Sifu Wong Kiew Kit's Home Page

Questions-Answers Series

SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
DECEMBER 2017 PART 2

Question 1

Answer

Not many people know that chi flow, or energy flow, is the essence of chi kung, and that one has to be focused and relaxed at the same time to generate a chi flow. These important points are mentioned in chi kung classics, but not many people have access to these classics, nor understand them even if they have access.

We are very lucky. We have access to chi kung classics and understand them. More significantly we differentiate between techniques and skills, and I teach the techniques and transmit the skills so that students can generate a chi flow immediately instead of practicing the techniques correctly for many months to acqure the skills.

Certified chi kung instructors in our school can also enable their students to generate a chi flow on the very first day, but because the students are with them for many months, the instructors take a longer time for the students to develop the skills for the students' benefit. In my case, I have to transmit the skills so that students can generate a chi flow immediately because my intensive courses last only a few days, and my regional courses only a few hours.

Many other chi kung practitioners are unable to generate a chi flow even when they have practiced chi kung for a long time because they are ignorant of these important facts. Even if they know the facts, like from reading, they lack the necessary skills although they may have the right techniques.

This, in fact, is the situation of more than 80% of chi kung practitioners all over the world today. Their chi kung techniques are genuine, but they lack the skills to generate a chi flow. It is the chi flow, not the techniques, that gives chi kung benefits of good health, vitality and longevity.

The situation of Taijiquan (Tai Chi Chuan) today is worse. More than 90% of Taiji practitioners today do not practice Taijiquan as a wonderful internal, martial art that it is, but as an external dance. They even add music to their dance. The Taijiquan techniques they practice are genuine, but they lack the skills to use their techniques to develop internal force and for combat.

Question 2

Answer

It is unlikely you will overcome your problems unless you attend my Intensive Chi Kung Course. Attending the course does not necessarily overcome your problems, but it will give you a very good opportunity to do so.

Despite cancelling the course which you applied earlier, I still continued to give you good advice many times. But you don't follow the advice although you thanked me.

How does attending my Intensive Chi Kung Course help you to overcome your problems? More than teaching you fundamental chi kung skills and techniques, it enables you to change problems into opportunities for improvement. Many people have done this. Not only they have overcome their previous problems, but also they find life joyful for living. Whether you are going to make use of this rare opportunity is, of course, your choice.

Question 3

Answer

"Shoot Spear at Mystical Gate" was about the story of Lu Bu, a great warrior of the Three Kingdoms Period in Chinese warring History. "Mystical Gate" here referred to the name of a gate or passageway of a fort.

Lu Bu placed his crescent-moon spear at the Mystical Gate. Because he was so skillful with the crescent-moon spear, this type of spear was named after him, called Lu Bu spear.

Lu Bu rode his famous horse, named Red Hare, about a hundred steps from the Mystical Gate. If someone could shoot an arrow at a target while standing stationary a handred steps away, he would be considered a sharp shooter.

Lu Bu did more. He was riding a galloping horse. He shot an arrow at his crescent-moon spear and the arrow hit the target at the shaft of the spear. While riding his famous Red Hare, he short a second arrow, which cut the first arrow longitudinally into half dropping it on the ground, and the second arrow struck the shaft of the spear. Then he shot a third arrow, which cut the second arrow into half and hit the target at the shaft. Lu Bo shot three arrows but only one arrow struck the target at the shaft, the other two fell to the ground in halves.

Question 4

Answer

You need not bring your hands back to the original position of the Three-Circle Stance. That happens because your Three-Circle Stance has generated a lot of energy, causing your arms to open up spontaneously. It shows progress.

A good kungfu saying in this case is "Seen hok kei seong, hou yeng kei ping" (Cantonese), which means "First learn the established, then make modifications according to the situation".

When performing the Three-Circle Stance, the established method is to hold the hands in a small circle in front of the chest in a goat stance. Later, if a lot of energy has been generated, the hands may open up spontaneously. Let it be.

This is first "you-wei", then "wu-wei". First you hold your hands in a small circle in front of your body. Then if your hands open up spontaneously, you let it be.

Question 5

Answer

It is perfectly fine if your boyfriend does not want to practice chi kung from Shaolin Wahnam. There is nothing wrong with that. It is his choice and his right.

You should offer him and other people an opportunity to enjoy the wonderful benefits of practicing Shaolin Wahnam chi kung, but you should not waste any time and effort convincing him or anybody to learn from us.

On the other hand, it was great that your parents learned chi kung from us, and I am sure they will reap the benefits if they continue to practice even at 30% of what they did at the course.

Question 6

Answer

You should learn to stand on your own, and not to depend on your boyfriend's or anybody's charity. You live in one of the richest countries in the world. If you are determined to earn a living, you surely can. Even illegal immigrants who are not citizens can still have a comfortable life in your country. A poor person in the West is rich in Africa or even Asia.

Once I had a student from the West who came here for an intensive course. He was unemployed and depended on social benefits. But he could give tips to workers here, and spent his time here like a rich man. When locals asked him what his job was back home, he told them that he was unemployed and depended on social benefits. The locals just couldn't believe it!

You can make one more attempt to love your boyfried, not because you want him to provide for you but because you love him. It is actually easy for a woman to show her love for a man. If he does not respond favorably, though you love him, leave him for his and your sake, and find another man who loves you.

You are a beautiful and lovable woman. There are literally thousands of eligible men waiting for you. You only have to make the right and courageous effort to find them, and choose one.

Question 7

Answer

We say that many Taijiquan students, especially in the West, perform their Bow-Arrow stance wrongly because it has brought them harm instead of benefit. Many of them have knee problems and back pain which they did not have before their Taijiquan practice! Had they practiced their Taijiquan form correctly, especially the Bow-Arrow stance, they would have overcome their knee problems and back pain, not started them.

This is a sensitive issue, but I choose to speak the truth for our, and also their, benefit. But if they choose not to listen, it is their problem and also their right, and we are not going to waste time over it.

They perform their Bow-Arrow stance wrongly because they do not know the important points I explained just now. They also do not know that Taijiquan is a martial art; they only practice its external form without its combat functions. The term "quan" in Taijiquan (or "Chuan" in Tai Chi Chuan) indicates that it is a martial art.

The points I explained about stance training are secrets, not normally taught by masters to their students. The feet of the Bow-Arrow Stance are in line, with the toes hooked in about 45 degrees. The front knee should not bend beyond the front ankle. If you examine old pictures of past Yang Style masters, they performed their Bow-Arrow stance in this way.

But when they perform their Bow-Arrow stance, many Taiji students today have their front toes pointing forward, and their back toes pointing sideways. Their feet are also not in line. Worse, they shift their body forward, instead of rotating their body at their waist.

If they perform the stance wrongly once a while, it is alright as their daily mobility can overcome the little harm the wrong practice may cause. But if they perform the stance wrongly over a period of time, like every time they practice, the accumulated side effects will cause knee problem and back pain.

Another group of people who perform the stance wrongly, but in a different way, are wushu students. Their Bow-Arrow stance is too low, with their front knee beyond their front ankle. To the initiated, it is obvious that this position places excessive stress on their front knee, and chi (or energy) is locked up there, instead of flowing down to their feet to root them onto the ground.

But wushu students are not aware of these important points about the Bow-Arrow stance, and also not aware that their wrong practice causes them knee problem and back pain. It is no wonder that they cannot perform beyond 20 years of age.

Question 8

Answer

Yes, it is true. Not only one has to learn the techniques, not only the techniques of the Bow-Arrow stance but all Taijiquan techniques, but learn the techniques correctly. If they learn the techniques wrongly, and practice them well, they would have conditioned themselves to the wrong techniques which will result in harmful effects.

Taijiquan is an art, and like any art, it has to be learnt -- correctly. More importantly, the correct techniques have to be practiced well over a period of time so that they become second nature.

Not many people realize that walking is also an art. We have to learn the techniques of walking correctly and practice them well over a period of time so that they become second nature to us. Crawling is natural. Babies do not have to learn how to crawl, but walking has to be learnt. The advantage of walking over crawling is obvious, so we learned how to walk.

Similarly there are many advantages of knowing Taijiquan over not knowing it. The advantages are not just for combat, which seldom happens in our modern societies, but for enriching our daily life. So we learn it -- correctly -- and practice it well so that the techniques as well as the skills of Taijiquan become second nature to us.

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If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at stating your name, country and e-mail address.

LINKS

Selected Reading

• Chi Flow and Cash Flow
• History and Philosophy of Eighteen Lohan Art
• Taijiquan Cloud Hands
• Arrival at Chennai, the Old Madras
• On Forgiveness

Courses and Classes

• Intensive Chi Kung Course
• Intensive Shaolin Kungfu Course
• Intensive Taijiquan Course

• List of Certified Shaolin Wahnam Instructors
• List of Shaolin Wahnam Chi Kung Healers