SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
FEBRUARY 2012 PART 2
Chi kung students of Shaolin Wahnam Ecuador enjoying "Flowing Breeze Swaying Willows"
Question 1
Previously when I came out of my Horse-Rriding Stance, that would be the end of the session.. Now after I have finished my Horse-Rriding Stance I do self manifested chi movement as described in your book, "Complete Book of Shaolin".
— Dan, USA
Answer
This is a big kungfu secret. I believe we in Shaolin Wahnam are the first to share this big secret publicly.
In the past, masters shared this secret privately only with a few top students, after the students had proven themselves worthy after many, many years. Over time, this secret was virtually lost. Today, not many people know of this secret. Even those masters who practice this and derive a lot of benefit, i.e. enjoying a chi flow after stance training and developing internal force, might not know of it as a secret They do so as part of their training routine.
This secret is called "yew foong pai lau" (Cantonese pronunciation), which means "flowing breeze swaying willows". If you practice "flowing breeze swaying willows" for a short while after your stance training, you will get more than three times the benefit?
For example, suppose you practice stance training for 15 minutes, and you obtain 50 units of benefit. If you add another 5 minutes of "flowing breeze swaying willows", you will obtain more than 150 units of benefits.
And if you have some adverse effects due to wrong training, "flowing breeze and swaying willows" will clear away the adverse effects.
Question 2
At first I found that I just swayed a little from my knees, but now I find that I am moving quite a lot. I'm not sure if this is a sign that I am generating more internal force. But it does feel a lot better and I feel so relaxed sometimes.
Answer
Yes, it is a sign of generating more internal force.
In my kungfu classes the chi flow after stance training or any other kungfu training can be very vigorous. Students may jump and roll on the ground. Some may sing or yell. This is catharsis, or emotional cleansing. It is also erasing bad karma from past lives.
Some people may think that we are talking non-sense. Erasing bad karma from past lives? Or even more mundane matter like emotional cleansing? These people would say that kungfu is only physical, and has nothing to do with superstition.
This is not superstition. In fact it is very scientific. And great kungfu is more than physical; it is also spiritual.
I use the terms "physical" and "spiritual" here in its Eastern context. In Chinese, it is "shen" and "xin". Literally, :shen" means "body", and "xin" means "heart". (Please note that "shen" pronounced in another tone, but written different in Chinese, can also mean "spirit".)
In Western context, :"shen" or "body" refers to the physical. "Xin" or "heart" is not the organ heart; it refers to the emotional, mental and spiritual.
Let me give an example of how vigorous chi flow can cleanse negative emotions and erase bad karma. Someone often suffers from stomach pains, and is afraid of ordinary knives. Thorough medical examinations show that there is nothing wrong with his stomach, and he knows very well that he needs not be afraid of knives.
But in a past life he was killed by a knife driven into his stomach. The experience was so traumatic that it left a strong impression in his soul, or consciousness. In chi kung terms, he has a spiritual blockage. Vigorous chi flow can clear the spiritual blockage. In Western terms, it clears his negative emotions and imprints in his consciousness. In some literature, it is described as erasing bad karma.
Your feeling better and relaxed is also an example of spiritual cleansing.
Nevertheless, as you practice on your own, you should keep your chi flow gentle. Vigorous chi flow should be learnt from a competent teacher, and performed with his guidance.
Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit demonstrating the Horse-Riding Stance at an Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course in Sabah
Question 3
My Horse-Rriding Stance has also increase to 5 minutes but it is extremely hard. I am not sure if I am too high or not. My thighs are not parallel with the ground but they are not that faroff and I find that at this height it is much more comfortable on my knees.
Answer
There are many pictures on my website showing how the Horse-Riding Stance should be practiced.
Some practitioners aim to have their thighs parallel to the ground. Their horse-stance is box-shaped. We discourage this, as it locks energy at the thighs and knees.
Our horse-stance is pyramid-shaped, with the thighs gently sloping. This enables chi to flow to the feet and root the practitioners to the ground, as well as enables chi to be gathered at the dan tian to develop internal force.
Question 4
I know this may sound like a silly question but are there any simple ways that I can test whether or not I am developing internal force on my own.
Answer
It is not a silly question. In fact it is wise of you to ask. Thousands of students have wasted a lot of time because they never ask such questions. They never ask, for example, whether they are getting the benefits their art is supposed to give them.
You are asking this very important question in different words and with direct reference to internal force. Stance training is supposed to develop internal force, and you are asking how you can know you are getting this benefit.
A good way to find out is to list some of the things internal force would enable a practitioner to do well, and then check yourself against this list.
Here are some examples of a practitioner with internal force. The more internal force he has, the better he will be at these items.
- He is healthy,
- He has vitality.
- He is powerful, yet peaceful and relaxed.
- His face is radiant.
- His voice is full.
- He has sparkling eyes.
Take each item and compare yourself before you started stance training and now. Are you healthier now than before? Do you have more vitality now than before?
You may have a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 as the lowest and 10 the highest in your achievement. Suppose you give yourself 4 for health before your started stance training, and now you give yourself 6. So, you can conclude you have gained some internal force which enables you to move from 4 to 6 for health.
For the initiated, evidence of internal force is clearly manifested in Sifu Piti, Sifu Riccardo, Sifu Rama, Andreas and Sifu Antonio in the photograph shown above
Question 5
I have read that it is essential that Chi Kung is practiced daily to receive the full benefit, but I have also read elsewhere that you should not practice Chi Kung 24 hours before or after sex as it is harmful to the body,
— Harry, UK
Answer
There are many different types of chi kung of different levels catering for different needs. Therefore, statements that are applicable to some types of chi kung may not be applicable to others. Even for the same type of chi kung, certain statements may apply to some practitioners but not to others.
While it is highly recommended to practice chi kung every day, it is not essential. In other words, if you miss a day or two of practice, you can still get a lot of benefits. In some situations, like when a practitioner is weak or the type of chi kung is powerful, he may get more benefits by practicing on alternate days than on every day.
Not practicing chi kung 24 hours before and after sex is recommended only on special situations, like when a practitioner is practicing a demanding type of chi kung like Iron Shirt. After sex the practitioner is weakened, and may not be able to withstand strikes made on his body in Iron Shirt training. On the other hand, having endured the training he may not have sufficient energy left to perform sex.
You would be pleased to know that both abstinence of sex after chi kung, and abstinence of chi kung after sex, do not apply in normal situations. In other words, if you are a normal person doing normal things, there is no harm if you enjoy practicing chi kung then have sex, or enjoy sex then practice chi kung.
Question 6
If I want to practice Chi Kung properly do I have to abstain from sex because even regular practice of Chi Kung would be difficult if I were to have sex only twice a week?
Answer
No, you don't have to abstain from sex if you want to practice chi kung properly. Regular practice of chi kung would be easy if you are to have sex only twice a week.
In fact, except for special situations like the one mentioned above, irrespective of whether a person has sex every day, or only on some days, or not at all, he can practice chi kung everyday. There is also no harm if he misses his chi kung practice on some days.
The good news is that if you wish to have sex more than twice a week, which is a pleasurable thing to do provided you have the required energy to do the job, and of course also a willing partner to share your joy, practicing high-level chi kung everyday will help you fulfill this aspiration.
Lifting the Sky
Question 7
Nurses threaten me, and I become afraid. Please help me, and maybe you can talk with the nurses so they will pamper me.
— Michel, Netherlands
Answer
You may have done something bad that the nurses that the nurses threaten you. Do something good to them and they will adore you.
Getting the nurses to pamper you is not an enviable thing to do. It would be better if you pamper the nurses.
Question 8
I was at wongkk.com . Psychiatrists declared me schizophrenia of the paranoid type. I've practised "Lifting the Sky" and "Golden Bridge" for years. What is the best exercise to cure my sickness? I own "The art of Chi "Kung" and "Chi Kung for Health and Vitality".
Answer
The website address "wongkk.com" in obsolete. The new website address is shaolin.org .
Schizophrenia can be overcome. An excellent way to overcome schizophrenia is to practice high-level chi kung.
But learning chi kung exercises from books is not likely to get you practice high-level chi kung. Worse, you may practice the exercises wrongly, which can give you adverse effects.
It is not the type of exercises but how you practice them that is important. "Lifting the Sky" and "Golden Bridge" can bring high-level results if you learn them from a competent teacher and practice them correctly. But if you learn the same exercises from books, even when you practice them correctly, it is unlikely you will have high-level results.
Why is it that when you practice the same exercises correctly, you will get low-level result if you learn them from books, but high-level results if you learn them from a competent teacher? It is because a competent teacher can teach you skills and supervise your training so that you your results are high-level, whereas books may not.
I would recommend you to attend my Intensive Chi Kung Course . It is advisable if you come with a family member or a friend who can look after you. It is best if your family member or friend attend the course too, but if just accompany you to give support, that is fine too.