LFIAA Wild Goose Qigong “Sensing the Qi Movement”

When  any beginner starts to learn the Wild Goose Qigong form their main concern is obviously to try and remember the actual movements and sequence of each posture as they all link together smoothly. Gradually after about six months or more with the individual practicing regularly which greatly helps, the individual will begin to experience  a variety of sensations which usually occur within their fingers, palms and arms at first, then gradually spreading into the toes, feet and legs until the whole body starts to experience these sensations. Each individual will experience at sometime in their practice of the Wild Goose Qigong certain sensations like warmth, tingling, coldness, fulllness, heaviness, lightness, itcyness or movement which could be a sensation like a vibration, shaking or flushing of  heat or coldness usually into the extremities.

Personallly I believe that it is when the beginner begins to experience these sensations of energy movement within themselves that their Wild Goose Qigong  transforms from an external practice to an internal practice. What also helps is to co-ordinate the breathing with the movements as breathing inwards is performed with the actions of the Wild Goose Qigong when the arms are moving upwards and of cause breathing outwards when the arms are slowly lowering downwards. It is important that the breathing and the actions are moving all at the same speed. I was taught that breathing is like the wind (Feng) gently blowing  to encourage a fire (Qi) to start up and begin to burn, breathing helps the Qi to heat up and travel through the whole body so that each individual experiences the sensations of heat, tingling in their hands and feet.

To experience the  actual movement of Qi within your body does take a long time to develop with lots of regular practice on a daily basis. The movement of Qi can be a sensation of a vibration within your lower elixir field ( Xia Dantian)   that gradually grows outwards to your extremities which the individual can  experience as a trembling or shaking of the hands and fingers as the Qi surges through the nervous system. Another sensation of Qi movement within the body is the sensation of warm or cold flushes travelling upwards and downwards through the arms and legs as the blood and Qi flows strongly due to the actions of your Wild Goose Qigong form.

There are many postures in the practice of the Wild Goose Qigong where each individual can feel their own Qi movement, like when the both hands rise upwards in front of the individuals face, they can experience a sensation of warmth on their face from the heat of their both hands. Or when the both palms face each other as if holding. A ball they shoulder e tern all actions all of the time. experience a tangible sensation of warmth, coldness, tingling or if it is very strong a sensation of holding a magnet in their hands with the feeling of resistance between both palms. As the individual practices their Wild Goose Qigong it is the sensation of Qi movement within themselves that they should be trying to sense and experience and not just focusing on their external actions all of the time. As the movement of Qi and blood within themselves can graduallly disperse blockages and stagnation that could affect their physical, emotional, mental. No spiritual health and wellbeing.

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LFIAA Eight Healing Sounds Daoyin “The Heart Sound Method” (Xin Sheng Fa)

Many individuals practice and study the Healing Sounds guiding and leading (Daoyin) exercises to bring balance to their own health and wellbeing. Usually people practice the  more popular ” Six Healing Sounds Methods” ( Liu Jiao Sheng Fa)  which covers the five Yin internal organs  of the Lungs, Heart, Liver, Spleen, Kidneys and the Triple Warmer (Sanjiao) of cause the Sounds can differ from each particular style taught as each Style uses there own unique method  which gives us a great amount of variety. I was taught both the Six and Eight Healing Sounds practices by two different teachers and I much prefer to practice and teach the Eight Healing Sounds methods as I find them to be very strong and powerful in their Healing effectiveness both for myself and to my patients who I have taught to for specific illnesses.

The Eight Healing Sounds practice can be performed from a Lying, Sitting, Standing and Moving postitions, the Eight Healing Sounds corresponds to the Lungs, Heart, Kidneys, Stomach, Spleen, Liver the last to methods that make up the total Eight Sounds are used to Disperse blocked energy (Qi) and blood stasis (Xue) that can accumulate wi him the whole internal organs, the last method is performed to was h the ” Bone Marrow” to strengthen our skeletal system. When we practice any of the Eight Healing Sounds Daoyin the movements are used to aid the “Sound” and not the other way round in that the movements are more important than the Sound.

Let’s have a look at one particular method of the Eight Healing Sounds Daoyin. The Heart (Xin) is considered the Emperor of all of the internal organs as it promotes blood circulation around the whole body which carry nutrients to strengthen our health. The Heart is also closely connected to our (Shen) Spirit and a healthy Heart means that we are active full of vitality, our head is held upright and the individual carry themselves with a positive attitude. Whereas, if the Heart  is out of balance causing hypertension, palpitations etc then an individual  can have low vitality levels, their confidence to travel far is effected causing their spirit to  diminish. When you use the (Ah) sound associated with the Heart alongside its own unique movements the Vocalisation of the (Ah) sound can be non-vocal which is used to  tonify the Heart with gently vibration, or vocally it can be used to disperse strongly vibrating the Heart.

Obviously if the individual is suffering with a particular ailment then the Vocalisation of the Heart sound as to fit the patients illness to either sedate or stimulate their energy (Qi) to gradually strengthen their health. For the more healthier individual practicing the Eight Healing Sounds Daoyin is a great method of balancing, nourishing and strengthening their own health.

LFIAA Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu “Swan’s Wing & Willow Tree Ward Offs”

When you begin to learn the Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu system you will come across the defensive Ward offs (Peng) and Blocks (Lan) which can be performed either in a (Yin) soft (Rou) or (Yang) hard (Ying) methods. Basically the Swan’s Wing (Hong Chi) Ward off is used to deflect or block against a high line strike, punch directed towards your head or chest, whereas, the Willow Tree (Liu Shu) Ward off or block is performed against a low line blow or kick directed towards your abdomen or groin area. In a nutshell the shape of the Swan’s Wing and Willow Tree Ward offs ar just the same, except the Swan’s Wing Ward off is more slightly closed more at the elbow joint, whereas, the Willow Tree Ward off is more open at the elbow joint. Each will use the outside edge of the forearm to make contact with the in-coming blow or kick and with a subtle rolling (Gun) or twisting (Ning) action of both the arm and waist (Yao) allows the blow or kick to be deflected away from its intended target.

Obviously each of the Swan’s Wing or Willow Tree Ward offs or blocks can be used both on the inside or outside of the opponents striking arm or kick to open up their defence for you to then immediately follow up with a series of counter striking and kicking methods. All defensive blocks and Ward offs within the ar of Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu are also considered to be a method of entering into your opponents defence and not just used to defend negatively, but to enter, opening up your opponents defence ready to counter attack back with a wide variety of counters. The Swan’sWing Ward off can also be used in either an inside or outside method, the outside method is what we call a “Reverse” (Fan) Ward off method, to use the reverse Swan’s Wing Ward off is to use the outside of the upper arm and forearm keeping the elbow high and turning the waist and shoulders outwards from the centre of he body. Whereas, the Willow Tree Ward offs is only used moving to the inside of the body to protect the centreline.

Practicing the Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu teaches the practitioner to become very tactile using various parts of their body like the palm, back of hand, wrist, forearms and elbows to Ward off and block your opponents strikes or kicks. Likewise these same areas of the upper extremities that are used to Ward off or deflect can also be used to attack with. This means that we must remain close enough to the opponent so that we can successfully use our Ward offs, blocks and deflections to manipulate their balance to create openings in their defence that we can them quickly deliver a series of fast multiple blows to quickly finish the situation. Learning the Swan’s Wing and Willow Tree Ward offs allows the practitioner of the Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu to have a tight defence.

LFIAA Taijiquan “Accuracy, Timing & Speed Promotes Concentration”

When individuals first begin to start learning taijiquan be it either the Yang, Li or Sun styles which are taught by the LFIAA they mainly focus on learning  of the physical actions. Trying to remember the correct sequence that each posture follows from one to another, but when excatly does the mind or intent (Yi) starts to become involved with the physical actions that of each individual, sadly when I teach taijiquan to some classes many of the individuals within these classes follow the movements of either the teacher or the individuals in front of themselves which is understandable if you are a beginner student, but when you have been practicing taijiquan for over a year or more the individual should by now be able to remember the sequence and actions of he taijiquan style that they are learning and perform them without having to follow the person in front, behind or to the side of themselves. Simple following the movements of your class members means that you are letting them do the work for you and not developing your own concentration by relying on your own actions and skill.

In the practice of taijiquan each individual has to learn and perform three important points that will strengthen their ability to concentrate and connect their body and mind together. These three points will allow for their own minds to become calm, still and quiet but above all focused on themselves. These three important points are:

• Accuracy.
• Timing.
• Speed

Firstly accuracy, it is important that each individual performs each posture of their taijiquan form accurately, as each posture has their own unique own expression of the eight energies of Ward off (Peng), Rollback (Lu), Press (An), Squeeze (Ji), Split (Lie), Elbow (Zhou), Pluck (Cai) and Bump (Kao). For example of the Yang Style taijiquan posture “Part the Horses Mane” the individual should be aware that the substantial hands palm should be facing upwards, while the insubstantial hands palm should be facing downwards, not both palms down or up as this is a lack of either concentration on the students behalf or that they were taught wrongly.

Secondly timing . Most beginners make the mistake of moving their hands and feet at the same time which makes their movements look clumsy, and jerky. It is important that the student  understands that the legs and torso move firstly and that the upper extremities move last, here we are talking about literally seconds between the action of the legs, torso and arms. Secondly the top and bottom of the body must connect and follow each other in unison and should not be moving in isolated actions, for the individual to connect and move their whole body as a unified unit means that they must concentrate on the timing of their actions there is also the timing of the breathing and movements being performed together at the sae speed, again this asks for the individual to fully concentrate and engage in their taijiquan practice and to not follow the person in front and move exactly at the same speed.

Thirdly is the correct speed or tempo. To many beginners move their bodies to fast in the practice of taijiquan because their own minds are full of chaos, as they are thinking of things that went on before they entered the class or are thinking of things that they should do after the class. All this make their minds become full, anxious and tense which then causes them to speed up. You can easily tell the ones who are following the person in front as they actions are to fast or they suddenly pause and stop like a statue, rather than  maintain a slow, smooth, even speed from start to finish. Obviously the slower you can make you actions become within your taijiquan practice the more the individual needs to concentrate, hence then the mind and body becomes connect as one whole unit.

LFIAA Lishi Energy Bodywork Massage-Tui Na Qigong “Pulling Method” (Tuo Fa)

Another of the Lishi energy Bodywork massage methods (tui na Qigong) that was taught by Master Chee Soo as part of the Li Famly (Lishi) massage techniques for which there were ten sections to be learnt. Is the Pulling method (Tuo Fa) this particular massage method was  also combined  with the Pinching method (Jin Fa) by Master Chee Soo and was called the Pinch/Pull method. I personally teach both the Pulling and Pinching methods as separate techniques, the Pulling  is a more passive (Yin) method that causes no pain or discomfort and is performed slowly using either two, three, five or ten finger Pulling, whereas the Pinching method  can be a very painful experience and is considered a (Yang) method as it is performed slightly faster than the Pulling method.

The Pulling method can be used on the musculoskeletal system to relax tight muscles, tendons and joints to invigorate both  blood (Xue) and energy (Qi) to flow smoothly around the whole body by removing blood stasis and blocked energy channels that can cause illnesses if left for long periods without treatment. My teacher Master Chee Soo would mainly teach the Pulling methods of the Lishi energy Bodywork massage on the muscles of the body, Pulling means to grasp the muscle and to then gently lift upwards pulling away from the body and allow the muscle to slip out of your grip. The Pulling method when combined with other massage methods can also be used to effect deeply inside the patients body to remove energy blockages, such as combining  the Pulling method with the Grasping method to gather the patients qi and to then guide it out towards the surface of the body by Pulling out the sickly qi (Bing Qi), another massage method that is combined with the Pulling method is the VShaking technique (Chan Fa)  This is used by firstly using the Pulling method to pull the muscles and tendons upwards and to then gently or vigorously Shake the muscles and tendons from side to side, this particular technique is used to break up  and remove blocked blood stasis or blocked energy that lays deep inside the patients body.

Another aspect to the Pulling method is that it can be used to stretch the patients joints and can be used to traction both the upper and lower extremities. Many individuals suffer with some kind of joint injury to either their spine, shoulders, elbows, hips or knee joints were the joint as become swollen, stiff and painful. The Pulling method can be used to gently stretch and traction the joints open,  allowing for the stagnant sickly blood and other body fluids that have accumulated around the joint to be flushed out by the more cleaner and fresh blood flowing into the space between the joints that have been trationed open to remove the swollen area. Usually when the practitioner of the Lishi energy Bodywork massage apples the Pulling method as a traction to to gently open and stretch the joints of the arms or legs they must move slowly and hold the position for a long period of time to allow the patient to relaxe into the tractioning of their limbs to improve  their blood and qi circulation.

LFIAA Wild Goose Qigong “Lifing the Heels”

Over the many years that I have been teaching the Wild Goose Qigong Pre-Natal and Post-Natal  64 forms I have been asked by many of my students why do we lift our heels of the floor. For which I mention that there are many reasons, firstly there are some postures within the Wild Goose Qigong that the body weight is transferred from front leg to back leg and vice-verse in a rocking action were the lifting of the heels of each foot allows the body to rise upwards and sinks downwards in a vertical circular action. The lifting of the heels allows the ankle, knee and hip joints to be pushed upwards raising the individuals centre of gravity, this will then allow the individual to rock their body weight onto the front leg for which it will allow the individual to take a step forwards with the leg that is insubstantial or empty, as the individual steps forwards and places their foot onto the floor the body weight can then be transferred onto it.

The lifting of the back foots heel will allow the hip joint of the leg that is used to take a step forwards to rotate in a vertical circular action , which will then gently close and open the joints of the spinal column and stretch the muscles of the Lowe back, especially if the individual places the insubstantial foot onto the floor using the “Mud Wading Step” (Tang Ni Bu), secondly, energetically the lifting of the heels of either both feet together on in an alternating method will allow the qi to travel upwards from he floor through the toes and ball of foot and upwards through the Yin energy channels (Yin Jingmai) and upwards into the torso and upper extremities.

A third reason for the lifting of the heels will gently stretch the tendons within each foot allowing for any tension or stiffness to be released. This will also help to strengthen the legs as the body weight is rocked gently from one leg to the other, allowing the individuals leg muscles and tendons to become strong and fit enough to support their own body weight. Which will improve your ability to balance and have the endurance to stand for longer periods of time, plus your cardiovascular fitness will greatly improve good vine you more stamina. The Chinese call the action of the legs as the “Second Heart” as the more your big muscles of the legs are used within your exercise the greater effect it as on the heart to pump the blood around the entire body which will nourish and strengthen each individual health and wellbeing.

There should be no linear actions used within the practice of the Wild Goose Qigong, all movements should be circular in their action n and this includes the stepping actions. The raising of the heels allows the ankle, knee and hips to rotate in a circular asction especially of the foot that is taking the step forwards, although it looks as if the foot is stepping forwards in linear direction, the actual joints should be moving in a circular action with a slight rise and fall of the body weight.

LFIAA Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu “Wrestling Methods”

An aspect of the Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu that is rarely spoken about is the “Wrestling Fighting Methods” this particular range of fighting is obviously close up and in each other’s face. At this range of fighting you must have developed a great sense of tactile awareness as you will be in constant contact with your opponent. Because Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu is not a sport type of martial art which uses certain rules and guidelines were you can and can not use striking or kicking or even certain holds and locks on each other, anything goes as far as Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu is concerned, meaning that even thou you are in a wrestling range of fighting you can still employ striking and kicks no techniques to allow you to escape from a hold or lock or to enter into a joint locking technique or hold.

When we practice introduce students to the Wrestling range of fighting, we break it down into three areas of training, firstly we start all students with what we call standing or upright Wrestling. This means that each student can move around freely employing any hold or joint lock and can add in strikes and kicks, they must remain standing with no going to ground. Secondly they are then introduced to Wrestling from the ground, here they can only come up onto one knee they cannot stand upright, again employing any hold, joint lock or strikes and kicks. Thirdly they can then combine both the standing and ground Wrestling together which allows the students to then add in takedowns and fast throws allows ngside strikes, kicks and joint locks.

Another aspect to developing the students skill within the Wrestling range of fighting was to involve the use of a particular weapons n. My teacher Master Chee Soo would teach us to Wrestle against each other using either a Staff, Our Sashes/belts,  sword or knife (usually wooden). By adding a weapon to the Wrestling training allows the student to learn how to use the weapon to apply various joint locks, chokes, strangles and holds. It also teaches the student how to escape and counter attack against your opponent using a particular weapon against you, my teacher would always start teaching us Wrestling with the Staff and again he would allow you to employ strikes and kicks.

For the practitioner of the Original Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu it is important that each individual of this unique and fascinating internal martial art becomes skilful in all the areas of striking, kicking, Wrestling and throwing. Realising that at anytime these particular ranges can quickly be used against ourselfs and this is why the practitioner must be able to learn how to adapt, change spontaneously and overcome the situation that the opponent is forcing upon them.

LFIAA “Mindfullness within Taijiquan Practice”

The development of the mind (Yi) within the practice of taijiquan is very little spoken about. Mainly we talk about the physical movements on how they should be performed, but we do not talk or mention any information on the develop the mind. My teache Master Chee Soo always said that to develop the mind we must first work on the disciplining the physical first, this already tell us that both the mind and body are closely connected together and by working with one the other will benefit. Over the many classes on taijiquan that I have taught and am still teaching to this day it is the strengthening of the students ability to concentrate fully for a whole class session that seems to be the hardest thing for them to Master.

I have already mentioned this before that it is important that you allow your students to stand still and practice some Taiji Standing Post work (Taiji Zhan Zhuang Qigong) before you start your taijiquan class. As this allows your students to settle  and calm their minds before you commence the session, as many individuals usually are rushing in from work to get to the class on time and this means that their minds are full of chaos, anxiety and stress. Or maybe one of your students as had a family argument and enters your class still with a little  bit of frustration and irritability inside themselves, again causing their minds to become unsettled and easily distracted. Simply asking your students to spend five or ten minutes standing still practicing a little bit of Non-action (Wuwei) concentrating on breathing  deeply and calming their minds will allow hem to gradually relax, ready to perform their taijiquan practice.

The practice of taijiquan form work is considered to be a method of “Moving Meditation” (Taiji Dong Ming Xiang) meaning that the body & mind must be fully unified together within its practice. The main functioning of the mind is firstly to make sure that the physical actions of each individual remains fully accurate, smooth, and continuos, it must also co-ordinate the breathing with the movements as well as maintaining the speed of the movements. Gradually the student will become totally engrossed and fully focused in their own quality, of movement, speed and breathing hat thei mind will become more settled, calm and still and they will lose their sense of time. Over the years how many times have I heard a student say that the class went by really quickly, this is a good sign that this student was totally involved mind and body and was unaware of time and everything around themselves.

Concentration for many individuals in the practice of taijiquan is a very difficult thing to achieve and it is usually what effects the quality of the individuals taijiquan actions. I personally believe that to attain a still and quiet mindfulness state within the practice of taijiquan that you should also practice some sitting Meditation alongside it. It is especially important that you enter your taijiquan practice with a correct mindfulness attitude, to many come to a taijiquan class with their minds unsettled and full of things that they have recently done or are going to do and it takes nearly most of the class session for them to even begin to calm down. To fully get the best beneficial results from your taijiquan practice is to make sure that your mind is placed into the correct frame of mind before you commence with your taijiquan class practice, obviously this cannot always happen and if you feel that your mind is in a agitated state then it would be best not to involve yourself in any taijiquan practice. 

LFIAA Energy Bodywork Massage (Tui Na Qigong) Point Pressing Methods ‘Dian Fa”

It is vital that the practitioner of the Lishi energy Bodywork massage system (Tui Na Qigong) cultivates their qi development with the practice of “Guiding & Leading” exercises (Daoyin). As they will not be able to effect the qi of the patient as the practitioners own qi will be to weak to connect, attach, guide and lead the patients qi  within their own body to treat many types of ailments. One particular massage technique that is used within the Lishi energy Bodywork massage system as taught and performed by Laoshi Keith Ewers is the “Point Pressing Methods” (Dian Fa) were the fingers take the place of the acupuncture needle to penetrate qi deeply into the patients body, or to move the patients qi upwards or downwards etc.

Within the Lishi energy bodywork massage point pressing methods the use of the fingers, thumps, hyper Theanar mound (little finger edge) or the palm of the hands can all be used to press into energy cavities (Qixue) and effect the patients qi. Whereas, the use of the knuckles or elbows are not used to press into energy cavities because the practitioner cannot connect and attach strongly enough with the patients qi because the practitioner is using bone to feel deeply into the patients body. But using the fingers and various areas of the palms you can easily connect and tangibly feel the patients qi because the practitioner is feeling through their nervous system and bones.

Once the Lishi practitioner places a finger into an energy cavity of the patient th first thing that they must do is to attach to the patients qi. The patient will begin to feel a sense of warmth , heat or tingling being gathered in the area that the practitioner is pressing into. Within patients who are suffering with two much deficiency or low qi levels, then the practitioner will gather the patients qi and try to build it up and strengthen it, the patient will begin to not just feel heat they will also experience a sensation of fullness within the area that the practitioner is working on. Another aspect that the Lishi practitioner can also perform is to the patients qi is to make it rise upwards or downwards through either a particular limb or through the entire length of the body. In the accompanying photo that comes with this blog is a particular case of Laoshi treating a patient using his thumbs to point press into the patients “Bubbling Spring Points Kidney 1” (Yongquan) located on the balls of each foot. Here Laoshi is using his own qi to guide and lead the patients qi upwards to the head by using his thumbs to manipulate the patients qi. In this case the patient could feel a sensation of heat, tingling and pressure moving slowly up towards his head.

This why it is important that the practitioners of the Lishi energy bodywork massage regularly practice their Daoyin exercises to strengthen their own qi development so that certain massage techniques like point pressing (Dian Fa) can be used effectively and practically anywhere on the patients body to manipulate their qi to bring balance and good health to the patient.

LFIAA Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu “Post Standing” (Zhan Gong)

I have said this before in a blog and I will repeat again here. For those who practice the Original Hand of the Wind Style (Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu)) and call it an “Internal Martial Art” must also be practicing  qigong to cultivate their internal strength for which there are many methods that a practitioner of this unique internal martial must also practice alongside their striking, kicking, wrestling , throwing and weapon training. If one is not actively participating in the development of their internal strength. then they can not call their Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu an internal martial art. There are many ways that a practitioner should be cultivating their qi to give themselves strengtand they are.

• Sitting Meditation Qigong.
• Standing Post Qigong
• Moving Qigong.

A practitioner must spend just as much time on practicing qigong as to cultivate and store it and then to be able to transport it freely through the entire body, especially into the hands and feet for martial art usage and for their own health and wellbeing. Sitting Meditation (Zuowang) is a really good method to harness and store your qi, whereas the Post Standing  methods (Zhan Gong Fa) that are taught and practiced within the LFIAA Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu as taught by Laoshi Keith Ewers are another excellent method to practice as they also stretch the muscles, tendons and joints but more importantly also store, guide and lead the qi around the whole body.

Post Standing exercises strengthen both the physical, mental and energetic aspects of each practitioner. As the aim is to hold a specific posture  for a certain amount of time over a long period, concentrating on their breathing, body aligmment and body weight distribution. The longer the practitioner can hold the posture the more qi will be cultivated. Another aspect of qigong is for the practitioner to be able to circulate their qi smoothly around their body this is were the practitioner can use moving qigong exercises. These particular movements must also copy the actions of the unique style of Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu like its Ward Offs, Strikes and kicks combined together with deep breathing and mindful concentration what my rteacher Master Chee Soo would call “Martial Daoyin”  of which everyone would know the “Four Position Daoyin”. exercise for which Master Chee Soo would employ at the beginning of every training session to activate the practitioners qi. Obviously there are plenty more variations of these “Martial Daoyin” exercise taught and practiced within the LFIAA Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu Style.

Simply practicing one qigong exercise does not make your Feng Shou Quan-Gongfu an internal martial art.  A great variety of qigong exercises from sitting to standing to moving must be practiced on a regular basis, so that your concentration, breathing and body actions are naturally combined together unifying your physical and internal strength together in everything that you perform.