ONE-FINGER SHOOTING ZEN AND WUDANG COTTON PALM
One-Finger Shooting Zen
Question
It is with immense gratitude to you that we have so many treasures to choose from when we practice. You mentioned during the course it is important to practice at the level that will provide the best benefit which may not necessarily be the highest.
One Finger Shooting Zen is good for consolidating force and Cotton Palm is good for developing flowing force and both can be practiced at various levels.
I used to practise One Finger Shooting Zen daily, but after the course I practise Cotton Palm daily and have reduced the frequency of my One Finger Shooting Zen practice. I practice both arts separately. Do the two arts complement each other when both are practised? Is it advisable to practise only one of the arts mentioned during a single session or on a single day?
I recall you mentioned that flowing force is most useful for practical daily life and so have began to practice Cotton Palm in the morning as a wonderful way to start the day. Is there a more beneficial time of day to practice Cotton Palm other than avoiding midday especially if it is practiced with One Finger Shooting Zen?
Joel
Answer
Indeed, it is unbelievable we have so many treasures to practice. Even if this is not unprecedented, it is very rare. Many schools have only one treasure, like Eagle Claw or Five-Animal Play.
It is even worse that many kungfu practitioners not only do not benefit from their training, they even harm themselves, and many chi kung practitioners only perform gentle physical exercise. For example, many kungfu practitioners hurt themselves in free sparring, and many chi kung practitioners remain weak and sickly despite having practiced for many years.
Not only we have a great variety of arts, we also have become ridiculously effective. It is true that a typical Shaolin Wahnam student now can get in one month what I myself would need a year to achieve in my students’ days. Hence, over-training is an issue we must all guard against.
In most schools, dedicated practitioners want to get the best from their training. In our school, getting the best may be over-training, so we purposely perform below our level and obtain benefits that are best for our needs and aspirations. Getting too many or too intense benefits may be harmful. To other people not used to our philosophy, it may appear like a big joke.
You are right in saying that One Finger Shooting Zen is good for consolidating force and Cotton Palm is good for developing flowing force and both can be practiced at various levels. We must choose the level that is suitable for us, which is not necessary the highest level.
One-Finger Shooting Zen and Cotton Palm compliment each other when both are practiced at the same time or at different times. Of course, if one practices wrongly, it will be harmful.
However, wrong practice is not an issue in our school, but over-training is. Even when a Shaolin Wahnam student makes mistakes due to carelessness or forgetfulness, his subsequent chi flow will be more than sufficient to erase the harm done, and still give him a bonus.
Whether it is advisable to practice only one of the two arts during a single session or on a single day depends on various factors, like aims of the training, objectives of that session, and the developmental stage of the practitioner. But generally, it does not matter whether he practices them separately or at the same time. What he needs to be careful is not to over-practice.
Generally, flowing force is more useful for practical daily life, while consolidated force is more useful for combat. Practicing Cotton Palm in the morning is a wonderful way to start the day. It is probably the best time to practice. Another good time to practice is in the evening or at night.
Cotton Palm force
This question and answer are reproduced from the thread 10 Questions Cotton Palm in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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