FIRST TIME IN CHINA

I was driving through dirty city roads in an almost unknown part of the world, Chaozhou in Southern China. There were no signs and I wondered how anyone could possibly find their way around here. Sitting in the front seat of small car with three other people, all of whom were natives of Chaozhou, we pulled into the small but busy city of Puning. This city seemed to be about at least 30 years behind any large American city. The driver was Chen, the brother-in-law of Dr. Liu, my longtime friend, teacher and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Doctor. In the back sat a young translator about 20 years old, whose English I could barely understand. He was seated next to Chen’s wife, Dr. Liu’s sister. As I stepped out of the car, bicycles, cars and people passed by me in a flurry. The streets were filled with vendors selling things of all types, from fruits to goods. I couldn’t help but notice that there wasn’t a single other foreigner in sight nor could I help but notice that every single person seemed to be staring at me in amazement. I felt like an animal in a zoo; they were staring at me probably wondering, “what is this strange foreigner doing here?” I knew then that I was far, far away from home.

The air was hot, dry and dusty as seems to be the case with much of Chaozhou, which is a dry and mountainous city in the easternmost point of Guangdong. I could not see the sun clearly as it was constantly blocked by a dusty haze. Rain must have been a problem because the mountains looked dry, and the trees and vegetation did not grow very tall. I later heard that there were many caves in the mountains but I did not get a chance to visit them.

It was only a few days ago that I was relaxing in the mountains of New Zealand by the ocean when I got a call from Dr. Liu who was in my hometown of Boston at the time.

“Can you go to China to treat some of my patients at my clinic in Chaozhou?” Dr. Liu spoke in a thick accent. Although he had lived in the US about 20 years, his accent was still strong.

“But Dr. Liu, I am a 30 year old white American male who does not speak any Mandarin. How on earth will any of these people believe me that I can heal them with Tui Na and Qigong? “I said, totally surprised that he would even suggest that.

“Trust me, these are my patients, and if I tell them you are good, they will believe in you.” Dr. Wu said, his tone serious.

Childhood

I have been studying martial arts and meditation since I was seven years old. My parents were health food fanatics, they meditated and did yoga every day. My father studied the ancient text of oracles, the I-Ching, and practiced Qigong and Tai Chi religiously. This was a normal way of life for me. At 12 years old, I started studying Yang Style Tai Chi. When I was 19 years, my father in introduced me to an intriguing Qigong teacher. At that point, I began a serious daily practice of Qigong and have continued ever since. I fell in love with Qigong, and wanted to incorporate some serious Qigong martial arts as I grew older. When I reached the age of 23, I began Emei Mountain Style Baguazhang under Master Liang Shou Yu’s teachings.

I also had a deep love of nature, which began with a 10-day hike into the White Mountains of New Hampshire when I was 15 years old. Two years later, I enrolled in a school deep in the mountains of Idaho that taught wilderness survival skills. We slept in a tipi for three months, and I hiked the Rocky Mountains for weeks at a time. I have since studied wilderness survival and wilderness living the Native American way with several schools. Due to that love of nature, I naturally took to Qigong, which bases many of its forms on the moves and habits of wildlife and believes that energy flows all around us in nature and within us.

Baguazhang is a mysterious Qigong martial art very well known in China, but is unknown to most westerners. Now I am an official Orthodox Wudang Shan (Mountain) Baguazhang seventh generation disciple of my life long master.

Emei and Wudang Shan are the two most well-known and popular styles of Baguazhang Qiqong, of which there are many variations. Wudang Shan is a mountain range in Hubei and the many monasteries there are Taoist temples. Emei Mountain is found in Sichuan and its residents include both Buddhists and Taoists. Although there are differences in styles and forms, most of the famous Baguazhang masters are known to have mastered both. This was the case with China’s most famous Baguazhang master in recent history, Lu Zijian who, on his death at 120 years of age, was acknowledged as China’s oldest citizen. Although he excelled at both schools, his lineage is linked to the Wudang Shan style, as Wudang Mountain was where he was born and where he lived during his first 20 years.

I like to point out some differences between these esoteric forms of Qiqong but note that these are based only on my own personal preferences, my teachers and my own state of mind at the time of training.

Hands: When I learned the Emei system, I had to hold my hand flat out in front, with the fingers spread apart and the thumb in a horizontal position. In Wudang Shan Baguazhang, I curved my fingers slightly as if I was holding a ball of invisible Qi. I could feel more energy flowing between my hands this way and I felt I was “holding” more QI.

Steps: There were significant differences here. The Emei step was like sliding forward in mud, which required that I first step out with a flat foot, and then take a little slide in the same direction. To smoothen the movement, I had to wear kungfu shoes and work out on a smooth floor to be able to slide forward. I found the Wudang Shan steps more natural and comfortable. In the Lion stepping technique, my foot would land lightly on the heel, I would then roll it forward to the toes before pushing off and landing on the other foot. The Wudang masters believe this was a more natural way to walk as no man walks and slides, and it would be hard to use the mud step on rough surfaces such as pavements or on uneven terrain like the forests.

Movements: Although I loved the Emei Style movements, I felt I was not taking to it instinctively. Once I learned the Wudang Shan style, I realized that Emei Baguazhang moves were more elaborate; they flowed more smoothly and were softer than Wudang Shan techniques. They felt more like a dance to me, more akin to Yang Style Tai Chi. I was more comfortable and preferred Wudang Baguazhang because it contained more of the “hard? techniques which tapped into ‘fajin’ or Qi release. It also involved soft, slow and fast movements, which employed more twist of the body and limbs.

I would like to reiterate these are my own personal opinions, and my statements are not meant to be a judgment on either school. I felt good practicing Emei techniques but I believed I benefitted more with Wudang Shan techniques, which were more in keeping with my personality.

Learning From a Third Generation TCM Doctor

More than 10 years ago, my father came home with some strange Chinese medicine tea made of snake skin, ginseng and other intriguing herbs. I had never seen this before, and wanted to meet the man who gave this to my father. That was my introduction to Dr. Liu. Ever since then, my fascination with Chinese medicine and the connections it has with Baguazhang, the I-Ching and Taoism has grown deeper and deeper.

Dr. Liu comes from an amazing background. He is a third generation herbalist, and had studied Traditional Chinese Medicine, Qigong and Tai Chi with his father since 1972, when he was seven. In 1988, he was honored as Director of the China Taoist Qi Gong Research Association and began teaching Qigong. He has over 20 editorials published in the Chinese Medical Journal, and is recognized in The Annals of China’s Contemporary Famous Doctors of TCM. He is truly unlike any human being I have ever met and possesses such a big heart, you cannot help but want to just do good after being with him.

Dr. Liu teaches a very special form of Tui Na, which is a form of Chinese massage therapy based on TCM principles, unlike any Tui Na techniques I have seen anywhere in China or anywhere else for that matter. His method involves the transmission of Qi whereas, as Dr. Liu has explained, most Tui Na practitioners use only their muscle power. In order to learn Dr. Liu’s Tui Na, you must have at least five years experience in Qigong. To prepare for Tui Na, we use stance work combined with some Tai Chi principles and even tap into Bagua teachings to connect to heaven and earth. Through this preparation, we open ourselves as a conduit to transmit Qi through the acupuncture points located on the patient’s body to move the stagnant or sick Qi. I had spent day and night training side by side with Dr. Liu just to learn this special technique. In addition to this special form of Tui Na, Dr. Liu trained and officially certified me as a medical Qigong practitioner and teacher. This is important for the healing process because after the Tui Na session is completed, the patient must be able to sustain the healing on his or her own.

Healing takes time, and it is not possible for the patient to have someone administer healing massage therapy all the time. However, medical Qigong can be viewed like a form of internal self-massage. In practicing medical Qigong after a Tui Na session, the patient is creating and accelerating the healing transformation within his or her own body. This is achieved by combining the power of intention with the energy that is being circulated throughout the body through co-ordinated breathing and...