December 2008 (Part 3)
SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
MERRY CHRISMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR
If you practice kungfu, you must be able to apply it for combat, otherwise it defeats the purpose of practicing a martial art
Question 1
I would like to find a teacher like you but as you stated it is up to me to find the right teacher. So I was wondering if you could tell me if you know of any in my area. Because as you said in your book, they bring confidence and help you with your trouble spots and aside from my own aims and objectives they could set some for me as well.
— Nick, USA
Answer
Good teachers in any subject are hard to find. Many people will not like what I am going to say though many of them know that it is true. Judging from what they teach and not from their person, the majority of kungfu and chi kung teachers today are not good.
Kungfu is a martial art, and chi kung is an art of energy. The majority of kungfu and chi kung teachers all over the world today do not even practice kungfu as a martial art, or chi kung as an art of energy. They only practice external kungfu forms and external chi kung forms. Their forms are genuine, but performing the forms alone is not practicing the art.
The forms are only the means, the techniques. A good way to test whether one is practicing an art — any art — correctly is to access his result according to what practicing the art is purported to give.
Let us take an example of a doctor practicing the art of medicine. Practicing the art of medicine correctly will enable his patients to be cured. Suppose his patients are not cured. So, even if he knows a lot about the science of medicine and a lot of techniques, I would consider he has not practiced the art of medicine correctly.
Similarly, a kungfu or chi kung teacher may know a lot about the philosophy of kungfu or chi kung, and a lot of forms, but if he cannot apply his kungfu for combat or does not have any experience of energy, whcih are the most fundamental results of practicing kungfu and chi kung, then I would not consider that he has practiced kungfu or chi kung correctly. It may be unbelievable to the public, but the majority of people who practice or teach kungfu and chi kung cannot apply their kungfu for combat or do not have any experience of energy.
I do not know of any teachers in your area who practice and teach knngfu as a martial art (the way I have described above) or chi kung as an art of energy. This does not mean there are none, but I do not know them if they are available. In fact, I only know of very few masters in the whole world who can apply their kungfu for combat, or have experiences of energy.
On the other hand, I know there are many masters who teach genuine kungfu or wushu forms but they use Kick-Boxing or other martial arts for combat. Personally I would not consider what they practice as genuine kungfu. There is no term at present for this form of debased kungfu. Clumsily, as some of my students have suggested, it may be called kungfu-like Kick-Boxing.
I am aware that these statements are sensitive, and may make many people angry. But the statements are made without any malice, and in fact with some pain. It is painful to see kungfu and chi kung being debased to such a ridiculous level, where world known kungfu teachers declare that kungfu cannot be used for fighting, and chi kung teachers declare that there is no chi! Having the great blessings to benefit tremendously from genuine kungfu and chi kung ourselves, we do not want to see these wonderful arts lost to posterity. An important first step is to let people know what genuine kungfu and chi kung is.
It is up to the student to find a good teacher. This is an age-old tradition. We have helped a lot by providing very useful information. But whom you would like to learn from is your choice. Also remember that the teacher you have chosen may or may not accept you.
USA is a huge country, but at present we have only three certified instructors there. You can check up their contact particulars at our List of Instructors. You may or may not find better teachers elsewhere, but if you wish to learn kungfu which you can use for combat or chi kung which gives you experiences of energy, besides other wonderful benefits, you can be sure you will achieve your objectives by learning from our certified instructors, and usually at a much shorter time than you get elsewhere.
Question 2
How do you feel about Drunken Fist? It is one I want to learn and possibly specialize in. If you have any insight or words of wisdom to share with me I would be more than willing to listen to what you have to say. And one day I hope to meet you in person, as a student and learn more from your wisdom.
Answer
Drunken Fist is a fascinating art. It is as beautiful to watch as it is effective for combat. If you have to fight against multiple assailants, it is an excellent choice.
Just like any other style, you have to find a good teacher, especially one who can teach you internal force besides external forms. In many kungfu styles, like Choy-Li-Fatt, Hoong Ka and Lohan, you still can be very combat efficient, or your performance can still be spectalucr to watch if you don't have internal force. This does not mean that these other styles are lacking in internal force. But they are so sophisticated that even without internal force, they can be formidable.
But it may not be so with Drunken Fist. Without internal force your combat efficiency will be much affected. This doe not mean that Drunken Fist is not sophisticated, but the nature of the art is such that without internal force many of your strikes would not be effective. For example, in Choy-Li-Fatt, Hoong Ka and Lohan, you often ram your fist into your opponent. In Drunken Fist, despite its name, you seldom use your fist, you often use just the knucles of your fingers.
Even if you leave out combat efficiency, which actually is unwise, and consider only artistic demonstration, without internal force you will look like a weakling who has lost his balance. With internal force, you transform yourself into an agile, unfathomable athlete vibrant with energy.
Interestingly, while the Drunken style is found in many established schools, it is not a school by itself. In other words, we have Drunken Fist in Taoist Kungfu, Choy-Li-Fatt, Praying Mantis and other schools, but we do not have Drunken School. Probably the most famous Drunken Style master was Su Hek Yi, or Beggar Su, who was one of the Ten Tigers of Guangdong in south China. His school was Hoong Ka. In other words, he practiced Hoong Ka Kungfu but specialized in the Drunken Set.
While some Choy-Li-Fatt practitioners may have tremendous internal force, one can still be combat effective in Choy-Li-Fatt if he uses only mechanical strength, but this may not be possible in some arts like Drunken Fist and Taijiquan
Question 3
About 7 years ago I had a car accident and financial troubles. I plunged into severe depression. I have been suffering from this illness tremendously. I have been on anti-depressant ever since. The drug gives me severe side effects, including dry skin and mouth, difficult urination, and anxiety.
— Duc Long, Australia
Answer
I am sorry about your situation, but the good news is that your health problems can be overcome by practicing genuine, high-level chi kung without having to take medical drugs.
Question 4
I have done exercises, including jogging, weight lifting and Taekwondo and tried to get off the drugs many times but I have always failed.
Answer
In my opinion, these exercises you have been doing are not very helpful in overcoming your health problems. Indeed, they may even aggravate your problems.
Question 5
I recently learned a Daoyin exercise from a Taoist master who said my illness would be better after 3 months. I have done it every day at least half an hour over six months. However, I recently had to go back to the drug again as I could not bear it anymore.
I also find it difficult to go to the class because the master is of different religion; and he often talked harshly about Buddhism and other religions. He also spends most of class time talking about his beliefs in world politics which I don't share.
Answer
If the chi kung exercise the Taoist master taught you is of a high-level, and you practice it correctly, you could overcome your health problems.
Chi kung is non-religious and non-political. You can ignore his religious and political talks, and still benefit from the chi kung practice.
However, if the practice is not giving you benefit or you find that his persistent talks are uncomfortable, you should seek another chi kung master.
Question 6
As a person of Buddhist background, I have come to believe that the illness is my karma in this life I have to suffer. So I have stopped going to his class for some time.
When I read on the internet that you have helped many people to overcome their illnesses, I think there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
Answer
It is true that your illness is the result of karma, which means cause and effect. In other words, there were some causes in the past that result in your present illness. But karma is not fixed. Now you have the good karma to know about our chi kung and our success in helping many people overcome so-called incurable illness. You should therefore make use of this good karma.
A regional chi kung course in Lisbon, Portugal taught by Grandmaster Wong
Question 7
My doctor told me there is no cure for my illness, the drug only helped me to feel better and hopefully the illness would go away by itself. Do you think I have a chance for my illness to be cured?
Answer
What your doctor said is only true according to Western medicine. According to traditional Chinese medicine, there is no such a thing as an incurable disease.
Chinese medicine refers to illness as yin-yang disharmony. The cause of yin-yang disharmony is disrupted energy flow. If you can restore your harmonious energy flow, you will restore yin-yang harmony, therefore becoming healthy again. Practicing high-level chi kung is an excellent way to restore harmonious energy flow.
Question 8
Because of my current circumstances, going to Malaysia is very difficult. I have found a book by you in a book shop, “The Art of Shaolin Kung Fu”.
In the book you teach exercises for health, including “Lifting the Sky”, “Lohan Embracing Buddha”, and “Abdominal Breathing”. I want to ask you whether the exercises in the book are enough to help me with my illness. I can follow your instruction in the book to do the exercises.
Answer
Some people overcame their so-called incurable illness by performing the chi kung exercises described in my books. Whether you or anyone else can overcome your illness by practicing the chi kung exercises in my book depends not on what exercises you practice but on how well you practice them.
Any one or any combination of the exercises you have mentioned or you can find in my books can help you overcome your illness if you practice them correctly, even when Western doctors consider your illness “incurable”. By practicing correctly, I mean you can successfully generate an energy flow. It is the energy flow, not the types of exercises, that overcomes your illness.
Let me give you an analogy. Suppose you have an economic problem, like you do not have enough cash flow to come to Malaysia to attend an Intensive Chi Kung Course. You may overcome your economic problem by a few means, like saving up some money, earning extra by working on another job, or taking a loan from a friend. Whether you can overcome your economic problem depends not on which mean you choose, but on how well you perform one or more means to increase your cash flow.
Question 9
If the exercises in the book are not enough for my illness, is there any chance that I can learn from you in Australia such as you come to Australia in any future, or you provide instruction by correspondence from Malaysia? Or is there any other book of yours that can help me?
Answer
The exercises in my book are more than enough if you can practice them correctly to increase your energy flow. There is no need to provide instruction by correspondence.
But if you fail to generate an energy flow, you can learn from any one of our instructors in Australia. Please see List of Certified Instructors for details.
Or you can attend my Intensive Chi Kung Course to learn from me. I do not conduct intensive courses often, but there is one from 12th to 16th January 2009. Please see my website. I am confident you will have a very good chance of overcoming your health problems without having to take any more drugs.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Good Thoughts
- An Excellent Response Against Any Kicks
- An Undescribtable Deep Connection with All Living Beings and Life
- Application of Flowing Water Staff
- Why do I Choose to Train with Grandmaster Wong