The Way of Energy: Mastering the Chinese Art of Internal Strength with Chi Kung Exercise

[johndoe2012]

Hogwash. Who taught the teacher? Who taught the teacher that taught the teacher?

 

Transmission from gods/deties?

[LaoTzu21]

Transmission from gods/deties?

 

thats how qi gung was started

[ZhengLi]

Trees don't have opposing force, aka zheng li. Opposing force basically means that you create two points in your body, and force them apart from each other. In doing this, you actually connect these two points. This is not a metaphor, or a teaching tool, it is true real physical hard work. Sung-gann in I-Chuan is attained and developed upon by every second of standing (or shi li or health dance) you add an ounce to the intensity of your zheng li. Soon you reach maximum load. You start off with one set of opposing forces, and try to add another. Eventually you want dozens of these points. It requires your maximum mental and physical effort. This is a radical idea, to use your brain to push your body to it's physical limits. It took Wang Xiangzhai 15 minutes to push his body to his physical limits while standing. When you can do that to your body, you can do it to your mind. This is where you wake up Yi.

 

I hope I have successfully illustrated to you that there is more out there to be learned about the seemingly same, but radically different methods of standing. Believing that there is nothing more available about Zhan Zhuang than to stand like a tree meditating is to sell yourself short. I believe it is more likely that a man with a lot of time on his hands was able to develop this method, or maybe multiple people over a multiple lifetimes. As to gods and deities, I have no comment.

 

And Durkhrod, I don't think there is a problem with your standing and I think it's clear-minded of you to say you've learned more from standing with trees than with people. My intention is to just encourage people to seek out a teacher with this understanding of zhan zhuang because I believe the benefit is so great.

Edited September 16, 2010 by ZhengLi

[Teddy]

Hogwash. Who taught the teacher? Who taught the teacher that taught the teacher?

 

The internal martial arts techniques around now, have mostly been developed over hundreds of years. Each new practitioner/teacher makes improvements and refines the training method slightly. If you want to learn by merely observing yourself etc -go ahead, but unless you have acheived physical immortality through some clever taoist yogic practice, you will save youself A LOT of time by getting a master who knows what he's talking about to point you in the right direction. I have practiced zhan zhuang diligently every day for three years now. However a lot of that time I have been subtly harming myself, by practicing in a bad way. If I had had master Lam there the whole time to guide me this would not have happened. I strongly recomend seeing master Lam to anyone, even if you are already an expert. He has so much skill and knowledge about not only yiquan, but also taiji, feng shui, acupuncture, herbal medicine, kung fu etc...

[Eternal_Student]

Trees don't have opposing force, aka zheng li. Opposing force basically means that you create two points in your body, and force them apart from each other. In doing this, you actually connect these two points. This is not a metaphor, or a teaching tool, it is true real physical hard work. Sung-gann in I-Chuan is attained and developed upon by every second of standing (or shi li or health dance) you add an ounce to the intensity of your zheng li. Soon you reach maximum load. You start off with one set of opposing forces, and try to add another. Eventually you want dozens of these points. It requires your maximum mental and physical effort. This is a radical idea, to use your brain to push your body to it's physical limits. It took Wang Xiangzhai 15 minutes to push his body to his physical limits while standing. When you can do that to your body, you can do it to your mind. This is where you wake up Yi.

 

I hope I have successfully illustrated to you that there is more out there to be learned about the seemingly same, but radically different methods of standing. Believing that there is nothing more available about Zhan Zhuang than to stand like a tree meditating is to sell yourself short. I believe it is more likely that a man with a lot of time on his hands was able to develop this method, or maybe multiple people over a multiple lifetimes. As to gods and deities, I have no comment.

 

And Durkhrod, I don't think there is a problem with your standing and I think it's clear-minded of you to say you've learned more from standing with trees than with people. My intention is to just encourage people to seek out a teacher with this understanding of zhan zhuang because I believe the benefit is so great.

 

Bump for importance. Best description I've read about developing qi and yi on here in a long time, if not ever...

 

There is SOOOOO much information on this site its ridiculous. I had to learn most of it by experience as there was a crappy internet with very little speed and info on it when I was wandering.

Keep practicing, and most of what people who have gone before you are saying WILL make sense!

 

Edited September 16, 2010 by Eternal_Student

[LaoTzu21]

The internal martial arts techniques around now, have mostly been developed over hundreds of years. Each new practitioner/teacher makes improvements and refines the training method slightly. If you want to learn by merely observing yourself etc -go ahead, but unless you have acheived physical immortality through some clever taoist yogic practice, you will save youself A LOT of time by getting a master who knows what he's talking about to point you in the right direction. I have practiced zhan zhuang diligently every day for three years now. However a lot of that time I have been subtly harming myself, by practicing in a bad way. If I had had master Lam there the whole time to guide me this would not have happened. I strongly recomend seeing master Lam to anyone, even if you are already an expert. He has so much skill and knowledge about not only yiquan, but also taiji, feng shui, acupuncture, herbal medicine, kung fu etc...

 

 

i just spoke to master lams senior student and one day i will have a private consultation for my illnesses. he basically said that you can have different types of zhan zhuang for different needs. which intrigued me so that means some people might need to learn different zz for different problems. i will see him at some point its always money depending.

 

 

[Mal]

he basically said that you can have different types of zhan zhuang for different needs.

 

Yes. eg I've noticed Yiquan practitioners seem to employ a different training method for standing (as illustrated in this thread)

 

Nothing wrong with different paths, especially as people tend to have different destinations

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 21, 2010 by durkhrod chogori

[pilot]

the body is aging as it is, and the mind along with it. the way of energy was meant to be an introduction to getting some experience with the practice so that if we are fortunate enough to get one on one instruction it will be greatly beneficial as opposed to the view that one should not exert oneself for fear of damaging one's body. I follow and stick by the author's advice since his experience seems sound and complete and his lineage authentic, and therefore minimize the chance of harm. After all, we each have our own intuition and feedback to rely on before anything or anyone.

[Mattimo]

The internal martial arts techniques around now, have mostly been developed over hundreds of years. Each new practitioner/teacher makes improvements and refines the training method slightly. If you want to learn by merely observing yourself etc -go ahead, but unless you have acheived physical immortality through some clever taoist yogic practice, you will save youself A LOT of time by getting a master who knows what he's talking about to point you in the right direction. I have practiced zhan zhuang diligently every day for three years now. However a lot of that time I have been subtly harming myself, by practicing in a bad way. If I had had master Lam there the whole time to guide me this would not have happened. I strongly recomend seeing master Lam to anyone, even if you are already an expert. He has so much skill and knowledge about not only yiquan, but also taiji, feng shui, acupuncture, herbal medicine, kung fu etc...

 

Yes, I hear you. I posted my succinct comment to invite debate. There can definitely be value in "having" teachers. However, fundamentally I believe that it is not absolutely necessary - at least not in the capacity of having a long-term teacher. Perhaps I haven't met anyone with a high degree of cultivation. That being said, one could argue that the act of making a mistake and then learning from it is a fuller/truer form of learning (for lack of a better phrase). That is to say, one would not be adhering to dogma in the sense that "you're not supposed to do this because that could happen because my master/teacher said so." Not only that, at it's core, internal martial arts principally involves the refinement of the quality of one's movement (while performing movement) through observation. This invariably leads to greater coordination and otherwise knowing what you are doing from the inside out, while you perform any action. This in and of itself can take you all the way...in my opinion.

Edited September 17, 2010 by Mattimo

[Green Tiger]

The higher one can take the weight, the better (so long as you can keep relaxed).

Now, supposedly this area of the body, the upper thigh, has the the largest amount of mitochondria. Mitochondria is one of the closest suspected links to the concept of Qi. So, we might make the assumption that holding and using this part of the body in this kind of way is a surefire method of boosting your energy/tonifying your Qi!

 

I've also heard that strengthening the thighs will increase the amount of testosterone released in the body.

[Dainin]

FYI, the author has relocated to the United States and now has a healing studio in Oakland, California:

 

The Lam Association

[spiraltao]

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

[Mal]

I've been, shall we say "reduced", to practising zz again (my back has decided to be more painful than it has in the last 2 years. Some days the pain is all I can think about)

I've been following the 10 day videos and built up to 20 min of my own practice.

While I'VE done a lot of practices in my life it really is quite amazing how much I enjoy standing like a tree, the only downside is that time can pass so quickly :-)

I'm close to starting to practice tai chi form again and even though I used it to heal my back 2 years ago I'm seriously considering just sticking with zz

[Wu Ming Jen]

Standing post is literally standing on post not driven into the ground. Balance, when the body is balanced (like balancing a stick on your palm) the use of muscles are lessened and the skeleton supports your posture held by the sinews and tendons.

 

When the body is balanced it is called sinking when the muscle lets go it is called rooting. With a relaxed body standing with correct body mechanics and proper posture energy flows through all channels (Grand Heavenly Circulation) with no effort on our part.

 

Practicing low horse stance with a staff across your thighs the legs muscles should be relaxed to test progress.

 

Another test is to squat down grab right toes with right hand and stand up on left leg as many times as you can then the same opposite side called a Cranes Dip

 

Standing post is not a chi following mind thing it is about opening the channels naturally with no effort with proper posture. The body follows mind like a shadow as sadness is an out of alignment sunken posture and extreme joy is an out of alignment stretched out rising posture so we can see how emotions affect the body.

 

The lower body being sunk and rooted and the upper body being light and lifted is balance as well.

 

Open awareness happens naturally with standing post hear the birds sing, the wind blow and the lawn mower mow. at the same time internal awareness develops as well.

 

The depth of a simple standing exercise is endless as there is a sky above the sky, the work is never completed.

[spiraltao]

One of the best descriptions I have read.

[TCA]

I've been, shall we say "reduced", to practising zz again (my back has decided to be more painful than it has in the last 2 years). Some days the pain is all I can think about. I've been following the 10 day videos and built up to 20 min of my own practice.

This is an old thread but I'd be interested in the experiences anyone practising Zhan Zhuang with a history of back or neck pain. Last year I started t'ai chi following a fibromyalgia diagnosis and it has undoubtedly helped, in tandem with an exercise regime from the book below, which promotes self-care activities for postural syndrome using trunk stabilization via contraction of the torso muscles.

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Back-Neck-Pain-Vincent-Fortanasce/dp/0736095284

 

Anyway, fast forward six months and having let the back and neck exercises slip, I've started Zhan Zhuang having bought a copy of Lam Kam Chuen's "Way of Energy". I'm 3 weeks into standing practice and now up to 10 minutes for each of wu chi position and holding the balloon position. I'm experiencing most of the effects described in Lam's book (tingling, numbness, warmth, etc), but in the last week I'm starting to get neck and back pain again. Plus headaches presumably from the neck pain. I'm pretty sure my posture is ok (although I'll see if my t'ai chi instructor agrees), so wondering:

 

1) Am I experiencing what Professor Yu Yong Nian described in Lam's book as "pain in old injuries" or "increased pain in current ailments"? These apparently surface around week 4, so the timeline fits, and I should therefore soldier on with practice as this is only my nervous system rebalancing itself as part of the healing/regenerative process?

 

2) Do I stop Zhan Zhuang as it might be exacerbating pain issues that I'd almost overcome?

 

3) Do I restart the back and neck exercises and continue Zhan Zhuang to see where that takes me? Or is that asking for more trouble?

 

Interested to hear from anyone with similar experience.

Edited July 17, 2015 by TCA