Yang Jwing Ming

[GrandTrinity]

What does everyone thing of this character? I have read most of his Root of Chinese Qigong and enjoyed learning some things from it. He has a number of books out on Qigong including one on releivign back pain which I have not gotten time to read yet and one on qigong massage that I have enjoyed skimming. In time he plans to release details about Tibetan Qigong which sounds intersting.

 

His latest book is called Small Circulation and was released recently in May, has anyone or does anyone plan to check this out?:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159439067...5Fencoding=UTF8

[ToP-fan]

Being someone who is bald and have been for awhile now, it cracks me up whenever I see someone with "roadkill" on their head or a really bad combover............and Mr. Ming has the latter. Whenever I looked through his books,my immediate attention would be to focus on the combover and not the lesson...................I'm from New England and his school is about 50 miles up the road in the Boston area and I know a few folks who have studied with him and he's definitely the real deal.............I guess what I'm getting at is, Mr. Ming is so focused on the Tao and chi, he doesn't notice or care about that "retractable roof" going on on top of his cranium...................My hang-up, I guess...............................As far as the new book goes, I haven't seen it........but I have seen......................

[Peregrino]

Being someone who is bald and have been for awhile now, it cracks me up whenever I see someone with "roadkill" on their head or a really bad combover............and Mr. Ming has the latter. Whenever I looked through his books,my immediate attention would be to focus on the combover and not the lesson...................I'm from New England and his school is about 50 miles up the road in the Boston area and I know a few folks who have studied with him and he's definitely the real deal.............I guess what I'm getting at is, Mr. Ming is so focused on the Tao and chi, he doesn't notice or care about that "retractable roof" going on on top of his cranium...................My hang-up, I guess...............................As far as the new book goes, I haven't seen it........but I have seen......................

 

Maybe he should experiment with the He Shou Wu herbal treatment for hair loss . . . And if that doesn't work, go in the exact opposite direction, take steroid shots to deepen his voice and lose even more hair, so he's more like that virile babe-magnet Sean Connery. Or try the Jet Li shaven Shaolin badass look . . .

 

Hmmm, Mantak Chia claims that frequent ejaculation leads to hair loss, but I ain't even gonna go there!

[GrandTrinity]

You know? I was thinking the same thing! Whenever I see a master with hair like that, or I mean NO hair like that, it makes me wonder. Cant a qigong master regrow their hair? Sorry Yang Jwing, you loose respect in my book! No seriously though I have learned some really good tips from his stuff.

 

But I dont know if I can get past the hair thing on a subconsious level!

[Peregrino]

This is getting too funny! In fairness, I think the primary factor in hair loss is a genetic pre-disposition, notwithstanding other possibilities (e.g. stress, illness, etc.). It would be interesting to experiment, though! I am far from a qigong master and have started to experience some hair loss, which at first was unsettling since in my more androgynous days I used to have a full head of long, girly-girly glam rock hair. (No hairspray though! More like Ian Astbury . . . I even wore a wacko samurai topknot when I grappled, like Toshiro Mifune or a really undernourished sumotori.)

 

Forunately, with my rugged good looks (hehe) underneath all that yin-ish affectation, I still managed to get lots of interested eye contact from arty-boho wimmin when I shaved my head for a while back in Eugene (aka "Granolatown") Oregon. I guess it was the Ken Wilber thang . . . And my Trinidadian style-cat friends said I wear the Mr. Clean look well, esp. when I lift weights . . . Maybe I'll do it again, though I'll have to apply lots of sunscreen now that summer is here!

 

OK, so back to the (karma-free) meat of the matter! I do remember checking out YJM's book on _Shaolin Long Fist_ back when I was in high school and wanted to expand my then-limited martial arts repertoire (I had only trained in Tae Kwon Do at the time). I don't remember him getting into the internal practices much, but I did find the traps and joint attacks really useful for "reality combat" training, and I still incorporate such techniques (which I've since practiced in other MA training venues) to this day.

 

And YJM, in case you're reading this--shave that pate! Tell 'em all, "I'm not bald, I'm glabrous!"

Edited June 7, 2006 by Peregrino

[三江源]

I bought his books years ago, they were the first ones I read , after Ken Cohen. I was glad to have so much explained, having worked with a chinese teacher who worked via transmission and gave no explanations.

 

I'm not entirely sure that Ken Cohen agrees with him about breathing methods - I think he says he has them mixed up.

 

I trust Ken more, and M. Chia, but I found Ywang useful as reading.

[Buddy]

I think he's much more a translator (and I hate his transliterations) than master. And for taiji is white crane.

Topfan, looks like you might be down near me.

Edited June 5, 2006 by Buddy

[thaddeus]

I think he's much more a translator (and I hate his transliterations) than master. And for taiji is white crane.

Topfan, looks like you might be down near me.

From his website:

"Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming was born on August 11th, 1946, in Xinzhu Xian, Taiwan, Republic of China. He started his Kung Fu training at the age of fifteen under Master Cheng, Gin-Gsao. In thirteen years of study under Master Cheng, Dr. Yang became an expert in the White Crane Style of Chinese martial arts.

 

At the age of sixteen, Dr. Yang began the study of Yang Style Taijiquan under Master Kao Tao. Dr. Yang has mastered the Taiji barehand sequence, pushing hands and Taiji Qigong.

 

At age eighteen Dr. Yang entered Tamkang University in Taipei to study physics. Dr. Yang came to the United States in 1974 to study Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University, where he earned his Ph.D."

 

Seems like he studied only two years of Yang style, at best, while overlapping with his white crane studies..but who knows..I would seek Internal Chinese Martial art knowledge elsewhere..

 

Also, interesting observations/comments about the baldness. The latest research is showing a nitric oxide/inflammation role..which if true can probably benefit from our internal practices..

 

T

Edited June 5, 2006 by thaddeus

[三江源]

I think Buddy is right.

 

I got the impression I was getting undigested material in his books,or at least material that was transcribed unrevised - as it was handed down. It was what I wanted to know. It is interesting.

 

But I wouldnt turn to him for reference or practical techniques.

 

But his voice is part of the wider picture.

[hugo]

YJM is not my teacher but I've had the opportunity to train with him at some seminars before - while I myself am not the bees knees when it comes to MA I can recognize someone with skill and YJM is a master at what he does. His softness and ability to redirect power and energy are at the point where externally it looks like he's doing nothing special, but his ability to move people in something like push hands is like me picking up a cup of tea. It's been argued that his internal power comes from white crane not tai chi - I'm not knowledgeable enough to say either way but I will say that his strikes are phenomenal - relaxed, even on impact yet feel like being hit with a 150lb marlin.

[Prince...]

don't know how I stumbled into this old topic, but Dr. Yang Jwing Ming's Root of Chinese Qigong sounds more like a textbook introduction on Qigong than anything. A friend of mine has been to several of his seminars and had dinner with him. His Taiji is influenced heavily by White Crane, and I've been told that if I should attend any of his seminars, that his Chin Na stuff is his best.

 

From what I've been told by other people, he seems pretty knowledgeable on Qigong, but has not reached a high level or he just does not like to answer a lot of questions. Based on something he mentions in the Root of Qigong, I imagine that he sticks to his own particuliar style of Qigong and much of the other stuff he writes about is simply translating & explaining concepts.

[styrofoamdog]

I have his books on Embryonic Breathing and Small Circulation. But unfortunately after experiencing more in meditation, I can't recommend them. I don't think that he understands the subjects well enough to be able to write authoritatively on them. It seems like most of it comes from book knowledge rather than real experience. But he is a very intelligent man with an analytic mind, not to mention a great Gongfu master.

[松永道]

I have his books on Embryonic Breathing and Small Circulation. But unfortunately after experiencing more in meditation, I can't recommend them. I don't think that he understands the subjects well enough to be able to write authoritatively on them. It seems like most of it comes from book knowledge rather than real experience. But he is a very intelligent man with an analytic mind, not to mention a great Gongfu master.

 

Agreed.

 

His books do come with a real gem though: original Chinese text. He provides characters, names, and text selections in the original Chinese and that's hard to come by in a translation. Class A scholarship.

 

However, his translation is theoretical. He hasn't achieved the practice.

 

Also, a bit of gongfu gossip, I've met a number of taiji players who have pushed hands with Yang. Their impression was that his chin-na is fantastic but that they didn't sense a high level of internal cultivation from him. Of course, I didn't sense that in them either! Haha. So it goes. However, I've heard only amazing things about Shou-yu Liang. But that's another topic..

[emily]

it cracks me up whenever I see someone with "roadkill" on their head or a really bad combover............and Mr. Ming has the latter. Whenever I looked through his books,my immediate attention would be to focus on the combover and not the lesson

 

 

 

its sad but true. i got one of his dvds, and it was really good seems like a great guy and it was a good qigong, set...

 

BUT...... at the back of mind i just couldnt stop think "WHY THE COMBOVER!!!!!! YOUR ONLY KIDDING YOURSELF!!!!!"

[JoseFreitas]

I have taken quite a few seminars with Dr. Yang over the years, and even taken my chinese teacher to meet him and "exchange ideas". I also own a bunch of his books, so I feel comfortable commenting on a lot of things.

 

Dr. Yang is an exceptionally gifted martial artist. At the level he has reached, whether his "internal" power is White Crane, classic Long Fist or Taiji becomes somewhat irrelevant. In fact, I would add that since I've only rarely met teachers who ewere "pure" practitioners of Taiji, this insistence on "pure" Taiji internal power is almost entirely academic and theoretical.

 

Although it is true I do not particularly enjoy his Taiji, and I used also to be slightly peeved at the fact he would allow it to be marketed as pure original Yang Taiji - which it is not, it's a particular branch of Yang from Taiwan - he is quite good at Taiji, and his Push Hands skills are quite good. His Long Fist and White Crane are excellent, as is his mastery of the long sword. His Qinna is phenomenal, and my teacher - who is REALLY good at qinna - was quite impressed.

 

There are issues re. the translations and the amount of actual original material in his books. But he did put out a lot of books, and they were very important at the time. I would add that he seems to take his stuff quite seriously, and recent developments (ie the retreat he has built and his training programs) suggest he is genuinely trying to advance the traditional martial arts and qigong.

 

Two of his Qigong therapeutic books are quite good: the Qigong for Arthritis and the Qigong Massage book.

 

I think that given the general level of practiotioners in this forum, which probably ranges from total beginners to OK practitioners, ALL of us would benefit from training or learning with him, whatever style we were training. Maybe when we're world famous masters of Taiji we can actuyally worry whether his Push Hands is merely Very Good, or Exceptionally Good. I think...

[joeblast]

YJM was my first exposure to qigong, I have a bunch of his books. Lots of excellent points in them and I especially enjoyed the embryonic breathing book. Qigong massage book and DVD are excellent. Back Pain & Arthritis books are good for beginners that have those issues.

 

I'll agree that it does seem like the 'advanced' qigong material he has is largely theoretical and it doesnt seem like he has achieved trued internal cultivation...but I'm certainly not qualified to make such a statement

[styrofoamdog]

Agreed.

 

His books do come with a real gem though: original Chinese text. He provides characters, names, and text selections in the original Chinese and that's hard to come by in a translation. Class A scholarship.

 

However, his translation is theoretical. He hasn't achieved the practice.

 

Also, a bit of gongfu gossip, I've met a number of taiji players who have pushed hands with Yang. Their impression was that his chin-na is fantastic but that they didn't sense a high level of internal cultivation from him. Of course, I didn't sense that in them either! Haha. So it goes. However, I've heard only amazing things about Shou-yu Liang. But that's another topic..

This is very true. Especially in the Embryonic Breathing and Small Circulation books, it seems like half of the books are just translations of old classics written by Daoist cultivators, which include the original Chinese. This sort of pure, scholarly treatment is what drew me to his books when I was younger. He is also an engineer, and certainly brings that engineering mindset into his books.

 

That's interesting about Liang Shouyu... I thought that he must have real skill considering his background in Gongfu, but I was always a bit confounded that he coached students in the standardized Wushu forms.

[Aetherous]

BUT...... at the back of mind i just couldnt stop think "WHY THE COMBOVER!!!!!! YOUR ONLY KIDDING YOURSELF!!!!!"

 

[JoseFreitas]

For some reason all these high ranking chinese martial arts masters are always trying to hide their baldness, impending or realized.

 

True story:

 

My teacher, Sifu James McNeil, is already somewhat bald, but sometimes he'll wear a toupe, especially if he's going on TV or something like that. One day, he went to a TV studio to do an interview, and then drove right to the school to give a class. Without removing the toupe. One of his senior students, who had never seen him with "hair on" was flabbergasted: "Sifu, you've got hair!". So he answered: "It's a secret Daoist method, it regrows hair for a few months when I need it". The student was going arouvd telling everyone how powerful his teacher was! It was hilarious and we still have fun with him when we see him.