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While it is amazing how many secrets have been revealed in published works these days, I have always wondered how much the authors have kept back. That the authors have revealed so much is indeed very laudable, but it cannot be that they would put everything out in the open.
Many secrets have been revealed because times have changed. Secrets which may have once meant the difference between life and death in the past may hold little interest for the modern practitioner. Training methods for almost all the qigong styles are available in print and I have tried some of them for research purposes (always ending with self-manifested movement just in case). It is clear that they work, well, not all.
But recently I have come across cases where the training method was not accurate. For example, one of my seniors in China had published a book detailing our most secret zhan zhuang techniques. All of us rushed to get the book. Most of the written details were correct but the pictures showed quite a large difference in the posture. Some more advanced visualization instructions were also absent but that is understandable. I am not sure if there would be any ill effects from following the postures as they were shown, but I can be sure of one thing – the benefits would be very much reduced, because the postures were too easy. One of the cardinal tenets in my Taijiquan lineage is that the form in neigong practice must be perfect at the beginning. I wondered if the errors were deliberate and meant to mislead or whether the author simply did not want to put out the real secrets (perhaps in case the readers would hurt themselves).
My point is that one cannot believe everything one reads in books. One never knows if any crucial secrets have been withheld, making the instruction in the book useless or worse harmful.
Speaking of secrets, I was trying to find a suitable section to post some thoughts but decided to do it here.
I have been asking myself these questions:
1) What are the secrets of the masters that are often shrouded in such mystery?
2) Does knowing these secrets give one a real advantage?
3) Did the masters like Yang Lu Chan become so invincible because they had access to secrets their fellow students did not?
I think most of us will agree on one thing – the biggest and most important secret is to practice. A crucial corollary is this – to practice correctly. From this, we derive other secrets – for example the secret training method that one must practice, the secret shortcuts one should know to avoid wasting time, and the dos and don’ts accumulated from practical experience.
Access to kungfu secrets are, I think, vital to ensure success. Without the secrets mentioned above, too much time will be wasted searching for the right method or practicing water buffalo methods. Yet, at a different level, secrets may be irrelevant.
By this I mean that when a student has found a true master, it is often unnecessary for him to be told the secrets. All that needs to be done is for him to do exactly as his master tells him, and nothing more or less. The secrets are almost all embodied in the training itself. As long as the student trains diligently, he naturally acquires the secrets as a matter of course. At some point, it becomes an intuitive enlightenment of the secrets without any verbal instruction. For some very perceptive and talented students (like the masters), they may suddenly realise the secret in their daily practice, experiencing what is known as the “Aha!” or “Eureka!” effect. I have not had this experience (but of course) but I think I can understand what it means because of parallels in my academic studies in school. Actually, even though I am certainly a klutz and a dunce when it comes to martial arts, I think I do have a concrete example from my qigong practice. You know when Sifu says “Let go and let your qi flow”, many wonderful things can happen. Many many secrets have come alive for me just by following this one instruction.
Secrets when revealed too early may well be a liability. For example, when a student is told of the advanced applications of a Taijiquan posture before his foundation is firm, he tends to focus too much on that new-found secret than to work on the boring (to him) repetitions of the posture which will program the as yet unknown and unlimited applications in his mind and body (Thanks to StierSifu for first bringing this secret to my attention).
It has been said that some of the highest secrets are those that the master cannot reveal, not because he does not want to, but because they can only be experienced personally. The master leads you to the door but you have to enter yourself.
I rather suspect that when the secrets are revealed to a disciple orally, they serve as an explanation, rather than as a means of enlightenment. As I said above, the secrets are contained in the training itself, so perhaps where there is oral transmission, it is to explain the “method in the madness (of training)” (Shakespeare, by the way). A case of telling him the "Why" after he has mastered the "How".
To conclude, how important are secrets then? It depends on how you practice.
Many secrets have been revealed because times have changed. Secrets which may have once meant the difference between life and death in the past may hold little interest for the modern practitioner. Training methods for almost all the qigong styles are available in print and I have tried some of them for research purposes (always ending with self-manifested movement just in case). It is clear that they work, well, not all.
But recently I have come across cases where the training method was not accurate. For example, one of my seniors in China had published a book detailing our most secret zhan zhuang techniques. All of us rushed to get the book. Most of the written details were correct but the pictures showed quite a large difference in the posture. Some more advanced visualization instructions were also absent but that is understandable. I am not sure if there would be any ill effects from following the postures as they were shown, but I can be sure of one thing – the benefits would be very much reduced, because the postures were too easy. One of the cardinal tenets in my Taijiquan lineage is that the form in neigong practice must be perfect at the beginning. I wondered if the errors were deliberate and meant to mislead or whether the author simply did not want to put out the real secrets (perhaps in case the readers would hurt themselves).
My point is that one cannot believe everything one reads in books. One never knows if any crucial secrets have been withheld, making the instruction in the book useless or worse harmful.
Speaking of secrets, I was trying to find a suitable section to post some thoughts but decided to do it here.
I have been asking myself these questions:
1) What are the secrets of the masters that are often shrouded in such mystery?
2) Does knowing these secrets give one a real advantage?
3) Did the masters like Yang Lu Chan become so invincible because they had access to secrets their fellow students did not?
I think most of us will agree on one thing – the biggest and most important secret is to practice. A crucial corollary is this – to practice correctly. From this, we derive other secrets – for example the secret training method that one must practice, the secret shortcuts one should know to avoid wasting time, and the dos and don’ts accumulated from practical experience.
Access to kungfu secrets are, I think, vital to ensure success. Without the secrets mentioned above, too much time will be wasted searching for the right method or practicing water buffalo methods. Yet, at a different level, secrets may be irrelevant.
By this I mean that when a student has found a true master, it is often unnecessary for him to be told the secrets. All that needs to be done is for him to do exactly as his master tells him, and nothing more or less. The secrets are almost all embodied in the training itself. As long as the student trains diligently, he naturally acquires the secrets as a matter of course. At some point, it becomes an intuitive enlightenment of the secrets without any verbal instruction. For some very perceptive and talented students (like the masters), they may suddenly realise the secret in their daily practice, experiencing what is known as the “Aha!” or “Eureka!” effect. I have not had this experience (but of course) but I think I can understand what it means because of parallels in my academic studies in school. Actually, even though I am certainly a klutz and a dunce when it comes to martial arts, I think I do have a concrete example from my qigong practice. You know when Sifu says “Let go and let your qi flow”, many wonderful things can happen. Many many secrets have come alive for me just by following this one instruction.
Secrets when revealed too early may well be a liability. For example, when a student is told of the advanced applications of a Taijiquan posture before his foundation is firm, he tends to focus too much on that new-found secret than to work on the boring (to him) repetitions of the posture which will program the as yet unknown and unlimited applications in his mind and body (Thanks to StierSifu for first bringing this secret to my attention).
It has been said that some of the highest secrets are those that the master cannot reveal, not because he does not want to, but because they can only be experienced personally. The master leads you to the door but you have to enter yourself.
I rather suspect that when the secrets are revealed to a disciple orally, they serve as an explanation, rather than as a means of enlightenment. As I said above, the secrets are contained in the training itself, so perhaps where there is oral transmission, it is to explain the “method in the madness (of training)” (Shakespeare, by the way). A case of telling him the "Why" after he has mastered the "How".
To conclude, how important are secrets then? It depends on how you practice.
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