SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
OCTOBER 2022 PART 1
Note
: The Q & A Series will end on Apr 25 Part 1, but the Series will carry on as usual.
Chi kung state of mind
Question 1
I am sure I find you happy and in good health.
Jorge, USA
Answer
I am happy and in good health. I am sure all our students will be happy and healthy.It is good that your father will receive the vaccine next week. It will make traveling so much easier.
It is wonderful that your mother looks more than 20 years younger that she is.
Question 2
The thought of a virtual online chi kung intensive course seemed a real possibility and something I believe would give much needed hope, light and helpful skills to deserving students.
Answer
Personally I do not favour online teaching as it may degrade chi kung into some external forms, but I have no objection against others teaching online. I shall be offering some intensive courses for chi kung, but with the world lockdown I don't know when they can be offered. When the world lockdown is over and it will be soon, there will be an increase of people taking chi kung.
Unfortunately, more than 80% of the practitioners practice gentle, physical exercise, and the remaining less than 20% practice low level chi kung. They do not realize it because the techniques are the same. Gentle, physical exercise does not contribute to health, vitality and longevity, and low level chi kung takes a long time to have little results.
We in Shaolin Wahnam practice very high level chi kung. A few years ago I was unaware that our level could be so high.
A main difference between gentle, physical exercise and genuine chi kung is entering into a chi kung state of mind. You can enter into a chi kung state of mind in a few minutes, and then generate an energy flow, or chi flow.
Most people cannot enter into a chi kung state of mind, and therefore many remain weak and sick although they have practiced what they think is chi kung for a long time. Given the long time they have practiced, they should be healthy and happy as it can be clearly seen in our Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
The less than 20% of people who practice genuine chi kung, do not realize that they have occasionally entered into a chi kung state of mind, but most of these people practice at a low level. How can they practice genuine chi kung and do not realize that they have entered into a chi kung state of mind? As mentioned earlier, the techniques are the same.
The more than 80% of so-called chi kung practitioners do not enter into a chi kung state of mind, they practice gentle, physical exercise. The less than 20% enter into a chi kung state of mind, they practice chi kung, usually at a low level.
Most people think wrongly that if they practice the techniques correctly long enough, they will have chi kung benefits. I thought in this way when I was a student.
The onus of chi kung is skills and not techniques. It is the skills of techniques practiced and not the techniques themselves, that is important. The techniques themselves are the external forms.
A good analogy is Taijiquan, or Tai Chi Chuan in usual English. Most people who practice Taijjiquan do not have internal force and cannot use their Taijiquan techniques for combat, yet Taijiquan is a wonderful, internal martial art. They do not have the skills of developing internal force and applying Taijiquan for combat.
Please note that in "Tai Chi Chuan", the "chi" in the middle of the term is spelt as "ji" in Romanized Chinese. "Chi" in "chi kung" is energy, and is spelt as "qi". "Qigong" is in Romanized Chinese. We use "chi kung" because we are using English. "Qigong" and "chi kung" are the same in pronunciation. Qigong is often mispronounced as /ki gong/.
You take less than a minute to enter into a chi kung state of mind, and just a few minutes to generate a chi flow. When I first taught chi kung to the public about 40 years ago, I took a much longer time, and I took about 4 months to generate an energy flow, or a chi flow. Chi flow is the essence of chi kung.
You don't have to spend time to enter into a chi kung state of mind, just as you don't have to take your driving test again. You just begin your chi kung exercises. You are already in a chi kung state of mind because you have been initiated.
Putting an opponent in an awkward situation
Question 3
Is it alright to do the pushing hands a thousand times a day as well as the Forceful Big Windmill?
Pipoy, Philippines
Answer
You don't need to perform "Pushing Hands" a thousand times. If you can perform "Pushing Hands" a hundred times, it is quite sufficient.
It is not the number of repetition that is important, but the depth you have entered Zen or Tao. "Pushing Hands" is meant to develop combat skills, such as being relaxed and focused, develop internal force, and place your opponent in an unfavourable situation.
Question 4
In what time and direction shall we face when practicing Cosmos Palm for best result?
Answer
In Shaolin Wahnam, the school I found to teach chi kung and kungfu, a practitioner can perform "Pushing Hands" and "Forceful Big Windmill" in any direction.
I was caught in an unguarded movement when the organizer, Matt Fenton (Sifu Matt Fenton of USA), asked me whether I would teach Cosmos Palm, and the "Forceful Big Windmill" is included in Cosmos Palm. I was happy that I offered the course.
A practitioner without the supervision of a master, is related to "Horizontal Shift" and "Vertical Shift". If you live in a city, a "Horizontal Shift" is to go to a seaside or a mountain once a while where the air or energy is fresh. In a "Vertical Shift", we improve our organs and systems so that the organs and systems can function at their best.
Living in a city is inconvenient to go to the seaside or the mountain once a while. Hence the "Vertical Shift" is better than the "Horizontal Shift". In Shaolin Wahnam, we ensure that the air or energy is fresh.
The telling sign of a Cosmos Palm master and also of a Cotton Palm master are that the hands of the masters are gentle and red in colour. Cosmos Palm and Cotton Palm are secretive arts. You should not practice "Forceful Big Windmill" as you did not attend the course on Cosmos Palm.
The hands of a Cosmos Palm master are gentle and red in colour
Question 5
Does it really need 1 breath per circular movement in Forceful Big Windmill and pushing hands?
Answer
In the combat application of "Forceful Big Windmill" and "Pushing Hands", it is not necessary to have one breath per circulation.
But in the practice of "Forceful Big Windmill", we used one breath per circular movement to convert flowing force into consolidated force. In the practice of "Pushing Hands", we may use one breath or many breaths.
Question 6
I am a big fan of Shaolin Kung Fu ever since my childhood days. Now I want to learn it in order to heal and to help people.
Answer
I recommend that you attend the Intensive Chi Kung Course. You may read The Unbelievable Intensive Chi Kung Course of the wonderful benefits of the course.
If you are not satisfied, you don't have to pay the course fee, and no questions will be asked. But you have to pay for your airfare, your accommodation and anything you may buy during your stay. If you are satisfied, you can then attend the Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course or the Intensive Taijiquan Course.
Because of the world lockdown, I am not sure when I shall offer the Intensive Chi Kung Course. You can check available dates on my website.
A chi kung healer has the heart of a father or a mother. You have to practice for some time and attend a Chi Kung Healing Course. Chi Kung Healing is very rare, and there are no such things as so-called incurable diseases in chi kung healing. You can have a glimpse of the latest Chi Kung Healing Course here.
But you can help other people by practicing chi kung and kungfu. Shaolin Wahnam Family members are known to be open and courteous. You can have a little game with our Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum. If you cover the names of the readers, you can guess correctly most of the time whether a particular reader is a Shaolin Wahnam Family member or a visitor.
Carrying the Moon
Question 7
I have noticed that the 18 Lohan Hands look different in other schools.
— James, England
Answer
Bodhidharma taught the 18 Lohan Hands about a thousand years ago. It has a long history, and there are many versions. Some versions are very different.
Question 8
Can I please ask how is it that we in Shaolin Wahnam have such a particular style of the 18 Lohan Hands? We individualise patterns and perform them differently in our forms or techniques.
Answer
You may like to know how I listed the 18 Lohan Hands. I used the same eight exercises I learned as a boy scout as I found them very useful. They were the same eight exercises and in the same order as Ba Duan Jin, or the Eight Pieces of Brocade, and they were usually said to have Taoist origin.
Imagine my surprise when I later found that the order I had listed the 18 Lohan Hands was exactly the same as the order in a classic I read later. I fancied that in a past life I was at the Shaolin Monastery, or a Bodhisattva had taken a pity on me to spread the wonderful benefits of the 18 Lohan Hands to the public.
Question 9
Would it be fair to say that the great Bodhidharma created each pattern for a specific purpose and that the 18 Lohan Hands have been debased in some way over time due to lack of philosophical understanding and the loss of skills?
Answer
The great Bodhidharma created each pattern for a specific purpose. "Carrying the Moon", for example, is different from "Pushing Mountain", the former is for a Cosmic shower while the latter is for developing internal force, if you know how.
But we believe in qi (or energy) flow. In the Intensive Chi Kung Course I only teach 3 techniques, but there are many skills. Through many years of teaching, I have come to a conclusion that it is qi flow (or energy flow), and not the techniques, that give qigong benefits.
Over time the philosophical understanding is lost. It is also due to a loss of skills. Most people today practice the 18 Lohan Hands as gentle, physical exercise. The participants have forgotten that the 18 Lohan Hands are a set of qigong, or chi kung in usual English, which means they are energy and mind exercise.
Gentle, physical exercise cannot contribute to good health, vitality and longevity. Hence, many people are weak and sickly, although they have practiced "qigong" for many years. High level qigong contributes to peak performance and spiritual cultivation irrespective of religion.
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at stating your name, country and e-mail address.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Getting the Best Benefits from Your Training
- Good Health is Our Birth-Right
- Far Befriend Near Attack
- Stances in Taijiquan and Shaolinquan
- Drunken Eight Immortals