Hi, am new to this forum, nice to speak to you all.

I have been practising martials arts for some time and I wished to learn more deeply some chi kung/qi gong. There is some emphasis in my martial art, but I was bought a book by Lam Sei Wing called iron thred. It is based on tranlations of ancient scriptures, written by Lam Sei Wing, who was a shaolin monk, he learned this method of qi kung almost directly from the inventor of it. It is a method that was used and taught by the shaolin, and is regarded by many as the birth or roots of most qi kung and kund fu. It is also called the iron bridges, each position being an "iron bridge", rougly translated to iron arm. This is an advanced book, and I have done no tai chi before except some simple methods in martial arts training.
I just wanted some advice on whether I should proceed with learning from this book, or advice on how I should move ahead. I also wondered if anyone else has heard of such an art or such a book.

Welcome to the forum QiKwanDo! I used to learn qigong similar to Shaolin external type. From my personal experience I wouldn't recommend anyone learn it from the book. In my former school during some qigong exercises we had few people simply passing out. Good thing we did all of that under supervision of seniour instructors who were able to give us first assistance if required. So I think the book is good tool for understanding qigong,
but I wouldn't recommend doing anything from it without proper supervision.

Hi, thanks for the reply.

Did these people pass out from cardio-vascular strain, or was it due to some kind of reaction to the chi? like they were overwhelmed or something?

the iron thread is an internal form of qi kung, it does bring great external strength however, like all qi kung. It is not straining on the body, although the feelings that you can have during and after practicing it can be very intense. I have done a little iron thead before and it could be intense sometimes, so a little instruction or supervision may be a good idea.

QiKwanDo wrote:

Hi, thanks for the reply. Did these people pass out from cardio-vascular strain, or was it due to some kind of reaction to the chi? like they were overwhelmed or something?

it was related to some breathing exercises as far as I remember.

From what I've just seen, Iron Thread seems to be a qigong that focusses on Yang energy. Withstanding blows, etc is fine, but that doesn't make you healthy
A lot of hard qigong artist have hypertension problems.

Taiji and Qigong (not the hard one) promote health and vitality. Those who go on the harder side of the energy usually don't live as long.

It depends what your goals are, I guess.

Thanks for the response.

According to the author, it is not all yang, very much balanced, giving many health benefits, however I am not an expert on the subject.

It would seem I need to do some more research before I dip into this thing I dont fully understand.

If anyone has any questions about Qi Kwan Do please ask.

Having only studied Chinese martial arts for about 5 years, I can honestly say that about 99.999 percent of Qi/Chi/Ki talk out there is nonsense. Most training of this type can be distilled down to calisthenics with resulting improved blood circulation.

Qi is a real thing, but I would advise strongly against putting too much stock into it as if it will help you to fly, or do fireball blasts like in Street Fighter the videogame.

Id advise forgoing the book and finding a qualified Chinese martial arts instructor. Its been said before, but bears repeating. Training without supervision can just lead to training of bad habits which can be dangerous, unhealthy, and counterproductive. (presuming your goal was increased health)

Train well
Good luck

Thanks for the advice, yeah its probably a bad idea to practice an advanced system when I dont know anything about it.

The problem is finding classes for qi kung, Its almost non existant in the UK. I have heard of tai chi classes, maybe I should start there and work my way up to something more advanced, however I really want to learn some original and genuine qi kung.

Thanks

QiKwanDo wrote:

Thanks for the advice, yeah its probably a bad idea to practice an advanced system when I dont know anything about it. The problem is finding classes for qi kung, Its almost non existant in the UK. I have heard of tai chi classes, maybe I should start there and work my way up to something more advanced, however I really want to learn some original and genuine qi kung. Thanks

Hello QiKwanDo,

Some people say that Taijiquan is a complete Qigong in itself. Starting with Tai Chi is not a bad thing

I personally stay clear of all "advanced qigong" and such. Qigong is something very simple and practical, and there is absolutely no need to do advanced studies to get the benefits. I remember a workshop with a Shaolin monk where he repeated that Qigong is simple; you don't have to understand all the details, just do it regularly and the benefits will follow.

Just backing up what Alain said.

Westerners tend to romanticize things Asian. Particularly martial arts and related matters. Qigong is not the arcane mysticism some would explain it to be. The only reason we advise supervision is that with any exercise, there is a way to do it wrong and hurt yourself as a result, agreed? running, weightlifting in particular. Cycling...rowing... done incorrectly, these exercises can cause harm by way of strained muscles, or joints yes?

Chinese martial arts, done incorrectly can cause the same harm. Nothing mystical in it. You just need someone who understands it, to point out correct body mechanics. Done correctly, exercise is of great benefit.

I understand that finding a good teacher may be a problem. I live in the south of Japan where there is currently a VERY anti Chinese sentiment among the people. (sour grapes over China being chosen as an Olympic site, as well as some recent problem with reportedly tainted Chinese food products on shelves here) Finding a teacher here has proven impossible. As a result I only train what I have been taught by my teacher, and stay in communication with him in case I have questions.

Jesse Tsao offers excellent DVDs on even very basic movements. I would recommend these as a base. Getting these movements right would be VERY beneficial to future taijiquan training.

(Tai Chi Silk Reeling (Chan Si Gong))

He offers many others, but since you have no TJQ experience I would recommend starting with the one I listed. You can find it on his website.

Should you go with that, GO SLOWLY... this isnt Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Go slow and get comfortable with the movements. Once youve gotten them down, I might take a video and contact Jesse to request feedback. (You tube?). Repeat this. The movements may be simple, but worth repeating...like push ups, or sit ups. You dont learn them and them stop doing them. You keep doing them because they are good for you.

Good luck.

Just backing up what Alain said.

Westerners tend to romanticize things Asian. Particularly martial arts and related matters. Qigong is not the arcane mysticism some would explain it to be. The only reason we advise supervision is that with any exercise, there is a way to do it wrong and hurt yourself as a result, agreed? running, weightlifting in particular. Cycling...rowing... done incorrectly, these exercises can cause harm by way of strained muscles, or joints yes?

Chinese martial arts, done incorrectly can cause the same harm. Nothing mystical in it. You just need someone who understands it, to point out correct body mechanics. Done correctly, exercise is of great benefit.

I understand that finding a good teacher may be a problem. I live in the south of Japan where there is currently a VERY anti Chinese sentiment among the people. (sour grapes over China being chosen as an Olympic site, as well as some recent problem with reportedly tainted Chinese food products on shelves here) Finding a teacher here has proven impossible. As a result I only train what I have been taught by my teacher, and stay in communication with him in case I have questions.

Jesse Tsao offers excellent DVDs on even very basic movements. I would recommend these as a base. Getting these movements right would be VERY beneficial to future taijiquan training.

(Tai Chi Silk Reeling (Chan Si Gong))

He offers many others, but since you have no TJQ experience I would recommend starting with the one I listed. You can find it on his website.

Should you go with that, GO SLOWLY... this isnt Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Go slow and get comfortable with the movements. Once youve gotten them down, I might take a video and contact Jesse to request feedback. (You tube?). Repeat this. The movements may be simple, but worth repeating...like push ups, or sit ups. You dont learn them and them stop doing them. You keep doing them because they are good for you.

Good luck.

Just backing up what Alain said.

Westerners tend to romanticize things Asian. Particularly martial arts and related matters. Qigong is not the arcane mysticism some would explain it to be. The only reason we advise supervision is that with any exercise, there is a way to do it wrong and hurt yourself as a result, agreed? running, weightlifting in particular. Cycling...rowing... done incorrectly, these exercises can cause harm by way of strained muscles, or joints yes?

Chinese martial arts, done incorrectly can cause the same harm. Nothing mystical in it. You just need someone who understands it, to point out correct body mechanics. Done correctly, exercise is of great benefit.

I understand that finding a good teacher may be a problem. I live in the south of Japan where there is currently a VERY anti Chinese sentiment among the people. (sour grapes over China being chosen as an Olympic site, as well as some recent problem with reportedly tainted Chinese food products on shelves here) Finding a teacher here has proven impossible. As a result I only train what I have been taught by my teacher, and stay in communication with him in case I have questions.

Jesse Tsao offers excellent DVDs on even very basic movements. I would recommend these as a base. Getting these movements right would be VERY beneficial to future taijiquan training.

Tai Chi Silk Reeling (Chan Si Gong)

He offers many others, but since you have no TJQ experience I would recommend starting with the one I listed. You can find it on his website.

Should you go with that, GO SLOWLY... this isnt Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. Go slow and get comfortable with the movements. Once youve gotten them down, I might take a video and contact Jesse to request feedback. (You tube?). Repeat this. The movements may be simple, but worth repeating...like push ups, or sit ups. You dont learn them and them stop doing them. You keep doing them because they are good for you.

Good luck.

Kuroyama,

Looks like your mouse has a sticky left button or something
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Ok, thanks for all the help, good luck with your training.