OVERVIEW OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SERIES
January to June 2006

January February March April May June

January

January 2006 (Part 1)

Sifu and Simu

True love, romantic or otherwise, is not egoistical. True love involves giving, not taking. The elevation is caused by the expansion of your spirit, not by egoism. When you give, you open your heart and your spirit expands.

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January 2006 (Part 2)

chi flow

One crucial point many people miss is that using a different paradigm does not mean one has to throw away all his previous training. It means the new paradigm enables him to enlarge his perspective so that he can put his training to better use. Once the concept of yin-yang harmony is understood, conventional Western doctors can use their own training and methods, such as chemotherapy or surgery, to restore yin-yang harmony. They may not even call it "yin-yang harmony". They can express the same concept in different words, such as "restoring the natural functioning of the patient to enable him to adjust effectively to changing conditions".

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January 2006 (Part 3)

chi flow

Many people who have practiced and taught Taijiquan for years fall into this situation. They know that they have no internal force, and they cannot defend themselves even against an ordinary attacker. Yet they insist vehemently that theirs is authentic Taijiquan. They appear so convinced in their insistence that one wonders whether they really do not know Taijiquan is an internal martial art, or that they choose to lie to themselves. When given an opportunity to experience internal force and combat application, like in my Intensive Taijiquan Course which can help them to convert their Taiji dance into an internal martial art, they dare not face the truth, for fear of breaking the illusion that they have nurtured for years.

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February

February 2006(Part 1)

Shaolin Kungfu

A good conceptual framework to use to understand miracle healing is that of the classical Chinese who view the world as manifestations of “jing”, “qi” and “shen”, or “physical form”, “energy” and “spirit” (or “mind”). Its understanding is elite, which means most Chinese, now and in the past, may not know the concept although they have heard of the terms.

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February 2006 (Part 2)

wushu

Kungfu is the usual term people refer to Chinese martial art, although in the Chinese language today martial art is referred to as "wushu". This causes some confusion, compounded by the fact that "wushu" is practiced today generally as a sport and not as a martial art. So, "kungfu" means Chinese martial art, and "wushu" means a demonstrative sport where combat is not an essential aspect.

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February 2006 (Part 3)

Namo Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva

If you meet a ghost, the right attitude is to show pity. Ghosts are pitiful. They are often lonely and almost always hungry. They are also ignorant. If they had spiritual knowledge when they were humans and had spent some time to acquire blessings, they would have been reborn in heavens. One of the best things you can do to ghosts is to give them some spiritual teaching, such as the teaching of Kstigarbha (Earth Store) Bodhisattva and of Amitabha (Infinite Light) Buddha.

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March

March 2006 (Part 1)

Taijiquan sparring

Most Taijiquan practitioners today inside and outside China, including instructors, do not know how to defend against a simple punch or a simple kick. They would be quite helpless when an attacker locks their arm or throw them over the shoulder.

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March 2006(Part 2)

high-level chi kung

In my opinion, much of the original Shaolin teaching has been lost today. Shaolin Kungfu was well known for internal force, combat efficiency and spiritual cultivation. But most Shaolin practitioners today use muscular strength instead of internal force, Kick-Boxing instead of Shaolin techniques in their sparring, and have little understanding and experience of spiritual training.

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March 2006(Part 3)

Golden Bridge

You trained in a kwoon, or school, which teaches beautiful kungfu forms but no self-defence. Even if you are an excellent student and your teacher an excellent teacher, you will end up a master of beautiful kungfu forms but without self-defence. This is inevitable. It is no surprise. The real surprise is that most of the students and some of the instructors, including masters, do not realize this simple fact. (Masters here refer to those who have mastered what they practice, and in this case beautiful kungfu forms.)

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April

April 2006 (Part 1)

Stance training

Your questions, while interesting, are like those that prompted the great Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of the Shaolin arts, to ask the monks to burn their books and focus on their practice. One should note it was not that Bodhidharma was against book learning but book learning alone, while providing useful intellectual knowledge and which the monks were doing to the extent of neglecting their practical application, would not help the monks to attain their goal, i.e. Enlightenment.

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April 2006 (Part 2)

Double Tiger Claws

Although both Uncle Righteousness and Sifu Ho Fatt Nam taught me Southern Shaolin Kungfu, there were some characteristic differences between the two. Relatively speaking, Uncle Righteousness' kungfu was famous for its beautiful forms (of course, it was also very effective), whereas Sifu Ho Fatt Nam's kungfu was famous for its combat effectiveness (of course the forms were beautiful too).

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April 2006(Part 3)

Taming Tiger

Telepathic abilities are true. When one develops his mind, like practicing high level chi kung such as those taught in our schools, he can attain telepathic powers. When one is so blessed to have such powers it is very important for his own good to use the powers ethically and wisely. If a person with such powers abuses them, it is inevitable that his evil deeds will be bounced back to him. There is nothing superstitious or even religious about this. It is a cosmic truth, and can be readily explained by science.

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May

May 2006 (Part 1)

Shaolin Staff

Striking an opponent is different from breaking a brick. When a Cosmos Palm master strikes a person, it is not the momentum of his palm, but his flowing chi channeled by him into the opponent that causes serious injury. The master's chi distorts the energy network of the opponent, which results in upsetting the normal working of the person's organs or system. There may not be any external mark on the point of contact, yet the opponent can be seriously injured. Hence, the palm of a Cosmos Palm master may be soft and gentle, and he may be unable to break a brick, but he can cause serious damage to an opponent.

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May 2006 (Part 2)

Carrying the Moon

In the chi kung paradigm the root cause of gout, or any disease, is yin-yang disharmony, which is a Chinese medical jargon meaning that your body systems are not responding appropriately to constantly changing conditions. There are countless factors that cause conditions to change, such as temperature, environment, viruses, stress, emotions and food. If there is a change of temperature, for example, or if harmful viruses get into your body, and if your body system cannot adjust appropriately, you will become sick. In reality, conditions change all the time. We are all exposed to temperature change, viruses, etc, yet we are not sick because our body systems can adjust appropriately, usually without our conscious knowing. This is a natural process.

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May 2006 (Part 3)

Dragon Form

when I teach students in Shaolin Wahnam, consciously or unconsciously I include elements from Shaolin Cosmos Qigong into my teaching. It is like using the forms of Eighteen Lohan Hands and Sinew Metamorphosis as well as stance training and combat sequences to teach the essence of Shaolin Cosmos Qigong. It brings these arts to an exceedingly high level - sometimes at a level that even alarms me.

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June

June 2006 (Part 1)

Dim Mark with Phoenix Eye Fist

In our school, Shaolin Wahnam, “Iron Palm” is considered third-class kungfu whereas “Red Sand Palm” or “Cosmos Palm” is first-class. This does not mean that “Iron Palm” is not useful or powerful. My siheng (elder kungfu brother), Xing Fook Heng, is an Iron Palm and Iron Fist expert. When this siheng arrived, my sifu could hear him from a distance and would jokingly said, “The water-buffalo is coming.”

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June 2006 (Part 2)

Directing Chi Flow

A good way to help him is by example. When he sees that you are peaceful and happy, he may want to be too. When he asks you how you change your miserable life to a happy one, you should not tell him my method yet! He is your older brother and your father-figure. Hence you lack the kind of impact on him to make him change. Most likely he asks you out of curiosity, or at best for theoretical information. He may not carry out the practice. What should you do, then? Ask him to write to me, or seek the advice of a spiritual teacher. He must want to change, and want it enough to put in his own effort.

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June 2006 (Part 3)

Shaolin Throw

It is obvious from your questions that you have no experience of generating energy flow and managing its movement. Asking you to move toxic qi with your mind, when you do not have basic skills in energy flow and management, is likely to cause you confusion and harmful effects. We can achieve the same result that master intended by asking you to breathe out gently with your mouth open.

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