05.31.07

What is gongfu (kung-fu)?

Posted in Health at 6:05 am by Scott P. Phillips

The term gongfu is commonly used today to mean fighting arts. It specifically implies a potent quality of movement which is powerful, precisely because it has been refined by years of practice. Gongfu was originally any good work done for the local community, and for this reason I have settled on the translation- meritorious action. In the Tang, dynasty where the term originates: (Quotes from Kristofer Schipper Taoism and the arts of China)

“…the traditional dioceses and local communities of the Taoist ecclesia gradually transformed themselves into modern temple organizations. The new bourgeoise of the Jiangnan area organized themselves in associations, which were to dominate the social and economical life of China until modern times, were headed by laymen, but remained intrinsically Taoist in nature. They served many other purposes…. [[ Often, the most important associations were vocational groups, such as the grain traders of Nanchang, and hence comparable to Western guilds. Others were pilgrimage associations, which maintained the networks between different localities. Still others had more precise aims,]] such as performing deeds of merit: keeping the temple clean, reciting scriptures, caring for the old and sick, helping the disabled and the mentally unfit, liberating animals and even collecting old paper (any piece with writing on it was deemed sacred) and training in the marital arts so as to be able to protect the community if need arose. All this was gongfu , “religious merit” (a term we now associate with the Chinese martial arts of the temple associations)…. [[and because all these activities were performed as a service to the community we call these associations “liturgical organizations.”]] P.49

[footnote: During the Ching Dynasty because these associations were suppressed, many went underground, became dedicated to the over-throw of the government, and became what we know today as the Triads. ]

The custom of publicly demonstrating one’s merit is pervasive in Chinese culture. The New Year’s custom in which people who prospered during the year hand out money in red envelopes is a great example of publicly demonstrating one’s merit. So are the ribbon cutting ceremonies at newly built bridges or businesses. Early theater was originally the ritual performance of acts of merit, performed at these same temples, which eventually became Chinese Opera and has now morphed into the popular gongfu movie. The basic physical training for Chinese Opera is martial arts or gongfu.

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African Bagua #1

Posted in Fighting, Health, Martial Arts, History, Daoism at 6:00 am by Scott P. Phillips

The first in a series of lectures I am producing about the origins of Chinese martial arts is up on Youtube. Check it out

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05.30.07

Internal Coordination

Posted in Qigong, Health, Martial Arts at 3:03 am by Scott P. Phillips

Internal coordination is the ability to link-up the movement of one part of the body to another, it is an essential aspect of qigong and all internal arts. Another way to think about it is to say the six limbs, head, tail, arms and legs, are all connected to the movement to the lower dantian, or the belly. With practice, even very small movements will become supported by the subtle movement of the rest of the body. This is primarily accomplished through the continuous twisting and wrapping of soft tissue from one extremity to another.

In qigong as well as all the internal arts, internal coordination is achieved within the frame of the tailbone sinking, the top of the head rising and the shoulders directly aligned with the hips so that the spine itself does not twist at all. This leaves all the internal organs free to move with the twisting and wrapping of the extremities.

This is just a small piece of a very large proccess and there are many different approaches to teaching this principle. Some teachers may treat it as ‘advanced’ and so many qigong movements neglect this principle. This is partly because it is possible to break the over all principle of internal coordination into smaller components and develop them independently. It is also partly because once the principle is thourghly integrated into ones movement it is possible to be internally connected in any type of movement, including freely twisting the spine.

In practice, internal coordination is usually combined with other teachings; for instance, pulsing the joints, opening the qi gates, and various hydrolic processes in the body.

If you focus your training on internal coordination your movement will be come more snake-like.

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05.28.07

Pirates of Tai Chi

Posted in Fighting, Taijiquan, History at 9:34 pm by Scott P. Phillips

North Atlantic Press has put out a whole bunch of great martial arts books, many of which need a lot of editing. Among them is: Scholar Boxer, Chang Naizhou’s Theory of Internal Martial Arts and the Evolution of Taijiquan with complete translation of the original writings (editied by Xu Zhen, 1932), by Marnix Wells. See, even the title needs editing! Yet, it is the best attempt at a history of Taijiquan’s actual historic origins I have seen.

It’s a tough challenge. The textual sources are really limited and he seems to have drawn on most of them. I, of course, would want to look into actual Daoist writings, but I’m not optimistic that relevant late Ming or early Ching Dynasty Daoist sources are going to surface anytime soon, if they exist. I would also look in theatrical sources. He does deal with Shaolin Buddhist origins, and that’s great. Aye…maties, but here is the money quote:

“Qi Jiguang’s boxing, the major source of Taijiquan techniques, and the internal School Boxing of Wang Zhennan are both traceable to maritime Zhejiang in the early sixteenth century. Its city of Ningbo had been the official port for Japanese missions. After their forced termination in 1549, its off-shore Zhoushan Island became a base for Japanese and local pirates. It was there that Qi Jiguang describes learning the practical art of boxing in Major Liu’s thatched hall. Manuals by generals Qi Jiguang, and his mentor Yu Dayou, leaders against Japanese pirate attacks, provide us with the first detailed knowledge of Chinese (internal) fencing and boxing.” [Page 7.]

Dude, you hear that! Taijiquan comes from fighting pirates on the sea! Johnny Depp look out! After Pirates of the Caribbean 3, we can make Tai Chi Pirates of Zhejiang!

I always felt like all those dantian circles had something to do with the sea. When you are fighting on boats for weeks at a time all your organs learn to move with the natural pulsation of your “sea-legs.” I know my Chen style Taijiquan improved a lot after a month of working 20 hours a day standing in a modified horse stance on fishing boats in Alaska.

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05.26.07

Stance Training

Posted in Qigong, Health, Martial Arts, Taijiquan, teaching, Weakness, Shaolin at 7:04 am by Scott P. Phillips

All Chinese martial arts schools do stance training. It is often considered the most important training for developing a gongfu foundation.

I estimate that I have stood still for on the order of 6000 hours, probably more. The longest period of time I have held a single stance is 6 hours. My shaolin students learn and train the following stances: Horse, Cat, Falling stance, Bow’n'arrow, Monk, cross leg or t-stance, and natural step (ziran). Every movement in taijiquan should be held, and basically the same goes for xingyi and bagua.

Wang Xiang zhai, the highly influential 20th Century founder of Yiquan said quality stance/stillness training was what all great Chinese martial artists have in common.

My own experience is that deep stance training is more effective than stretching and high kicks for re-making young Northern Shaolin students bodies so that they have a bigger range of movement potential. This is sometimes called, “getting the qi in the channels.”
While in my twenties, an hour a day of low stance training initially made my thigh muscles and shoulder muscles bigger, but as time passed and my alignment improved my muscles got smaller and smaller. This is sometimes called, “qi going into the bones.”

It’s true, my muscles got smaller. My alignment improved and along with it my ability to issue power, to connect (integrate), twist, and pulse (open/close). Believe it or not, I got weaker. Not lazy or deficient but muscularly weaker and functionally more sensitive.

As time has passed I feel my use of higher stance training (still an hour a day) has helped develop more freedom and naturalness in my everyday movement. This is sometimes called, “Writing the Classics (jing) on your bones.”

Stances on one leg, both high and low, are essential for developing kicking power, and are of course great for balance (in a future post I’ll explain the physiology as I understand it.)

There is a ton more I could say about this subject and probably will in future blogs. I encourage readers to add your comments about what role stances have played in your training. In your opinion, what does and what doesn’t stance training achieve?

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05.25.07

The Black Taoist

Posted in Fighting, Martial Arts, teaching at 2:19 am by Scott P. Phillips

The Black Taoist is an internal martial artist (neijia) and teacher of exceptional skill. His website has a fresh rap about feeling the ethos of a martial arts life. Yes, I got it stuck in my head.

I first noticed him online about 8 years ago and got a kick out of his “taoist” style, but he has now put together a collection of video’s on youtube that are really excellent. I was instantly inspired by his frank talk and his relaxed spontaneous narration and interview style. For me, he marks an major evolution in the development of martial arts teaching and dialog. Frankly, most martial arts videos are so boring they are unwatchable. Thanks to the Black Taoist everyone is going to have to “step up.” (ie. I think he’s 6′5″)
I am also fascinated by the possibilities of exchanging marital arts videos. Dueling martial arts ideas expressed in a public forum people all over the world can watch. It’s only going to get more interesting. All that being said, I did get a little heat going with my own video response to the Black Taoist, and now I’ve thrown in a few more, and more are on the way.  http://youtube.com/gongfuguy

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Online Video Libraries

Posted in Health at 1:57 am by Scott P. Phillips

Youtube is truly amazing. It will no doubt completely and fundamentally transform marketing for anything that moves or incorporates learning.

Martial Arts video libraries never existed before. Forget that a hundred years ago Chinese martial arts training was almost universally kept secret. Before Youtube all those 2 minute film clips of old masters that people had in their private collections were simply too short to collect in any easy to access location. It’s only going to get better.

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/DPGDPG

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05.23.07

Softness vs. Flexibility

Posted in Health at 10:03 am by Scott P. Phillips

For most people looseness and softness will add more ease to ones normal daily life than flexibility will; activities like brushing one’s teeth, picking up children, riding a bike, and getting into a good seat at the movies when we arrive after the lights have gone down.
Some people may be thinking, “my muscles are already too soft.”  This, however, is unlikely to be the case for anyone who has even a mildly active life. What is more likely is that there are parts of one’s body that are very soft and other parts which are rigid- a muscle imbalance problem not a softness problem. Softness is a problem when paired with rigidity or when there is so much deficiency in the underlying structure that the muscles no longer function. The development of true strength is aided by softness and built on underlying structure. (What we sometimes call jing.)

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05.22.07

Xingyi

Posted in Fighting, Martial Arts, History at 5:09 am by Scott P. Phillips

I’ve studied both types to Xingyi quan (hsing i ch’uan), Wuxing (Five element) and Liuhe (six harmonies), but I’ve trained Liuhe a lot more. Both are powerful internal fighting arts. Both can be performed in a small space. Video

More, and More.

The histories I have read about this art really don’t tell us much. Liuhe is thought to be the older style. I find it difficult to believe, but Liuhe was taught only to Muslims before 1949. Wow, there is some truth there but at some point they must have been teaching others because it’s supposed to be the older style.

I do think liuhe is actually an older style because wuxing seems to have become simpler, perhaps even gentrified. (George Xu used to say “think kill!” when we practiced liuhe.)

The main weapon of war for the infantry for most of history was the spear. A phalanx protected by a small cavalry was very difficult to beat. Cavalries with huge Arabian horses became a cult of the emperor by the time of the Tang Dynasty (cavalries were later used by the Mongolian hordes conquered the world) and they were formidable, but training war horses was harder and more expensive than training huge infantries. The spear remained very important until the invention of the gun.

Spear training is evident in luohe xingyi both in the stepping and in the shrinking of the body size, not to mention the turning maneuvers and the focus on forward movement. I really can think of no martial art that is better designed for fighting with a group in tight formation, shoulder to shoulder.
I have heard that xingyi was officer training for the infantry but I don’t know of any facts to back it up.

Another theory goes that xingyi could be practiced on the thin paths of the rice paddies and in small places (as opposed to Shaolin which needs an open court yard or a walled park). It could be practiced on the road, going and coming from work.

Update: China From Inside is a pretty good site.

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05.20.07

Qi Jocks

Posted in Qigong, Health, Qi Jocks at 7:08 am by Scott P. Phillips

“Doctor” or “Qigong Master” (notice my finger is half-way down my throat) Sha can download new software for your organs.

It’s a typical Monday afternoon here in the city, but something very unusual is happening in Stacey’s Bookstore on Market Street. Sha Zhi Gang, a licensed medical doctor and acupuncturist from China, is downloading a new lung into a Sacramento lawyer’s body.

The lawyer, Kevin Lams, had gone through three rounds of chemotherapy over the last two years, but the cancer is back again. He is getting desperate, he said, and turned to Sha for help.

Dr. Sha looks like any other Asian businessman in his dark blue suit and yellow tie, but he’s actually an eccentric spiritual healer who claims “the Divine” has given him the power to download “soul software” and heal a range of ailments.

When I saw this article in Wired Magazine, and watched the video, I started writing an essay called “Qigong Ethics.” It isn’t finished yet, partly because a difficult question arose.

Your average American with what I call a functioning “BullSh_t buzzer” will recognize this as faith healing. Most parts of the world have some version of it. Subordinate yourself to a charismatic, fun for the whole family. It is always a performance but the vocabulary changes. Believe in the power of _____ to heal you. The problem arose because in China instead of calling it god, magic, or the spirit of Mumukupa– they called it ‘qi.’ (See my definition of the many meanings of qi.)

Historically, qi is one of several words used by trans-mediums and shaman to describe unseen power. What happened is that in 1949 China banned all religion and all religious expression. It is still controlled but there was an opening after the Cultural Revolution ended in the Early 1980’s when the government said it was okay to practice Qigong for health.

This little opening in the 80’s led to an explosion of emotion, ecstatic expression, and religious feeling–all focused around qigong. Nancy Chen’s brilliant book, Breathing Spaces Historically there was no distinct subject called qigong. Movement and meditation practices were always tied to, and regulated by, a religious group or martial arts lineage.
Here is the ethical issue: About 65% of the problems people go to a doctor for are self-created problems. When a person gets us to change our ‘un-healthy’ behavior it has a real medical effect. Doctors often tell patients, “Change or suffer and die”…and it doesn’t often work.

On the other hand, the performance language of a “qigong master” is frankly insane; but for some reason, after a “master” performs a healing, if he/she tells the ‘patient’ to “meditate in this position for 45 minutes a day for 108 days and stop eating fried foods,” the ‘patient’ often does it! They certainly have a better chance of getting someone to change their ‘un-healthy’ behavior than I do. I get a really strong vibe of dishonesty from these qi jocks, but those behavior changes really can help people.

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05.19.07

Technorati

Posted in Health at 6:50 am by Scott P. Phillips

I joined Technorati. By the way, anyone that wants to exchage links, just let me know.

Technorati Profile

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05.18.07

Daoism and Martial Arts

Posted in Martial Arts, Weakness, Daoism at 11:02 am by Scott P. Phillips

If you read Stephen R. Bokenkamp’s excellent Book Early Daoist Scriptures you can learn something about Daoism. There was a Daoist precept against keeping (or collecting) rare or excessively sharp weapons. This suggests that it was pretty normal to have something handy around the house, but that fighting was not considered part of their job (also weapons are talismanic, they are said to attract demons).
There is another precept which is really interesting: Daoists were forbidden to fight in the army, but if they were forced (threatened with the extermination of family) than they were forbidden to serve in a subordinate position–Meaning they had to command troops.
Other important precepts are cultivate: weakness, softness, stillness and non-aggression. There were also prohibitions against wasting qi or jing, or loosing your qi (i.e., getting angry to the point of self injury).
The vast number of Daoists were house holders, married men and women, priests whose job it was to regulate or manage local cults and the rectification of the unresolved dead.
Daoist thinking is important in the creation of internal martial arts, but the connection is not easy to make.
Kristofer Schipper who I mentioned in an earlier blog, says that there were two types of Daoists, black hat and red hat. Red hat were aloud to practice martial arts and black hat were not. The distinction between these two is not a simple one, but red hat’s are usually transmediums or shaman (wu).
The idea that certain internal martial arts (taijiquan, xingyiquan, baguazhang) are Daoist or Daoist influenced may not predate the 20th century. It very much depends on what we think Daoism is, and what constitutes an “influence.”
I intend to deal with this subject in depth in the coming months, but I thought I might give my readers a head start on the reading.

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