Anyone interested in Asian martial arts these days will quickly find what they are looking for. There is a lot on offer and so is the demand. But unlike Japanese Aikido, for example, Chinese Gong Fu or Kung Fu has some advantages. The art of Kung Fu - whether it is Buddhist Shaolin or Daoist Wudang Kung Fu - contains something that is not found in other martial arts. It is called Qi Gong.
Qi Gong – the diversity of a Chinese health exercise
What is Qi Gong? Qi Gong is a collective term that emerged in the 1950s. It encompasses all exercises that influence and strengthen Qi, the life energy. Many of the exercises are over a thousand years old. The monks from earlier Buddhist and Daoist monasteries already practiced the exercises.
However, Qi Gong not only plays an important role in Chinese martial arts, but also in traditional Chinese medicine, or TCM for short. There, it forms one of the five pillars on which TCM is based.
In Qi Gong, various aspects are combined into a single unit. These include relaxation, calm and naturalness, as well as movement, breathing and mental imagery. Unlike in meditation, here the movement is connected with relaxation. The breathing is in harmony, the movements are flowing and slow.
The differences behind the collective term
Even though there is a term for all of the exercises, Qi Gong is very diverse. The exact number of Qi Gong exercises is not known. The large number of exercises can be explained by the many practices over the centuries. Masters in ancient China only passed on their own exercise system to their students. They in turn changed it and developed their own exercise concept. As it became known in western countries, many new concepts were added to make this form of meditation more accessible to the masses in Europe and America.
Despite the great variety, all Qi Gong exercises have one goal: to balance the Qi in the body. But it does matter which exercises you do. The individual exercises are related to certain energy channels, the meridians, in the human body. As a result, the effects of the exercises are different.
The teachings of TCM show that there is not just one type of Qi, but several: respiratory Qi, defensive Qi, nutritional Qi, meridian Qi, and organ Qi, which is in turn divided into individual organs. All types of Qi can experience disharmony, which can sometimes be brought back into balance. However, this requires the appropriate exercise for the given disharmony.
Qi Gong is usually taught in such a way that it can be practiced without any knowledge of personal disharmony patterns. The Qi Gong taught in martial arts schools also aims to bring the student's Qi into balance so that the execution of Kung Fu becomes more powerful and energetic.
Well-known Qi Gong exercises
Some Qi Gong exercises have achieved a certain level of popularity and are therefore frequently taught. These include the Eight Brocade Exercises, the 18 Movements of Taiji Qigon, Ba Fanhuangong, Chan Mi Gong, Ten Meditations, 5 Organs Qigong, the Game of the 5 Animals or Meridian Qigong.
The types differ not only in their effect and sequence of exercises, but also in their origin. Like Kung Fu, Qi Gong is influenced by the great Chinese religions of Buddhism and Daoism. In a Daoist monastery on Wudang Shan, you will never be taught Buddhist Shaolin Qi Gong and vice versa.
Chan Mi Gong
An example of a Buddhist Qi Gong is Chan Mi Gong. This is also known as spinal Qigong. In this form, the spine is moved using wave-like impulses. The movement is ultimately transferred to the entire body.
Ten Meditations
An example of Daoist Qi Gong is the ten meditations from Mount Wudang. This exercise focuses on the Daoist principle of the balance of opposites. The central exercise is "The Lotus Flower Opens", which is not only limited to physical work, but also includes spiritual aspects.
In order to really understand the subject of Qi Gong, you need a lot of experience and practice. The Chinese art of meditation and movement is as diverse as the years of development and the size of China allow. But any type is suitable for beginners. Ultimately, all exercises have one goal in common: harmonious Qi balance within oneself.
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