SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
JULY 2011 PART 1

Tim Hoorens

Chi flow

Question 1

My kungfu is going great. I am practicing daily for over an hour, covering stances, force training, sequences and sets. After my practice I do the Art of Flexibility. In between, I go into a lot of chi flow, building and flowing.

My stances have improved very much lately, and the Triple Stretch Set is going wonderful. I always feel very good after practice, and enjoy it a lot. The quality of my life has never been higher! Thank you for your great teachings, dear Sifu.

— Name Removed as Requested

Answer

I am very proud of you and very glad of your progress. The best part is that your life is getting better and better.

Question 2

A lot of times I start speaking a foreign language. It's probably Chinese. Sometimes the speaking is gentle, sometimes it is a fierce voice that shouts out Chinese words while doing sequences.

Most of these sequences I haven't learnt, but some are from the Triple Stretch Set and our core syllabus. Also there are a lot of Tiger Claws lately, and Pakua Kungfu and others I haven't learnt.

Answer

This is not uncommon in high-level chi kung and kungfu, though many other people may find this weird. It is similar to speaking in tongues in Western culture.

There are two possibilities.

You were reliving one or more of your past lives when you were a kungfu master. It was not that you went back in time, but that the imprints on your mind, or soul, are now given manifestations.

Or some divine being is guiding you. Others may think that we are talking non-sense, but we in Shaolin Wahnam are often guided and protected by divine beings and past masters. If you ask around, you may hear many first-hand experiences.

Eagle Claw

Triple Stretch course in United Kingdom

Question 3

This is all happening a lot since the Triple Stretch Course. Thank you so much for teaching this great set, Sifu. Everything is coming alive in my practice because of it. I will be forever grateful, and hope to be a good student as best as possible.

Answer

The Triple-Stretch course was a great course. It is reputed that the Venerable Sam Tuck and Hoong Hei Khoon, two of the greatest Shaolin masters who spread Shaolin Kungfu from the southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine Lotus Mountain to posterity, practiced this Triple-Stretch Set.

I am glad you attended the course. I could also see a big improvement in you from the last time I saw you at the Eagle Claw course. The improvement is not just in kungfu performance, but more importantly in you as a whole person.

Question 4

As it is happening a lot, is it OK to flow like this for a while? Normally I just slow down after 10 minutes, but I feel I can let these manifestations go on for a long while.

Answer

At the beginning, you should slow down so that you learn control. But when you have good control as you progress, you can enjoy your chi flow longer and longer, even when the chi flow is vigorous. You are doing well.

Internal Force

An old photograph showing Sifu Ng Kowi Beng, an early disciple of Grandmaster Wong, breaking a brick with a seemingly gentle slap of his palm. The internal force involved was exploded from his wrist.

Question 5

I also feel I'm getting taught in these chi flows. This morning, for example, after chi kung practice, I flowed into a horse stance and started striking with the outward of my wrist, and with my palms. At the same time I was speaking some Chinese words. Because of those manifestations I can actually now strike with force just using my wrist.

Answer

Again this is not uncommon in our school amongst dedicated students. Either your past-life kungfu experience was coming out, or some divine being or past master was guiding your practice.

You don't have to worry which one of the two possibilities was the case. Just enjoy the practice and benefit. Give thanks at the end of your sessions in whatever way you feel right.

Being able to strike with force from your wrist is an advanced skill. As you have been with our school not very long, this is tremendous progress. But it should not be a surprise to anyone, considering your dedication and the number of special courses you have attended. Congratulations. Carry on.

There is a saying in kungfu that force goes through five "gates". The first gate is from the dan tian. The second is at the shoulder, the third at the elbow, and the fourth at the wrist. The fifth gate is where force shoots out from the fist, palm or fingers.

If you observe martial artists attacking, you can see that many lock their force at their shoulders, some at their elbows. Only advanced practitioners can strike from their wrist.

Question 6

I feel very blessed because of this, and wish to thank you once again from my heart, dear Sifu. What you are doing for Shaolin Kungfu is simply amazing. I will always try my best to uphold the Ten Shaolin Laws as best as I can, and be as good a student I can be, so I can make you proud. Your inspiration is endless.

Answer

I am very proud of you.

The Ten Shaolin Laws are a very helpful guideline for us to live with high moral values. Smiling from the heart at the start of our practice is a wonderful way of spiritual cultivation.

Chi Flow

Some chi flows in our schools are very vigorous, pushing out a lot of rubbish, including karmic blokage from past lives

Question 7

My first experiences during the kungfu course with you this year were those of incredible force. I also felt chi pressure on my third eye. At the same time I started experiencing a keen anxiety and fear of death and what would happen after it.

After the course, I continued training the force-training exercise. A lot of rubbish came out. I had some cold symptoms. My fear of death became stronger. I especially feared losing awareness and myself after death. Then both suddenly left without me gaining any insights.

Shortly afterwards, my fears came back in more earthly forms; I feel nervous and afraid of simple everyday things. I am more tired than usual and I have a sensation of tiredness around my eyes. It is as if my energy is deep inside and far gone. The symptoms are actually very similar to what happened shortly after I started chi kung training.

I changed my training slightly to deal with this: I focus more now on Pushing Mountains and Lifting the Sky and less on Kung Fu. My training itself always feels good.

Would this be new cleansing experiences? Or would this be a deviation? It seems a bit weird that this drop in mental and physical health should occur such a long time after I started training. It would be embarrassing for me to find out that I have deviated, as you are such a great teacher and I feel I would be insulting you by not training correctly. This is actually my greatest worry.

Many thanks for your wonderful teachings which, I have just realized have made me very healthy both physically and mentally these past many years.

— Sifu Roeland Dijkerna, Netherlands

Answer

First of all, don't worry. Yours are not deviations, but symptoms of too much force being developed. A few senior disciples had such experiences before, though the symptoms were not the same. I call it the "fast learner's synchrome".

Yours are symptoms of your body telling you to rest so that it can catch up with the tremendous force developed. The tremendous force also resulted in rapid deep cleansing, including clearing out emotions that have been in you long ago.

All you need is to slow down your training, sometimes even stop training for a day or two. Use the time to take your girlfried out, or do whatever things you wish to do but didn't have the time in the past.

Question 8

A student has been informed that his beloved uncle got diagnosis of lung cancer with metastasis to his liver and bones. The student asked me to help his uncle, and possibly to ask for your help. His uncle is a medical doctor, and he seems quite skeptical about chances to recover. Do you think I should try to arrange a private session of his uncle with you?

— Sifu Riccardo Puleo, Italy

Answer

Frankly, I am not interested to teach someone like the student's uncle who is skeptical about chi kung. Yet, I feel it a duty to help him if he wants my help. My fee is 1000 euros per sessions. Depending on various factors, each session may last between 5 minutes and an hour. He needs at least 3 sessions.

Depending on his perspective, my fees can be very cheap or very expensive. If he practices what he learns from me, and recovers, the fees are very cheap. If he just comes for the sessions and does not practice on his own after that, the fees are very expensive.

Please let him know that there is no guarantee that he will be cured, though he will of course have a chance. Please also let him know that I am actually not interested to teach him, but feel a duty to do so if he wants my help. He must know that he is not coming to me for treatment. He is coming for chi kung lessons, and if he continues to practice he has a chance to be healthy again.

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