding up sensitivity not for creatingstrength.Best wishesMichael Tse

Hard QigongLevel II Passed!Dear Darryl,

Just a quick note to say thankyou for all the help and support you’vegiven which has helped me to pass level

“The importanceof Qi was emphasisedregularly

Qi Magazine 5

II hard Qigong exam. You’ve always beenavailable to answer my questions andhave always been very encouraging -Thank You.

I was very nervous on the examday, in fact I had butterflies in mystomach. Once the last test was done, itwas such a joyous moment. We were allso happy at the end of the day when allof us passed.

Once again - thank you. Lookingforward to level III.Kind RegardsNick Dusanj

Dear Nick,Thank you for your kind letter. I was

very pleased for all of you who passed thatday. I know how much hard work you putin. I am also glad that you found thetraining not only physically rewarding, but

it has also helped to make you muchhealthier and I believe has changed youall deep down in some way.

As Sifu also says, the training givesyou the energy to live your life to the full.I am sure you all have more energy andconfidence to do this.See you soon,Darryl Moy

DummyDim Mak?Dear Master Tse,

I am interested in the Qigongaspect of Wing Chun. I have heard theWing Chun Wooden Dummy Set isintimately associated with Qigong skilldevelopment and understanding andthat the essence of the dummy set isfound only in understanding it from theperspective of Qi. Is it true that thedummy is not about hardening ortoughening up your body, but forincreased sensitivity and learning howto hit with energy or Qi rather than justyour body?

I would greatly appreciate anyWing Chun based Qi Kung knowledgeyou can give me. Or explanations about

At Qi Magazine we receive a lot of emails and letters. We thought youmight like to see this email we received and mull it over. We are sure youwill have some opinion.

Sent: 11 August 2001 20:47To: Undisclosed RecipientsSubject: ADV: Kung Ku Black Belts...Become a certified Kung Fu Blackbelt in five easy moves for just $499.00 !!Do you want the prestige of becoming a Certified Kung Fu Blackbelt?? Call(number supplied – ed).Can you handle the respect that comes with the rank of Blackbelt??IF YOU ANSWERED, “YES” TO BOTH OF THESE QUESTIONS, YOU ARE ONLYONE PHONE CALL AWAY FROM ACHIEVING THE RANK OF KUNG FUBLACKBELT. CALL (number supplied – ed)!!Hi, my name is Sifu (name supplied -ed), and I am a 3rd degree BlackbeltSifu Instructor. I have been a martial arts instructor my entire adult life. I

am a decorated combat Vietnam Veteran and I received a purpleheart for wounds received in combat. I currently own andoperate a professional bodyguard agency for wealthyclients outside Orlando, Florida.After years of study, I have developed a unique, easy tolearn home study program. All you need to perform arethe following stances:

1. Crane2. Leopard3. Praying Mantis4. Dragon5. Serpent

After performing the five animal stances and your fees processed, you willbe awarded:1. A FIRST DEGREE BLACKBELT in Kung Fu.2. An official BLACKBELT CERTIFICATE with authentic seal with my originalsignature and the original signatures of two other Blackbelts.3. A notarized certificate of authenticity.4. A copy of my 3rd Degree BLACKBELT SIFU INSTRUCTOR CERTIFICATE,signed by a World Champion Grand Master, authorizing me, to certify you.Simply purchase my course, learn five moves, and verify you can performthese stances by emailing me (ON YOUR HONOR) that you have completedthe course and I WILL CERTIFY YOU AS FIRST DEGREE BLACKBELT...For more information call (number supplied – ed) . We will answer anyquestions you have personally; we also offer Kung Fu uniforms, Blackbeltsashes, dragon patches and other martial arts supplies. Our web page willbe up soon. Hopefully when you call, we will have the site available for youto view.You are only one call away from being a Kung Fu Blackbelt...

If you have any comments or have come across anythingsimilar why not write in to the usual address and let us know

Blackbelt for SaleBlackbelt for Sale

“You are onlyone call away froma Blackbelt”

Qi Magazine 6

how it is integrated into the Wing Chunsystem. I have also read that the fifthphase of the dummy set is to unlock andunderstand the abstract applications ofthe sequences as they pertain tomeridian point attacks relative to DimMak. It is said the dummy is the perfecttool to teach Dim Mak theory andtechniques. It is said the truth is no onewill really appreciate or understand theWing Chun Dummy set until the DimMak knowledge within it is opened up. Iwas also told by someone thatMaster Ip Chun has stoppedteaching the Dim Makaspect, is this true? Thanksfor your help.JR, England

Dear JR,In regard to

your questions aboutthe Qigong aspectsof Wing Chun,actually thewooden dum-my has noth-ing to do withQ i g o n g .Everythingin WingC h u n

relates to Qi, but practice of the woodendummy is not about strengthening theskin, bones and marrow. It is aboutpractice of correct angles and footwork.For energy practice, this is done during ChiSau not the wooden dummy.

Regarding Dim Mak skill, my Sifu,Grandmaster Ip Chun, has never taughtDim Mak and hence, has never stopped.In the early times, he discussed the DimMak skill with me and he believes that thenormal attacking skills of Wing Chun, likechopping the neck and punching will

have the same damaging effect as DimMak and is faster and more direct thansearching for a particular acupuncturepoint to attack.

Dim Mak is a skill outside the WingChun system and has its own separateprinciples different than Wing Chun butthey are nothing to do with the WoodenDummy skill. I hope this has clarifiedthings for you.Best wishes,Michael Tse

QuestionAboutHorseStance

In the stand-ing position called

“Child WorshipsBuddha” ahorse stanceposition, weare requiredto squatdown withour backss t r a i g h tand ourp a l m s

together (as ifpraying) in front ofthe Middle Dantian.

My Sifu toldme that you shouldkeep your backstraight and yourfeet parallel. Theonly problem I amhaving (apart fromthe physical effortof doing theposture) is that if Ikeep my feetparallel and sinkdown, I cannot

keep my back straight, and if I keep myback straight I found my toes start topoint outwards.

Is it better then to have the backstraight or have the feet parallel.

Any advice would be muchappreciated.Question asked in seminar

This is a very common questionpeople have when they first start to do“horse stance” postures. It all depends onhow flexible your joints are and also how

InterestingWeblinkswww.about.comThis site is a general grab bag of various topicson things Chinese, including travel, study,Feng Shui, Qigong, martial arts, etc. Has linksto other sites which can be irritating as theyare trying to sell something but if can bearthis in mind, it is a fun site for dabbling butnot for in-depth resources.

www.orcat.comEver wonder how to write Chinesecharacters? Each character has its own orderin which the stroke is made and each strokewill have a special way in which it is created,either downwards, to the side, etc. Thisanimated site will show you how to writeselected Chinese characters, stroke by stroke.

strong you are. We do these exercises tocreate heat in the body as they make theQi stronger and also develop thecirculation. They are also one of the bestways of driving negative Qi out of thebody.

You should always make sure thatyou build up very gradually at first. Donot go down too low to allow your bodyto get used to the exercise and let yourjoints become more flexible and stronger.It is best to keep your back as straight asyou can, but if you find you lean forwardsa little bit, then this is OK. If you bendforwards a lot, then you have gone toolow and should keep up until you canstraighten your back. As for the feet, keepthem as parallel as you can. Again if youfind they point out a little, then this is OK,but do not let them go too far. Again youshould come up if they do.

The most important thing is tobuild up step by step. Go down as far asyou can while keeping a good postureand come up when you are tired. Keepyour eyes open, but make sure you do notfocus on anything. When you finishalways remember to Shou Gong to settleyour energy.Michael Tse

If you have any letters, questions orcomments you would like to share, send them tous at:

Qi MagazinePO Box 59AltrinchamWA15 8FSUKtse@qimagazine.com

InterestingWeblinks

“They are alsoone of the bestways of drivingout negative Qi”

Qi Magazine 7

to look like him and went to meet KiuFung.

At the meeting, Chu’s father (Kiudid not know it was Chu) admittedmistakenly killing Kiu’s parents. Kiu Fungonly thought of revenge and used allhis energy to strike him, but at themoment he struck he realised the mandid not know any martial arts. His bodywas too weak and light, so somethingwas wrong. However, it was toolate. His opponent had takenall his power and Kiu Fungwas one of the bestmartial artists in China.

After he hit, hewent over to Chu’sfather, as he knewsomething was notright. When helooked closer herealised it was Chu.He was so sad. Chutold him that theperson he waslooking for was herfather and she didnot want Kiu to killhim. So she took hisplace and tried toclear up all themistakes that hadhappened. Then shedied.

Kiu Fungcried and cried.Although he was oneof the strongest menin China and his levelof skill was so high, hestill had a soft heart.He would do absolutelyanything to bring herback, but it was toolate. She did notrespond to anything hedid or said. Chu just laystill in his arms. Kiu picked upher body and began to run. He ran formiles and miles, and did not feel anypain or any tiredness. He just wanted torun as if it might use his energy to stopall the sadness and pain in his heart.

He did not know were he wasgoing and screamed up to the sky,hoping that this was all a terrible dreamand that there would be some miraclethat would change everything and bringChu back to life. Then they would hideaway where no one would know them

and lead a quiet life and have a family.But he could not change what hadhappened.

Eventually Kiu found out that theman he was looking for was not Chu’sfather at all and so Chu’s death wasanother terrible mistake. The story goeson and Kiu actually finds his father aliveand that the person who had made allthe original claims had done so out ofjealousy

Kiu knew that all the things thathad happened had no meaning and

that revenge and killing had no ending.He found he was not a Song or a Xidan.He was educated under the Songs, butalthough he was born a Xidan he wasrunning in their blood.

Kiu did not want anythinganymore, so he killed himself so hecould go and look for Chu.

This is a sad story, but you shouldknow that it was a story written by myfavourite Chinese novelist, Kam Yung.Kiu Fung was not a real person, he isjust a character out of a novel, but histruthfulness and honesty impressed mea lot.

His words, “There is nothing Ineed to hide and nothing I cannot tell

others” have always been favourites ofmine, and that is why, about ten yearsago I wrote my own poem, “Simple andnatural is my method, true and sincereis my principle.” I have still not reachedthat level yet, 100% honest, but I amworking on it. I am not trying to hideeverything, but of course everyone hashis or her privacy and there is no needto tell everyone everything as particularlytoday, it is not safe to do so. I will alsonot make up stories about other people.

Being completely honest is verydifficult to do, for example, if you meet

someone and they look tired and ill,if you tell them the truth they mightbe offended. So I will prefer to saythey look OK.

Also, if someone tells you asecret then you should not tell anyone.That is honest and shows your loyalty.If you gossip about people then yourare not being honest and so you donot understand how to be a trueperson.

Having studied Qigong for somany years I have seen many differentschools:- Daoist, Buddhist,Confucian, martial art and medical.Actually, they are all the same, onlywe look at where they originally camefrom. If you look at the higher levels,they are all teaching how to getbalance and to do things properly.

If your posture is straight, youwalk in a balanced way with left andright co-ordinating together, eatproperly, sit correctly, and thinkcorrectly, you will be healthy and willnot suffer from illness until your energyruns out, or you decide when you wantto go.

Behaving properly, not beingselfish, being honest and not lying is avery high level of Qigong because yourmind and body are correct. When welie and our thinking is deformed, then itis like your posture being crooked withone shoulder higher than the other. Thisis like having one tyre on your cardeformed and so it will not run properly.When you are selfish, then you start toclose up and eventually you will becomedepressed and ill.

So after practising so many yearsof Qigong and martial arts I haverealised that high level skill is not onlyabout movement, but also it is ourattitude.

Qi Magazine 8

During November 2001 Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang came to Britain toteach the Chen family Taiji spear. This was the first time that he had taught the spearin Britain and everyone present felt privileged to have the opportunity to learn suchan astounding form from such an exceptional teacher.

Chen Taiji SpearThe spear (Qiang) is one of the

weapons traditional to Chinesemartial arts and it falls into the

category of long weapons, along withthe staff, halberd, tiger fork and Dadao.The correct length of a spear is equal tothe distance between the ground andyour finger tips (when you are standingwith your feet flat and together andreaching up). For experienced martialartists this will already suggest a lotabout the biomechanics of the weapon’suse and its potential reach.

The Chinese spear consists of ashaft and a head (usually with somesort of tassel or horsehair attached).A spear without a head is long staff.The addition of the spearhead allowsthe spear to become a deadlythrusting weapon. A well madehead may be able to hold areasonable edge with somepotential for cutting but thethrust is the essentialtechnique with thespear. The factthat Qiang,the Chinesename forthe spear, isalso theterm theChinese usefor guns saysa lot about thecharacter of thespear as a weapon.

The spear is a full militaryweapon. It is designed for killing andmaiming. Historically, it has been oneof the most important weapons onbattlefields the world over. This isbecause it is relatively easy tomanufacture (as compared to weaponslike the sword) and it has a wide rangeof uses. It can be thrown. It can be usedto take riders off horses. Its most commonuse was in infantry ranks but it can alsobe held near to the spearhead for closehand to hand combat.

Many elements of the Chen spearform relate to its role as an infantryweapon. The majority of the movements

Chen Taiji spear is especiallyinteresting from a martial standpoint. Itcombines both spear and stafftechniques, which really demonstratesits full versatility as a weapon. Themovements originate from two separateforms: jasmine spear and white monkey

family spearbut has been

adapted to theunique spiralling

energy of Chen Taiji.When teaching

Grandmaster Chen paidparticular attention to

posture, just as he doeswhen teaching unarmed

forms. Correct posture is alwaysimportant. It is one of the things

that distinguishes the soft arts fromthe hard arts. The posture must beupright and relaxed so that all the Qican flow and so that you can movesmoothly and quickly. It is also necessaryso that the Dantian can turn.

One of the characteristic aspectsof the Chen spear is the clear anddetailed footwork. Almost all of the

Chen Taiji Spearwork along one line - front to back. Thecircling of the spear usually holds tightlyto this line rotating in a vertical planeand remaining close to the body. Inmilitary formations this would be anessential skill so that the ranks could bekept tight. A soldier who could not holdthis most basic of lines would not bemuch use in a regiment as he would bea liability to those alongside him.

staff. Thus as well as the usual thrustmoves you also find large horizontalsweeps and downward blows with thebutt end of the spear - designed todisarm an opponent.

In most Chinese spear forms youfind a fundamental triad of moves: Lan,La, Jia. These are specialist martial termsthat have been used in relation to thespear for over a thousand years butwhich have no regular usage in everydayChinese. Lan is a clockwise block. La is

a counter-clockwise block and Jia isa thrust. This short combination is

the essence of Chinese spearwork. Not surprisingly

it is in the Chen

Qi Magazine 8

Qi Magazine 9

stepping begins by retracting and thenreplacing the lead foot. This is anessential defensive move - you are takingyour foot out of the way of a strikebefore moving in. The fact that this isemphasised on nearly every step pointsto Chen’s quality as a battlefield art.The logic is that you cannot ‘ride’ aweapon’s blow, ‘no foot: no fight’. Theforward steps are often alsoaccompanied by a drawing back of thespear, which gives the deceptiveimpression of retreat, and may wellmislead an opponent into thinking thatthey are safe at the precise moment

when they are least safe. Thesteps themselves, arefrequently covered by sweepsof the spear past theankle making thewhole move very tight,defensively.

S i m i l a rsubtleties are alsoobservable inthe movementsof the backfoot, which iss o m e t i m e sstepped backa few inchesbefore re-treating intoit. This kind ofsmall adjust-ment canoften be thedifference be-tween being inand out of anop p one n t ’ srange, or en-couraging anopponent too v e r e x t e n d .Again, following yinyang strategy, a retreat is usuallyfollowed by an advance. The reach ofthe strikes is frequently extended by

drawing in the back foot. This kind ofstepping also allows many subtlevariations and adjustments of range tobe made and the manipulation ofdistance is further reinforced in the waythe grip continuously shifts along theshaft of the spear. It is the footwork ofthe Chen spear form that reveals its truemartial nature.

All of this sounds amazinglycomplex to perform, and in some respectsit is until you grasp the overall simplicityof the way the spear follows the body.Everything rotates around the Dantian.A lot of the time the body is positioned

sideways on (to the line), whichallows the spear to be kept tight to thebody and makes for a narrower target.The turning of the Dantian, from side to

side, gives the spear its power and pacewhile leaving the arms and handsrelaxed. Again this simplicity comes fromthe attention to detail of the posture.

Keeping the arms and handsrelaxed is essential to the control of thespear itself. The hands have to berelaxed so that they can shift along thelength of the spear, changing the reachand range, sometimes allowing forfluency of movement and sometimesproviding the basis for powerful strikes.When combined with the footwork thehand adjustments can provide suddenthrusts at an a wide variety of rangesfrom little six inch jabs to moves whichcover almost twelve feet in one step.

At the end of the four day seminarSigong Chen gave a demonstration ofthe full form which revealed the highlevel of his skill. While learning the formmost people had been able to use thespiralling movements to generate thepower that Taiji refers to as fajing.However, Sigong Chen’s energy was

very different from other people’s.With everyone else you could see

a physical ‘wind up’ before therelease of power, but with

Sigong the fajing just suddenlyappeared at the end of the

spear, like the cracking ofa whip. This is similar to

his pushing hands.W h e n

m o s tpeopleu s e

p o w e ryou can feel

it coming asthey set them-

selves up, you mightnot always be able to

do something about itbut you can feel itcoming. However, withSigong Chen the poweris effortless and instant,there is no warning. Thefirst thing you knowabout it is when you areflying through the air.The softness of the spearreally showed this highlevel skill. Sigong Chen

transmitted energy fromhis body to the point of the

spear in sharp explosive concussions likefiring of a gun. It was an awesomedisplay of skill

by Glenn Gossling. Glenn@qimagazine.com

“Fajing just suddenlylike the crackingof a whip.”

“Fajing just suddenlylike the crackingof a whip.” Ch

en

Taijiq

uan

Qi Magazine 9

Qi Magazine 10

Many people are attracted to theworld of martial arts by the spectacularhigh kicking in the movies and on TV.However reality is not about how it looksrather it is about whether it works and ifyou can use it.

Qi Magazine 10

Bruce Lee once gave an interview on Hong Kong TV.In the interview he talked about his fighting skilland his movies. When the interviewer asked himabout his spectacular high kicking Bruce said thatwas only for his movies and that in reality he would

never kick higher than his waist as it was too dangerous andleft you vulnerable to losing your balance. This is somethinghe learnt from his teacher, Grandmaster Ip Man and is one ofthe primary principles of Wing Chun.

Wing Chun is famous for its hand techniques, but it isalso very well known for its kicking techniques. All of theWing Chun kicking techniques apart from one can be foundin the Wing Chun Wooden Dummy form. This is where thekicks are trained in real earnest. Whilst kicks appear in thesecond form Tsum Kiu, it is not until the dummy form that anyreal power can be trained. The dummy is the only partneryou can kick as hard as you like, however, you should beaware, although the dummy cannot move, it can “kick youback”. If you kick the dummy incorrectly, not only will youbounce off it and fall, but you can hurt your foot as well.

All Wing Chun kicks use the heel of the foot. Thetechniques do not require any big swinging of the limbs, infact they are rather like the hand strikes in nature, travellingdirectly to their target, remaining relaxed until the lastmoment. Then all the body’s energy is channelled to the kick,which is supported by correct posture and strong balance.

The kicks target the joint in order to be more effective.However, in practice, it does not matter how well you canperform the techniques if you never have the opportunity touse them. Kicking low, as well as kicking high, leaves youprone to losing your balance, but when kicking low, the timein which you arevulnerable ismuch shorter.The mostimportant thingis choosing theright time tokick. The besttime to kick iswhen you are inrange and completely safe, so that your opponent cannotattack you back. This time is often when you already havehim under your control. So Wing Chun kicks are best used asfinishing techniques. Ideally you should only ever have to kickyour opponent once. Thus once you have kicked him he shouldbe defeated.

To be able to do this requires good hand skills to getyour opponent into this position, good balance, timing andpower. This is where training with the Wooden Dummy becomesinvaluable.

The wooden dummy form will teach you the correctpositioning and distance to kick and to also co-ordinate this

with your hand techniques and other footwork. However, youshould not become fixed by the form, i.e. only be able to usethe techniques in sequence. You need to develop flexibility intheir use and application. All the techniques you use need tobe natural and second nature. As Grandmaster Ip Man said,“Do not let the skill control you, you must control the skill”.

One way to train, which you might find useful, is touse the dummy, but not to practise the form. To begin withtake the arms and legs out of the dummy so you are only leftwith the body. Beginning slowly, start to move around thedummy in a random way (you can even turn your back to it).Then at certain moment see if you can kick the dummy. If you

Wing ChunPower KickingPower Kicking

Qi Magazine 11Qi Magazine 11

Tse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59

Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285

+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.com

can, kick immediately. If you are out of range move your selfso you are in range and take notice of how you got there.Move back into your original position and then practise quicklymoving into range and kicking. As you become more familiarwith the range of your kicks you should be able to move intorange and kick more quickly. Eventually you should be ableto do it without thinking and instinctivelyknow when you are in range and when youare not.

When you can do this smoothly, putthe arms and leg back into the dummy andtry again. It will feel quite different withthese obstacles in your way and you willhave to get used to it all over again.However with practice it will become smoothand natural. Don’t forget that you can alsokick the leg.

This exercise will get you used tokicking from any position and also thedistances required. There are in fact threeways to train with the Wooden Dummy. Theform is only the very basic way and is called“Playing with the Dummy”. The other twomethods are less well known; they arecalled “Polishing the Dummy” and “Hitting the Dummy”. Thistraining exercise is closer to the last method “Hitting theDummy”.

Another exercise to help develop your power can againbe done on the Wooden Dummy and does not require you tohave studied the whole form. Stand in front of the dummy

and place your heel on it as if you had just kicked it. Keepyour leg relaxed. Suddenly jerk your leg pressing your heelinto the dummy and then relax as quickly as you can andhold your foot just off the dummy’s surface. Make sure youkeep your balance. Keep repeating this as long as you can.When you are tired change to the other leg and repeat. This

is a very demanding exercise. Very quicklyyou will find yourself getting tired and itbecomes increasingly difficult to keep yourbalance. However with more practice youwill find that you will be able to releasemore power into the dummy and you willalso feel how it relates to your standingleg.

Then you can combine the twoexercises together. Begin by doing the firstexercise and when you find yourself at anunusual position where you do not feel yourkick is strong, stay there and begin to pressthe dummy (as in the second exercise) untilyou are accustomed to it. Then try steppingin and out of that position and kick. Youshould find that you are better balancedand more powerful.

Wing Chun is a very clever system. AlthoughGrandmaster Ip Man cut it down to its bare essentials, theessence of all the skill is there to see. All you need to do isexamine it and work at it and with help from a good teacher,piece it together

by Darryl Moy

Kicking the knee

Qi Magazine 12

Phlegm & TCMPhlegm is also called catarrh and is

a symptom of many diseases. TCMdifferentiates phlegm into concrete

and formless phlegm. Concrete phlegmrefers to the visible, palpable andaudible parenchymatous phlegm,whereas formless retention of phlegmrefers to the various conditions causedby the retention of phlegm, suchas dizziness, chest tightness,depression and epilepsy,characterised by agreasy coating on thetongue and a slipperypulse. It is called‘formless phlegm’because this kind ofphlegm shows itssymptoms but hasno concrete visibleform, and can becured by methods ofeliminating phlegm.

‘ F o r m l e s sphlegm’ can only bediagnosed by a TCMp r a c t i t i o n e r .Generally, a lot ofpeople complain ofcatarrh which isvisible. Visiblephlegm can befurther divided intoHeat phlegm, Coldphlegm, Dampphlegm and Dryphlegm.

Heat phlegm:Symptoms: Greenor yellow colourphlegm, accompaniedby cough, chestinfection, sore throat, redtongue with yellow greasycoating and slippery rapidpulse.Treatment:Clear away the heat and eliminatephlegmPrescription:Qin Qi Hua Tan Wan, She Dan ChuanBei Ye

Cold Phlegm:Symptoms: White in colour, profuse andfrothy, accompanied by cough, flu orasthma. Generally feeling cold, withpale tongue with white greasy coatingand slippery and slow pulse.

Treatment:Warm the Lung, resolve the

phlegmPrescription:Xiao Qing Long Tang

Damp Phlegm:Symptoms: Thick whitephlegm, poor appetite,tightness in chest, whitecoating, soft, slipperypulse.Treatment:Strengthen the Spleen,dry the dampness toresolve the phlegm.Prescription:Er Chen Wan, Jian PiWan

Dry PhlegmSymptoms: Sticky dryphlegm, diff iculty ingetting it out, shortnessof breath, red tongue, nocoating, thirst, threadyand slippery pulse,usually seen in cases ofchronic asthma.Treatment:Tonify the Yin, nourish theLungPrescription:Bai He Gu Jin Wan, ChuanBei Pi Pa Lu

Phlegm ischaracterised by an

accumulation of dampness as apathological product resulting fromdisturbances in water metabolism. TCMrefers to phlegm as due to deficiency ofSpleen Qi which fails to transport thebody fluids to the normal channels, thusresulting in retention of phlegm. Phlegmusually affects the Lungs, causing a

cough, asthma or difficulty breathing.It is said that “ the spleen is the sourceof phlegm, the Lung is the container ofphlegm.” So when we treat phlegm, theemphasis is usually on the Spleen andLung.

Improper diet is also a majorcause of phlegm. Those suffering fromcatarrh should avoid eating foods whichare fatty and greasy, such as cheese,cream, chocolate. Radishes and celeryare excellent for resolving phlegm.

Case Study:In October 2000, Mr Zhang, 40

years old, went to China on business.He consumed a lot of rich, greasy food,and drank much alcohol while he wasthere. In addition, he was suffering witha chest infection.

On returning to England, henoticed that he had green sticky phlegmstuck in his throat all the time. Heneeded to go to the bathroom to spit itout every few minutes. The phlegmblocked his nose, causing him to snoreso loudly at night that his wife had togo to another bedroom to sleep. Amonth later, Mr Zhang came to my clinicfor treatment. I prescribed She DanChuan Bei Ye to resolve heat phlegmand Yin Huang Kou Fu Ye to clear awaythe Lung heat. He took 1 tube of eachand used them twice a day. 2 days later,he felt a lot better. As he wanted to getbetter quicker, he tripled his intake to 2tubes 3 times a day. The phlegm clearedup completely and the snoring ceased,however, because he had overdosedhimself, the cooling herbs caused himsevere stomach ache and diarrhoea. Helost his appetite and felt very tired. Whenhe came back to the clinic again a fewweeks later, I told him to stop the firstprescription and change to Xiang SheYang Wei Wan to warm the stomach andto stop the diarrhoea. He recovered welljust in time for Christmas

by Dr. Shulan Tang. Shulan@qimagazine.com

Phlegm & TCM

At some point everyone suffers with phlegm. May be you have a coldwhich “gets on your chest” and then gives you a bad cough. However, youget it, it is very irritating. So how does TCM treat it?

Qi Magazine 12

Tra

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Qi Magazine 13Healthy Living Gong

Healthy Living Gong is a family ofexercises that I created in 1996.The reason I created the Healthy

Living Gong was to help beginners sothat they are better prepared for themore advanced levels of Qigong and areable to do them better. Often I talkedwith some of my students and askedthem whether they thought the standardof the more junior students was goodenough. Many of them said they did notthink so. They found that while peoplelearnt the First 64 of the Wild Goose astheir first form, although they couldperform the movements, they wouldnever be really good. This was becausethe body was not flexible enough andthey did not know how to use theDantian and allow the Qi to flow.

I also remember, back in 1988when I came to the UK and startedteaching Qigong, the very first thing Itaught was the 18 Movement TaijiQigong. Today you can find many booksand videos on these exercises. The sadthing is that many of these peopleactually learnt these exercises from meand they made these books and videoswithout asking me or allowing me tocheck their movements andunderstanding, to make sure theirstandard was good enough and whatthey were doing was not wrong. InChinese culture, you do not write a bookabout (or make a video) without askingyour teacher’s permission first andletting your teacher help you. What iseven sadder is that some of these peoplehave now passed away whilst relativelystill young. I feel sorry that they werenot humble enough to get it right andthought so soon that they were sifus now.

Taiji Qigong was created byMaster Lin Hou Sheng. I learnt theseexercises from his student, Lin Qing inHong Kong back in 1982. That was evenbefore I had met my teacherGrandmaster Yang Meijun, who is the27th Generation Heir to Dayan (WildGoose) Qigong. Today she is 105 and Iam her only student in the whole orEurope.

Having practised the 18Movements from 1982 to 1994 I foundthat the exercises were not challengingenough. They all had the same rhythm

e.g. “Taiji Start” and “Opening theChest” is the same. When youdo “Pushing Waves” there isvery little difference to “FlyingPigeon”. All of thesemovements also have a kindof “dancing” attitude. They arevery good for beginners, butonce you have done them youneed more.

I have been practisingQigong and Martial Arts foralmost 30 years with some ofthe world’s top masters, forinstance my Dayan Qigong,Grandmaster Yang Meijun (whois 105), for Chen Taijiquan thehead of the 19 Generation,Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang(who is 56), for Shaolin,

Grandmaster Wu Chunyuen (who is 75)and for Wing Chun Kuen, GrandmasterIp Chun (who is 77). They all haveamazing skill, but more importantly theyare all very healthy and strong.

This has made me think how webecome healthy and strong even whenwe are older. I disagree with the Westernconcept of health and exercise, goingto the gym, just looking fit with strongmuscles, a skinny body with no wrinkles,a strict diet and taking vitamin pills.

I agree with the Chinese way, eathealthily, whatever you like as long as itis organic, natural and in moderation,exercise daily, have plenty of fresh air,enough sleep and no stress. Also be niceto people, but not weak. When you thinksomething is right stick with it and whenyou are not right, apologise. When youthink about others, do not takeadvantage of them. Listen to your body,your body will tell you what is good for

you and listen to your heart as this willmake you a good person.

This means that both your bodyand thinking must be healthy. If you justexercise and your thinking is not right,even if your movements are good, youwill still be ill. This is a fact of nature. Ifyou do not apply the principles of Qigongto your thinking and life, it means youseparate your body and mind so ofcourse you will eventually be ill, whetherit is now or later on.

I have found that when you wantto be healthy, you need to keep yourbody supple and in good condition, yourjoints should be in good condition, yourbones should be strong and your musclesshould have a certain amount ofstrength.

This is why I feel that the TaijiQigong is not enough to make you reallyhealthy as people can hide variousimbalances in the movements of Taiji

Healthy Living GongWith this issue I would like to introduce a series of

Qigong exercises from the Tse Qigong Centre called,Healthy Living Gong.

Qi Magazine 13

“How do we becomehealthy and strong evenwhen we are older?”

“How do we becomehealthy and strong evenwhen we are older?”

Qi Magazine 14

Collecting Qi to the Dantian

Qi Magazine 14

Qigong. Taiji Qigong is good for the beginners, but afterthat you need something which challenges you. For example,if you only use your right hand, you should use your left handas well, otherwise it will be weak. Then you will becomeunbalanced and this will affect your health. If you cannotkeep your legs straight and bend down to touch your toesthen you need to work on it so that you can.

Our bodies are like machines. It should work whenyou press all the buttons, but if some of the buttons do notwork, then it might start out as a small problem, but eventuallyit will become a big problem, so we need to fix it.

However, today doctors will tell you to just rest if youhave a problem or injury. Actually, you need to work on itand make your body become normal again. So you can doexercise to heal your body and change your attitude.

So, Healthy Living Gong is based on all my experiencefrom Dayan Qigong, Taijiquan, Shaolin Quan and Wing Chun,also movements from everyday life, Chinese stories, animalsand imagination, all to develop the body so that it is healthy.

There are three parts. Part 1 of Healthy Living Gong ismainly for relaxation and to balance the body. Part 2 is forco-ordination and fitness. Part 3 is for strength and power.

Many people who do Qigong are actually only at thefirst level, they are only relaxing themselves, but they are notfit (not meaning muscular), because they do not have strengthwhen it is required. For example, if you need to move yourfurniture, if you want to take the lid of a jar which you boughtfrom the supermarket. If something falls, are you able tocatch it and hold on to it. This is fitness and this is part ofbeing healthy.

If you think your Qi is strong, but you have no strength,then it means your bones are weak. It also means your Qi isweak. This is because at the end, when your body is full ofQi, it is stored in the marrow in the bones and stays there.Like a tree trunk become thicker as the tree gets stronger.You cannot have beautiful shiny leaves and a weak trunk.The trunk is like our bones and the leaves are our skin andhair, and the roots are our legs. Everything is connected andnothing is individual and separate.

So you should not forget that to be healthy yourexercises have to include relaxation, good co-ordination andalso fitness. This will make your body healthy, but also yourthinking needs to be healthy and this is very important.

Here are the exercises of Healthy Living Gong Part 1.

1. Collecting Qi to the Dantiana. Stand still with your feet shoulder width apart, your knees

slightly bent and your back straight.b. Raise your left hand and shift your weight slightly to the

left.c. Bring your left hand over to your head.d. Let the Laogong point pass the Sky-eye and then pass

along the Ren Channel down to your Dantian.e. As you lower your left hand down, shift your weight slowly

to the right and start to raise up the right hand. Repeatfor the right side.

f. Keep rotating your arms, as one hand comes in the otheris going down, if one hand is at the Sky-eye the othermust be at the Dantian, so your hands are always oppositeand balanced. If you find that you cannot keep the balancebetween the hands, then it means that one side of yourbrain is stronger than the other.

BreathingAs one hand rises breathe in and the other hand rises, breathe

out. Breathe naturally through your nose, you do not need to thinkabout your breathing too hard.

ConcentrationYour eyes should follow the rising hand.

Background/historyIf you have done Swimming Dragon Gong, you will recognise

that this movement comes from “Fostering Qi in a Circle”, howeverunlike Fostering Qi in a Circle, we do not walk. However, at theend of Part 1 there is a walking exercise that is similar to this.

Sky-eye

Laogong Point

Ren ChannelAcupoints

Qi Magazine 15

Collecting Qi to the Dantian

Collecting Qi to theDantian

Health BenefitsThis is very good for co-ordination. In the West, externally looking

good is the main emphasis for health. It does not consider the co-ordination, which actually plays a major role in health. If some onehas clumsy movements, it means they will be prone to strokes andhigh blood pressure in the future.

The brain plays a great part in our health. We cannot have goodhealth without the brain being able to think clearly and control themovements of the body. For example, if you want to move your left

arm, but only ever move your right arm, then your left side will beweak. When you want to move your weak side, it will not workproperly and so the right side of the brain will have a problem.

When we are affected by active movements and strongemotions, the weak side of the brain will be affected. Then thebrain will not be able to cope with this and this might lead to astroke. So, good co-ordination is very important as it avoidsimbalances in the brain and keeps us healthy and younger.

a b c

d e f

Qi Magazine 16

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2. Separating the Fog to Look for the Clouds.

Wuyin point. This means it is good for the “Lower Warmer” ( LowerJiao) i.e. stomach, liver, intestine, small intestine, urinary bladderand reproductive organs.

It can help with illnesses such as constipation, illnesses with thereproductive organs especially for women,but will help men as well.It is also good for the breathing and asthma, insomnia and stress.

to be continued... by Michael Tse

a. Once again, stand naturally with the legs slightly bent.Cross your hands in front of your Dantian, palms facingupwards. Men should place their left hand over the rightand ladies the right over the left. The Neiguan andWaiguan points should be close together.

b. Separate both hands out to the sides and turn the palmsto face down.

c. The Hegu points face each other. Keep your elbows bentwhen you separate the hands, so the arms form a semi-circle. As you separate your hands, straighten the legs.

d. Bring your hands back together, as before, and bend yourknees.

BreathingAs your hands open, breathe in and as they close, breathe out.

Again, breathe naturally through the nose.

ConcentrationLook forward and do not drop the head.Your mindshould slightly

think about the Dantian, but do not concentrate on it hard.

Background/HistoryThis movement is a little like Balancing Gong’s “Opening and

Closing the Dantian”, but the meaning is completely different. Inthe Balancing Gong, the hands form a full circle and theHegu pointsface the Daimai points. In this movement the Hegu points face eachother and the arms make a semi-circle. “Opening and Closing theDantian” isgood for opening and closing the Dantian. “Separatingthe Clouds to Look for the Fog” is good for the stomach andintestines, urinary bladder, sexual organs and women’s menstrualproblems.

BenefitsAs well as those mentioned above, this movement is good for

the lower part of the body, from the Middle Dantian down to the

HeguPoint

NeiguanPoint

WaiguanPoint

Acu

poin

ts

Qi Magazine 17

Things have changed drastically sinceSeptember 11th and it has bothclarified and refined many people’s

thinking and direction. For me, I sawthat where I wanted to be was my home,and that is England. As things havebecome more quiet here in the Hawaiiclasses due to the resulting recession,the Centre in England is bubbling andso it seemed that the right thing is tostand as one rather than have resourcesdivided.

My feelings for leaving Hawaiiand returning to England are very Yin/Yang. There are many things that pullat my heart to return to England, thelargest being my husband and the TseQigong Centre family that fortunatelyhas never been too far away in this dayof modern technology. However, I willmiss the students who have come toappreciate the skill that I have beenfortunate enough to teach them. GreggDunn, in addition to being a goodstudent, has been like my guardianangel and helped to open doors andsmooth a path for me here in Hawaii.Steve Casano bravely took over classesin my absences from the island anddid very well and earned the respectof his classmates and won my trust.Although he knew his skill level wasnot ready, he did it out of loyalty tome as I had asked. Outside of theCentre, I am also grateful to the

sweetness of Austin Yonihiro who has abig heart and lots of potential. Thanksalso to all the others at the AthertonYMCA who embrace the same ethos offamily of the Tse Qigong Centre and whohave made me welcome here in Hawaii.

And I am appreciative of KahiWight. She has not only embraced theskill of my heart, Qigong, but has alsobenefited by it tremendously. She hasnever missed a class unless she was awayfrom the island and has proven herloyalty and sincerity through these lastweeks, offering to help in anyway shecan. Thanks also to Kaii Krymm who haswonderful patience, continuing topractise her Balancing Gong forthe three weeks I waslast away, despiteknowing sheshould havebeen tested. Iam happyto seeher

health and skill improving. There arealso others, like my Buddhism Sifu whohas just recently begun to study Qigongwith me and who learns exceptionallywell and practises even better. I amgrateful to her for letting me be a part

of ‘her family’ when I was alone andneeded it most, and to all those friendsI have made in the temple as a result.

It has often been a frighteningburden to try and create something herealone but I am grateful to everyone whohas helped, especially those there inEngland who have helped to boostmorale, wipe tears and even shout and

give me a kick when needed.I am sure you can guess

some of those people:- Tse Sifu-both as my teacher and my bestfriend; Darryl Moy- whosepatience has I am sure earnedhim Immortality by now; MichaelBaker- for the weekly emails of

humour which were sorely neededat times; John Hayes – for always

taking time to listen; Barbro – for beinga friend of the heart and for Stefan,for just being a good man, and to allthose others in the family, like JulianWilde who sent me a timely email thissummer before the Instructor’s Courseto say I would be missed. It helped alot! And thanks to Sylvia Royle for thecards and sweet thoughts, Martin Galewho is more than one person’s hero,Simon Bedford, Caroline Garvey, SarahBloomfield, Mollie Heron, Helen Philpott,Helen Massey, Shahriar Sepangi andKate Britton. There are many more, andI thank all of them in my heart.

Life is constantly changing but tome the constant pivot should becompassion and kindness for thosearound us. These relationships, likestrands of a web, are what connect usand help to support the whole. I amgrateful for the small time I have hadhere in Hawaii to share my Sifu’s skilland hope that the seeds planted willcontinue to grow. It is now time for meto start another garden back in Englandand share some of the Aloha that I havelearned here in Hawaii. Aloha meansmany things. It means hello, it meansgoodbye, it means to be and act withlove and awareness of others’ needs. Itmeans family

by Sihn Kei. sihnkei@qimagazine.com

As most of you will have read in the PO Box, it has been decided to closethe Hawaii office. That does not mean to say America will be forgotten, ratherthe seeds that have been planted will continue to be nurtured in the hope that theywill grow into strong trees and bear fruit.

One More AlohaOne More Aloha

Qi Magazine 17

“Aloha means many things,hello, goodbye, act withlove and awareness , itmeans family”

“Aloha means many things,hello, goodbye, act withlove and awareness , itmeans family”

Qi Magazine 18Qi Magazine 18

There is a long history of seclusion and retreat inthe Daoist tradition. The tales and legends ofmasters and disciples leaving the disharmony andillusions of society behind and returning to natureare too numerous to recount. Whether they lived

as hermits for their entire lives, or returned to society aftera temporary sojourn, nature was clearly the source ofinspiration for the Daoist spiritual tradition. The veryimagery and language of Daoist spiritual texts is derivedfrom and continually reinvigorated by direct naturalexperience.

The Dao De Jing states that Dao is the way of nature,and compares Dao to the flow of a river. The Yijingilluminating wisdom derives entirely from the interaction ofnatural forces like wind, water, wood, earth. The posturesand movements of Taijiquan and Qigong are also reflectionsof nature. One “waves hands like clouds”, or moves like“twin dragons embracing the moon.” Qigong posturesemulate the Big Dipper, crouching tigers, bamboo stalks,and eagles soaring on the breeze. Nature is the source ofDaoist cultivation. As Master Shi Ming states in his bookMind Over Matter, Higher Martial Arts, “Humankind is noneother than a microcosm, a hologram of the total system ofthe universe, in complete communion with the macrocosm.”(p. 24)

Unfortunately, these natural truths do not have muchto do with how people actually live their lives today, evenpeople fortunate enough to have the time and energy todevote to internal cultivation. Post-modern citizens in the

21 st Century are more detached from nature than human beingshave ever been. Philosophy, education and psychological attitudetoward the natural world separate us mentally and spiritually;the simple mechanics of how we live erect enormous barriersbetween ourselves and the earth we emerged from and dependon.

The majority of the citizens of the industrialized nations,eastern or western, live in cities where nature has been nearlycompletely destroyed or subordinated. City dwellers can anddo live their lives completely removed from natural cycles orprocesses, whether they want to or not. Even residents of suburbanor rural areas are still contending with the lights, traffic andnoise of sprawl, and an increasing reliance on technology thatseparates daily living from natural processes. Furthermore, theincreasingly frenetic pace of our lives is stressful and serves toadrenalize our system, making us unhealthy, nervous andunbalanced; a far cry from the balanced serenity that spiritualcultivation is based upon.

Our increasingly technological society is not a purelynegative one. Passing judgement on society, or advocating sometype of environmental “fundamentalism” as the redress for allof our current difficulties is neither mature nor realistic. Thepoint that needs to be made is that our current lifestyle and themajority of the influences on our lives, be they psychological ortechnological, create obstacles to internal cultivation, and theseobstacles block our receptivity to Qi within ourselves or the

Between Heaven and Earth

Qigong in theWildernessQigong in theWilderness

People follow the earth.Earth follows heaven.Heaven follows the Dao.The Dao follows what is natural.(Dao De Jing, Verse 25)

People follow the earth.Earth follows heaven.Heaven follows the Dao.The Dao follows what is natural.(Dao De Jing, Verse 25)

Qi Magazine 19

natural world we come from. The results of these obstaclesare profound.

Fortunately, “when one removes the weeds, the gardengrows of its own accord.” As teachers at a martial artseducational centre in Maine, we are fortunate to have accessto pristine wilderness areas, and have learned first hand ofthe numerous benefits of extended spiritual cultivation inwilderness settings. We believe so strongly in providingwilderness trainingas part of oureducation that wehave developed acomplete four-season program inorder to give ourstudents thesecrucial experiences.Students climbmountains andcanoe lakes andrivers in order tocleanse their spiritsand find tranquiland unspoiledsettings to engage inthe ancient andbeautiful practicesof Taiji, Qigong andother martial artstraining practices.Travelling to a pristine natural settingand living in a more basic state, as theancient masters did, is still one of thesimplest ways to improve one’s practice.There are many benefits to taking a daytrip to a park or beach, and we knowof many practit ioners (includingourselves) who engage in these kindsof activit ies. However, taking anextended retreat of several days hasmore profoundly positive effects on ourpractice.

First of all, extended trips makeit possible to get to a more remote site,which means the energy will beuncontaminated. Secondly, anextended trip will make it possible totruly “empty one’s cup”. For example, when we take ourstudents on a three-day wilderness trip, the entire first day isrequired to truly detach from the stresses and concerns ofwork and family. The second day is taken up with actuallyharmonizing with nature. It isn’t until the third day that thestudent is fully attuned to nature and can really transformtheir practice. By then, one experience builds upon another,to create an impact that goes beyond what each individualexperience can provide. Lastly, remote areas are often quitebeautiful and awe-inspiring. Simply being out there nourishesthe spirit and refreshes and strengthens the mind and body.

Another benefit of wilderness training derives from themore basic way that you live while outdoors. Sleeping on theground, in tents or in shelters, cooking outside and beingcompletely subordinate to the elements is spiritually purifying.Quite simply, it’s an ancient way to live, so it puts you in

direct contact with the same forces that moulded the ancientspiritual masters. Since we come from the earth, even peoplewho have little or no experience in nature will find their instinctsand awareness heightened. When you are focused on thesimple demands of living, such as hauling wood or drawingwater, the ego is put in check as a matter of course.

The exact details of our practice vary with the seasons,the time of day we happen to be practising and the natural

sett ing we aretraining in.However, the basicformat is to first clearthe mind througheither seated orstanding meditation,in which one beginsCosmic OrbitalBreathing togenerate Qi circul-ation from theperineum up thespine, over thecrown, into the limbsand back down tothe perineum. Fromthere, we drawenergy from heavenand earth, and makea connectionbetween the twowithin us.

Once thatconnection has beenestablished, we willconduct a series ofpurifying washessuch as sinew orbone marrowpurification. De-pending on thee n v i r o n m e n t ,season, or time ofday we may drawenergy directly fromthe sun or moon,either to warm us upor cool us down, or

engage in a series of energy “pulls”. Terrain permitting, wemay also engage in Taijiquan exercise.

Although any number of days of wilderness training isgood, three days seems to be the necessary minimum forreally emptying the cup and taking one’s practice to a newlevel. We conduct excursions of three, five or seven days inlength. We find these particular lengths to be meaningfulsimply because they remind us of mind-body-spirit; the fourcardinal directions and the centre point or the five elements;and the seven stars of the Big Dipper (the Jade Ladle). Thelength is not of central importance. What is most importantis the long-lasting effects of wilderness Qigong on our practiceafter we return from an excursion. We find that our practiceis invigorated for up to a month after our return. The benefitsoccur at several levels. By purifying ourselves, negativethoughts and worries are dispelled, giving us more relaxation

“Most importantis the long-lasting effects onour practise afterwe return.”

Qi Magazine 20Qi Magazine 20

and confidence in our training and other aspects of our lives.The deeper level of intuitive connection continues to functionafter we return, making our practise more natural, creativeand spontaneous; less mechanical and contrived. It gives usback our connection to the natural rhythm of the earth, andthis helps us make the discipline of our practise moreharmonious with these cycles. Also, we return to our “day-to-day” lives with a more refined capacity for effortless action.This helps us to deal with stress better, which in turn helps usconserve our energy and stay healthier mentally, physically,and spiritually. And, of course, we have the memory of awonderful experience.

In addition to whatever guidelines you use to structureyour practise, there are a few points to consider if you gointo nature:

Remember that nature is the teacher. Weather andconditions determine your practise. You cannot be rigid aboutwhat you do, or when. After all, flexibility and spontaneityare the whole reason you are out there in the first place.Qigong in a sunny meadow on a windless day is differentthan Qigong on a starry night by the edge of a lake. You willbe drawing in different energy, and your practise mayspontaneously change in accordance with what you areharmonizing with.

Do not practise on mountain peaks. This is toomuch of a focus point for heavenly Yang energy, and is toointense for our system. It is also somewhat arrogant. It isfine to be high up on the side of a mountain, just avoid thevery top. Find an area some distance below the peak that isat least somewhat sheltered and has more of a Yin element.

Do not practise in low-lying, stagnant or swampyareas. Aside from mundane concerns like insects, stagnantareas have stagnant energy, which should not be tapped into.

Do not practise in the wind. Wind will strip you ofyour Qi. Find a sheltered location. If you can’t, then youshould cultivate your patience and wait, or engage in seatedmeditation.

Do not practise at sundown. Sunset is a transitiontime in nature, and the Qi becomes mixed. This is to beavoided. Practising at daybreak is excellent, as is practisingat night.

Do not draw in lunar energy on cold nights. Lunarenergy is very Yin, and cools the body. Cooling the body ona cold night can lead to hypothermia. On the other hand,drawing lunar energy if you are overheated can cool you.

Conversely, do not draw in excessive solar energyon hot days. Too much Yang can lead to heat exhaustion.Solar draws are useful if you are outdoors in coldertemperatures.

Do not practise where other people can see you.The whole idea is to detach from society, if only for a littlewhile, so that you can completely open your meridians.Bystanders will cause you to naturally closedown. In addition, you need to beconcerned about your safety.Practising in front of strangersmay bring you thewrong kind ofattention.

Do not overextend yourself. The wilderness ispurifying and healing, but not if you proceed recklessly orignorantly. There are many challenges and hazards includingweather, terrain, animals and, sadly, sometimes other people.In your enthusiasm for training, take care that your excursiondoes not exceed your ability to complete the trip safely.Develop your wilderness skills the way you develop you Qigong,consistently and patiently. There are numerous books on thewilderness you can access for information about camping,hiking, canoeing, etc. There are also many schools that youcan go to for instruction on the basics of woodcraft andoutdoor skills. Be careful as you look for a school to teachyou wilderness skills, some are disreputable and abusive, othersare genuine and careful. Make sure you choose yourwilderness teachers wisely.

I would like to end with a short training poem aboutwilderness training written by our school’s Sifu. As an ancientteacher once said, judge not, only ponder.

Let the Wind Blow,Conserve Your Qi.Let the Sun Shine,Accumulate Your Qi.Let the Rain Fall,Allow Your Qi to Flow.Let the Snow Blizzard,Open Your Inner Qi.

Let the Wind Blow,Let the Sun Shine,Let the Rain Fall,Let the Snow Blizzard.

Let Us All Be One With the Way,Forever flowing.

May your practise bring you joy. Thank Youby Andy Mishkin

(About the Author: Andy Mishkin is a lifestyle martial artist and wildernessguide teaching at the Riverview Foundation, a martial arts educational center in

Southern Maine specializing in non-competitive martial arts and wildernesstraining.)

Editor’s note:Every Qigong system has its own principles and practise guidelines. This article iswritten based on the author’s own personal Qigong studies of his school and is not

necessarily the guidelines of other Qigong schools.

Qi Magazine 22Qi Magazine 22

Qi Magazine 23

Preying Mantis

Master Chan Pui’s

Preying Mantis Kung Fu is one of themost well known of the animal styles of KungFu. There are in fact a numberof styles ofPreying Mantis. Master Chan Pui teaches WahLum Preying Mantis.

Qi Magazine 23

Master Chan Pui was born in 1936 in Guangxou, Shangxi province. It was thebeginning of hard times in China, with the communists beginning to exerttheir power and influence. Rather than stay and be persecuted for the skillthat was his life, he escaped to Hong Kong in 1956 by swimming throughshark infested waters separating the two bodies of land. In Hong Kong, he started

teaching there but soon began to travel abroad to spread his skill. He first shared the Wah Lumskill in a martial art school in Boston’s Chinatown and eventually emigrated to the United Statesin 1968. In 1971, he founded his own school in Boston, calling it the New England ChinaMartial Arts Association. By 1974, he had six schools in the New England area.

WAHLUM

Qi Magazine 24Qi Magazine 24

However, it was Master Chan’s dream to havea school where people could come from all overthe world to both reside and train. He wanted it tobe a place where people could come to studywithout distractions from outside, allowing themto concentrate on developing high level martialart skill. He also wanted his school to have thekind of special training facilities usually only foundin China:- Plum Blossom Posts which help studentsbuild agility and balance, open spaces for weaponstraining that would not limit movement, and livein facilities so people could come and live at thetemple from all over the world. His dream is thathis school would be a place that would offerintensive, full time training not only for adults butchildren as well.

And in 1980 that dream came true andMaster Chan opened the Wah Lum Kung Fu temple,a sprawling 3,000 complex located on over an acreof land in Orlando, Florida. The school canaccommodate over 300 people training at any onetime and is a testament to Master Chan’scommitment and perserverence to martial art’sexcellence. Classes are held from 8am in themorning until 9pm at night seven days a week. It isa place where everyone becomes family, an exampleled by his own family’s involvement in the temple.His wife, Suzy, teaches the only other ‘outside WahLum system skill’ offered by the temple and this isTaijiquan. His daughter, Mimi, has now assumedthe full time responsibility of teaching classes andsupervising training and teaching of the other 15instructors in the Temple now that Master Chanhas supposedly retired. However, he still is there

Qi Magazine 25

and aren’t willingto spend six monthson one technique totry and perfect it.However, the reason Kung Fu

has been continuing forthousands of years is due to the

patience and hard work put into it.People will get as much out ofsomething as they put into it. KungFu means hard work.”

“For such a long timetraditional Kung Fu was a mystery.Now we see it in everyday activity –through movies, television andmagazines. It has also been a goalfor a long time to have the Wah Lumsystem strongly representedthroughout the United States. I amhappy to have so many grandstudents and even great-grand

students! It makes me proud to know that there will be manygenerations of Wah Lum practitioners. I hope that my teachingswill carry on through my senior Wah Lum instructors and theirstudents. It is like a family of generations.”

He continues, “All kinds of martial arts are growing inthe West and will get bigger and better over the years. Thestandard is constantly improving with good instructors and goodschools. Martial arts will continue to grow.”

“If someone wants to pursue a career in martial arts, Iwould tell any practitioner to work hard and concentrate on theirbasics. Regardless of style or art, the basics are the root of it all.The basics are like a tree. Without strong roots, the tree will die.The same theory applies for martial arts. One must concentrateon strong basics and foundations in order to truly bringthemselves to another level and that is to learn humility, to behumble and practise hard.”

by Jessica BlackwellMaster Chan Pui can be contacted at the Wah Lum Kung Fu Temple

Tel. 407 275 6177 or info@wahlum.com

nearly everyday, presiding over his now flourishing dream.Master Chan began his own martial art studies at

the age of ten years old under Master Lee Kwan Shan,who taught Wah Lum Praying Mantis. He began with thebasics, which at that time, meant that he studied these forthree years before he ever began to learn the formstraining. This intensive basics training helped him to builda very strong foundation that would serve to hone his skillboth internally and externally. It also helped to develop hispatience and humility, things which have helped shape hisown ideas of how students should train.

The Wah Lum Praying Mantis skill originated from theWah Lum Monastery in the Ping To district in Shantungprovince China. Master Lee Kwan Shan, (Master Chan Pui’sSifu), came to the Monastery in the early 1900s and beganwhat was to be a ten year journey under the tutelage ofAbbot Ching Yeung, the fourth generation disciple of thePraying Mantis system.

When Master Lee left the temple, he travelled to manyplaces in China but finally chose to settle at Sha Cheng villagein Canton province, which is in southern China. It was herethat he combined the Praying Mantis, a northern style skill hehad learned from Abbot Ching with his ownfamily’s martial art system, Tam Tui whichmeans ‘seeking leg’. Master Lee becameknown for his long fist forms, spear and poletechniques and whirling broadsword skills.Before his death in 1948, he accepted ChanPui to be his youngest and last disciple.

After Master Lee’s death, he continuedhis studies with his Dai Si Hing (elder Kung Fubrother), Chan Wan Ching. This made MasterChan the six generation in the Wah Lum skill.Today, he still tries to maintain the high levelmartial art skill taught to him by teaching hisstudents to have a strong foundation throughbasic movements which trains their minds tohelp to settle their energy so they are calmer,trains their bodies so they are more flexibleand healthier. In addition, he also trains themin martial arts morality. This strong foundationin the basics trains the heart (ie. spirit) andpatience, necessary requirements for any goodmartial artist.

Master Chan Pui says, “Before every class, our studentshave to recite the following poem which is written on our altar inChinese. It states:-

Learn kindness, humility and respect.Respect your elders,Respect the teachings being taught,Respect your teacher.

Master Chan says, “It is important that we teach ourstudents the philosophical side of Kung Fu as well as the physical.Kung Fu means more than a series of kicks and punches. I findit essential that practitioners understand the true meaning ofKung Fu.”

“In order for a person to be good at martial arts, I believethat strong basics are the key to good Kung Fu. A person willingto have the patience and dedication to train basics will havehigher comprehension of what Kung Fu is and how to be a bettermartial artist. Most people today want to learn everything fast

“Kung Fu has beencontinuing forthousands of yearsdue to the patience andhard work put into it”

“Kung Fu has beencontinuing forthousands of yearsdue to the patience andhard work put into it”

Qi Magazine 26

Fig 1 Fig 2

Fig 3

Qi Magazine 26

To the Chinese Culture, the turtle and snake are two veryspiritual creatures. They have their own way of followingnature and taking nature’s energy. They also live long.

Chinese people respect these animals a lot and some believethey are like human beings and can think. In the past, somepeople even believed they could change into human beingsbecause they took the natural energy.

1 Combining Qi with the Turtle and Snake

i. Stand still for a few minutes, with your eyes closed. Letyour mind clam down and relax all your muscles andjoints. Fig 1

ii. Sit on a stool with your legs spread wide. Keep your backstraight and look forwards, but do not focus on anything.Rest both of your hands on your Dantian and keep yourelbows open, so there is space at the armpits. Fig 2This exercise allows the Qi to settle at the Dantian. The snake

is Yang and the turtle is Yin, so to begin with, we let both energiessettle at the Dantian before we begin to move.

2 Two Dragons Play with a Pearl

i. Rest both your hands on your Dantian. Men should placetheir left on the stomach with the right hand covering it.Women should have the right hand inside and the leftoutside. Start to rotate the hands in a circle around thearea of the Dantian, men should make a clockwise circleand ladies should make an anticlockwise circle. Rotatethe hands 36 times. Fig 3This movement allows the Qi to start flowing from the Dantian

and from still it becomes active. This follows the principle of theYijing. From Wuji (nothing) comes Taiji (something). The handsrepresent the two dragons rotating the pearl.

Turtle andSnakeQigong

Turtle andSnakeQigong

When practising Qigong, we usually needa lot of space, but there are some that we can dosat on a stool. The stool will fix your positionand your legs can also relax.

The turtle represents slowness and longevity and thesnake represents quick and short, this is Yin and Yang. So thisset of exercises is a good balance and combination ofmovement.

Qi Magazine 27

Fig 4

Fig 5Fig 6

Fig 7Fig 8

Fig 9

Fig 10

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3 Waving

4 Swing Your Head and Move Your Tail.

i. Sit still and rest both hands on your thighs. Keep yourback straight and look forwards. Fig 7

ii. Bend forwards with your head down. Fig 8iii. Start to rotate your upper body in a clockwise direction

three times. Then repeat in an anticlockwise direction,again three times. While you circle your body make sureyour hands and legs do not move. Fig 9 - Fig 10This movement is also good for the lower back as well as

headaches, your neck, shoulders, and all problems with the spine. Itwill help to keep your mind clear.As you rotateyour body,you shouldimagine that you have no bones and every joint is flexible.

to be continued... by Zhou Renfeng

i. Sit still and rest both hands on your back on your kidneys.Fig 4

ii. At the same time, rub the right palm upwards, the leftpalm downwards and lean to the left side. Fig 5

iii. Change to the other side, rub the left hand upwards andthe right palm down and lean to the right side. Fig 6You move the upper body like it is a wave. Rubbing the lower

back is good for your kidneys and makes the back more flexible.

Qi Magazine 28Qi Magazine 28

Sha

ng

haiJo

urna

l

Kung Fu BreakfastOnce a week, rain or shine, my Lan

Shou brothers take Sifu Qing tobreakfast after class. Some of the

brothers only attend class on Sundaysbecause of work or family commitmentsand it is on this day that Sifu makescorrections and comments.

For those of you new to mycontinuing journal of Shanghaiexperiences, Sifu Qing Zhong Bao79, is my Lan Shou QuanGrandmaster. Lan Shou is a rareform of Northern Shaolin that,although an external style ofmartial arts, embraces theprinciples of the internal system.My 11 Lan Shou brothers’ averageage is 52 and the group stillpractises together regularly withSifu Qing.

Not all the famousrestaurants in Shanghai servebreakfast but every Sunday wevisit a different one that does, inthe downtown area. Each one isknown for its different specialitiesand seasonal offerings. While anyof us could choose the myriaddishes on offer it is ordinarily TsaoChing Suan or Wu Jie that pickthe 20 or so dishes we end upsharing. This is based, I believe,on their fighting ability, whichtends to order the standing withinthe group in many ways.

The breakfast is composedof Jaotze or dumplings of a varietyof descriptions, as in Cantonese DimSum cuisine. Additionally they regularlyorder different flavours of chicken feet,shredded tofu, boiled peanuts anddates, the occasional drunken chicken,sweet egg tarts, jellied preserved meats,boiled beef tendon, pork bones, soybeans in their shells, water chestnuts inorange juice, jellyfish, gizzards, pickledpreserved vegetables, fried rice flourpancakes, and many otherunrecognisable, unknown, orunmentionable dishes. In the spring andsummer, the dishes tend to be cold orchilled while in autumn and winter

choices have been hot. Winter alsomeans large pots of rice porridge withpreserved duck eggs, dried fish, or avariety of legumes shot throughout, and

served to everyone as well. Green tea,of course, is a staple and every one fightsconstantly to keep each other’s cup fullover the ensuing couple of hours.

Conversation tends to turn onthe topics of movement, application, andprinciple. Fighting and past battles areanother favourite subject along withstories of the great feats of legendaryLan Shou Masters. Ordinarily everyonetalks at once, mouths full of food, andchopsticks poised to emphasizeimportant points. Occasionally

Kung Fu Breakfast

Being able to study with a traditional teacher is a great gift. Oftenmany of the best lessons are not learnt in class, but outside in the mostunlikey locations.

disagreements arise, then voices areraised, and it seems any second a hugebrawl will break out, much to theamusement of some of the others.Somehow, this never happens and thegroup re-establishes cohesion and thesemblance of harmony.

When it comes time to pay thebill things get really interesting. First off,everyone wants to look at the chargesheet to see how much the dishes cost.There is the endless wrangling over theindividual prices and how overpricedthis particular place is. Next, in the bestChinese tradition, one must deny anygift at least three times, so everyonewants to pay for the meal. Moreover,there is face to be gained by paying,

at least on the day, and this is furtherincentive to win the bill. There aregenerally three ways one can “win” thebill. The first is through fighting ability

by overcoming with talent and power,the second way to pay is through stealthby having given deposit money to thewaitress beforehand or sneak and grabwhile the others argue, and finally onemay win by charm, which is a secrettechnique I am unwilling to share withyou here. Of course there are othermethods one may employ but you mightrecognize these three primary methodsfrom the words in Sun Tzu ‘Art of War’.

Once the bill is paid it is the signalthe meal is at an end and the groupdeparts unceremoniously looking forwardto the next week’s practice and upcominggathering

by J. Reynolds Nelson. JRN@qimagazine.com

“When it comestime to pay the bill

things get reallyinteresting.”

Qi Magazine 30

Instructor Insight

Caroline is qualified to teachDayan Qigong. She can be

contacted on 01379 650186

Karen is qualified to teach Balancing Gong andHealthy Living Gong. She can be contacted

onkaren.anderson@vgregion.se

In 1993 a friend of mine talked me into going to my first Qigong class in Norwich.I was quite sceptical about all the new age movements and fashions that were doing therounds, but friendship is very important to me so I trailed behind her to meet Sifu JulianWilde and began studying Wild Goose Qigong.

It was a revelation to me. Not only did my body begin to feel better and healthier,but my confidence grew as did my ability to deal with life’s ups and downs. Whatever mynatural scepticism said, I knew it was because of my Qigong. My friends began to noticethe difference and wanted to join a local class. So when Sifu suggested I could startworking in my local area under his supervision it moved my own journey in a new andexciting direction. I love teaching, both because I want other people to benefit fromwhat Qigong has to offer and it has helped me focus on my own practice and understanding.

My class is small and focused on the needs of women, many aiming at maintaining health and vitality as theyprogress through middle age. We meet in the gym of the local primary school surrounded by the drawings and modelsmade by the children which creates a really cheerful atmosphere.

Attending the Instructor’s Course at Wye with Tse Sigong has been very important for me and helped me understandthe underlying principles of Qigong, the culture from which it comes and the spirit in which it should be taught. I know Ihave a lot to learn, but Qigong has become an integral part of my life.

It seems amazing to me that I am writing this as a qualified instructor of the Tse Qigong Centre and really want tothank my Sifu, Julian Wilde and my Sigong and all the senior instructors for their input. But, I also want to thank my fellowstudents and now my own class students, whose humour, support and good energy has really helped carry me through.

I have had an interest in Chinese culture and philosophy for many yearsand I became interested in Qigong practice in the early 1990s. In my work as aphysiotherapist I had been looking for ways to integrate western medicine witheastern health practices. Qigong seemed to be a very good method for relaxationand health improvement. I had the opportunity to attend one of Sifu‘s courses inGoteborg some seven years ago. His method of teaching was refreshingly naturaland skilful at the same time and I understood at once that this was something forme. The first time that I saw Sifu demonstrating Wild Goose Qigong it broughttears to my eyes. At that time it seemed impossible to imagine myself goingthrough those beautiful flowing movements but I was deeply inspired to try. Thatinspiration has continued and I hope to continue learning, practising and“polishing” for many years to come.

During these years I have also been working with war and torture survivors and I know for sure that without Qigongpractice, I would never be able to manage this. There is a most extraordinary feeling whenever I feel overwhelmed by mywork and take the time to do some Qigong practice. I can literally feel the stress melting away and after a few minutes I comeinto contact with a relaxed and natural state of being.

I have often asked Sifu for advice in treatment for my patients and his suggestions have always proved useful. As Ihave gradually been able to integrate Dayan Qigong theory and practice into my daily work the benefits for my patients hasbecome increasingly clear. Quite often I find myself telling one of Sifu´s stories to emphasise different principles (especiallythe importance of practice). Being an instructor I hope to be able to relay the qualities of heart and skill and to inspireothers to realise their own healing ability, leading to natural balance and better health.

Karen AndersonGoteborg, Sweden

Caroline ForbesDiss, Norfolk, UK.

Qi Magazine 35Qi Magazine 35

In the first year of the Shenlong reign of theTang Dynasty, a rich country gentleman inZhushan County named, Yinke, hired

workers to dig a water well behind the village.Two years had passed and the shaft had beenalready sunk to the depth of over 1,000 feet, butstrange to say, no water was found. Yinke wasresolved and would not give up.

One month into the third year of digging,the digger at the bottom of the shaft suddenly heardthe muffled noises of roosters crowing and dogsbarking coming through the ground! A few more feetdown and a tunnel appeared in the side of the shaft.With some hesitation, the digger ventured in carefully.He fumbled ahead for dozens of steps and then thedarkness seemed to be dispelled by some natural light andhe continued his descent.

The tunnel suddenly opened onto a high mountain peak.There he stood facing another world. Mountain ranges of glassyrocks unfurled before his eyes and in each valley there were palacesof gold and silver. There were gigantic trees, too, whose trunks hadjoints like those of bamboo yet whose leaves were no smaller thanthose of a palm tree. Colourful birds, cranes perhaps, swooped amidstthe tree tops. Multicoloured butterflies the size of fans were dancingup and down among the purple flowers which were larger thancushions. Among the rocks were twin springs, one in which the waterwas limpid and clear and the other milky white.

He climbed down to the palaces, hoping to see someonewho could satisfy his curiosity. Above the gate arch hung a boardinscribed in silver with the characters, “Celestial Osmanthus Palace”.

Out from the caretakers’s room hurried two men about fivefeet tall, their faces bean-curd soft, their lips naturally red, their hairsilkily black and their clothes light and filmy like smoke. On theirheads they wore a coronet of gold, but they walked bare-footed.They asked the digger who he was and how he had managed tocome to this place. The digger did not have time to finish explainingwhen a throng gathered at the gate demanding to know why therewas a such a smell of filthy mortal. Blamed for not reporting sooner,the caretakers meekly replied that a worker form the outside world,who had trespassed by accident was just asking his way.

Presently a messenger in red arrived with a decree, orderingthe caretakers to send the intruder away with due courtesy. The diggerbowed his thanks.

“Since you are already here, why don’t you ask for permissionto have a look around before you leave?” one caretaker suggested.

“I was afraid of being ill-mannered. If sightseeing is possible,do you mind putting in a good word for me?”

The caretaker then threw a jade slat into the sky and it returnedas quickly as a boomerang. With the slat in hand, he led the diggerfirst the clear spring to wash himself and next to the milky spring torinse his mouth. It tasted like cow’s milk, sweet and natural. Theworker drank several mouthfuls and it seemed to quench his hungerand at the same time brought on a slight feeling of tipsiness.

The caretaker guided him from palace to palace withoutentering any. In about half a day, they reached a walled city on theoutskirts of the mountains. Even the walls were made out of bricks ofgold and silver. Three huge characters in jade were inscribed abovethe town gate saying, “Stairway to Heaven”.

“What place is this?” asked the digger?“This city is where the newly converted immortals reside.

They must live here for 700,000 days preparing themselves morallybefore they can rise to the heavens and have a place in one of thevarious paradises. Only after that can they be appointed to heavenlypositions with responsibility, and then they will be able to travelthrough space.”

“Since yours is a heavenly paradise, why is it below myworld?” asked the digger.

“My country is infact the upper sphere of theunderworld, just as there is aheavenly paradise above your worldexactly like mine. Now, it is time for you toreturn.”

They traced their way up the mountains.At the milky spring the caretaker stopped to give theworker a chance to take a few more drinks. Reachingthe peak, however, the digger could not find the tunnelthrough which he had come.

“Though it might have only seemed a moment to you here,”said the caretaker, “decades have crept by in your own world. It isunlikely that you will find the old tunnel. Let me find the key to theHeavenly Gate for you.”

The digger thanked him for his trouble.In no time, the caretaker returned with a gold seal in one

hand and a jade slat in the other. He led the worker up another peakto an imposing gate tower. The guards bowed most respectfully atthe sight of the seal. The caretaker pronounced a command from thejade slat and instantly, the gate flung open. As soon as the diggerstepped across the threshold, wind and clouds swept him off his feetso fast that all scenes were blurred and only a trailing string of wordsfrom the caretaker’s lips were caught…”Farewell. Remember meto…”

Before long the clouds dispersed and he found himself in acave on top of Mount Lone Star, ten miles to the north of FangzhouPrefecture. Asking about Yinke, he learned that he was now in theseventh year of Zhenyuan reign and Yinke’s great-grandson hadcome into inheritance of the farm. Nobody remembered that anyonehad tried to sink a well behind the village.

The digger left them and made his way to the village and toa huge pit where the well had once been. It must have caved in longago. He looked for his own kinsfolk but they seemed to have passedinto oblivion.

The mortal world no longer appealed to him. Even foodbecame distasteful. With no family, no home, he wandered aboutfor some time. Years later, rumour had it that he was seen in theCockscomb Mountains that was the last anyone ever heard of him

Translated by Zhang GuangqianNOTE: China has a long history of stories regaling exotic tales of fox spirits,ghosts and goblins. This story is taken from the famous “Records of the Taiping

Era”, which is a collection of over 7000 stories dating from the Han Dynasty (206BC-220 AD) to the beginning of the Song Dynasty (978) recorded in 500volumes. This story is a fanciful tale that is entertaining as it is imaginative.

A Well DiggersAdventure

A Well DiggersAdventure

Qi Magazine 36

At Chinese New Year Chinese people will do manynice things at so we will have a good beginning. Ifthe beginning of the year is good, then the end willbe easier. But I always say, “Whenever we do anythingwe need a good beginning and a good end.” So we

should take care of the ending, as this is very important. Soyou should be nice to people even when you disagree withthem. This way, the next time you meet, you will still have agood feeling and not become enemies. This year is the yearof the Horse, and the Horse is the element Fire. As it is aWater Horse, it becomes water at the top and fire at the

RatElement: Yang WaterPeople born in1948,60,72,84,96.This year you will havesome luck, however therewill be some separationand a lot of travelling. Youcan also be tired.

bottom. So if there is any metal in the middle, it becomes likecooking something. Those people who are the Metal element,like the Monkey and Chicken, will find that there will be a lotof food.

Let me now introduce each animal sign to you andwhat is in store for you in the New Year. If you were bornbefore approximately the 4th of February, then you mightactually belong to the previous year. This depends on whenChinese New Year fell in that year. So if you are not sure,then you will need to look it up.

OxElement: Yin EarthPeople born in1949,61,73,85,97This year you can havechildren. You can make agood income, and therewill be a lot of thingsgoing on. Some peoplemay gossip about you.

TigerElement: Yang WoodPeople born in1950,62,74,86,98This year you might getmarried, start a new jobor business and also makenew friends. However, youcan lose some money.

RabbitElement: Yin WoodPeople born in1951,63,75,87,99This year will be very busyand you can be tired. Youmay use more money, butfriends will come to helpyou.

DragonElement: YangEarth.People born in1952,64,76,88,00This year will be good inthe beginning, but moredifficult in the end. So itwill go up and down. Youmight also argue withfriends, but it will behappy most of the time.

SnakeElement: Yin Fire.People born in1953,65,77,89,01This year will have a lot ofparties and you will meetmany people and makenew friends.

Chinese New YearThe Water Horse“Kung Hei Fat Choi”- Happy New Year! Chinese New Year is a time of big

celebrations in China and across Asia. Even the west has been influenced by it somuch. This year Chinese New Year is on the 12th of February - it will be the yearof the Horse and it is a Water Horse.

What the Year of the Horse Has in Store for You

Qi Magazine 37

HorseElement: Yang Fire.People born in1954,66,78,90,02This year you are the host,so you will be very busyand have to work hard. Atthe end, you will have agood result.

GoatElement: Yin Earth.People born in1943,55,67,79,91This year you will meetmore friends and spendtime with family more. Youshould enjoy this year alot.

MonkeyElement: Yang MetalPeople born in1944,56,68,80,92This year will be some-times good and sometimesbad. Be careful as friendsmay use you, so keepyourself centred. However,you will eat a lot.

ChickenElement: Yin Metal.People born in1945,57,69,81,93This year you will use a lotof energy and can becometired and maybe even ill.Keep yourself centred anddo not get involved in toomany things, especiallythose that do not belongto you.

DogElement: Yang Earth.People born in1946,58,70,82,94This year will be hard inthe beginning, but by theend of the year all theproblems will be solved.

PigElement: Yin Water.People born in1947,59,71,83,95This year will be hard workand you might becomeexhausted. But you willearn good results.

You should not take these predictions too seriously.The future is still controlled by you. After studying ChineseHoroscopes, Yijing and prediction for many years, I find thatit is not difficult to get things right, but it is difficult to predicteverything.

If you find your horoscope is not good then if youlearn how to change it then your future will also change. Butif you think you are so lucky, then you can turn selfish and inthe end your life will become bad.

The future is based on two elements. One is the prenatalelement that you were born with. This determines how tallyou will be, whether your hair is brown and your eyes blue.The other element is the postnatal element which comes afteryou were born. Even if you were born a nice, compassionateperson, if you just think of yourself, by the time you havegrown up you will be selfish. This will influence your life andyour decisions as to which way you go, good or bad.

If you do more kind things, then your heart will change.Your face will also change and also your palm will change.But if you are selfish and only think about yourself, then yourface will twist. One eye might be bigger than the other, oneside of the face stronger than the other side. Then you canalready tell you will be unlucky.

You can tell when people are good by their faces. Theyshould be balanced. Also you can tell people who are selfishas well.

A balanced, positive face will be lucky, and always youthink of others, then you will always be lucky. Even if this yearis not supposed to be good, everything will sort itself out.

This year is not meant to be good for me as I was bornin 1960, which is the Year of the Rat. However, it was also theend of the Pig year, so I have both those elements. However, Ido not worry. I will think and follow my heart and try toconsider other people a little bit more. If something is right, I

will not back off, but I will try to keep myself balanced. Soalthough I enjoy studying Chinese Horoscopes, I find the heartis more important, but I still have a long way to go

by Michael Tse

The Horse isthe host thisyear, so expecta busy one

The Horse isthe host thisyear, so expecta busy one

Qi Magazine 38Qi Magazine 38

Cli

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oun

tain

Testing TimesTesting TimesToday Chan was helping Ma with his

sword fencing skills and was pleasedto see Ma was getting strong and

faster. They whirled around and theirswords flashed in the sunlight andchimed together. Suddenly there was astrange dull thud. They stopped, realisingthat Ma’s sword had broken.

“Oh no!” he said, “Not again. Ithought I had found a good one thistime.” He went over and picked up thepieces of his broken sword. With onlyone sword their session had been cutshort, so they decided to sit down andwatch the town below.

After a while, they noticed thereseemed to be a little tension in the air.

“Wow,” said Ma, “everyone is ina bad mood today.” Chan nodded inagreement. Just then a large red facedman charged across the main street.They were a little too far away to makeout exactly what he was saying but theycould make out, “How dare they,... bynow I should have the right, after allI’ve done,..” then he disappeared andmelted into the crowd.

“Life testing him,” said Ma. Chanlooked at him, “That’s quite profoundyou know,” he said. Ma smiled back alittle puzzled. Chan continued, “Life testseverything. If you look at the animals inthe forest it is quite obvious everydaythey have to pass the test just to survive.”

Ma nodded in agreement, “Butwe don’t have to struggle like that sohow does life test us?” he asked. “You’reright, we rarely have to struggle forsurvival, so life finds other ways to testus. Look down at all these people. I amsure if you asked each one whether theyhad any problems whether they are bigof small, I am certain every one of themwould say that they did.” said Chan.Ma looked at him, “But what are theybeing tested for?” Chan shrugged, “Idon’t know, they probably don’t know,but eventually they will find out and seehow well they passed their tests.”

“Take your sword for example”Chan said picking up the broken pieces.“To make this sword, the blacksmith tooka piece of metal and heated it until itwas white hot. He then started to

hammer it flat. He then heated it againand hammered it folded it and carriedon until he had finished. Do you knowwhy he has to hammer the metal?” Heasked Chan. “To make it flat and knockout the impurities.” replied Ma. “Yes,”said Chan, “That’s right. Each time hehits the hot metal it could break, but ifit does not break, then itbecomes stronger. Doyou know whatt h e

impuritiesare that he ishammering out?” Mathought for a moment and then said hedid not. “I don’t suppose he does exactlyeither,” said Chan, “and that is the pointreally. When life testes us, if we canovercome the test then we becomestronger. At the time we may notrecognise it as a test and know what itis about us that gets stronger, but wedo get stronger.”

Ma continued the line of thought,“So if the results of the test are not fixed,then neither is the test and so everythingand anything can be a test.” Channodded, “Just like the hammer hittingthe metal. We can break or an impuritycomes out and leaves us stronger. Sowe are the metal and life is the hammer.”

“How do we know when we arefinished and we do not need anymoretests?” asked Ma. Chan thought for a

second then said, “Wedon’t know. We are only themetal, how can we saywhen the sword is finished.Even when it is the rightshape and weight andlooks like other swords itcan still break.” He said,jangling the pieces ofbroken metal in his hand. You see

anything can be test. It does not haveto be a problem that you have to

solve, it can be an opportunity thatcomes along, or a decision thatyou need to make.”

“But how do you knowwhat you should do?” askedMa. “That’s the whole point ofthe test. Just becausesomething looks good at firstdoes not mean it is good. Forexample if you take anopportunity for selfish reasonsand do not consider anyoneelse, then you have failed thattest and you will be worse off,and I am sure whatever theopportunity was, it will be veryshort lived. However if youstopped to consider everything,

thought about others as well andthen acted accordingly, you will be

better for it. Better things will comeand you will have even better

opportunities that will be real and lastlonger. Again it is like your sword. Justbecause it looks good and is moreattractive than everyone else’s it doesnot mean a man with greater skill cannotbeat you with an old stick.”

Ma nodded and understood, “Soeven though life shapes us by testing usif we do not recognise the tests whichmake ourselves better, then when thesword gets used it will quickly break andbe of little use.”

“Enough!” cried Chan suddenly.He jumped up and picked up two oldbranches from the ground. “Who needsswords!” he shouted throwing one to Ma.Once again their bodies whirled and thistime the sticks whistled through the airclacking together as they struck eachother

by Darryl Moy. Darryl@qimagazine.com

Chan and Ma were at their favourite spot on the side of a hill over lookingthe town. They liked to go there and practise and when they stopped for a restthey enjoyed sitting and watching the local people going about their lives.

Qi Magazine 39

Fig 11 Fig 12

Fig 13 Fig 14

Qi Magazine 39

Basic SelfDefenceTraining

Grabbing and Kicking

i. Have your partner face you and hold out his arm. Step towards him and grab hisarm with both hands. Fig 11

ii. Using your back leg, kick him in the chest. Fig 12You can practise this on both sides.

Grabbing and Kneeing

i. Again have your partnerstand in front of you andhold out his arm. Stepbehind him. Grab theback of his wrist andpush his elbow with yourforearm as if you aregoing to break his elbow.Fig 13

ii. As you hold him in thisposition, use your frontleg to knee him in thelower back. Fig 14Repeat this on both sides.

Qi Magazine 40

W Fig 15

Fig 16 Fig 17 Fig 18

Fig 19 Fig20 Fig21

Fig 22 Fig 23 Fig 24

Qi Magazine 40

Attack by Punchingi. This exercise you can do wearing boxing gloves. Face

your partner in the ready position with your arms infront of you. Fig 15

ii. As your partner lifts up one hand, punch towards it withyour front hand. Fig 16

iii. As your partner lifts the other hand, use your backhandto punch towards it. Fig 17

iv. Drop your body and punch your partner as he punchestowards your face. Fig 18This training exercise you can do on both sides. You can also

make the pattern irregular and have your partner lift either hand.Just punch as he does so. Also whenever he punches at you, duckdown and punch his stomach or chest.

Training the Hook Punch

i. Face each other in the ready position. Fig 19ii. Punch straight as your partner lifts his hand. Fig 20iii. Then turn your waist and throw a hook punch with your

backhand and hit his other hand as he lifts it up. Fig 21iv. As your partner throws a punch back at you, duck down

and hook punch his stomach. Fig 22v. Continue in this low position and throw another hook.

Fig 24

vi. Quickly stand and throw another hook punch and strikehis hand. Fig 25This exercise trains you to throwhook punches in high and low

positions. As your partner moves his arms, this is simulating hishead moving, this allows you to use more speed and so you candevelop good skill and timing.

by Xia Bai Hwa

Qi Magazine 41Qi Magazine 41

.

In the end, he told Wu Baolin to stand still and hold outhis arms as if he was holding a ball in front of him, healso told him to close his eyes, relax and concentrate onhis Dantian. He told him to stand like this everyday forten minutes.

To begin with, Little Wu Baolin found it very difficult todo this. But after a week he was able to stand for 20 to 30minutes. This was a big improvement as before Wu Baolinwas deteriorating so much everyone was just waiting for himto die. But by practising the holding the ball posture, his lifeenergy was coming back, otherwise he would not be able tostand for half an hour.

Master Du also put Little Wu Baolin into a big bath,which was full of herbs and warm water. This was a traditionalChinese medical healing method. They would treat the personthe same as if they were making medicine. They immersedhim or her in the bath for a long time to allow the medicineto slowly enter the body. It is the same as today, when peoplemight use lavender in their bath to help cure headaches.

So Little Wu Baolin did standing meditation and hadherbal healing baths everyday. He grew stronger and stronger.

Wu Baolin’s parents came to visit him and they could notbelieve what they saw. This made them respect and trustMaster Du Xing Ling very much. They offered to do anythingthey could to help and they also donated quite a lot of moneyto the White Cloud Temple to thank them for helping theirson.

Old Chinese people believe that the more good thingsyou do, then later in life good things will come to you. Theybelieved that Master Du was an immortal to have such ahealing skill.

Time passed and Wu Baolin had grown taller andstronger and was able to do things that normal children wereable to do. He still stood every day, but could do so for halfan hour, an hour, sometimes even two hours or more. MasterDu Xing Ling accepted Wu as his student as he was over 90years old.

Master Du told Little Wu Baolin, “Standing meditation(Zhan Zhuang) is very good for you, you can even stand likethat for the whole day. This will build up your root and yourQi.” This encouraged Little Wu to practise his Zhan Zhuangeven more.

MasterWu BaolinMasterWu Baolin

White Cloud TempleWhite Cloud Temple

Part 2

After being at White Cloud Temple for a few weeks,Little Wu Baolin had grown much weaker and was notable to walk. The White Water Disease he was sufferingfrom was getting worse. Master Du Xing Ling had triedmany different herbs to try and help, but none of themhad helped very much.

Qi Magazine 42

Today, Master Wu Baolin remembers many stories abouthis teacher, the things he did and the people he taught andhelped.

Master Wu remembers when Wang Xiangzhai, who laterwent on to create Da Chengquan, studied Xingyiquan withhis teacher. Although he was very young, he can rememberWang helping him to correct his posture.

Master Wu Baolin learnt many different skills, includingDaoist sword skills like “Three Closing Spiral Sword”, “Dragonand Phoenix Double Sword”, “Strong Yang Sword” and“Winding Dragon Sword”. These were all traditional Daoistskills. He also learnt Taijiquan, Xingyiquan and Baguazhang,all internal martial arts. He also studied Chen Style Taijiquanwith the 18th generation representative and son of MasterChen Fake (and Master Chen Xiaowang’s uncle), Master ChenZhao Kui.

Apart from practising Qigong and martial arts, WuBaolin still had to go to school like all the other children.Once after school, he went back to the temple and saw histeacher standing at the main entrance, which was the SouthGate.

In old China all “good” houses faced south and hadtheir back facing north. This is because in Feng Shui, this is agood direction. It can draw a line with nature, so everythingwill grow and develop properly. This is all based on Chineseastrology. South is “Wu”. In the Earthly branches this has theenergy which belongs to Fire and also belongs to Water andthe Chinese Year of the Horse. North is Zi, which in the EarthlyBranches has the energy which belongs to Water and belongsto the Year of the Rat. In Beijing, the Forbidden City and TianTan follow the same rule. Also, facing South means you canget more sunlight and so the house will be warmer and therewill be more energy.

Little Wu went to his teacher who said to him, “Run asfast as you can from the South Gate to the North Gate.” Ofcourse, Little Wu Baolin listened to his teacher and didas he was told. So he ran as fast as he could. It wasa clear path to the North Gate, there were noobstacles, only some corridors hallways to gothrough.

When he was almost at the North Gatehe saw his teacher was already there! He wasshocked, how could his teacher get there beforehim? There was no other way to get to theNorth Gate and if his teacher had run pasthim he would have surely noticed. It wasunbelievable. His teacher could not be anormal human, he must have been immortaland could fly, or could transform himself fromone place to another. All these questions heasked himself, and even today he does not knowthe answer. All he knows is that his master hadreached a very high level and could be called immortal.

Master Wu remembers another occasion when hewas training. He woke up early, as usual at around 5am.All the Daoist students had to go running in the morningto develop their footwork. At first they had to walk aroundthe temple as if they were practising Baguazhang. Afterawhile, they had to start to run around the temple. LittleWu Baolin did not always follow the others as they ran,but would like to go on his own. It was still dark and hewas running outside the temple when he noticed thatthere was someone following him. He looked back and

saw an old man around 60 years old. He did not recognisehim and he was not from the temple, so he did not pay himtoo much attention. However, he could tell he was not weakas he could hear his steps as he ran. As Little Wu turned tolook forwards again, he heard the man say, “Let’s see howgood Du Xing Ling’s student is?” The old man hit Wu Baolinon the back with his palm. It took Little Wu Baolin by surpriseas he was not paying too much attention to him, but even ifhe had been, it was too fast and powerful. The strike madehim fly up into a tree and he was left hanging from itsbranches. Little Wu Baolin heard the old man laughing andthen he disappeared.

It took Little Wu a long time to get down from the tree,but when he did, he rushed back to the temple and told histeacher, his Daoist Uncles (who were the same level as histeacher) and the seniors what had happened. All these highlevel Daoist martial artists went out to look for the old man.If the old man wanted to challenge White Cloud Temple, heshould not pick on a little boy but should come to the Templeproperly. Unfortunately, the old man had gone and no onecould ever find him.

In the old times, it was very common for people tochallenge famous masters so they could make a name forthemselves. This meant all masters had to have a good levelof skill to keep their position.

There was another time when Wu Baolin went out ofthe temple as hecould hear a lot

of noise outside. Itwas a ChineseFestival and he knewthere would be a lotof people outsidecelebrating. He sawmany people doing

all kinds of traditionaldances and who wore

traditional clothes. It wasvery interesting. As hewalked around he cameto a table with somesweets on it. He pickedone up without askinganyone. Suddenly,one of thedemonstrators cameover to him and hithim on the top of hishead. He felt a little

“His teacher could notbe a normal human, he

must have beenimmortal &

could fly”

Qi Magazine 43

pain, and knowing he was in the wrong, he put the sweetback on the table. Then he went back to the temple as hehad lost interest in the festival.

When he got back everything was normal. By middayit was very hot. He looked at the sun and felt a lot of pain atthe top of his head and he developed a bad headache. Hefound himself almost fainting. Later his headache got worseand it felt as if his head was going to explode. So he went tohis teacher and told him what had happened and soon all hisDaoist uncles also found out.

Master Du Xing Ling examined Little Wu and foundthat he had been hit with a very poisonous Qigongskill called, “Black Sand Palm”. People who learnthis train their palms with medicine andQigong so they can hurt people‘sacupuncture points. When they hitsomeone the person would not feeltoo much pain, but as time goes bythe area that was hit would becomevery painful. The pain could be verysevere and some people would evendie after a few days or months.

They all thought this man wastoo cruel to use this kind of poisonhand on a little boy. So one of Wu’suncles decided to find the man and took Little

Wu to show him who theperson was. Wu pointedout the performer andthe uncle went over tohim and said, “Whydid you hit this littleboy?” the performerreplied, “I was justeducating him.” So theuncle said, “Can Ishake your hand, so Ican see how strong youare.” So the performerstretched out his handand Wu’s uncle tookit.

Little Wu watched as they stoodthere a while and then separated. Theperformer looked a little red in the face.Then Little Wu and his uncle went backto the temple and his uncle seemed quitenormal.

After a few months, a messengercame to White Cloud Temple and toldMaster Du Xing Ling that the performerhad gone home after shaking handswith the Daoist uncle as he was feelingill. Then after three months he passedaway.

This news made Master Du quiteupset and he criticised Wu’s Daoist uncle and sa idthat he should not have killed the man.

There is another story that Master Wu remembers. Oneday a young man came to White Cloud Temple. The youngman was not dressed very well and looked like a farmer. Hewas crying and asked to see Master Du Xing Ling. The youngman said he wanted to learn martial arts so he could take his

revenge on a rich gangster who had killed his parents, Thegangster controlled his home village and no one dared to goagainst him.

Master Du first sent someone to the village to see whatthe situation was and make sure that it was as the youngman claimed and make sure that the gangster had reallydone this.

When they found he was telling the truth and thatthere were many people suffering at the hands of this

gangster, Master Du told the young man to carrybig stones from one side of the courtyard to theother and then pick them up again and returnthem to their original position. This he had to do

for one month.After a month Master Du told the young man

to dig a hole, first starting with a shallow holeand then making it deeper. He had to

jump out of the hole back to thesurface. He had to do this for morethan a month until it was easy. After

a few months had gone by, the youngman could jump much higher.

Master Du then told the youngman to climb a wall, from a low wall to a

high wall and this took another couple ofmonths.

After six months, Master Du told theyoung man, “If you want to take revenge, thengo back home. Next time you see the gangster,grab him the same as you grabbed the stones,and then throw him away. This will be very

serious. You can then climb over the wall,jump down and never go back. I believe

you can do this if you want.”The young man said thank you

and left the temple. After a fewmonths they heard that the richgangster had been killed and theyoung man had never been seenagain.

All these stories passedaround the White Cloud Temple.

Master Du also taught theCommunist leader Chu De. He was a

Chief General, the same rank as MaoZe Dong. At the start of CommunistChina there was still a lot of respect for

a lot of the tradit ional ChineseCulture, up until the CulturalRevolution.

Master Wu Baolin says that his teacherknew when he needed to “go away”. He was already 106years old at the time. He told all the people at White CloudTemple. He sat in the middle of an open space, and when thetime came his whole body turned into many colours and theyflew away into the sky. This was seen by many people andwas even reported in Beijing newspapers. Master Du XingLing’s body disappeared in all those colours.

This is a high level of Daoism. A human being turnsinto colours and goes away as an immortal. Whether youbelieve this or not, when you read old stories either from theeast or the west there are many stories that are similar tothis. If it is true, then there is more to life than what we see

by Michael Tse

“His teacher could notbe a normal human, he

must have beenimmortal &

could fly”

Qi Magazine 44

Julian Wilde with his teacher & his students

Qi Magazine 44

Qi

Ma

tters

Daoism is not strictly a religion buta way of life which allows thefollower to reconnect and live

more closely with nature. Unlikereligious worship of a Supreme Being,Daoism recognises a ‘supreme state ofbeing’ which everyone can achievethrough their own personal efforts.

Dao is eternal, infinite, andbeyond all time and space. It is the sourceof all being; the mother of the universe.It is the invisible thread which connectsand permeates everything in existence.Laozi, the Sage, reluctantly termed it theNameless (as well as The Unknowable,The Void, and The Way) as he knewwords limit and Dao is limitless, beyondall description. Void is the very natureof Dao and to say that it exists is toexclude that which does not.

Dao gave birth to One (theUniverse or Unity), which created Two(Yin and Yang - the entire spectrum ofcomplementary opposites includinglight and dark, male and female,mountains and valleys etc.), whichcreated Three (the Three Treasures -essence, energy, and spirit) which gavebirth to the multitude of living things.

Dao is seen as a ceaseless flow,changing every moment. Yet thechanges proceed in orderly cycles.We can predict day following night,the changing order of the seasons,and even Halley’s Comet whichpasses once every seventy-six yearsbut other cycles are longer and harderto comprehend. Investigation intonature’s patterns allows us to predictevents which is how the Daoist ‘Yijing’(or ‘Book of Changes’) was created.

Daoists follow the principle ofNon-action (Wu Wei) which is to actwithout forcing, moving in accordancewith nature’s flow, and following thepath of least resistance, like fishswimming with the current or a plantbending towards the sunlight.

Stillness, which is central to Daoistphilosophy, is to return to the originalstate of being. Meditation is the tool toachieve this. Activity should alwaysalternate with periods of stillness and

never be pushed to the point of strain.This is the principle of balance, necessaryfor a long and healthy life. Thepractitioner’s heart and mind shouldconstantly remain calm. Anger, anxiety,desires, frustration etc. all disturb innerpeace so it is best to reject them. The

emotions should not be suppressed buttranscended.

The 5 Elements (wood, fire, earth,metal, and water), or five energies, existeverywhere in the universe. They arerepresented by the colours, directions,seasons, emotions, flavours, internalorgans, climates etc. None is superioras each exerts a mutually creative(supporting) or destructive (restraining)influence upon the other.

The Three Treasures have variousmanifestations within the cosmos. Withinthe confines of the human body Essence

(Jing) is the seminal fluid and blood, Qiis vital energy, and Spirit (Shen) relatesto the mind. These become weaker andcoarser due to bad living habits andunrestrained desires, or lighter, purerand more refined if they are conservedand cultivated.

Alchemy is the process of refiningthe spirit, generally disguised as thequest for converting base metals intogold. Daoists sought to refine a ‘goldenpill’ which bestowed perpetual youth,resistance to disease, and immortality(or immense longevity). Some ingestedexperimental compounds of cinnabar(sulphide of mercury), gold, silver, jade,pearls, silver, and even arsenic, many ofwhom died from poisoning. The highestform of Daoist alchemy is Qigong, whichis natural and requires no external aid.The refining process involves conservingJing, or bodily essences (the rawmaterials), and fusing it with Qi (thecatalyst) through breathing practicesand meditation, to develop Shen (unifiedmind, breath, and spirit).

There are essentially two goals inDaoism. The first involves living in accord

with Nature. The second is the processof cultivation. The ego places a

barrier between us and Dao soit must be dissolved until webecome Selfless. This is to returnto the Source, like a rain dropfalling into the ocean. In death

the physical body (coarse matter)is discarded, like a snake shedding

its skin, and if the consciousness(pure energy) has been developed toforge a strong ‘astral body’ it is free tobecome One with the Universe, andtranscend death. So Daoists meditate todevelop the mind in the quest forimmortality, but a healthy body isnecessary otherwise all the Qi is spenton healing, leaving none spare todevelop the spirit. Speculation aside, ona truly practical level those who follow‘The Way’ and Daoist health regimensunquestionably attain longevity and inChina 100 years in good health istantamount to ‘Immortal’

by Adam Wallace. Adam@qimagazine.com

Daoist philosophy, which dates back almost 5,000 years, is soingrained in Chinese culture that it forms the basis of its cosmology, sciencesand medicine, folklore, mysticism, poetry, painting, calligraphy, martialarts, and Qigong.

Central Principles of DaoismCentral Principles of Daoism

Qi Magazine 45

Sitting with yourback to the door

A round deskleads to instability

A direct view of the doorcan make stressed

Feng Shui & Your DeskFeng Shui & Your Desk

Many people have asked about how Feng Shui affects the desks intheir offices. This is very important as it directly affects their careersand so their income.

Continuing on from last issue...9. If your desk is curved, it meansyou will have a lot of work. However,you will have more than one type ofwork, and you must be careful,otherwise you might have a lot of stress.10. If your desk is round, then youwill be very unstable. You will keepchanging your work and will not stickto one job.11. If for your work you use tables ofall different shapes then again you willbe unstable. Sometimes your work willbe good, sometime it will be bad. Allthese different shapes will createdifferent situations. So at certain timesit will be good and other times it willnot be good. The best idea is to have arectangular shaped desk as this isbalanced.12. If your desk wobbles, then youwill not be in a stable situation.13. If you use a computer you shouldkeep it in front of you and not to theleft or right. Otherwise you will have neckproblems and you will not be able towork properly.14. When you sit at your desk, youshould sit in the middle, keep your backstraight and your shoulders relaxed. Ifyou usually bend your back and stickyour head forwards then you will haveback problems. Not only this, you willalso have lung and heart problems andyour shoulders will be tense. Of course,if you are not healthy, how can you dowell at your work?15. When you start work you mustmake sure your desk is clean andeverything you need is in a handyposition and not missing if you need it.If you do this before you start work, thenit means you will have a good beginning.Like saying hello to someone when youfirst meet them.16. When you finish your work, youshould clear your desk. This is a goodending. So you have a good beginningand a good ending. However, a goodending is better than a good beginning.So remember, when you leave youshould say goodbye to others.

17. If you have space either side ofyour desk, it should be even. If the leftside is blocked then it is not good formen and if the right side is blocked, thenit is not good for women. If you blockboth sides, then it is no good for either.The energy might affect you or it mightaffect members of your family.18. When you sit at your desk youshould not directly face the door. Thiswill cause you stress.19. If you sit with your back to thedoor, then you will have many people

talking behind your back and your lungsand back will have a problem. This isbecause the draught will blow onto yourback and lungs every time the dooropens. You will also not be at peace andwill be disturbed.

20. The best is to not directly facethe door or have it behind you. The bestposition is one where you can see thedoor, but it will not surprise you when itis opened

By Michael Tse

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Wing Chun Knives (Baat Jam Do)2/3 March 10 to 4pmAllen Hall, 281 Wilmslow Road, Fallowfield, Manchester M14 6HTWing Chun Kung Fu is well known for it’s practical self defence techniques. A high level of WingChun training is the Wing Chun Knives (Baat Jam Do), however, this part of the system is lesswell known and normally takes many years to reach it. The knives train the power of the wristand arms and also increase your internal power (Gong Lik). This is a rare opportunity to learnhow to use the Wing Chun Knives.Cost: £120 in adv members of the Tse Qigong Centre.£ 160 in adv non members (includes membership).

Damo Staff2/3 FebruaryMaria Assumpta Centre,23 Kensington Sq. W8 5HNThis is a dynamic and highly enjoyable formthat has proved to be very popular! It is goodfor the posture, stretching the spine andloosening the shoulders and also creates a lotof internal heat. This improves circulation,balance and co-ordination. This form comesfrom Northern Shaolin Master Wu Chun Yuen,who is almost 80 years old and still very fitand healthy.Cost: £160 in adv members of the Tse Qigong Centre£200 in adv non members (includes membership)Price includes White Wax Wood Staff.Reduction for those who have attended previously

Cotton Palm Qigong26/27 JanuaryMaria Assumpta Centre, 23 Kensington Sq. W8 5HNThis form contains many slapping movements, which help to stimulate the release of toxins from thebody. Negative energy is released through slapping on specific acupuncture points, then later circularwalking techniques are used to gather positive energy. One of the 72 forms and methods of theKunlun Dayan Qigong system, from Grandmaster Yang Meijun.Cost: £120 in adv members of the Tse Qigong Centre£160 in adv non members (includes membership).

To book or for moreinformation contact:Tse Qigong CentrePO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FSTel 0161 929 4485Fax 0161 929 4489tse@qimagazine.com

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