SELECTION OF QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
JANUARY 2022 PART 3
An element of threat is important in any martial art
Question 1
The International Shaolin Wahnam Institute is a great school that enhances health, combat efficiency, mental freshness and spiritual joy. It is also a family where everyone takes care of each other.
Internal and martial arts have a great power and it is important to remember the values that school is based on. The ten Shaolin Laws are used to guide both students and teachers.
Unfortunately, one of my sifu's students is directly on me right now. He puts his mind and energy on my head, chest and holds it on me for hours.
— Birute, Norway
Answer
Thanks for the compliments about our family in Shaolin Wahnam.
While our arts can be used to protect us in this world lockdown, and give us good health, vitality, longevity, peak performance and spiritual joys irrespective of religion, they are also used for many other purposes. For example, we can compare what we did yesterday to what we do today to see if there is some improvement.
That student might be giving you an element of threat, which is very important in sparring. At first I wondered whether it conflicted with the compassionate nature that we are trained in, but later I discovered that an element of threat was very important -- in daily life as well as in combat
Question 2
Sigung, can I please ask, do you have any advice for sitting meditation for solo practice?
— James, England
Answer
You can do meditation on your own. (Others who learn meditation, or what students would called "meditation", should not do so as meditation is an advanced art.)
Sitting meditation is very advanced, though you merely sit at one position. It is a training of mind, or spiritual cultivation.
I used to teach sitting meditation when I taught at Shaolin Wahnam Association, the forerunner of our Shaolin Wahnam Institute. But I stopped teaching because of a good reason. I did not want students to carry a heavy burden which I myself would not want to carry.
Sitting meditation is simple. You sit at a lotus position, or a semi-lotus position, and think of nothing and do nothing. Many people just sit in a lotus position or a semi-lotus position, and myriad thoughts come to their mind.
"Circulating Soft Bridge"
Question 3
It is great to know you are in excellent health! You are also a shining example of how to live a meaningful life for me and many others!
— Sifu Roeland Dijkema, Shaolin Wahnam Netherlands
Answer
I am very happy and healthy. It is the same with my wife and other family members including the world-wide Shaolin Wahnam Happy Family. I am glad that you too and your family are happy and healthy.
You are free to ask me any questions. Your questions are very interesting. Indeed I am happy that you and your family are happy and healthy. It was wonderful that you took your family for a holiday recently.
Question 4
Might I ask you a few questions about a pattern in the Dragon Strength Set? It is about "Circulating Chi Soft Bridge". In the pattern, do you look (without moving your head) at the fingers when the arms are to the left or right? I seem to remember that you do not stretch out the arms completely in front of you or at the sides? If you practise it correctly over a long time, would you develop roughly the same kind of force as Cotton Palm?
Answer
In "Circulating Soft Bridge" in Dragon-Strength, the hands are not straight but very slightly bent when circulating to the right when it is to the right, and when circulating to the left when it is to the left. The hands are not locked. The eyes follow the hand movements, and the head is not turned. We should feel chi circulating, especially at the arms and also at the chest.
I actually haven't examined whether the internal force generated is similar to that of Cotton Palm. For you it is actually quite similar. The internal force becomes soft but very powerful, and the palms turn red in colour. But for other people, especially if they have not trained Cotton Palm, it is different.
Grandmaster Wong practices his chi kung and kungfu every day
Question 5
First, what is the fastest and most intensively efficacious practice in our school for becoming a high performance person with regard to the whole of life, as in all our states, situations, and endeavors, not merely some specialized area?
— Sifu Kristian Stave, USA
Answer
The first action is to practice genuine chi kung. If you practice genuine kungfu, it is even better as kungfu includes chi kung.
The best trait is always to have good thoughts, as thoughts are the first cause of karma. As we live in the phenomenal realm, karma is inevitable. Having good thoughts or having a good philosophy of life is essential. Our philosophy of life or good thoughts influence everything we do.
We must have a good philosophy of life to vigorously cultivate to become high performance persons. When a person is sick, we think he (or she) will get well. When a person performs poorly in his everyday life, we think he will perform better. We let him carry on his own life, but we think he will improve. Having a good philosophy of life applies to all beings.
Question 6
Next, are there a specific set of traits we must vigorously cultivate to become high performance people in this scope of life as a whole? If so, what would be the best program to do so effectively and with minimized waste of time or loss of potential?
Answer
We have a good philosophy of life, but we must ensure that the aims and objectives are attainable. For example, when a person is sick, we want him to get well. Indeed, it is possible for him to get well because if all his mind and body are working the way they should work, i.e. working naturally, he will get well.
Practicing chi kung daily is wonderful to ensure his mind and body working naturally. He must practice daily. If it is high-level chi kung, practicing for about 10-15 minutes is sufficient. If it is low-level chi kung, he has to practice for an hour. Practicing chi kung is a way of life; he must do it daily, just as he has to eat or sleep daily.
"Chi Flow"
Question 7
Finally, what pitfalls await and what cares must be taken when embarking upon a life mission of reaching as much of our potential as we can, and holding ourselves accountable to not wasting our capability? And does Sifu have a definition of high performance that is favored and a useful metric to return to and compare with?
Answer
The pitfalls are that a person does not do so daily. At more than 75, I practice chi kung and kungfu daily. I practice everyday, once in the morning and once in the evening. As my chi kung and kungfu are of a high level, I practice for only about 10 minutes per session. I haven't been sick for more than 50 years. I have good health, vitality, longevity, peak performance and spiritual joys irrespective of religion.
When I was much younger more than 50 years ago, I carried "Dusils" in my pocket. "Dusils" were pain-killers; at that time "panadols", which are modern pain-killers, were unknown. I had migraine at my young age, but the migraine disappeared. I only knew I overcame my migraine when I was not carrying "Dusils".
Practicing chi kung is a way of life, just like eating and sleeping. People in our school, Shaolin Wahnam, are lucky; they have high-level chi kung. They just practice for about 10-15 minutes in the morning and 10-15 minutes in the evening or at night. Two sessions are preferable, but if they practice for only one session -- in the morning, in the evening or at night, preferably at about the same time -- it is sufficient. Other people loiter away their time doing nothing.
Question 8
I honor and value your commentary on this above anyone else I yet know on this earth because you live and exude these qualities and this wisdom, and, more especially, because of your having many times addressed these very matters throughout your writings and courses.
Answer
I am happy that I have these qualities and wisdom. All we need to do is to follow these qualities and wisdom if we want a good quality of life. People in Shaolin Wahnam are very lucky. They must have a lot of good karma to enable them to have a good quality of life.
What I acquired in one year during my student's days, students and instructors in Shaolin Wahnam can obtain in one month. I took more than 20 years in my student's days to have a chi flow, and more than 20 years to have internal force. But students and instructors of Shaolin Wahnam can have a chi flow and internal force if they attend my regional or intensive courses of only a few days.
I learned many things during my teaching -- like entering into a chi kung state of mind and smiling from the heart -- and I shared these things at my regional and intensive courses. It is therefore very important that students and instructors of Shaolin Wahnam make a difference between my regional and intensive courses from their regular classes to avoid over-training. An effective way is not to enter too deeply into a chi kung state of mind. They should enter at about 30% of their potential, or less.
If you have any questions, please e-mail them to Grandmaster Wong via his Secretary at stating your name, country and e-mail address.
LINKS
Selected Reading
- Over-Training and Deviation
- We Need to Damage if Necessary
- Combat Efficiency, Health and Spiritual Cultivation
- Bringing Out the Best in People
- Oh Crescent Moon