The most famous Qigong forms that come from the Shaolin Temple in China are called Xi Sui Jing and Ee Jin Gong. Ee Jin purifies the muscles and tendons and Xi Sui purifies the bone marrow. Shaolin monks have trained in these two forms for thousands of years and they continue to train in these forms because they know that this Qigong enables them to be their best at kung fu.
Two wings of a bird
I am always emphasising how important it is to train in both Qigong and kung fu. Or internal and external. Even if you are not a martial artist, for good health and longevity you should train in Qigong. It is like the two wings of a bird. Qigong helps you to stretch better, kick better and punch better. Not only does it increase your speed, power, and stamina but it also increases your concentration and balances your mind and body. It gives you the strength and foundation to practice intense physical training without the fear of burn out. Qigong insures our internal organs work properly, only when our internal organs work properly can we be at our most efficient. The Shaolin monks used Qigong to help them gain enlightenment, the Taoists to live the longest life possible. We can use Qigong to stay healthy and maximise the power of our martial art. You don’t need to do Shaolin kung fu to practice Qigong, you can do Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, what ever martial art’s you do, Qigong will take you to the peak of your power.
Shaolin Energy Massage
One important aspect of Xi Sui Jing and EE Jin Gong is the self-massage that we do when we’ve finished the form. At first we use a bamboo brush which has a hundred and eight bamboo rods. Massaging with the Shaolin energy brush create vibrations which relieve stress and tension in the muscles, assist in unblocking the channels, and help the body to detox through the stimulation of the lymphatic system. It cleans the skin and helps the Qi and blood to flow properly. It acts as a natural battery charger for the body. If we are only interested in health then we continue to use this bamboo brush but if we are a martial artist then - when we move to Volume 3 of The Way of Qi Gong - we begin to use the metal brush.
Massage for fighters
When you get to this stage, it means you can use power to hit yourself and the power of vibration goes inside your bone marrow. This is one of the reasons why it cleans your body. If you want to be a fighter then you must use the iron brush to hit yourself. The stronger you are, the harder you can hit yourself and your body will feel happy. If your body can’t take the pain then it means there’s something wrong. You have to be very careful with this training as you don’t want to risk damaging your internal organs. There should never be any feelings of pain. If there are this means that your internal organs are not strong enough and you need to slow down, check your training programme and see where you are going wrong. You should never hit use the metal brush unless you are under the supervision of a qualified master.
Body of stone
The combination of Qigong and self-massage is enough to make our body strong like stone but a stone isn’t a weapon. So how do we go on to use our body of stone and turn it into a weapon? I come back again to the two wings of a bird. We need both internal and external. In this modern world, I feel that some people have lost the true meaning of Shaolin. They believe that all they need to do is focus on their fighting skills to be a good fighter, or they believe that all they need to do is focus on their Qigong and forget all about external. Or they think of Shaolin as something that looks nice but is useless. Shaolin does have performance in it but it should never be reduced to that or it becomes little more than a dance. A dance is not a martial art. A dance can not help us in the ring, it can not help us to defend ourselves, and neither can it help us to live a long and healthy life. But authentic Shaolin can. All we need to do is step onto the path and follow the steps that your master shows you or I demonstrate on my Shaolin Warrior series of DVDs.
House of health
Qigong is not a secret. It just takes practice. Focus on the breathing with the movement together. This is the key to unlocking the door. The Qigong forms are the blueprint for you to build your house with. Day by day, moment by moment your practice is the bricks that build your house of health.
It takes time and patience. When you master Qigong, your Qi begins to circle around your body from your head to your feet and back again. You can then use your internal organs and your Qi to lift weight that wouldn’t be possible with muscle alone. This increases the feeling and power of the Qi just like we need water pressure for water to run through our taps, we practice with weights to increase the power of our Qi.
I believe that the practice of Qigong is as vital as eating and now that I’m thirty-six it’s only through my Qigong practice that I can continue to train in kung fu and keep my power, stamina and fitness level at a high level. If you are skeptical, then don’t take my word for it but discover for yourself and see what Shaolin Qigong can do for you.
