dr. yang jwing-ming, the secret of youth

[mantis]

The Secret of Youth: Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics

 

http://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Secret-Youth-...s/dp/1886969841

 

has anyone here read this book and is it worth purchasing?

[三江源]

Yes, I have.

 

it depends. If you want to learn what it is in it, then it is worth purchasing.

[mantis]

i'm mostly interested in making the body stronger internally, to match up with my external training

[Qui-Dao]

dr. yang jwing-ming is a serious researcher, scholar, and an expert in Qin Na, White Crane and perhaps other external martial arts, but I don't he has actually studied from any famous Nei Qong masters. I share the common belief that one needs a real nei gong master in order to really master the craft, not just by reading books.

 

I have read several of his books and watched several of his dvds, he is very good in explaining the qing gong theories to beginners, but not a lot in actual practices and routines, I think he assumes that if after read his books watched his dvds, if one decides to take on a practice, one should practice under a master/teacher. I certainly will not practice this stuff on my own.

 

There are original text and also videos (by real ShaoLin monks) of this stuff in Chinese language which you can download via eMule, just search the words 易筋经 and 洗髓经 on verycd.com. Hope this helps.

[exorcist_1699]

The book's title is confusing and it is for marketing purpose than telling readers anything real .

 

Da Mo is said to the master who initiate Zen Buddhism in China, however he is also the master who contributed something to the start of Shaolin Kung (gong) Fu.

 

Originally Buddhism does not pay attention to the body ,thinking that attachment to it will bar people from spiritual cultivation. Strangely Shaolin temple did generate kung-fu which pays a lot of attention to the posture, movement and health of human body .

 

As many people know , only Nei Gong ( interior exercises ) makes people youth ,martial arts( king fu )is unlikely to contribute a lot .If we are talking about looking 30~40 years younger than your actual age, then without attaining pre-heavenly qi ( in taoist expression) , it seems absolutely impossible .

[Qui-Dao]

The book's title is confusing and it is for marketing purpose than telling readers anything real .

 

Da Mo is said to the master who initiate Zen Buddhism in China, however he is also the master who contributed something to the start of Shaolin Kung (gong) Fu.

 

Originally Buddhism does not pay attention to the body ,thinking that attachment to it will bar people from spiritual cultivation. Strangely Shaolin temple did generate kung-fu which pays a lot of attention to the posture, movement and health of human body .

 

As many people know , only Nei Gong ( interior exercises ) makes people youth ,martial arts( king fu )is unlikely to contribute a lot .If we are talking about looking 30~40 years younger than your actual age, then without attaining pre-heavenly qi ( in taoist expression) , it seems absolutely impossible .

 

Have you read the book? the sub-title of the book is "Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics". (i.e. in Chinese, about 易筋经 and 洗髓经) This book is all about Nei Gong, i.e about the above mentioned two Nei Gong practices, it's not about Shaolin Kung Fu. Dr. Yang has many other books on Shaolin Kung Fu but this is not one of them.

 

To say that "The book's title is confusing and it is for marketing purpose than telling readers anything real" is really not fair, especially since you have not even read the book.

 

Again, this is a book of translation and commentary on the two Chinese Nei Gong classics, even if you can read Chinese, this book is a very good reference and study guide since without the very solid background in Nei Gong, you won't understand these original texts anyway. Only thing people should be aware is that they also need a teacher/master if they want to take on these two practices, the book is just an introduction, a reference, and a study guide.

Edited September 11, 2008 by Qui-Dao

[exorcist_1699]

To: Qui-Tao

 

 

1) I do not make any comments on the content of the book; maybe it is a good one .

 

2) Whether Da Mo is the author of the mentioned two books is still an issue unsettled.

 

 

Maybe you are correct; maybe I just overreact to those seemingly look like a casual mixture of marketable elements...

[IanB]

The Secret of Youth: Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics

 

http://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Secret-Youth-...s/dp/1886969841

 

has anyone here read this book and is it worth purchasing?

 

I have the book along with most of his others and have found it to be good guide too the practice, I was originally taught the exercise first but the book is extremely clear. Just go slowly.

[Desert Eagle]

it has a different version of the yi jin jing and xi sui jing compared to shaolin. there are some shaolin videos and books showing those forms.

Edited September 11, 2008 by Desert Eagle

[Mal]

The Secret of Youth: Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Classics

 

http://www.amazon.com/Qigong-Secret-Youth-...s/dp/1886969841

 

has anyone here read this book and is it worth purchasing?

 

BTT

 

I have read a version of Dr Yang's Da Mo's Muscle/Tendon Changing classic in his book Qigong for Health & Martial Arts, not sure if it is the same as presented in Secret of Youth. Da Mo's history is mentioned but no real discussion on the Yi Jin Jing documents mostly pictures with directions, a good "how to" I guess.

 

In Qigong for Health, Da MO's Marrow/Brain Washing Classic is mentioned, but not described although there are details about nei dan qugong, and Embryonic breathing contains more information, I am hoping for further details of the Xi Sui Jing in Secret of youth.

 

I want to understand all the elements of Dr Yangs flavor of Taoist meditation. I like the way Dr Yang explains concepts and I can't help but think of Pietro every time I see a noted reference

[joeblast]

I've got both of those, Mal - its much more in depth in tSoY. (Funny thing, tSoY was the first book on qigong that I picked up simply because it looked the most interesting - I got halfway through it and realized I had a whole hell of a lot of other digging to do before practicing any of the stuff )

 

EB is a prerequisite for it in the ymaa curriculum, the YJJ starts out with abdominal massage before anything else - so right from the getgo, its ltt-focused and serves to establish ground for all the extra energy that will be raised from the training. The XSJ in there contains the absorbing/refining methods as well as additional "extraction methods" but at that point in the book/training it appears to be based on translations alone - theoretically there's a good grasp, but its unclear how much actual training he's done. Not that the information is unsound, but when the case is such that incorrect training can injure you, its pretty important to have a book like this be a reference, a secondary source of information, instead of relying on it alone (along with your own discernment...which is potentially enough, *but*...)

[devoid]

Like all of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming's books it is filled with pearls of knowledge from many sources to allow you to make up your own mind based on an informed decision along the way and were it for that reason alone, I think it is a book worthy of consideration. I really wish more authors would follow his example when presenting things rather than only their own version.

 

This said, IMHO it is by no means the best book he has written, so my advice to you will be: if you're fairly advanced and have already traversed 20+ books on the topic of qi, qigong, taoist breathing, nei jia, nei gong, taoist yoga, etc, then buy it. If not, I suggest starting out with something both more foundational, easier to understand and easier to implement.

Edited July 19, 2010 by devoid

[shaolin]

Ive read it.

 

Its a good book on yi jin jing and xi sui jing. He presents authentic training methods which he translates to english and then explains them.

 

It mixes daoist and buddhist methods and he provides the pros and cons of each method.

 

He himself has not trained these methods as he admits , but the method is good.

 

His yi jin jing is good and will work , but the form he uses is not the one used that I know of from shaolin and the whole process that he advises is too long. If you're already externally strong, there is no need to do the three months of abdominal massage and you can start the striking training straight away.

 

His xi sui jing method is very similar to the one from shaolin.

 

Its a very good book on two types of qi qong which are the highest level qi qong for health of internal and external body. Unless you take training very seriously and are prepared to train for at least one year continuously, then there is no need to read it. He says the training actually lasts from three to 9 years.

[Old Man Contradiction]

but I don't he has actually studied from any famous Nei Qong masters. I share the common belief that one needs a real nei gong master in order to really master the craft, not just by reading books.

 

I too share that belief. Also, I think the best neikung masters you will find are not famous. The process is very painful and very difficult, thus masters tend not to be very popular with students. That said, I've never seen yang jwing-ming in a way that would indicate mastery to me.

[Mal]

Thank you all very much for the detailed information and reviews, most helpful.

 

Basically the Tong Long I practice is a Southern Shaolin art that includes Chi Gong and Meditation. I like how Dr Yang explains a Taoist "framework" and I'm basically looking for foundation/original practices so that I can see how thing have changed / evolved / been forgotten :gasp: over time.

 

I feel tSoY will be a good addition to my Tai Chi, Tong Long and KAP practices.

 

Thanks again

[Maddie]

What exactely does the wei dan set in Dr. Yangs book on Yi Jin Jing do? Is it to build qi and accomplish the grand circulation? Will doing it accomplish the tendon changing aspects of Yi Jin Jing?

 

* I did the set today (I've dabbled with it before) and noticed that my saliva changed, it became more watery, and that afterwards it felt like I had cotton in my ears for a while. The main reason I did it was to see if I could build some more qi with it as I'm tired of feeling fatigued.

Edited March 21, 2011 by dmattwads