THE TRADITIONAL MARTIAL ARTS THREAD,mma'ers are welcome

[bentom187]

The Heart Sutra is very popular among Mahayana Buddhists both for its brevity and depth of meaning.

The Maha
Prajna Paramita
Hrdaya Sutra

Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva
when practicing deeply the Prajna Paramita
perceives that all five skandhas are empty
and is saved from all suffering and distress.

Shariputra,
form does not differ from emptiness,
emptiness does not differ from form.
That which is form is emptiness,
that which is emptiness form.

The same is true of feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.

Shariputra,
all dharmas are marked with emptiness;
they do not appear or disappear,
are not tainted or pure,
do not increase or decrease.

Therefore, in emptiness no form, no feelings,
perceptions, impulses, consciousness.

No eyes, no ears, no nose, no tongue, no body, no mind;
no color, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch,
no object of mind;
no realm of eyes
and so forth until no realm of mind consciousness.

No ignorance and also no extinction of it,
and so forth until no old age and death
and also no extinction of them.

No suffering, no origination,
no stopping, no path, no cognition,
also no attainment with nothing to attain.

The Bodhisattva depends on Prajna Paramita
and the mind is no hindrance;
without any hindrance no fears exist.
Far apart from every perverted view one dwells in Nirvana.

In the three worlds
all Buddhas depend on Prajna Paramita
and attain Anuttara Samyak Sambodhi.

Therefore know that Prajna Paramita
is the great transcendent mantra,
is the great bright mantra,
is the utmost mantra,
is the supreme mantra
which is able to relieve all suffering
and is true, not false.
So proclaim the Prajna Paramita mantra,
proclaim the mantra which says:

gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha
gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha.

 

[bentom187]

MUST WATCH
kung fu madalas trully insperational art. i hope everyone is still training i got a little side tracked but am starting fresh tommorow hope more people will join.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iODYH9XNg6M

 

[bentom187]

feels good to be back on the bandwagon,loosened up alot of tense muscle groups today.
WORLD TAI CHI AND QI GONG DAY APRIL 30, 2011

What is Tai Chi? Qigong?
Both tai chi and qigong are ancient art forms going back approximately 2,500 years. Tai chi is a Chinese system of physical exercises that facilitates the flow of Qi (life force) in the body, promoting good health and vitality. Tai Chi utilizes movements that are Yin Yang opposites: softness and strength, forward and backwards, action and calm. Qigong is the science which studies the energy in nature. It includes how our bodies relate to qi (life energy) and the overlapping fields of acupuncture, herbal treatment, martial arts qigong, qigong massage and exercises, and religious enlightenment qigong

“Tai chi is an excellent way to improve your quality of life and daily physical performance. You learn to optimize your internal energy use and to allow the natural energy from your surroundings to rejuvenate your body. Relaxation is an essential key to successful practice and should be the primary goal of students new to tai chi. Wherever there is tension in your body, your energetic circulation is stagnant or blocked. Therefore, the primary aspect of studying any internal art is relaxing the entire body, first and foremost,” explains Ramel Rones, martial artist in his latest book, Sunset Tai Chi—Simplified Tai Chi for Relaxation and Longevity (YMAA Publications, April 2011)

Some Benefits of Tai Chi, Qigong
Using elements found in the Sunset Tai Chi program, a controlled study at Tufts School of Medicine showed the benefits of tai chi for fibromyalgia. The results were published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine on August 19, 2010 regarding this single-blind, randomized trial of classic Yang-style Tai Chi as compared with a control intervention consisting of wellness education and stretching for the treatment of fibromyalgia. The conclusion is that tai chi may be a useful treatment for fibromyalgia and merits long-term study in larger study populations. Dr. Chenchen Wang, a Tufts rheumatologist who led the study, said she attributed the results to the fact that “fibromyalgia is a very complex problem” and “tai chi has multiple components — physical, psychological, social and spiritual.”

Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming, world-renowned author, scholar, and martial arts teacher states in his book, Eight Simple Qigong Exercises for Health—The Eight Pieces of Brocade, “When you practice qigong regularly, your mind will gradually become calm and peaceful, and your whole being will feel more balanced and you will discover the inner world of your body’s energy. This science of internal sensing, which the Chinese have been studying for several thousand years, is usually ignored by the Western world. However, in today’s busy and confusing society, this training is especially important. With the mental peace and calmness that qigong can give you, you will be better able to relax and enjoy your daily work, and perhaps find real happiness. I sincerely believe that qigong can be very effective in helping people, especially young people, to cope with all the confusing and frightening challenges of life.”

 

[bentom187]

A GREAT DAY AND WAY OF STARTING NEW.

 

[azad]

Great information,very interesting reading.thanks bro.
Always remain in perfect Harmony!!
check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odpCJtVBsos&feature=related

I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”B.LEE

 

[bentom187]

azad thank you for posting and nuturing the fire under my ass to be motivated. i hope to do the same for you.

 

[azad]

check out this link bro,

http://www.onehand.com/index.html

 

[bentom187]

im goona post for the people who missed it the first time.ok im gonna post some pics,of the warm up routine in the book,now im not gonna get into theroy here,just to keep it simple. i will tell you what to do but if you want the meaning or the reasoning just buy the book it can give you a propper explination.

ok there are 4 parts to qigong 1)warm-ip 2) stretching 3)qigong 4)qigong massage we will be dicussing just number one here

requirments- clothing ; anythingcomfortable loose fitting and preferabley made from natural fibers

space; anywhere free from distraction, you can go to crowded places as your practice develops if you want,and you only need a space thats a little further than you can stretch in each direction,so a little further than arm length is all thats required

time;dosnt matter just make it a routine

secret; dont go around teling everyone you know its tempting but its also a distraction from your practice.

simple; keep attainable goals for yourself and incramentally advance.

now do not push youself to strech to low or bend to much do what you can do over time
it is a gradual proccess and if somthing is hurting your doing it wrong or you are injured(STOP).... so remember baby steps.

breathing; usually when we inhale ,our stomach expandand when we exhale itcontracts but in the breath of qi we do the oppisite.in qigong we use reverse abdominal breathing ,the breath connects the mind and body,this technique is used because its the technique used by babies in the womb,it is important to get this down right so it becomes second nature its only used for qigong not everyday activities.
begin by placing your left hand on your side just below your chest,and your right hand on your abdomin.
inhale ,at this time your diaphram will contract and so will your abdomin ,at the same time your chest is also expanding
exhale , your diaphram and stomach will expand
make sure your shoulders dont rise and fall and that your just not breathing shallowly in your chest


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1)back stretch (labei)-open your feet hip width apart-drop your head onto your chest and fold foward vertabrae by vertabrae - stretch down to the middleof your body and place your left hand over your right,very gentley bounce 3 timesin the center to the left and right sides.(make sure the knees are straight and the neck and shoulders dropped and relaxed.your head should be like a rag doll .check forany tension in your jaw ).from this movment go straight into :

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2)waist circle (shuan yao)
pics 1-6 ;open your arms and circle from right to left-continue to circle your body up to upper left -the center of the back-the upper right then the lower right.
REAPEAT CLOWISE AND COUNTER CLOCKWISE 3 TIMES EACH



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shoulder stretch (gong bu la jian) - openyour feet slightly wider than your hips and take both arms out to your side .keep your arms straight- turn to the left and bend your left knee slightly keeping your right leg straight-stretch your right arm in front and your left armbehind you .-stretchyour arm foward 4 times then turn to the other side and repeat REPEAT 3X EACH SIDE (feel a stretch in your shoulder and keep your arms as straight as possable).



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waist warm-up (qian hou fu yao)- open your feet hip width apart and bring your arms over your head -place your left hand over your right -bend your waist and place hands as far as possiblethrough your legs gentley bounce 3 times -bring your torso upright ,bend your legs slightly and stretch your back until your eyes look at the wall behind you-gently bounce 3 times -bend back down REPEAT 3X


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neck circle - close your feet and close your teeth -drop your shoulders andslowly circle your neck to the left -let it follow your natural range of motion -inhaling as you beginmoving from the back to the right.REPEAT 3X (make sure you are only moving your neck for this excersize and not your shoulders or your upper body).


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shoulder circle - stand straight- clentch your fist and make a circle with your shoulders in a clockwise direction REPEAT 3X change sides and circle your shoulders in a counterclockwise direction 3X.

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elbow circle - clentch your fist bend your elbows and draw your fist into your waist until your elbows cant go back anymore -turn your fist back into your body and stretch your arms behind your back-feel a stretch in your arm - keep your arm straight and circle your arms tothe front of your body your knuckles should be facing inward-turn your fist so your knuckles are facing the ground-bring your fist back to your waist REPEAT 3X



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wrist circle -clentch your fist and stretch both arms out in front of you with your elbows pointing outward -bend your fist inward until you feel a stretch in the wrist -take both arm out to the side so your shoulders and arms are in one line and your chest feels expanded- keep moving your arms until they are behind your body ,when they cant go back any more -bring your fist to your chest then pushyour fists straight out in front of you REPEAT 3X

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knee circle - bend your knees making sure to keep your back straight .place your hands on your knees and move your knees in a circle from left to right then change direction REPEAT 3X IN EACH DIRECTION


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ankle circle -balance on one leg ,circle your left ankle in a clockwise direction 3X then reverse the direction and circle your ankle counter clockwise 3X -bend your foot backwards and stretch your foot 3X -change sides and repeat .

 

[bentom187]

crap the pictures are back on page 4 sorry. the book is called instant health the shaolin qigong workout for longetivity.by sifu shi yan lei.

 

[Tuggo]

Bentom 187, as a practicing martial artist for the last 18 yrs and specifically Ba-gua Zhang and qigong for the last 8; I would like to caution you against learning from a book or vids. Martial arts can't really be learned fully in this method. Qigong specifically should definitely not be learned via this method as you can do more harm than good. With qigong one really needs to be taught by a knowledgeable instructor as proper advancement should be based on feelings and connections going on inside the body and not so much on the appearance of stances and postures.

I often read this thread and applaud your enthusiasm so please don't take this as a knock on your practice. My advice would be to stick to the basics until a good teacher can be found as that is where most of the meat and potatoes are anyway in either application or qigong. This will also give you a leg up as far as basics and fundamentals as a good instructor will make sure these things are in order before allowing a student to advance further. This process took me personally about three to five months with guidance and ten years of previous training in a different art, the martial journey is not an easy one as i'm sure you know.

More importantly is breathing. Screw it, forget about it, erase it from your practice. Breathing should be natural until the body is ready to receive the exercises. Breathing and qigong can seriously mess things up internally over a long period of time if done improperly. There are breath exercises that can and should be done as early as possible with reverse breathing not being one of them IMHO.

Any-who glad to see someone that is serious about taking that journey. I do not know your level of experience so forgive me if my post is out of place or if I came across the wrong way my intention is to help a fellow MAist on the same journey as myself. Best of luck to you in your practice and life.

Tuggo

 

[bentom187]

thank you for your concern brother.my training may seem superficial,but its not ,enlightenment is from within,i just posted the warm up leading to qigong/yijinjing ,because i understand the danger in building up to much qi and not have it circulate.
this is just my journey i never will intend this to be a fighting manual,but lessons to be sharred,so please post you findings if you have somthing to add,often i feel i am talking to myself except a select few on here i communicate with. how could we be worst off hearing from your experience?

 

[Tuggo]

I in no way shape or form meant to imply that your training was superficial and apologize if i did. Just wanted to point out a couple of pitfalls if you or anyone reading were learning from only book and vids. I admittedly don't know if this applies to you or not. If it does that's cool to, u gotta get it how u get it. Just sayin be aware of whats going on there's a lot that's not in the books or vids.

 

[bentom187]

thank you and your right i never introduced the danger. im sorry ,i just didnt want to bombarde the newcomer.
again i could use your insight.
also for the newcomer, there MANY sensitivities that can only be transfered through lessons given in liniage/orthidox form.
from a book youll learn forms and philosiphy not full contact combat.
so walking around thinking you(the practitioner) can defeat anyone from these alone well there will be a sharp learning curve.
i hope you only find peace and life through martial arts.

boxxing is not boxxing ,not boxxing is boxxing.

 

[Tuggo]

http://rumsoakedfist.org the martialartist's ICmag IMHO.

 

[bentom187]

tuggo thanks a bunch. i went there followed a few links and BAM. i have a wudang monk that teaches 50 minutes away from here, i really need to get transportation soon.

 

[Tuggo]

That's great bro!! Hopefully you find someone that suits your training needs. That site is excellent too, a wealth of info bout all things internal. Lots of great opinions, ideas, vids from some great artist. Check it out.

P.S. never heard that saying before, (boxing is not boxing) but I likes it. Think I'll be adding that to my repertoire of ancient chinese secrets.

 

[bentom187]

it comes from one of my xinyi books, in wich theres a section with advice from the masters of the art throughout its history, this one was from Kuo Yun-Shen ,he talks about the last stage of chi development -
"The highest stage grows from the second ,it is called mysterious,the resault of marrow washing .it is soft and uses no strenghth it lets you move more easily because the energy is cincentraited ,and this energy merges you with emptiness ,The Tao in wich boxxing is non-boxxing ,non,boxxing is boxing . the energey derived is different than actual strength .
although the actions taken are the same the energy stays inside,controled by the mind this is the acme of xinyi -the best of alchemy boxxing ,and the tao."

so action or inaction or neither. nothing really has to be done to win. you have to find and read a copy of the tao te ching to understand this.

i was quoting from memory in the first post ,my bad ,about the inconsistencies.

 

[Phaeton]

I was actually looking for a thread on japanese sword. I'm not overly social but was curious. I often learn from others that are social, they will give a barrage of information garnered in their practice, some of this will redirect portions of my attitude. Or so is the theory.

I don't read a lot of books on this stuff, I do practice five days a week and feel guilty the other two. Been doing this for seven years, before that I was a dojo artist. The only practice I would get was in class, not a very good way to get proficient.

I found myself conversing with a Buddhist and she thought I was a Buddist also, a fairly advanced one I guess. Turns out most of the processes to gain proficiency are duplicates of the rites used by novice monks to gain body control worthy of the temple. I just focus on doing the one form correctly. I don't think about any I'm not actually doing.

I don't eat or drink any funny stuff or not eat or drink any funny stuff. But I will confess that parctice while high is not practice. It may be fun and feel cool, but it is not practice and does not count towards any learning. No matter how long it is done. One hundred times zero is zero. Ten thousand times zero is zero. Do the math, train while straight.

 

[bentom187]

everything,has buddha nature,your lucky to find a teacher/sibling,take refuge.

 

[azad]

"Practise makes perfect". we say, "Perfect practise makes perfect"!!!