Shaolin Chin-Na June 2008

[Simon]

Ah, the feeling of bathing your hands in the warm medicine after a round of jabbing beans!

A few stills taken from the video...

[Babnik]

Video Players

Dear Zhang Wuji,

For viewing the videos in a pc without extra codecs try one of these:
GOM Player and VLC Player.
VLC Player can be used also from a MAC.

Happy reviewing!

[Damian Kissey]

Thank You

Thank you Wuji for the excellent review .
Apologies for not being able to give you the full set of Chin-Na DVDs before .....please PM me your address where i can courier to you . By the way , PowerDVD should play the VOB files .

Thank you also to Adam , Alex and Simon for sharing ; The Chin-Na course were actually meant for instructors ( participants are mostly instructors or instructors to be ) and assimilation of 72 sequences in 5 days ( compared to 16 sequences in Intensive Kungfu Courses ) is possible due to Sifu's transmission skills and ready foundation of students.

Thank you also to my seniors Wei Foong and Chun Nga for supporting the Sabah organising team .

Last but not least , Thank You to Sifu and all the past Masters.

[Zhang Wuji]

Thanks to all who have given advice and offered assistance on the video issues. I am not sure if I am the only one, but when I tried playing the videos with the GOM player I downloaded, the player only showed snippets of what was recorded. Each VOB file seems to be only a few second long - that can't be right....

Will continue with my review tomorrow - was hoping to catch some of the videos to refresh my memory but I guess no chance of that tonight.....

[Mark CH]

There are little words to describle this course, it was certainly a once and a lifetime opportunity. Everything was nothing short of amazing. Thanks Wuji for doing a great job describing the course. The biggest thanks goes to Sifu for teaching us this speciality so openly, all I can say is every course with Sifu gets more amazing and more special. We are so lucky.

A big thanks to Damian, Roseline and Bernie for the warmest welcome and hospitability. Its always a pleasure to be in Sabah. Thank also to Chun Nga and all the others at the course, it was great meeting and training with you all.

Mark

[Zhang Wuji]

On the first night, after dinner, a bunch of us stayed up to practice the 5 sequences we learnt that day, and we went to bed quite satisfied that they had more or less sunk in. Little did we realise what was in store for us the next few days…..

The second night, we had something like 12 new sequences to practice, and we were quite in despair by the 8th or 9th one. We decided to go to bed and sleep over the sequences in the hope that we could practice them the next day. Then, the next day, 20 (1) new sequences and so it went on until Day 5, when we ended at close to 8 pm, an hour later than usual.

Day 2 saw us learning the internal training method of Qin-na - Fierce Tiger Cleanses Claws. Again, this is all detailed in Sifu's book, but it is different when Sifu demonstrates it - you feel the ferocious nature of the tiger as manifested by Sifu but yet also the relaxed stillness in the exercise. We were taught the basic exercise as well as the progressive (moving in stances) exercise. A reminder to course-mates: practice the basics first.

The pace of the sequence training picked up considerably, and it was all we could do to remember the forms and steps. Our flow and force, not to mention, the finer points of gripping the correct points, were (save for the best among us) thrown to the winds. But Sifu was very understanding. As the days went on, he modified his teaching even further, and repeated each step in the sequence in his demonstration, from two different angles and with two different partners. This allowed us to have the visual images reinforced in our minds.

The sequences also changed, from one technique per sequence to three different applications in the same sequence. The initiator therefore learnt to apply the same technique three different ways and the responder, how to counter at different points.

I will complete my section on the sequence training with a few personal comments and some points that Sifu suggested I share.

One, the qin-na sequence training truly reinforced the finer points in our basic and specialised combat sequences. While I am familiar with the basic sequences, there are many aspects I had taken for granted or had never truly paid attention to. Because qin-na involves such close-quarters contact, guarding one's safety takes on special importance.

Second, following from the first, is that correct form is crucial. Many outsiders may think that because of our training in qi flow, internal force and all those other aspects that the kungfu sets / form camp of practitioner neglect, we place less emphasis on form. That is not true. We pay a great deal of attention to form, but not for its demonstrative purpose. Bad form leads to defeat, a point brought home when Sifu explained the concept of 败式(势) (bai4 shi4 - can someone supply the Cantonese transliteration?) - defeated posture / move / stance (many ways to interpret this phrase). This is all something we are familiar with, but brought into sharper relief in an advanced art like qin-na where the effective application of techniques rests on such foundations.

Third, when applying the techniques, do not meet force with force, or try vainly to "catch". The one overriding principle in qin-na is to "go with the flow"
Using the sequences, Sifu illustrated the application of the following principles:

顺其势, 连消带打 (shun4, qi2 shi4, lian2 xiao1 dai4 da3) - follow the momentum, defence and counter.

声东击西, 引敌入空, 攻其不备 (sheng1 dong1 ji1 xi1, yin3 di2 ru4 kong1, gong1 qi2 bu2 bei4) - sound the east, but strike the west, lead the enemy to futility and strike when he least expects.

(I am sorry I cannot go into further details here, but course-mates will certainly understand why).

[Andrew]

Many thanks for the reporting, Wuji. Most, most inspiring.

[Molly]

I too would like to thank you Wuji for your detailed account of the course. It has been a most informative and heart-warming read for those of us who couldn't make it. Thanks again my brother.

Molly

[Luo Lang]

败式(势) (bai4 shi4 - can someone supply the Cantonese transliteration?) - defeated posture / move / stance (many ways to interpret this phrase).

A Monkeys interpretation would be: Move one step and change your stance

I don't know any Chinese but that's what Monkey just do.

[Ronny]

Finaly we are able to fight on the highest level! Oh, sorry highest level is to avoid any fight but at least we can have fun on the highest level now!! hehe

I just thought about if you spend just one month for each sequenze it takes 6 years for all 72! But if you want to master each you have to work a lifetime on it or more!

And by the way Sifu teached us Cleansing Marrow which is one of the highest Chi Kung exercice. It was not planed by Sifu but he just thought ok we do some Cleansing Marrow! No words for how fantastic this exercice is and how GENEROUS Sifu is. THANK YOU VERY VERY VERY MUCH SIFU. And also a BIG THANK you to Damian and all who were involved in organising the course!

[Ade]

I would like to thank Sifu for an amazing course and also Dr Damian, Dr Rosaline and Bernie for organising a wonderful course. I would also like to thank all of the course participants whose help was invaluable to get me through the course. It was a truly amazing experience to take part in this high level course and we are all very lucky that Sifu is so generous in sharing these wonderful Shaolin arts.
I would also like to thank Sifu, Dr Damian, Ricardo and Bernie for all of their generosity, help and healing on Friday morning which enabled me to complete the course. I’m more better now

Kind regards

Ade

[Zhang Wuji]

Ah yes, Ronny and Ade's posts touched on what I was going to report next. Unfortunately, I just disclocated my ankle playing basketball and am out of commission for a while.

Amazing that I spent a week having people twist my arms and legs and came back with nothing more than a scratch but just 1 minute of solo basketball play, and I literally break a leg.

Just thought I should let you all know in case anyone is waiting for the next instalment

[Ronny]

Amazing that I spent a week having people twist my arms and legs and came back with nothing more than a scratch but just 1 minute of solo basketball play, and I literally break a leg.

Wuji, where was your focus?

[psychvet]

Wuji,
I am very sorry to hear that. I am sending you good chi and wishes for a quick recovery. I know you will be highly successful in quickly healing this injury. I am guessing it came just so you could prove to yourself (or perhaps someone else?) the power of qi to heal.

[Zhang Wuji]

Wuji, where was your focus?

It was a fast-break lay-up (all basketballers will know this) so my focus was on the ball and the basket. What does this teach me? When going in for the attack, be mindful of your stance and safety first! I guess I just needed another reminder of the lessons learnt last week

Thanks Barbara for the wishes. Yes, my recovery has been quite phenomenal that the western doctors don't seem to think there was a dislocation to start with. After a master die-da master set my bone back, I have been doing as Sifu instructed, to use my mind to nourish the injury. So, today, the western doctors I have seen (2 of them) think it is no more than a sprain (I would like to think so, but the loud sound of the bone moving back into place and oh, the exquisite pain, rather disabuses me of that notion )

There are many silver linings from this odd accident. Odd because it really should not have happened, not with my much improved balance and reflexes, but I am sure this was God's plan. If nothing else, I get to review video clips (I normally have just enough time for training, so that usual hour was spent at the PC instead). Plus, I get an unexpected enforced break from work.