what do you consider health!

[fiercest tiger]

do you consider the form work or chi kung, general fitness, bag work, as the health in kung fu.

if you had to pick one of the above which one is the best for health.

i would choose forms!!! because you can do them with tension, rings, fast, and slow. also you can learn to fight with them. unfortunately you wont get timing, power as much as pad and bag work. but thats my choice. can get timing and distance from 2 man sets.

anyone disagree?? :D

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

[HuangKaiVun]

What happens if we disagree?

[WongFeHung]

I would have to say flexibility, and cardiovascular respiratory endurance. Seeing elderly people who have maintained these capabilities is awe inspiring, and to witness people my own age who haven't is inspiring as well.

[fiercest tiger]

very true ten tigers :)

its good to see old folk still flexible and healthy, **** buggers are fitter than me. :)

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

[Robinf]

Here's a related question: Does a fit body bring with it, automatically, a fit mind?

Robin

[HuangKaiVun]

Definitely not, Robin. It helps, though.

Health to me, is more mental than it is physical.

[qeySuS]

a healthy body makes you feel better both physically and mentally and propably helps you being more posetive, i had no confidence and now i dont let people tramp on me :]

Free thinkers are dangerous.

[Paul Skrypichayko]

I'd have to agree with TenTigers. Seeing people in their 70's, 80's, or 90's still training and performing really gives me inspiration and shows the essence of Chinese kung fu.

[PingChoy]

I would have to say that before I started KF i sucked wind going up three flights of stairs in my office building- now I take steps 2 at a time-probably thanks to sa ping ma training. My skiing has also gotten better-don't get wiped out after a half a day like I used to- so KF has had some positive cross-pollination in other aspects of life, which is as it should be.

[Black Fist]

Kung Fu is in the basics, Health is in the basics. This includes stretches as much as excercises and actual martial arts basics.
Forms can be done incorrectly but if the basics are practiced it lasts forever.
It is nice to see old people being flexible and capable at such advanced ages, however it wasn't forms by the time they reach 80, as it is the stretching and basics.
As such their demonstrations will be good when they choose them to be (As most Masters are modest thus hide their true skills, except for their disciples) based not on their forms but their basic skills.

[Ben Gash]

Fiercest tiger, when I read that question I had hideous flashbacks to old lectures :)
As for the mind/body thing, it can help. Exercise releases endorphins, which are natural euphorics, and lead to a sense of wellbeing.
It also lowers the levels of the stress hormone cortisol.
Add to these physical effects factors such as improved self esteem and sense of accomplishment, which should come from training at a good school, and you're doing well in the whole mental health area.
However, you can run into problems if you become overly concerned with exercise, fitness or appearance, which can be the pitfall.

"Weapons are the embodiments of fear,
the wise use them only when they have no choice"
Lao Tzu

[fiercest tiger]

thanks for your post, anything thjat helps in fitness with mind and body is a bonus isnt it.
thanks again. ;)

peace

bakmeimonk@hotmail.com

[Shaolin Master]

An old yet simple practice for health is

"Zhan Zhuang" standing practice that is vital and excellent for harmonising the body (1-2Hrs a day is all it takes :))

Regards
Shi Chan Long

[jutsow]

to find your answer just look at your average kenpo/kempo practicioner, i believe you will find your answer very disapionting indeed. i dont mean to besmerch anybody but this is how i feel.
kenpo/kempo sucks
always has
always will
but hey,,, at least its not wing chun.[seriously]

[Scarletmantis]

The Chinese concept of health is very different from the western. I agree with the internal masters who believe that good health and fitness do not nessassarily go hand in hand. Let us listen to what they have to say:

"...one may reach the state where the spirit is preserved within, the body is healthy, and the spirit full, the intellect wise, desicions made adroitly and reactions made spontaneously. Consequently, the life energy will be maintained resulting in good health..."

-Wang Ji Wu, Hsing I Master, lived over 100 years

(paraphrasing)"Hah! Young man you know nothing! You see a fat old man, but look closer! I can eat more than you, drink more than you, sleep longer than you, and have more sex than you! You may be young, but I have Chi. Without Chi, there is no health."

-Wong Feh, Bagua Master, addressing a young B.K.Frantzis

It appears that there is more to good health than doing splits at eighty and practicing forms. Good health, according to the above mentioned Masters, seemed to indicate a certain "joy of life", an enlightened happy state, free from turmoil and full of zest. These men were obviously fit for thier ages, but what gave them the advantage over us simple mortals was Chi! Let's not neglect giving credit to our Chi Kung training. Fighting skills are impressive, Forms demonstrations are really entertaining to watch, but when I reach my 'hundreds, I'd still like to have sex like a teenager! :eek:


Best regards, ScarletMantis

[8stepsifu]

Then you better be really rich or else your sex parners will also be 100 and thats gross.

Oh wait silly me for 14 dollars you can get two women for a night in Thailand; and at age 100 who cares about aids?


Nice quotes and I agree, I've even found that I can be chi'd up, but my shen levels don't rise and I've been finding/ experimenting with energy levels, shen levels and charasma. I've also been looking at people's eyes, coloring and lips to see their levels of energy and how they attract people and how charismatic they are. I'm onto something cool here, but when I find it, it's not something you can really teach. It's more like a radio frequency that you find within yoursel

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.

[Scarletmantis]

Humor is good, but I detect a stubbed toe here. I know many Mantis styles don't place a huge emphasis on Chi Kung, but dosen't your Tai Chi Chuan school?
Many folks who train in internal arts do so for health and longevity. Two billion Chinese can't be wrong. :o

"The essence of life is struggle and it's goal is domination. There are higher goals and deeper meanings, but they exist only within the minds of men. The reality of life is war."

[Paul DiMarino]

>>>Two billion Chinese can't be wrong. <<<

Neither can the vast majority of the known world when they were saying that the world was flat.

Disclaimer: Not really disagreeing, but I just found this rationale amusing. ;)

[8stepsifu]

Our mantis starts out external and gets more internal as we get deeper into it. I was just musing about how a 100 year old could get laid. And while the Thailand comment was distastfull, I don't know of anywhere else to find someone that would sleep with a 100 year old guy. Oh wait....Anna Nicole Smith.

No stubbed toe, just playing around. For me chi kung is like tying your shoes, just another part of daily life. ...no offense intended.


Also it's more than just 2 billion chinese. India, Greece, Preindustrial western europe, Eastern europe, Indigeounous people everywhere.
I met a Zopotec herbal medicine doctor who described to me how the body's energy runs along meridians. She had super high shen/ chi levels, and told me how people get sick when their mind/bodies/ and spirits get out of balance. There was an emphasis on the spiritual, but everything else could have been strait out of a Chinese Medicine book. How about the caucasian iceman in the alps??? He had tatoos along meridian lines. Mitokuye Oyasi

If your not bleeding, your not having enough fun.