Chi Kung: Health and Martial Arts

Dr. Yang is a prolific writer on Chinese martial arts and certainly has been trying his best to transmit his knowledge of the practice (and history) to a wide audience. It would be unfair for me to give too harsh a review to this generous gentleman. It is fair to say Dr. Yang gave a comprehensive overview of the subject. On the practice side, he did a good job in presenting many classic Wai Dan (external elixir) movement forms (like Eight Pieces of Brocade), if this is what you're interested in, you should buy this book, because of its extensive coverage on the subject. His non-movement/stationery Wai Dan forms seem to come mainly from yoga, and he admitted that but argued it is natural for Chinese martial art practice to be influenced by Indian practice. For more effective Chinese practice of the stationary forms, I would suggest readers to refer to books by Lam Kam-Chuen (like his The Way of Energy: Mastering the Chinese Art of Internal Strength with Chi Kung Exercise (A Gaia Original). On Nei Dan side, Dr. Yang has some serious conceptual confusion in both microcosmic orbit and macrocosmic orbit circulations. As for the former I am referring to his saying that some advanced practitioners find it helpful to clear chi blockage by circulating the chi "the other way round" (i.e. from front to the head and circulate back to the back). Interested readers on microcosmic orbit should refer to many excellent books by Master Mantak Chia. For macrocosmic orbit circulation, Taoist meditative approach never allow the chi to flow outside one's body (not as Dr. Yang incorrectly suggested otherwise). And for advanced Tai-Chi practitioners, chi does temporarily flow outside one's body but shall immediately be directed back into one's body through the same point or other point of the body (like one hand to another hand through the air in the form of a circle or arc of a circle). It is a key concept of Chinese chi kung that chi must conserve within the body rather than dissipated.

This book is an excellent source for those wanting to explore chi kung, whether as part of their martial training or simply for health reasons. Unlike many books on "esoteric" subjects like chi, this one is very plain-spoken and easy to read and understand... but at the same time contains enough information that it is still valuable to the more experienced practitioner. This book has been a staple part of my library for nearly 20 years, and I have recommended it to many of my own students as they become interested in chi kung. Clifton Bullard [...]

Although this is not a large book, it is an excellent introduction to the practice of chi kung. It gives you a background of Chinese internal martial arts, buddhism, taoism, Shaolin temple and wudan mountain and then moves into the specific practice of chi kung. Jwing-Ming gives you advice on when and where to practice, breathing techniques, and specific exercises. This is all supplemented with drawings and pictures which are fairly easy to follow. Also included in the book are chapters on Chi Kung and Health- which includes acupuncture and massage, and a chapter on martial applications which covers cavity presses and briefly iron shirt chi kung. This is a GREAT book on chi kung, especially for those unfamiliar with it, it may not be helpful for the expert- although it has other material which might be.