qigong

[SevenStar]

is it safe for someone to learn qigong from videos? Of course, you should have an instructor, but if one is not accessible, are videos a good alternative?

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[S.Teebas]

double post!

[S.Teebas]

I wouldn't. I have friends who learnt some from a novice and they experienced some bad side effects such as being overly agressive etc...and by the looks of you Sevenstar, well i wouldnt want to be around if you go nuts! :D


S.Teebas

[SevenStar]

It intrigues me that internal training can cause all of these bad side effects if done improperly. It's something that I will never fully understand.

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[SevenStar]

Does this also apply to hard qigong? Dr. Yang has some stuff on white crane hard qigong that I want to check out.

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[Nexus]

If you are planning on practicing on your own, find a place on this message board where you can go over what you will be doing and confer with us. That way we can at least try and aide you with some advice so you don't do something which is totally oddball. I am under the belief for a while, in your early (Beginning) qi gong, you can do the basics on your own. Just remember, that if you are using incorrect posture, or bad form, nobody will be there to correct you and so you might practice 4 months with bad alignment, and develop bad habits.

But if you are ambitious to try it out, you might just do so.

- Nexus

[Wongsifu]

sevenstar, the way it actually is is that since qigong is shrouded in so much mystery since day one things are explained clearly....

firstly theres like 2 types of chi gung , martial types and health types.
when people say you might damage yourself learning from a book its cause if you do a hard martial style chikung and you are too tense , if you have a large flow of energy in your meridian , where there is tension the energy wont flow, this will lead to an effect rather like tying up a hose and turning on the tap.
this happened to a friend of mine and the next morning he woke up and while later he spat out a cupful of blood !!

In general because the health aspect of chikung is a lot more relaxedits safer to practise it on your own, again though if oyu practise for a long time , lets say without a teacher to straighten up your back you might develop a lot of energy that doesnt flow up wards , which will start to pull your tendensies downards , become more aggressive etc.

the easiest way to understand what i mean by health chi kung is softer more relaxed is the difference between tai chi embracing th etree stance and the hung gar golden bridge or golden needle stances...

on is a high stance the other is a low ass horse stance...

In general as a rule, IF you learn chi klung from a book you wont know the smaller finer details so oyu wont get the real benefits of it , you will just feel calmer and minor things like that. For the same reason practising for a week on your own something simple like lifting the sky wont kill you ... if you dotn see any side effecets after 1 week continue as these ares imple chi kung excersises

I wongsifu shall strike fear into the hearts of trolls and mma guys who **** me off on these forums oh and in real life.

[SevenStar]

next question - I can't remember whether or not I've asked this in another thread - what constitiutes a qi building form? the videos i intended on purchasing were the hard and soft white crane videos by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming. The videos demonstrate qi developing forms. Also, taiji and other internal forms build qi also. What makes them internal? is it simply proper breathing and alignment? If that's the case, can I build qi with tun da, for example, if I am breathing properly and my body is properly aligned?

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[prana]

7star

where the mind does not scatter, and thought stop to arise carelessly, Qi is being cultivated.
Of course, I am referring to the "health" Qi :D

http://dharmatours.com/hbmc/Prwhbl1.gif

[SevenStar]

I like that graphic in your sig...what is that?

"You ain't got enough calcium to have a bone to pick wit me,
like a Gracie, I'll choke a ***** out wit his own gi" - Rass Kass

[Water Dragon]

I'll show ya Fong Ha's method when you come up. It's pretty easy and you'll have results in the first post. Once you understand (which you will) you'll be able to continue on your own. If ya really like it, I'll get you in touch with some of his people around Chicago.

You may take my life, but you will never take my Freedom

[Braden]

7* - I don't know what to make of the "improper qigong can be really dangerous" concept. But it certainly can be a big waste of time. ;)

Don't listen to all this talk about hard/soft qigong, martial/health qigong, etc. The good stuff is simple and universal.

There's more to qigong than simply breathing and proper alignment. It's an unfortunate delusion that people have to think that simply doing their external forms slowly will make them internal. The problem is, it's hard to explain what that 'something more' is with just words!

I've come to the conclusion that internal development is not about proper structure, proper breathing, proper mindset, or the proper training methods. Rather, it is a 'something else' which develops when you _TRY_ to accomplish the proper parameters (structure, breathing, relaxation, etc) in the context of a proper training method (form, standing post, etc).

Competent instruction is of immeasurable value if you're after internal development. Actually, most of the competent instructors I know will only teach their preferred art in private classes. But on the other hand, internal development is very much about self-discovery. The teacher is leading you to water, as the saying goes, but you definitely are the one who has to drink. Considering this, I would say it would not be impossible to develop skill on your own. However, it will be difficult.

[prana]

7star

Tis the mantra of Chenrezig, Buddha Of Compassion. It's to help promote peace to this current state of hatred and war.

http://dharmatours.com/hbmc/Prwhbl1.gif

[Nexus]

Qi Gong and Tai Chi are basically breathing exercises. Some people like to make them to be more than that, and they are welcome to believe such.

Qi Gong is postures and movements that are coordinated with breathing. And when one lets go, and relaxes, the movements often begin to take on a life of their own. They merge in a sense, and often the practioner finds a themselves experiencing a feeling of weightlessness as well as many other feelings.

It is an excellent exercise to relax, start moving energy throughout the body, and strengthen the immune system and health.

All of these effects come prior to learning the martial aspects, which I have often found are not even worth worrying/considering in your first year of tai chi, at least not until you begin doing push hands.

- Nexus

[Crimson Phoenix]

Om Mani Padme Um
Good initiative, Prana :-)

[scotty1]

Anybody do the art of one finger shooting zen?

[origenx]

scotty1 - is that where you are imaginarily shooting a bow & arrow?

[Xebsball]

Is the one finger the one that Hung Ga people do? That one that you are in a horse stance and push your arms to the front with one finger pointing up?

I was trying that but i stopped because i may be doin it wrong, and that would be bad for ones health.

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