What Fun !!

We were very happy to have Cheng Ba Gua Zhang Lineage Master Frank Allen at the London studio form 20-22nd April. Frank Allen is the disciple of Grandmaster Lui Jing Ru and veteran Internal Arts teacher/ Director of the famous Wudang Physical Culture association. He visited the Real Taoism Studio to teach both Ba Gua Rou Shou ( soft hands) and bridging to sparring and the Cheng Style Ba Gua Zhang Jian or ( Straight Sword) 

Frank is not only a superb teacher who can clearly demonstrate forms and application but he is also an excellent historian who places the art of Ba Gua Zhang into its historical and contemporary setting with ease and authority.

The straight Ba Gua sword brings out the ability of the Ba Gua practitioner to project force through the weapon. This vital training aids in the understanding of how the empty hand forms are enhanced through the weapon training.

Students received the sword form over the weekend and now have the task of integrating this and the progressive Rou Shou drills into the monthly study group sessions as well as focusing on the strategies of the palm changes.

Our next session will cover the sword and the 5th palm change and Rou Shou:

Cheng Style Ba Gua Zhang. The man for all seasons Master Frank Allen..

Rebecca going for the Gong

The lovely Rebecca Front, took a crash course in Qi Gong 2011 ( actually I think it may hav been 2010 ) at the studio and reported to the Independant. Ionly just found the article on someone elses website ! I could not get the original so has to reproduce it.  I think it has been banned !

Article in Independant 26.02.11

Breathe easy: Qigong is a hit among actors in the West

Could the Chinese relaxation therapy help comedian Rebecca Front? Low-impact and relaxing: Rebecca Front runs through her Qigong exercises A winter Monday and the sky is the colour of discarded chewing gum. I have a cold and a hacking cough. If anyone’s chi needs re-balancing, it’s mine. If only I knew what that meant. Fortunately, I am going to the right place. Qigong, a Chinese discipline of movement, breathing and meditation, has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity in the West, a fact which had, I confess, passed me by. I’ve nothing against alternative therapies. I’ve even tried acupuncture, though I barely scratched its surface and was relieved to discover it barely scratched mine. But I have an innate resistance to anything that smacks of New Age-yness. I’ve never been one of those people who thinks, “Ooh, ear-candling. That’s the thing for me”. I’m more of an aspirin-and-hot-bath kind of a girl. There were two reasons why I was curious about Qigong (pronounced chee-gung, and popularly referred to as “Chinese yoga”). The first is that it’s proving to be a bit of a hit with actors, many saying that it helps them both physically in the prevention and treatment of injuries, and mentally through relaxation. The second is that, as someone who has experienced phobias and the odd panic attack, I recently became involved with the charity Anxiety UK, which aims to help people whose lives are blighted by mental discomfort. Relaxation techniques form a major part of treatment for such conditions and here, too, Qigong is proving popular. I decided to give it a try.

Chris Ray Chappell (realtaoism.com), my instructor, was a dancer for 15 years. Since discovering Tai Chi – the martial art closely allied to the principles of Qigong –he has taught Taoist Life Arts programmes in such diverse settings as the Bethlehem Maudsley Hospital and several drama schools, including Webber Douglas, my old college. He begins by asking me to relax and stand up straight. Now I should point out that I’m rather proud of my posture. Being a tad on the short side, I’ve learnt to walk as tall as I can and rarely slouch. So it was somewhat dispiriting to hear Chris’s assessment of my gait. “You’re twisted. It’s like you’ve just slipped on a banana skin.” I might have taken him to task for this, had he not then pointed out all the areas of weakness that this “twistedness” would lead to; they were exactly the places – lower back and neck in particular – where I’ve had minor problems in recent years. He then proceeds to “correct” me, centring my weight on both feet, straightening out the arch in my back. “Now you’re straight,” he says, and I stand there unsteadily as if on the deck of a storm-wracked ship looking at what appears to be a lilting horizon. “Really?” I ask. “This is what the world should look like?” Chris seems confident, so we begin some gentle exercises, and to my surprise, I start to feel more relaxed, flexible and mobile in this new posture than I had when I arrived. It’s a bit like buying a well-fitting pair of jeans and wondering why you’ve been wearing the wrong size for so long. The exercises are a bit like Tai Chi, very slow and painstaking, with the emphasis on using each part of the body correctly rather than vigorously. Chris feels that for a lot of dancers and athletes, training is ego-driven. The need to prove themselves can result in over-training and injury. Qigong, by contrast, is low-impact and relaxed. Another benefit is that Qigong “doesn’t imprint a pattern of movement on actors. There is no style”. I know what he means by that. I’ve met actors who have had extensive dance training and move beautifully. In many ways that’s a boon, but it’s important to be able to move like your character would, not like an actor – or dancer.

One aspect of Qigong many actors will already be familiar with is diaphragmatic breathing; broadly speaking, breathing into the abdomen rather than chest. This is widely regarded as an excellent technique, not just for voice production, but for reducing anxiety. I can see how this, when combined with the concentration needed to perform the moves, might be of real benefit to people suffering from stress disorders.

The idea is that you focus very much on the present moment, rather than dwelling on your past or future worries. In this moment, you spend your time acknowledging –and drawing ‘energy’ from – the solidity of the earth beneath your feet and the openness of the sky above your head. Like many sceptical of alternative medicine, I worry when I hear of people with serious health conditions being lured towards something with no scientific basis. I know when people are vulnerable they should do whatever helps them to feel better, but not, in my view, at the expense of taking the drugs that might cure them. So I had a niggling anxiety about the term “medical Qigong”. I was relieved when Chris presented it as a complement to, not a replacement for, conventional medicine. “It can definitely help with mobility after surgery,” he says, “and any exercise will help to boost the immune system, stimulating oxygenation of the blood.”

I can’t confirm any of the benefits of Qigong having practised it for no more than an hour, but I can say that I felt relaxed and energised. I felt as though I’d worked out, but there was no feeling of strain. And I didn’t once need the inhaler that I’ve been using to deal with my persistent cough. I’m sure, like many people, I could benefit from a little of that stillness and control. And I’m equally sure I’ll never make the time for it. I shall continue to live my life mentally, if not physically, as if I’ve just slipped on a banana skin.

If you are a seasoned practitioner of the Internal Arts, then you may want to take a look outside of the box now and then. This is for those of you who aspire to be the best you can be. It is never too late.

Over the years I began to realize that many Internal Arts teachers and often some masters exhibit an extreme ignorance relating to bio mechanics of their art. The general audience for Tai Chi and the sister arts of Qi Gong / Chi Gung can be in left in proverbial darkness posed by learning poor body structure and are increasingly mesmerized by the performance antics of their teacher. Such ignorance can lead to injury. 

The myth of Empty force is another anomaly. Pick the most receptive students, train their minds through suggestion, both verbal and non verbal and train their nervous systems to quake via physical drills. The shows of the so called empty force, bouncing students around in an endless show of shaking, bouncing and flying tricks is nothing more than a parlour trick. Fun? debatable, is it Tai Chi ? absolutely not !!

 Some obese masters often talk of health and exhibit no external signs of such but instead claim it is hidden within!  Regardless of apparent skills of these masters, one must take with a large grain of salt any citation that their strong Qi-Chi mitigates any over indulgence on their part.

 The general public has always been taken in by such people and fall under the post hypnotic suggestion group.  Easily misrepresented as the concept of Qi (Chi) the esoteric warbling of such masters are self serving and useless for either health or self defense.

 However do not be put off to trying the arts. Take a good look at the teacher and ask yourself, “Do I want a body like that and do I want to move like that”.

 Ask him or her these questions: What is it that you do ? How does it work ? Can you help me achieve your skill level? and are you willing to teach me fully and openly?

 Tell tale signs of deception

• franchising, wanting you to pay forever to learn or teach their material
• favoritism
• inaccessibility 
• not answering questions
• telling you that you are not ready to receive higher level teachings
• not allowing you to cross train or be involved in with other masters

If you never see your master actually do a form then leave now !!

There also can exist an over complication of the material of study to the point where excessive over intellectualizing becomes an egocentric distraction away from actual practice itself. This has the effect of creating an obsession with minute details. This has the benefit to the master of keeping the students level of skill at a low ebb and makes sure that no one can ever rise to a level of perceived skill in their own right or be free. The student remains blinded and ignorant to this process because of their own egocentric indulgence, i.e specialness by association with the master or they simply feel special because they can talk about the arts in an intellectual way.

The second scenario occurs where again you have an egocentric figurehead. The master in this instance has knowledge which he will keep even from even close students, so that they cannot reach a tangible and perceptible level of skill. Students get enough so as to keep them hooked for many many years in hope of reaching the pot of gold, gaining real power, this type of master is obsessed with keeping people out so as to protect their own fear of being overwhelmed, or bettered in some way. In this scenario the master may teach certain information in another country and withhold this information to home grown students.  Also this type of master fluctuates between misinformation and disinformation of the material being offered.

Lineage:

There are many ways to look at the subject of lineage and the transmission. It is always better to get teachings as close to the source of the system you want to study and to eventually cross reference your findings. If you are a serious practitioner or aspire to be one, this is a vitally important thing to undertake. Lineage can mean many different things. It can be a simple list of people who have trained in a system or it can mean that the named people know the complete system and have an obligation to pass it on and evolve it. Remember when someone holds information from you and clearly does not want you to get the teaching in full ( supposing that you want it ) then he/she is not a real teacher. Arts do not evolve this way, in fact they go into decline and the only legacy these teachers leave is confusion and ego.

Oh, and also some masters choose disciples and they prove to be the wrong choice, but once in the lineage their position is always respected. Not all disciples are very good, sometimes they are chosen for other reasons other than their talent at Tai Chi. 

A transmission can occur only when a master has something to transmit and the receiver has a capacity to get it! 

Good luck and stay open.

The July retreat is limited to a small group to experience Qi Gong practice in a deeply relaxing and spiritually uplifting environment. We have our own chef on site who will cater for you. Accommodation, food and Tuition are all inclusive.

There is plenty of time between practice to explore the area and enjoy the area.

The Hun Yuan Qi Gong energy exercise is a low impact movement system that can be practiced anywhere by anyone to mitigate the problems developed from poor postural habits. A Qi Gong retreat can be a great way to detoxify the mind and body, increase vital energy and really let go often unconscious patterns. Quite often, the deeper breathing developed with an overall increase of internal flexibility gained from retreat can give you the confidence to use these techniques a self help tool as part of your healthy living programme for the future. Poor posture impacts on the vitality and energy of the body in ways beyond normal understanding. A retreat is a superb way and to develop greater freedom of mind, body and energy whilst giving yourself a well deserved break.