SiliconValley Posted August 10, 2008 Yes. They both learned the exact same form from Master Zhu Hui. Michael made a minor change to the closing movement, focusing on the central channel, but other than that they are identical forms. "Before enlightenment, chop wood and carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood and carry water." Â Â Jonah, Â Which of the two videos would you recommend for something planning to learn this form entirely from the video? Also, what is the significance of Winn's modification - was it for the better [which I am sure was his plan] or ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sahaj Nath Posted October 22, 2008 as my body continues to mend from my recent hernia surgery, i'm loving this practice more and more. Â as i write this, i'm buzzing. a very pleasant joy and serenity. not overly blissed out or hyper-energized. i feel balanced, general sense of gratitude, and very effortlessly engaged in the present moment. Â the energy coursing through my body is very apparent, but not at all imbalanced. Â Â beauty and compassion. everything is okay. Â Â Â i feel as if i get the whole 'enlightenment' thing associated with it. i definitely feel a deeper connection to the great perfection of all things both during and after practice. i approach it with openness and surrender, and the forces cultivated by the form do the rest. Â Â don't be too quick to underestimate the value of this form. Â Â it is claimed to have been invented by Chang San Feng, who is claimed to be the inventor of tai chi chuan. it's nothing like the 'fist' of tai chi, but it was never meant to be. it really does have a ceremonial-type quality. Â simple enough for me to want to dismiss it in the beginning. now it is a practice that is dear to me. Â Â the one way in which it IS like tai chi chuan is that there's a lot more going on with this practice that you can possibly grasp with a brief examination. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fiveelementtao Posted December 26, 2008 My wife gave me Winn's DVD of this form for Christmas. As soon as I popped it in and began viewing it, I started getting a really weird but very cool buzz just from watching it. I went ahead and memorized the form this evening and WOW! I highly recommend it. The moves are simple but it creates a double vortex of energy. You are going counterclockwise around a bagua in the short-term and Clockwise in the long-term. This set may look simple but it is creating a major influx of energy vortex thingie... I definitely feel this is more of a ritual than just an energy movement set. I got so high half-way through, I completely forgot where I was and had to eat something in order to ground myself enough to be able to memorize the whole thing. I suspect that the more energy one has built up, the more powerful the effect. I've been looking for a simple but profound movement set to wind down from my other martial sets. I'm glad my wife was led to get this DVD for me... I'm interested in seeing the other versions of this set out there... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
VCraigP Posted December 27, 2008 My wife gave me Winn's DVD of this form for Christmas. As soon as I popped it in and began viewing it, I started getting a really weird but very cool buzz just from watching it. I went ahead and memorized the form this evening and WOW! I highly recommend it. The moves are simple but it creates a double vortex of energy. You are going counterclockwise around a bagua in the short-term and Clockwise in the long-term. This set may look simple but it is creating a major influx of energy vortex thingie... I definitely feel this is more of a ritual than just an energy movement set. I got so high half-way through, I completely forgot where I was and had to eat something in order to ground myself enough to be able to memorize the whole thing. I suspect that the more energy one has built up, the more powerful the effect. I've been looking for a simple but profound movement set to wind down from my other martial sets. I'm glad my wife was led to get this DVD for me... I'm interested in seeing the other versions of this set out there... Â I practiced this form quite a bit myself. Also numerous times in special places in China while travelling with Winn in 2004. It is a very powerful form. Of all the things Michael Winn teaches this is perhaps my favorite and most lasting practice. I haven't practiced it for a long time since I met my current teacher in 2006, but of all my previous practices this is one I keep thinking about adding back in. Of all the qigong sets I have learned prior to my current teacher, this one seems to have the most juice. I think it has real lineage Qi. ....no, I'm not enlightened yet though...ha ha. I prefer to call it what he used to call it before his clever marketing kicked in which was Wuji Qigong or translated to English as Primordial Taiji. I totally agree about your statement of how powerful it can be. There are some bits he adds when he teaches it in person which are nice. Perhaps I can share with you sometime. I think it's time to add this back into regular practice. Â Does your version have a really bad soundtrack where the wind is kicking into the microphone? Hopefully he has improved this in the years since I got my copy. Â Happy Boxing day! Â Craig Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fiveelementtao Posted December 27, 2008 Does your version have a really bad soundtrack where the wind is kicking into the microphone? Hopefully he has improved this in the years since I got my copy Craig  Yes. He has dubbed in some voice overs to cover some of the bad audio... I would love to see the stuff he left out. you'll have to show me someday..  I agree about the lineage Chi feel. I definitely felt like there were some masters hanging out and practicing with me. Even the little computer print out page that came with it made me high when reading it. I definitely got the feeling somebody wanted to make sure I investigated this form... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
