yatzhong

I would recomend white waxwood. Google it and you'll get several results. I get 8' - 9' ones at a store in NYC's Chinatown for $40-$45 but I wouldn't recommend starting off with one more than 8' long depending on what type of exercises you are going to do with it. While things like kettle bells, body weight exercises and other fashionable trends in strength training all have something to offer there's nothing like the power one can develop using the long pole.

On hunyuan zhuang, there are two schools of thought. One is that hunyuan is a state of being, both physical and mental that one should achieve in order to reach the hiqher levels and benefits from standing. So hunyuan can actually be any posture one decides to stand in given the conditions are correct. The other is that posture in the picture which other schools call the spear and shield posture or mao dun in Chinese. Our school sides with the first one.

I have two different practices which have specific uses of the ming men point. One is yiquan and the other is a qigong system that uses the mingmen point to spread the qi throughout the body. A sign that one has learned yiquan properly would be his ability to issue power from the mingmen point. Yiquan's founder Wang Xiang Zhai can be quoted as saying it takes about ten years to accomplish. From day one of my yiquan training I was taught to push out the ming men when standing and moving. Cai Song Fang, from "Warriors of Stillness" Vol I also stresses using the ming men when issuing force. Other than that I haven't heard much about using the ming men.

There are those who say that Sawaii never learned the real yiquan system but was taught a watered down version. There are also those who say that Sawaii actually was taught by Wang's student Yao Zhong Xun, who's son interacts with the Taikiken practitioners to this day. We'll never really know. Sawaii didn't meet Wang through that newspaper interview. Sawai was a colonel in the Japanese army invloved in the Japanese occupation of China during WWII. He heard of Wang's reputation as a great fighter and wanted to meet him. I doubt that Wang had any choice in the matter. I hear that it was either take the challenge or get shot. Looking at the pictures in Sawai's book and his movements in that video lead me to believe that there are a lot of technical differences in taikiken and the yiquan that I learned. The configuration of his legs in his standing postures is quite different than his yiquan counterparts. His movement is very different also. Jan's book "The Tao of Yiquan" is a good read but I wouldn't recommend it for learning anything more than a brief history of yiquan. small John

I'm a meat eater. Carnivorous as they come. There are a couple of very good places on Bayard Street. New Green Bo is one. They make the most delicious siu long bao (little pork dumplings) I've ever had. They have a good menu. Theres another one across the street that has a good menu but the name escapes me. There are a few more but I can't remember the names. One is by the big Buddhist temple off Canal & Bowery. It's a famous Szechuan place. I could go on. See you at Citibank. small John

You're not a vegetarian are you? I had a classmate several years ago who was pretty good in taiji but could never get his hands to warm up. According to our teacher it was because he was too yin from the vegetarian diet.

Try this. Henry Look P.O. Box 2378 Shingle Springs, CA 95682 (530) 677-0900 [email protected] Hsing I Chuan Pa Kua Chang Kuang Ping Tai Chi Chi Kung I Chuan He's getting up there in years but he might still be teaching. Personally I wouldn't study with him given the opportunity. I know several of his classmates under master Kuo and master Han and can't find one of them that has a good thing to say about him. According to his classmates he is not a lineage holder in Kuang Ping taiji. He didn't learn the entire Kuang Ping system. He also only studied yiquan on a few occasions with master Han when Han was here in the US or when Look visited Hong Kong. I also know someone who studied diligently with him for three years and had no skill to show for it. You'd probably do better seeking out Fong Ha. But good luck either way. John

Right. I am challenging you. IPOD music is ok but your mind shouldn't get bored when you do standing. There are all kinds of things to do. There are small movements, visualizations, stretches, twisting, etc. that one is supposed to be doing while doing basic standing. The sweating is good. If you can bear through the shaking you should sweat profusely in the beginning. It shows that you are working hard and something is going on inside the body. Once you can stand longer and persevere through the thundering of the legs you will get something out of your standing besides just meditating. Keep up the good work. John

OK, I know "sifu Dug" and also know Henry Look. My teacher is Look's senior under master Han. As for "too weak to do the standing" goes if you're as fit as you say then there's no reason you can't do an hour or more. You are either weak in the legs or weak in the willpower department. I know it's hard to do zhan zhuang alone but that's why it's called kung fu. You have to push yourself in order to get results. If you're doing the standing properly you don't need kettle bells. In fact they just might be counter productive to the results you're trying to get from standing. They are definitely going to be counter productive to your taiji practice. Zhan zhuang done properly builds up the tendons and joints so that one's underlying frame becomes tight like a piece of steel while keeping the muscles relaxed. Nevertheless, good luck with your training. John

Thanks for the info Scotty. John

Might I inquire about the school in New Mexico and the instructor's name? I know or know of most of the qualified yiquan instructors in the US but never heard of anyone in New Mexico. If one does the standing in a certain way it will open up the meridians eventually. If all one does is stand there relaxed then there isn't much to be gained at all really. If you are too weak to do the standing for more than a minute or so in each posture then I would suggest learning some of the sitting meditations from yiquan which can help get the legs healthy. John

The two mix quite well from my personal experience and the benefits from adding the Kunlun level 1 sitting spilled over into my own taiji, hsingyi & yiquan practices. The biggest influence it seems to have had on my martial arts practice is the ability to connect the force issued from the spine out to the limbs. John

Hello Prince, First off, it's called zhan zhuang not zhuang zhang. As for the shaking & trembling it is something that happens to everyone. It is also the most important time to hold the posture ( zhuang ) as this is when the changes occur in the body. The tendon changing, bone marrow washing and other benefits derived from standing are realized when one perseveres through the trembling. Unless you are extremely weak I would say that standing in eight postures for a minute and a half each is a waste of time. There are lots of benefits to be reaped from standing but you won't get them unless you are standing correctly for at least an hour a day. Second, just because one is standing in eight different postures does not mean that one is practicing yiquan. Zhan zhuang is common to taijiquan, hsingyiquan, baguazhang, shaolin quan and other systems. Also there are more than a standard eight postures that people in yiquan practice. I think that the eight were made popular by the book "The Tao of Yiquan" but there is no set of eight standard postures. Third, if you want to add a standing regimen to your practice I would say try and find a qualified teacher. There are a lot of little details in the practice and if they aren't adhered to it could make your efforts a waste of time. I'm not trying to be mean or come of as a "know it all" Prince. Yiquan has been my main practice for many years now and I've seen countless peoples' attempts at standing practice yield little or nothing because they've never learned how to do it properly. Like any other practice there are regulations that must be observed and little intricacies in each posture that ultimately decide if one is going to get the benefits or not. Just standing in a posture with the weight evenly distributed over the two feet and holding the arms in a certain formation is not going to do it. John

Bruce Lee was....Bruce Lee. Both taijiquan and yiquan have within them various methods taught systematically that lead to the developement of the strength(s) necessary for one to be considered successful in the training. They include but are not limited to zhan zhuang, meditation, qigong, and the long pole. Rather than use weights to strengthen the body they use the body and the yi(intent). The two systems have more in common than they do differences. Anyone teaching either of the two arts should be able to give you all the strength training that you need using the traditional practices. Explosive force / fa jing included. If he doesn't teach them then he either. a) Never learned them or Doesn't want to teach them. If either of the above apply and you are learning taiji for more than just health then look for a new teacher. John

Pranaman, I Chuan (yiquan) is hsing yi quan stripped of the forms. Internally it is no different than taiji, baguazhang or hsingyiquan. Externally there isn't much moving around. Strength and skill are developed through various methods including standing (zhan zhuang) stepping (mo cha bo), testing force (shi li) testing the voice (shi sheng) and sparring. The highest practice is the war/health dance ( jian wu) where the practitioner puts all he's learned into a sponaneous practice. Who did you learn mian chuan from Seth?

That's interesting Scotty. Does it have anything on "Tiet Sid Kuen" or Iron Wire form in it? I'm asking because the picture on the cover of the book is an illustration from one ofmaster Lam Sai Wing's books on Hung Gar. Either from the Tiger & Crane Matching form, Kung Tse Fook Fu (taming the tiger) or the book on the iron wire form. What does it say about tendon changing and marrow washing? Just curious. John

"how do i use kunlun energy in martial arts like aikido" I've found that the sudden wave of energy that travels up my spine while doing the kunlun sitting nei gong can be transferred through the entire body when issuing force with some practice and can pretty much turn it on and off at will now. But eventually I imagine that one would want that sudden surge (best word I can think of to describe the feeling of the dantien vibrating) to come instantaneously when one wants to execute a technique. I've done a similar practice to the condensing breathing exercise that are in that book but there's more to it than Liao describes. Still what he wrote about won't hurt you. Just don't tighten your muscles too much or you could end up doing harm to yourself. Good luck, small John

I've always been told that 3-5 am is the best time for qigong & zhan zhuang because this is the time that the lungs were most active. I've done zhan zhuang at 4am for many years now and have realized some great results from it. I do a type of standing that incorporates both the yijinching and marrow washing practices in it. Proper body method (shen fa), breathing and moving can give someone all the results he is looking for. Strength, flexibility, internal strength etc can all be gained from the traditional practices. I've never found a need for kettle bells, weights or any other equipment or exercises outside of the traditional ones taught within the many systems of Chinese martial arts. If you learn and practice them properly I don't believe that outside material is necessary for great results but perhaps I've just never been interested in looking elsewhere. As for Cheng Man Ching, well he did zhan zhuang postures from the form until he could not stand any more but I don't think he taught this practice to many students. Ben Lo is one of them though and he still teaches the standing. There is also a set of 24 nei gong exercises that Cheng taught for strengthening the body. The results are that one becomes very strong internally and develops the "iron shirt" so to speak. These exercises are very similar to other 24 nei gong sets that I've seen & practiced from different systems. Sometimes the exercises are labeled iron vest nei gong. They work the body from the inside out through various stretching, standing & twisting exercises.

I've had this problem for years and only recently looked for information on it. Can't say that I found to much medical advice on it but perhaps I didn't search enough. Most of the stuff on the internet speaks about out of body experiences. It wouldn't be so bad but usually the experience is accomanied by a dream that I can only describe as being such horrible nightmare that my wife has to wake me up by shaking me. Sometimes it's really bad and I wake up screaming. One time she grabbed my hand and in this state I percieved it as something trying to grab me in my dream and I almost injured her. I wouldn't wish it on anybody really. There is a standing practice / meditation that I learned in yiquan that is known for causing effects on one's sleep but in essence what it does is affect the subconscious causing one to practice fa jin and the likes while one is sleeping but the sleep paralysis is completely different. If anyone has been able to rid themselves of this I'd love to hear about what you did. Thanks small John.

What part of New York will you be moving to? Perhaps you'd like to meet in Chinatown sometime> John

I know just a bit about him. He was a student of Yu Yong Nian, one of the few remaining direct students of Wang Xiang Zhai that is still living. Don't know how great his skill is though. You can tell how good he is when he touches you. A good yiquan guy can control you at the first touch. Have fun. John

I could be wrong but I thought that Max told us at the NJ workshop that it was ok to start the standing version of the Kunlun I nei gong after three months of seated practice.

From the late taijiquan master Tao Ping Hsiang on being to eager. A quote from some Chinese philosopher: "Sometimes the flying dragon bites its own tail"

Hello Darin, Been doing taijiquan since 1991. Taught for a few years as well. Cheng Man Ching's form (some say that Yang Ban Hou invented it though) Yang long form Original Yang style (a rare, small frame fighting style from the Kuang Ping system) My focus is on yiquan, hsingyiquan and the original Yang style now. Every morning and evening I still try to get some taiji form practice in.

Orb, You've got a lot of balls to make comments about taijiquan and grandmasters without knowing it. First of all with your attitude you probably wouldn't make it through two months of traditional taijiquan training which is quite different than what is taught in public. Also why bother putting up a plumber against a taiji grandmaster? Why not step up yourself and challenge one? I'll tell you why because you're a sniveling little coward / internet hero who knows little to nothing about traditional taijiquan training or how to use it in a fight. So take one of your crispy premium chicken sandwiches and shove it up your ass next time you're sitting in front of your computer with your dick in your hand failing miserably at proving how much you know.