Advice / Opinions

[ronp]

hi all,

 

i am interested in cultivating a practice. i am new to chi kung, nei kung, kunlun etc., etc., from an experiential viewpoint although not new to energy work or taoism from an intellectual viewpoint. realizing that "book learning" is substantially different from "direct experience" i seek the advice of those that have what i do not.

 

as an aside, i have studied taoism, buddhism, hinduism, shamanism, sufism, zen, gurdjieff, advaita, kashmir tantra, etc. etc. etc., for the past 35 + years.

 

i am most interested in the health and well-being benefits. i am not necessarily interested in martial arts applications or in acquiring any siddhi's (although i am not adverse to either - just not my focus or intention).

 

i am 57 years old and live most of each year in france, but also live in the los angeles area a few months each year as well. i am what i call "retired without an income" which means that when i can find work, i work at whatever i can find. it also means that i have plenty of time to devote to "cultivation" - not a lot of expendable income but always a lot of time.

 

i was recently drawn to nei kung and then through researching that, i stumbled on kunlun. i have the opportunity to work with james borrelli who teaches the nei kung system of master c.k. chu from new york. and then there is the draw of working with this teacher max who i see just announced a new kunlun weekend in los angeles on feb 5,6 and 7.

 

i have ordered the nei kung system book of c.k. chu and the kunlun book of max's - although neither have arrived yet so i really don't have clue one on either - just know that i am interested. and since i will be returning to france at the very beginning of march, time seems to be "of the essence" to get something started.

 

my question for you all is "what is your opinion / recommendation regarding choosing between the two - keeping in mind my interests as described?" i think that they are both substantially different, but this is just what i feel and based only on what i can glean from reading both here and throughout the internet.

 

i have read probably 90 to 99% of all the posts on nei kung and kunlun so i am pretty familiar with those and through them with those of you who have posted on either topic.

 

btw, i have no interest in stirring up any more controversies about kunlun or max - so if your bent is to blast him, the practice, or to protect me from demons or injury - please refrain from answering. i am simply interested in your experience and opinions and why you hold that opinion and hope to get some knowledge that will help in making a better decision.

 

thanks

 

ron

[Bum Grasshopper]

I have no knowledge of the nei kung system of c.k. chu, so I can't comment. However, the Kunlun system is so udderly simple, and results come quickly. Seeing that you are getting a relatively late start, that would be a great advantage.

[mwight]

I'd say first start by defining what you hope to accomplish by this practice, and then look for a practice to meet your goal accordingly.

 

I'd say the spring forest qigong course is probably the best home course out there, there is a book called the tao of meditation, which has some real neigong training info in it. Robert bruce also has some methods which get results fast by combining deep trance, with energy work. I've got a list of materials I find effective for practice in my personal practice forum you might want to check that out if your bored.

[Aetherous]

i am most interested in the health and well-being benefits.

 

The way Kunlun is presented is primarily as a spiritual energetic practice. It may improve your health, or it may not...especially depending on who you are and how you approach it.

 

But I highly recommend going to a seminar (so you can get the red phoenix practice). After that point, it's kind of a figure it out on your own scenario.

 

It wouldn't hurt to do both systems at the same time, right? You could learn a lot from both.

[mwight]

the spring forest qigong course is probably one of the best for health purposes.

 

you can just buy the manuals and get mostly everything you would from the entire course, there are manuals for levels 1-3, and a cd for level 4.

[ronp]

bum,

 

relatively late start - shit i'm not that old am i?

 

mwight,

 

thanks for the suggestion. i'll check out the spring forest qigong - but i was really looking for some hands on teaching.

 

scotty,

 

i'm leaning towards the kunlun for the reason that bum grasshopper posited but doing both is probably not financially feasible now. other than that it would be a stellar way to go!

 

thanks

 

ron

[mwight]

bum,

 

relatively late start - shit i'm not that old am i?

 

mwight,

 

thanks for the suggestion. i'll check out the spring forest qigong - but i was really looking for some hands on teaching.

 

scotty,

 

i'm leaning towards the kunlun for the reason that bum grasshopper posited but doing both is probably not financially feasible now. other than that it would be a stellar way to go!

 

thanks

 

ron

 

master lin (sfq) does classes too

[Bum Grasshopper]

bum,

 

relatively late start - shit i'm not that old am i?

 

 

No offense, I'm not too far behind you! Just some posters here are in their teens

[Riyue]

 

 

i am most interested in the health and well-being benefits.

 

ron

 

what about ba duan jin?

八 段 錦

[hagar]

bum,

 

relatively late start - shit i'm not that old am i?

 

mwight,

 

thanks for the suggestion. i'll check out the spring forest qigong - but i was really looking for some hands on teaching.

 

scotty,

 

i'm leaning towards the kunlun for the reason that bum grasshopper posited but doing both is probably not financially feasible now. other than that it would be a stellar way to go!

 

thanks

 

ron

 

Master Erwann Lemoigne teaches Hua Gong qigong and lives outside Paris:

www.laviedao.com

 

h

[freeform]

ronp - I recommend going to see Max -especially as he'll be coming to your part of the world. Good value for money too. Max will probably also be coming to France this year. At least go to the free lecture and see if it inspires you.

 

Kunlun is pretty much the polar opposite of intellectual learning - it's very simple and direct.

 

Hua Gong and Spring Forest also have a great reputation. KAP is very much worth checking out too.

[bindo]

C.K. Chu's Nei Kung is excellent. I hope to receive private instruction from James Borelli too, the next time I visit my brother in L.A.. This Nei Kung system was a life changer for me, when I first learned it. Start slowly. It's quite a vigorous system.

 

There are some videos on youtube of someone demonstrating this particular Nei Kung system in a class setting.

[joeblast]

The way Kunlun is presented is primarily as a spiritual energetic practice. It may improve your health, or it may not...especially depending on who you are and how you approach it.

Healing was the first benefit I received from doing kunlun. The more I do it, the more solid I feel from a health standpoint. Seriously, my back thanks me for it.

 

Ba Duan Jin is awesome, too. YMAA has a good 8 brocades lesson (dvd or book) and I've also seen one or two out there on the net, though not as complete as the one I have from ymaa.

[Squatting Monkey]

This is an excellent book

 

The old guy doing the exercises in the book is Wang Ji Wu. He is in his 90's when the pictures were taken.

Fluid, flexible, strong and robust. Hope I'm like that when I'm older.