SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
FEBRUARY 2020 PART 3
"Carrying the Moon" from the Eighteen Lohan Hands
Question 1
May I also enquire as to whether Grandmaster Wong has any plans or schedules to teach 18 Lohan hands?
— Cleve, Malaysia
Answer
The main thing in chi kung is skills, not techniques. As an analogy, you may learn the techniques of swimming from a good book or a good video, but if you don't have the skills, you can't swim.
In the Intensive Chi Kung Course, you will learn the skills of chi kung. Once you have the skills, you can pick up the techniques from good books or good videos. You may, for example, pick up the techniques of 18 Lohan Hands from my books or from my website.
Many people just practice the techniques of chi kung. They may practice for many years, but still they don't have the basic skills. The basic skills are to generate energy flow. You will learn how to generate energy flow at the Intensive Chi Kung Course.
It is like Taijiquan, usually spelt as Tai Chi Chuan in English. Many people practice the techniques of Taijiquan, but don't have the skills to develop internal force or to use Taijiquan techniques for combat.
Question 2
I also want to share with you a shocking article I read about the current situation in China about the Shaolin martial art schools.
— Dimitri, Austria
Answer
There is no surprise for the situation in China. For a long time since the present government took over, the Shaolin Monastery did not practice Shaolin Kungfu, though many Westerners might not know it. As far as I know, genuine Shaolin Kungfu, and of a very high level, is practiced in our school, Shaolin Wahnam.
Most kungfu practitioners, including in China, cannot defend themselves using the kungfu techniques they have practiced. If they have to spar they would use other martial art techniques, especially Boxing and Kick-Boxing, and they generously exchange blows. If they have to really fight, they would throw away all the kungfu they have ardently learnt.
But I believe the present Chinese government is doing the right thing for the people. Kungfu in the present day is a hobby, though it was a need in the past.
"Sanda", which means "free fighting", is a joke. "Sanda" today is an exchange of blows. The one who can take much punishment will win. A student told me many years ago that the main concern of "sanda" was how to throw jabs and crosses, and not about tiger-claws or no-shadow kicks.
In the past, "sanda" was very important in kungfu. It was meant to test whether a kungfu practitioner could fight. The basic aim of any kungfu is combat efficiency. Only great kungfu talks about internal force and spiritual cultivation.
Traditional kungfu is about tiger-claws and no-shadow kicks
Question 3
My question now if you will assist me about increasing my vital force or chi.
— Frederick, USA
Answer
Chi, written as "qi" in Romanized Chinese and means "energy" in English, is the vital force that enables life to carry on. The more chi a person has, the better is his health, the more lively is his vitality, and the longer he lives.
If you can extinguish a candle flame with one punch at a distance of 4 feet, and sway a candle flame with a finger at a distance of between eight to ten feet, you certainly have a lot of chi. What you need now is not to increase your chi, but to enhance your peak performance and spiritual joys irrespective of your religion. With your tremendous amount of chi, you should do better in whatever you do, and live every day peacefully and happily.
Enhancing peak performance and spiritual joys is not what many well known masters did in the past. With their tremendous internal force, they would be able to do better whatever they did, but they might not realize it consciously. In other words, they did not know how they could use their chi to perform more efficiently. Some of them were not particularly peaceful and happy, which showed that they did not consciously fulfill spiritual joys.
Question 4
The Iron Wire set is beautiful and it is my morning routine, it is free flowing with no tension and when I do feel any tension I release that tension and the flow of mind and energy is most obvious.
Answer
It is very important to be relaxed when training any internal arts. The other very important condition is to be focused, In modern chi kung term, to be relaxed and to be focused is said to be in a chi kung state of mind. This phrase, "chi kung state of mind", is coined by a very great chi kung master from China, Sifu Yan Xin.
In my opinion, Sifu Yan Xin is the greatest chi kung master in the world today. He is so great that he can redirect missiles or change the molecular structure of liquids from a distance. Of course, I don't expect many people will believe it.
I don't know about the missiles part, but in changing the molecular structure of liquids, he was observed and confirmed by China's top scientists. Naturally, he is a national treasure of China, and he keeps a low profile.
In the past, "chi kung state of mind" was called "entering silence" in chi kung. In Shaolin Kungfu it was called "entering Zen", and in Taijiquan it was called "entering Tao". In modern English, it is "entering a heightened level of consciousness".
The powerful Iron Wire set
Question 5
I want to be more progressive in my Shooting One Finger and Yin Fist.
Answer
I can understand One-Finger Shooting Zen very well, but what do you mean by "Yin fist"? Do you mean "Marvellous Fist", i.e. injuring an opponent without physical contact?
Question 6
I love these practices so much that no other training in wushu or kung-fu even excites me anymore.
Answer
I am sure you know the difference between modern wushu and traditional kungfu, especially Shaolin Kungfu. Modern wushu is for demonstration, and traditional kungfu is for combat.
I have claimed that Shaolin Kungfu is the greatest martial art. Practicing Shaolin Kungfu is one of the best things anyone can do in today's world, even when we leave out combat, which would be useful in the past but not necessary in today's law-abiding societies.
Shaolin Kungfu gives excellent health, vitality and longevity. Shaolin Kungfu enhances peak performance, though many Shaolin practitioners do not know how to transfer their kungfu skills, techniques and principles to enrich their daily lives.
Not even Shaolin masters realize that Shaolin Kungfu is a process of spiritual cultivation. When Bodhidharma, the First Patriarch of Shaolin Kungfu, taught the Shaolin monks the Eighteen Lohan Hands, which later evolved into Shaolin Kungfu, his aim was spiritual cultivation.
A beautiful wushu demonstration from https://wushuadventures.com/why-chinese-wushu-athletes-good/
Question 7
How do I apply more vitality, chi, effort to steady my progress to full success and mastery over time with the "empty force"?
Answer
With your daily training of Iron Wire for 10 years, and your training of One-Finger Shooting Zen, you have attained "empty force". You may try it on a friend. Ask him to stand a few feet away, say about 3-6 feet, and apply a punch, a palm strike or a finger strike on him. Ask him whether he could feel your force.
The set-back is that he may have to take medication, preferably from a Chinese trained doctor. A Western trained doctor may find nothing wrong with him. In our school, a victim performs a chi flow, which will clear away the injury.
Hence, in our modern law-abiding societies, "empty force" in a strike will be a liability. But it can be an asset to enhance your peak performance and spiritual joys if you use its chi for daily living.
Question 8
Does the body change because of the chi flow going through it or is the body itself chi? In other words, is the force that extends beyond the body into the flame or object physical, mental, or spiritual or are they all just One?
Answer
The answer depends on your perspective, like whether you see your body and its object as separate, or whether you see the whole world as energy. In other words, it depends on whether your perspective is phenomenal or transcendental.
If you see your body and its object as separate, i.e. your perspective is phenomenal, the force that extends beyond the body into the flame or object is physical, mental and spiritual.
It is physical because the force is physical, though we may not see the force with our naked eyes, just like we do not see electricity with our naked eyes.
It is mental because you use your mind. Someone who has a lot of "empty force" may not use his mind. In other words, the physical force is more important than the mental force. However, if that someone also uses his mind, his "empty force" will be more effective.
It is spiritual because you use your spirit. Someone who has a lot of "empty force" may not use his spirit. In other words, the physical force is more important than the spiritual force. However, if that someone also uses his spirit, his "empty force" will be more effective. It is most effective if he uses his physical, mental and spiritual force.
In Western culture we speak of the physical, the mental and the spiritual. Although the mental refers to the mind, in many cases it refers to the brain. Please note that the mind and the brain are different.
In Chinese culture we speak of the physical, the energetic and the spiritual. The spiritual here includes the spiritual and the mental in Western culture. The addition is the energetic aspect, or chi. Chi is very important in Chinese culture. It links the physical and the spiritual.
If you see the whole world as energy, i.e. your perspective is transcendental, everything is just One. It refers not just to "empty force" but to everything there is. It refers not just to the world, but to the universe.
I conduct intensive courses in Malaysia. Besides other skills, you will learn entering a chi kung state of mind to generate energy flow, and to enhance your peak performance and spiritual joys. It will save you a lot of time from trials and errors or from practicing on your own. You can check my website for available dates.
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
- Where is Shaolin Kungfu Taught if Not at the Shaolin Temple?
- Research on Cross Roads at Four Gates
- Eighteen Lohan Hands
- Change from Worrying about how to Defend against your Opponent's Attacks to Letting him Worry about how to Defend against your Attacks
- The Garden of Timelessless