Trunk

DGS's Dizzying DVD Collection

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A review of Sifu Matsuo's bagua tea cups ... it's a single movement with one arm, then the other, no leg movement. (geez, I'm tryin' here to not have this sound like a hyped pitch... I'm genuinely enthused here.. I've been searching for a looong time, anyway:) I think of it as a rippling torque of the spine that starts from the base and ripples all the way up to and including the eyes (gateways to brain). While the most basic hand-strike of your usual circle walking is a whipping outward, in tea cups the hands pull: it's a similar movement (both rippling curves) but in the opposite direction (engages musculature very differently). It's a pretty strong core exercise, massages the spine in a *very* integral way.

 

I guess everything else starts to sound like hyperbole, how great it is, how it's way worth the $ for that single movement, yadda yadda. Let's just say, it's worth mentioning (that's me being understated about something I'm enthused about). :) For me personally, it was the bomb. I stopped doing any other practice for months. I tend to be surprised and enthused about Sifu Matsuo's methods; this one was one of those, lol.

 

Ok, here's the titles of the 2 videos to request if you're interested, $108 for both together:

Sifu Matsuo's Tea cups method:
1. Creating the teacup for Wu family Baguazhang ( ~ 13 min)
2. Master Level Teacups 5 Elements and Iron cloth (~ 2.5 hrs)

(Ordering info at the bottom of this page.)

 

a quote from an e-mail conversation I had a while back:

I consider myself very new to both tea cups and iron shirt. I've a lot more to get out of both of those practices before I'd consider myself "familiar". So, that said.


> on the masters tea cups and iron shirt dvd,
how much is devoted to tea cups? >
Approx the first 50 minutes. Tea cups is "just" (lol) that one movement, right?, first the one side then the other. So, in this amount of time he goes over it in detail, from a number of different 'levels' or pts of view. First an entire tea cup lecture from one level, then an entire lecture from another level, and on like that. From my view, so far, I consider this video mostly about tea cups. You can get started on tea cups with the shorter video, but this one gives many details. Impressive, helpful.

> the iron shirt is the heavens palm, dragon rolls over, wraps the post, backwards reeling palm, and hiding flower under leaf, correct? >
I haven't "gotten" dgs iron cloth (shirt) into my body nor familiarity yet (though I have videos on it). From the madskills version of iron cloth, yup, but I'd have to really study, practice, re-study, in order to compare it to what he says in this video w/ the tea cups. My beginner's impression: the madskills version of iron cloth is the bomb for iron cloth as it goes over in such detail, so clearly, with the graphics and voice over, repetition and everything. This video is the bomb re: tea cups.
hope that helps,

Keith

Edited by Trunk
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Yes.

 

I spent some time learning from Sifu Lam Kam Chuen.

 

On one occasion he said to us, "You do it wrong - in ten year everything fall down" (sic)

 

I had a strong sense that "everything fall down" was a rather unpleasant experience that should be avoided.

Oh yes that is when one learn things in this art the "wrong" is stacking over time

and cause problems, acutally things are subtle but need time to be become obvious.

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So, if I remember ... DGS's the most recomended DVD sets are:

  1. Kwan Yin magnetic qi gong.
  2. Heart of bagua.
  3. 9 hand seals.

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Thought I'd give a quick review of some Matsuo DVDS, from slightly further into the system than I was before (started in early 2011). A few notes first...

It's still my view that Sifu Matsuo hits more home runs (vis-a-vis accessible, effective, healthy methods - with wise balanced presentation) than anyone I've ever studied with before (~ 3 decades now), by an astonishing margin. If I put in all the superlatives needed to describe the quality of methods & presentation... it just makes me look like a blabbering idiot (at least in my eyes), so I'm doing what I can to be understated. Just figure that I'd *highly* recommend each of the following if you're into this sort of thing. Choice practices.

 

Gold-Panning.jpg

Kundalini gets mentioned on TTBs occasionally, how to prepare for it before-hand, how to deal with it once opened. Diet, finding a *really* good doctor of Chinese medicine (if you can find a doctor who practices Kiiko Matsumoto's Japanese style of acupuncture, you've found gold), pacing yourself (+ various other things) - all obviously important. As far as a system of qigong practices to gradually open & integrate the body in a healthy balanced way so as to integrate Kundalini ... again, ime, Sifu Matsuo's system I find effective by wide margin. (I went through K awakening in the late 80's, so this is ime.)

A little bit of theory...

The importance of the core (spine, chakras, sushumna) I'm assuming is basically recognized on many levels (physically, alchemically, etc). I think that many systems and methods (meditation, breath) work on that. Bagua I find to be particularly effective and accessible for opening the channels and tissues, integrating the energetics. Amazing core work in bagua. I was hesitatant to take it up at first, *really* glad that I did. Sifu Matsuo's system, in *many* different ways, develops the core.

Complementary to the core:
In my Taoist studies, I was late to recognize the importance of the extremities. Chinese medicine talks of some of the acupoints in the regions from the knees to the tips of the toes and the elbows to the tips of the fingers as..

... one of the most important groups of acupuncture points. All are located at or distal to the elbow and knee joints. Since the qi flowing in these portions of the channels is passing through a particularly dynamic change in quality, the five shupoints play an important role in the formation of many acupuncture prescriptions.


The qi goes through very dynamic changes through the extremities, transforms a *lot*. If you focus too much for too long within the torso, likely you'll end up with stagnation troubles. Really important to open up the legs, feet, arms, hands. And there are ways to do that that assist in connecting with heaven & earth. Also ways that *simultaneously* develop the hand energetics and core development as mutually supportive. Sifu Matsuo's system is replete with methods along that theme. I've never seen anything like it.

DVDS
I've bolded & in-quotes the names as the appear on the dvd.

1."Bagua Circle Walking: Single and Double Palm Chang" (aka "Heart of Bagua")
2."Kwan Yin Magnetic Qigong"
.. both of the above I reviewed in the DGS page I made (ordering info for all dvds at the bottom of that page) and KYMQ has its own TTBs thread. Heart of Bagua teaches bagua essentials and I approached it by focusing mostly on the simplest parts: the standing posture and the simplest version of inside & outside turns with circle walking. While Heart of Bagua is more physical (though still has energetics, heaven & earth integration), KYMQ really focuses on the qi level of the hands, how to create a qi sphere and how to harmonize the central channel with it. Still, at this pt, if I were to get only 2 DGS products ever, I'd get those 2.

3. "Art of Kuji-kiri in Psychology and Healing"
... the 9 mudras of kuji-in complement KYMQ beautifully, work from the root up at a level of qi a step or two more physical than KYMQ. When I started kuji-in I found that it coursed my channels so effectively that I mostly dropped my self-acupressure, which I found to be bewilderingly complex. Kuji-in, while odd to learn at first, is still a *very* accessible way to open the channels in general, imo. Honestly, I didn't get as much out of Sifu Matsuo's presentation of kuji-in than from some of his other dvds (though others dug it). He presents a variation of one of the mudras that I find a significant improvement, but the standard is pretty good. Kuji-in is all new to me and I found that the wiki article gave me the hand positions themselves and that's what I really needed to get started (there are als lots of other sources for the basic mudras all over the web and in books). Just the simplest doing of the mudras is where I'm at with kuji-in, and I feel I get a great deal from that. What it all means, the history, the different uses of 'em, how/why the fingers produce what they do when weaved different ways ... all that is kinda still beyond me. .. but I'm able to make the mudras and by doing that, my body changes: that's enough for me at this point. (And I know that many of us are on a budget.) Could be I'll get a deeper understanding of kuji-in at a later time.

 

So: heart of bagua, kymq, and kick in kuji-in for free from the web ... I think that those 3 work together extraordinarily well. I think that someone could do those 3 and never do any other kind of qigong and do really well. ... but of course many of us are maniacle qigong nerds (and it is fun) so, onward.

4. "Wudang Whipping and Vibrating Palm methods"
VP + WP are 2 major practices in 1 dvd and are foundational to later forms in the DGS system (all that cool wave-like motion in the water dragon form, for instance).



The topic of "shaking", "shaking out your body" as a practice of shaking loose and shaking out blockages and promoting flow comes up at TTBs occasionally. VP & WP are authentic versions of that, but not willy-nilly: a "shape" or "frame" is developed that can flow heaven - earth skillfully. Many of the DGS methods develop the center... VP & WP do, also, but they tap into the center in a way that prompts purification and flow through - outward. imho, VP & WP are important complementaries to have in place prior to some of the practices that more intensely concentrate into the center, or bring up intense energies (such as Tea Cups, 13 Elbows).


5. Tea Cups
... reference my recent tea cups review earlier in this thread.
"Everything is in tea cups." If I had to pick one single movement to do to powerfully get the most out of, "tea cups" is certainly one of the top candidates.

6. "Bagua Red Lightning Form: 13 Swords, 13 Elbows 2007"
Ever gotten a massage deeply along the medial aspect of the scapulas? That area that feels *really* deep and satisfying? The commentary for the acupoint BL-43 GaoHuangShu talks about that as a "vital region" that has resonance with essence (jing).

BL-43 GaoHuangShu "Vital Region Shu"

COMMENTARY
The name ‘Gaohuang’ can be translated as ‘Vital Region’. This concept, implying one of the deepest and most fundamental
regions of the body, ...
...
In discussing this point, Sun Si-miao in the Thousand Ducat Formulas simply states “Gaohuangshu BL-43, there is no [disorder] that it cannot treat” ...
...
So great was the tonifying action of Gaohuangshu BL-43 considered to be, that it was said to strengthen the original qi and treat every kind of deficiency, the five types of taxation and the seven injuries.


I'm still new to the "13 Elbows" form, but it focuses especially on a couple of internal aspects that I see so far:

  • Separating the waist from the hips (often talked about in the internal martial arts, occurs in many different exercises, but really well in this one).
  • Articulating, sliding, the shoulder blades (scapula) in lots of different ways. I've seen methods before that address this in one or maybe two ways, but 13 elbows does it in *lots* of ways *really* effectively. ime, there's no comparison in result. 13 elbows activates the jing of the lower jiao through the scapula work, releases all kinds of heat and promotes flow. It's pretty amazing.


Ok, that's it. Those are my reviews for now. It takes me a *long* time to absorb, integrate into my body, a major new practice. The above is a *lot* of material (I haven't yet fully mined out those dvds). I started DGS studies in 2011. Maybe I'll have another write-up in another 3 years, lol.

 

I'm enjoying being mostly away from TTBs; it was time for me. :)

I've got other projects to work on but felt I wanted to post this here DGS update of the methods that I'm currently seeing as essentials in my own progression.

 

best,

Trunk

 


p.s.
The quotes I used are from Deadman's Manual of Acupuncture. If you are serious about Taoist studies, I'd really suggest that you find some books on Chinese medicine that are hard core and just chip away at them over time. Deadman's manual is one of those for me.

Edited by Trunk
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Does Sifu Matsuo offer stand alone exercises in his DVD's or forms only? For instance, for items 1 and 4 from your list, there are forms explained. But are there stand alone exercises that would help to work on different neigong concepts?

 

It is my experience that both forms and stand alone exercises/movements are equally important. One can do a lot of repetitions of short movements and work on a certain neigong component and master it to a certain degree. Whereas forms are more for integrating purposes.

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Does Sifu Matsuo offer stand alone exercises in his DVD's or forms only?

Both.

Even when teaching forms, he breaks it down into small pieces to train.

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p.s.

However, w/ the KYMQ often students get the mistaken idea that they have to do the whole sequence of steps - and it's overwhelming taken that way. Each step is described clearly ... but for some of them you could spend a whole practice session, or many sessions (or make a whole practice out of), just working with one part or section (certain of the basic qi-sphere movements with the hands).

 

Also, KYMQ leads to things. It's hugely enhanced every other qigong practice I've since tried with my hands. In relating with others, it's changed the intimacy of holding hands, of touch and near-touch. The right tips are there to get some key hand energetic developments to occur ... opens up related hand stuff generally, wide application.

 

I kind of went wild with it. Used the basic technique with the feet, etc. The kymq thread touches on some of that.

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A review of Sifu Matsuo's bagua tea cups ... it's a single movement with one arm, then the other, no leg movement. ... I think of it as a rippling torque of the spine that starts from the base and ripples all the way up to and including the eyes (gateways to brain).

 

... For me personally, it was the bomb. I stopped doing any other practice for months. I tend to be surprised and enthused about Sifu Matsuo's methods; this one was one of those, lol.

 

Ok, here's the titles of the 2 videos to request if you're interested, $108 for both together:

Sifu Matsuo's Tea cups method:

1. Creating the teacup for Wu family Baguazhang ( ~ 13 min)

2. Master Level Teacups 5 Elements and Iron cloth (~ 2.5 hrs)

(Ordering info at the bottom of this page.)

 

a short clip from the beginning of Sifu Matsuo's tea cup video that I reviewed/quoted above:

 

 

 

p.s.

In the tea cups and other videos, I've found Sifu Matsuo to provide exceptionally functional tips. In tea cups, it got my spine to do whaaaa?? - gah!, in a way that has become fun and fluent. From KYMQ, anything that I now do with my hands and/or feet, and anything to do with a sphere: huge change. Circle walking, etc. (Stopping as I've started to rant.)

 

cheers & happy holidays,

Trunk

Edited by Trunk
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Sword Foundation Secrets 1

(ordering info in the description of the yt video)

 

 

Simple and surprisingly effective internal development techniques. Complements lower dan tien breathing beautifully.

 

Just me personally, if this were only about external combat/weapons then I would have no interest, none, nada, zip. For me it is all about health & internal development. I sort of begrudgingly started experimenting with sword because I saw the internal aspect and have noticed that a number of the DGS internal forms have a sword version; it's the primary DGS weapon. So now I've taken the plunge, gotten over my initial aversion to training w/ a weapon, and am getting served up really fascinating effective internal stuff through sword practice. :D (I was this way w/ bagua, too, "do I *have* to learn another internal art?!? :angry::wacko: ", and now I am so diggin it :o:lol: .) Thank you again to Sifu Matsuo.

 

p.s.

Wing Lam martial arts supplies sells several straight-swords that meet the specs described in Sifu Matsuo's video.

Edited by Trunk
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I've also started with this one. There's a for-sale 45min video of whirlwind palms that goes over it in detail, many helpful tips (again, ordering info in the yt description)... though there is enough in this short yt video to experiment some, my tips if you do: go s-l-o-w-ly and keep a sense of integral body. This is a wild stretch to deep in the core... Sifu Matsuo is in mad good shape in this short video and so it looks just casually fluid fast n' easy... take your time. :)

 

Edited by Trunk
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Does anyone have Medical Qi gong: Energy Healing dvd_s. If yes, please for review ... :)

  1. Tibetan Bon diagnostic techniques
  2. Tibetan Bon Healing Techniques: 8 psychic channels & Chakra system
  3. Tibetan & Taoist style pulse diagnosis
  4. Kunlun Flying Needles
  5. Iron Cloth - Iron Shirt

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On 25. 6. 2014 at 3:26 AM, Trunk said:

3. "Art of Kuji-kiri in Psychology and Healing"

... the 9 mudras of kuji-in complement KYMQ beautifully, work from the root up at a level of qi a step or two more physical than KYMQ. When I started kuji-in I found that it coursed my channels so effectively that I mostly dropped my self-acupressure, which I found to be bewilderingly complex. Kuji-in, while odd to learn at first, is still a *very* accessible way to open the channels in general, imo. Honestly, I didn't get as much out of Sifu Matsuo's presentation of kuji-in than from some of his other dvds (though others dug it). He presents a variation of one of the mudras that I find a significant improvement, but the standard is pretty good. Kuji-in is all new to me and I found that the wiki article gave me the hand positions themselves and that's what I really needed to get started (there are als lots of other sources for the basic mudras all over the web and in books). Just the simplest doing of the mudras is where I'm at with kuji-in, and I feel I get a great deal from that. What it all means, the history, the different uses of 'em, how/why the fingers produce what they do when weaved different ways ... all that is kinda still beyond me. .. but I'm able to make the mudras and by doing that, my body changes: that's enough for me at this point. (And I know that many of us are on a budget.) Could be I'll get a deeper understanding of kuji-in at a later time.

 

So: heart of bagua, kymq, and kick in kuji-in for free from the web ... I think that those 3 work together extraordinarily well. I think that someone could do those 3 and never do any other kind of qigong and do really well. ... but of course many of us are maniacle qigong nerds (and it is fun) so, onward.

 

 

 

Quote from Lao Xie e_mail:

"the 9 mudras are the main temple of the energetic body and psychic channels ( 8 extra channels) there are 387 mudras and this are the main 9"

 

So, there are 387 mudras all together ... really a lot of stuff ...

Then the "first" 9 are something like fundamentals ... and all together are one complete system ...?

Edited by Jox

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5. Iron Cloth - Iron Shirt

His Bagua Iron Shirt video that is edited by Madskills Productions is the bomb, *really* good. It has compressing into the center and twisting~circulating both built-into the same movement. (So it doesn't have the dangers of some other schools' iron shirt methods that just compress.) The editing & production on this particular video is *very* well done, top notch.

 

As to your other inquiries, I dunno. :)

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His Bagua Iron Shirt video that is edited by Madskills Productions is the bomb, *really* good. It has compressing into the center and twisting~circulating both built-into the same movement. (So it doesn't have the dangers of some other schools' iron shirt methods that just compress.) The editing & production on this particular video is *very* well done, top notch.

 

As to your other inquiries, I dunno. :)

 

Thank you Trunk ... this dvd is on my list ... ;)

 

For other dvd_s, maybe someone other should help ... :ph34r:

Edited by Jox
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this dvd is on my list ... ;)

I had a conversation w/ Sifu Matsuo. These two iron cloth (shirt) videos are very different, both favorites. Now part of an "iron cloth 2-for-1 package":

 

 

from the yt description:

Clips from two different iron cloth (iron shirt) videos:

 

1. MadSkills Productions Iron Cloth

2. Iron Cloth (breathing) (private lesson)

 

The 1st video contains a 4 movement (somewhat complex) bagua form that is done in combination with the iron cloth breathing. The production is top notch, including animation that illustrates the internal instruction.

 

The 2nd video is of a private lesson on the iron cloth breathing in combination with one very simple bagua movement and includes a half hour of detailed tips.

 

In both videos, the iron cloth breathing (compression) is balanced by combining it with bagua twisting movements (circulation).

 

Sold together as "Iron Cloth 2-for-1 package"

$108.00 paypal direct from wu lao xie at [email protected]

Edited by Trunk

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Vibrating and whipping palms has already been mentioned several times in this thread, I'm sure, but here's the promo clip that recently came out about it:

 

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Trunk,

 

I have several questions with regards to your last two posts.

 

Vibrating palm. There clearly are martial applications. Does Sifu Matzuo discuss health benefits of the vibrations in the DVD?

 

Iron Shirt breathing. Matzuo mentions the breathing in such context that one could assume he means reversed breathing. Is it correct?

 

I already bought Matzuo's Heart of Bagua DVD. It is good and content is rich, but IMO it is geared more to the intermediate practitioners. What I mean is that twists of bagua, both in the spine and in the legs, have substantial potential to inflict damage to the spine, knees, and ankles joints. In this DVD (Heart of Bagua) I couldn't find any tips on safety. Do you know of any Matzuo's bagua DVD where he addresses safety of practicing bagua?

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disclaimer: This is all imho, ime. :) Nothing more official, not representative of anyone else.

Vibrating palm. There clearly are martial applications. Does Sifu Matzuo discuss health benefits of the vibrations in the DVD?

I kind of see it the opposite way. None of it looks effective martially, to me, unless/until a fairly high level of internal integration (health) occurs as a result of the practice. To me, even in the clips I posted, I see mostly health, emotional, and qigong integration.

 

Open hand strikes, for example. Usually you'd slap (vs punch) someone when you *don't* want to hurt them.

 

Also, the body positions in the DGS system: they tend to very open and extended. Unless you have a *lot* of internal development to back that up, in a fight I think they'd leave me *more* vulnerable. *BUT* I am getting a lot of healing out of them, and energetic integration out of them so I am really enjoying them - find them valuable for those reasons. Martially effective? I'm not at that level yet.. and am actually not interested and wouldn't be studying this system if it were mostly martial. (And I do know that some other people do have a martial level of development; I'm just speaking for myself here.)

 

Click on the link in my signature that says "bagua qigong"; it starts at 8m??s. That is relevant.

Iron Shirt breathing. Matzuo mentions the breathing in such context that one could assume he means reversed breathing. Is it correct?

Some similarity, overlap, re: reverse breathing. There are more parts to the breathing than shown in the sample clips.

 

.. that twists of bagua, both in the spine and in the legs, have substantial potential to inflict damage to the spine, knees, and ankles joints. In this DVD (Heart of Bagua) I couldn't find any tips on safety. Do you know of any Matzuo's bagua DVD where he addresses safety of practicing bagua?

A number of the practices are gentle and address sensitivity to the spine especially (ex.s, the first standing posture in the video, also dragon rolls over). There are a number of videos where he either talks about opening up the spine so that you're not grinding the discs and/or gives you exercises that do that. The ankles I don't see at much risk.

 

The knees are tricky, and I see them as the point most-at-risk in bagua in general. I vaguely remember that there are some tips about the knees in heart-of-bagua, but I'd have to review and look for that specifically. While there is specific footwork instruction (a lot on mud stepping), and some on some other specific footwork (ex. T-step) I do think that "bagua: dangers" is an interesting topic and could be a good thread here at TTBs (a number of people here who could comment on this topic w/ much more bagua experience than I). I don't know of any DGS video that goes through all those points in a single section of video. Sometimes during his presentations I am watching his footwork and imitating, and also think I'd like it if he talks about it more specifically more often.

 

If a person has *real* spine or knee injuries, that's another thing (and mostly out of my territory to comment at all). A friend of mine, her knees are *totally* shot, my advice to her: don't do bagua circle walking, wrong practice for her.

 

Also, I think that in the internal arts (qigong etc) a student's own sensitivity is really important. Of course that does *not* negate the responsibility of those teaching to guide well. It's a balance.

Edited by Trunk
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Thanks Trunk for this clarification.
I can see how safety explanations could be difficult for masters. If they practice from childhood or very early age, or are very flexibly naturally, they may not even understand what kind of difficulties other people might have. I look at myself as an example. When I do bagua stepping, it is very clear for me at this point of my training that if somebody’s legs muscles don’t slide along the bones, they will very likely screw up their knees. But I understand this now. And my leg muscles started to slide just 6-8 months ago.
So what happened with me 3 years ago when I attempted doing bagua for the first time? I did it for a year enthusiastically and everything was fine until after a year of training my knee started to complain.
But again, if somebody’s muscles slide from the childhood, they may not even understand what I’m talking about because for them sliding muscles existed all their life and they never even had frozen muscles.

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Sword Foundation Secrets 1

(ordering info in the description of the yt video)

 

 

Simple and surprisingly effective internal development techniques. Complements lower dan tien breathing beautifully.

 

Just me personally, if this were only about external combat/weapons then I would have no interest, none, nada, zip. For me it is all about health & internal development. I sort of begrudgingly started experimenting with sword because I saw the internal aspect and have noticed that a number of the DGS internal forms have a sword version; it's the primary DGS weapon. So now I've taken the plunge, gotten over my initial aversion to training w/ a weapon, and am getting served up really fascinating effective internal stuff through sword practice. :D (I was this way w/ bagua, too, "do I *have* to learn another internal art?!? :angry::wacko: ", and now I am so diggin it :o:lol: .) Thank you again to Sifu Matsuo.

 

p.s.

Wing Lam martial arts supplies sells several straight-swords that meet the specs described in Sifu Matsuo's video.

i echo what trunk says about this video, especially the "simple and the surprisingly effective", i caught up with quite a few local artists in a short time , i feel, with this dvd and the bamboo palm.

bagua sword, yes, and not trying to start any debates saying what is the bestest etc,,, bagua sword is definitely a high level martial art, and unlike trunk who has "nada" desire for the martial applications, i certainly do like :D

and then there are those bgua deer horn knives....

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I can see how safety explanations could be difficult for masters. If they practice from childhood or very early age, or are very flexibly naturally, they may not even understand what kind of difficulties other people might have.

 

IMHO many masters understand it, but they have to teach you in person - to see you and correct you accordingly, video might be a bit difficult to transfer nuances of art like bagua.

 

Btw. does anyone have the Empath training dvd? The waterfall meditation it contains, is it the same one that's found in the original Kunlun book by Max Christensen?

Edited by Leif
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"Silk Reeling Energetics" video (promo vid clips below).  This is entirely a seated lecture about what is going on on the *inside* of silk reeling, bagua in general, and related misc.  There is no standing and demonstrating/teaching movements/form in this vid, yet it applies generally to the bagua movements taught in the many other videos.  For me, I definitely got clarification on some of the inner workings which immediately increased power, effectiveness, in movements I'd already been doing for a long time.

 

Edited by Trunk
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