Wilhelm

That's a good question! I had always counted on a few factors playing in Eastern civilizations have likely been there longer At different times, cultivation became a key part of several cultures (India after the Sapta Rishis, Nepal, Tibet, China when the emperor was down with the Dao) More unbroken lines of tradition (There's still some high level Christian traditions but a far lower percentage afaik, and idk enough about Magick to comment on that other than the best practitioners I know also cross-trained in Eastern systems) We got hot and bothered about conquering the world, where in other parts the 'Ultimate Goal' was a little closer to home

In my experience - this is harder than it sounds!

Hi oglights, I'm going to defer to the experiences meditators who've already posted in this thread. And going to parrot the advice of building Qi (possibly through lifestyle adjustment - +diet, +sleep) if you haven't already tweaked that. Otherwise - I know observing thoughts is foundational to several systems, but (assuming you're practicing seated) it might be even more foundational to practice sitting still for progressively longer periods of time (no fidgeting, no movement other than to fix the posture if you've lost it - but that would only happen if your mindfulness slips). I trained that skill first before observing thoughts, but again, take some of the other advice before worrying about this. You've clearly got a strong desire to succeed and a good heart to persevere this long with it. Best of luck!

I get you, man. I wanna do this for the next three months to make something happen in the spring. Putting the phone down is already way harder than cutting down on intoxicants/sexual stimulation etc.

I have a guess: Qi being the pivot point between body and mind that can affect change in all 3 levels?

Pardon me for butting in! My experience is different here. I was taught that Qi was the intermediary between the body and whatever the hell Shen is. From my experience, work based in the body and Qi can very much change who you are psychologically - just because Qi has that ability to affect things 'upstream and downstream' (i.e. my body has a way different quality to the tissue after doing Qigong for some years) No doubt that adding certain mental qualities would help create this change, but for a long time all I was doing was maintaining mental calm and relaxation so my mind wouldn't get in the way of changes happening! More recently I'm working on further mental qualities, but this is more to do with meditation than creating emotional/psychological changes.

Can confirm. I've been on this one daily for a few months, and have noticed the following effects - it helps you calm down, it makes you more energy efficient (by bringing the mind and breath down somewhere stable), it helps you sleep (you literally get your mind out of your head for the most part - but this doesn't mean you're dumb, just calm and grounded), and if you're interested in Nei Gong etc. It'll start making the LDT your natural focal point - though that'll take quite a bit of work, I'm only partway there.

Nevermind! You weren't talking to me, my mistake.

No, I'm not really at the stage of incorporating internal harmonies into Taiji yet. Shen harmonized with Yi Yi harmonized with Qi Qi harmonized with Li I haven't been taught what this means yet, but it seems intention is a part of it! But I think that's different from the sense I was using it in before, which wasn't related to movement but more like 'commanding' your Qi to do something. It seems these are two different mechanisms, no? Bout time I figured out how this search function works, anyways

That's interesting. Good point, in that case! I've been wondering about this. It's obviously a popular phrase in Qigong circles. Is it really that simple, though? The Qi goes wherever your intention is? Isn't it way too damned stubborn and temperamental to follow your commands that easily, or is it just me?

The only one of those systems I'm familiar with is LNG. The Nei Gong training is laid out classically - meaning it's not meant to provide any specific outcome other than develop an individual's body, mind and energy system to the point where they're ready to go deeper into Daoist practices such as alchemy. Health/body efficiency, mental stability and emotional resilience are byproducts that help make it easier in the later stages. From what little I know of Wim Hof's practices - I don't know if they're outright contraindicated but they definitely won't synergize because the 'fuel' that's burned up in those breathing exercises is the same substance you need to regulate/nourish to progress in Nei Gong.

I believe that, but I wouldn't use that fact to imply overall superiority of one approach versus another - because their goals don't overlap. If I were looking to become an efficient fighter quickly for self defence or combat I'd choose some variant of a popular MMA style. We spoke above about why people would be drawn to IMAs. And dmattwads alluded to a good point: A lot of external-based traditional martial arts proved to be inefficient in the early UFCs, so most of the styles lost popularity. Some of these guys on the forums might have started with karate or something similar that was more prevalent in the early days of UFC (Tai Bo? ), found a more efficient system and left. Keep in mind that I'm discussing external-based TMAs vs modern MMA on a pure combat basis. If someone's goal was self-development, I'd argue that a combative mindset would be counterproductive. Yeah, my style vs your style is fun to rewatch in the early UFC days, but pretty cringeworthy now and doesn't tend to draw the best sort of people.

I agree with the second sentence and want to check your meaning on the first. Did you mean that the primary disciplines of MMA are missing aspects of self cultivation? In which case I'd agree, though I think their purpose of pure 'sport/rule-based' combat is already being expressed efficiently. Or did you mean that internal martial arts could improve the fighting ability of MMA fighters? While I wouldn't discount the possibility, it seems to me that by the time an internal martial artist develops enough skill in the classical principles to compete against MMA fighters, they're usually too old to do so (just because it takes so much work to get there)

The second part is what I was taught, and my limited experience has not done anything to disprove it. The first part I disagree with. What good would it do me now to know where I'll be in 5 years if I continue as I'm currently developing? Wouldn't it become natural for me to practice as if I'm already at that stage? It kind of assumes the possibility of 'jumping levels', which I've never seen work in these arts. @dmattwads Sorry for '@'ing you, I hadn't learned how to quote two people in one post until now. You said: "I think MMA did a lot to peel away the mythos and bs of supposed "deep stuff" and showed the mechanics of fighting are rather straight forward." That seems to assume the goal of classical Chinese martial arts is fighting, doesn't it? I would argue that this isn't the case.

Only a few years in, but this has been my experience as well. Maybe the argument of teachers hiding information came from a misunderstanding: If you want a student to develop, you'll only divulge information that's useful at their current level. This could be perceived as 'holding back' information when the intention is totally genuine. If there are deeply hidden secrets, I certainly haven't uncovered any! And I'm lucky enough to also have teachers who (as far as I can tell!) give it to me straight.

Nathan talks about that in the YouTube clip before showing the video (edit: 9:50). If I recall correctly, he puts Yin Qi in the boxes with a connection to his mingmen, which apparently is what influenced them when he bent over.

Oops! I didn't realize this was that sort of a discussion Yeah man, the Daoist alchemical classics basically describe all the verifiable and observable signs of cultivation you pick up when you're doing it right, and as far as I know none of them mention being able to charge your iPhone with the Qi in your belly! Listen, I also went down this road cause I wanted to a sort of real life X-Men experience. That's part of it. I hope you find a skilled and honest teacher who has the things you're looking for.

As in you did this to yourself? Or someone or some book listed it as a sign of fullness? I ask because Yang Qi is often described as having electricity-like properties, but definitely not equating it to electricity. Although I'm not even close to filling the Dan Tien, I study under some guys who describe a completely different process when you get to 100%.

Where'd you get that idea?

My impression with DiscoverTaiji was that the pacing was deliberate (slow is fast, fast is slow). Any less and progress wouldn't be steady, any more and things would be missed. But who knows! DiscoverTaiji came out 5 years ago with little to no competition, and now there's a handful of offerings available.

You might like to check out the first couple videos anyways. I just did today and it's some pretty straightforward seated work that would harmonize well with the foundations.

Similar styles and principles but totally different methodologies. I think Damo said he's drawing influence from many Yang styles, where Adam's program is initially specific to Huang Sheng Shyan. The form isn't identical but seems to be similar

Haha if the PRC-sponsored wiki says so then it's gotta be true right? That's an interesting point! I don't know why mine is seems to be in my chest when standing straight, but when I exaggerate it by leaning on one leg it's quite palpable. Yes, by percentage of weight there's clearly more in the lower half.

I'm pretty sure center of mass = center of gravity. So it will change if you're in a low stance, high stance, sitting down or lying down. Standing straight up, where is the center of gravity? It was easier for me to feel by standing on one leg to emphasize it a bit, but it seems to be in the chest, lowering and raising as my stance does.