Kevin Dwyer - Advanced Tai Chi and Chi Kung

Table ofContents

For thosewishing to do a little research, Lam Kam Cheun brought this form oftai chi to the west, with esoteric practises that are known asZhang Zhung. Ive probably carried the chi kung on in thistradition, and so in English. If I think about how to translate chikung for this introduction, empty space comes to mind. Frompractising and experiencing from within ones own space the readercan come to their own conclusions.

I was asked toput on a class recently and something of that is worthy of mention.Firstly that I had to explain Tai Chi is not a fitness class orprogramme, it is a subject, and any subject, requires study. Inaddition to my own hours of practise, I was taught for 14 years, ithasnt simply manifested out of nowhere! In winter I just put on ahat and long coat, Ill practice three slow forms, several chikungs, warm ups and Pa Tuan Chin, about an hour and a half. I guessits funny, but sometimes my students and I would meet up at thehall and drink tea and chat, we dont necessarily practice at theclass, because the practice is already done. Except for Alisonbelow who will put her foot down and tell us to get on with it!

The warm upexercises and Pa Tuan Chin are all as they were taught to me andalong with the form are the basis of the first years lessons. TheReflection in the Eye of the Dragon sequence is a developmentbeyond the original taught postures such as Peng, Body Lightnessand Five Elements. Timescale for chi kung is measured in years, notdays or weeks Im afraid. It can take a while before a person isactually doing chi kung, specifically, something should be gentlyticking over and then it can be said that someone is doing chikung. This can take two years, or longer. So once a person can dochi kung, then other postures Peng and Body Lightness take about ayear. Five Elements takes half hour per day for three years, everyday. Additionally I was taught Five Elements (theory/ mind level)by Lama Tenzin Wangyal which related to how one element smoothlyshifts to another in terms of colour and characteristic /trait.

Over the yearsone of my abilities has been to look at people and correct up theirchi kung by moving their posture and also where their mind is. Fora person to be doing chi kung the mind has to be aligned, notthinking about breakfast. By mind I probably mean concentration buthow many people can separate their concentration from the mind andthen let their awareness flow? A subtle understanding of this wouldchange a persons perspective of what chi kung is about.

The advancedchi kung Ill show is sequential and several sequences havedeveloped like this over the past eight years. This short bookcovers the Reflection in the Eye of the Dragon sequence because outof all the chi kungs I think its the nicest. Towards the endtheres a description of what I call Abstract Chi Kung.

Ivere-formatted this for digital so it runs page by page, slightlycartoon book like, but in this way it has allowed me to use largersize pictures. So each page with a large picture may have a smallamount of text. Mail me if you would like the PDF which is A4 andcan be read on the PC.

The warm-ups are brief. This is not stepsor aqua aerobics; its not aimed at weight loss. Think about theexercise, if one cannot touch the toes with the legs straight, bendthe knees!

Much of tai chiis about posture and that means a straight back, what I mean by astraight back is the spine should appear straight vertically from afront elevation view of a person. Bending the knees straightens theback, it also hurts! So one bends the knees to do Tai Chi. Thislimits the movements that are possible, it limits the movements toones that are correct. All exercises are done gently; one is nottrying to set any new records for human endurance! Be gentle withyourself and make use the videos online to get a clearer idea.

Roll kneeseight times loosely circling around each way.

Hands on Kneesand push back two or three times, sliding back a little each time.This tones the Achilles tendon. Legs straighten out as one pushesback .

To perform thisone drops straight down, just because Deirdre is 70 does not meanits easy to do this! Repeat twice.

Cradle leg andpull upwards gently. This can be done with the back against a wallto begin with if one is feeling wobbly. Repeat twice each side.

Gently relaxedand not overdone. This exercises the inside thigh of thestraightened leg. Notice how the knee of the bent right leg pointsin same direction as the foot. Twice each side

Loose fists onkidneys, breathe in. Breathing out, turn and look around. Breathein as you come back to your centre. Repeat eight times.

Peng is theclassic chi kung position and is otherwise known simply as IronShirt. If one sees people doing tricks such as being run over bytrucks or having concrete slabs broken on their chests then thiscould well be put down to Peng Chi kung practice. The palms areheld facing the body. The knees are bent and the weight is sunk.One doesnt bob up and down trying to get comfortable. The kneesare pushed outwards such that the lower parts of the legs, as infrom the knees down, appear upright. Below the waist is heavy orsunk or solid and above the waist is light or sky and clouds in thetraditional imagery. One has to make this separation take place. Ifthe arms feel heavy, then imagine that they are light or adjust theposture to one that is creating the most support for thepractice.

The Pa TuanChin are circulation exercises and a prerequisite for energygenerating chi kung. They are also very good for the health intheir own right and will get rid of a headache as a goodalternative to painkillers. Overall, the exercises aim atstraightening the spine. Again, not so easy to describe but theymostly involve a direct A to B movement. Breathing in to commenceand breathing out with the outward movement. They can be done inany order with the exception that the first one in this sequence isfirst and the last one is last.