PaulLin

[scotty1]

So, what is your experience of Zhan Zhuang?

I am pretty much new to it, so I'll share my experience and ask a load of questions as I don't know how long you'll be online.

I started with over 100 days of Wuxi standing. As I understood this was to make sure my energy was flowing correctly before I started building.

Now I am doing the treehugging (Lohan Embraces Buddha?) stance, for 10 minutes daily. By the time 10 minutes is up, depending on what other training I have done that day, there is mild pain in my back and arms. I basically just try and relax and breathe my way through it.

My feet are slightly more than shoulder width apart, and my hands are the same width apart as my feet at about shoulder level in the stance.

The stance now feels quite natural, I am using mental aids to help maintain the stance. Such as a thread out of my crown to keep the spine straight, my pelvis a bowl of water to keep my hips tilted forward, and a weighted thread from my perenium (between the anus and scrotum) hanging into the earth to maintain the correct stance.

In short, it feels natural and relaxed. My mind is relaxed during the stance, and I used to have a problem with tensing my legs which I no longer have.

I am not guiding the breath, I am just breathing naturally. After doing this for two weeks I feel I can do 15 minutes now although I am in no rush!

So now the questions.

How long have you been doing it?

What are the effects you have experienced, and what are the effects you hope to experience?

Is your practice similar to mine from the description I gave? What is your opinion of my practice from my description, and how could I improve it?

I have no teacher, I have learnt from a book 'The Chinese Way of Energy' and knowledgable people on the internet. I have done other qigong with a teacher.

Do you have any other information you can share with me about this? Also, you mention that my kickboxing will be different from others because of my Zhan Zhuang, how so?

Final question - what is your opinion and experience of the pattern Lifting the Sky? Would you perform it with Zhan Zhuang?

Sorry for the long post and all of the questions, hopefully you will find the time to answer them

[scotty1]

Where the goddam hell is he?!

[scotty1]

Dam*mit PaulLin I saw on the Kungfu forum! Come here!!

[Maestro1700]

lifting the sky is a great exercise

[Walter Joyce]

"arguing on the internet is like running in the special olympics......even if you win, you are still retarded "

you may be a tree hugger, (standing post is what you're probably referring to) but sensitive you are not. You'd be amazed at how many people's families are effected by mental health issues. Just thought I'd point that out.

[scotty1]

Sorry dude. Didn't really think anyone would be offended by a joke that is really making fun of arguing on the internet.

But my family is not affected by mental health issues so apologies man, if you are, say no more, it is gone.

[scotty1]

Maestro, why do you think lifting the Sky is great?

[Walter Joyce]

Thank you.

[scotty1]

No probs dude. No hard feelings I hope.

[PaulLin]

Just found this thread today. I have many things to say, but I will have to wait after my midterms Just need 2 more days.

[PaulLin]

From a quick glance, I need to know more about your posture, like the height of stance, in order to put more info.

First, you need to get a meaning of what are you doing, the mind side of qi is very important.

We usually start with 30 min. ZhanZhong. up to 1 or 1 1/2 hr.

Breathing is important, but must be natrual, by the meaning of natrual, I mean it is done as eating, drinking, walking in the daily need activaties. So there, you must have a meaning of what are you doing when you are in ZhanZhong. No solid meaning will not be natrual.

[Walter Joyce]

No hard feelings, just a heads up. Thanks for the kind response.

[guohuen]

BTW, the special olympics are still a form of segregation not unlike "sheltered" workshops. Exactly whom is being sheltered by a "sheltered" workshop, and why are there not events for developementally challenged atheletes in regular sporting events like there are for handicapped atheletes? Sort of reminds me of "Separate but equal".

[scotty1]

PaulLin - i am looking forward to the detailed reply!

I just wanted to see if what I am doing sounds like what you are doing. Also if you could answer the questions regarding benefits etc. I would be very grateful.

The height of my stance? Well I am about 5'10", and I am basically stood upright, apart from my legs are bent at the kness, so losing a couple of inches.

[PaulLin]

The height of your stance sound like what I am doing too.

This is how I am doing, I will start form the root.

First is to know what are you doing in ZhanZhong.

Physically, I think this: You are connecting the Yang and Yin forces. This may be too surface talk. To put in more detail, Yang is the energy form and yin is the matter form. Your qi power is form the energy condences into matter and matter expends into energy. It depends on if you can clearly defend the individual characters of the energy field--empty, pointing, poking, relaxing, and the mater field--sinking, holding, curving, sucking--to maximize the effects of your qi power. If the matter and energy characters got mixed up and not clear, then you will have low qi power.

Further more, after that, you will keep the interchanging form energy to matter and matter back into energy in a stable and constant way. Flucktuation would weakening the cycle. As longer you maintain the inter exchanging, the stronger the qi power would grow. I would suggested you to try at lest 30 min, if you don't stand Zhong long enough, you wouldn't use qi, you would only using li. You would have to push to a degree that your li is not able to countinue and you must rely on qi. Then you can let go of the li and use qi.

Mentally: I tooken this process as being a representative of both yang(heaven) and yin(earth), and that what all lifes did. It will depends on how good you are able to make yourself a better reprentative of both heaven and earth to make your qi stronger. So in tournament, one shouldn't fight for one's own pride, should fight to show a better way of representing the heaven and earth, as the way God want us to be.

Will write more when have time. I hope this can help some one.