thaddeus

There are different types of Nitric Oxide. There's the type that relaxes arteries and increases blood flow and there's another type involved with the inflammatory process. I'm not a biochemist, but I was interested in this and did a bit of reading on it. I found out there were different types or processes of NO when I tried to understand some of the contradictions I was reading about. It's a very complicated subject. It seems when NO is present there is a bit of inflammation going on, so in some respects it's a bad thing. I also think if you're taking substances to increase NO production, whether for sport performance, meditation, relaxation etc, it's important to take antioxidants too. At least until someone can explain all this better so it's understandable. T

Chen Zhenglei advocates doing this....

is that part of the store and release or something different..didn't mean nonsense..i'll edit..

I'm sure you can find a shiatsu practicioner..they do the abdomen too and can give you feedback regarding tension/organ diagnosis, etc. good luck, T

The neigung/chi gung is what makes the art work, as buddy said, the OS. If the teacher teaches qigong separately and there is no connection to the main art, then it's a red flag. But I do think there is truth in the statement if you listen you will learn on your own. Teachers can only take you so far, the rest you have to pick up on your own through push hands ,fighting and experimentation. If you don't learn how to relax, then you'll always get pushed out/over and you'll never experience the signs of progress. Look how many students there are of great teachers that just don't get it. Worst are the ones that think they have it. One art i'm studying, the neigong is the basic movement for the whole system. It's pretty ingenious how they distilled the essence of the art into 1 neigung. Other arts, like traditional chen style, it's not so obvious and I think due to peer pressure you're starting to see silk reeling exercise sets and zhan zhuang practices and other exercise sets coming from the chen family styles. I feel they are largely distractions. The core of the art is simple, yet complex. Again, that's why these arts are so fascinating to study. Focusing on techniques and other externalities is truly missing out on the deepness of these systems. T

Not to change the subject too much, but can you tell me where you are learning the daoyin? I've been looking into this. There seems to be japanese versions and chinese versions floating about. I'm familiar with Mantak Chia's set and I have a book on Japanese exercises. Also have seen Master Ni's video and book. I'm curious if there is any formal lineage out there. Chia's is the only one I've seen that seems to have a central theme (psoas exercises). T remember when bruce lee said, 'when i first learned martial arts, a kick was just a kick, a punch was just a punch. After learning a bit, i realized a kick was not just a kick and a punch was not just a punch. Now, after some time of mastery (i'm paraphrasing alot from memory) a kick is just a kick and a punch is just a punch.'

yes, they are both the same. a combat stance is stable in all directions, internal arts often describe power in six directions. it just so happens that the proper alignments for energy flows makes the body stable, rooted, yet nimble for combat. That's what makes the internal arts so interesting to study, imo. T

I was thinking a bit on this, it's very easy to pick apart pictures. Another way of looking at this is to post a picture of an acknowledged expert and see what we can learn from it. example: http://www.tai-qi-gong.com/Images%20Global...owang%20180.jpg This is chen xiaowang in the form and http://www.wctag.de/grafik/Bilder_2007/art...an-zhuang_1.jpg doing a standing practice. Jakara, can you post someone from your style to compare the stances? later edit..i just want to add one thing, i learned that many things that are argued about between styles are actually not essential. The important thing is the ability to transmit power correctly and efficiently. That's the tough nut to crack. T

Google Inguinal Crease for pictures. In a good stance you should be able to trap the edge of a hand in there. Neijia is just a general term for internal arts like taiji, xingyi, bagua. But the elements of a good stance should be foundational for all systems, what works works regardless of dogma. This stuff is very difficult to do. Here's something to chew on for awhile: http://internalartsia.wordpress.com/2006/0...age-of-the-kua/ T

If someone wants to study pictures of the stances, then they should google acknowledged Internal masters such as chen fake, chen xiaowang, sun lu tang, etc. etc. I understand the points that Jakara is trying to make, however for neijia purposes, this photo is not the best example. The artist is rolling on the outside edge of the feet, esp. the left foot, too much tension in the upper body. There is no rotation in the body, power is going out to the sides in straight lines instead of down and up. In a good stance you should be able to catch a 'knife hand' in the kwa (inguinal crease). Stance study is very interesting. There is lots to learn from a discussion like this. T

I think what you're asking is how to strengthen tendons, not necessarily how to do a horse stance. This article was a difficult read, but what I think he's saying is to exercise the tendons, you need to relax the muscles and let the joints open by pulling apart (extension). You need to have someone reputable show you mabu, no one is going to give you a magic tip over the internet. I do think you need to find the bows, have someone explain the arch he's talking about for a proper mabu. I think Master He has a lot of videos on youtube for more info. T

this is a nice book: http://www.amazon.com/Posture-Meditation-W...1529&sr=8-1 his other book is good too, you'll see them both there.. T

at the time, I was speaking from pure chen style point of view. I've since learned there are non public things one can train in standing. It's pretty deep and you have to be 'in the know'. I'll qualify my earlier statements by saying if you're exposed to that knowledge, be grateful and do it. Unfortunately, what's being taught out there for the most part is surface,just standing there. Even the visualizations are just elementary. And there is a huge part of non verbal 'transmission' from a master. I don't think there is anything supernatural about it, it's just something one picks up by being shown things and being around the master. T

funny to read this thread after almost 2 years. i realize i can have an edge when i post..sorry about that y'all, don't really mean to come across that way. Anyway, coincidentally the last year for me was spent being exposed to even more information on standing. I think distinctions have to be made between standing for meditation, for health and for fighting. There is overlap in the areas, but the differences are probably what's fueling this thread. T

I have to look at the video later, but I'm not sure what you're asking exactly. Spiraling is basic, not advanced. In internal martial arts, the body always spirals. The expression of the movement may be straight or circular, depending on the style, but the body is always spiral. For example, xingyi often moves forward in a 'straight' line, but every movement is spiral (silk reeling/chansujin). Who are you learning xingyi from? T

i'm blocked from youtube at work, but you can see he's using obvious breath compression. I liked this one too. T

Hi, I mentioned this on the kunlun thread but it got buried in the flurry of discussion. I noticed level 2 training has some breath holding type training. I'm curious what training people have had in breath packing, pressuring, holding etc. in their qigong/neigung/neijia practice. I'm on a fact finding mission right now. Thanks in advance for any insights, T

cool..tell me about your chen style..my teacher's teacher studied with chen fake. regards, T

Thanks for that link, he says some interesting things..can you learn from his books? T and how's that working for you? how is your practice serving you? you mentioned being 'advanced in years' in your intro..feeling your age?? T

Hi Spectrum, thanks for your comments..with regards to level 2 i was referring specifically to kunlun (i bought the book to look at). And was curious to hear if anyone could speak on what they do with that. I didn't mean to imply i had absolutely no experience with qigong or related training. I am looking to hear what people's insights are with regards to breath holding/packing/pressuring. In my own personal adventures, I'm starting to see that if you're not being instructed in a certain amount of pressurizing, then you're *probably* not getting the real goods. This is just something I'm starting to realize. Alot of people are doing qigong superficially and only having placebo related results. And I could be totally off base on this, it's just i've been shown a door and realize I wasted alot of time practicing incorrectly for certain systems. Sorry to be vague, but part of it is laziness and part of it is avoiding writing alot about hard earned knowledge if no one really cares. T

Hey all, i got the book and it looks pretty interesting. The level 2 stuff piqued my interest with regards to the breath holding. I understand the dangers of practicing without supervision, but I'm on a fact finding mission right now relating to these types of practices. Anyone care to elaborate on what's going on with breath holding? Is there any pressurization going on? Thanks, T

Cool..how can i learn about it? Thanks, T

Hi Mat, I've seen this guy's website and wanted to take a workshop because I'm very interested in what he claims increases nitric oxide in his chigung. Can you share what that is? My own research has uncovered that humming releases nitric oxide so I was wondering if he was using some kind of mantra. Also, just general relaxation does it. Anyway, any insight would be very appreciated. T