Qigong

Qi or Chi is energy, breath; Kung is work, study or training . It is evident that Qigong is work about energy, work about the lightning bolt: the spark of what is human. Qi exists in all things, so Qigong is the science that studies the energy of nature, the inter-workings of its elements and actions, especially those that affect man in one way or another. In reality, there is the Qi of the heavens, the Qi of the earth and also the Qi of all living things. The Qi of heaven enables us to understand everything about our destiny; the Qi of earth allows us to consciously harmonize our environment (Feng Shui); the study of the Qi which is the source of life, guides us to nature's path to achieve a long and healthy life. It is important to know that human Qi is influenced by the earth´s Qi and the Qi of heaven since we are part of nature and are involved in its cycles. The Chinese have studied human Qi for thousands of years and have developed diverse disciplines that currently constitute Traditional Chinese Medicine: acupuncture, massage, moxibustion, herbal treatments and also, Qigong.

Qigong, a therapeutic and preventative method, is a collection of exercises assisted by breathing, movement and the mind, which help to improve health, prevent illnesses and increase vitality.

Qigong offers various benefits. It:

– Activates the flow of vital energy throughout the meridians.
– Strengthens the internal organs.
– Increases longevity, maintaining the health and vigour of the body and mind.
– Controls stress, promoting a balanced and relaxed attitude.
– Controls the flow of energy, regulates and balances its functioning in the body.
– The correct practice of Qigong helps to regulate the nervous system's balance.
– Stimulates normal functioning of the internal organs.
– Helps in treating respiratory, digestive and rheumatologic problems.
– Stimulates concentration
– Produces a state of active meditation and mental tranquillity.

The origin of Qigong

In ancient times, there were people in China who used dance to strengthen the body, regulate breathing, activate blood circulation and sometimes, to cure certain illnesses.

Archaeological studies offer proof of this: drawings, inscriptions on bronze and relics that illustrate Qigong techniques as old as 1,100 to 221 years before Christ.

In “Huang Di Nei Jing” (the internal canon of medicine of the Yellow Emperor), the oldest work on medicine in the world (fifth century before Christ), a discussion on the theory of Qigong already existed and treatments are even described in detail. Since then, different scholars have enriched this study. For example, the famous doctor Hua To (25-225 A.D.) contributed, among other things, his “game of the five animals.” In the seventh century, during the Sun dynasty, a group of doctors from around the country compiled all the cures in a treatise on traditional medicine (“About the Developments and Symptoms of Illnesses”), including 260 Qigong methods to treat 110 illnesses. In the eighteenth century, another medical encyclopaedia was compiled: “Collection of Antique and Modern Books” and it includes Qigong as a major part of Chinese traditional medicine for the treatment and prevention of illnesses. Thus, Qigong became a popular form of exercise for maintaining health and longevity.

Chinese culture, interested for thousands of years in the study of Chi, provided an incubator that enriched this discipline throughout the centuries. Chinese philosophers of different schools (Taoísta, Buddhista, Confucionista), doctors and the schools of martial arts contributed greatly to the development of this art, and through the years and a study of the discipline as a whole they in turn adopted this knowledge as an essential part of their philosophies.

Since 1949, Qigong has received widespread publicity and promotion. Some exercises have been published, commonly known as Ba Duan Jing (The Eight Silk Exercises).

At present, besides being an important weapon to combat physical imbalances, thereby helping health workers, Qigong is also used to help athletes improve their performance; it is also used in schools to improve students' concentration and memory.

There are various Qigong systems: Dao Yin, An Quiao, Wu Dan, Lo Han.

Lo Han Qigong, is Chan Family Choy Lee Fut's own system, one of the Kung Fu systems most practiced in the world.

History of Shaolin Lohan Qigong

Gongs whose arcane sound inopportunely interrupts one´s sleep. Intense clouds of incense. Dark voices chanting mantras while dawn breaks. Intense meditation. Hard monastic life. Bodhidharma, saw how hard it was for monks to carry out their meditation to the letter: fatigue closed their eyes and in the end they fell asleep.

Bodhidarma (also called Ta Mo ) was a Hindu monk who had been sent to China to spread Mahayana Buddhism (the Great Vehicle). He had travelled to Kuang in Canton in 520 and at last stopped in a Shaolin temple in the province of Henan , where it is said that he spent nine years staring fixedly at a wall. Bodhidarma is considered the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism (as it is titled in Japan ) which combines Mahayana Buddhism with native Taoist doctrines. He has become a semi-legendary personage, but stories of his spiritual determination abound. His teachings strongly emphasize meditation.

Through meditation, he developed a series of 18 exercises based on the motor characteristics of the five Shaolin animals: the dragon, tiger, leopard, serpent and crane. With these exercises, the monks improved their attitudes and strengthened their health noticeably. These exercises continued to develop and evolve, increased in number and possibilities by the monk Gok Yuen and the doctor, Lei Sau, show completed the profile of what Shaolin Lohan Qigong is today.

When the Shaolin temples were destroyed around 1800 by the Ching dynasty emperor, five monks survived. One, whose name was Choy Fook, who took refuge in a Taoist temple in the province of Canton , accepted CHAN HEUNG as his pupil and trained him during twelve years of intensive practice. This is how Chang Heung, founder of Choy Lee Fut (southern Chinese style), received the teachings about the Shaolin temple Kung Fu, including the Qigong system from the same temple: the Lohan. This Qigong system has been transmitted from fathers to sons and was only known in a very limited family circle: the descendents of Chang Heung and the members of the Wing Sing Tong (closed circle of disciples). At present and thanks to the more open disposition of the great-great-grandson of Chang Heung, Jerng Mun Yun Chen Yong Fa, this system has been made known outside the family circle.

Today it is known as a therapeutic and preventative method, very beneficial for health.

Shaolin Lohan Qigong

The movements in Lohan Qigong work all the joints of the body, from the toes to the hands (ankles, knees, hips, spine, shoulders, elbows, wrists…) and allow a person to maintain great mobility and flexibility in spite of the years (“a moving hinge does not rust, or running water does not rot.” Hua To, doctor of the Han dynasty 25-225 A.C.).

Mechanically, the Qigong movements stimulate functioning of the organs (lungs, stomach, liver, intestines, kidneys, etc.) whether through twists, turns, compressions, or in a manner as subtle as the massage the diaphragm gives to the viscera as it moves up and down inhaling and exhaling.

In terms of energy, Lohan Qigong fulfils all the preventative and therapeutic functions of a complete Qigong system, always working within the principles of traditional Chinese medicine: stretch meridians, massage them, work the Sam Jiaos, the Tan Tiens, the Sam Kuan, specific work to improve the different types of Qi in man, improve the different aspects of the three treasures (Qi, Jing and Shen), etc.

The Lohan Qigong system consists of three forms that work with each one of the “three treasures”: Qi, or energy, Jing, or essence, and Shen, or spirit. These three forms are:

Sub Bak Lohan Sao (The 18 Hands of Lohan)

This form works on the body's vitality through stretches, strengthening the tendons, muscles and bones (preventing osteoporosis). All the body's joints are worked, from the feet to the head, avoiding muscular overload which is so damaging and painful, and permitting great mobility and muscular flexibility despite the passage of years. This form works the Qi (energy) from the inside toward the outside, improving above all our motor structure, although it improves other aspects of human health as well.

Its breathing is lineal, and the movements guide both breathing and the mind. The meridians worked are principally those situated on the periphery that is, in the mobile members of the upper and lower body, and the action on them through the type of movement they receive, drains and optimizes the circulation of Qi in them, acting on the corresponding organs. It is centred principally on the work of Jing (essence).

In this table, we find the relationship of priorities in the work of different forms of the Lohan Kung system. They appear next to the name of each form or system, from left to right. Here, we can see evidence that the three systems complement each other, making up an integral system in which, if one part is missing, the practice would not be complete.

Lohan Qigong and its transcendence in martial art

Lohan Qigong gives its practitioners important skills that will help them develop and perfect Kung Fu.

It facilitates a deep knowledge of body structure and its management in the development of Kung Fu techniques. Its execution shares the positions, the use of the hips, kicks, and shoulders, the paths of blows and movements, etc. with Choy Lee Fut Kung Fu, while its slower work favours understanding and better technical development of the movements.

The versatility offered by generating energy from any point in the body, the coverage added by a correct movement path, or the capacity created in the martial artist to focus his attention on a blow, on the intention of a movement, etc., make Lohan Qigong a perfect system to complete the Yin aspect of Kung Fu, combined with the Yang aspect of Chan Family Choy Lee Fut.