Broadly
speaking, there are two kinds of martial
arts. One is to strengthen the body through
physical training, and the other is to
empower the qi by
way of mental cultivation. To be an
accomplished practitioner of Shaolin Kung Fu,
you’ll have to master the both.
Any
Kung Fu man worth his salt knows this line:
sheer size and raw strength are no match for
competent skills, and skills are no match for
the power of pure qi.
As
such, Shaolin Kung Fu can never be divorced
from its original purpose that is the pursuit
of enlightenment. To practice Shaolin Kung Fu
is to progressively unfold the process of
distilling, purifying and expanding qi,
which leads to true-self
discovery. If you treat it
otherwise, you’ll devoid of it original
efficacy.
Mercian,
a Great Confucian scholar, once said,
"The goal of my life is to cultivate my
pure qi until it fills the whole
universe." And this is what Shaolin Kung
Fu tries to help you to ultimately achieve.
Inner
Kung Fu Preparations
The
first thing to do before taking a martial
arts training is to purify and harness your
mind. Only when your mind is pure and strong,
you can then transform it into qi -
the very life force; and only when each part
of your body is flooded with the vital life
force energy, you’ll be able to reach your
full physical potential and go beyond.
The
principal way to achieve this is to overcome
your desire and to create a tranquil state in
your mind. Each time you fall under
temptation of lust and craving, you lose a
portion of your vital qi; and each
time you follow your mood to pursue mental
impressions, you interrupt the natural flow
of your life force.
An
effective technique for mental training is
"Let Go". When doing sitting,
standing or lying meditation, you just let go
all your thoughts and concerns, and expand
your mind to encompass the whole universe,
until you feel the boundary between what you
perceive as the limits of your own personal
identity and the rest of the world
disappears.
When
you finish the meditation, bring your
attention completely back to your qi storage
centre (dantian), an area located
approximately half an inch (1.5cm) below your
belly button. Then rub your palms against
each other till you feel them warm, and
perform the following tasks:
Massage your
exposed belly in a circular
motion 49 times clockwise, and
then 49 times counterclockwise;
Gently massage
your face;
Sliding your index
finger behind your ear with your
other fingers on your cheeks,
massage your ears up and down a
few times;
Gently tap your
head all over.
By
the time your mind reaches a powerful depth
of concentration, your sense of discretion
can be so sharp that even the sound of a
needle dropping on the floor to you would be
like a loud clap of thunder. As you become so
mindful of your external environment, you
also acquire needle-sharp awareness of the
internal sensations, such as itching and
throbbing under the skin as the result of
unhindered flow of blood and qi. You
may see dazzling light within your head, or
strange images popping up out of nowhere.
Just ignore them. Once you have gained
mastery over your mind, they won’t bother
you again.
Eventually,
your qi will be pure enough to reflect
the true nature of reality. Then all of a
sudden, your thinking
stops, and you experience
an utter emptiness of your mind, while your
heart opening itself to the light and beyond
that cannot be described with defining
concepts.
Now
the question is, are you ready to "let
go"? If you are, you can follow the
steps described below to begin your journey
of Inner Shaolin Kung Fu training:
Inner
Kung Fu Training
Step
One, Harness Your Qi (养气).
For
most people who have never undertaken any
physical training, their qi is
either too weak (qixu 气虚: qi
is dominated by yin), or too solid (qishi
气实: qi
is overwhelmed with yang). People
with weak qi lack vitality that
results in poor health. And those with solid qi
often appear robust, but it doesn’t
mean they are strong, quite opposite in fact,
as any work that involves physical effort
would leave them white-lipped, ashen-faced
and short breathed. It is because the flow of
their blood and qi is rather
turbulent.
Following
are two methods to harness your qi and
balance its yin-yang aspects.
If
you have weak qi, try this:
Lifting
Qi Up (弥陀登天立足法):
Choose a
well-ventilated location either
outside or indoor. Calm your mind
and relax your body. Spread your
feet to shoulder-width. Keep your
back straight and head erect,
looking forward. Close your mouth
and place the tip of your tongue
against the roof of your mouth
just behind your front teeth.
Place your hands at your waist
with thumbs behind your back and
the rest of the fingers pointing
forward.
Exhale deeply
three times to get rid of old qi.
Then inhale slowly and deeply
towards your dantain, in
the mean time, lifting your heels
from the ground. Then slowly
breathe out while gently letting
heels down on the ground.
If
you have solid qi, try this:
Press
Qi Down (立地成佛沉气法)
In a
horse-standing posture, fold your
palms together and put the
fingers under the tip of your
nose. You can concentrate on your
breath, fix your attention on
your dantian, or visualise
the image of Buddha. The point is
to provide a tangible single
focus so that it’s easy for you
to eliminate all other thoughts.
Suggested
length is 2 hours for each session. Of course
the more time you put in, the better the
results will be.
Step
Two, Guide Your Qi (调气)
Once
your qi grows strong and is in a good
yin-yang balance, you can then learn how to
take control of its movement.
Method
1, Hold Your Breath (闭息法)
– practicing during warm up stage
Inhale completely,
and when your lungs are full,
hold your breath for as long as
you can. Then spew out the qi
with a loud sound
"Phoo", and immediately
hold the breath again. Repeat the
process as many times as you
like. The more time you repeat
it, the better the result will
be.
The
method above can do wonder to refresh the
qi and regulate its movement in
your body.
Method
2, Catch Your Breath (运使法)
– practicing during Qinggong training
session
When stretching
your arms and legs, try to spread
them as wide as possible. At the
same time, imagine you’re
breathing out towards the centre
of your palms (corresponding to tiankong
天空, Hollow in the
Sky,), the middle of your heels
(corresponding to dikong 地空, Hollow on the
Earth,) and the top of your head
(corresponding to tianji 天极, the Pole of
Heaven,).
After
you have done the above training for some
time, your mind and body will get accustomed
to the technique. Keep practicing until you
can maintain a smooth and even breath under
whatever circumstance, and you can guide your
qi to wherever you want it to be.
Training
Manual Part Two - Outer Kung Fu
Training
Manual Part Three - Hard Kung Fu
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