spiraltao

This will be my last off topic statement, but baguazhang and wing chun's sticky hand drills are nearly the same. I think Sifu Matsuo commented about this on youtube by saying wing chun is "internal nun's art" and baguazhang is "internal girl's art", I am still not sure what he ment. I can reference the post if needed. Sorry for the digression.

A fellow brother was nice enough to introduce me to the first level of thunder breathing. I have only attempted it twice and both times it worked. I think the warm up prior to the thunder breathing is just as important as the actual lei gong visualization. I have a few questions. What exactly is one gaining from this practice? I know it releases the skull plates and is awesome for stress. The first time I done it, I immediately followed up with some Kundalini exercises and they seem to have worked better than ever before. In fact it was nearly too much, but I just meditated every time I thought it was going to be too much. I was just interested in any stories and or tips about this particular mediation.

Yes and no, on the yes side, I do feel it is possible. However, I think one needs a good book like Kent Howard's Wang Shujin' Connected Palms or Dr. Yang Jwing Ming/Ling Shou Yu's Baguazhang Theory and Application. For simplicity and ease of comprehension I recommend checking out Erle Montaigue's video's. On the NO side, one needs a teacher who has already been taught and understands the concepts of the art to make sure one is doing them correctly. So yes, you could learn the movments but few videos especially the free ones cover EVERYTHING one might wonder, speaking for myself. Chris Matsuo and Ray Carbullido have some great clips as well.

In this link from a clip uploaded today on longmenpai's you tube channel, we get to hear some of the benefits of thunderbreathing! Longmenpai on youtube is Dragon Gate Sanctuary, Lao Xie and Ray Carbullido

Gerard, this is only the beginning of my journey. My goal is to strive forward each and every day. I want to reach a spiritual healing of this caliber. I can already tell it has helped my spirit as is, but my thirst will not be quenched for baguazhang in this lifetime, at least i don't think it will. Judo Trend, I laugh often! Thanks to all of you whom have wished me well. To anyone that might not be practicing some form of chi kung (qigong) I advise you to get out there and do it! You can feel better and you will thru clean living and chi kung. /

Scotty by no means do I mean any disrespect, but I would bet if one put a boxer vs baguazhang players in fight that both had the same amount of hours in of training and had the same amount of time in practiciing applications (this IS hypothetical), I think the baguazhang player would win, because the baguazhang player's footwork should be able to put him at an advantage due to the circular nature. I will admit that I don't know that much about boxing, but I that is just my opinion, interested in your reply Scotty. This is all in good fun, ok?

I love watching Sifu/Lao Xie Chris Matsuo. His skill is astronomical and his fully conected movements speak ffor themselves. Here is the thirteen elbow form that Zerostao taught me, it gets the kundalini to rise and superheated me at first. The I meditatted to counteract it. At any, the form properly executed is a super power tool! It also helped me recognize this energy in the palm changes. Here is Sifu Matsuo

Well up until two years ago, Wing Chun was my preferred martial art. Now my favorite would be Baguazhang. I feel just calling the whole system of baguazhang a martial art is not the correct definition. Baguazhang is now my favorite because, I seen how if the basic concepts and teks are learned and mastered, it is the best and most lethal fighting sytem I have seen. This alone would have sold it to the twenty something me. Erle always said that baguazhang was the art of overkill! The reason I plan on practice baguazhang for the rest of my days is because of the HEALTH benefits. (see the topic by me "I AM LIVING PROOF THAT CHI KUNG WORKS) I must say that so far in what I have felt and experienced, baguazhang is the ULTIMATE healing system as well, I know many tai chi players might argue this, but I cannot argue with them as I am ignorant to the intricacies of tai chi. However, I am learning the basics of baguazhang and even at a basic level one can watch and feel their body transform.

Thanks for sharing this, Scotty. I see some things that are similar to the "reeling silk" movements I practice. For instance, creating the most distance as possible between the arm and the heel. I suppose my question/ comment is that "reeling silk" does accomplishes roughly the same thing.?

Right on my taobum brother! We do have much to share. Moving to one legged ZZ postures. Been in the normal ones for over a year now. Also I just wanted to express my feelings of joy and love that I get as feedback here. It is very inspirational to have all the encouragement. I hope to be able to help other bums some day! Proudly displaying my "HEART ON!"

@ RAINBOW VEIN Sure thing, Rainbow! I will do some more research and ask some questions, as my knowledge is most likely not extensive enough.

oops double post

Well in my opinion, they can be one in the same. As far as I know baguazhang is the only strictly Taoist martial art know to us here in the west. It sounds like bagua is just what u need, jetsun. Bagua uses both the yin and the yang to achieve first, a physical balance, then one takes it to a spiritual level. The circle walking in itself is a meditation and longevity exercise. Zerostao said that Lao Xie advised keeping a journal once you begin your circle walking. That is where the transformation begins. Bagua defies rigidness, it adapts and yields to the opponent. It will not make you hard! It will open your heart! As for facing hidden or deep seated emotions, I can only say it helped me on that end. The great thing about the baguazhang is if one just learns, say, an iron shirt form. ...and is instructed on how to do the movements correctly; then you will get stronger bones, better flexibility and a more calm mind. This is without ever learning the combat applications, although this wouldn't really be learning baguazhang, but qigong in my opinion. Check out some of Lao Xie's (Chris Matsuo) dvds from Dragon Gate Sanctuary. If you can't afford them, check out every single clip as there is a whole lot to learn there alone. Same with Erle Montagu (bless his kind soul). If price is an issue, check out baguaman8 on youtube. Its Kent Howard, he is as a master should be, humble and earnest. He explains some very important concepts in regards to how yin/yang relates to the baguazhang movement.s I hope this helped. Baguazhang can and will lead to transformation! Heaven palm poem "The essence of life is a circle The essence of a circle is impermanance the essence of impermanance is change The essence of change is Transformation" Exerpt from Dvd Title : Heart of bagua dragongatesanctuary.com Grandmaster Lao xie Christopher Lee Matsuo Dragon Gate Sanctuary <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U-nd0oYwnTM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

First off, thanks! I my opine, baguazhang is a qigong in itself. Virtually every posture could be held as a stand alone qigong! Each movement when done correctly activates certain points via twisting and turning to achieve better health. Grandmaster Rick Pickens said this, "One thing I am sure of, circle walking will make you live longer!" Don't get me wrong, I do believe Zhan Zhuang played a big role as well, I highly recommend Lam Kam Chuen's book Chi Kung The Way of Power. ...or one could check out his series, "Stand Still, Be Fit" on youtube, just search for the phrase in quotations. I feel like a living ad for bagua. I have yet to use it for combat and sure hope that I never have to. I learned with wing chun that one has to understand the art in a realistic fashion, as applied to one's self to be successful. ...my sifu said if one doubts their technique than they are already doomed. However, if one has confidence in their techniques then they will most likely be executed properly (the teks, not the opponent, lol). Bagua is the most lethal style I have ever seen.

Thanks, Oldgreen. I am happy that someone read my post! So much love here, so many good feelings, so little chi kung for so much happiness.

Ok, I was just wondering yesterday why I love circle walking the figure eight so much? I get very balanced feeling afterward. My sifu said that counterclockwise was yin and clockwise was yang. A kung fu brother online told me that walking the circle counterclockwise will build up internal strength and walking clockwise will solidify external characteristics. At any rate, spending about an hour on the figure eight leaves me in a near nirvana type state. I just mean walking in the standard dragon (trinity) posture. So my question is, can someone explain what is actually going on? Are my assumptions correct that I am balancing yin and yang? If so, wouldn't this be an extremely effective way to do this?

Thanks so much for the info!

Great tip! Sure does make for an intense session when done, eh? I know nothing of the red phoenix, so by "bring a little down" to the LDT or the K1's? I like the "holding the barrel" posture or "the great circle" from Lam Kam Chuen's book "The Way of Energy" for post standing. ...or would wuji be better? Wow I kinda sound excited about this every time I post. Wonder why? When pulling from the diaphragm I noticed I could hear a raspy type? sound. ...and mos def felt more air moving thru the nostrils it's way to the lower dan tian.

whoa, taomeow and witch, i had no idea there might bee some chem taoists here? ...is that a contradiction? heh I have found this thread very mind opening and appreciate the sincere tones of all those who have posted. I am still only qualified to lurk, mostly.

I had been doing the seated "awakening of the soul" movements for six months and kept myself at a high level of happiness and overall feeling good. I ceased these to make more time for baguazhang stepping. I started practicing the Quan Yin Standing meditation from the you tube video of the same name here:http://youtu.be/4cCD0l7COqk, PART TWO is here:http://youtu.be/ANSNaN4x-80 All I can say is HOLY DAN TIAN TAO MAN! No joke, I felt my third eye point like never before, my middle dan tian was the same! The lower dan tian I am used to, but all three activated together is a feeling like no other. I am still flying from doing this set at seven thirty this morning and it is two fifteen right now. I was wondering if anyone could provide any extra information on what's going internally when the movements are done correctly, the narration is good though. Maybe the narration is all I need to know. Also was wondering if there were any down sides to this qigong because of 11 dislikes on the clip, but I too realize that is not very reliable. Thanks in advance for any help or extrapolation on the subject.

you don't have any special tips for this particular set do you? Obviously it is the Kuan Yin Qigong, it is from their youtube channel, ShengZhen. I know this set amazes me every time I do it, maybe the simplicity is the key? At least for me. Simple to get the movement down, ya know? So maybe that is why I am getting good results, because I am getting the movements correct. These sets are lovely.

Thanks joe blast! I guess you picked right up on my point, these particular movements have helped me feel the energy moving like no other stand alone qigong that I have tried. I have not tried the three dan tian breathing, but I will! Your advice has helped!

Here is an excerpt from Lam's book, Chi Kung The Way of Power. It comes from a section called human architecture. I think it might help other to understand how deep ZZ can get. "Human architecture is based on a series of circles and triangles. The have the strength to carry CONSIDERABLE weight, yet keep your body FLEXIBLE. You can think of your entire body as a pyramid, with a solid base and a much smaller apex. The three circles represent your head, torso and lower body.. The tiny circles represent your neck and waist, supporting the structure while giving you the flexibility around with the larger spheres turn and roll. Within the principal pyramid structure, your body takes the shape of three small pyramids stacked one above the other. As they descend, they are progressively heavier. The mechanical principle of the neck and waist can be seen in (paraphrase due to illustration) as a spherical pivot, like a ball bearing, it bears the weight of the larger spheres and the convergence of the pyramids. Zhan Zhuang trains you in the PROPER ALIGNMENT of these structures" pg 80 From the section called THE PUMP in regards to the feet, this correlates with how Lao Xie emphasizes placing one's body weight on a pyramid with points on the underside of the big toe, the knuckle of the big toe and the pinky toe. This will form a very firm root and raises energy according to Lao Xie and I have felt it and do all my whipping/vibrating drills on this triangle as well as the double vortex kunlun posture. Here is Lam's words. "Your training (in Zhang Zhuang) teaches you how to MOVE and CONTROL the flow of Chi through the energetic geometry of your body. The first stage is to ensure the correct alignment of your body and to clear any obstacles you may have to free the flow of energy through your system. This is what you ACCOMPLISH by the practice of Zhan Zhuang. When you have become stable in that practice, which also results in an overall increase in your energy levels, then your training moves to your FEET. Imagine the sole of your foot is divided in six sections." Focus your attention on the triangle I just described above "When you stand in the ZZ postures, experiment with the difference between standing on the full triangle of you foot and the smaller triangle of the big toe knuckle and the big and pinky toe. When you stand with your weight evenly spread across your full foot, you emphasize the HEALTH aspect of you training. The work you do with pressure on the small triangle unlocks the secrets of EXPLOSIVE power of Da Cheng Chuan." pg 84

First of all I want to thank all u taobumz for the input! Thanks for giving me something to research, Scotty. That drawing looks like a sleeping qigong I done from Jerry Johnson's TCM book to help with my formerly persistent liver ailments. The book said to sleep on the opposite side of the ailing organ, hence I slept many nights in that particular position on my left side. It works. Thanks for the book recommendations, breath fascinates me to no end. It is everything, but it was never emphasized to me until Zerostao turned me on to a couple of the DGS teachings and here, not to mention some very sage personal advice.

First of all I want to thank all u taobumz for the input! Thanks for giving me something to research, Scotty. That drawing looks like a sleeping qigong I done from Jerry Johnson's TCM book to help with my formerly persistent liver ailments. The book said to sleep on the opposite side of the ailing organ, hence I slept many nights in that particular position on my left side. It works. Thanks for the book recommendations, breath fascinates me to no end. It is everything, but it was never emphasized to me until Zerostao turned me on to a couple of the DGS teachings and here, not to mention some very sage personal advice.