I Have A Few Questions! Please, Help!

[DalTheJigsaw123]

My questions are:

 

1. Is it better for a beginner to start with Tai Chi or Qi Gong?

2. Do it in the morning or night?

3. Self teaching for beginners?

4. Can I combine Tai Chi and Qi Gong?

5. Good sources for Tai Chi and Qi Gong?

6. I'm using Youtube to start with Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Is this a good a good beginning?

 

 

That is all I have for now. Thank you! I will add more to this.

Edited September 22, 2009 by LeonBasin

[Mal]

If it helps I feel it is better to do something even if it turns out to be totally wrong, than to do nothing. At least if you try you will lean something, even if you only learn that it was a bad idea

 

I use to be very tied up in learning "the Best" not wanting to waste any time. In retrospect I always got something in return for my efforts so I'm less concerned now.

 

e.g. I would like to learn "complete Tai Chi" fighting, meditation, the whole kit an caboodle.

 

My Sifu teaches Tai Chi just for health. He tell beginers they will learn.

Abdominal Breathing

Balance

Concentration

he tells us we need it to complement our Kung Fu. We struggle to get him to teach us once a year. But what we get from him we are very gratefull for.

 

So opinion time.

1. Either

2. Morning and night, more if possible or whatever you can manage is fine.

3. I tried that....tricky to achieve but it's something. Some Chi Kungs in book are there because the authors beleive it is possible to do them correctly and learn them just from a book.

4. Yes

5. World Wide Web I use to spend a lot of time here here Sifu Wong Kiew Kit's Home Page http://www.shaolin.org/general/table.html#chi-kung

6. Good beginning, video give a better idea than static pictures in a book.

 

Remember it should be fun and enjoyable, not a chore or you won't want to practice.

[DalTheJigsaw123]

If it helps I feel it is better to do something even if it turns out to be totally wrong, than to do nothing. At least if you try you will lean something, even if you only learn that it was a bad idea

 

I use to be very tied up in learning "the Best" not wanting to waste any time. In retrospect I always got something in return for my efforts so I'm less concerned now.

 

e.g. I would like to learn "complete Tai Chi" fighting, meditation, the whole kit an caboodle.

 

My Sifu teaches Tai Chi just for health. He tell beginers they will learn.

Abdominal Breathing

Balance

Concentration

he tells us we need it to complement our Kung Fu. We struggle to get him to teach us once a year. But what we get from him we are very gratefull for.

 

So opinion time.

1. Either

2. Morning and night, more if possible or whatever you can manage is fine.

3. I tried that....tricky to achieve but it's something. Some Chi Kungs in book are there because the authors beleive it is possible to do them correctly and learn them just from a book.

4. Yes

5. World Wide Web I use to spend a lot of time here here Sifu Wong Kiew Kit's Home Page http://www.shaolin.org/general/table.html#chi-kung

6. Good beginning, video give a better idea than static pictures in a book.

 

Remember it should be fun and enjoyable, not a chore or you won't want to practice.

 

Thank you so much! That was so helpful! What do you practice?

[Teddy]

1) Qigong. ...even if later you decide to learn tai chi, it will be completely empty without qigong.

2) Whenever you feel is right is right.

3) Depends on what style you are learning. It will always be faster to progress with a teacher, but often one is not absolutely necessary, and the internet can help with a lot of things.

4) Yes, there are ways to do this, but to get good at it could take a decade or more. Better to just start with a good qigong, and you will see rapid progress in just a few months.

5) Start with master Lam's 'The Way of Energy', then get his other books. Ken Cohens book 'Qigong,the art and science of Chinese energy healing' is also great, but not so much for teaching how to do it.

6) I dunno. I've seen some good tuition on youtube, but it is always in bits and pieces, and never very in depth. and some of the guys 'teaching' on youtube, are just cringeworthy (eg that phony yoga meditation guy).

 

All the best!

 

1) Qigong. ...even if later you decide to learn tai chi, it will be completely empty without qigong.

2) Whenever you feel is right is right.

3) Depends on what style you are learning. It will always be faster to progress with a teacher, but often one is not absolutely necessary, and the internet can help with a lot of things.

4) Yes, there are ways to do this, but to get good at it could take a decade or more. Better to just start with a good qigong, and you will see rapid progress in just a few months.

5) Start with master Lam's 'The Way of Energy', then get his other books. Ken Cohens book 'Qigong,the art and science of Chinese energy healing' is also great, but not so much for teaching how to do it.

6) I dunno. I've seen some good tuition on youtube, but it is always in bits and pieces, and never very in depth. and some of the guys 'teaching' on youtube, are just cringeworthy (eg that phony yoga meditation guy).

 

All the best!

[DalTheJigsaw123]

1) Qigong. ...even if later you decide to learn tai chi, it will be completely empty without qigong.

2) Whenever you feel is right is right.

3) Depends on what style you are learning. It will always be faster to progress with a teacher, but often one is not absolutely necessary, and the internet can help with a lot of things.

4) Yes, there are ways to do this, but to get good at it could take a decade or more. Better to just start with a good qigong, and you will see rapid progress in just a few months.

5) Start with master Lam's 'The Way of Energy', then get his other books. Ken Cohens book 'Qigong,the art and science of Chinese energy healing' is also great, but not so much for teaching how to do it.

6) I dunno. I've seen some good tuition on youtube, but it is always in bits and pieces, and never very in depth. and some of the guys 'teaching' on youtube, are just cringeworthy (eg that phony yoga meditation guy).

 

All the best!

 

1) Qigong. ...even if later you decide to learn tai chi, it will be completely empty without qigong.

2) Whenever you feel is right is right.

3) Depends on what style you are learning. It will always be faster to progress with a teacher, but often one is not absolutely necessary, and the internet can help with a lot of things.

4) Yes, there are ways to do this, but to get good at it could take a decade or more. Better to just start with a good qigong, and you will see rapid progress in just a few months.

5) Start with master Lam's 'The Way of Energy', then get his other books. Ken Cohens book 'Qigong,the art and science of Chinese energy healing' is also great, but not so much for teaching how to do it.

6) I dunno. I've seen some good tuition on youtube, but it is always in bits and pieces, and never very in depth. and some of the guys 'teaching' on youtube, are just cringeworthy (eg that phony yoga meditation guy).

 

All the best!

 

Thank you! Why do you say Qi Gong before Tai Chi?

[Mal]

What do you practice?

 

KAP - contains Chi Gungs and meditation.

Tong Long - Southern Praying Mantis Kung Fu.

Yang Tai Chi - long form.

 

You asked in another thread what did I "feel" from Chi Gongs. They make me feel alive. I can feel sensations, energy moving while practicing. When I do them in the morning they wake me up and energize me for the day.

[Ya Mu]

Learn Qigong first, martial arts second.

 

For a good DVD on Tai Chi:

 

For a DVD teaching a powerful qigong movement form.

 

If you REALLY wish to learn qigong, attend this workshop in October.

[Gerard]

My questions are:

 

1. Is it better for a beginner to start with Tai Chi or Qi Gong?

 

Either.

2. Do it in the morning or night?

 

Either, however morning is more energising and calming.

3. Self teaching for beginners?

 

No if your internal organs are not 100% clean.

 

4. Can I combine Tai Chi and Qi Gong?

 

Yes.

5. Good sources for Tai Chi and Qi Gong?

 

Difficult question. See if there is anyone practicing in your local park. Ask acupuncturist in local Chinatown.

 

6. I'm using Youtube to start with Tai Chi and Qi Gong. Is this a good a good beginning?

 

Definitively not for Tai Chi. For Zhang Zhuang you can get away with this (I googled a bit to find something to give you. I feel lazy to write about it sorry):

 

http://www.qi-journal.com/Qigong.asp?-Toke...%20for%20Qigong (Basic requirements for body posture...good for beginners to help them with the rooting aspect of Qigong practice)

http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/do-...zhuang-mistake/ (this is the way I do it)

http://www.shenwu.com/discus/messages/25/1...html?1125863533

http://www.yiquan.org.uk/art-zz.html

http://www.taijipedia.net/standing-meditat...ing-like-a-tree

http://wujimon.com/zhan-zhuang-adjustments

Edited September 22, 2009 by durkhrod chogori

[Chen]

My first advice is that you MUST try, somehow, to find an instructor.

I haven't search to find anything in Internet, so I don't know anything about the quality or the possibility of this kind of training.

As tai-chi has to do with a continous flow and alters of movement ,the presence of someone that knows how to corect you is essential.

From the other hand chi-kung ,as I practice it, has breathing streach so it may be harmfull with no guidance.

In our days, I think that it is not difficult to find an instructor or someone ,that he will be able to initiate you.

As it concerns the hours of training there is an issue.

Defently there are hours during the 24hour day,that yin is more present than young and via versa.

Of course in our normal way of life it is not possible to follow this rythm.

Depending on the goal of your training you must suit your training with them.

As an example, in my meditation it is not wise to meditate facing west ,during the sunset, as it is considered to be the hour of "metal yim,that is the yim of death,altough the stereotyp of the yogi that meditates on the beach during sunset is a very good oportunity for a photo.....

Good luck

[Sloppy Zhang]

For beginners I recommend B.K. Frantzis' "Relaxing Into Your Being" and "Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body". Great introductions, easy exercises to do, gets you the basics, and is pretty much going to be useful regardless of who you go on to study with, or what other system you decide to follow.

 

I practice on my own without a teacher, and use these materials, and it works out great for me.

 

There's no real time specific area to them either, in fact, the point is to be able to apply some principles to your life 24/7.

[DalTheJigsaw123]

Wow, thank you all so much! It is truly appreciated. I will definitely try to see if I can get some instructions and maybe start with Qi Gong?

[Encephalon]

I would recommend that you really focus on your breathing and then send my all your money and earthly possessions. This will really help.

 

You asked in another thread what did I "feel" from Chi Gongs. They make me feel alive. I can feel sensations, energy moving while practicing. When I do them in the morning they wake me up and energize me for the day.

 

This is it, right here. The experience of feeling alive.

 

You know, in another post where I was waxing pedantic and professorial, I brought up Neitzche's "will to power" as the prime motivator of human action. Fifty years later, Viktor Frankl said it was about the need to find meaning in life. Forty years later Joseph Campbell said "it is the experience of being alive " that people want more than anything.

 

Chi-flow... that's the key. With chi-flow, you can spend a month with your mother-in-law and still feel it coursing through the carcass. Go East, young man!

[DalTheJigsaw123]

I would recommend that you really focus on your breathing and then send my all your money and earthly possessions. This will really help.

This is it, right here. The experience of feeling alive.

 

You know, in another post where I was waxing pedantic and professorial, I brought up Neitzche's "will to power" as the prime motivator of human action. Fifty years later, Viktor Frankl said it was about the need to find meaning in life. Forty years later Joseph Campbell said "it is the experience of being alive " that people want more than anything.

 

Chi-flow... that's the key. With chi-flow, you can spend a month with your mother-in-law and still feel it coursing through the carcass. Go East, young man!

 

THank you! I think I am going to start with meditating and breathing. Is this a correct way to approach?