I wanted to share some thoughts about One Finger Shooting Zen and its elusive cousin, Two Finger Shooting Zen. I’ve never written about this before, so grab a cup of coffee (or tea, if that’s your thing), and let’s dive in!

Where It All Began: One Finger Shooting Zen

I originally learned One Finger Shooting Zen back in 1997. I flew from NYC to San Francisco, officially to attend a qigong workshop, but really to get private Shaolin Kung Fu instruction from my ex-teacher. In our evening sessions in a hotel hallway, I was surprised to learn that One Finger Shooting Zen, which I had already learned from his book, contained 4 sequences. The book had only shown one. Gotta love those secrets!

Years later, I had a similar experience with another teacher. I had learned one of his palm techniques from his book and DVD. Later, I found out that the DVD had intentionally taught the technique incorrectly as an (apparently unsuccessful) attempt to guard the secrets.

I talk more about this phenomenon in my book, but here’s my point: The history of qigong (including tai chi) is riddled with secrecy. Once you’re aware of this fact, you can navigate more easily.

I didn’t steal any of my secrets (ahem, unlike the patriarch of tai chi, but that’s another story). I earned them from my teachers, so I’m free to share as I please. But honestly, even if I HAD stolen them, I’d still share them with you. The age of secrecy is over, and I will NEVER keep them from you.

Creating Two Finger Shooting Zen

As far as a I know, the Two Finger Shooting Zen set that I teach is my own creation. By that, I mean this:

• I extracted 4 secret qigong sequences from a long and difficult Shaolin Kung Fu set.
• I organized these 4 sequences in the same format as One Finger Shooting Zen.
• I used the same qigong principles that I was taught for One Finger Shooting Zen
• I taught this new set to qigong students, without them having to learn a long and difficult kung fu set.

Basically, I just codified the set. All the real creation was done by past masters (in this case, female masters—more on that below).

The set that I extracted these 4 sequences from is called the Shaolin Flower Set. As is often the case with traditional kung fu sets, the qigong was hidden in plain sight. Past masters often did this to keep secrets while still passing down knowledge to those who they deemed worthy.

Once you know what to look for, the secrets are easy to find. In this case, I found them easily because of my experience with One Finger Shooting Zen.

The Power of Female Kung Fu Masters

Did you know that two of the most famous kung fu masters in history were both women? I’m not talking about the most famous female masters; I’m talking about the most famous masters PERIOD!

Ng Mui (伍枚, Wú Méi), one of the legendary Five Elders of Shaolin, and her disciple, Yim Wing-Chun (嚴詠春), will both appear on any list of the top kung fu masters of all time. In fact, Wing Chun Kung Fu is still one of the most widely practiced styles in the world. This is the style depicted in the popular “Ip Man” movies.

It’s inspiring to know that two of the most influential figures in kung fu history—both women—practiced and refined the Shaolin Flower set, and thus, Two Finger Shooting Zen. There’s a legend about Ng Mui, a Buddhist nun, that I will summarize, just for fun. Some of it is probably fictional, but it still proves an important point.

Ng Mui: The Nun Who Stopped a Feud

Kung fu masters in the past sometimes got in feuds. One master would be killed in a duel, and then their fellow disciple or family member would challenge the winner, kill them, and thereby perpetuate the feud. This would go back and forth, with senseless fighting and killing on both sides.

Legend has it that Ng Mui acted as a peacemaker in one of these feuds. What you need to understand is that the half dozen people involved in the feud were all powerful masters. But then Ng Mui showed up, said, “please don’t fight any more,” and everyone stopped!

Whether this legend is true or not, it has circulated through Chinese culture for centuries. China has a long history of sexism, but for some reason, kung fu masters are often excluded.

In this case, a famous kung fu legend involves a badass female nun who was not just powerful in terms of kung fu, but also in terms of wisdom and authority. She told a bunch of legendary fighters to stop their feud, and they stopped. How cool is that?

The Five Gates

Fun fact: The Two Finger Zen hand posture recently made an appearance a popular video game that chronicles the adventures of the Monkey God, Sun Wukong. You’ll also see this posture in kung fu movies. But what’s it all about?

Two Finger Shooting Zen is probably a historical development from One Finger Shooting Zen. As the name suggests, it involves a hand posture that uses two fingers. Sometimes, this hand posture is called a Dragon Claw. Like One Finger Shooting Zen, there are 4 sequences in Two Finger Shooting Zen.

Both sets use a combination of fists, Tiger Claws, Snake Palms, and blocking techniques.These hand postures help to get qi through what is known as the Five Gates:

1. Dantian
2. Shoulder
3. Elbow
4. Wrist
5. Fingers

The 5 Gates are areas where qi naturally get stuck. There’s something about both the One and Two Finger hand postures that encourages the qi to flow through these gates. And once it’s flowing, we can “fill” other, more martial hand forms with our qi.

Training on Stance

Two Finger Shooting Zen involves a combination of stance training, breath control, and directing the qi through the 5 Gates. Ta Chong, or “training on stance,” is fundamental in Shaolin Kung Fu. The stance helps us gather the energy, and then we practice moving that qi through the Five Gates.

What I find most interesting is that “training on stance” is arguably more useful for healing than for fighting. With both One Finger and Two Finger Shooting Zen, you’re not just building external power. These techniques cultivate deep, internal energy—what the Chinese call neijin.

Healers will find this kind of training to be incredibly valuable. Whether you’re an acupuncturist, massage therapist, osteopath, or chiropractor – developing neijin will naturally enhance your skills. You don’t even need to learn any formal qi healing, although that can also help. Simply practicing techniques like One or Two Finger Shooting Zen is enough to enhance what you’re already doing.

The internal energy developed through One and Two Finger Shooting Zen has health benefits that go far beyond self-defense. These techniques can improve qi and blood circulation, increase vitality, and cultivate a deep sense of calm and mental clarity.

Check This Out

Here’s an old video of me doing Two Finger Shooting Zen outside of my studio in Florida, circa 2014:

So those are my thoughts. One and Two Finger Shooting Zen aren’t just relics of a forgotten kung fu past; nor are they secrets inaccessible to the average qigong practitioner. These arts are still very much alive. I would even argue that they are more relevant today than ever before!

Here’s something that inspires me: I’ve already taught One Finger Shooting Zen to more students than any of the masters in my lineage. And with my new Qigong 301 program, the same will soon be true of Two Finger Shooting Zen!

The age of secrecy is over, and I’m determined to share everything I know with you, openly and without any BS.

The post The History of Two Finger Shooting Zen appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Have you ever felt like you’re suffering through something, only to realize there’s a smarter, easier way to achieve the same results? That’s how I felt when I first learned the Horse Stance.

I suppose all humans suffer one way or another, but traditional qigong masters had a talent for amplifying it with their training methods! And their favorite method was to torture new students with the Horse Stance!

The Old Way of Learning

In my book, I paint a picture of the traditional way of learning qigong and kung fu. Here’s an excerpt:

During the first week of training, you learn the Horse Stance and nothing else. The master shows you how to take a stance roughly double the width of your shoulders, how to sit deeply in the stance with your back straight, how to hold your fists at your waist, and how to breathe. Sitting in the stance, your legs begin to tremble after just a few minutes. When you rise up in the stance to give your legs a rest, the master simply tells you to sit back down again.

That’s it. You go to the master’s house every day to practice. And I mean practice! There is virtually no instruction. What little instruction you receive involves the master whacking or poking you with a thin bamboo cane saying, “Not correct.” Your legs are so sore that you can barely walk, but you persist.

After two weeks, the master teaches you another exercise called Lifting the Sky. He shows you the form but doesn’t mention the breathing. You copy his breathing as best as you can.

So now your practice sessions consist of grueling bouts of the Horse Stance followed by easy sessions of Lifting the Sky. You look forward to Lifting the Sky because it’s so much easier than the Horse Stance. You take short breaks to drink some tea, and then you rush back to practicing, eager to prove your commitment to the master. You are persistent because you don’t want to bring shame to your family by quitting.

You learn nothing about the theory of qigong, very little about breathing. The main piece of instruction that you receive is “not correct” without ever learning what actually is correct. Not once does the master say, “good job!” or even “correct.” Whenever he looks at you but says nothing at all, you feel proud of your progress!

On your 108th day of training, the master says, “fang song” in Chinese, which means “release and soften.” He shows you how to relax more in both the Horse Stance and Lifting the Sky. You’re amazed at how big a difference this makes! He also teaches you a new exercise called Three Levels to Earth, which involves squatting up and down. It’s a nice break from the monotony of the Horse Stance.

Let’s be real—this old-school method would never fly in today’s world. It wasn’t just the physical pain that was tough—it was the emotional toll of the method. You’d get no feedback other than a disapproving ‘not correct,’ and you never really knew if you were on the right path. It was grueling in every sense.

My Early Training

My early qigong training was less intense than this, but barely. When I was an apprentice in the 1990s, the emphasis was on something called jibengong (基本功), pronounced a bit like the English words “gee been gone”, but with a g at the very end. This term roughly translates to “fundamental power training.”

My former teacher viewed jibengong as the foundation for both qigong and Shaolin Kung Fu. And so my early years were filled with the Horse Stance and its variations, like Luohan Carrying Water and Golden Bridge.

In retrospect, I believe that this traditional method gets things exactly backwards. Those 3 techniques – Horse Stance, Luohan Carrying Water, and Golden Bridge – are not for beginners. They are for intermediate and advanced students!

Old school teachers weren’t really building a solid foundation in their students; they were just weeding out all but the toughest and most physically talented specimens! If you work your students so hard that only Olympic-level athletes can endure it – then you’re actually just SELECTING people with a naturally strong foundation.

What Beginners Really Need?

As I said, I think that the Horse Stance and its variations are for intermediate and advanced students. There are better things to teach a beginner. For example, I believe that all beginners should start with the following:

• Entering Zen
• Smiling from the Heart
• Dynamic Qigong (like the 8 Brocades or 18 Luohans)
• Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow

These techniques will build an ACTUAL foundation in students regardless of their natural ability. As an added bonus, you won’t scare away 99% of your students with the Horse Stance!

Keep in mind that I myself would not have survived an old school method. I was young and strong when I began learning, but I was also sick. I would not have made the cut.

In other words – the old school approach could have killed me. I desperately needed qigong, and in the end, it saved my life. Luckily, my teacher wasn’t old school enough to turn down American dollars. He loosened his traditional standards because he knew they wouldn’t work for Westerners like me.

A 21st Century Method

A more modern approach to the Horse Stance is as follows:

First, you need to learn the basics of the 5-Phase Routine. You can do this with my book, my Qigong 101, or my Qigong 201. (Note that my Qigong 301 program DOES NOT teach the 5-Phase Routine. You are expected to have learned it elsewhere.)

Second, open the leg meridians. You can do this with a wide variety of dynamic qigong exercises. Here are some examples, separated by the program they are taught in:

• Qigong 101: Nourishing Kidneys; Three Levels to Earth; Dancing Crane; Lifting Heels, Bear Walk
• Qigong 201: Holding the Feet; Heaven and Earth; Old Man Taking Off Shoes; Rhinoceros Looking at Moon

Third, learn the Big Universe. This technique will open both the arm and leg meridians. With these meridians already open, the Horse Stance will not only be easier; it will also be more productive.

Fourth, learn either One Finger Shooting Zen or Two Finger Shooting Zen. Both of these techniques involve sitting on either the Horse or Goat Stance. The key here is that the top half of the body is doing dynamic qigong, which makes it easier to sit in a stance, probably because of the distraction. Learning the hand postures will also make Golden Bridge much easier.

Fifth, learn the Horse Stance.

Sixth, learn Golden Bridge and Luohan Carrying Water.

The Variations

Here’s an old image of me doing the Horse Stance. As you can see, the hands are at the waist. It looks simple, and it is, but it’s one of the hardest things you’ll ever do.

Next, we have Luohan Carrying Water. The stance is the same, but the arms are floating. Legend has it that the Shaolin monks would carrying buckets of water from the nearby stream. Some even think that Luohan Carrying Water was practiced with buckets or weights.

And finally, we have Golden Bridge. Again, the stance is the same, but we add the One Finger hand postures, similar to One Finger Zen and Two Finger Zen.

Want to Learn More?

I’ve put all of these techniques– the Horse Stance, Luohan Carrying Water, Golden Bridge, and Two Finger Shooting Zen, into my new Qigong 301 program. We will learn them systematically, and without all the suffering!

The post Old-School Horse Stance Training Almost Killed Me – A Modern Solution appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“You should face east when practicing qigong!!”

If you’ve been doing qigong for a while, then you’ve probably heard this from a teacher or two. Or perhaps you read it in a book along with some other crazy qigong rules (like the no-sex rule).

Or maybe you heard that you should face south instead of east. I mean, one of my teachers even told me to face north!

Well, which is it? Or does it even matter?

That’s the subject of today’s Walk & Talk. I’ll discuss the importance of the direction you face while practicing qigong. I’ll also give you a simple way to make sure you’re always facing the right direction during a qigong session, no matter where you are!

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Qigong Students: What Direction Should You Face? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“My teacher told me that it’s incorrect to breathe through the mouth,” she said. “He said that in qigong and tai chi the breathing should be in and out through the nose.”

This question comes up all the time in my Facebook group.

Sometimes, it’s more of a challenge than a question, as if to say: “Why are you doing it wrong, Anthony?!?”

I’m not doing it wrong.

This video explains why. It’s a replay of a live broadcast that I did on Facebook. You can watch it below, or you can click the little “f” button below and watch it on Facebook. (Note: if you want to read the comments, you’ll have to watch it on Facebook.)

If you have any questions, feel free to post them below this blog post.

No sound? Click the play button, then click the volume
button in the lower right corner.

The post Qigong and Tai Chi Students: Should You Exhale Through Your Nose or Mouth? appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“You don’t find all this history and theory stuff painfully boring?” I asked.

The year was 2012, and I had just finished a lecture on Chinese Medicine theory in my brick-and-mortar studio. In order to make sense of the theory, I also had to teach some history.

“Not even a little bit,” she said.

This surprised me. For years, I had assumed that students weren’t interested in esoteric Eastern theories, and that they DEFINITELY weren’t interested in history.

I mean, I LOVE both the history and theory aspect of qigong, but I’m an outlier. Or am I?

In a previous article about the acupuncture meridians, I asked my readers if they wanted to learn more. The answer was loud and clear: YES!!

Apparently, I’m not an outlier. Thousands of you enjoy learning about history and theory, just like I do.

So my fellow nerds…shall we get this party started?

The Qigong Meridians?!?

In my previous article, I used the term Acupuncture Meridians, but not because it’s correct. I used it so people would have some clue what I’m talking about!

If I used the term “Qigong Meridians”, many people would be confused, especially people who are more familiar with acupuncture.

Actually, both terms — Qigong Meridians and Acupuncture Meridians — are equally INCORRECT.

As I’ve said, the Chinese term is jingluo (經 絡, pronounced jing-low), which translates to “channel”.

But here’s what you need to understand. For thousands of years, the meridian system has been shared by MANY Chinese arts, including:

• qigong (click here if you’re new to qigong)
• acupuncture (the use of sterile needles to stimulate the flow of qi via acu-points)
• acupressure (same as acupuncture, but uses fingers instead of needles)
• moxibustion (the burning of the mugwort herb on acupuncture points to promote healing)
• Chinese herbal medicine (the use of oral herbal decoctions and tonics)
• kung fu (Chinese martial arts, including tai chi)
• shiliao (Chinese food therapy)
• Taoist bedroom arts (Chinese sexual practices that promote longevity)
• tuina (Chinese massage therapy)
• die da (Chinese traumatology for bruises and breaks)

In other words, we could just as easily use the term Qigong Meridians, Acupressure Meridians, or Tai Chi Meridians. All of these terms are equally inaccurate.

Needling and Moxibustion

It gets worse! The term acupuncture meridian is actually a DOUBLE misnomer!

Not only is the term “meridian” a poor translation of jingluo, but the term “acupuncture” is just utter Western nonsense!

The Chinese term for acupuncture is: zhenjiu (針灸, pronounced jun-geo)

Zhen (針) means needle, and jiu (灸) means moxibustion (see above). So zhenjiu literally translates to “needling and moxibustion”.

I know what you’re thinking: Where the hell did the word “acupuncture” come from?

It’s a good question. The term “acu” comes from the latin for “needle”. So they got that part right.

But “puncture”? Where did that come from, and who thought that this was a good idea?

Talk about bad PR! I can’t think of a worse word to scare off confused Westerners.

Unfortunately, the word stuck (pun definitely intended). Not only that, but the term “acupuncture”has become an umbrella that refers to several branches of Chinese Medicine, not just acupuncture.

For example, most acupuncturists today also practice Chinese herbal medicine. Traditionally, these were two separate arts. But today, they often all under the same moniker of “acupuncture”.

The Influence of Chinese Medicine

Here’s a simple way to make sense of all this: It’s all Chinese Medicine!

Qigong, acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, tuina — these are all branches of Chinese Medicine.

By Chinese Medicine, I’m referring to the 5000-year old system that originated in what we now call China.

The traditional term is zhongyi (中醫, pronounced jawng yee) which translates nicely to “Chinese Medicine”. This ancient medicine not only influenced all of the Chinese arts that I listed above, but also influence arts in much of Asia.

Here are some examples of non-Chinese arts that were heavily influenced by Chinese Medicine:

• The Bubishi, an ancient Japanese manual that is often called “The Bible of Karate”
• Korean Acupuncture, which focuses more on the hand (and traditionally uses copper needles, but now uses sterile, single-use needles)
• Japanese Acupuncture, which often uses extremely thin needles, and sometimes uses needles without even breaking the skin (see, no puncturing!)
• Shiatsu, a form of Japanese bodywork that uses the principles of Chinese Medicine
• Reiki, a form of energy medicine that involves transmitting ki (or qi) for healing

In other words, Chinese Medicine is everywhere! Today, it’s not just in Asia, but all over the world.

Jingmai vs. Luomai

Enough history. Now that it’s clear that we’re really talking about Chinese Medicine rather than just qigong or acupuncture, let’s dive into some theory.

The meridians are divided into 2 main categories: the jingmai (經脈, pronounced jing-my) and the luomai (絡脈, pronounced low-my).

The jingmai consist of:

1. The 12 Primary Meridians
2. The 8 Extraordinary Vessels
3. The 12 Divergent Meridians

The luomai consist of:

1. The 15 Connecting Collaterals
2. The Muscular Collaterals
3. The Superficial Collaterals

In qigong, we’re mainly concerned with the 12 Primary Meridians and the 8 Extraordinary Meridians, which is why I put them in boldface.

The 12 Primary Meridians

According to ancient Chinese Medicine theory, you have 12 Primary Meridians (十二经脉), as follows:

1. Taiyin Lung Channel of the Hand (手太阴肺经)
2. Shaoyin Heart Channel of the Hand (手少阴心经)
3. Jueyin Pericardium Channel of the Hand (手厥阴心包经)
4. Shaoyang Sanjiao Channel of the Hand (手少阳三焦经)
5. Taiyang Small Intestine Channel of the Hand (手太阳小肠经)
6. Yangming Large Intestine Channel of the Hand (手阳明大肠经)
7. Taiyin Spleen Channel of the Foot (足太阴脾经)
8. Shaoyin Kidney Channel of the Foot (足少阴肾经)
9. Jueyin Liver Channel of the Foot (足厥阴肝经)
10. Shaoyang Gallbladder Channel of the Foot (足少阳胆经)
11. Taiyang Bladder Channel of  the Foot (足太阳膀胱经)
12. Yangming Stomach Channel of  the Foot (足阳明胃经)

You’ll notice that each meridian is associated with an internal organ.

You don’t need to memorize the 12 meridians (unless you’re an acupuncturist, duh), but if you take away once concept from this article, it should be this one:

The meridian is NOT the organ.

It’s tempting to the Western mind to hear “Heart Meridian” and just think of the physical organ that we know of as the heart.

That’s a mistake, and if you think that way, you’ll never understand Chinese medicine.

Yin and Yang Organs

In Chinese Medicine, the organ-meridian association is called Zang-Fu (臟腑, pronounced zahng foo).

In Zang-Fu theory, the organs fall into 2 main categories: yin and yang.

The Yin organs are:

1. Heart
2. Liver
3. Spleen
4. Lung
5. Kidney
6. Pericardium

The Yang organs are:

1. Small Intestine
2. Large Intestine
3. Gallbladder
4. Urinary Bladder
5. Stomach
6. Sanjiao.

(Note: the Sanjiao is an organ not yet recognized by Western Medicine. However, resent research, like this discovery of a “new organ”, is bringing Western Medicine closer and closer to the concept of the Sanjiao.)

If you think of the Zang-Fu simply as organs, like we do in the West, then you’ll get confused.

It’s better to think of each organ as a SYSTEM.

In Western Medicine, we have systems like the Circulatory System, the Endocrine System, the Nervous System, etc.

But in Chinese Medicine, the systems are different. For example, instead of the Circulatory System, we have the Heart Meridian. (This analogy only goes so far, so please don’t get carried away with it. They are not identical systems.)

The Circulatory System involves more than just the physical heart, and the same is true of the Heart Meridian.

Pale And Tan, Yin and Yang

Yin Meridians run down the more yin part of your arm.

That makes perfect sense. But what part of your arm is more yin? Here’s an easy way to figure this out:

• The tanner parts of your body are more yang
• The paler parts of your body are more yin

For example, the palm and the inner forearm are less than than the back of the hand and the back of the forearm.

The same is true of the legs. The inner thighs are paler than the outer thighs.

This will simplify things when trying to understand where the meridians are located (see below).

Where are the 12 Primary Meridians?

If you’re in acupuncture college, then you’ll need to memorize all of the meridians (not to mention the points along them.)

Luckily, this isn’t necessary for most people, and it’s definitely not necessary for qigong students.

Nevertheless, it’s good to have SOME idea about the meridians. Here’s a super simple explanation:

(Note: all of these meridians are bilateral, which means that they are located on both sides of your body.)

1. The Lung Meridian runs from your chest, down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm, and ends at the tip of your thumb.
2. The Heart Meridian starts in your chest and runs down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm to your pinky finger.
3. The Pericardium Meridian runs from your chest, down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm, and ends at the tip of your middle finger.
4. The Sanjiao Meridian starts at the tip of your ring finger and runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, around the shoulder, and ends above the ear.
5. The Small Intestine Meridian starts at the the tip of your pinky, runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, and ends near the entrance to the ear canal.
6. The Large Intestine Meridian starts in the tip of the index finger, runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, and ends next to your nostril.
7. The Spleen Meridian starts at your big toe, runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg, up the torso, and ends near the front of your shoulder.
8. The Kidney Meridian starts at the bottom of the foot, runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg, up the belly, and ends near the clavicle.
9. The Liver Meridian starts at the tip of your 2nd toe, runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg, and ends on the front of the torso.
10. The Gallbladder Meridian runs from the outer corner of your eye, down the side of your head, down your body, down the outside (yang and tan) part of your leg, and ends in the 4th toe.
11. The Bladder Meridian starts at the inner corner of your eye, runs up the head, all the way down the back, down the outside (yang and tan) part of the leg, and ends in the pinky toe.
12. The Stomach Meridian runs from just below your eye, down your torso, down the outer front (yang and tan) part of your leg, and ends in the 2nd toe.

And here’s a helpful image if you want to geek out on the meridians. Click the image to enlarge it.

Whew! And that’s just an overview. Now, do you see why acupuncture college requires 4 years and thousands of hours of training?

The 8 Extraordinary Meridians

You also have what are known as the 8 Extraordinary Vessels (奇經八脈):

1. Conception Vessel (Ren Mai, 任脈)
2. Governing Vessel (Du Mai, 督脈)
3. Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai, 衝脈)
4. Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai, 帶脈)
5. Yin Linking vessel (Yin Wei Mai, 陰維脈)
6. Yang Linking vessel (Yang Wei Mai,陽維脈)
7. Yin Heel Vessel (Yin Qiao Mai, 陰蹻脈)
8. Yang Heel Vessel (Yang Qiao Mai, 陽蹻脈)

The Ren Mai and Du Mai are the two that we’re most interested in.

The Ren Main runs from your chin down to your perineum, and the Du Mai runs from your perineum, up your spine, over the top of your head, to your upper lip.

If you’ve ever wondered why many teachers tell you to lift the tongue to the upper palate while practicing qigong, it’s to connect these 2 meridians. (Here’s an entire article about whether or not you should lift the tongue in qigong.)

When you connect these two meridians and direct lots of qi into them, you get what is sometimes known as the Small Universe, also called the Small Heavenly Circuit or Microcosmic Orbit.

I like the idea of a circuit because that’s what it is. It’s a powerful energetic connection.

This connection is HUGELY important for martial artists. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the reason most people in the 21st century have little internal power (neijin, read more here) compared to past masters is simply because they don’t have the Small Universe.

Let me be clear that many people PRACTICE the Small Universe, often for years or even decades, but they don’t HAVE it.

And the main reason they don’t have it is because they haven’t spent enough time with more fundamental techniques.

I’ve written several articles about the Small Universe, which you can read here:

•  The Real Truth About the Small Universe Qigong;
•  7 Secrets of the Small Universe Qigong.

What are Acupuncture Points?

We can’t talk about meridian theory without also talking about the “points”.

Some people believe that there are over 2000 different points. Modern students of acupuncture typically learn 300-400 points.

In 1992, The World Health Organization (WHO) developed A Proposed Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature Report, which identifies 361 acupuncture points.

But what are acupuncture points?

As I’m sure you will have guessed by now, the term “acupuncture points” is no bueno. Not only are they used outside of acupuncture, but they aren’t even points!

For example, my qigong students often feel a tennis-ball-sized vortex of energy at laogong (勞宮), which is located in the center of the palm.

In other words, they feel not a tiny point of energy, but a vortex. And this happens in qigong, not acupuncture.

Actually, vortex is a good word because it gives us a better idea of what acupuncture points really are.

In Chinese, the two most common terms are:

• xuewei (穴位)
• shuxue (腧穴)

Those words give us the idea of a cavity or depression where “movement” takes place.

What kind of movement takes place in these depressions?? The movement of qi, of course!

Summing Up

Whew! We covered a ton of ground in just one post! Anyone ready for recess?

Remember, you do NOT need to memorize this information in order to have a healthy, thriving qigong practice.

Here are the things that I hope you take away from this post:

1. Chinese medicine has many branches, including acupuncture and qigong
2. The 12 Primary Meridians are important (but not worth memorizing)
3. Two of the 8 Extraordinary Meridians are important (especially for advanced qigong students)
4. The Meridian is a system, not just an organ.
5. Acupuncture points are not tiny points, and aren’t just for acupuncture

I hope this post helped you to better understand the meridians and how they relate to your qigong practice, even if it’s just food for thought.

Many of my students enjoy having a better working knowledge of Chinese Medicine theory, and our Facebook group has become a great place to discuss these topics. Why not join us over there! It’s free!

You can also post your questions and comments below.

And as always, if you think that this post will help someone, then please click the share buttons below.

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Qigong Students: Here’s How to Make Sense of the Meridians appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Look, I get it. I know that you’re attached, and you don’t want to let it go.

I was the same way. But you know what? I stopped.

And it’s time for you to stop too.

It’s time to stop spelling it chi kung. Or chi gong. Or chi gung. Or even the semi-correct qi gong.

In the 21^st century, there is only one way to spell qigong correctly, and I just used it in this sentence.

I’ll even give you 9 good reasons why you should stop.

But before we get started, you need to understand the difference between transliteration and translation.

Bear with me because this is important.

The Chinese word that we’re talking about in this article is as follows:

氣 功

Yes, that’s a word. And yes, it’s one word, not two.

In the Chinese language, there is no alphabet. Those things you see up there — those are called logograms.

A logogram is a written character that represents a word or phrase.

Remember the Egyptian hieroglyphs that you learned as a child? Those are logograms too.

Chinese words contain one or more logograms.  In this case, the word contains 2.

Translating the Chinese logograms 氣 功 is easy. The first one means “vital-energy”, and the second one means “cultivation”. When we combine them, we’ve got a word that translates to “the art of cultivating vital energy.”

But we’re still missing something, and it’s important.

What we’re missing is a transliteration of those Chinese characters.

To help you understand the importance of transliteration, imagine that the title of this blog post read as follows:

9 Reasons You Should Stop Spelling 氣功 Wrong

Would that make any sense? Would you even know what the article was about?

Of course not, and that’s why we need a transliteration. Otherwise we can’t make sense of the Chinese words.

That’s what this post is about — the transliteration of 氣功. In other words, we’re talking about how the hell we should spell the word 氣功 in our alphabet.

Here are 9 reasons why you should stop using all spellings other than qigong.

1. Qigong is the Official Spelling

The official, modern transliteration of 氣功 is qigong. Case closed. (Source)

No really! That’s the official transliteration for over 1 billion people. And not just any people — but Chinese people!

Why do a billion Chinese people — most of whom don’t even speak or write English — even need transliteration?

Great question! I’ll answer it below in reason #4, but there are some other things you need to understand first, like…

2. Wade-Giles Sucks

In the 19th Century, Thomas Wade and Herbert Giles created a system of transliterating Chinese into our alphabet. The system, completed in 1892, is now called the Wade-Giles system.

Here’s the most important thing you need to know about Wade-Giles: It sucks.

I’m sure that Mr. Wade and Mr. Giles meant well, but what they created is a truly awful system that is unnecessarily complex, defies common sense, and barely gets the job done.

Wade-Giles is an abomination. It should be loaded on to a rocket and sent to the deepest, coldest part of space.

Here’s what Alan Watts, the famous philosopher, had to say about the Wade-Giles system:

No uninitiated English-speaking person could guess how to pronounce it, and I have even thought, in a jocularly malicious state of mind, that Professors Wade and Giles invented it so as to erect a barrier between profane and illiterate people and true scholars.

But despite all of this, Wade-Giles was the most popular transliteration system until the 1970s.

It has since been replaced (hallelujah!) by a newer and better system called Pinyin.

Pinyin is the official system that I hinted at earlier, the system that a billion Chinese people use.

But old habits die hard, and a lot of people still use the Wade-Giles system.

Hell, even I still use Wade-Giles because taijiquan is unrecognizable in the West. See! Even people who practice tai chi don’t recognize it!

But I’ll stop if you do! I promise. Anything to get rid of Wade-Giles!

3. Pinyin is the Future

The Pinyin system of transliteration was developed in the 1950s.

Today, it has overtaken the Wade-Giles system (woohoo!) and is recognized as the official method for writing Chinese logograms in our alphabet.

Did I mention that the Pinyin system is vastly superior to Wade-Giles?

A transliteration system like this needs to spell not just the characters 氣功, but thousands of other Chinese characters.

Pinyin does this in a simple and efficient way. Wade-Giles does not.

That’s why Pinyin has been adopted as the official system — because it’s better.

If you only know a few words in Chinese, then it’s hard to fully grasp why Pinyin is so much better.

Trust me when I say that there is little to no disagreement among modern scholars. This is why Pinyin is taught in virtually every university that teaches Mandarin Chinese in the U.S.

Arguments against Pinyin typically come from people who know neither Pinyin nor Wade-Giles. Usually, these are people who learned a few Wade-Giles words in the 1970s or 1980s, and are stuck in their ways.

Of course, anyone who previously published a book with chi kung or chi gong in the title will probably put up an argument as well. I empathize with their copyright headaches, but arguments like this can be ignored simply because they are biased.

4. Even the Chinese Use Pinyin

As I mentioned earlier, a billion or so Chinese people use Pinyin — and not just people who practice qigong!

We live in the computer age, and the tool of choice for inputing information into a computer is the keyboard.

There are keyboards that use Chinese characters, but as you can imagine, they are clunky.

Remember, there’s no alphabet! When I studied Mandarin Chinese, I learned to read and write about 2000 different characters.

And that’s nothing! Native speakers know about 4000 to 7000 characters, and scholars know far more.

Imagine fitting all of that on a keyboard!

That’s why modern Chinese people use Pinyin instead.

It’s ironic that Chinese people who can’t speak a word of English and don’t need transliteration are using Pinyin, but it also makes perfect sense.

To input Chinese into a computer, they simply type in the Pinyin transliteration of the word. This is easy for them because it’s a phonetic system. So they are really just sounding out the Chinese words in our alphabet.

Once they type the Pinyin word, the computer pulls up a list of possible Chinese logograms.

Then they click on character they want. Et voila!!

Of course, these people can read and write Chinese characters by hand, but this system works faster for many of them, especially on a mobile device.

You won’t see anyone in China typing in “chi kung” or “chi gong”. That’s because they all know Pinyin.

If a billion Chinese people are spelling it as qigong, then you probably should too.

5. There’s No Such Thing As a Traditional Spelling

“But chi gong is the traditional spelling!” he said.

Sadly, this statement came from a qigong instructor. (Not one of my instructors! They know better!)

It’s a ridiculous statement, and I hope you can already see why. If not, you’ll see in a moment.

Westerners have been trying to spell out confusing Chinese sounds for roughly 150 years.

I suppose you could call this a tradition, but that’s not what the instructor above meant. He meant that chi gong was a traditional CHINESE spelling.

I know what he actually meant because I asked him to clarify his original statement. He doubled down on his ignorance by insisting that the spelling chi gong was thousands of years old.

(His statement reminded me of a conversation I once had with a man who was adamant that the Bible was originally written in English.)

In other words, this qigong instructor thought that chi gong was an ancient, Chinese spelling. This is, of course, utter nonsense.

I don’t want to confuse you, but the ancient, Chinese spelling of qigong isn’t even 氣功!

That’s a relatively modern, umbrella term for a variety of ancient Chinese energy-cultivation arts. You can read more about that in my article about the 5 Categories of Qi Cultivation.

6. Google Matters

I believe that qigong is about to explode in popularity. In fact, I believe that it will eventually be bigger than yoga.

Books will be published (including mine). New blogs will pop up. Articles will appear in newspapers and magazines.

And the vast majority of them will use the spelling qigong because publishers always prefer official spellings (see #1).

When someone wants to learn more about that fascinating art that she read about in Time magazine, she’ll type the following into Google:

q – i – g – o – n – g

Right now, billions of people on planet earth have no idea what qigong is, regardless of how you spell it.

As awareness of qigong grows, people will be looking for quality information on the subject. And that usually starts with a Google search.

If you are helping to provide quality information about qigong, then please use the Pinyin spelling so that your information can be easily found.

On the other hand, if you are like the qigong instructor I mentioned above and you are spreading ignorance, then by all means continue using the spelling chi gong!

7. None of the Spellings Are Phonetic Anyway

Some people argue that the spelling “chi kung” is more phonetic.

It’s especially confusing because of that weird “q” in the word qigong.

But it’s easy to explain.

In Mandarin Chinese, which is the official dialect of China, the characters 氣 功 are pronounced as follows:

• “chee” (rhymes with “free” and sounds like the beginning of the word “cheese”)
• “gung” (rhymes with “hung”, mostly)

In this example, I chose my own spelling (i.e. “chee gung”) in order to help you understand the pronunciation.

But I made up this spelling. And I could make up more of them because we can only approximate the Chinese sounds in English. For example, the exact “gung” sound is impossible to describe.

In Mandarin Chinese, there are several “ch” sounds. We need to spell them differently, but there are only so many choices that make sense.

The “q” was chosen to represent an aspirated “ch” sound that doesn’t exist in English. The “ch” spelling is used for a different sound.

When they created Pinyin, they could have just as easily reversed the “q” and “ch” sounds. That would probably have been better for the qigong world.

But remember, they weren’t doing this to clarify things for modern qigong practitioners. Their goal was to create a system that worked for thousands and thousands of Chinese characters, and they accomplished that goal.

8. It’s Too Late for Tai Chi

It will take time for Wade-Giles to die its final death.

For example, look at the spelling of tai chi chuan. That’s a simplified version of a Wade Giles abomination: t‘ai-chi ch‘üan.

The correct, Pinyin spelling is taijiquan. But no one recognizes that. Even people who practice tai chi don’t recognize it.

The spellings tai chi chuan and tai chi have gained traction since the 1970s, and are far more searchable. In fact, the searchability of these spellings is why I reluctantly chose to start using them back in 2010.

For complex historical reasons, qigong is only now growing in popularity in the West.

Let’s not make the same mistake that we made with tai chi…I mean…er…taijiquan! Let’s spell qigong correctly!

9. A Qigong Revolution is Coming

A revolution is coming to American soon.

The revolution will change the way that humans view medicine, self-healing, and prevention.

The revolution will include the existing, cutting-edge field of Western medicine called Mind-Body Medicine. But the revolution will also incorporate ancient self-healing wisdom.

I believe that qigong will be at the vanguard of this revolution.

But there are also other aspects of ancient Chinese culture that will join this revolution.

Tai chi (um…I mean taijiquan) will definitely be part of the revolution.

And so will the Chinese art of acupuncture (spelled zhenjiu in Pinyin).

And Chinese herbal medicine (spelled zhongyao xue in Pinyin)

And Chinese massage therapy (spelled tuina in Pinyin)

And even Feng Shui, the art of creating harmonious surroundings with a good flow of energy.

There is a wealth of ancient Chinese knowledge that the Western world — and perhaps the entire planet — desperately needs.

As this knowledge comes out, we will need words.

We will need to cite and search lots of Chinese words and names, not just those for qigong and taijiquan.

Those words will be standardized using the Pinyin spelling. You can help the revolution by using the correct words now.

If you have any questions about anything that I wrote in this article, please post your comment below. I know it’s a confusing subject, but I’ll do my best to clarify things for you!

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post 9 Reasons You Should Stop Spelling Qigong Incorrectly appeared first on Flowing Zen.

We all know that qigong is great for healing. But is there anything else it can do? Like maybe clean the garage? Because that would be awesome.

What if I told you that, in addition to healing, qigong is terrific for building strength, improving memory, and stimulating creative thinking?

What if I also said that qigong can be used to improve your cash flow, and that it is great for building stamina?

And what if, in addition to all of this, I said that qigong can increase the frequency and depth of spiritual experiences?

I know what you’re thinking.

How can one art possibly do so many different things?!?

The answer is simple: It can’t.

The Qigong Umbrella

Qigong isn’t really one art.

The word qigong is actually a modern invention. It is an umbrella term for a slew of ancient Chinese energy arts.

Qi means “vital energy”, and gong means “cultivation”.  To make it more poetic, we might translate qigong to “the art of vital-energy cultivation”.

If you’re curious, the Chinese characters are as follows:

氣    功
qi gong

But if we went back in time and spoke with past masters (in Chinese, of course), they might not even recognize the term qigong

They would understand the literal meaning of the two words, and might get the gist of what you were talking about. But if you asked them what art they practiced, they might answer with another term, like neigong.

Nei means “internal”, and gong still means “cultivation”. So a poetic translation would be “the art of internal cultivation”.

內    功
nei gong

Other masters might have used terms like daoyin or xiu dao.

Still other masters might have called their art by the name of the technique itself, like One Finger Shooting Zen.

In the modern era, we love convenience, so the term qigong has been adopted as an umbrella term for all of these arts.

And this term fits because they all involve the cultivation (gong) of our internal energy (qi).

But it leaves out the many different types or categories of Chinese energy cultivation.

How Do You Take Your Qi?

As I said, the common theme in all of the different arts is that they all involve the cultivation of internal energy (or qi).

But the question is — how do these different arts cultivate the energy?

I’m not just talking about the techniques, but also the specific results you might get from practicing them.

A rough analogy would be Western fitness training.  There are countless different techniques — like heavy lifting, sprinting, isometric stretching, jumping rope, etc.

Different athletes cultivate their fitness in different ways according to what they need.

Just like you can cultivate the human muscular and cardiovascular systems in different directions for different needs, you can also cultivate the human energy system in different directions for different needs.

The 5 Categories of Qigong

Looking at the various energy arts practiced over the millennia, we can see 5 distinct types or categories:

1. Medical Qigong (also called Health Qigong)
2. Longevity Qigong (also called Vitality Qigong)
3. Intellectual Qigong (also called Scholarly Qigong)
4. Martial Qigong (also called Warrior Qigong)
5. Spiritual Qigong

When we include all 5 categories, there’s a HUGE spectrum of possible benefits with that single word qigong.

The benefits you get depend on what direction you choose to go with your energy cultivation. But the sky is the limit.

(Actually, the sky is not the limit; your mind is the limit. But that’s a subject for another blog post.)

Okay, let’s define each of the 5 categories so that you’ve got a better idea what we’re talking about.

Medical Qigong (also called Health Qigong)

These techniques are specifically designed to help heal all kinds of pain and illness. They are a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and thus a cousin of acupuncture.

If you have low-back pain, depression, or a digestive disorder, then Medical Qigong is for you.

Lifting The Sky and Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow are two examples of Medical Qigong.

Note that I’m specifically referring to self-healing techniques. More recently, the term Medical Qigong is being used for what I would call Qigong Healing Therapy, where a qigong master transmits energy to a patient. But the terms are constantly shifting, so I might need to switch my own terminology to something like Health Qigong instead.

Vitality Qigong (also called Longevity Qigong)

These techniques cultivate strength, flexibility, suppleness, and fitness, all of which contribute to overall vitality and thus longevity.

If you want to be able to touch your toes, or you want to build muscular strength, or you just want to live longer (and better), then Vitality Qigong is a good choice.

Techniques like Three Levels to Earth, Old Monk Takes Off Shoe, and Dancing Fairies are good examples.

Intellectual Qigong

This category covers a lot of ground — from boosting intelligence and memory, to helping with decision-making, to improving your luck (yes, you read that right).

The word “intellectual” isn’t perfect. Sometimes it’s called Scholarly Qigong because it was treasured by the Confucian scholars.

This category incorporates subtle techniques, like Focusing on One, or Positive Visualization. But we can also include dynamic techniques when they are used towards scholarly goals.

For example, if we use Nourishing Kidneys to boost the Kidney Qi and thus improve our memory, then that would be Intellectual Qigong.

Warrior Qigong (also called Martial Qigong)

Martial artists need speed, agility, and stamina. Courage, mental clarity, and grace under pressure were also of prime importance.

And of course, martial artists need to hit hard. This was especially true in the old days of life-or-death combat.

Examples of Warrior Qigong are all of the zhan zhuang postures like The Three Circle Stance, Luohan Carrying Water, or the Wuji Stance. We would also include arts like One Finger Shooting Zen, Cosmos Palm, or even Iron Palm

Spiritual Qigong

These techniques are great for — wait for it — spiritual cultivation!

In order to cultivate the spirit, you need to cultivate The Three Treasures (san bao, 三寶):

1. Jing (精)
2. Qi (氣)
3. Shen (神)

At least one of those treasures should look familiar to you (i.e. qi). The other two are hard to describe, but let’s translate jing as “refined essence”, and shen as “spirit”.

The ancient Chinese concept is a bit like our modern concept of cultivating mind, body, and spirit.

It’s important to understand that “spiritual” does not mean “religious”. So these techniques can be used by anyone, regardless of their religious background (or lack thereof).

Examples of Spiritual Qigong are Flowing Stillness, Zuo Chan, and the Small Universe.

Vegas, Baby

In the past, most masters were lucky to learn one or two of the categories. To learn 2-3 categories would be like winning the lotto.

To learn all five categories would be like winning the lotto, then taking the winnings, going to Vegas, betting the entire sum on one spin of the roulette wheel, and winning big (while sipping free cocktails, of course).

I consider myself extremely lucky to have learned all 5 categories of qigong. I won big in Vegas.

But many masters, especially in the past, would have considered themselves lucky if they learned 2 levels.

We still see this in the modern era. For example, lots of Tai Chi masters in the West mainly know Warrior Qigong, plus a few Vitality Qigong exercises for flexibility.

In other words, much of the qigong in the West isn’t Medical Qigong.

Obviously, it works pretty well for healing. People get decent health benefits from practicing Tai Chi this way. But if their goal is healing, then their results would be much, much better if they practiced Medical Qigong instead.

Master Pranksters

It’s good to remember just how secretive these arts were throughout most of history. Not only was there no internet back then (gasp!), but books on the subject were almost impossible to find.

Even if you did manage to find a good book — for which you likely paid a small fortune — and even if you also knew how to read, you STILL might not be able to decipher the book.

That’s because classical qigong texts was intentionally cryptic.

For example, a classical text on the Small Universe might tell you to send the energy from Dantian, to Huiyin, to Lingtai, to Baihui, and then down to Tan Zhong.

But even if knew where those energy points were (remember, no googling!), and even if you already knew HOW to move qi in your body (remember, no YouTube!), then you probably wouldn’t have done enough preliminary qigong to have ENOUGH  qi to successfully do the technique.

In other words, unless you already had the skill being described, the text would be relatively useless. 

I’m still trying to figure out who the classical texts were meant for. Were these past masters just pranksters, recording techniques for posterity, but doing it in a way that posterity couldn’t understand unless they already knew the techniques?

Timeless Skills

Don’t get me wrong. I’m incredibly grateful that past masters wrote their experiences down, but perhaps not for the reasons you might think.

I did not need classical texts to learn classical skills. I learned the old fashioned way — through the oral, master/disciple tradition.

I’m grateful for classical texts because when I read them (mostly in translation now since I’ve forgotten most of my classical Chinese), I feel connected to those past masters.

I know exactly what they’re talking about because my experience practicing qigong, thousands of years later, is similar.

And that’s frigging cool.

If the skills I’m describing in this article seem mysterious, please know that they are not. The appropriate techniques can be learned, and the skills can be developed through practice.

If anything, it’s a great time to be alive because we have access to so many different types of qigong!

If you want, you can even learn all 5 categories like I did. You too can win big in Vegas, baby! 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post History of Qigong: The 5 Categories of Qi Cultivation appeared first on Flowing Zen.

It’s not easy to explain qigong to people.

I should know. I’ve been trying to do it for over 20 years.

When I came back from my first trip to Asia, I was practically screaming from my New York rooftop.

“People, this stuff is uh-MAZE-ing!!!”

But when I tried to explain what it was, I struggled.

And honestly, I still struggle! Qigong is hard to explain using words.

I think I’m done with just words.

This 97-second video explains qigong better than most of my previous efforts. (Turn on the volume to hear the music.)

How did I do? Did I do a good job explaining qigong?

Let me know in the comments below, and please feel free to share the video if you need help explaining qigong to people!

Edit: Here are some of my previous attempts to explain qigong:

The 15 Most Frequently Asked Questions About Qigong

The Difference Between Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Chai Tea

Kung Fu vs. Qigong: A Quick Visual Explanation 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post How To Explain Qigong to People in 97 Seconds appeared first on Flowing Zen.

Sometimes, emails arrive in my inbox with questions that beg to be answered with a video.

A few weeks ago, a sincere young man named Nick sent this question.

“I read online that qigong is a style of kung fu. Is it true? I’m confused.”

Well Nick, the internet can be a pretty confusing place! With so much information at your fingertips, it’s hard to separate the true from the false.

Normally, I would write a blog post to answer Nick’s question. But this time, I decided that a video would work better.

Videos are a fantastic teaching tool because they give me the ability to demonstrate my answers. I can also pronounce confusing Chinese terms.

I shot this quick video in the Ozark mountains after giving an advanced qigong workshop to a wonderful group of students at the Stone Wind Retreat.

If you’re still confused about how kung fu relates to qigong, then the video below will help.

Here are some of the topics covered:

• The real meaning of kung fu…
• How Tai Chi Chuan fits in…
• The confusion with wushu…
• Various styles of kung fu:
  • The Shaolin Five Animals…
  • Wing Chun Kung Fu…
  • Tai Chi Chuan…
• The dividing line between qigong and kung fu…
• The flowing characteristics of Tai Chi Chuan…
• Cursive writing vs. block writing in kung fu…
• Is Lifting The Sky a form of kung fu?
• Can you fight with Golden Bridge Qigong?
• One Finger Zen Qigong
• Shooting Arrows Qigong
• Martial vs. Non-martial Qigong.

Watch the video for free here:

I’ve written on this topic before. If you’d like to read more, here are 4 good places to start:

1. The Difference Between Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Chai Tea
2. How Tai Chi Lost Its Mojo
3. The Difference Between Kung Fu, Gung Fu, and Gung Ho.
4. The History of Qigong and Tai Chi: Facts And Myths

Do you enjoy video blogs like this? If so, let me know in the comments below.

Normally, I prefer to use the written word along with images, but videos can be super helpful. I hope that you found this video helpful. If you’d like me to shoot more like this, then make sure to let me know! 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Kung Fu vs. Qigong: A Quick Visual Explanation appeared first on Flowing Zen.

“What are you talking about?” he said. “Tai chi is MUCH older than qigong!”

I raised an eyebrow at this. Probably two eyebrows since he was being so aggressive.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. Earlier in the conversation, this so-called “expert” had also insisted that the “chi” in tai chi means “energy”.

It absolutely doesn’t.

And tai chi is not older than qigong  — not by a long shot.

The man I was chatting with, let’s call him Dan, had presented himself as a tai chi instructor and an authority on the subject.

But his statements about qigong and tai chi were unequivocally false.

Unfortunately, untruths like this abound in the the world of qigong and tai chi, causing confusion for students.

Let’s correct some of those myths, shall we?

(Note: If you want to skip all the history, then scroll down to the video at the bottom, which will give you a super-simple 6-minute explanation, along with a few demonstrations.)

How Old is Qigong?

Qigong is an umbrella term for a variety of ancient Chinese healing arts, all of which focus on cultivating the qi, or internal energy, especially for health, vitality, and longevity.

The most important thing you need to know about qigong is that it works wonders for self healing. In that sense, it really doesn’t matter if it’s 1000 years old or 4000.

But I LUVS ME some history, and I find the history of qigong to be fascinating.

First, let’s clarify that qigong is a modern, umbrella term for various Chinese energy arts. In the past, these arts were called by many different names. Today, because they all share similar theories on energy cultivation, we lump them all together under the single term qigong.

Here are a few examples of the historical evidence we have regarding qigong:

• ca. 5000 BCE – archeological evidence (pottery) shows a qigong posture that looks just like a famous technique called “Hugging the Tree” that is still practiced and taught today.

• ca. 400 BCE – The Classic of the Way’s Virtues (The Dao De Jing, 道德經) by Lao Tzu (老子) speaks about focusing on your qi through breathing, and about cultivating softness (a hallmark of qigong).

• ca. 400 BC – Chuang Tzu (莊子) talks about how past masters breathed qi down to their feet, which is an advanced qigong technique.

• ca. 300 BC – The Circulating Qi Inscription (Xing Qi Ming, 行氣銘) basically describes the Small Universe Qigong technique, another advanced qigong method.

• ca. 200 BC – The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine (Huang Di Neijing 黃帝內經), which is the fundamental text of Traditional Chinese Medicine, speaks about breathing qi and keeping the mind tranquil and promote longevity. It also talks about Qi Circulation Theory, the Theory of 5 Elements, and the Theory of Yin and Yang

As you can see, there’s considerable evidence suggesting that qigong is older than Jesus. And many scholars think that it might even be older than the pyramids!

But what about tai chi? How old is that?

How Old is Tai Chi?

Let’s get back to my conversation with Dan, the tai chi “expert”.

In an attempt to prove his earlier statement about tai chi being older than qigong, Dan said the following:

“The I Ching talks about tai chi, and it was published in the 9th century BC!”

If Dan could have dropped the mic and walked off stage, I think he would have.

Dan struck me as one of those guys who doesn’t let a few pesky facts get in the way of his opinions.

Despite his confidence, Dan’s statement is ridiculous.

I wouldn’t criticize a beginner for a statement like this, but an expert should know better.

Unfortunately, his opinion is shared by others. I see it popping up more and more often in the tai chi world.

Let’s bust this myth that tai chi was created in the 9th century BC.

Putting the Chuan Back in Tai Chi

The I Ching (The Book of Changes, 易經) is an ancient Chinese divination text.

And technically, it DOES talk about tai chi. But not the tai chi that Dan was talking about.

I’ve written about this before, but it bears repeating:

Tai chi, the beautiful, slow-motion martial art that is good for the health, is actually called Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳).

The “chuan” at the end makes a big difference.

Look, I’m guilty too. It’s easier to just say “tai chi”. But when we leave off the “chuan,” we’re not talking about the same thing any more.

Instead, we’re talking about the ancient Chinese philosophy of yin and yang. You already know at least one thing about this philosophy:

This symbol above is called the tai chi tu. Tu in this case just means “symbol” or “diagram”.

In other words, tai chi (太極) is a philosophy, whereas Tai Chi Chuan (太極拳) is a martial art.

Of course, Tai Chi Chuan incorporates the theory of yin and yang, thus adding to the confusion.

What The I Ching Really Says

Dan was correct that the I Ching speaks about tai chi (the philosophy)

But he was false in asserting that it speaks about Tai Chi Chuan (the martial art).

When it comes to the origins of Tai Chi Chuan, Dan wasn’t off by a small amount.

If someone said that Jesus was born 1000 years ago, that statement would be more accurate than Dan’s.

In that case, they would only be off by about 1000 years, whereas Dan was off by at least 2000!

The Actual Origins of Tai Chi

There are 2 main origin stories for the martial art called Tai Chi Chuan:

• Story #1 – Tai Chi Chuan was created by the Taoist monk Zhang Sanfeng in the 12th Century AD.

• Story #2 – Tai Chi Chuan was created by Chen Wangting in the 17th Century AD.

Many modern scholars subscribe to the 2nd story because of the lack of evidence to support the Zhang Sanfeng theory.

But even if you believe that Zhang Sanfeng created Tai Chi Chuan — that’s still 2000 years later than Dan’s origin story.

The Grandmother of Tai Chi Chuan

Okay, so we’ve established that Tai Chi Chuan was created — at the absolute earliest — in the 12th century AD.

And we’ve established that qigong was created — at the absolute latest — in 200 BC.

So that’s a difference of 1300 years — MINIMUM.

In truth, the difference is likely a lot more than that.

I like to say that qigong is the grandmother of tai chi. It’s not just one generation older, but two.

Qigong is not the parent of tai chi because there were other arts in between, notably Shaolin Kung Fu.

What About Shaolin Kung Fu?

If there is a parent for Tai Chi Chuan, it’s undoubtably Shaolin Kung Fu.

Whichever origin story you subscribe to for Tai Chi Chuan — it leads back to the Shaolin Temple in China.

If you believe that Zhang Sanfeng created Tai Chi Chuan, then you must also acknowledge that he spent time learning kung fu at the Shaolin Temple.

If you believe that Chen Wanting created Tai Chi Chua, then you must acknowledge that his home town in Henan province was quite close to the Shaolin Temple. Plus, by the the 17th century, most martial arts in China had been influenced by Shaolin Kung Fu one way or another.

Shaolin Kung Fu is generally viewed as an external martial art, like Karate. But there were secretive internal branches of Shaolin Kung Fu as well.

It’s safe to say that without the internal practices of Shaolin Kung Fu, Tai Chi Chuan would not have developed.

Similarly, it’s safe to say that, without the internal practices of Shaolin Qigong, Shaolin Kung Fu would not have developed.

In other words, Qigong is the grandmother, Shaolin Kung Fu is the daughter, and Tai Chi Chuan is the granddaughter.

Now don’t get me wrong. I absolutely love Tai Chi Chuan, and practice it every day. In fact, I prefer it to Shaolin Kung, which I practiced for many years.

But I also love Grandma Qigong.

And many people prefer qigong simply because it’s not a martial art, and because it’s simpler.

This video below was taken during a workshop that I gave in Mexico City. It will give you super simple overview of the history of qigong, Tai Chi Chuan, and Shaolin Kung Fu, along with a few quick demonstrations.

If you’re like me and you like reading about history, then the following articles will be a big help:

The Difference Between Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and Chai Tea

The Difference Between Kung Fu, Gung Fu, and Gung Ho.

The Man Who Made Shaolin

History of Qigong: The 18 Luohan Hands

History of Qigong: Sinew Metamorphosis

History of Qigong: Bone Marrow Cleansing 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post The History of Qigong and Tai Chi: Facts And Myths appeared first on Flowing Zen.