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Methods Of Qigong In Kung Fu Training
Alexander Popov
Qigong is a general name for the systems of hardening and
improvement of body and mind, treatment and health enhancement
created in China. They primarily based on the ability to control
your own consciousness, mentality and through them all the
physiological processes of the organism. Practicing Qigong
you can achieve stunning results some of which even the powerful
modern science cannot conceive and explain.
There are three main categories of Qigong: Health-improving,
Fighting and Mystical.
1. It was Chinese physicians who developed and evolved the
Health-improving Qigong during many centuries. They created
special exercises aimed to preserve and promote health as
well as to cure various diseases.
2. Fighting (or Hard) Qigong was developed by those practitioners
of Qigong who at the same time were masters of martial arts.
These exercises serve to enhance the energy concentration
in muscles and other parts of the body allowing to hugely
increase the bodily strength and its resistance against the
attempts to cause it a physical injury.
3. Mystical Qigong is a child of Buddhist monks and Taosian
anchorites. The goal of Mystical Qigong consists in achieving
the so called Enlightenment – a special psychophysical state
of the human being. Taosian anchorites also developed methods
of anti-aging based on Mystical Qigong. Mystical Qigong is
the most difficult to master.
Qigong is not only the art of Qi energy control; it trains
the mind and helps to work out the ability to control your
volitional impulse. Qigong techniques include a huge variety
of exercises but they all consist of the three main parts:
control of position, control of breath, and control of mind.
Controlling his position, a man can acquire some optimal posture
of body which would allow Qi to flow in the organism without
delays or blockages not causing any disturbing feelings and
removing diseases. The exercises are mostly performed in common
stands, for example, in the Rider's stance.
You need to control your breath to let the external Qi (from
the air) not only to pass mechanically into the internal state
but to spread along energy channels, fully feeding all the
organs.
Consciousness is crucial in breath control; it distributes
Qi along the body. At the highest stage, the breath is controlled
at the level of subconsciousness and do not require too much
of your attention.
Step by step learning to control his energy resources, a practitioner
will pass from using the physical strength (Li) to the internal
burst of effort (Tsin). This internal effort, as Chinese masters
believe, is produced not by muscles but in tendons and marrow.
This is the reason why the most of Kung Fu exercises aimed
not to increase the mass of muscles but to strengthen tendons
and bones. While muscles tend to loose their strength (Li)
as the man grows older, masters preserve their internal effort
(Tsin) until great age. That's why Chinese masters of Kung
Fu say: "If you do not practice Fighting Qigong but train
only your physical strength you'll be left with nothing when
you grow old enough."
Qigong exercises advance "internal Qi" our organism contains.
"Internal Qi" is also called "true Qi". The state of "true
Qi" depends on many factors: regular Fighting Qigong exercises,
nutrition, mental state, environment, etc. Every human being
has internal Qi but only few can use it properly, develop
it. The Qi of the vast majority of people is destabilized.
The goal of Fighting Qigong is to fill the organism with "true
Qi", calm it, make Qi flow along channels freely without obstructions.
So what is Qi after all? According to Chinese notions, it
is an energetic substance which represents the foundation
of all, i. e. the energetic foundation of the Universe. Our
body can be compared to an electric appliance: if it is supplied
with electric power it works but if the power supply is cut
down the device operation stops. Likewise with the man: if
Qi supply of his body is insufficient or it gets stagnant
in it, the man gets sick or even dies.
To have a healthy robust body, one needs to learn how to keep
the Qi circulation smooth and to be able to accumulate sufficient
amount of Qi. To do so, it is necessary to understand the
system of circulation and storage of Qi in your organism.
The human body has twelve so called primary channels (meridians)
along which Qi is spread across the entire organism. There
also exist eight "miraculous" vessels serving as a kind of
reservoirs storing and regulating Qi. One end of each channel
is attached to one of twelve internal organs while the other
end is connected to one of fingers or toes.
These twelve channels supply with Qi energy twelve internal
organs. Besides, these channels also take the excessive energy
away from internal organs allowing us to through it out of
the body. When due to blockage or disease the circulation
of Qi along the channels is interrupted, one or several organs
cannot get enough Qi which leads to their functional disturbance.
To be healthy, you need to learn how to keep the circulation
of Qi in the twelve channels smooth and constantly replenish
the "miraculous vessels" with energy.
If you understand the theory of Qi circulation in the human
body you will be able to understand how Qi relates to martial
arts as well. Remember, your body is not simply a machine
it is an organism able to improve itself. The stronger Qi
is, the stronger the human body gets.
Fighting Qigong practice sessions serve to enhance the capabilities
of your body. We know that using our mind we can control various
parts of our own body. The process of control is simple. Our
mind generates a thought, and the thought leads Qi to the
corresponding parts of the body which perform the requested
action. The key thing about Fighting Qigong is in learning
to lead your Qi as efficient as it can be. In this case you
can increase you strength very much.
Chinese martial arts masters learn to focus their minds through
meditation or other kinds of training practice to make Qi
obey them easily. This can substantially enhance the strength
of a fighter and increase the efficiency of his technique.
Alexander Popov dedicated about 20 years to Shaolin
Hung Gar Kung Fu. He is the successor of Hung Gar Kung Fu
tradition in the 8th masters' generation. Kung Fu and Qigong
articles and ebooks: http://www.shaolin-kungfu-qigong.com.
Article Source: www.ArticlesBase.com
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