Circle Walking/ Turning a Circle, when done as a solo practice with the intent of just walking in one direction for as long as you can, then quickly changing directions, and again walking in the opposite direction, is an internal practice that adheres to the theories of 易筋 'Yi Jin' (Changing the Tendons) and 洗髓 'Xi Sui' (Washing the Bone Marrow). It's a practice that merges the building up of the internal functioning of the body with building up of the strengths and flexibility required when using martial skills/ fighting.
It's called 行桩 'Xing Zhuang' (Moving Standing) practice method it takes the 站桩'Zhan Zhuang' (Static Standing) practices to another level of development as it moves more energy and blood around the body and accomplishes the more refined levels of mental and physical development in a more timely manner, and without other extracurricular Qigong practices.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Thursday, August 22, 2013
The Five Shens - Hun and Po...
The Five Shens...
In the 文始真經 'Wen Shi Zhen Jing' aka the "關尹子" "Guan Yin Zi", written in nine chapters; ~ Chinese text- http://ctext.org/wenshi-zhenjing & http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%97%9C%E5%B0%B9%E5%AD%90
In the 文始真經 'Wen Shi Zhen Jing' aka the "關尹子" "Guan Yin Zi", written in nine chapters; ~ Chinese text- http://ctext.org/wenshi-zhenjing & http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%97%9C%E5%B0%B9%E5%AD%90
"The Wenshi zhenjing does not appear until the Yuan dynasty, when it is mentioned in Chen Zhensun's Zhizhai shuluyjieti , dated to 1240. It was probably compiled by the Quanzhen patriarch Yin Zhiping (1169-1251), an alleged descendant of Guan Yin. Before that time, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, remnants of an older text are mentioned in various Song bibliographies, but they have not survived."
Saturday, March 30, 2013
Observing Movement
In Chinese Chess ( 象棋 Xiangqi) there are 7 pieces: the General (將 Jiang), Advisors, Elephants, Horses, Chariots, Cannons, and Soldiers.
In a checkmate the General flies across the board to capture the other player's General, a move called 飛將 Fei Jiang (Flying General).
Elephants (象 Xiang)have a limited movement and can only move if they're unobstructed, called having an open field (田 Tian) to move in. When the movement of the Elephant is blocked it's called 'Obstructing the Elephant's Eyes' (象眼塞 Xiang Yan Sai).
When one is so focused on the Checkmate/ Endgame (飛將 Fei Jiang) they don't see the power of Elephant's movements, or it's inability to move. Which became 'When one is so focused on the Fly buzzing around in front of their face, they can't see the Elephant in the field charging towards them.'
In the Chinese Martial Arts it means when you're only looking at the end product (the movement of the hands and feet) you don't see the powerful movements of the body that make the end movements of the hands and feet possible. Or you're so focused on the flashy movement of the hands you don't see the root of the hand's power - the body. Or the English translation - not seeing what's hidden in plain sight.
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In a checkmate the General flies across the board to capture the other player's General, a move called 飛將 Fei Jiang (Flying General).
Elephants (象 Xiang)have a limited movement and can only move if they're unobstructed, called having an open field (田 Tian) to move in. When the movement of the Elephant is blocked it's called 'Obstructing the Elephant's Eyes' (象眼塞 Xiang Yan Sai).
When one is so focused on the Checkmate/ Endgame (飛將 Fei Jiang) they don't see the power of Elephant's movements, or it's inability to move. Which became 'When one is so focused on the Fly buzzing around in front of their face, they can't see the Elephant in the field charging towards them.'
In the Chinese Martial Arts it means when you're only looking at the end product (the movement of the hands and feet) you don't see the powerful movements of the body that make the end movements of the hands and feet possible. Or you're so focused on the flashy movement of the hands you don't see the root of the hand's power - the body. Or the English translation - not seeing what's hidden in plain sight.
.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
Defining Qi for the Martial Arts and Cultivation Practices
A General overview of the different types 'Qi' in our body:
1. 空氣 kōng qì (air energy) - is essentially breath, oxygen in the body.
2. 水穀精氣 shuǐ gǔ jīng qì (water food essence energy) - is the 精 'Jing' (polyamines) and nutrition we absorb from our diet to combine with oxygen from the lungs to form ATP and every other biological process.
3. 先天精 xiāntiān jīng (pre-heaven/ ancestral/ innate/ intrinsic essence) - is the 精 'Jing' we get from our mothers while in the womb. (The 神 'Shén' (Spirit) comes from the father.)
Yuan Qi in the Martial Arts
From 萇乃周 Chang Naizhou's (1736 - 1795) writings on Internal Martial Arts:
苌氏武技书 卷一
苌氏武技书 卷一
Baguazhang Cultivation Theory
張伯端 Zhang Boduan (987?-1082 CE) was a Song Dynasty scholar of the Three teachings (Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism):
Following quote from ~ Wikipedia/Wuzhen Pian
Zhang Boduan, or Zhang Ziyang 張紫陽, was a native of Tiantai 天臺 in present-day Zhejiang. After passing the Imperial examination, he began a career as a civil servant, but was banished to the frontier in Lingnan, where he served as a military commissioner. Zhang was later transferred to Guilin and Chengdu, where in 1069 he allegedly experienced sudden realization from a Daoist Master who instructed him in Neidan internal alchemy. Zhang wrote the Wuzhen pian, its appendices, and a few other texts, including the Jindan sibai zi 金丹四百字 "Four hundred words on the Golden Elixer" (tr. Davis and Chao 1940). He was additionally an authority on Chan Buddhism.
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