When you watch my Qigong DVDs, I always start with a warm up, stretching or some physical training then I do the Qigong form. The reason I start this way is not only because this is the professional way but also because I've found many Western people believe Qigong is light training or very focused training, they believe it's about using the mind in a thinking way to control the body.
All exercise has internal and external, it's just we can't see it. For example, if you are running ten miles but at the beginning your pace is too fast then you won't be able to do ten miles. You need to understand how to pace yourself. This is the internal part of your training.
The Yin and Yang needs to be balanced and this is a combination of Qigong and physical exercise. When a person does personal training with me and I start with a warm up and stretching then the five basic stances, they find it hard. A recent student who had been working with my DVDs, realised he was only using 20% of the strength he was supposed to be using for Qigong. This is because he had a mistaken belief that Qigong was soft training. I told him, the training is not difficult, it's your body that is not strong yet.
Some fighters want to learn Qigong with me but they feel everything is too slow. They don't have the patience to learn it. I tell them, if you can't close your eyes and sit for five minutes to clean your mind, I guarantee you can never become a champion because you don't know how to calm yourself. Your body, mind and heart is not working together.
I am different from most Shaolin Masters because I don't just teach forms. I use my heart to find a way to help people achieve their health, fitness, martial art or fighting goals.
If you want to fight, Shaolin only give you a good foundation, you have to change and use modern techniques. If you think I'm wrong then you can research any kind of fight, K1 or UFC. Can you find any Shaolin traditional martial artists fighting there?
The world has changed. This is why I teach my fighters a fusion of traditional Shaolin with modern fighting techniques.
If you want to make your body healthy then you need a routine and a proper balance. For fighters, I recommend when they finish their training they do Qigong for half an hour.
If you are working with my DVDs and feel they are too hard this doesn't mean my DVDs are too hard, it means you are not strong enough yet and you need to build up your strength. Don't underestimate yourself.
You don't need to follow everything exactly. Learn from my DVDs then swop things around to make your own training programme that suits you and your lifestyle.
For more information please visit http://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/
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