Zhan Zhuang and Sex in Wujifa

From time to time the subject of sex, Zhan Zhuang, and Wujifa is a topic that shows up and to be honest there is no one answer to this question. The real question is one that you must ask yourself. As you know we have addressed purpose, as in ‘What is your purpose for training?’, a number of times before. Understanding your purpose and the principles of Wujifa should be enough to help guide you to the answers about this topic but we will address it in more detail.

Most Wujifa practitioners practice their Zhan Zhuang training for an hour at a time at least once or twice a day. This does not include other Wujifa practices, only the standing or Zhan Zhuang practice(s). We will use this as a starting point for answering some “basic” questions about sex and Zhan Zhuang.

Becoming aroused while practicing

When we relax, the parasympathetic nervous system (the following is an oversimplification) we could say it kicks in to play. The parasympathetic nervous system  is involved in the functions of salivation, lacrimation (tears), urination, digestion, defecation, and sexual arousal just to name a few of the systems involved. As you can tell many of these are also common so called qigong side effects.

When becoming aroused in your Zhan Zhuang practice the best answer for most people is to just recognize this as a sign of the functioning of the parasympathetic nervous system and a good sign of health. Think to yourself, ‘Nice, a sign post of health’ and don’t get distracted from your purpose and training. Getting sexually stimulated while practicing isn’t abnormal and as we say in Wujifa, it is just one of many sign posts along different paths. If you are driving somewhere and you see a sign on the road saying 100 miles to where you are driving, you don’t stop at the sign, you keep driving. The same is true with signs that show up in practice.

Now that we have talked about sexual arousal the next question is often about how often can one have sex. This is a very good question and one we should take a look at.

Is having sex a good or bad thing when training?

First lets start by asking the question of purpose. If you understand your purpose and the principles then these kinds of questions become much clearer to the practitioner. If they are unclear to you from the level of basic common sense then you might want to simplify your purpose and goals or understand why you are making something so complicated.

Many qigong Masters and teachers suggest waiting a moon cycle (28 days) or at least two weeks (14 days) before engaging in sexual activity.  Many of these schools of thought lean toward the right and see celibacy as a key to training. I’ve heard other teachers which suggest you wait 24 hours before engaging in sexual activity after Zhan Zhuang practices. Now if you practice every day or twice a day you are basically again choosing the path of the monk. Again if you choose to follow this kind of advise, simply understand how it aligns with your purpose and the principles of your training.

I’ve heard it said that girlfriends can be the biggest problem for those learning Gongfu. That a person will spend many years training and then meet a girl and forget about their practice. I believe some of the reasons behind limiting sexual activity  given to students without functional explanations is aimed at solving this problem of losing students to relationships. It may be true that rules like this can help cage a student, then again if a person gets so easily distracted then they most likely will get distracted by other things over time and they may not really be cutout for deeper practices.

Personally I have found a good loving and supportive relationship can make your Gongfu training easier and better. Although finding a good woman is the key. If you take the time, allowing good people into your life and you will find them supportive and helpful to your Gongfu goals.


So when can I engage in sexual activity?

You understand your purpose and the principles of your personal practice. You have found a good girl and want to engage in sexual activity. Leaving all the cultural and morality issues aside for a moment as these could also be addressed under purpose and principles. When can you engage in sexual activity after practicing Zhan Zhuang. There are other high level practitioners that have expressed the fact that they are not monks and enjoy sex with their wife and they have shared a couple different opinions. One is to wait 4 or so hours before or after training, eat and relax and go about a normal day and then sex is fine. They explain that this is enough time for your body to rebalance. 


Other advanced Wujifa practitioners have simply said it’s a good idea to wait an hour after or before engaging in sexual activity. They explain an hour is enough time to return to normal status, and that they would wait an hour or so after eating a big meal or after work as it just gives some space. I also know of some practitioners who practice and have sex when they feel like it after training. They have some martial skill and they say they don’t have sex every time after practicing Zhan Zhuang but if their girl is ready and the time feels right they haven’t had any problems.

So you can see there are many different answers to these questions. Are you engaged in Zuo Dao or tantric practices and the practice of Zhan Zhuang? Are you like some boxers and refraining from sexual activity until after the big fight? Are you doing a special qigong practice like Yijin Jing  (Muscle/tendon Changing) and also practicing Wujifa Zhan Zhuang? If you understand your practice and you know the principles of your practice then you already know the answer. If you don’t know you are most likely playing with an advanced practice and you should seek some personal guidance and ask your senior school brothers or teacher. 


If you just are beginning a Wujifa Zhan Zhuang practice and you simply like doing the Zhan Zhuang practice, maybe just give yourself an hour before spilling your qi as they say.  New lovers tend not to take much real advice anyway, they’re hopelessly in love don‘t you know. So some of this advice may be a mute subject, just use your common sense that's always best.

So, I hope this sheds a little light on the question of sexual engagement and Wujifa Zhan Zhuang practices. Remember in Wujifa the simple and deep practices are the real key to success. Don’t complicate your practice. You are where you are and that’s where you start. It may take work but it should also make sense. If it doesn’t your doing something wrong or you need to ask more questions before training mindlessly and losing your way.

Wujifa Zhan Zhuang: Relaxing the Belly

The area of the belly we are talking about is much lower and more specific than the bigger area many people think of as being the belly. Yes, you should relax your belly as a whole when standing and when practicing Wujifa Zhan Zhuang. Today the area I am talking about is located at and just above the pubic bone.

A straightforward and functional tip for improving your Wujifa zhan zhuang practice can be as simple as noticing and relaxing the belly. This article will address the opportunities that can be discovered in your zhan zhuang practice when you start to understand how much tension people carry in the lower abdominal or belly area. You see today’s blog posting all started the other day when working with some Wujifa beginners. These new practitioners started to notice how common it was and it is for many beginners to hold tension in the lower belly when practicing zhan zhuang.

You see the lower belly really is a very common area where people hold tension when practicing zhan zhuang and even in daily life. When people are able to relax this area, they discover that they can improve their practice by sinking more weight into their legs (which beginners sometimes experience as a burning sensation in the quads).

Stand up for a moment with your feet parallel, lined up under your hips and shoulders (More information on this see: Wujifa Zhan Zhuang Alignment). Now place your hand on your lower belly at the level of your pubic bone. Now, play with tightening the area of your lower belly underneath your hand.

Notice, how many different areas of the body are affected by this kind of tension. Now quickly relax this area as best you can and notice how much more space this creates and how this changes the feeling of the pelvic floor, hips, and thighs. Go ahead and try playing with this a few times. Also remember, relax is not limp, so try maintaining a good Wujifa structured stance.

If you took the time just now you might have notice how many other areas can be affected with tension and relaxation. The reason is there are so many different fascial interconnections that take place in the lower area of the pelvis / belly. If you want to read more about the fascial systems of the lower belly you can go to “The Muscles and Fasciae of the Abdomen - Gray’s Anatomy of the Human Body - Yahoo Education”. Reading that might be fun for some people, but you really don’t need all that data to make some real progress in your zhan zhuang practice. For most people, simply playing with tightening and relaxing of the lower belly with the hand you placed over this area will give you some pretty good insights that you can apply to your Wujifa Zhan Zhuang practices.

Re-educating your body awareness takes due diligence. In the Wujifa Zhan Zhuang basic practices, relaxing the lower belly area is very important and is something many people can tend to overlook. Getting more weight to sink down into your legs is key. Troubleshooting and discovering this overlooked area of the lower belly will make all the difference in the world.

Again, the point we are making here is to remember in your standing practice is to relax the lower belly just above the pubic bone. As you do this, also remember that relaxed is not limp and strength is not tense. You can play with tightening and letting go as another “method” to give you insights on how to relax this area. After playing with this for a while, you may begin to notice how other areas of your body connect and move with this change. I want to repeat myself again and say, relax is not limp. Remember to be mindful of the Wujifa structural “methods” and to have fun.

Remember, if you’re liking what we’re sharing here, then please “+1” Wujifa in Google, re-tweet, and share our articles on FaceBook or whatever social media you belong too. Our goal is to give people real helpful information and when you share this, you are helping everyone. You can also follow us on the Wujifa Facebook page. We here at the Wujifa liangong really enjoy sharing useful information, so feel free to let your friends know about this blog and the Wujifa practices.

Also, if you have any questions or comments or insights, please feel free to share those here as well. Most of all have a wonderful day!

Wujifa Martial Arts Practice and New Friends

It was a warm Sunday afternoon in early August, 2011. Let me back up here a bit. Forty-Three hours earlier I received a phone call from Mike at the Internal Martial Arts Blogspot blog who asked if it was ok to bring a guest to a Sunday Wujifa class.

A couple days later on that Sunday our guests show up after hearing about our Wujifa practice they had lots of questions. A great exchange about martial arts principles and practice took place. Later we went out to dinner and continued the exchange of thoughts and we had an all around good time, of course. ;^)

The following is written by a Ph.D. student majoring in Chinese Traditional Martial Arts who was visiting the U.S. to do research for his dissertation from a well known sports university in China. Shared this with us after his recent visit to The School of Cultivation and Practice where Wujifa is trained and practiced.

This following article is shared as received. Thank goodness for Google translator, enjoy.

 

一次难忘的访谈

看似一次平常的访谈，却留下一段难忘的记忆，让我重新审视自己的观点的同时，也在思考武学的真谛。作为一名武术研究方向的博士研究生，正需要某种精神，去探索发掘武术的深层价值。

一位美国的热心朋友帮我设计调查问卷，而且，帮我介绍了一些太极拳传播者，他本人也是一位太极拳爱好者，练习太极拳已经有二十年之久，并建议我拜访一下他的师父，由于研究需要，希望更多地访谈一些美国师父，于是欣然答应。约了一个具体的时间，我们开车来到师父家里，见到一位身材健壮白人师父，就是Rick。Rick很健谈，很热心地回答了我的问题，当我问及他以后的打算时，他向我介绍了一项耳目一新的技术：“无极法”（Wujifa），立刻勾起了我的兴趣。

据Rick大师介绍“无极法”是个人（或人与之间）对微妙链接关系理解的深度实践，“无极法”的修炼和气功、站桩、武艺、瑜伽等一样，是种“健身”锻炼的独特形式，它的目标是达到人体意、气、形的统一，达到较高的个人修为。成功的无极法练习者所具有的共性：通过无极法、内功的练习，可以发现，那些获得较高技能的练习者通常会表现出来一些共同的特征，那就是能够体会到所练之术和人的实际生活存在着惊人的相似性。在长期的训练和实践中，相同的招数，可能会使出不同的效果。有很多人工作很顺利，因为他们可以有条不紊地跟踪排除生活和工作中出现的各种问题，因此，人们应该花时间找到个人进步的最佳途径。通过练习无极法在获得技术的同时，更能将其原理运用到实际生活中的方方面面，人们可以向他们的理想和目标不断迈进。

本人练习武术套路已有二十余年，对于武术哲学理论也是烂熟于心，却从没有在身上体验过，诸如在太极拳的习练中，何为无极、何为太极、何为阴阳之类，怎么做才可以体会到这一点却不得而知。经Rick 大师指点，我明白，所谓的哲理内涵，是体现在身体上的一种链接关系，人体不同结构将会影响其功能作用，我在练习过程中只是注重外形的优美与否，是否实用，却没有注意到如何将身体的内外以及身体本身的链接关系做好。回想起来，以前练习的各种套路，都是这种问题，总结起来，是因为没有找到正确的练习方式，更没有将身体与技能之间建立某种联系。

我相信，无极法是各项武术技能的基础，斯旁门甚多，其技无外乎一理而，它可以帮助我们更好地学习各种技能，能够让功夫上身，达到健身与技击的目的。但是，无极法的原理目前仅有少数人理解，习练的人甚少，发扬此项技术任重而道远，Rick大师像一个孤独的守望者，凝视远方，希望可以通过无极法帮助更多人达到人生目标。

Common Success Traits for Wujifa Practitioners

There are a few common traits found in people who successfully make gains in the practices of Wujifa, internal martial arts and life in general. I remember I was once on a construction project team that met weekly and someone said these meetings are boring and are not needed. Quickly the project manager smiled and said, “If these meetings are boring that’s a good sign. We are doing something right.” I personally find project management and process an interesting subject although I can understand why some would find it a bit dull. The same tricks can really make the difference in your training and practice.

I hope some of you will find it interesting and employ in your practices some of these common traits of people who are continually making successful gains with their skill sets. It’s funny the similarities in the project management field and the ways people work toward their goals. There are people whose jobs run fairly smooth because they methodically track and troubleshoot (which costs more in investment of time) and those who never seem to have their projects under control and are racing around at the last minute to put out yet another fire. Hopefully you will you take the time to find what works best for your personal progress.

Education - Educate Yourself

What does it mean to have gotten a real education? Taking action and seeing for yourself this is what getting a real education is all about. You must do something, noticing what the results are, and compare this to what results you had as your goal. As you can see a real education is very different than information. 

Many people collect data and can tell you a lot about something that they have never personally done. Knowing means “what you can actually do” not the data you can spew forth. Being able to do something is call educating yourself. Make sure to check your results against your personal goals. I have seen many a person get sidetracked into an education that they really didn’t want to learn about. 

The example of the person knowing the movements to yet another Taiji sword form is nothing but a lot of data if what you wanted to learn is how to develop internal strength. A sword form may help and then again it may not depending on the results you are seeking. Then again, the question becomes, “Why you are learning yet another movement or form?” 

Being clear on what you’re doing and why is one of the best ways of educating yourself and getting everything an education can offer.

Another good point I’d like to share about education is to really aim at getting the “more” correct feeling of what you are doing. Getting the feeling of what you’re doing is a better type of education and will help guide your practice and actions much more clearly. 

As an example, I remember asking questions to various masters and teachers I have worked with over the years like, “What is peng?“ or “What is wuji?“ and “What is sinking the qi?“ and when the teacher started talking about it I would politely stop and ask, “Can you show me how to get it in my body?” 

As you can see I wasn’t that interested in the words and actually, their words were often very different from how I might explain it so getting the feeling is a more direct education and helped me to be able to do it better myself afterwards. 

Ask them to show you how it’s done in your body. Keep questions simple and direct, action and kinesthetically oriented. This will really help you make progress. Sometimes a teacher’s linage is such that they share stories and data. If that is the case, then take responsibility to bring that back to practical and functional practices to help you get to your goal and a real education.

Focus on the Fundamentals

Most every high level master or practitioner I have met all have one thing in common and that is, practicing the basics. The basics are seemingly simple fundamental skill sets that carryover to everything else they do.

In internal martial arts, some call the basic skill set internal strength or internal movement. How do they develop these in different arts? An example of basics in Chen Style Taiji practice might be silk reeling. Bagua’s “Tain Gan” could be another example of primary drills. Xingyi and Santi is another basic you’ll see high level practitioners engaging in their whole life.

Why do highly skilled practitioners practice fundamental exercises? You get the biggest bang for your buck there. So many people can’t wait to learn something new when they haven’t taken the time to really understand the basics of their art. It’s also sad to say that many teachers may have caved in to that or may have forgotten the importance of the basics because selling forms makes them more money. Be responsible and return to the basics and focus on the fundamentals.

Community

Finding a good training partner or partners can be even harder than finding a good wife as I have written about before. Finding people who are testing and educating themselves in what they are doing is a priceless part of really making progress. Having senior school brothers and sisters and access to high level practitioners who can help you notice what you may not notice is also huge. Being in a supportive environment that encourages and fosters real growth with those who take the time to help is important. Even if those who are helping are clumsy and just starting, their honest insights are what we’re looking for. If you don’t have a good community, then build one. It really helps to have at least a small support group of one or two people who can keep you honest and kick you in the butt when needed.

Do It Correctly - Don’t Just Do It (Even If You’re Doing It Wrong)

This is a big one, “Doing it correctly.” So many people seem to zone out after awhile and they just go through the motions of training. They have a routine down and then they shut their mind off. This is a big mistake. Stay awake and aim at doing it correctly. You may never do it perfectly but your focus is to do it correctly. Don’t over think it and don’t zone out. The point is to just stay focused. So even if you are doing something incorrectly, if you are learning, then you are doing it correctly. And that’s the key.

Remember as you repeatedly do something, in the process you develop neuro-pathways in the brain. Having a sharp mind is so very important. Really paying attention and staying focused and awake can help you develop those neuro-pathways. 

Over time this keen focus will become second nature and this is one of the common practices you’ll find in many high level practitioners. Aiming at doing it correctly keeps you open to the many opportunities for improvement. Yes you can over focus so that isn’t doing it correctly either. Simply aim to do it correctly. When you choose to practice it’s pretty simple. Doing it correctly is about paying attention without over-thinking. Remember the saying, “Analysis paralysis”. But if you zone-out, you are not exercising your mind either.

Track and Journal

When you become aware of something, it’s easier to adjust, manage and gain insights about it. This is the secret to journaling. Many people say, “I don’t need to do that. I can keep it in my head.” The truth is that it’s not that easy when you are trying to learn something new. There are many nuances and details that get forgotten over time. 

When I think about people who become highly successful or highly skilled, I think of people that kept notebooks of their thoughts and ideas and progress in learning. Many people don’t want to take the time to really journal and track what they do because it’s easier to live in the illusion of training rather than training to make real progress. But if you’re really honest about becoming successful, keep a notebook. Log and track. 

There’s a saying, “What is measured, gets managed.” I have found this to be true. Simply notice. In Wujifa we say that noticing changes everything. You start to adjust and change. Anything that helps you notice and change will bring you more on your path.

How To Develop Repeatable Wujifa Strategies

One of the fundamental means for developing a real and successful practice in the art of Wujifa is to develop the ability to evolve different strategies that are reproducible and repeatable as well as training methods that are functional across many different skill-sets or platforms.

Now the questions the Wujifa practitioner, or any martial artist, needs to ask is; what are these different strategies which are most functional at ones’ current level and how can they be developed and/or improved over time?

After answering that, you may be asking yourself ‘What are the first steps the Wujifa practitioner should take on their path?’ The very first step is to define, define, define. Understanding “what” it is you are doing and “why” you are doing it. 

Understanding the “what” and “why” are really helpful in getting clear on what you need to do and why you are doing a practice.

Next you will want to identify and manage the capabilities you will need to execute and develop in working toward your goals in your practice. Investing in a training journal, setting up times and places you will train, as well as the training methods you will start with are good examples of some of these goals.

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. C.S. Lewis

Make sure you test and evaluate your strategies, development process, and execution, as these steps create possibilities for tweaks that can often create insights for establishing improvements that are essential for real success.

Be organized. Have some simple organizational structures in place. Having a sense of how to organize your practice can be key. If you take the time to understand the processes involved, the clearer the bigger picture and processes can be defined now and in the future. Take some time to develop your map for improvement. Include the processes and procedures that will ensure the implementation of these become a way of life. Don’t bite off more than you can chew, at the same time you’ll need enough to nourish your progress toward your ultimate goal.

There's a world of difference between truth and facts. Facts can obscure the truth. Maya Angelou

How do you know? Information, data, and metrics are useful in providing general estimates to guide strategic decision-making and performance measurements. So another important point is the establishment of goals and milestones. It grounds future assessments of the effectiveness of methods and strategies established and where you may be missing something important in the process you have set up for yourself.

Remember your rules are simply methods. Review them and see if your practice has matured enough, or that you have the ability to know when to change the rules to maintain strategic advantages in your Wujifa training practices.

Peter Drucker said, “Success always makes obsolete the very behavior that achieved it. It always creates new realities.”

A big key to progress is the understanding of the process. In the beginning, processes may not be comprehensively defined or understood which is fine. As one matures in their practices then strategies can further be developed, defined, and refined. Remember asking questions are a great way to do this. Make sure you write down questions in your journal and review them. Visiting past questions can reveal patterns and opportunities as much as your current question(s) may.

Peter Drucker also said, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.”

Take responsibility for your progress and learn to navigate change so you can be successful on your developmental journey. Knowing where you want to go is important. Even more important is the understanding of where you are, even more so when setting out on your journey.

As we say in Wujifa “You are where you are and that’s where you start.” Be practical and take the time to assess where you are and what your current goals are. Common sense isn’t always common practice. Taking a little time can make all the difference between failure and being on the path to success, even before the planned changes have begun to take hold.

Curiosity and the ordinary

The question came up about how one stays curious while they study the ordinary in Wujifa. As we have said before there are many different keys one can use that can help them understand the practice of Wujifa. Curiosity and the ordinary are two of the keys we can use to explore the practices and to aid one in making progress within the Wujifa practices. First of all, thank you Dan for asking this question in the comments to the post ‘Ordinary and Extra-ordinary’. Second, are you curious about what the answer might be to this question? Good, let’s see what we can find here.

Heraclitus the Greek philosopher said, “From out of all the many particulars comes oneness, out of oneness come all the many particulars.” In Wujifa we seek to understand the connections that lead to oneness and the more connected we become the more ability we have to engage with many different situations. You could say the singularity is what everything has in common. Then again, this whole concept could be just a little too much on the ‘woo-woo’ side of the fence.

Let’s clarify a few things first. The first is the question of what is one willing to do to create change? How much faith and will power does one have? Many people who talk about wanting change, if they are really honest with themselves, may only wish for change and aren’t willing to do the work that is involved to engage change.

Another common problem that many people have is they believe they can’t do it, so their truth is they don’t do it or only half heartedly try. They believe in their limitations. There is another set of people who believe it may be possible, and then it seems they find every way possible to distract themselves from doing the real work. They believe "it’s not their fault". Another type of person simply makes up stories about how they just need to put the time in. They believe simply practicing a specific type of Zhan Zhuang or practicing some special secret tai chi form or qigong for 10 or more years they will automatically get it only to be disappointed. These people overlooked critical benchmarks, tests, or verified results and applied analytical thinking to their theories. Many may have even worked very hard toward achieving their goals. Missing the opportunities to adjust and correct themselves by simply missing practical and verifiable benchmarks they could have applied along the way.

Questioning, testing, being open to the possibilities yet remaining grounded in where they are in the moment; this we could call being functionally curious. The functionally curious are testing and verifying and exploring the possibilities. This is the real key. Most people are curious for a moment and then close their eyes and fall asleep following without thinking. Remember the kind of curious I’m talking about is more like an explorer or a scientist. The kind of explorers who have “passion” and the kind of scientists who are willing to “test” it out and look for the facts and not simply believing in fairy tales and stories told by others. The kind of curiosity that drives people forward to do the “work” with the satisfaction of finding out for themselves

Aristotle said “Bring your desires down to your present means. Increase them only when your means permit.” In Wujifa we say “You are where you are and that’s where you start.”

Maybe I side-tracked a bit from Dan’s question; although hopefully there are some insights above that may be helpful. Here is the bottom line; people become “bored” when they aren’t being congruent.

People give up, quit, make up stories, become distracted when they are afraid to look, really look, at where the incongruence lies. They hide in their stories, emotions, their understandings and beliefs. The ordinary isn’t really all that ordinary when you stay open and awake, testing and exploring. The ordinary is something that only seems common when one falls into a trance. While practicing the basic and the ordinary there are many thing to be noticed along the way.

I’ll end here with a quote from Heraclitus the Greek philosopher also said something like “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” Notice the river and the man for what they are these are the secrets to the common and ordinary.

Ordinary and Extra Ordinary: A Secret of Wujifa Training

One of the biggest secrets to successful Wujifa training is this concept of ordinary and extra ordinary. To really understand what’s meant by this, one needs to look deeper into the meaning and spirit behind these concepts. There is more to this than simply getting back to the basics, although that is the bottom line.

Let’s consider for a second the magic of it all. Often you will find people amazed by someone performing an extraordinary feat, hypnotized in a way by the skill or to see the real magic taking place right in front of their very eyes. Yet, knowing the “real” trick to the magic "trick" can change the way you start to view the whole show.

Magic is often just a set of simple procedures, evolved from a state of clumsiness and overlooked details to a state of refinement where the finer details are easily unnoticed by most viewers. Slight of hand, for example, may require hours of  simply flipping a coin from finger to finger and back,  to gain basic dexterity skills. The second step is to plan what you are going to do with the skills (intention) once you start developing them. The same idea is true in gongfu and qigong practices.

What are some of these basic skills found in a Wujifa practice you ask? One of the most fundamental is the concept of “connection” and at a basic level this means working with the body and connective tissues. In Wujifa we believe concepts like "connections" are best explored in the most basic ways over time.  

There are many sayings in the practice of Wujifa to help guide us. One of my favorite Wujifa sayings is “Practice the ordinary until it becomes extra ordinary.” This, in reality, is one of the biggest secrets for successful practice of Wujifa or any art, martial or otherwise.

Let’s take a closer look at a “Seemingly” simple practice like Zhan Zhuang for example. The most basic learning in our Zhan Zhuang practice(s) is to simply stand and relax (AKA functional alignment) and discovering what that really means at the deepest possible level. Another example is the “Side to Side” practices or skill sets. In the most basic “Side to Side” exercises, the key is to discover how the hip joints or Kua can move in concert with those connections. A simple intention of shifting to the right and left “Side to Side” while maintaining good structure and connections is all that’s needed to “start” building new neuro-pathways in the body and the mind. Adhere to basic guidelines found in the Wujifa triangle; Structure, Balance, Relax and you're well on your way.

The fact of the matter is that way to many people end up skipping or glossing over their personal art’s fundamental practices. All to often you find people spending way too many hours learning some complicated and fancy stylistic form(s) or some other seemingly-high-level “Tom Foolery,” when the reality is, the footing or foundation of their home (structure) is built on sand. One will never get to a very high level if you’re foundational skills are weak.

Practice the ordinary and develop the extra-ordinary as a result. Practice the simple things and master those first. Develop fundamental skills before rushing off to learn some seemingly fancy new skill sets. Return to the most basic aspects of your art and spent time there.

As I write this, I notice the once-white wax wood poles I use while practicing one of the Wujifa skill sets, they are dirty from use and the oils from my hands that have stained them. Seemingly ordinary poles stained and dirty, yet they are a sign of the magic that only repeated practice can impart.

The seemingly ordinary tasks are where the extraordinary skills blossom. Remember the Daoist saying, “Hide universe in universe.” In my experience much of the magic and many of the secrets are placed where they remain un-noticed and are often overlooked.  Practice your gongfu and qigong(s) by putting the time into the most fundamental aspects of your practice, you’ll be glad you did.

Five Common Bad Zhan Zhuang Structural Habits

There are many different structural habits a practitioner can build into their Zhan Zhuang practice. A practitioner can often practice alone for years without noticing or worse yet never take the time to validate that they are practicing Zhan Zhuang skill sets correctly. Here are five common bad habits often overlooked by practitioners in their Zhan Zhuang training.


1. Collapsing / Hunching over - The structural problem of hunching is so very common and this habit can take a long time to correct so it’s at the top of the list. I have seen people really make amazing changes in their body over time to the point that they don’t even look like the same person. I’ve heard people say they can breathe better when they lose their hunch. I will say they look much younger and alive after they spent the time to correct this. So, what causes this problem? This problem is often caused by a daily life of working over a keyboard, planting rice, or by keeping your eyes down and not looking into the eyes of the king depending where you live and life style. Being aware and adjusting your posture really helps with bringing about long term change. Like any habit that took years to develop, it may also take a long time to change. Make it one of the things you check often.


2. Ankle alignment - Ankle alignment is so overlooked and is a root cause to many other problems. When people overlook ankle alignment in Zhan Zhuang and Wujifa practices, they end up making a number of other structural adjustments to their posture and that‘s why it’s second on the list of bad habits. There are many causes of poor ankle alignment such as wearing poor fitting shoes over many years to inactivity so that the resulting connective tissues in the foot and ankle become more and more distorted. Many times knee pain is caused by poor ankle alignment and trying to correct it with the hip creates a torque in the knee area as people try to re-align themselves. The best practice is to start with the feet and align them as best as possible (which again can take years, again, if ever). There are some tricks that some people have used. See Wujifa Zhan Zhuang Practice: Tight Calves and Ankles. Also seeing a qualified teacher who understands these things can really help as well.


3. Holding in the lower back and pelvis - Both the lower back and pelvis are included together here as they are rarely seen alone. When holding is found in only one of these two areas, a common response for example to relaxing the pelvis will be to tighten the lower back or vice versa, relaxing the lower back and tightening the pelvic area. Relaxing both are key for better Wujifa Zhan Zhuang practice. One of the big problems is people often store a lot of tension in the lower back and pelvis when they push themselves to hard. Simply taking a break and noticing and stretching throughout the day helps. Over at Internal Gong Fu Blogspot there is a long post about relaxing different areas of the pelvis (See: Relaxing the Pelvic Floor for Tai Chi and Zhan Zhuang). Taking a deep breath and exhale while relaxing those areas while practicing your Zhan Zhuang can help too. I’ll repeat, a simple stretch can aid in making progress and there are a lot of good YouTube videos you can look up (see comment area for suggestions). When practicing Zhan Zhuang, notice the habits of "tightening" and let yourself relax. It will take time to change a habit but it can be achieved pretty quickly (weeks or months) if you take the time and stay with it.

4. Knee Torque - Knee torque was talked about with the ankle alignment above, but there are more causes and knee torque deserves to be number four on this list because it is so common. While practicing Zhan Zhuang people often "lock" themselves into place (See: Is Your Stance Like a Dead Post) to take the weight out of their legs or to make it more tolerable by slightly torque-ing the knees in or out. The answer is to "slowly" build up to standing longer periods of time and change this habit of torque-ing the knee. Also over time the I.T. bands can be shortened and this can cause problems with the knees as well. Hip and lower back alignment as well as ankle alignment are common problems that contribute to knee torque in Zhan Zhuang practices. This is another case where a qualified instructor can really help you notice and make the changes you need to make with changing the habit of knee torque.


5. Chest/upper back and shoulder tension – Chest and shoulder tension are so common that for many it is the number one bad habit of people who practice Zhan Zhuang. You may be asking yourself why chest and shoulder tension/tightness is listed as number five on this list? This issue is listed as number five because many people who train Zhan Zhuang practices know they have this issue. If you visit or train with any high level masters or go to high-quality seminars you will see kind of adjustment being shared over and over again. It is the kind of habit that people change and keep picking back up and so it takes diligent practice to change this habit. If the muscles are chronically tense you may need to stretch often and get some bodywork like Rolfing to help speed you along the way. Most people simply need to pay attention and correct the situation and develop new habits.


I know of some instructors that will adjust the arms to a higher level for tense shoulders. This will cause the shoulder muscles to feel like they are on fire. Please don’t do this at home because you want to wait until the shoulder muscles give up, drop and relax and most people will give up way before that and develop more tightening in the shoulder muscles. A better way is to let the arms drop a little lower so the shoulders don’t have to work so hard to try to support the arms until you can understand what connection is, what relaxed is. Remember in Wujifa we say "Relaxed is not limp" and it may take some people awhile to understand what that means.


Another suggestion for the chest is to breathe deeply and exhale and simply "let the chest fall". Both this and the suggestion above don’t create a long term change directly. Only really paying attention and changing your habits over time will do that. What these two suggestions will do is give you some awareness of what a more relaxed chest and shoulders feel like.


Five Common Bad Zhan Zhuang Structural Habits - Conclusions - 


I hope this was helpful and a reminder to pay close attention to correcting any bad Zhan Zhuang habits you may have. One more quick suggestion that people sometimes find helpful, and please don’t make it a habit, is to tighten a tense area and then relax it quickly. This will also bring some awareness to the possibilities of structural change. Also, remember one of the best pieces of advice I can share, that is see a qualified instructor for assistance and verification. Many of these types of corrections can only really be made in person and hands on.


There are many more bad Zhan Zhuang habits we could add to a list like this such as: zoning out, practicing dead post, letting the mind wander, check the clock every couple minutes, and the worst of the bad habits that didn’t make the Zhan Zhuang bad habits list is not practicing at all! Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions or if I missed any other bad habits you’d like to see included in this or future list. Have a great day!

Martial Arts Dilemma in solving the Compliance Tensor in Structure and Movement

The idea of solving the compliance tensor equations in connection with mechanical movement, much less solving the expression in real time movements in the internal martial arts, could be very difficult if not almost impossible. Right now you might be asking yourself why would anyone even waste their time trying to explore the complexities of Hooke’s Law of Elasticity with encountering strain and stress (F = -kx) as it relates to Wujifa, Internal Martial Arts, Taiji, or any martial art for that matter? What does this idea of “strain being directly proportional to stress” have to do with getting good at Gongfu? (For a detailed explanation of Hooke’s Law and Compliance Tensor, see the Wikipedia entry.)

Personally I believe that every serious practitioner spends much of their time working and training to kinesthetically solve or resolve issues with the answer to this equation as set forth by the tolerances of the principles of their art form to the compliance tensor equation in real time.

Solving the compliance tensor equations in real time requires you to leave the present moment and this is exactly my point. Yin and Yang, Five Element Theory, so on and so forth are simply gross ambiguities that may only make sense when applied to a very “specific equation” relative to a snap shot in time, I say that because the reality is constantly changing as you move and train.

Yes we can apply a Qin-na technique to a joint and watch it dislocate that joint in real time and say here is your real time answer to the compliance tensor for that joint of that person with that movement. At the same time as a practitioner, how do you notice, develop, refine, and train to make real and reproducible results at the highest level?



The method is not the truth once you get the feeling get rid of the method. At the same time I believe the same mindset, the close attention to details “as if” one were methodically solving the compliance tensor equation could be a good model or method. I would say go read about compliance tensor and Hooke’s Law and see if this doesn’t give you some idea of what the ambiguity of Qi flowing might really mean. Look at the vectors of force and how eccentric muscle movement and connective tissues spring to life. Look into the ways stress and strain can be directed and redirected to distort or load a system. Look back to your practice and see if the compliance tensor equation gives you any depth to how and why you train.

Gongfu Practice: Role, Design, and Value

The value of one’s practice or, importance it seems to merit can vary tremendously. What is important to one person can be vastly different to another. Now here is the catch, often times the value of a practice cannot be fully understood until much later, and only then, when viewed from another space and time in comparison.

The equation of “Benefits - Costs = Value” is such a personally subjective concept, can it even be rationally understood at any given moment? Then imagine trying to understand the viewpoints of the multitude of long and short term moments all coming together as if they were facets of some larger design. Pictures of glimmering gems. Gems that could have been, simply pieces of glass shining in the afternoon sun. So, what does any of that really mean when it comes down to your gongfu practice?

In Wujifa the seemingly ordinary is often practiced for long periods of time. “Refining the ordinary until they become extra-ordinary” is a common saying. Depth is discovered both in a moment and over time.

“One’s heart is like one’s energy, they cannot be measured directly, only viewed through their actions to which they abide.”

Value is like beauty, and so it is with Wujifa and gongfu. Watching someone practicing Zhan Zhuang can be like watching a concrete pylons in the hot dessert sun in some forgotten parking structure of what pretended to be a life once upon a time. Watching someone first hand experiencing the gongfu of zhan zhuang can also be as if in the presence and majesty of a might redwood connecting, reaching forth, as one discovers it’s place between earth and sky.  How can it be that both can share such a different experience? How can something as simple as standing around have such different processes? How does one place valve on one process or discard another?

“A rut serves its purpose when one finds himself ankle deep in the mud.”

A Buddhist friend tells me “leave them alone, its fine as it is…” The meaning being that there is a lesson to be taught in what there is to experience. Take away the experience and the perfect lesson may also be lost. Understand that your quest may take you years to uncover, and the pointlessness only understood once you wash the mud off of your feet.

It seems there may be an unseen role, design, and value in what is happening that may not always be readily understood outside the moment. Understanding is a process of doing, and experiencing. Knowledge is not mere data, or methods gathered. Yes, methods and data can “artfully” point a direction. In direction there are some seemingly meaningful equations, in which the value is often simply a formulation of subjective understandings at that given moment in time. Growth is full of transformations.

What do you stand for?

You may have heard these questions before around these parts “What do you stand for?”  The answer may honestly be that you don’t know. As you go through life you get to experience life and how you open and connect with life or, how you disconnect and remove yourself from engaging with it.

The question of “How do you know?” is one worth discovering and exploring. Which leads to the question of, “Where to start?” In Wujifa we say “You are where you are and that’s where you start.” So simply stop for a second, notice and discover where you are standing, "your stance in life" right now. Gongfu is noticing this over time and revealing a simple meaning in the role, design, and value you bring to this exploration.

What do you stand for?

What do you stand for? This is such a simple question and yet this simple question is one of many that can uncover the principles and beliefs held at ones very core.  When one sincerely explores this question not in word but in action and in the doing then both conscious and unconscious answers can be revealed if you keep an open mind to the question. What do you stand for?

What do you stand for? Some may say to develop, explore, and notice mental and physical connection or even to help develop internal strength of some kind.  What is the presupposition that these practitioners stand upon? What else do they notice? What else are they putting time and energy into? What happens when people start asking these kind of questions? What do you stand for?

What do you stand for? Some say to simply stand and others say they find it simply enjoyable. There are so many types of drugs in the world. There are many types of medicine and even placebo effects. There are also so many forms of nutrition, nourishment, and sustenance. Without awareness a drug, a medicine, even nourishing foods can lead one to a place where it is insensible. What do you stand for?

What do you stand for? Is it to solve some sort of puzzle or to stand on your principles? Is it to be part of a practice that you believe will make you better in some way? Is it to be part of some group or organization? Is it because you were told too or simply standing alone on faith? Are your reason coming from somewhere deep inside or motivated by some external forces? What do you stand for?

What do you stand for? Does it change as time passes? Does it grow, develop and evolve over time? Does the answer reveal different faces and answers? Is what your stand for some kind of reflection, a mirror, a manifestation of something more? Do why, what, where, and when, like reason, form, place, and time simply present an opportunity to practice learning how to observe? Are there different chunk sizes that are most useful like bricks are useful in building a wall, or how walls are useful in building a home? Does chunk size have anything to with the Wujifa saying “You are where you are and that’s where you start!”?

What do you stand for can be, fundamentally very personal or even superficial, yet the question can still be asked and explored. Many would say that this one question can be so very helpful to making progress and at another time a waste of valuable time.  You are where you are and that’s where you start.

As for an answer to this question simply remember if the answer is at hand what is there to worry? If there is no answer, worrying isn’t going to help. The question “What do you stand for?” is simply a question. Ovation or disdain or ignore it all together.  As the heavy weight boxer Muhammad Ali said “The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.”  And as the erotic writer Anaïs Nin said “Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.” Just simply remember “You are where you are and that’s where you start.

No creature is fully itself till it is, like the dandelion, opened in the bloom of pure relationship to the sun, the entire living cosmos. ~D.H. Lawrence

Basic practices to REAL gongfu improvement

Understanding the principles and philosophy underlying your practice(s) can be the most impactful and meaningful activity when embodied within your daily life, one’s gongfu, and also with the practices of Wujifa. Having a process for simply noticing real opportunities for improvement that are both congruent with your personal and global goals is key. Then the real question must be “What are some of these opportunities, processes, practices, and principles we can use for improvement?”

In the early 1990’s I met and had a chance to study with W. Edwards Deming. I had read and studied his books and now I was lucky enough to be able to spend a few days with him at one of his 4 day seminars.  Being a student of quality improvement I considered it an honor to have had a chance to study with this “Master.” So, of course I highly recommend anyone studying gongfu of any type and all practitioners of Wujifa to take the time to read and study any of W. Edwards Deming’s books.

PDCA cycle

PDCA cycle of W Edwards Deming seems simple enough. The basic concept is to "PLAN / DO / CHECK / ACT" and then simply repeating this cycle over and over, discovering more opportunities for improvement. In the practice of Wujifa we say “The method is not the truth…” and “You are where you are and that’s where you start.” Practicing blindly (except for some specific training purposes) violates the concept of knowing where you are, that is where you are starting out at. The next step would is to know why you're doing something. Knowing the reason for training or the purpose for training is an example of understanding the basics. These basics are whats needed for making good plans.

Making a "Plan"

When making a plan one important step is purpose as we said before. Also, as you learn and grow so will your purpose develop with time and the functional experiences gathered over that time. But the question begs to be asked, what might be a good purpose for developing a plan? In the beginning one very good purpose would be to "discover opportunities for improvement." Another could be defining a set of functional “basic” exercises with a simple targetable result like the Wujifa practice of “Side to Side” and learning how the kua or inguinal crease area moves.  Another purpose might be to "verifying or discovering problem areas or opportunities for correction."

One thing for sure “keep it simple.” Over the years I have notice that people will try and tackle a number of issues at once or at the same time which become almost impossible to functionally track and realistically trace your results as you practice. Take the time to understand, ask questions, and analysis what the first basic result or purpose for a practice is before you start. An example might be the Wujifa “Side to side” practice as mentioned before and the goal or purpose being simply to understanding how the kua opens and closes or even more simply said “moves.” 

What to “DO”?

So you have your purpose in mind. Now the question of what to “do” arises. The first step maybe getting you in alignment with the basics form and function of "the plan" one has set out on. Knowing and following the parameters of the basic plan and goals. Using the methods set forth in a plan or practice. In the example of Wujifa “Side to side” this could be knowing where the feet should be, how a relaxed lower back, and the femur heads operate together, and personal limitations and functional movements in the process of this or any practice.

Time to “Check” the results!

Once you have a basic understanding of what you are doing and have done it’s time to check your work. Taking an assessment of what you have done compared to the results you had in mind. This could be another example of what they call learning to eat bitter.

Taking an honest look and compare your results to the results you set out for in your plan. Did you follow the parameters set forth in the plan? If not, did you understand what those parameters are? If you did understand the parameters, did you identify possible trouble areas or areas that fell outside the limitations of the practice? Is there something you may have overlooked and have become aware of now that you “Checked” the results of the plan and what you are doing? This concept of “Checking” has a lot to do with awareness and the development of awareness as one learns to follow the process actively.

What to “ACT” on?

Now you have checked your results and have gained clearer insights to trouble areas, opportunities of improvement captured and noted, and insights gained, now it’s time to "act" upon them. Based on the insights gained you can use these to insights to set up “Best Practices” or standards to shoot for at the current level of understanding.

Take the time and note what these opportunities and best practices are and your insights. In Wujifa I suggest keeping a note book of one’s practice and writing down notes on the opportunities discovered so they can be captured and used for future plans and practice.

Rinse, Wash, Repeat

The PDCA cycle of W Edwards Deming is a repeating cycle.  The foundation of any REAL gongfu practice is this PDCA cycle. I would suggest reading more at Wikipedia on the PDCA cycle. When you build your practice on solid ground and functional principles and practices you have a much better chance of getting the results you’re looking for.

How do you know when you’re making progress?

How do you know when you’re making progress in your martial art or internal practices? This one basic question 'How do you know?' may be the most important question you can ask yourself. This one very question is well worth the time invested for understanding what you are doing and why. Remember the lessons from the story of Alice in wonderland and the rabbit hole when you start off on this adventure.

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" asked Alice
"That depends a good deal on where you want to go," said the Cat.

"I don't much care where I go" said Alice.

"Then it doesn't much matter which way you go," said the Cat.

"…so long as I get somewhere," Alice explained.

"Oh, you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if you only walk long enough."

So many people, over the years have answered the following question about making progress, how they know if they are making progress, with one simple word, “results.” They seem so confident about that and yet this idea of results can also be so very ambiguous, that is, unless they’ve taken the time to really define what that word “results” means to them.

How long do you practice?

So often people get so tied up in the amount of time they invest in something and the amount of effort that they put into something that they start to distort, generalize, or even block out whole aspects of this principle to the point where they have no real idea of what they are doing and why.





The second thing I’ve noticed is that many times the 'results' people have in mind change. The real question is “What happened to the results they started out looking for?” Many times it’s “as if” new ideas have been “magically” placed there by some external influences which creeps into their heads unknowingly.

I’ll bet you have met a sales person or two in your life who you’ve seen doing this kind of thing. The kind of thing I’m talking about, playing off of your emotions of ego, power, guilt, shame, wanting, or neediness that hook you into buying into their paradigm or product. Getting others input can be a good thing. What I’m saying is “Do you know what you want or where you are going?”

What do you want?

What do you want? There is a good question for you. What is your basic intention? How well have you defined this in terms of what you are really willing to put into getting the results and the bigger question what results do you expect in return for your effort?

In Wujifa we often say “Making tea is the highest form of practice” in the practice of Wujifa. The reason we say this is that knowing how to express yourself, influence others and get your point across in a social situation is key. It’s like a very high level of martial art expression. The simple idea of “influence” while connecting with others while drinking tea explores the many subtle levels of the understandings that take place with others and yourself and the possible intended results that may arise.

You are where you are…

Another Wujifa saying we often come back to is a guiding compass in understanding that “You are where you are and that’s where you start.” Knowing and gaining a good understanding of where you are is a great starting point. There is another saying I personally enjoy, “If you know where you’re going you know what to wear.” This addresses action steps to take. Knowing where you are and which actions to take are all about the result you have in mind.

How will you know and how do you know if you’re making progress is a very functional and personal process that involves understanding what one’s intentions are. Simply said, getting clear on your intentions takes time. This is why we suggest that people practice following through on their intention and practice. This starts by noticing what lessons show up while progressing towards your goals.

A functional example

Let’s say a beginner who just starts out practicing our Wujifa Zhan Zhuang practices for example. Let’s say you ask them the following question “How long do you stand?” Their answer is often that they really don’t know. Different times on different days, maybe 5 to 20 minutes they reply. They will tell you it depends and their answers get more and more fuzzy.

Here is a great piece of advice, keep a diary (which I suggest for people starting out) of your stance or daily practice(s). One may reply that they don't really need to keep a diary. Then the real question begs to be asked “How do you know?”

Here is a really cool trick. When you set up an amount of time to stand for example and a time of day to practice, we can call this an intention. Following though on an intention to completion is a result. When you doing this it will become a habit and even more than a habit it also develops the neurons in the brain. If you don’t follow through, then this also develops neurons and patterns, patterns that I bet also show up in other areas of life.

What do you want?

What do you want? How will you know when you are making progress? Take the time to explore these questions. Try keeping a diary of what you do and what you notice along the way. Write down what you are working on and your goals. Track yourself and see if you are doing what you plan on doing. I’m not suggesting doing this with everything you are doing in life. Just pick something simple like your intention to practice your zhan zhuang.

Simply doing a little noticing with a small chunk of your life will have powerful effects. And remember “you are where you are and that’s where you start.”