gong fu

ok just a quick question, howmany martial artists here actually believe in qi and use methods/styles to strenthern qi, ie bagua, taiji, qigong ?



peace

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-Before Guns Men Had Balls-
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Sagacious Lu

I've taken a couple seminars on qigong. Unfortunately I can't remember the form we did so I can't practice it. I found it to be a great meditation, it's def. something I'd like to learn more about. When it comes to qi in general I've heard some things that make a lot of good sense to me, and I have a lot of respect for the concept. Unfortunately I've also met a lot of people that use the term as a catch-all for whatever new age hocus pocus gimmick happens to have captured their imagination even though they know absolutely nothing about any of the traditions that utilize it

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kuk sool won

I beleive Ki exist wether its actually 'real' or not. I feel Ki is a combination of different things but not exactly how you beleive it to be (i make that assumption based on the readings of past posts by you).

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gong fu

i thought the japanese concept of ki wasnt the same as chinese concept of Qi, isnt ki more to do with the spirit one aquires and power he reaches?. that would be compared to the chinese concept of Shen (spirit) wich can be aquired and strenthened, Qi is the lifeforce going through every living thing, modern name for Qi is orgone energy, that western science is recognising with new tests with accumilators hhg's and cloudbusters,


so anyways yeah i dont think Ki and Qi are the same concept, but im not that familiar with japanese martial arts,


peace

__________________
-Before Guns Men Had Balls-
-Shaolin Warrior-

treelizard

I believe in qi bigtime. I feel it very strongly whenever I get acupuncture. I used to practice taoist yoga but I quit, partially because I was bored but also because I didn't think it was that practical for self-defense. But I still do some qi gong warmups as well as some exercises to help build wei qi (defensive qi) and also I eat with the seasons--based on TCM (a la Elson Haas, but Healing With Whole Foods is another one of my bibles) and I adapt the herbs I take, food I eat, etc. based on my pattern of disharmony.

gong fu

i like to see people going on like that.
do you take western medicine? like antibiotics painkillers etc?
do you orgonise your home surroundings in harmony with the way? fueng shui
i think you should continue with daoist yoga it has alot to do with your fighting abilities trust me,
yes defensive qi is equally important, breathing in to take a hit, breathing out to deal one,
and your foods are important, i try to eat like that also,
what type of qigong excersizes do you practise? im always interested when a fellow qigong pratitioner shares some tips and discusses there teachings, do you sleep with sandbags on your abdomen? and do qigong all day long even when not training? i personally train everysecond of the day when it comes down to breathing,




ile speak more on these things soon peace,

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-Before Guns Men Had Balls-
-Shaolin Warrior-

jubaji

Its the same idea

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treelizard

I try really hard to avoid allopathic medicine, though I would take it if necessary. I'm always experimenting with Western herbs, though, preferring to use plants that grow near me and I can harvest myself (though I have taken pills from China when prescribed as well). I don't really use feng shui much, but I try to get rid of clutter, which is the most important part of feng shui anyway, and I smudge once a week. I got my full Chinese astro chart done about a year ago...interesting stuff.

I do qi gong bathing to build up defensive qi--basically you scrub your entire body with a loofah and then follow it with the coldest water you can stand. I also put my hands and sometimes feet in warm water every day to open up the meridians. I also do zazen every morning--not very Taoist but you can substitute with standing meditation if you like. I used to do makka ho (Japanese wall yoga) but haven't in a while. And I just do basic qi gong warmups--arm swings, joint circles, stuff like that. One of my favorite books is The Way of Qi Gong by Ken Cohen--and I hear the material is safe, unlike some of the other books out there. As far as food, I'm a religious follower of Elson Haas--I think his site is www.elsonhaas.com--and I try to eat like that when I can afford to. Ooh, I just bought this great book used called Asian Health Secrets--it looks so good!

gong fu

thats good stuff man i really respect someone following the traditional ways, and about the japanese wall yoga makka ho? i dopnt know anything about this method of yoga, could you explain some of it to me please im always interested in other ways of training, i will look it up aswell on google,


thanks
peace,

__________________
-Before Guns Men Had Balls-
-Shaolin Warrior-

treelizard

I'm hesitant to describe how to do it over a forum because you can hurt yourself if you do it wrong, but I'll see if I can find diagrams... also if you ask any shiatsu practitioner or acupuncturist, they would probably know...

BoarSpear

you dont live in Santa Fe N.M. by chance do you?

treelizard

No. But I'm madly in love with Taos.

BoarSpear

Yep, i thought i recognized the vibe... I lived in Santa Fe for about 5 years I had to get out...all the love and light was killing me

treelizard

LOL! I live in Arizona, ain't no love and light here!

BoarSpear

I made the mistake of teaching taiji and chi gungs in dear ole Santa Fe Never have I smelled such a variety of aromatherapy oils and patchouli all at once...i had to sage to get rid of that when they left

Im the taiji teacher from hell anyway, sometimes I play rob zombie during class and....gasp... we hit each other