mjjbecker

Thank you too to everyone that has made a positive contribution here. I appreciate it a lot. Kostas has answered the questions (a lot quicker than I anticipated) and I hope to be able to put up those answers sometime this weekend. He will put them into a PDF format, which I will attach to this thread, so people can keep a convenient copy for themselves. Also, it is appropriate that anyone wanting to read the Q&A session should be a member here. It doesn't cost anything to open an account afterall.

Free from this link: http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/pammachon-martial-art-of-the-west/17497044 The iTunes store e-book-which was added by Lulu-not Kostas-has a fee. No need to use the iTunes store-it is free on the Lulu website. Paper copies are not free simply because there is the cost involved in manufacturing them.

Yes, with this caveat. An understanding of what these sensations mean. It often needs a teacher to give this information to a student. The importance of a teacher's guidance is proportional to the understanding the student already has, but especially where a method has the potential to go wrong with serious results. Bruce Frantzis has written about White Crane breathing methods that bring about strong sensations, feelings of power, but can also cause health problems or even death. I wonder if the original method was flawed, or if perhaps those involved who chased after the sensations created their own problems? I don't know, but it is a question to certainly bear in mind.

Don't get hung up on sensations. The mind-intent-leads the qi. Focusing on where you 'expect' the sensations to be will lead the qi there. That may deviate from the original intent behind the exercise, which may, or may not, cause problems. Carefully follow your teacher's instructions in this. As for time constraints, do a little if time is limited, but don't 'binge and fast'. Consistent practice is important. It is easy to set up unrealistic expectations at times, and think that practice should be an hour or more every day. If we can't do that then we end up doing nothing. Fifteen minutes is a lot better than no minutes.

Yes, too late. You will have seen I posted that I had already sent the questions to Kostas before your post. They already numbered more than the original twenty he had agreed to answer.

Kostas was answering questions in public-on 'e-budo'-ten years ago, and on his own forum on the 'Wenwukuan' site nine years ago. How old is this forum? I see Sean, the administrator and owner, registered back in 2004. I'm thinking this must have been around the same time the forum was set up. Has the penny dropped yet?

Kostas has the questions and will have a look at all of them, responding accordingly. It might be a little time as he is busy with some other matters at the moment. When I get them I will post them up.

The other questions, which I will also forward on, and which Kostas can decide at his discretion whether he wants to respond or not:

OK. I will pass along ALL the questions that have been posted to Kostas. However. I will make it clear which are the 20 questions that were voted for the most by people here. If he has the time or inclination, he might choose to answer some of the other questions. I cannot speak for him on this and I make no guarantees that it will happen. Don't build your hopes up. No more questions as of now though. Thank you to those who have made the time and effort to ask questions here.

Vortex, You are clearly an intelligent, articulate person. You do your research, share your sources, make interesting comments and ask good questions. I greatly respect that. I also greatly respect your enthusiasm. Never feel you have to apologise for that and don't stop doing this. Because of that I was-and am-loath to micro manage what you have to say here. I think they are all good questions, I think they are all relevant, and I think they are of interest to the other members here. As ever the problem becomes one of practicalities. It is difficult to balance everything that needs to be done within the time available. So, we have limits as a result.

What evidence can you provide to back up the suppositions in your questions? State your source, and the evidence that they provided, and I will happily pass those questions along. If you can't, or won't, then your questions are nothing other than the spreading of malicious gossip. If you won't back up those suppositions, I will ask the moderators to remove them.

Two questions per person, that do not require essay length answers. Vortex, you ignored that with your multipart questions, which were in effect several questions under the guise of single questions. You stated yourself that you asked 'way more' than was offered. I also asked you to keep it to two questions. You subsequently did not edit your questions to represent this, but instead attempted to tag a bunch of other questions onto someone else's. Given the clear nature of the offer and the fact you ignored it, I am not putting your questions forward-as they stand. That includes those that other people took up. No doubt some will think this unfair. It is not. The terms of the offer were clearly stated, in advance. Other people followed them without problem. I am being very generous here and will make you a simple offer. Take your original 'questions'-including the ones that other people have adopted-and turn them into SINGLE questions. Any multi clause questions must be limited to a SINGLE extra clause (two), and that clause must be directly related to the first clause. If you can do this before tonight, when I will check again, then I will put your questions through. If not, then as they do not follow what Kostas offered, they will have to be overlooked and instead I will put through the other people's questions that did take into account what was offered. Your choice. I am not debating the issue with you or anyone else, on this thread or in private. I shouldn't have to micro manage what was a clearly stated offer and its terms.

Placing the weight on the front of the foot, rather than the heel, allows the qi to circulate better.

Posts 14 and 20: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/19822-the-chinese-difinition-of-chi-kung/ Neigong can be defined differently, depending on which school is using the term. Your definition is one, but it is not the only one. I have met several Chinese lineage holders that state neigong is the use of yang-solar and yin-gravitational energy. Others state differently.

Monday morning when I check is the finish time. Whoever has the most votes then will get their questions passed on. People are free to post questions and have them voted on until then.

If everyone can finish voting for their favourite questions by Monday morning, China time, I will sort out the questions picked and pass them along.

"...at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month..." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day Ode of Remembrance They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. From Laurence Binyon's poem For the Fallen, written in September 1914

Lets call it a day on the questions then. I've not heard anything from the moderators or Sean, so I suspect they would rather avoid the poisoned chalice of choosing the questions. I will therefore make the following recommendation: 1. People vote for their favourite questions using the '+' button for each post. These questions, up to twenty in total, will be the ones forwarded on. 2. In the event of a number of posts having equal votes, the poster who has been a member of the forum longest will be chosen first (dated from the when the user name used to ask the questions was activated).

Any more questions? If not I shall pass on the questions we have to Kostas. In regards to selecting them, I haven't counted the total number and whether it is twenty, or less, or more. I suggest that people vote for their favourite questions though by using the '+' feature. That way I can ensure the most popular are addressed.

There are easier ways to learn how to do this. Anything complex or confusing should be learned with a teacher. If you make mistakes you can harm yourself. How do you know someone giving you advice on the practice here actually knows what they are doing also? Spring Forest qigong do a guided meditation for this that is not complicated. I don't personally practice it, but I have done it and it is straight forward to follow. You should combine this with some form of moving qigong if you don't already do one. http://www.bornahealer.com/ Personally I practice Stillness Movement neigong, which is taught by Michael Lomax. He posts as 'Ya Mu' on this forum. Stillness Movement and Gift of the Tao neigong are powerful practices that will open up the energy channels for you, in a safe manner. I recommend what Michael does unreservedly. http://www.qigongamerica.com/

Yes. I don't think many sources-Chinese or Western-really understand this correctly. You need a teacher with verifiable qi. Anyone who talks from 'theory' alone, yet has no discernable qi, should not be claiming to teach these things. They don't have it and they don't understand it. I'll explain which part and where in the Hunyuan neigong when I see you in January (I don't recall seeing it mentioned in the book but I haven't looked). It is, I stress, only a part of the practice, and done at the end of one exercise. This differs to methods where it is quite intensely done and for prolonged periods of time. Whether that is changed at more advanced levels I really couldn't say. On a fundamental level, you need to have qi in the dantien before you can do anything with it.

My pleasure and you are very welcome. We are all lucky to be able to find the information that is available these days. I remember starting out pre-internet and it was a very different story. Magazine articles and a few books from advertisers in them. Historians talk about pre-historic times. I would not be surprised to see the reference to 'pre-internet' times in the future. Quite an epic shift in the history of mankind. This is truly the information age.

As I mentioned on another thread, a large part of Damo's training has been in the Hunyuan neigong and taijiquan of Feng Zhiqiang. It is therefore worth investigating Feng's information on neigong practice if you are looking for an actual method to do (I learned the method from several family members and a personal student of GM Feng-I have a basic understanding of them). I posted more about this on the other thread: http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/20003-daoist-nei-gong-the-philosophical-art-of-change/page__p__283642__fromsearch__1entry283642. Feng is a lineage holder of Hu Yaozhen's neigong teachings. Hu was something of a legend in martial arts circles in the 20th century as well as being a great doctor of classical Chinese medicine ( do a search for previous threads on this). Hu was also the teacher of Wang Juemin, a famous neigong master who was considered by some as being the best healer in China in the latter part of the 20th century. Wang Juemin taught Michael Lomax, who posts on this forum as Ya Mu. If you are looking to learn neigong from a master with demonstrable abilities (in a medical and spiritual manner-though I have no doubt it benefits martial artists, that is not Michael's focus), then I would strongly recommend attending one of Michael's courses. Michael doesn't wax lyrical using assorted various Chinese terminology. He is perhaps the most remarkable healer I have met. Also, in my experience, Chinese masters that can actually DO these things emphasise training rather than talking theory. As for 'packing' qi in the lower dantien. Packing, or compressing, qi in the dantien is within the Hunyuan neigong that Damo learned. It is not emphasised-not at initial stages anyhow-but it is there. It is certainly a part of valid methods. What he refers to as 'swelling' of the belly can be due to the physical change of the area due to the breathing exercises and other training used. Take a look at the famous picture of Dong Haichuan, the founder of Bagua. Different people with different physiology will look different-Yin Fu was known as 'thin Yin' but Dong, and Yin's top student-Ma Gui-were known to have solid physiques and thick trunks. Neither were deficient in ability, and the stories that are told regarding their neigong and esoteric abilities suggest their training was certainly effective. Yes, people can damage themselves due to incorrect practice, but just because a person looks a certain way does not mean that they have practiced incorrectly. Good instruction is fundamental to learning properly, especially given certain methods can be dangerous. BTW, Feng Zhiqiang is a lineage holder of the ruler qigong method, as taught to him by Hu Yaozhen. The Hunyuan neigong set does not use specific controlled breathing-the breathing is allowed to go naturally with the exercises. What is important is intent. With correct practice of the exercises, the breathing will change without any deliberate effort, and the practitioner will experience the so called 'embryo' breathing. It is a result of the practice. Personally I like the Stillness Movement neigong that Hu taught Wang Juemin, and which Michael Lomax now teaches. If you are looking for a profound energetic practice then this is that. It's effectiveness as a training method is demonstrated by the abilities of Michael's students that have applied themselves to the practice. You don't have to do the medical side if you choose not too, but the fact it has proved so effective demonstrates the real effectiveness of it.

Thank you for your kind words, but I am only facilitating in this matter, not involving myself in the discussion.