David Langford

There are methods to slow down someone elses chi flow, to remove blockages, but we don't share them openly, and I've never seen anyone require their chi flow to be slowed down due to uncontrollable movements. It's a method that is typically used during healing sessions and chi transmission to non practitioners. Plus several of my fellow students and instructors I know are TCM doctors and know a whole lot more than me. After 10+ years of practice now I can only go by my own experiences and observations. We use the chi flow itself to correct mistakes in practice. Smooth out any bumps. That's what makes it a lot safer than any system I had trained in previously. *Shrugs* Both sides have been expressed in this thread now. People can make up their own minds.

haha yeah, agreed 100% with everything.

I did answer, that simply isn't a problem for us because every single student learns how to control the movements during their first lesson.

From what I've learned by talking to my good friend who is a Catholic priest the ancient desert fathers had a very profound sense of divinity and were able to cultivate to a very high level spiritually. I wish you luck on your journey.

Heyya! Interesting to find your thread right after posting about this subject. I am an instructor under Sifu Wong. You partially correct, but the flowing stillness and standing meditation is just as important as externally expressed movement. You might remember the instruction of gently thinking of the dantian, and then entering into flowing stillness, not thinking of anything or doing anything. Just enjoy the stillness with the qi flowing vigorously internally while externally we are quite still. If this step is skipped or glossed over you wont get as many benefits. Spend as much time in stillness as you do in chi flow and you will get those benefits. If you wish to pursue the practice further give this a try and let me know how it goes. When you add together the externally flowing movements, the flowing stillness, and the standing meditation you will get the spiritual development that you mention.

Ah I see what you mean. Perhaps I can address each of these points from the point of view of the system I learned which may be vastly different than this HK Sifu's system for all I know. Physical injury: This has not happened as far as I am aware to any students that have learned my teachers method, in fact we use it as a way to clear out any potential injuries from training. I've had training injuries from sparring clear out within minutes or hours. In fact many students develop a form of golden bell, enhanced constitution, and bolstered recovery rate. Chi out of control/used up: We are always in control even if it is spontaneous. One of the first skills we learn, besides letting go to enter into chi flow, is that with a gentle focus of the dantian we can go into a flowing stillness, or even a gentle thought of slowing down to reduce the vigorous movements if desired. More precise controls such as using this skill of mind moving energy moving form comes from this and is applied to all our martial practices as well. Self Manifested Chi Movement is the basis of much of what we do. We balance vigorous movements with flowing stillness after followed by meditation either standing or sitting. As blockages are dispersed, movements become less and less vigorous naturally. Rather than Chi being used up it is always being replenished, even during sparring or solo practice of our martial arts. The main sign we use to determine if training is successful is if we feel better after a training session. Tiredness, fatigue, and mental cloudiness are all signs of incorrect practice. Heart, high blood pressure, illness etc: My father has heart disease, high blood pressure, etc and when he learned these issues stopped being such a big problem for him. He even recovered strength and movement in a fully paralyzed left arm from a botched neck surgery. His progress has been a big inspiration for me. Our teacher encourages those with chronic issues to practice twice a day to recover. Psychiatric problems: Indeed, if one trains incorrectly, but that can be said for every issue you presented. However it's hard to train incorrectly as one must purposefully not follow directions. In these cases the students are asked to discontinue practice and remove themselves from the school. The meditative aspects of our practice cultivate Shen, as well as Qi and Jing. Psychic problems: I have found in my own practice, and the practice of my friends that the mind is strengthened. We incorporate the mind, energy, and body as one in triple cultivation. Such things as ghosts, and black magic are repelled in those who have established their foundation. Not suitable for self learning: 100% agreed. Transmission is necessary for safe practice. One issue that does pop up for us is when students progress too quickly they need to slow down to let the body catch up to the energy cultivated as the cleansing can become uncomfortable. To answer Zork more directly, if a student has blockages they are encouraged to train our Qigong before learning Kungfu to clear them. "First be healthy, then learn to defend yourself." "What your school chooses to teach or doesn't, isn't my business." Of course, but I felt compelled to answer and give some anecdotal evidence that when trained properly this practice is not only safe but highly beneficial.

It's interesting you say this because every single new student in my school learns Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow, what you might call Spontaneous Chikung.

I'm David, I practice shaolin kung fu, chi kung, and zen. Howdy.