Issue 54 - Tse Qigong Centre

Cover: Grandmaster Ip Chun, his fatherGrandmaster Ip Man & Bruce Lee.Qi Magazine is published by the Tse QigongCentre. Its aim is to bring you information notreadily available in the West.Editor:Deputy Editor:Design AssistantAssistants:Proof Reading:Marketing/Distribution:Subscriptions:Sweden:Michael TseDarryl MoyDavid DrennanSarah BloomfieldJohn HayesShahriar SepangiRick CharlesYvonne DixonMike StensonJessica BlackwellJayne RowlandsBarbro OlssonConsultants (Listed in alphabetical order):Columnists:Grandmaster Chan Chi HoGrandmaster Chen Xiao WangGrandmaster Ip ChunGrandmaster Yang MeijunGlen GosslingJ. Reynolds NelsonDr. Shulan TangSihn KeiAdam WallaceReaders may contact any of our contributors c/oQi Magazine.We encourage all our readers to contribute articles, lettersor questions for possible inclusion in future issues ofQi Magazine.Articles appearing in Qi Magazine do not necessarilyreflect the opinion of the editor. Adverts appearing in themagazine are not necessarily endorsed by it or the editor.Exercises appearing in Qi Magazine are for referencepurposes only. Thus anyone wishing to study should seekqualified tuition.Michael Tse 2001.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may bereproduced, stored or transmitted in any way without thewritten permission of Michael Tse.Advertising: Qi Magazine has proved to be an effectiveway of reaching a wide variety of people. All enquirieswelcome.For UK call: 0161 929 4485For USA call: (808) 528 8501Subscription: Costs per year:UK£20 inc p&p.USA$35 inc p&pEurope £25 (airmail) inc p&p.Worldwide £35 (airmail) inc p&p.For UK/Europe/WorldwidePlease send payment in Pounds Sterling. Payment can beby Credit Card or Cheque, drawn on UK bank, payable toQi Magazine:Qi MagazinePO Box 59 Altrincham, WA15 8FS, UKTel:0161 929 4485 Fax: 0161 929 4489email: tse@qimagazine.comFor USA/CanadaPlease send payment in US Dollars. Payment can be byCredit Card or Check payable to Qi Magazine:Tse Qigong CentrePO Box 15807, Honolulu HI 96830Tel: (808) 528 8501 Fax:(520) 441 6578email tse@wildgooseqigong.comhttp://www.qimagazine.comISSN 1358-3778There was once a man who loved martialarts very much. One day he met a martialartist who showed him some skill, andwhen they sparred the martial artistdefeated him easily. Of course,afterwards, the man wanted to study withhim, but the martial artist said, “I am notgood enough to teach, though you mightstudy with my teacher”. So the man wentto study with the martial artist’s teacher.After training hard for ten years hereached a very high level of skill in thatstyle.One day he was travelling in adifferent province when he met anothermartial artist who studied the same style.There were also very close in thefamily tree of that martial art.They began to talk andbecame very friendly.After they hadbeen talking for a whilethey agreed to traintogether and spar totest each other’s skill.However, when theybegan no matter whatthe man tried he wasdefeated and he foundhe was like a childtrying to fight an adult.His new friend’s skillwas much higher thanhis was and so he thought he might askhis advice so he could correct himself. Hesaid to the martial artist, “You must havebeen studying for a very long time.” Themartial artist replied, “No, only for threeyears.”This surprised the man and so hetold the martial artist that he had beentraining diligently for ten years everyday.He asked how could it be that his martialarts skill was not that good? The martialartist told him, “You use the wrong wayto practise and do not follow theprinciple.”The man was very upset: with thisconversation he knew that he had beenlearning and training wrongly, or that histeacher did not really know that muchabout the skill and was just pretending.In the end the man did not go back tohis teacher.This is just a story, but whether itis a martial art, Qigong or evensomething like cooking it is the same,once you start out wrong, it will take avery long time to get it right and in factyou may never manage it.It is just like a nail that you wantto hammer in to a piece of wood. If youhit the nail too hard so that it becomescrooked, then the more you hit it themore crooked it will become. Thefoundation is very important. So eventhough the man wanted to correct hisskill, it would take him a very long time.He had to be very patient and not rush.More importantly he needed to findsomeone who is very good in that areaand follow the proper way starting fromthe beginning. Then in the future hemight be OK.I always say, “When people areover thirty years old they becomestubborn.” They do not easily listen toothers people’s opinions and only like tolisten to people who have the sameopinions as they do, or to hear what theywant to hear. The only exception is if theyreally want to listen. If they don’t wantto listen to another person, even if thatperson is right, they still will not like tolisten to them.Teenagers and people in theirtwenties are still looking for an image,something they can be like in the future.So they are often more open.However, there are some badteachers who try to take advantage oftheir students and teach them the wrongskills. If someone is a good teacher theywill not mind opening their skill to othersbecause even if you see it, you will notbe able to do learn it. Also if the skill is... continued on page 8Qi Magazine 1

1 Editorialwith Michael Tse.3 PO Box9 The System of Chen TaijiquanChen Taijiquan is a very old skill. The great masters whohave developed it are truly enlightened thinkers of greatability.By Glenn Gossling10 Dysmenorrhea & TCMDysmenorrhea is a problem suffered by many women allover the world. TCM identifies different types of thiscondition and attributes them to different types of Qistagnation.By Dr Shulan Tang11 Chinese Superstition and PhilosophyThe Chinese culture has many different superstitions. Fromthe same culture has developed some of the most profoundand useful philosophies. How can this be and is there arelationship between them.By Wo Dozi14 What is Fresh Air?When practising Qigong, getting enough fresh air is veryimportant. But what lengths should you go to to get freshair and when is it fresh enough?By Shin Kei15 The ChallengeA short story with a strong message.By Brian Haywood16 Jin Gang Walking GongA system of Qigong exercises that is good for circulationproblems.18 Happiness From a Different SourceMost people will admit that all they want to be is happy.But if everyone is after the same thing, why is it so hard tofind? Perhaps the answer to this lies in each of us, but wejust need to find it.By Kelsang Darjay28 Good QuestionHow do you ask a good question? This is an importantpoint, as good questions will get you the good answer thatyou are looking for.By Darryl Moy30 Book ReviewIntroducing the new book, Qigong Exercise TherapyBy Jessica Blackwell35 Instructor InsightA look at two instructors of the Tse Qigong Centre36 What is Taiji?Many of us think we know what Taiji is. However, though youmay think you know, you might be surprised when you find outwhat the true meaning is.By Wai Jing39 Shanghai DiaryThe first part of a regular series on the skills, people and culturein Shanghai today. Each issue the author will share with us hisexperiences in this famous Chinese city.By J. Reynolds Nelson40 Swimming Dragon part 4Swimming Dragon Gong from the Dayan (Wild Goose) QigongSystem is good for strengthening the kidneys and relievingbackache.By Michael Tse44 Dangers of External TrainingInternal and External training are very different. Why do weneed both and what is the difference?By Adam Wallace46 Feng Shui and the Main Entrance of your House part 2The entrance is the most important part of your house, as thisis where the energy comes in and shapes whether it is good ornot. What then makes a good entrance and what should youtry and avoid.By Michael TseCover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...22 Simple and Direct: The Principles of WingChunWing Chun is often touted as one of thesimplest forms of Kung Fu taught.However, when you start to study, youquickly find that it is not as easy as firstthought. Actually it is the principles ofWing Chun that are easy to understand,but doing them is much trickier, andactions speak louder than words.By Michael Tse26 The Art of Sticking HandsChi Sau or Sticking Hands is the most important aspect ofWing Chun training. How then do you develop this trainingand what should you do to improve yourself?By Grandmaster Ip ChunCover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...

POBox POBox POBox...VeryExcitingNews…This New Year has brought with it a bigchange for the Tse Qigong Centre!Wild Goose Qigong was givenby Jessica Blackwell beforeOn 24 th January 2001, the Tse several hundred spectators atQigong Centre relocated to Hawaii.There are actually several HawaiianIslands, but this one is called Oahu. It isone of the most famous of all theHawaiian Islands. Hawaii is a specialplace and one in which cultural andfamily traditions are still very strong,which reflects and reinforces the valuesof the Tse Qigong Centre. People herehave made us feel very welcome andhave been more than helpful in assistingus to set things up.The office was officially opened onChinese New Year. During the followingweekend, a special demonstration ofthe Chinatown Cultural Plaza.This was a great opportunity to introducethe people of Hawaii to the Tse QigongCentre and our skill and to celebrate ournew move. We hope that next year someof you can join in.Already classes have begun at theYMCA near the University of Hawaii andnew students have been welcomed to theTse Qigong Centre family. There areplans for several more classes around theisland and also a Qigong residentialcourse for the year 2002 on one of theneighbouring islands. So plan ahead ifyou want to enjoy a relaxing atmosphereof learning under SifuTse in some of the mostspectacular surroundingsyou can imagine.For those of you whoknow the familytradition of joiningtogether for meals afterseminars, not to worry,there is lots of goodChinese food availablehere, even a specialvegetarian onlyrestaurant for all youveggies. Of course,there are also lots ofsunshine, fresh air and beautiful beachesfor practice. We hope that there will bemany, many new visitors to us here inHawaii and welcome you all. Aloha!Tse Qigong CentrePO Box 15807Honolulu HI 96830Tel. (808) 528 8501.Fax (520) 441 6578tse@wildgooseqigong.comNew Taiji Class inBirminghamFrom the 3rd ofMay the TseQigong Centrewill be beginningstarting a newChen Taijiquanclass in Birmingham.The classwill be held at theFriends Institute,22 Mosely Road, Highgate,Birmingham and will start at 8.30pmevery Thursday.Chen Style Taijiquan is a veryprofound exercise that is not only goodfor your health, but also a very dynamicform of self defence. For moreinformation about this new class andany of the classes already establishedin Birmingham, please contact the TseQigong Centre on 0161 929 4485.Co-ordinating WellDear Mr Tse,Many years ago I was diagnosed ashaving dyslexia. I had very bad problemswith co-ordination and at the age offourteen I had a visual sequential memoryof an eight year old. On some of my oldschool reports there are many referencesto me not even being able to catch a ball. Iwas very left handed and had a dominantleft eye and ear.I tried different martial arts but wasunable to keep up with the forms, butabout 15 years ago, I moved to GreatYarmouth and met a teacher of T’ien TiTao and I started to train hard. For thefirst few years we were just stepping andpunching and learning a proper root. Sometime later I learned my first form. This wasvery difficult and took a number of years.Unfortunately, the club closed andmoved away, but I still continued topractise the form. Later, however, I movedon to study Wing Chun and Choy Li Fut.I now know about nine forms. Althoughthey are all only basic-medium skill forms,I do know them all and the applicationsboth left and right sided, long and short,hard and soft. My co-ordination hasimproved so much that I work in a factoryon a packing machine. The job is quitedifficult but again I can do this using bothmy right and left hand, something thatpeople were actually saying was impossibleall those years ago.I am convinced that this has onlypossible through my practise of Kung Fu.I am also a lot more confident than before.I still train hard and always intend to.Thanks.Yours sincerely,AJ, NorfolkDear AJ,Thank you for your letter. I thinkthat it will inspire many people and helpthem to overcome their own difficulties.We all have something in life that we mustwork at and it is how we handle thesedifficulties that develops who we are asindividuals. I am happy to see martial artskill helping people. From my ownQi Magazine 3

Damp InvasionDear Sifu,I hope you will not mind me asking some questions. A couple of weeks ago my husband spent some time cleaning thefish pond in the garden. The weather was cold and damp. The following day he suffered a lot of pain at his back on the righthandside around his kidney area. The pain went on for three days and the GP thought it was a gallstone. He remembered youmentioned before that we can heal by putting our hands where it hurts. So I put my right hand on his back for about half anhour and all the time he felt as if a very warm force was pushing something. I had a funny sensation on my lower arm but I didnot know what I was supposed to do. He felt as if something was being pushed out and the pain was gone. When he went forultra-sound in the hospital nothing showed up on the monitor. He was convinced that the Qigong I practice everyday hashelped him. I am still puzzled by the whole experience especially why I felt so physically drained the following day and had tospend the day in bed.Sifu, if a similar situation arises in the future, what should I do? Is there a procedure that one must learn or follow ornot do ? I apologise to have taken up your time.Yours sincerely, K, LondonDear K,Regarding your letter, this is very common and many people have the same experience that after healing somebody,they feel tired, with all their energy having been drained away.Our Qi is based on how much we get from our parents. Any communication with others will cause you to lose yourQi. Therefore, how can somebody heal another person without using their own Qi? When someone is healing a person, theyare making contact, either physically or close by and you are also communicating with the person who needs to be healedon many different levels.Many of these people say that you can just channel the Qi from heaven and so it is really heaven that heals theperson. However, I disagree with this. Once the Qi has to pass through a healer’s body, it must relate with that person, so itis communication and contact. The healer still uses their own Qi. Even though we gather Qi from nature (or heaven), it stillhas to come into our bodies. If the glass is clean, the water in the glass will be clean. If the glass is dirty, will the water still beclean when it is poured out?Of course, they still will deny this and I do not think it is good to keep arguing about it. Perhaps everybody has theirown knowledge. However, when I look at many of these healers, their faces and their health says more than their words evercan. I see that most of these healers are not healthy and this is because they are always transmitting and giving their Qi away.Many of these people wonder why they are always so tired but still deny that they are giving their own Qi away. Yet they oftenlook older even when they are still quite young, with dry, sometimes yellowish looking skin. Their hands may even be verythin and cold with lots of lines and maybe yellow or white. This is because they are using theirkidney and liver Qi.As a healer, we can not always think that we are helping somebody by doing healing.“When I havheadache, I mI reach for thWhy? Because if we ourselves are not healthy, how can we help others be healthier? Cansomeone who does not know how to read teach reading to someone who is illiterate? Cansomeone who is not wise teach true wisdom? Sometimes I find they just keep healing others,thinking they are helping other people. They forget their own health, instead of taking care oftheir own health first. My teacher always said, before healing others, be healthy yourself.Even in Qigong hospitals where they are healing many people in a day, they practise Qigongfor many hours a day to rid themselves of the patient’s negative Qi and also to gather positiveor extra Qi. If we do not gather more Qi through Qigong practice, we are using Qi on credit.In the end, we will have to pay the interest on the debits from that account if we do not haveenough money to pay off the bill when it comes. However, there are still some people who do notconsider that using credit is using their own money. Because they do not see the money going out, they think that it is notusing your own money.So when you need to heal others, you must think about whether you have enough Qi and whether you know howto recharge your Qi, instead of just making yourself tired. Particularly for beginners, they usually do not know how to controltheir Qi, particularly once they start to heal. If we do have some experience and want to try and help, afterwards we shouldalways practise more Qigong to help us to clear the negative energy from the body and to help us restore the energy we haveused. Then we will not feel exhausted.If you will remember, Sigong Yang Meijun did not teach anyone her skill until she was over seventy years old. Thatrule is what has helped her to live to be over 100 years, because she built up her Qi for many decades before using it to healothers.Yours sincerelyMichael Tse

WORLD TAI CHI &QIGONG DAY7 April 20017 April 2001“Alone we can do so little. Together we can do so much.”Helen KellerWorld history is about to unfold in 80 countries on 7 April 2001 at 10 amlocal time worldwide which has been declared World Tai Chi and Qigong Day.Many exciting breakthroughs are occurring this year. Several groups have gottentheir Governors to declare this “Official World Tai Chi & Qigong Day” in theirstates. In addition, Amazon.com plans to make March “Tai Chi & QigongEducation Month.” And we encourage YOU and others to contact your locallibraries and booksellers to arrange “Tai Chi & Qigong Teach-ins” leading up to7 April. Please contact local hospitals, mayors, etc. to encourage them to supportyour health education efforts.For further information about events and for how to organize your ownevent, you can visit WTCQD’s website on: www.worldtaichiday.org. There willbe hundreds of TV, radio, and print media covering this year’s event. Twoweeks ago we mentioned the world event in an interview aired on 150 radiostations in the United States. For those of you who have assisted us in thepast, thank you all for making world history with us as we all come togetheracross geo-political, economic, and cultural boundaries to join in anunprecedented event of self empowerment and global health and healing. Wealso look forward to welcoming new faces and groups to help us furtherknowledge on these precious Chinese skills of health.Bill Douglas, World Tai Chi & Qigong Day Founderexperience, I know martial arts is goodfor so many things, not just for fightingskill. For young people, it can help trainboth their minds and bodies and help torelease some of their excess energy,channelling it into something positive.Children do not have so much opportunityto play outside as theyused to. Now thereve ameditate beforehe pills.”are so many TV games that it can actuallydamage their health and development.Martial art skill shows them how tobehave in society and be a useful person.On the health side, it can also helpdevelop co-ordination, like for yourself,and make a person more confident. I amhappy you shared your story with us andhope that more people will do the sameand encourage more people.Best wishes, Michael TseLooking to be LightDear Mr Tse,Could you suggest a soft Qigongexercise that would enable the body towithstand extreme temperatures and alsoa soft Qigong exercise to make the bodyfeel light.Yours faithfully,IJ, DerbyshireDear IJ,When reading your letter, I beganto smile and I think many regular readersof Qi Magazine and my students will smileas well, as they will be able to guess myanswer to your question.To train the body to be able towithstand extreme temperatures and alsoto become light, my answer to yourquestion is, ‘yes, I know an exercise thatyou can do very easily at home, even atwork or while waiting for a bus, butwhether you wish to practise it enough toreach the results you wish is another story.’The exercise is called ‘Ma Bo’ orHorse Stance. It is one of my favouriteexercises and I practise it daily, sometimeseven more than once. If you are notfamiliar with the posture for Ma Bo, thenjust follow these points:-1. Stand with feet shoulder widthapart.2. No matter if keeping a high, lowor medium posture, keep the Baihui,Huiyin and Yongquan points aligned.3. Breathe through the nose andkeep the shoulders relaxed.4. If the legs get tired, you can raiseto a higher posture, but make sure andkeep the knees slightly bent. Never fullystraighten the knees and keep all theweight on the thighs.You can start out with five minutesand work up to an hour a day. If youpractise properly and can reach an houra day and do this for a year, your internalenergy will be very strong and you willfind your body will become lighter. Yourlegs will be very solid and also your boneswill become stronger. This is one of theeasiest but also one of the hardestexercises to do. The posture is easy butputting in the practice is hard.Michael TseMeditatingDear Mr Tse,A little while ago, about two orthree months, I decided to take upmeditation. I had bought your tape andjoined the group at work. Whilst I didnot expect immediate results, I liked theway I felt after meditation. My familyinitially made fun of me when I got upearly to practise but now they accept it.Things like the crowds in the rushhour are bothering me less and less andwhen I feel the stress levels rising, I try toclear my mind and things feel a lot easier.Now I try to take about ten minutes a dayduring my tea break and about twentyminutes at lunch time to do the meditation.At night, I still feel tired but not so irritableand my husband says I snore less! Andnow, when I have a headache, I meditatebefore I reach for the pills.There are many other good effectsI have noticed myself and my friends sayI am getting nicer to know. I am sure thingswill get better and better the more Ipractise meditation. If you have any plansfor further guided meditation, I would bekeen to buy the audio or videos.With thanks for the brilliant audiotape you have already done and for a veryinteresting, informative magazine.Yours sincerely,MCW, London

Great ShowDear Sigong Tse,I want to tell you how much I enjoyed theexperience of watching your demonstration inManchester on February 10 th . I took with me my twoteenage sons, 19 and 15. They both have experience ofpractising martial arts and that, added to the fact thatthey are teenage males and there was the possibility ofwitnessing the Hard Qigong, led them to agree to thisSaturday trip out with mum in favour of the usual day with their mates. We wereall awe struck at the expertise displayed. There was so much to see and take in.I sat down this morning to write down the things that were demonstrated so Icould remember what I saw in more detail in my mind and the list was muchlonger than I expected it to be and I am sure I have not remembered everything.I enjoyed watching the form that I know and practise daily (BalancingGong) and seeing the form to which I aspire (Wild Goose). That is not to say thatI did not enjoy all of the demonstrations. I was rapt for the whole of the threehours plus.Whilst all of the demonstration was fascinating the 2 nd half with the WingChun and Hard Qigong was most spectacular and that is what was beingdescribed on the mobile phones to mates on the way home in the car! “It waswicked, these guys had spears at their throats .” All of the Hard Qigong hasbeen described in detail several times round and of course the weapons as well.I have heard so much about your centre from my friend and Sifu Kate andit was good to witness the camaraderie of your student family. I thought all ofthe demos were executed brilliantly. The concentration of the participants wasremarkable and one thing I particularly noticed was the beautiful straight backedpostures. I have suffered in the past with my back due to bad posture and havingcorrected my posture through exercise and keeping my correct posture throughQigong practice, I notice how people hold themselves.Thank you for organising the demonstration and sharing your skills withus. It was an experience we will not forget.Yours sincerely, KPS - my younger son said in discussion over tea after the demo:‘Michael Tse sounded like you’. ‘That surprises me’, I replied. ‘Most peoplethink I have an American accent.’ ‘Not your accent, the things he said abouthealth being the most important thing.’ ‘Ah’ I said, ‘that is why I read his magazineand have become a member of his centre.’ ‘But it makes more sense when hesays it’ my son adds. ‘That’s because he’s not your mother’ I replied.Dear MCW,Thank you for your letter. The POBox has become one of the most popularparts of the magazine and for me, one ofthe most important. It is the place wherewe can all come together like a familyand try to help each other. Sometimespeople think that it is only they themselveswho have that problem, but if they canread that someone else is going throughthe same thing and has overcome it, thenit is very helpful. Sometimes you maybehave a question about something youhave read or even about some of theexercises. You can be sure that if you havethat question, then someone else doestoo. So by answering this in the magazine,more people can share and benefit.Sometimes we will have a questionthat is a bit controversial and this is goodtoo, because we should all be openminded enough to hear more than oneside of a story and should respect otherpeople’s opinions. However, if there issomething that is hurting someone or cancause problems for someone, then I thinkit is our duty to let people know this aswell, as long as we do so with the rightheart.We also put in people’s goodcomments about the books, classes, etc.because it is positive and who does notlike to read about good things? We areall part of the same family and it is notonly me that they are giving thecompliment to, but all of us as a familyand my teachers as well. There is so muchin life that we encounter that is negative,that it is good to have something positiveinstead. I always welcome anysuggestions, questions or comments andwill try to answer them all, thoughsometimes it may take awhile becausewe do have a lot of letters. I am sorry Iam not always able to answer straightaway but I will always to try do so as soonas possible.Yours sincerely,Michael TseCorrect BreathDear Sir,I recently purchased the book youwrote with Grandmaster Ip Chun onWing Chun’s first form, Siu Lim Tao. It isexcellent! It explains the techniques andapplications very clearly. Please can youalso tell me how I can develop my Qi(Hard Qigong) and eventually commandit to focus on my strikes. I have a bookcalled, ‘The Secrets of Shaolin TempleBoxing’ and it has information about DaMo and different breathing exercises.Unfortunately, I cannot really understandhow to do them properly and I amconcerned as it says that incorrectbreathing can damage the internal organs.From my understanding, I mustfirst cultivate my Qi and I do this bybreathing (through the nose, why is this?).Then I can exercise it by standing invarious stances. I stand in the RidingHorse so I can only assume that there is adeficiency in Jing which is causing so manyproblems. Please will you state your viewson this matter based on the informationI have given you and also what form oftreatment could remedy this situation.Would acupuncture/Chinese herbs behelpful or would it be more beneficial forme to try the exercises shown in MichaelTse’s book?A, LancashireDear A,Thanks for your letter. As I am nota Chinese medical doctor, I can onlyanswer your questions based upon myover twenty-five years of Qigong trainingand experience and let you decide foryourself. I would agree that your kidneysseem to be not as strong as they should.Based upon the Five Element theory, eachof our five major internal organs relatesQi Magazine 6

to an emotion and the emotion forkidneys is fear. The five major internalorgans are also called the hollow organsas they are the storehouses for energy.The kidneys are the holders of Jing whichis first type of energy produced when wedo Qigong exercises. If we deplete ourJing, working too hard, having too muchsexual intercourse, then our kidneys willbe weakened and the body will then showsuch emotional symptoms as fear andinsecurity and such physical symptoms aslower back pain, aching in the joints, hairand hearing loss.Qigong is very good because itnot only works on one organ but thewhole body. So not only will the kidneysbe strengthened, also your heart andlungs. When the heart is strong, you willknow your direction and when the lungsare strong, you will not be depressed andyour outlook will be postive. When we dothe Qigong movements and connect themwith breathing and relaxation, we arebalancing the blood and Qi in the body.The channels will be smoothed andacupuncture points opened so we canreceive more Qi from nature. Because youalso worry a lot, this can also affect thespleen. All of the body is like a universeand what affects one thing, will affect therest. The Qigong meditation will helpcalm your mind and so you will worry lessand less and begin to see thingsdifferently.You can try the movements in thebook, like the Balancing Gong, for whichthere is also a video tape. Youcan also try the Horse Stancemeditation described in aprevious letter in this PO Boxof Qi Magazine and also inthe book. Please feel free tocontact me if you have anyfurther questions.Yours sincerely,Michael Tse“When the heartis strong, you willknow your direction”High KickingDear Master Tse,I would like to thankyou for producing awonderful magazine which isboth informative andinteresting. I also have aquestion for you. I have beenlearning Yang Style Taijiquanfor about one year now but Ihave problems regardingkicking, especially when we must kick tothe side with a 90 degree angle betweenboth legs and the arms going out as ifopening a curtain. Can you help? I wouldmuch appreciate any assistanceyou could offer.CJ, MiddlesexDear CJ,Everyonehas differentways in whichtheir body isflexible. Somepeople find it veryeasy to reach over and touch their toeswhile some can only touch their knees.But maybe that same person who can onlytouch their knees bending over, can dothe splits without any trouble. I see in myown students the different ways in whichpeople are flexible. Taijiquan emphasisesrelaxation in the body, but there are alsosome kicks, maybe to the side or even toXie Xie...I would like to say thank you to everyonewho has sent me a card or letter recently. I havereceived many Christmas, New Year, ChineseNew Year and birthday cards. I find that I amvery lucky to have so many students and friends.Thanks each and everyone of you.the front need flexibility. Actually, forfighting, a kick should not be very high.It is only through Wushu completitionsthat greater and greater emphasis hasbeen placed on high kicking in Taijiquan.For me the most important is tofollow the principle. If you find you cannotmanage a kick all the way, then do whatyou are comfortable with. Then at home,you can work on doing some simplestretches, like sitting facing a wall withthe legs stretched out in a v-shape, theinside of the ankles as close to the wallas possible. Slowly, you can move yourbody closer to the wall and your legscloser trying so that they can be parallelwith the wall as much as possible. Youcan even practise the kicking as arepetition exercise, say 6-8 times a day,once you are warmed up. First make surethe waist is loose and then the upper bodyand then do the kicking. In this way youcan avoid putting stress on your muscles.Yours sincerely, Michael TseEveryday we receive many letters from people all over the world, sometimes asking for advice, sometimes just sharing their experience. Unless specificallyasked otherwise, we will consider these letters for possible publication in Qi Magazine. In this way, we all come together like a family and share and helpeach other. That is the reason I began Qi Magazine and particularly the PO Box. - Michael TseIf there is anything you wish to share with others, any news or any announcements you would like to make, send them to us. We also welcome articles(800 - 1000 words in length) on topics appropriate.UKQi MagazinePO Box 59,Altrincham WA15 8FS. UK.email tse@qimagazine.comPlease write to:USATse Qigong CentrePO Box 15807,Honolulu, HI 96830. USA.email tse@wildgooseqigong.com

ight, then you are able compare it toothers.The students should know theteacher’s history and background and itshould be able to be proven. Maybe inthe beginning you will just follow theteacher, but later on you should be ableto meet your teacher’s teacher, yourSigong, and even your uncles, those whostudied with your Sigong. Nobody whohas no (Kung Fu or Qigong) brothers andsisters or teacher will suddenly have ahigh level of skill. “The truth is the truthand you cannot hide it.” Eventuallyeverything will be exposed.Therefore, to be a teacher is noteasy. Once my Sigong, Ip Man wastalking with a friend who said to him, “Itis good to be a martial arts teacher, allyour students respect you and give youmoney.” Ip Man smiled and answered hisfriend by saying, “How about tomorrow,you come here and be me for the day.Can you do that?”His friend was afraid and said,“No, of course I can’t do that. I don’tknow your skill and cannot fight.” Stillsmiling, Ip Man said, “Do you know thatbeing a teacher is not easy. All mystudents want to beat me, and I have todefend myself. If I beat them then theywill not be happy and if I let them beatme I will not be happy. I have to geteverything right then they will be happyand I will be happy. You don’t see thatdifficult skill.”My Sigong, Ip Man, was not just ateacher, he was a very good teacher. Helet every student enjoy his or her studiesand learn the skill. More importantly hecould control his level, he was able todeal with beginners and make them feelcomfortable and that they wereprogressing, and could show the seniorsthat they had a long way to go. Isometimes say that to be a good teacheryou need to be able to change to a lowgear for the beginners and a higher gearfor the seniors.Actually to be a good teacher isvery simple. You must be true to yourself.If you know something you teach it toyour students, but if you don’t know thendo not lie. Teach with your heart and treatyour students like your children. Do nothold back, teach your students what youknow and they will love you more.Tse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 8

Chen style Taijiquan was developedin the mid-seventeenth century byChen Wangting (a 9 th generationmember of the Chen Family), who was aknight during the Ming Dynasty andretired to become a scholar during theearly years of the Qing Dynasty. It isbelieved that he created the Chen systemof Taijiquan by combining existing formsof martial arts with Chinese medicaltheory and Taoist principles.The Taoist principles whichunderlie Taijiquan date back into China’sancient past. You can find the principleof Yin and Yang outlined in some ofChina’s earliest literature. It foundnumerous and almost continuousexpression throughout the history ofChinese philosophy. The Yijing portrayedYin and Yang in the form of solid andbroken lines. Lao Tzu described it in termsof heaven and earth. The famous TaijiTu, or Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate,portrays it as a circle divided into blackMasterChenXiaoxingChen Taijiquan is an unusual martial art. It is complex, intellectuallystimulating, physically challenging and good for your health. Chen Taijiquan is ahuge system that can take years to learn and decades to master.The System ofChen Taijiquanand white parts; its eleventh centuryauthor Chou Tun-yi explained it thus:‘The Supreme Ultimate throughmovement produces the Yang. Thismovement having reached its limit, isfollowed by quiescence, and by thisquiescence it produces the Yin. Whenquiescence has reached its limit, there isa return to movement. Thus movementand quiescence, in alternation, becomeeach the source of the other.’By Chen Wangting’s time Yin andYang was already a well-developedsubject that had been discussed in greatdetail for many centuries. It was bothpractical and mystical. Its influencepervaded Chinese arts and culture. Yinand Yang was the basis for painting andpoetry. It was the cornerstone of ChineseMedicine and many therapeutic Qigongsets were based on its principles, yet evenagainst such a rich backdrop, the waythat Chen Wangting drewthese elements together isquite remarkable.Of particularimportance is the way thatChen Wangting combinedmartial skills with Daoyinand Tuina techniques. Thisinnovation is one of themain ways in whichTaijiquan differs from mostother martial arts. There isno overt emphasis onbuilding up muscles,stretching or improvingspeed and reactions.Instead Taijiquan worksfrom the inside out. Itemphasises good posture,relaxation and thecirculation of Qi. This oftengives the mistakenimpression that Taijiquan isa health exercise and not amartial art, but Taijiquanhas a long term approachto training, which over thecourse of many years buildsup the strength and power of the body.The basis of this training is goodposture. If the posture is not correct themuscles will be not be relaxed. If themuscles are not relaxed the body will notmove smoothly. The aim is to involve theentire body in every movement so thatthe body works as an integrated systemrather than isolated parts. Thus atechnique like a punch is not limited bythe strength of an arm because the wholebody is ‘behind’ it. Once the movementsof the body become fluent and relaxedthe movement of Qi and breath shouldco-ordinate quite naturally.This combination of breath,movement and Qi circulation is mostobvious in the silk reeling exercisesdeveloped by Chen Wangting. Theseteach the fundamental principles ofTaijiquan. With these relatively simplemovements and good instruction therelationships between the movements ofthe body and the circulation of Qi canbe grasped quite quickly. Once the basicprinciples are understood they can beapplied throughout the far more complexframes, or forms as they are sometimescalled.The frames are the major part ofmost systems of Taijiquan. Originallythere were a number of unarmed framesbut, according to Sigong Chen Xiaowang,over the years these were combinedtogether to construct the two longframes, Laojia and Pao Choi, that wehave today. As well as these, the systemincludes a number of weapons frames.Chen Wangting also developedpush hands, a controlled way of trainingfor fighting, which allows practitioners todevelop sensitivity, fighting skill, and totest their ability to adhere to theprinciples of relaxation and good posturewhile under pressure. Push hands is usedfor teaching Chen Wangting’s Yin Yangfighting strategyby Glenn Gosslingemail Glenn@qimagazine.comChen TaijiquanQi Magazine 9

Dysmenorrhea is also known asPeriod Pain and is a common problemamong women.Dysmenorrhea & TCMTraditional Chinese MedicineThe symptoms are lower abdominalpain before, during or aftermenstruation. In some severe cases,the lower abdominal pain isaccompanied by nausea, vomiting andtiredness. Some women have to stay offwork for a couple of days each month.In terms of TCM, the causes of thedysmenorrhea are related to stagnationof Qi and blood in the uterus, retentionof cold-damp, damp-heat in the liverchannel and deficiency of Qi and bloodwhich deprives the collateral of the uterusof nourishment. In all these cases,retarded circulation of Qi and blood inthe uterus is produced.Differentiation & Treatment1. Stagnation of Qi and bloodClinical manifestations include premenstrualor menstrual lower abdominaldistending pain with paroxysmalaggravation, small or large amounts ofpurplish-red flow with clots. Alleviationof the pain after the discharge of clots, afeeling of suffocation, restlessness,distending pain in the breasts, a purpletongue or purple spots on the border ofthe tongue and a wiry pulse.Treatment method: To regulate Qi,activate blood circulation, correct bloodstasis and relieve pain.Chinese herbal formulae:Tong Jing Wan; Yue Yue ShuAcupuncture points:Qihai, Taichong, Tianshu2. Retention of cold-dampClinical manifestations include a coldsensation and pain or colicky pain in thelower abdomen during the premenstrualand menstrual periods. Aprolonged menstrual cycle with smallamounts of dark-purple flow with clotsand backache. Aversion to cold, loosestool, a white, sticky tongue coating anda deep tense pulse.Treatment method: To warm the channel,disperse cold, correct blood stasis andrelieve pain.Chinese herbal formulae:Gui Zhi Fu Ling WanAcupuncture points:Zhusanli, Zhongli, Fenglongmoxibustionwith3. Damp-heat in the liverchannelClinical manifestations include menstrualdistending pain or pulling pain in thelower abdomen. A shortened orprolonged menstrual cycle with small orlarge amounts of sticky, purplish-red flowwith clots, irritability, thirst, poor appetite,scanty and yellow urine, a red tonguewith yellowish-white and sticky coatingand a thready, wiry and rapid pulse.Treatment method: To regulate thefunction of the liver in maintaining freeflow of Qi and eliminate damp-heat.Chinese herbal formulae:Jia Wei Xiao Yao Wan; Jin Ju Di DanWan; Shen Ling Bai Zhu WanAcupuncture points:Taichong, Xuehai, Xingjian4. Deficiency of Qiand bloodClinical manifestations include menstrualor postmenstrual lower abdominal painof a full, lingering or bearing-downnature, which may be alleviated bypressure, a prolonged menstrual cyclewith large amounts of light-red flow andabsence of clots, dizziness, palpitation,lassitude, soreness and weakness of thelower back and knees, a purple tongue,thready pulse.Treatment method: To tonify Qi, nourishblood and relieve pain.Chinese herbal formulae:Ba Zhen Yi Mu Wan, Gui Pi Wan, DangGui WanAcupuncture points:Baihui, Qihai, Zhusanliby Dr. Shulan TangEmail Shulan@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 10

Chinese people are very superstitious people. The more you see, then the more you findthey are different from Western people. They consider so many different things. For example,on the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month do not wash your hair. In the early morningpeople should not cry (usually very young children cry more easily and you cannot stop themvery easily, so you have no choice). Never let the end of a broom handle hit you whilesomeone is sweeping the floor as these things will bring you bad luck.Chinese people are often more superstitious thanother people. We are like this because of our history.China has one of the longest histories andcivilisation. Because of this long history a tremendousamount of knowledge has been gathered andwritten down and recorded. The culture and people havecontinually used this knowledge.All kinds of information about how to learn to live inthe world was written down. How people should survive indifferent areas and live on different types of land. Each landhas its own energy, like different temperatures, water,landscapes, weather, foods etc. Our ancestors learnt howto live in these areas, in the beginning they learnt how tosurvive and later they learnt how to live more comfortably.This knowledge they passed onto their offspring and eachfollowing generation passed it onto the next generation, sothe children could survive. In the beginning knowledge waspassed down by word of mouth, they would be taught andthe tools would be passed onto the children. So eachgeneration would get a better life.However, many skills would be lost as well. Forexample someone might have found a way to live in a coldplace without having to wear lots of clothes, but if theyhad no children or friends or something happened tohim he could not pass on the knowledge, then itwould be lost.So the best thing is to write it down now we can get outour camcorders and video it to keep it as original as possible,but in those days many people could not write and so had topass the knowledge on by word of mouth. So it was moredifficult to keep the knowledge and skill and it could easily belost. Also if someone tells you something without you writing itdown, then there is more chance that you will make a mistakeand remember it wrongly.So today we have many written contracts, especially inbusiness and any dealings with people you do not know toavoid such mistakes. (Of course, today you even find peoplewho will make contracts with their families and friends becausethey do not trust them.) When skills and cultural knowledgehave been written down, then the following generations willbe more comfortable and can use it for their lives and makeless mistakes.Also China was the first countryto invent paper and printing andso the people were ableto pass on moreChinese Superstitionand PhilosophyQi Magazine 11

skill and knowledge. We also use the same language andwriting today (although the modern writing has been simplifiedto make it easier and more direct).So there are many old texts on Chinese medicine, history,cooking, astrology, Qigong, martial arts, philosophy like theYijing, Daoism, Buddhism and Confucianism. These all relateto human beings and how to live, treat one another, succeed,overcome difficulties, even run a country and to be a goodperson.However, writing can also be misleading as well.Sometimes we can believe the old knowledge so much that weforget it can mislead us, as we just want to benefit from it. Forexample everyone might listen to the Emperor. If the Emperor“If the energy isdamaged it canbecome bad Qiand can bringbad luck”wants you to die, then you should commit suicide, otherwiseyou will be going against your country. You should always listento your parents, even if they want you to marry someone youdo not want to marry. In the old way you would just listen andfollow without a choice. Another example, in the Imperial Palaceall the servants had to be eunuchs so the emperor’s concubineswould not tempt them. The Emperor could have as many womenas he wanted. Sometimes he would choose very young girls,as young as 13 or 15. They would then have to move the palaceand live their whole lives there. They might not even see theEmperor once while they lived there.Qi Magazine 12

In those times men could have as many wives as theywanted, but women once they married could not marry again.This was a feudal time and the civilisation was built up aroundthe Emperor and was the most selfish system of government.The Emperor could do whatever he wanted.However, history is often quite fair. If the Emperor wasbad then he would not last long. If he was good and treatedhis citizens like his children then he would rule for longer andbe respected by his people, and even later on in history wouldbe remembered.But back to Chinese superstition, because of the longhistory and written records we have so many customs to tryand make everything perfect. But because of this Chinesepeople are often more scared of creating all these problems.Also Chinese people understand Qi. If the energy is damagedit can become bad Qi and can bring bad luck, whereas goodQi will bring good luck. Therefore Chinese people like to followcustoms that will bring them good luck, and there are so manycustoms and rules. There are even ones where people do notknow why they do it. They just prefer to follow it rather thanrisk causing a problem for themselves. It is like in the West,Friday the 13 th or any number 13 is bad luck. Walking underladders brings bad luck, and “Touching wood “ brings goodluck. If you ask people why they follow these or do them, I donot think many people will know the answer. However, theywill prefer to follow them than ignore them.However,, when we study Qigong we understand theconcept of Yin and Yang, 5 Elements and the Bagua, and all ofnature is based on these principles. So although you might notbe able to see it, you know something is happening.Chinese therefore believe in the principle of balanceand that is the main principle of all Chinese philosophy andculture; not too strong, not too weak, otherwise there will be aproblem.The Yijing, Chinese Astrology and prediction has alwaysfascinated me. I have found there is a lot of knowledge thatgoes beyond the modern day science of today. Only westernscience believes it is better because anything that they cannotprove “scientifically” does not exist, even though some thingmay have been used for many centuries. However, the oldChinese way is also a science, Chinese science. We can provethings following our own theories and some things have beenused for centuries and if you do not follow this way, then it willeffect the harmony of the Qi and nature and eventually youwill have a problem.Fortunately there are a lot of people in the West whobelieve in these things and carry them on even more, likeacupuncture, moxibustion, Feng Shui, Qigong, Taijiquan, etc.Most of the time when I look at somebody’s attitude, face,palms and date of birth I can see their character, health, finance,marriage, children and even their parents. Why can we seethese things in other people? This is because anything thathappens inside a person will show up in their attitude andtheir features. Even that knowledge should make sense as towhy it is like that. Other times I will ask my teacher, until oneday I know more and understand why someone behaves likethat and what will happen in the future.How much we can know is based on the knowledge leftby our ancestors. However, by studying more we can questionthe knowledge to prove it is right. This is the correct attitude tostudy. Eventually when all the knowledge is understood, therewill be no more superstitions, only a science for human beingsand it does not matter whether you are from the East or Westby Wo DoziTse Qigong Centre UKPO Box 59Altrincham WA15 8FS0845 838 2285+44 161 929 4485tse@qimagazine.comQi Magazine 13

How many times have you heard it said that it is better to practiseQigong outside, in a good environment, than inside? I have heard thismany, many times. Whilst I follow this advice, for those just beginningtheir Qigong studies, it may be difficult.What is Fresh Air?Life TrainingPerhaps you feel too shy. Perhapsyou feel too cold in the weatheror perhaps you have nowhereconvenient to practise outside at yourhome. The list can go on and on butmaybe when you understand howenormously the benefits of practisingoutside outweigh those of practisingindoors, you may be convinced to give ita try.Those living in England, or evenSeattle and Canada, know that naturedoes not always provide the most clementof Qigong practice weather. So when it israining or very cold and damp, should westill struggle outside, wrapped in layersof thermals and rain gear? My suggestionis to try and find a pocket of time when itis not raining (or at least very little) orwindy or foggy.Some people ask if it is okay topractise outside during these conditionseven if they do not feel cold. If it is notraining too hard and you do not feel cold,then it may be that it is okay for you.However, rain can cause chills if your bodyis not able to produce enough heat tocounter the wet. So for beginners, it isbest to avoid practising in the rain.What about when it is foggy?Particularly, we should not practiseoutside when it is foggy, no matter whatour Qigong level is. The reason for this isthat the air is heavier and all the pollutionin the atmosphere stays suspended and,thus, is inhaled. This can easily affect thelungs and can cause damp in the body.We should also avoid facing the wind topractise because it too can invade thebody if the Qi is not strong.So far, I have not been veryconvincing have I? However, anything ofvalue is worth working for. The mainreason why we practise outside is to getbenefit from the fresh air. Fresh air canbe measured in units of anions, with thenumber of anions in one cubic millimetreof air for the following conditions asfollows. Near a forest or a beach, theamount of anions is between 2,500 and10,000. In a valley near a waterfall it isnearly 20,000 anions. In a meadow orgrassy area in the countryside, it is 1,000anions. Outdoors in a city, it falls to 200-600 anions. However, indoors, there onlya few dozen anions of fresh air. So wecan see why in the past, people whowanted to cultivate high level Qigong skillwould often go to the mountains, forestsor near a lake to practise and devotethemselves to their Qigong.However, this being said, weshould make sure that when we practiseoutside, that it a good environment. If youlive near a busy road or in a polluted area,this is not good to practise there as youare trying to rid the body of negativeenergy not gather more. Practising in apolluted area is like washing yourclothes in dirty water. Instead, trygoing to a park where youcan practise neartreesor even ina meadow.Trees and other plants help tocreate more oxygen, acting as anenvironmental filter. The negative electriccharge of our bodies, cells mix with theanions of fresh air to enhance thefunctions and metabolism of the body.However, if where we go topractise the plants look sickly or are dead,then this can show you that it is not avery healthy place to practise. I once hada case where some of my houseplantskept dying. The previous year, they werevery healthy in that particular corner, butthen the next year, they just died. I movedanother plant in their place and it too diedand it was my strongest, healthiest plantof all. So, I knew that this meant that theenergy was not very good in this area. Ialso knew that I should move unless Iwanted my health to be affected as well.To say that it is bestto practise Qigong outside iseasy but it is much harder toput into practice. Anyonewho has looked out thewindow early in the morning at a cold,grey sky, or snow for those in Sweden orin northern climes, knows that it is achallenge (some might put it a littlestronger than that!) to get dressed andface the elements. But once you get intoa habit of making yourself gooutside, you may evenfind that youpreferpractising inthe colder weather.Colder weather forces the body to createmore heat and so makes the circulationand bones stronger.Living in a hot climate, you findthat you may sweat very easily and thiscan distract you from wanting to practise.In this case, you will need to find a timeand place when you will not be exhaustedby the heat, usually early morning orevening is best. In China, people willpractise anywhere from 5-9am in themorning as this is a good time whenpollution has not yet gotten too bad fromcars and buses.I remember, one year after I beganpractising Qigong, I went up toQi Magazine 14

Manchester for a demonstration.Everyone being like a family, they invitedme to come along to practise in one ofthe local parks before the event. We alltrudged out on the frozen ground to ahuge open field where the wind washowling away. At first, I was fine, butwithin fifteen minutes, I could no longerfeel my toes and my fingers and my teetheven began to chatter. It was worse thanwinter time in Chicago as it was a damp,bitter cold.I remember vividly how Tse Sifutook pity on me (or so I thought) andhanded me a eight foot wooden WingChun pole and told me to hold it extendedperfectly parallel with the ground whilein low horse stance. (The trick was alsoholding it at arms length at its end.) So,of course, I tried and sure enough I beganto feel my extremities again. However, Iquickly realized that I had traded one kindof suffering for another, one that onlythose who have experienced Wing Chunpole can understand.The point is not to tote around aWing Chun pole for winter practice, butto listen to your body. I was in thecompany of more senior practitionerswhose bodies had reached a level ofhealth and conditioning that I had not.So you should not try to push yourself toofar, but on the hand, you should also notbe too easy on yourself.Our Qigong practice shouldconnect with nature, otherwise, eventhough we do the correct breathing,relaxation and postures, we will bemissing the profound force of theuniverse. Ancients knew that to moderateQigong practice according to the seasonswas to act in accordance with nature. Soin the winter, we can practise later anddo more warming, Yang exercises.Otherwise, you will be too cold to standit outside. That is why for beginners, youshould dress warmly and listen to yourbody. You only have a small choice ofexercises to do and so you do not havethe choice of practising something moredynamic to make you warmer. The mostimportant thing is, if you feel chilled, thendo not try to be tough and just stand it.Slowly let your body get stronger and thenyou will not even notice the cold likebefore. If you do practise inside, makesure that you practise near an openwindow, to allow the air in the room toexchange as you practise.If we want to have good health,we have to work on it. Once you reachone level, it is like reaching a plateau onthe mountain. To see more things, wehave to climb a bit higher to see from adifferent view. So keep practising andeventually we can all sit down for teatogether at the top of the mountainby Sihn KeiEmail Sihnkei@qimagazine.comThe ChallengeWuyung believed himself to be the greatest boxer in the whole of China. And to prove it, he issued a challengeto every Master, of every great martial arts style known. And then he waited. On the appointed day, only onechallenger appeared, an old woman bent with age and half blind. ”Is this a joke?,” raged Wuyung. ”No,”replied the old woman, in barely a whisper. ”I have come to accept your challenge”. ”But my challenge is to theMasters. Not some worn out washerwoman.” ”Maybe so,” answered the old woman. ”But if you can defeatme, then you will be worthy indeed of the title Grandmaster.” And without warning with a speed that belied her appearance, shestruck Wuyung, knocking him to the ground and pinning him there with ease. He struggled. He pushed. He used every ounce ofstrength he possessed but she would not be moved. ”This is atrick,” raged the humiliated Wuyung. ”Let me up and this time youwill not be so lucky.” The frail old woman released him and, redwith fury, he let loose a devastating volley of kicks and punches,that would have felled an ox, let alone a decrepit old woman. Butshe just swatted them off as one swats flies And as before, withoutany warning she lunged forward and wrestled him to the ground,pinning him with ease. ”Was that really the best you could do,”she mocked. ”Let me up and I shall show you what I am capableof.” And once again she set him free. And again Wuyung launcheda powerful and vicious attack, only to have it shrugged away inthe same manner as someone dismissing rain drops. By nowWuyung was tired and confused. Whatever he tried had no effect,and he realised that however hard he tried he would not be ableto defeat her. And with tears of frustration in his eyes, he turned tothe old woman,” If I am unable to best an ancient crone, crippledwith age, and half blind, how can I ever expect to defeat theMasters. I have been such an arrogant fool. And I have dishonouredmyself.” With his head hung in shame, too humiliated to meet hergaze, he asked ” please, will you tell me who you are?” At that point she disappeared, whereupon all the Masters appeared frombehind the rocks where they had been hiding. Master Liu, of the White Crane school, said to the dispirited Wang should not feelashamed at his defeat. “You see, the old woman who challenged you is someone you could never hope to beat, for she is OldAge herself, and none of us, however skilful, can hope to survive against her.” Wuyung understood the lesson. He bowed deeplyto all of the Masters, turned and walked away. He had learned humility through defeat and this he would carry for the rest of hisdaysby Brian HaywardQi Magazine 15

Jin Gang Walking GongThis is a very good type of Qigong for middle agedpeople who find they have muscle problems, such asaching, weak, easily bruised and stiff muscles. It is alsogood if you find that old injuries in the muscles do notrecover and become normal.This Qigong is also good for your legs and arms andcan help make your joints more flexible, by stretching the legsand arms. It is also good for the blood circulation, breathingand lungs and can in fact help many different kinds ofconditions.Jin Gang Walking Qigong covers both movement andstillness and is safe and easy to learn. Regular practice willhelp to improve your muscle tone and condition as well asyour overall health.Fig 1.1. Ready position.Stand naturally with yourfeet as wide as your shoulders.Your toes should face forward andyour hands should hang naturallyby your side. Slightly bend yourfingers and keep the palms facingdown. Close your mouth gentlyand allow the tongue to rest onthe upper palette. Keep your headstraight, breathe naturally andrelax the whole body. Fig 12. Jing Gang Climbs the Mountain3. Jin Gang Worships BuddhaLift your left knee as highas your waist, keeping all themuscles of the left leg relaxedand all the weight on the right.Meanwhile, raise up and openyou hands so that the palmsface forward. At the same time,breathe in through your nose.Fig 2Fig 2 Fig 3Stretch the left leg andstep forward; then immediatelybring the right foot forward nextto the left to balance it. Nowbring your hands down to theDantian as if your are gatheringsomething. At the same time,allow your upper body to leanforward a little and look downslightly. Fig 34. Separate the Clouds and Look forthe SunTake a big step forward with your left leg, allowing theweight to shift forward on this leg. Your right (back) heel shouldlift off the ground. Meanwhile breathe in and let your bodyturn to the left. Lift up the left hand with the palm facing outand drop the right hand down, also with the palm facing out.Look up and open your body and breathe out quickly. Fig 4Now step forward with the right foot and repeat theabove movement for the right hand side. Fig 4aFig 4Fig 4aQi Magazine 16

5. Moving by the Wind.Step forward with the left foot,bringing the feet side by side and thenlift up both heels. At the same time,swing both hands to the left side andbreathe in. Fig 5Afterwards, drop down on yourheels and then lift them up again. Atthe same time swing them to the rightside and breathe in again. Fig 5a6. Jin Gang Supports the MountainFig 5Fig 5a7. Jin Gang Explores the CaveStep forward withthe right foot, and thenstand on your toes ofboth feet. Meanwhile,spread your arms out tothe sides with the palmsfacing up, as if you aresupporting a mountain.Breathe naturally. Fig 6Fig 6Step forward with the left footand then immediately squat down,putting your hands on your knees.Tense your body a little bit and at thesame time squeeze your toes so youhollow the Yongquan points on thesoles of your feet. Meanwhile quicklybreathe out. Fig 7Fig 78. Jin Gang Separates the Wind9. Jin Gang Returns to theOriginal PlaceStep forward with theleft foot and shift your weightforward. Simultaneously lift upyour right heel and breathe in.At the same time swing bothhands to the left side. Fig 8Step forward with theright foot, shift your weightforward and lift up both heels.Then drop both hands andthen lift them up to shoulderlevel. Breathe in. Fig 9Fig 8 Fig 910. Shou GongStep forward with the left foot so that it is next to the right foot, lowering your handsto your Dantian. Then lower them gently to your sides. As the arms drop, breathe out. Fig 10Raise your hands again to the sides, bringing them in over your head and loweringthem down the front of your body to the Dantian. The palms should face your body as theydrop down. Repeat one more time so you have done Shou Gong three times. Breathe naturallyas you do the movement.During the entire Jin Gang Walking Gong, you walk forward. At the beginning, youshould do the movements gently and relate them to the breathing, but remember everythingmust be done naturally. After a few months of regular practice you will find your whole bodymore open and your limbs stronger. Your Qi will flow better and you will feel more energetic.Fig 10Qi Magazine 17

Happiness From aDifferent SourceQi Magazine 18

The most deep seated wish that all of us have is to be happy. From thissimple wish arise the many ways in which we try to gain that happiness, fromthe simple to the downright bizarre and/or dangerous.The most deep seated wish that all of us have is to behappy. From this simple wish arise the many ways inwhich we try to gain that happiness, from the simple(cake, a nice walk in the country or visiting friends) tothe downright bizarre and/or dangerous (bungeejumping or drug taking). If we look closely at our lives we willsee that most of our time is spent trying to attain a happy stateof mind by doing things - and this is where the problem lies!Buddha taught that happiness comes from our mind,not from external activities. At first this may sound a littlestrange, but if we think about it then actually it makes completesense. For example, if happiness was something which camefrom chocolate cake, then everybody who ate some would behappy. Obviously this is not true, many people cannot eat suchthings due to health problems and so on, and so eating cakewould make them sick, not happy! Also, if happiness wassomething which was in chocolate cake, the more that waseaten the greater the degree of happiness which would arise.Maybe for some luckypeople this is true, but myown experience of this isthat eating lots of cakemakes me feel a bithappy to beginwith, then totallysick!This example can beapplied to every other area ofour life. Two people watch afilm, one enjoys it, the otherhates it. Where is thehappiness coming fromhere? The film itself or theperson’s reaction to it - ifwe look closely we can seethat it is our mind’sreaction to events orsituations which makes us happy orunhappy, and not the external situationsin themselves.So what does all this have to do with meditation? Well,meditation is the only method we can use to bring about achange in our reactions to events. No other method works withthe mind like meditation, and no other method can bring suchgreat and wonderful results. Meditation is a special state ofmind in which we can change our way of thinking and behavingso that our reactions to problems or situations become positive,and therefore reduce our negativity and unhappiness.Normally we spend our lives distracting ourselves andespecially today with so many things to do and see we forgetto just spend some time in peace and quiet. Almost everymoment we are assailed by images, sounds, other people,things to do; even when we are “relaxing” we are usually justfilling up time with TV or similar things. All of this makes themind fast, rushing around flitting from one thing to the nextwith no real time to just stop and really let go of everything.The result: stress, anxiety and all of the other negative statesof mind which so many people seem to suffer from today.To attain a peaceful mind, one which is naturally happyand calm, we don’t actually need all of these distractions whichserve only to disturb the mind. We need to learn the art ofbeing quiet - we need to meditate.Meditation itself is not simply a switching off ofeverything going on in the mind. Some schools of thought teachthat meditation is emptying the mind and then just sitting inthe resultant stillness. However, this, according to Buddha, isnot correct meditation. Buddha’s teachings explain methodswe can use to bring about a profound change in our dailylives, one which leads to a more stable and deep rootedhappiness, and which lets go of negativity and unhappiness.To achieve this he taught that the correct way to meditate isactually an active cognitive process, one in which we use ourmind to actively changeour states of mind for thebetter.“To attain a peacefulmind, we don’t actuallyneed all of thesedistractions whichserve only to disturbthe mind.”Buddha said thatthere are threestages to correctmeditation: firstlypreparing the mind;secondly, the actualmeditation; and thirdlyconcluding the meditation.Each of these stages is anessential part of correctmeditation, without themwe are not actuallymeditating properly.The preparation formeditation is simplyreducing and stopping theturbulence in the mind. When I firststarted meditation I suddenly becameaware of how busy the mind actually is.The instruction for preparing the mind is to watch the breath.This means to just sit and concentrate on the point at the endof the nose watching as the breath comes and goes in a naturalrhythm. At first I was amazed how easily my mind forgot to dothis! It constantly wondered off and I would find myself 10minutes later suddenly realising that I had already plannedmy day, done the shopping and organised my entertainmentfor the evening and had completely forgotten the object -watching my breathing pattern. It is quite common for thosenew to meditation to say that it is meditation that is causingthis busy distracted mind, but what they fail to realise is thatthis is the natural state of the mind and it is only throughmeditation that we become aware of it! However, with practiceand effort it is possible to quieten the mind down and reach anQi Magazine 19

inner calm - quite like an oasis - and this state of mind is veryrelaxing and energising but it is not the goal, now we haveonly just started.The second stage of meditation is contemplation andconcentration. This is where the actual work is done intransforming our mind. Buddha explained exactly what statesof mind were negative and would lead to suffering and whatstates of mind were positive and would lead to happiness. All“When we arisefrom meditation wethen can go out in amore positive andhappy frame ofmind”of his teachings lead us away fromthe negative and show ushow to develop thepositive. During thesecond stage ofmeditation we thencontemplate aparticular positivestate of mind,called an object,such as love forothers, compassionand wishing them tobe free from sufferingor developing an equalunbiased attitudetowards everyone. At firstthis may be difficult. WhenI started meditation I hadmany negative states of mindsuch as anger, hatred and jealousy. All these minds caused menothing but mental pain and suffering, and I’m sure thateverybody else has the same experience. Of course I still getthese minds, but now through meditation practice I am muchmore aware of them when they arise and have a toolkit totackle them so they do not cause as much damage or pain asthey used to. Negative minds lead to nothing but unhappinessand pain for us and others. It is only by changing our ownminds can we begin to find a peaceful and happy mind, and todo this it is necessary to become familiar with positive mindswhich, as Buddha taught, are love, compassion and manyothers. So, the second stage of meditation is the process offamiliarising ourselves with a positive mind. This is essential -how many times a day do we actively develop a positive mindtowards others. If we count them they are likely to be very few.However if we count how many negative minds we developduring a day then I’m sure that many examples will immediatelyspring to mind. The point is that without some form of dailymental exercise in positivity, it is likely that our mind willnaturally develop negativity and this can only lead to suffering.During the actual meditation we contemplate reasonswhy we should love others and not hate them - for exampleremembering the kindness of our parents, friends and family -and when a feeling of love or wishing others to be happy arisesthen we concentrate upon this single pointedly. It is thisconcentration on the feeling of love (or any other positive mind)which will help us change our daily life for the better. Byfamiliarising ourselves thoroughly, by immersing ourselves ina feeling of love, our whole day will be changed. As I mentionedearlier meditation is a special state of mind, below the normaleveryday level of awareness, which can affect how we relateto situations and others. By accessing this level of mind anddeveloping such a positive state we are actually changing thewhole of the rest of our ordinary awareness, leading to aprofound and wonderful result: happiness for ourselves andothers.The third stage of meditation is conclusion. At this stageBuddhists would dedicate their good karma created frommeditation to the attainment of enlightenment; however, ifwe are not a practising Buddhist, then we can make astrong determination to maintain throughout the daythe positive mind we generated, and to try toavoid slipping into negative states of mind.Making a determination like this will alsodefinitely change our actions andreactions, and it will bring goodresults.When we arise frommeditation we then can go out intothe world in a more positive andhappy frame of mind, and it is thiswhich will help us when difficultiesarise. If we encounter problems witha happy mind things do not seem asbad - they are mere molehills; but if weencounter small problems with anegative or unhappy mind then theycan seem like mountains. I knowthis from my own experience,and I’m sure most people canremember such situations. It isthe state of mind which isimportant in determining how we react- and only correct meditation can bring about a deep and lastingchange within us which can alter our reactions for the better.Meditation is truly the only way we can start to bringour minds under control and start to develop positivity andhappiness. However, it is not a “quick fix” solution which seemsto be so prevalent in today’s world. I think of it like a mentalversion of physical training - just as we cannot run a marathonwithout months or years of steady and constant training andpreparation, so we cannot instantly achieve a totally positiveand calm state of mind. Meditation is a process which we needto recognise the value of and incorporate into our daily livesso it becomes as necessary to us as washing and eating. If wefail to recognise this need to develop the mind then we will bestuck with the distracted busy mind which seeks happinessexternally by bungee jumping or eating cake, but which willnever be fulfilledby Kelsang DargyayKelsang Dargyay is a Buddhist monk who has been practising meditation for over twoyears, and now teaches meditation at the Buddhist Centre where he livesQi Magazine 20

Simple andA martial art is much more than acollection of techniques. There is a commonthread that links them all together and makethem work in harmony. This thread is theprinciple which the system is based upon andthis is the most important thing to find.What is the main principle of Wing Chun? It isto be simple and direct. Wing Chun is onethe most famous, profound and effectivestyles of Chinese martial arts. Fighting abilityis one of the most important aims of WingChun since it belongs to the martial arts. Therefore, what isthe most effective method to make fighting skills work better?This is directness. The quickest way to get to your opponent isto draw a straight line between you. This line is the fastest andmost direct way to attack your opponent. If you can hit himfirst, then you do not need to worry about being hit. Of courseyou will ask, “But what if he is strong enough to withstandyour attack and does not feel any pain when you hit him?Direct:the Principlesof Wing ChunThen he will hit you back.” In this situation, if your fist is tooweak, then of course he will hit you back, but if you are strongenough, or even stronger than he is, then, what do you think?How strong your punch or other attacks are is another matterand is a question of training. However, the quickest way toattack your opponent is in a straight line. It is like shooting apistol. The bullet travels in a straight line and reaches the targetQi Magazine 23

Qi Magazine 24

quickly. So in Wing Chun, your punches and kicks follow thesame principle. When you attack with a punch, you start fromwhere ever your fist is and go straight to the “important” areaof your opponent, the target. Simple and direct, do not wasteyour time and energy – this is the main principle of Wing Chun.Many times people ask, “Can we use hookpunches in Wing Chun?” I always say, of course whenyou are fighting your can use it, but it does not belongto the principle of Wing Chun, because it does notfollow a straight line. It goes in a curve and so it isnot as fast as a straight line. Therefore, if you studyWing Chun, you should not use hook punches becausethey do not follow the principle of Wing Chun. Themore you use techniques from other styles, theneventually your level of Wing Chun will not be sogood. To learn the principles and develop the skill inWing Chun takes time. You need to develop the WingChun fighting attitude, not just the skills. This onlyhappens after many years of training. This you needto do without the influence of other styles of training.Then your fighting style will be Wing Chun andevery technique you use will follow theprinciple of Wing Chun –simple and direct.For this reasonbeginners should notlearn other styles of martial artsas it will affect their developmentand how they improve with theWing Chun training. If you mixthings up, eventually you willhave bits and pieces of otherstyles of martial art togetherwith the Wing Chun attitude.This is “Chop Suey”.So you must make upyour mind and decide whichstyle of martial art you wantto learn and which one fitsyou. Don’t study a “ChopSuey” style. It does not matterwhich you decide to follow,but you need to develop theattitude of the style. Theattitude is a result of the stylesprinciples.I have a student whohas studied Taijiquan for manyyears. Each time he practisesChi Sau (Sticking Hands) he isable to follow the correctmethod in the beginning, but assoon as things get tricky thenhis Taiji Pushing Hands attitudecomes out. He has found it verydifficult to stop doing this andso his Wing Chun level of skilldoes not improve so fast.People always want todo many things at the sametime. They are often scaredthey might miss some thingor think the more styles you study, then the better your martialarts will be. Actually, you don’t need so many knives. One sharpknife is enough. If you can spend the same amount of energydeveloping one style as you would trying to learn many differentones, then you will become very good in that one style. ThenMichael Tse and his teacher Grandmaster Ip Chunyou will have one sharp knife, which is better than having manydull knives. So become an expert in one style.However, many people will ask me, “Sifu, you have alsolearnt many styles?” They are right, as well as Wing Chun Ihave learnt Taijiquan, Shaolin and Qigong. First of all theQigong and Shaolin I practise is for my health. I only reallytreat Wing Chun and Taijiquan as martial arts, though of coursethey are also good for your health.To be honest, my Wing Chun is better than my Taijiquan.I have been studying Wing Chun for twenty-six years andTaijiquan for only eighteen years, so of course my Wing Chunis better than my Taiji. In the past I was like many people, Iwanted to learn more. Also I think it was my fate to learn Taiji.How I met my Taiji teacher is another interesting story, which Imight write about one day.Of course you might still ask me, why did I start to learnTaijiquan? I had been studying Wing Chun for eight years beforeI started. Now I think that Wing Chun and Taijiquan are enoughfor me to learn. These two styles tell me so much about martialarts and how to reach a high level, how to develop myself andwhat is a real martial art.I don’t mean you should not learn another style, onlyyou should reach a good enough standard and understandenough, and then it will not affect your development in thestyle you chose first.I suggest you spend five years without stopping, on onestyle first. Then you can see about learning another style ofmartial art. This way you will not just touch the surface, youwill go deep inside and experience the other styles you seeand the real quality of martial arts. Afterwards it will actuallyhelp your understanding of your original style and answer themany questions you might have. Eventually you will reach ahigh level in your own style and you will see the similarity anddifference between different styles, not the techniques, but intheir principles and how they train the body and mindby Michael TseQi Magazine 25

The Art of Sticking HandsChi Sau is the most important part of Wing Chun injured and other areas of your life will also be affected verytraining. The purpose of Chi Sau is to develop badly. So in the end you might not even be able to carry onyour instinct and sensitivity to your opponent, your training.so when he moves you can react straight away. However, there is one other way in which you can trainHowever Chi Sau is not the same thing as fighting where you do not have to pay this high price and it will teachthough it will help you to develop your fighting skill. Chi Sau is you how to keep relaxed. Of course the answer is Chi Sau. Asalso not the same thing as sparring. How are they different mentioned earlier, the most important thing in Chi Sau is toand how does Chi Sau develop fighting skill?When fighting or sparring there is alwaysa winner and loser: if you are beaten in afight or in sparring then you have lost. ChiSau does not look at things in the sameway. The purpose of Chi Sau is to learnwhy you were hit and how to hit youropponent. So as long as you learn,whether you get hit or hit youropponent, you never lose. Then youcan treat Chi Sau like a game andstay relaxed. This is the mostimportant thing in Chi Sau – to stayrelaxed.Most people will lose afight because they panic. Whenyou panic you cannot move asyou would like to or react asquickly as you should. You“The purpose of Chi Sau is tolearn why you were hit and how tohit your opponent.”panic because you are not used to being in that situation andstress and so cannot keep calm. You don’t even know whatyou are doing or what is happening. It does not matter whetheryou study martial arts or not, if you panic then there is a goodchance you will lose, especially if your opponent remains calm.So the question is how do you stop yourself panicking?The only way to stop is to get used to the situation so it isfamiliar to you. Its is like driving acar, when you have alot ofexperience then if some one steps out in front of you, you canreact quickly and stop, however, if you are anew driver, youmight panic and not know what to do. So you have to gainexperience. One way to do this is fight a lot, almost everyday.If you fight a lot then you will know what it is like and so beable to stay calm and relaxed. Then you can use whatever skillyou have learnt. However if you do this, then you have to paya high price. Physically, you will become very damaged andstay relaxed. After you have trained in Chi Sau for a long time,you can stay relaxed whatever your opponent does, and canalso use all the skill you have studied. If you can do this thenyou have developed the fighting skill. Of course there is neverany guarantee that you won’t panic, even if you fight a lot, youcannot guarantee that. All that remains is to make sure thatwhen you strike it is strong enough. This is more easy to do. Tomake a tense person physically and mentally relax is verydifficult and takes a long time.This is why Chi Sau is so important. If your Chi Sau isgood then your Wing Chun will be good and if your Wing Chunis good, then your fighting skill will also be goodby Grandmaster Ip ChunThis article is based on a series of discussion with Grandmaster Ip Chun whilsthe was teaching in the UK. For more information about his seminars pleasecontact the Tse Qigong Centre.Qi Magazine 26

Important Points for Good Chi Sau1. RelaxAlways stay relaxed so you can react more quickly and besensitive to your opponent’s movement. This will help notonly your fighting skill develop, but also help your healthto improve. You must keep reminding yourself to relax,this is the most important thing.2. NeverOppose yourOpponent’sStrengthTry to avoid your opponent’sstrength so that you do not have touse too much of your own strength.If you rely on strength then astronger opponent will defeat you.Try to borrow his energy (e.g. withLap Sau), or divert his energy (withPak Sau). In this way, however muchenergy he uses against you, you cansend back to him.3. Use YourStrengthCleverlyUse strength only when you need to and only use as much asyou need. For example, when you punch only use strength atthe last moment and relax again as quickly as possible. If youuse a lot of strength too early you will waste it as your punch isnot in contact with your target. If you keep using strength afteryou strike then you also waste your strength and also makeyourself vulnerable. When you use strength use it in a cleverway and only as much as you need to achieve your aim.Important Points for Good Chi SauQi Magazine 27

Wing Chun KuenChan was sitting talking to his Sifuwhen Ma entered the room andannounced that a gentleman hadcome to visit Sifu.Their Sifu was always veryobliging and never turned away visitorsand often people came to him for helpand advice. Ma showed the man in andinvited him to sit down.He introduced himself and heasked the teacher many questions. Eachtime the teacher smiled, but only said oneor two words in reply. After half an houror so the man bid them farewell and leftlooking very satisfied and content.All the time Chan and Ma quietlyobserved, and when the man left politelyshowed him out. Afterwards theyreturned to their Sifu.“Sifu?” Asked Ma, “Thatgentleman asked many questions of you,and some of things he said were clearlywrong, but you never corrected him?”“You are quite right, Little Ma, he wasmistaken in some of things he said, but Idid not correct him.”“Sifu why is that?You always correct uswhen we are wrong?”“When I wasyoung, there was afamous place close toour village. At the topof a hill was a treewhich was quiteunusual. It was said that if you kowtowedthree times and asked a question thenthe spirit of the tree would answer andsolve any problems you had. Manypeople went there and some travelledfrom great distances to ask theirquestions. Do you believe this ispossible?” Their Sifu asked.“It sounds a little far fetched.”replied Chan.“Let me tell you how this treebecame so famous. Long ago there wasa rich merchant. He was a not the mostintelligent man, but his family was verywealthy and they would often cover uphis mistakes. One day he went out for aride on his horse, he was about to makeQi Magazine 28It is always good to ask questions, but before you askyou need to be ready to hear the answer, otherwise youwill miss everything.Good Questiona big decision about his business andwanted to think it over.After a few miles he came toa conclusion and was so happy andpleased with himself he wanted totell someone his solution. Just thenhe happened to come to thetop of a hill and there hefound a large treestanding on its own. Helooked around andfound that there was agood view of the wholearea. “Hmm,” hethought to himself, “Thistree looks very old andmust have seen somuch from up here. Ibet it is very wise andknows a great manythings.” Heclimbed downfrom his horseand stood infront of the tree.“If you have made upyour mind, then why askthe question?”“Old Wise Tree,” he said, “Its becausehe had a white horse isn’t it?” Just thena leaf fell from the tree and landed athis feet. He took this as a sign that thetree agreed with him. He was so happyhe went back to the town and toldeveryone how this tree had answered hisquestion. Eventually, the news spread outand people mistakenly thought that ifsuch a rich man would risk his wealth onthe answer from this tree then it must betrue. So the tree became very famous andpeople came from far and wide to visitit.”“Sifu, his question does not makesense,” said Ma. “ You are quite right,but it is not his question that is theproblem. The man was not really askinga question, he had already made up hismind about the answer and he only reallywanted someone to agree with him. Thefact the leaf fell was just coincidence, buthe took it as confirmation and wassatisfied. Someone who seeksknowledge considers verycarefully the questions he asksand is not so easily satisfied.Some one who is looking forconfirmation is easilysatisfied and the onlypeople he or shewill really listen toare those who arereally close tothem. If they ask astran-ger and donot receive theanswer that theywant to hearthen theywill only becomeupset.However, ifyou have areal questionthen you arenot worried whetheryou are right orwrong, you are onlyhappy to find the trueanswer.”“So the manwho came to see youwas not really asking what youthought, he had already made up hismind and instead was telling you whathe thought, and did not really want tohear your answer.” Said Chan.“That is right, and because I donot know him and I am not his Sifu, I didnot want to upset him and so I chose notto say anything. However, when you arenot right I will tell you as you will listenand appreciate my answer. Do youunderstand?”“So the saying, He who knows asays little and he who nothing says a lot,is quite true,” said Chan.“Sifu there are a couple of thingsI’m not sure about,” said Ma, “…. but I’llthink about it more and ask you later.”By Darryl MoyEmail Darryl@qimagazine.com

Tendon and Peanut SoupThe Chinese believe that when you have a deficiency or problem with a particular organ or part of the body, then if youeat the corresponding animal organs or parts, then this will strengthen your own. As we age, it is easy for us to move less and soour joints can become stiffer and the bones drier and more brittle from lack of blood circulation. This soup is very good forstrengthening the tendons, bones and for relieving rheumatism. It is made with dried tendons which are available at mostChinese supermarkets and also dried mussels which are good for arthritis, muscle aches and rheumatism as well. Peanuts aregood for the lungs and for revitalising energy by working on the kidneys. You can make this soup once or twice a month if youfind your bones are weakening or you have aching joints and muscles. It is also a very good soup for martial artists, helping tonourish the body.Ingredients:5 oz (150g) dried tendons10 oz (300g) peanuts (still in red skin, unsalted, raw)1 cup dried mussels16 cups water3 dried dates1 tsp salt1. Soak the tendons overnight in water and then cut them into 3 inch (8 cm) sections. Soak and peel the peanuts. Washand soak the dried mussels.2. Fill a pan with water and add mussels, dates, salt and tendons. Bring water to a boil and then reduce heat and simmerfor one and a half hours. Add peanuts and continue to simmer for another hour. Taste and add more salt if necessary.3. When serving, you can remove tendons and peanuts and use for another dish or you can eat with the soup as you wish.Book ReviewQigong Exercise Therapy£13/95/$17.95I often wonder when I introduce new Qigong books to our readers, whether they questionwhether or not this conflicts with being told not to mix different Qigong styles and methods by theirteacher. Actually, I think most people understand and know why you should not mix differentQigong styles and would be careful to separate their practice if doing more than one method. Ipersonally look at different Qigong books as a method of reference for Qigong theory and philosophyrather than as a practice tool. Having said that, sometimes there are some techniques for simpleQigong massage or relaxation methods that are very useful and can be practised without harm.Qigong Exercise Therapy is more of a how-to book than a book on history or philosophy, although it does give aninteresting, though brief introduction, on Qigong with an emphasis on Chinese TCM theory of the body. I did find it interestinghow the author explained why Qigong can be said to make us smarter, saying that “the brain is the reservoir of the marrow”.Given the increasing instances of Alzheimers Disease, it is very interesting to see the importance of good kidney function, askidneys also relate to bone and marrow. If I can learn even one or two new ideas or points to help my students and also myselfunderstand Qigong better, I feel that I am continuing to develop my skill and feel that book is worth it.Qigong Exercise Therapy offers Qigong exercises to cover a wide range of illnesses and conditions, even a version of theCancer Walking exercises recently featured in Qi Magazine. They include internal diseases and illnesses such as impotence,vertigo, hernia, menopause, joint pain, headache, depression, asthma, etc. Most of the exercises have line illustrations, othersonly descriptions. This book covers many exercises in its nearly 300 pages, however, even in its last pages, it counsels finding aqualified teacher for guidance of practice. It says failure to do this, along with impatience for results, improper posture andbreathing and aimless change in the practice of various Qigong exercises can cause side effects. Many of the exercises are verysimple and involve sitting, standing or lying postures which can help a practitioner understand more about Qigong basics. Otherexercises are more complicated and should be considered carefully before practice.By Jessica BlackwellQi Magazine 30

Instructor InsightStefan Eekenulv & Barbro Olsson:Goteborg, Sweden.Our story as a couple is strongly connected to Sifu. This is how it all began. Barbroand I met back in 1989 and we decided to go on a cycling holiday to Scotlandand England in the summer of 1990. Barbro had spent 3 years (1985-88) inTotnes, Devon on a training course to be a teacher of the Alexander Technique, sowe planned to stay a couple of weeks in Totnes with some friends. Their son wastraining Kung Fu with a teacher who had invited a Chinese martial artist andQigong master with the name Michael Tse. It happened that he also stayed at ourfriend’s mansion which made it almost impossible for us not to “follow the signs”and to attend the course during the weekend. It was a wonderful seminar ofspontaneous Qigong, the beginning of Wild Goose and some Wing Chun. Thecourse ended with a spectacular transmission on Barbro. With my theoreticalphysics background I was a “non-believer” until this very moment…Barbro wentup on her toes and was like a puppet on a string, and I remember getting flashesfrom the film “Exorcist” and wondered if the head would spin as well…We were privileged to spend some time with this powerful man duringlunches and at our friends’ house and before we left England we had invited ournew Sifu to Gothenburg in Sweden.So this year in February it is 10 years since Sifu first came to Sweden toteach Swimming Dragon. At first we invited Sifu because we wanted to learnmore and to introduce Qigong and Michael Tse in Sweden. Now, we are a familyof four and Benjamin (5 1/2 years) and Gabriel (1 1/2 years) are used to Sifu’s visitsto our home and Qigong and Taiji is very natural and real for them …One of the Stefan and Barbro are qualified to teach the Dayanmost precious gifts you can give to your children is the possibility to meet and to Qigong Syllabus. They can be contacted on:be influenced by extraordinary people!(31) 253025We are both instructors now and are running our own classes and seminarsas well as organizing and building the Tse Qigong Centre in Gothenburg. Sometimes we’re overwhelmed by the richness of skilland knowledge there is to learn being a part of the Tse Qigong Centre big family. Over the years we have learnt many forms andphysical skills, but maybe the best is to be a part of it all, seeing how Sifu evolves as a teacher and how the Taoism can be appliedto everyday problems…a true master has a good heart!It is wonderful to see how the interest for Qigong and health is growing every day and that the many hours of workarranging courses, promoting, talking on the phone with interested people etc…gives fruit and that we now take another stepinto the future with a second instructor course in Sweden.Our wish for the future is to develop an even stronger connection between the Centre in Gothenburg and the Tse QigongCentre in England, having teachers coming over every month (or staying for a couple of years!) teaching both Qigong and ChenStyle Taiji.Barry Paul Horrell: Nottingham.Barry Horrell is qualified toteach Healthy Living Gong 1He can be contacted on:0774 836 4887 orBarry_horrell@hotmail.comMy first interest in Qigong was after watching Tse Sifu on a daytime TV show performing somefive animal movements. This was around 1989 or so. I was very impressed with the gentle flowingmotion so different to the ‘hard’ style of martial arts I had been practising. I wrote to Sifu withquestions I had about Qi and Qigong, and also subscribed to Qi Magazine.I have been reading the magazine and contributing to the letters pages since issue 7 and haverecently opened my own Healthy Living Gong classes. Speaking to Sifu about this we agreed jokinglythat this kind of makes me one of the “oldest youngest” club members! Before starting this club I wasvery busy with my music studies, which consisted of piano practice and private compositional lessonscoupled with the usual university work. After graduating, I found I could spend the right energiestowards Qigong as well as music. I have found that Qigong helps my development as a composerand ‘opens’ my potential. Often when we have a question or problem, when our Qi is strong we are‘told’ the answer. Qigong has helped with my spiritual Qi and helped me become a more balancedperson. This leads me to discuss what I think about Qi and Qigong at the moment.Right now, I am more aware of my Sifu’s words and teachings. I have found that Qigong isreally ‘life and character skill’ and it’s the benefits and potential of the human skill that Qigong isreally about and not the external image or moving shapes of the exercises.I have found a lot can be achieved through Qigong and a good diet, and realise that although my external martial artforms were good for self-defence unfortunately they did not give me deep solid foundations I needed for experiences later in mylife.I tend to perform my martial arts differently now as well as keeping up my regular Yang Taijiquan practice. I feel that withall the different styles of Qigong available today, it’s a case of choosing and sticking with the one that personally feels right.Metaphorically speaking, enabling oneself to climb naturally up to the top of the mountain. I hope that we can all stay healthyand “fly away like wild geese”.Qi Magazine 35

Today it seems as if everyone has heard of Taiji.So do we need to talk about it, or are we justwasting our time?Perhaps this is true if you know all about it, but ifyou ask people what they think Taiji is, you willget some very interesting answers. I have heardpeople say, “Taiji means Yin and Yang”, “Taiji isrelaxation”, “Taiji is that exercise thing old peopledo” and “Taiji is slow movement”.Some of these answers are right and some are wrong.Taiji means ‘one object’ and this was first written in a very oldChinese Classic, The Book of Changes. We call this book inChinese the Yijing. The Yijing says, “Wuji creates Taiji”. Whatdoes Wuji mean? Wu means nothing. Ji means ending orlimited, but what is meant by limited and ending? Did youknow that when we translate from one language to another, itis not always possible to translate everything word for wordbecause it often does not make sense. However, every sentence,passage or phrase has a meaning and this is what you need toknow.In this case ending and limited means an object or thing.So all together Wuji means ‘nothing thing’ or ‘no things’. Italso means nothingness or emptiness. For example, before youWhat is Taiji?Qi Magazine 36

or I were born there was no you and no me. If we are talkingabout the world and the universe, then Wuji is before theuniverse was created when nothing else existed and nothinghappened.Then on one occasionsomething happened and sothere was no more Wuji.The emptinessbecame Taiji.Tai meansbig or very. Jiis the sameas in Wuji. Sotogether Taijimeans big andending or limitand this translatesto mean ‘something’.So the wholesentence “Wuji createsTaiji” means “Nothingcreated something”, andthis is a very fundamentalprinciple. Everything happensbecause there is something. Ifthere was nothing, how couldit create anything good or bad?How could we have children,buy a house, drive acar, lose a job,become ill,grow oldor evendie? Soit meanswheneverthere issomething,all things willhappen. When thingshappen, thengood and bad willalso happen.So why worry aboutthese things.One day all goodthings will turn bad and alsothe bad things will changeto become good.M o s tof you will have seen the Taijisymbol. On one side it is black and the other is white. Somepeople like to use different colours and this is all right as longas one side is dark and the other is light to balance it as thisshows the meaning of the symbol. You also do not have todraw the symbol this way and can draw it in many ways. Iremember once I was asked this question. Actually, you canhave many different styles of Taiji symbols as long as they showtwo opposite ways.However, if you look at the light side you can see asmall dark circle contained within it and also on the dark sidethere is a small light circle. Why do we draw this? This is becausein the dark side you can find the light, and in the light you canfind the dark. For example, a vicious killer is a bad person, butyou might find that he loves his wife, his parents and children.So there is some good in him as well. On the other hand, agood man, maybe even a monk who helps so many people,might like to sleep a lot or even drink a lot. This is the darkside inside the light.A knife might be very sharp and strong, but it may breakmore easily than a dull piece of metal. A piece of cotton is softand gentle, but if it is too light then it can easily be blownaway. This all about the principle of nature and actually, theprinciple of everything. Once something happens, we can seeboth sides, both good and bad. This is what we call Yin andYang.So the next question is which is Yin and which is Yang?Which is the dark and light side?“You can have manydifferent styles ofTaiji symbols aslong as theyshow twoways”Don’t think this is too obvious,a lot of people make a mistake forthis. When people look at the Taijisymbol and see the dark sidethey think that this is heavy,so they think that the darkside represents Yin.When they see thelight side, they thinkt h a tthis is light, so itmust be Yin.However, if youlook at it likethis, then I amafraid you are wrong. Theprinciple of Yin and Yang isbased upon nature. Yina l s orepresents the night timeand sofollowing this, Yin is dark. Yangis thedaytime and so is light. Try not tog e tconfused by the colours, theprinciple looks at the substance ofthings and the rules of nature.In the Taiji symbol you can see thatboth sides are connected together and this is becauseit is one object. When something is created, it must be onething first, but inside it is made up of two opposite parts. Forexample, a child is created by a man and a woman. Steam iscreated by water and fire. Everything that exists in nature hasboth good and bad sides, Yin and Yang.When we say we practise Taiji, actually we should saywe practise Taijiquan. Do not forget the Quan. We know themeaning of Taiji. Taiji is something that has two opposite parts,Qi Magazine 37

“When youpractise, youshould findout whichpart is Yinand whichpart is Yang”Taijiquan is not only very good for healthdevelopment, it is also an effective systemof self defence which utilises the principleof Yin and Yang.the principle of Yin and Yang. However,Quan literally means fist, but in this caseit means martial art. The whole nameTaijiquan means a martial art that isbased on the principle of Yin and Yang.When you watch someone doingTaijiquan, you should be able to see theYin side and the Yang side of the form.So the principle of Taijiquan should followthe principle of Yin and Yang. When youpractise, you should find out which partis Yin and which part is Yang. When youmove you should see the Yin change toYang and the Yang change to Yin.As we follow the principle of Yinand Yang, we become one with nature,balanced and in harmony. You can alsouse this principle for your health and alsofor selfde f e nce.For example,whenyour opponentis strong,you should be softand when your opponent issoft, you can be strong. In this wayyou will always be able to win, butjust like everything in life, it is easyto say but very hard to do. Thequestion is, do you know when youshould be Yin and when you shouldbe Yang? So Taiji is moving all thetime, it is never stable. That isprinciple of nature – Taijiby Wai JingQi Magazine 38

Shanghai JournalThis marks the first part of an inside look at the life, people,teachers and skills in the City of Shanghai.In April 2000 my wife and I passed onour Internal Arts School to our seniorstudents and embarked on ourcontinuing journey of discovery. While itwas a melancholy decision to leave solarge a part of our lives behind, oursuccessful Association, our roles asteachers, and our many friends across thecountry, we knew that in order to growwe must continue on the path ofScholarship.So in August of last year we beganagain, this time as students, in the greatcity of Shanghai. We werefortunate to have the supportof our Sifu, Master Xu GuoMing formerly ofShanghai, andintroductions to manyof the city’s premiermartial artists. Sincethen we have studiedhard, travelling tomany of the city’sfamous parks, andwitnessing skillsundreamed of in ourformer homeland.In the ensuingissues of thismagazine wewill keep youinformed ofour observationsandof the manyMasters andparks in Shanghai where the ChineseMartial Arts are practised. We will featureindividuals through interview andpictorial accounts and provide you withdetailed information on the differentsystems practised in the many individualparks of the city. When special occasionsarise in Shanghai, such as city orcountrywide demonstrations, exhibitions,or competitions, we will endeavour toreport on the atmosphere and results. Wehope to be able to provide you with muchof the news happening in one of thepremier centres of ChineseMartial Arts today.Initially, howeverwe would like todisclose our firstimpressions andthe opinion wearrived at as to whynative Chinesepeople have aninside edge in thedevelopment ofskills we all workhard to develop.A c r o s sShanghai we havenoticed the remarkablelevel of Sung(physical relaxation)the peopledisplay. Eventhough Shanghai is a typical example ofa big city, the people remain Sung in theirbodies. For one they do not accumulatetension in their necks, shoulders, andtrapezius muscles, the way westernersdo. They remain straight and upright,without the poor posture that we oftensee in London, New York, or Los Angeles.Many of the city’s public toilets are squataffairs and the people here are able tosit easily down into their hips even intoold age without strain or discomfort.Moreover their joints, ligaments,tendons, even muscle to some degree,enjoy a remarkable openness andextension I have not witnessed in mostwesterners. In short their bodies naturallyconform to many of the prerequisites thatare called for in the classical literature.Another obvious advantage theydisplay, regardless of whether theypractice Gong fu or not, is their Peng Jing,or ward off power. On more than oneoccasion, when we first arrived, we wouldbe bounced out of our root while goingthrough a door, in the cue, or whileshopping, only to discover a little old lady,or young Miss barrelling through. I’m nottalking about some bruiser but even theones you may classify as frail or scrawny,have this remarkable ability. Children,teens, and the elderly all seem physicallywell rooted as a result of their correctstructure, physical relaxation, andopenness.As a final point we noticed thathere in Shanghai the people arephysically quite demonstrative,enjoying a slap on the back as a signof affection or pushing and shovingto maintain their space withoutmalice. They do not to seem to havethe same aversion to physical contact,even enjoying what we would termas hard slaps or punches as sign ofaffection. Some of the displays wehave seen, most westerners wouldperceive as either an attack orunqualified inappropriate behaviour.Join us next time for our reporton the happenings at Kang Jain & CaoYang Parksby J. Reynolds NelsonShanghai JournalQi Magazine 39

The Dragon is a symbol of China, as we see very often in many Chinesestories. Swimming Dragon Gong is one of the Qigong forms from Kunlun System.It is very dynamic and challenging, and the movements imitate a dragon’sbehaviour.Swimming Dragon Gongab c d13. Buddha Washes the Facea. Following the last movement, stand up and let the hands follow the body with palms still closed up to middle Dantian. Thenbring the palms up the face so that the Shangyang point on the index finger touches the Yingxiang point on either side of thenose.b. Push the palms upwards so that the Laogong points of the palms cover the eyes. Continue upwards so that the palms passover the top of the head.c. Continue to move the hands to the back of the head and around to the ears so that the lower part of the palm covers theears. Repeat these movements three times.This movement stimulates the five external organs of eyes, ears, nose, tongue and mouth with the Laogong point and fingers. Theeyes relate to the liver, ears to kidneys, nose to lungs, tongue to heart and mouth to spleen. So from the external organs, the energy willgo back to the internal organs.14. Dragon Opens the Eyesa. After the third washing, let the hands drop slightly to that the index andmiddle finger are lightly touching the Taiyang points. Rotate the fingers ina forward circle nine times with the eyes half closed.This movement opens the Taiyang point which relates to the Upper Dantianand Sky Eye and is good for migraines and headaches.aQi Magazine 40

abc15. Flying Dragon Stretches the Backa. Drop your palms to the middle Dantian so hands are closed together, Laogong facing Laogong.b. Open arms to the sides, with the palms pushing outwards, Hegu point to Hegu point at the Middle Dantian level. Breathe in,so that Dantian goes in.c. Bend the knees and relax the elbows so that palms rotate so that the thumbs are pointing more upwards. Breathe out, so thatthe tummy goes out. Repeat another two times.This movement uses reverse breathing which emphasises breathing through the Dantian and lungs. Use the nose for all thebreathing, not opening the mouth at all.ab16. Hurricaneca. Cross right foot over left foot bringing the right hand upwards and over with Laogong facing Sky Eye. The left hand shoulddrop down so that Hegu point faces the Dantian.b. Step with the left foot, weight on left foot. Drop the right hand so that the Laogong point follows down the Ren Channel andout to the right side of the body. At the same time, bring the left hand up the Ren Channel, Hegu facing Ren Channel, on theoutside of the right hand and out to the left side of the body. Repeat this same movement another two times.c. On the third movement, you will now go back in the other direction, crossing the left foot over the right foot, and theLaogong point of the left hand down the Ren Channel and right hand Hegu point up the Ren Channel on the outside of theleft hand. Repeat another two times until back to the original position.

defgThis is one of the most powerful movements in the whole Swimming Dragon and is the essence of this form. It represents thedragon diving through the water so powerfully that it creates a hurricane from its movements. For beginners, this movement shouldbe done slowly and gently. After one or two year’s of practice, then you can do faster. Actually, it is not so much fast as letting go. Onthe walking, you should try to lose your balance as much as possible without losing control. This is an internal training that developsthe brain and whole balance of the whole body. It will prevent people from having stroke or heart attack when they are getting older.Meanwhile, the hand passes though the Ren channel, one passing in and the other out, helping to cycle the energy from the Upper andLower Dantians. Another difficult part on this movement is that on the third step of each series, you must stop completely so thismeans you must have a lot of control and good balance in the body. This will help store a lot of energy in the body because when youstop, the energy stops. Then when you begin again, the energy will be even more powerful. It is like someone holding your wrist andcutting off the circulation. When they let go, the blood pours through, something like an explosion.Qi Magazine 42

a b cdd side viewe17. Swimming with the Qi Balla. When finishing the last movement, bring the hands back to the Dantian with the palms up, like holding a ball.b. Lean forward from the waist, with the legs straight. Lean to the left side but still keep the hands at the Dantian.c. Bring the right arm from the right side to the left side of the body, in a big circle until palm over the head. Bend the knees andlean backwards when doing this.d. Keep spiralling while still bending backwards so that the arms are extended on either side of the body like holding a big,giant ball. Keep the knees bent.e. Spiral the left arm in a larger circle and the right in a smaller circle until both are at the Dantian. Repeat these movementsanother two times.f. Then do three times in the opposite direction, starting first with the left hand.This movement is the second most important in the Swimming Dragon form. It should connect with the previous Hurricane movementwithout too much stopping, so that the energy continues unbroken. This movement develops spiral movement from the Dantian. Whilethe hands are spiralling, imagine holding a big Qi ball. It is very good for the spine and hips and co-ordination. For beginners, do notmove too fast or bend too far back to avoid straining the back. Until your body becomes more flexible, practise it more gently. Whenready, you can do it more vigorously. This movement will rejuvenate the body.Qi Magazine 43

Qi MattersThe answer to this question is thatthey train exclusively by externalmeans, and so expend their Qiwithout replacing it, resulting in aweakened internal body.Florence Griffith Joyner, one of theworld’s fastest ever female runners, diedaged 38 of heart failure. Who could befitter than an Olympic gold medallist ?When Bruce Lee died at 33 he was leanand muscular, and possessedsuperhuman stamina and agility. Theofficial verdict of death was a brainedema (swelling) caused by an allergicreaction to painkillers he took for aheadache. Had his Qi and internal bodybeen strong he would not have had thisreaction.Martial arts training shouldsupport your life, especially as youbecome older but without internaltraining (Qigong) it can become a healthliability as Qi remains unreplaced andblocked from blows to the body(accidentally or through ‘conditioning’),and the mind becomes aggressive andunbalanced.Paul Anderson, the world’sstrongest man, won gold at the 1956Olympics for lifting 6,270 pounds andmade the Guiness Book of Records, butdied at 61 from complications related tokidney failure. So you see externalstrength training does not guaranteelongevity. Even former ‘Mister Universe’Arnold Schwarzenegger underwent heartsurgery at the age of 53.Traditional Chinese exercise(Qigong and Taijiquan) is regarded‘internal’ as it trains Qi and the internalbody, breath and mind. Western exercise(including running, weight training, andaerobics etc.) by contrast is considered‘external’, as it focuses on stamina andisolates specific muscle groups, neverconsidering the internal organs (otherthan heart rate), or the effect that thistype of training has on them. Internaltraining cultivates vitality and can extendlife-span while external exercise aloneQi Magazine 44There is a popular Western misconception that health equals fitness, orstamina, and that a healthy body is directly proportionate to muscle mass. Whythen do some athletes die in the prime of their lives and at peak levels of fitness?The Dangers ofExternal Trainingexpends vital energy. When there is noQi there is only exhaustion, sickness, anddeath.External trainingpushes the bloodcirculation toextremes, andcauses stresson the heart,bulging veins,aching joints,dry skin, andaffects thecomplexion.P r e c i o u sfluids, whichbelong insideare lostt h r o u g he x c e s s i v eperspiration, asthe body strainsto the credo ‘Nopain no gain’. This iscontrary to the pragmatic andproven Eastern attitude to attaininghealth.Sound health depends onabundant resources of stored Qi, andits smooth passage throughout thechannels. This is dependant onthree factors: Firstly,deep abdominalbreathing of fresh air(the purer the better) tostimulate and open the Dantien;secondly, gentle movement to exercisethe spine, limbs, and joints, and stimulatecirculation and the functions of theinternal organs; and thirdly, a calm,balanced, and positive mental state,developed through relaxed concentration(meditation).Many people train at gyms. Theyconsider cardiovascular workout routinesbut overlook the stale, humidenvironments in which they exercise, andthey overwork the lungs, puffing andpanting like dogs. Internal trainingemploys slow, deep, and rhythmicbreathing like tortoises which inhale onceevery two minutes. Dogs live 10 to 15years while tortoises live up to 100 yearsor more.Hundreds of thousands of peopleare injured each year from exerciseequipment. The bigger the muscles thestiffer the body becomes and the morelimited its range of motion. A child’s bodyis supple and agile but as you age yourbody naturally becomes stiffer so whyaccelerate and aid this process ?Instead you should be working toensure that the body remainsyouthful and flexible.Western exercise does notconsider balancing the mind. Infact, quite the contrary; it isnot allowed to relax fora second. At gymsmusic is continuouslyplayed at deafeninglevels, and manyexercise stationsc o n t a i ncomputers soyou can go onlinewhileworking out, sothe mind isc o n s t a n t l yoccupied. Withtoo much aural/visual stimulationand freneticphysical activity thecentral nervouss y s t e mbecomes over-excited and the mindcannot relax at night. External training,even with good diet and sleeping habits,is no guarantee of disease prevention ifthe mind is constantly overworked andthe emotions unbalanced.External training is not bad in itselfas long as there is internal energy torestore balance. Even though internaltraining itself may not produce‘washboard abs’ or ‘buns of steel’, orlead to Olympic fitness levels, it doesguarantee health and longevity. Whichis more valuable ?By Adam Wallace.Email Adam@qimagazine.com

The entrance to your house is one of the most important aspects of your FengShui since this is where all your energy comes in. Therefore if you want good FengShui, you need to know what makes your entrance good or bad.Feng Shui and the MainEntrance of a House part 2Continuing from last time, we lookat the things to avoid at the mainentrance of your home. The mainentrance is very important and youshould never allow it to affect your life,so you may need to alter it or redecorateit. The main entrance is like your mouth,so for your house it is very important andwill affect your income. You should neverallow it to become damaged. In thebeginning the problems might not beobvious, but they will come sooner orlater. If you don’t believe it, when youmove into a house write down whetherthe entrance is good or bad. Keep a diaryof your life and after a year you will seehow much your life has changed.6. When you walk through your frontdoor never let any corner face (point) atyou. A corner is like a knife or spearattacking you, so it is not good to havesome thing like that facing you everydayas you come in and out. If it is somethinglike a table or bookcase, then you canmove it or put a pot plant there to blockthe corner. You can also put some otherfurniture there to smooth out the corner,and then it will not harm you any more.(fig. 1)It is the same outside your house,you should not have any corners of wallsor buildings pointing at your entrance. Ifyou do, get two stone lions or dogs andput them either side of you of your doorto guard your entrance, or you can putup a Bagua mirror to face the corner andreflect it back.7. Never have your entrance at the samelevel as your neighbour’s entrance. If youdo, then it means every time you dosomething, you will share the benefits. Italso means that those living there willhave more than one partner. (fig. 2)fig. 1Sharp corners can affect yourfuture prospects“The mainentrance islike yourmouth, soit is veryimportant”Never have your entrance at the same level as your neighboursfig. 2Feng ShuiQi Magazine 45

fig. 3The entrance leads to a narrow hallway, which should be avoided. Not a good entrance.10. When you walk outside, youshould not see lampposts or otherstraight objects facing your entrance.This is like a stick hitting you everytime you walk outside, so you cantell how lucky you will be. You willhave accidents more easily and hurtyourself. If you do have some thinglike this, then you need to put ametal bar above the entrance. Thiswill block the stick from hitting you.The stronger you make the bar thebetter as if it is strong then the stickhitting you will bounce back and youwill be safe.11. A large window or glass doorfacing the main entrance will allowthe Qi to go straight through andescape and so you will never keepany money. However much youmake, you will spend it all. If you dohave this, then you need to put somefurniture in the middle to break upthe space and stop the energy fromflowing through. This will make yourfinances better. (fig. 5)by Michael Tse“Never let the main entrance bebigger than the space it opens into”8. Never let the main entrance be biggerthan the space (e.g. room or hallway) itopens into. Being wider at the front andnarrow inside means that in thebeginning things will be good, but theywill turn bad in the end. (fig. 3)If you own the house I suggest youchange one of the walls to make theroom bigger, or make the doorwaysmaller. Usually in a house, the entranceis narrower than the space behind it, sobe careful.9. When you walk in through theentrance, you should not face any scarypaintings or posters, or pictures with toomany patterns. If you see these thingsstraight away, then they will make youdizzy and confused. They may evencreate mental problems. The best thingto do is change the picture to one of nicescenery or something natural. This willmake you calmer and you mind clearerwhich can help your future career.(see fig. 4)fig. 4This entrance leads straight on to lots ofdistracting pictures, which should beavoidedWith openings directly across from eachother, the energy runs straight throughthe house.fig. 5Qi Magazine 46