Dusk Before the Dawn

Qi (or chi) is viewed with skepticism by some, as reality by others or as mysticism. This series of books (starting with Embryonic Breathing and continuing with Small Circulation) presents data and perspectives from both translated historical Chinese documents and scientific background perfect for personal research. It also provides an instructional approach on how to practice this stomach based breathing as part of your martial arts or meditation practice.

Dr. Yang is not only a highly trained martial artist, but also has a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Purdue, spending some time working at Texas Instruments. His writing relies on both parts of his education: he gives historical descriptions of different aspects of his topic, and then uses science and technology to give modern theories. (more…)

It was a long week. Trying to close partnerships and/or sales at the end of the year is work I would wish on no friend and only on a few enemies (you know who you are). Add a little last minute Christmas shopping, and you got the makings of a world class cranial migraine nee stoke.

What better way to put it all behind you that with a nice little martial arts tournament.

As I’ve noted here before, I studied Karate (Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan) for five years, earning my Ee Dan (2nd degree). I would really like to do the athletic Karate or Wushu style, but there are several reasons I do not: (more…)

I got a tai chi practice sword last week from my Sifu (and promptly cut my toe, but my lack of coordination as a 45 year old martial artist is not the point of this story) .

Tradition says that you are supposed to name your sword. I was looking for something meaningful, like Quiet Teacher, the name my fellow author and martial artist Arthur Rosenfeld gave his tai chi practice sword; it also becomes the sword of the main character in his novel, The Cutting Season, so the name not only has class, but dual purpose.

My well-traveled, intelligent, thoughtful but somewhat wise-cracking sixteen year old son praised my sword when he saw it, so I asked him for a suggestion of a good name.

“Dad”, he says, mostly serious, “you can take the name I have for my sword in one of my video games.”

“What would that be?” I asked, thinking I had found the solution to my problem.

“The Pimpsickle,” he replied. “It was green and it slew lots of bosses who had more HP (health points) than me.”

Hmmmmm. Not sure how I’d explain the name to my Sifu, but it does have a catchy ring to it……but if anyone else has a suggestion, I’m all ears and bloody toes.

My industrious wife formed a team to walk in the Komen Race for the Cure in Houston October 6. The team name is “Komen Get It”….catchy, eh?

Somehow (as usually happens) I got talked (or directed) into participating; not only did I get talked into participating, I am in the competitive run (e-coached by my brother Terry the marathon runner, who is tall and thin and has qualified for and run in the Boston Marathon several times). Running will be fun, since most of my exercise these days is in martial arts class, where you just walk into a sparing match, or stand in one stance for a very long time, plus the occasional vintage rugby game, where I am not usually the youngest participant but I am far and away not the oldest. (more…)

The team from the school where I take Taichi, Wushu Kung-Fu Federation, won the team trophy at the recent combined Houston International Martial Arts Championship and USAWKF National Championships. I’ve seen the trophy, but have not seen the results posted anywhere on the net so if anyone has seen them please send me the URL in a comment (as the results are not posted at the website above yet).

The team won some 30 medals. Congratulations to Master Jason Jung and all who participated. The team is now off to China to compete in an international tournament (leaving yours truly in Texas to complete his first form).

I did not participate, having only been with the school for two months (and, last I checked, knowing half of a form doesn’t really get you in the door). But I obviously have been good or lucky or both at selecting instructors, having two excellent ones (or are they picking me??).

In both instances, I used sage advice from two of my friends who had long been black belts. (more…)

My novel, Dusk Before the Dawn, has characters whose daily rituals involve martial arts training. My son and I trained and studied Soo Bahk Do Moo Duk Kwan (a Korean martial art) for five years, under an excellent instructor (Sa Bom Nim Milberger). Josh achieved Cho (1st) Dan, I reached Ee (2nd) Dan. This was a great five years for us, doing something together from age 8 to age 13 is a special experience that will stick with both of us forever. My son’s schoolwork and marching band and my commute across the state for work received higher priority than our training for the last two years (my hiatus only interrupted by taking some spectacular Qigong seminars from Dr. Yang in Boston).

I’ve resumed martial arts, training in Yang-style Taiji quan, an internal martial art vs. the external martial art of Karate. I choose my Taiji school using the same two parameters that were suggestted to me when I was looking for my first martial arts school: make sure it is convenient (so that you will attend!) and watch a class or take a sample class. My school is Wushu USA, with Master Jason Jung.

Even though I’m only a month in, I’ve noticed some interesting differences and similarities (comments and education of course welcome): (more…)

This is my 2nd degree black belt essay for Soo Bahk Do, written in March, 2004. The first part discusses the Dan Bon (which is the Soo Bahk Do Dan /Black Belt identification number) and tradition; the second part theorizes about Chi/Qi being more concerned with quantum theory than biolectricity.

One of the things that I enjoy most about Soo Bahk Do and the martial arts is the interesting dichotomy of time. On the one hand, knowledge and tradition have been handed down “through the ages”, by means such as the Moo Yei Do Bo Tong Ji and such as our method of connection through Dan Bon numbers, representing hundreds if not thousands of years of time. On the other side, the focus on energy and action in a single point in time and space is a goal of our practice and art, representing an assuredly quantum level of time. This implies extremely focused Shim Gung, mental clarity and precision of action.

My Dan Bon signifies the connection through me back to all of the instructors and students who have come before me, and who have trained and in some ways improved this martial art. My personal Soo Bahk Do heritage goes through my direct instructor, Sa Bom Nim Bill Milberger, to his instructor, Sa Bom Nim Brian Wilbourn, to his instructor, Sa Bom Nim Seiberlich and to the late Grand Master. But the linkage does not stop there. Through the Grand Master’s studies of the ancient martial arts texts, my Dan Bon links me through hundreds of years of teachings and trainings.

This linkage is best demonstrated in forms which have not been written down in our instruction books (yet!), and are passed down through instructor demonstrations and teachings. Learning Chil Sung Sa Ro Hyung by watching Sa Bom Nim demonstrate it, and through asking questions, must surely be parallel to the way martial artists learned forms many year ago (at least similar to the method used by Dan members and candidates before 1992, when the Volume 2 instruction book of advanced forms was published).

I meditate at times on why, if forms and the art itself have been passed down verbally or visually through many years, that the art has not had more changes, or more evolution. The concept of “Ryu Pa”, meaning “style, flows down divided naturally” is a concept that the Grand Master speaks of in a positive light in our Volume 1 textbook; but natural divisions of style are different than personal evolutions through verbal and visual teaching. My sense is that the style has remained consistent because there truly is a “right” way to perform the art; that, though when performed with the correct energy flow, and grace it may appear as an art, Soo Bahk Do is more science that art. The stances are done in a certain way because physics dictates that that “certain” way gives more power, or more speed. Movements are done in a “certain” way for similar reasons. Further, when the Dan practitioner performs the art in the manner dictated, the art “feels” correct to the practitioner, because the practitioners body is aligned and behaving based on the physics of the movements and the flow of the energies, that have been studied and included in the art for many centuries.

On my best training days, this concept of the art “feeling” correct helps me to learn the material in a personal way. I travel for business quite a bit, and find myself practicing and training in hotel rooms. Sometimes I lose the next move in a form, or a ho sin sool. On good days, just by remembering the basics, thinking it through and feeling it out, I can find the next move. My hope is that these good days come closer together as I train more (and quickly, to offset my memory which gets worse as I get older!!).

The Grand Master went to great lengths to document why these movements “feel correct” through not only study and research and training, but by also documenting in Volume 1 the physics of the movements. He shows, for example, the physics of why a back stance feels better when your weight is distributed mostly on your rear leg, and the center of gravity is a straight line at a 90 degree angle from the ground through your rear leg and upper body. They feel correct because it is the right way for the body to do them.

The other concept tied in with the Dan Bon is the concept of seniority (and with that seniority, respect) through the Moo Duk Kwan system. The seniority is somewhat military-like, in that belt level is somewhat equivalent to military rank. But the Dan Bon system takes it beyond that. A lower Dan Bon means that practitioner has been involved (and hopefully, active) in the Moo Duk Kwan system for longer than you. Although somewhat trite, the concept of “been there, done that” can be applied….Dan’s with lower Dan Bon have usually been through what you are going through in your study, training and practice, and should be accorded the respect due to someone who has already done what you are trying to do.

The Dan Bon is the linkage to all of these practitioners….to the ancient Korean martial artists through the studies of the Grand Master…to the northern and southern Chinese martial arts styles that he studied and practices…and to all of the future Dan members. It is one of the main traditions that tie our school and style together through time.

Optional Reading:

My apologies in advance to the readers of this essay for its wordiness. The following section does not tie directly to the assigned subject of the Dan Bon. As I stated in the opening paragraph, the dichotomy of the tradition through history of our style (linked through our Dan Bons) and the “single point in time” focus of our action surely must be related.

Through my studies (mostly reading, but some through training), I am trying to understand the linkage between Shim Gung/Neh Gung, and the concept of Ki/Qi (connected to the breath but surely controlled by the mind and spirit). Control and focus of action and energy at a single point in time and space is one of the goals and benefits of training in shim gung, neh gung and weh gung. Though I do not yet have any experiential data on Ki, it seems logical that the focus of energy and breath through the mind implies Ki.

Though not a physicist by profession, one of my college degrees is in physics. I often try to put difficult concepts in those terms. In some texts, Ki is described as control of bioelectrics, similar to those people who can control their body and bioelectric feedback mechanisms. But how does this relate to the breath? How does it relate to the mind, or the action of moving the “location” of your mind to the Hu Ri, where energy is stored?

Through my reading, current quantum mechanical theory is a more logical candidate for the physical description of Ki. The current theory, which is somewhat unifying the split between quantum theorists and gravitation/relativistic mechanics, is string theory. This theory states that objects called strings, not quarks or atoms, are the basic building blocks of the universe. And the different measurable sub atomic particles have different measurable characteristics (such as mass and energy) due to the vibration (or speed of vibration) of these strings.

The strings of string theory are not measurable with current equipment, leading some non-theorists to doubt their existence. Thus far, the energy of Ki/Qi has not been measurable either, leading to the same type of doubts. Though neither can be proven, I would like to speculate as to whether the two are related. As the object of Ki training (or Qigong) is control of the Ki, which is energy, couldn’t this be the control of the vibration of the strings? As bioelectric feedback implies a strong level of control by a person of functions of their body, couldn’t Ki be control at the sub atomic string level? It would not only explain why Ki is not measurable, it would also explain the power of Ki (and might also explain why it is so difficult to master).

String theory, and its successor M-Theory (which predicts more different types of strings) is being touted as a unified theory of physics. Though it is speculative on my part, and currently unmeasureable, there are some strong parallels which beg further research.

Respectfully,

Larry Ketchersid

03/31/2004

5 stars: Excellent step-by-step introductory Qigong (Chi Kung) manual

The Way of Energy provides a step-by-step, almost month-to-month introduction to the practice of Qigong.

Many Qigong books are too “Eastern” for Westerners to read, or are too technical/textbook like, spending many pages going over the meridians, cavities, times of day and orientation. This is required knowledge for advanced practicioners, but gets in the way and is intimidating for introductory students.

The Way of Energy starts of with a simple, straightforward standing meditation. After a brief introduction to Qigong, Part One introduces two standing positions, discusses how to start with a few minutes then work your way up to many, a good section on breathing and has an excellent section describing the sensations most people experience when starting Qigong practice (this section is worth the price of the book for most beginners).

Part Two (which the text recommends proceeding to after a few months) introduces the Eight Pieces of the Brocade Qigong exercies (called Ba Duan Jin in this text) and introduces three additional and advanced standing positions. The reader is instructed on how to integrate these two new pieces into their practice. While the Eight Pieces of Brocade positions vary slightly from other texts, their descriptions are excellent and their purpose briefly but clearly explained.

Part Three describes four advanced standing positions and imagery exercises for the practicioner to begin managing their Chi. The last part of the book describes how to integrate these disciplines into everyday life.

In summary, an excellent introductory step-by-step guide. For more technical works, I would recommend the Qigong Meditation series by Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming (Embryonic Breathing, Small Circulation and the forthcoming book on Grand Circulation).

5 stars: The best outline and explanation of Taijiquan

Whether beginner or expert, Master Yang Yang’s book will provide a foundation on not only what Taijiquan is and is not, but how to work your way into an understanding of it.

The book begins with some self-history of Master Yang Yang, then dives into what exactly Taijiquan is, and what it means to practice a martial art, with emphasis on both words. There follows an excellent chapter on how to pick an instructor, which is often neglected in the face of advertising and convenience.

The meat of the book goes through the three pillars of Taji practice: meditation (feeling and building your Qi), forms (using and extending your Qi) and push hands (feeling Qi from the outside). In each section, he provides the why’s (why is meditation crucial), the how’s (how to get started, the basics) and motivation (if you need any). The chapters also discuss how these three pillars are linked to one another.

The final chapter, “Why Practice Taijiquan?” pulls it all together, describing what you will, might and will not get out of efficient practice.

There also follows a quite well done appendix on the history of Tajiquan and the Chen school.

This is not a technical “how-to-do-the-forms-and-moves” book. For that, I recommend Dr. Yang, Jwing Ming’s series of books and DVDs (or, if you are lucky enough, take one of his seminars).

You will not learn Taijiquan from this book. But you will get a excellent background and a sense of what it is, how you should approach it and practice it, and what it can become inside you. Master Yang Yang writes not only with thought and intellect, but you can feel the passion that he has for his art. Martial artists say that the art lives through them, and that comes through in this book.