three regulations (san tiao)

[foolinthedeck]

Often there is talk about wing chun containing qigong exercises in the forms. However, although when we practice the forms we may be relaxed and have good structure where is our mind?

for an exercise to be called qigong, it must fulfill the three regulations or san tiao: body, breath, and mind. All of us possess already the three treasures (san bao) of jing - essence, qi - energy, and shen - spirit, but only a qigong exercise regulates these three treasures.

so the body must regulate the jing. We can do this simply by going for a run, we are focusing the body in such a way that we physically improve our fitness.

so the breath must regulate the qi. It is arguable that when doing an exercise that requires us to focus on our breath such as rowing, weight lifting and so on, we are regulating the qi.

Finally the mind must regulate the shen. This is the crucial one, so many of use fulfill the first two while practising the wing chun forms and call it qigong. but where is our mind? in order for it to be qigong our mind must be focused on regulating the spirit. How? by focusing on specific acu points such as the ming men, laogong, dantien.. What place is there in wing chun for this?

So while standing in the goat gripping stance, do we focus on the points on our feet (yongshen?) while pulling back wu sao do we focus on laogong? while turning in chum kiu do we focus on ming men?

i would be interested to hear from anyone who has devsied a complete list of focus points for each part of each exercise... focusing merely on the centre will not make our exercise qigong.

[Ultimatewingchun]

One of the first basic chi gung exercises taught in TWC (Traditional Wing Chun) is focusing the mind on the breath, and visualizing the breath as a beam of white light that enters the body with each inhalation through the nostrils and proceeds in a circular fashion to the top of the head and down the back centerline and acumulates in the tandien (two inches below the navel)...and then proceeds with the exhalation up the front centerline and out the nostrils.

It can be done in a standing or a sitting position, with the eyes closed and the hands and fingers facing each other (but not touching) directly in front of you, and with the tip of the tongue gently touching the inside roof of the mouth.

Just one of the basic chi gung exercises. But a good one.

[_William_]

Hi UltimateWingChun,

I have heard of a similar exercise, except with the chi flowing in the opposite direction(up the back and down the front). Is there a specific effect to circulating the chi in different directions?

Thanks.

[Hendrik]

NOTE:

This is a post of mine you might not want to read. so, please ignore it if you donts like it.


if I post the post out of ego then it is an egoistic self-center self-righteousness post. if I post the post out of hoping different ideas get across, then it is a different ideas post. Take what is best and drop what is garbage from my post.

May be I should delete this post tomorrow so that similar to a cloud, it comes and goes and tommorow's me and you are a different person. and the idea gone with the wind.




Just some opinions






Often there is talk about wing chun containing qigong exercises in the forms. -------


Qigong is a very general term. it ranges from basic relaxation to advance uniting with silence, from retract the testicle to healing the internal organs.

So, which type of QiGong is residing within WCK? This needs to be very specific otherwise, it is similar to " I am going to college" so what is the major? telling others others going to college is not good enough.






However, although when we practice the forms we may be relaxed and have good structure where is our mind? -------------


great question.

and another questions are how do we even know what relaxed is and what is a good structure?

is a Goat pulled BMW a relaxed and good structure?





for an exercise to be called qigong, it must fulfill the three regulations or san tiao: body, breath, and mind. ---------


the three regulations are PRE-REquisite or Basic of Qigong. Fulfilling the three regulation doesnt make it practicing QiGong YET.


Qigong starts after you have the physical, breathing, mind regulate.








All of us possess already the three treasures (san bao) of jing - essence, qi - energy, and shen - spirit, but only a qigong exercise regulates these three treasures. ----------


NOT only Qigong exercise regulates these three core components of the human.
While eating, sleeping ..... the core components are influence and regulated.

when one is tired. one takes a nap. certainly the Jing, Qi, Shen are regulated.
When one is sick, one takes medicine. Certainly the Jing, Qi, Shen are regulated......





so the body must regulate the jing. We can do this simply by going for a run, we are focusing the body in such a way that we physically improve our fitness.--------


Is that regulate the JIng ?


or it is traing/ growing the Qi from Jing via breathing and exercise?

Things needs to be clear here.






so the breath must regulate the qi. It is arguable that when doing an exercise that requires us to focus on our breath such as rowing, weight lifting and so on, we are regulating the qi. -------


is breathing regulate the Qi or is the mind regulate the Qi?

Here too one needs to be clear what happen.
otherwise it is blind.





Finally the mind must regulate the shen. --------



So, what is Shen?

is it within that thinking mind or is it beyond the thinking mind? If it is beyond the thinking mind how is one regulate it since it is beyond?






This is the crucial one, so many of use fulfill the first two while practising the wing chun forms and call it qigong. but where is our mind? -------------




how is regulating shen go to do with where is our mind?

is it about regulating shen? or is it about AWARING where is your mind?
if it is about AWARING the mind, then is it regulating Shen? what is the different between Shen and Awareness?






in order for it to be qigong our mind must be focused on regulating the spirit. How? by focusing on specific acu points such as the ming men, laogong, dantien.. What place is there in wing chun for this? ------------


how long can you put focus on points such as ming men,,,,, before
the mind running away? how is that focus the mind in a place regulating the spirit?

Can one focus one's mind at the coca cola can and regulating the spirit?


What place is there in Wing Chun for focusing one's mind at the coca cola can?





So while standing in the goat gripping stance, do we focus on the points on our feet (yongshen?) while pulling back wu sao do we focus on laogong?--------------



is that a goat pulled BMW M5 or BMW M5?
Do you focus on your wheels when you drive a car in the high way?
Do you focus on your steeling wheel when you drive?





while turning in chum kiu do we focus on ming men? ---------


Do you focus on your car seat when you drive the car back ward ?





i would be interested to hear from anyone who has devsied a complete list of focus points for each part of each exercise... focusing merely on the centre will not make our exercise qigong. ---------



IMHHHHHHO, doing what describe above is distracting and stagnating the heck out of body, breathing, and mind. it becomes even not nature.


It is similar to trying to force the breathing to breath as one likes it. and the problem is one's mind has no idea how the natural breathing is.



just some thoughts.

[Hendrik]

I have heard of a similar exercise, except with the chi flowing in the opposite direction(up the back and down the front). Is there a specific effect to circulating the chi in different directions?

Thanks.


1,
The chinese used the length of travel of that visualization light which related to the breathing to manage the lenght/depth of the breath.


IE: visualized the breath becomes a light, and the light travel down to the chest from nose, or the light travel down to the low abdoment. that, manage the depth of the breath.

AND, one MUST not force this length of light traveling for that FORCE the lenght of Breathing can throw the breathing out of nature and oftern cause Breathing STAGNATION which is bad for health. WE FoRCE the system, Stress and Stagnation will surface. So, dont force it. and dont even train it if one doesnt have a proper details instruction.



2, as for the direction of traveling, that has to do with what kind of Training one is doing. there is a purpose for each different direction. Etiher relax the foot yang meridian relax downward from head or energize/circulate the Du Mai up from the bottom up on the back.


ONE MUST NOT DO THOSE directing the Qi visualization STUFFS IF ONE HAS HEART PROBLEM OR HYPERTENSION without a Qualified Teacher!!!!!

[anerlich]

Often there is talk about wing chun containing qigong exercises in the forms.

IMO the relationship is tenuous at best. If you want to do qigong, do qigong drills, not SLT.

[Ultimatewingchun]

William:

I believe there is a difference in effect in reversing the route of the breath visualization - and it goes something like this:

the inhalation of the fresh oxygen (chi) has a cleansing and revitalizing effect on the organs, meridians, joints, etc. of the body that it hits - and the exhalation is the release of toxins and "old" used up energies (chi) that are carried away and discharged...so the exercise I first described would refresh the back centerline meridians culminating in the tandien - from which the residue from those body parts are released in the exhalation...

whereas the exercise you described would refesh the front body meridians and exit and release them through the exhalation.

.....................................


Andrew:

I have to disagree about SLT. I think the first section in particular (but not necessarily limited to it) helps the practitioner develop a conscious movement of chi in a spiral effect to go out through the lower body and out through the arms, hands, and fingers...the quintessential "forward energy" that wing chun people like to talk about...that is, when moving tan sao and fuk sao out and away from the body while exhaling...while the inhalation connected to the wu sao that is returning toward the body has a lock down effect on the chi - producing a stable, rooted, and difficult to move body structure...all done while visualizing the energy as the white light that I referred to earlier.

...............................................

Now some questions may arise as to the different "purposes" of the use of chi movement I described; in one I talked about revitalizing and refreshing while releasing old used up energies on the back end; and in the other I talked about the flow of energy (or force) in two different directions (depending upon whether you are inhaling or exhaling).

The two different "purposes" are not contradictory or mutually exclusive to each other. They exist simultaneously.

[Hendrik]

the inhalation of the fresh oxygen (chi) has a cleansing and revitalizing effect on the organs, meridians, joints, etc. of the body that it hits - and the exhalation is the release of toxins and "old" used up energies (chi) that are carried away and discharged.




Thus, I have heard,

Inhaling fresh and exhaling old is called To Na or spit out and in take.
Those are good general based ideas for breathing.



However, Oxygen itself alone is not Chi, activating different medirians makes a different since different medirians affected different internal organs.

That is becasue when chi is gather and grow, warmness will appear. and the path of flow of the "warmness" is Mai or medirian.


Circulating of Chi/Qi Mai such as those micro-cosmic or macro- cosmic....etc is called Ban Yun fa or transportation method. And not all body type can train Ban Yun fa.


different stuffs so not confuse.




just some thoughts.

[anerlich]

Victor,

I respect you opinion, but personally I feel that treating WC as other than a fighting system (viz. system of health cultivation, "way of life", social program, etc.) is to lose its purpose.

I have a fair amount of experience with "internal" arts, Xingyi, etc., and a pretty good knowledge of TCM. I've also been taught some more sophisticated Qigong than what I've seen in WC. I too am familiar with most of the visualisations.

I remain a TCM sceptic. I've yet to see qigong practitioners outperform more conventionally trained athletes in any discipline, nor to see any great impact from it or WC training on longevity (active or overall), more than would any other healthy lifestyle choices including moderate exercise.

My main argument is that you should use a tool best befitting its purpose. WC is great for close quarter unarmed combat. Less so for the rest. And IMO, that's a good thing.

[Ultimatewingchun]

"I respect you opinion, but personally I feel that treating WC as other than a fighting system (viz. system of health cultivation, 'way of life', social program, etc.) is to lose its purpose."

I BUY THAT ANALYSIS, Andrew...it's one thing to talk about moving one's energy during SLT as a means of developing power within one's strikes during fighting; it's quite another to look upon wing chun chi gung practices as a system of health cultivation, a social program, etc.

[foolinthedeck]

bows
thank you
bows again

[_William_]

Thank you for sharing.