Acupractitioner21 is the sequel to the underground hit Acustudent21, from one of the periods when I was training in Chinese medicine. This blog will focus on Classical Chinese Medicine, CCM, the old system, and on what it´s like to practice acupuncture in the West in the 21st century. The name might have changed, but like everybody in old Chinese medicine, I am still a student.
Den
äkta akupunkturen i Kinesisk Medicin har effektiva behandlingar för
att hjälpa till vid ofrivillig barnlöshet, infertilitet och genom
hela IVF-processen. Detta är förstås uråldrigt i Kina och nu mycket vanligt i USA
och England. De gångna åren har behandlingarna börjat spridas allt mer till
Sverige. Idag finns det ett snabbt växande intresse för den
effektiva hjälpen specialister på fertilitet inom akupunkturen i
Kinesisk Medicin kan ge under ofrivillig barnlöshet och IVF.
Nu
kommer första boken om ofrivillig barnlöshet och akupunktur ut på
svenska till julen 2015! Ofrivillig Barnlöshet och Akupunktur –
Barnlängtan, IVF och Hjälpen från Kinesisk Medicin
skriven av Daniel Skyle,
som är akupunktör med kliniker i Malmö och Kristianstad och
bland annat specialiserad på behandlingar med äkta akupunktur för
ofrivillig barnlöshet och IVF. Hans kliniksida för bokning är på Small Change Akupunktur, Daniel Skyle akupunkturkliniker och bokningar Han
behandlar också folk från hela Sverige och internationellt som
kommer för behandlingar inom ofrivillig barnlöshet och IVF. Han
föreläser om ämnet, både för allmänheten och i samarbete med
organisationer som Barnlängtan. Du hittar deras engagerade arbete
här: http://www.barnlangtan.com/.Vi kan även rekommendera arbetet hos Längtan, som arbetar politiskt med fokus på rättigheter inom ämnet: Kampanjen Längtan och Ofrivillig Barnlöshet.
Boken
är skriven för att vara lättläst och lättillgänglig, med så
lite facktermer som möjligt. Istället har den med ett lugn och
många praktiska tips för hur du själv kan se fertilitet i ditt liv
och förbättra den. Här nedan kan du för första gången läsa en översikt över innehållet i den!
Du
kan beställa boken för förköp direkt på mejlen nedan, eller ringa oss. Då blir du en av de första som får tryckta ex garanterade innan jul! Nu har
vi dessutom ett julerbjudande som inkluderar boken när du vill ge
den till någon av dina nära och kära! Läs mer om det nedan.
Boken
innehåller bland annat hjälp till dig om följande ämnen:
Fertilitet
i Kinesisk medicin
Behandlingar
för gynekologi i Kinesisk medicin
Akupunktur
för ofrivillig barnlöshet – statistik och lite översikt
Behandling
med akupunktur för naturlig fertilitet
Behandlingar
med akupunktur för endometrios och
PCOS
Behandlingar
med akupunktur under IVF, steg för steg
Behandlingar
med akupunktur inför isättning av embryo och mot ett
graviditetstest
Tips
från Kinesisk Medicin för att förbättra fertilitet
Samarbete
med västerländsk medicin under IVF: de Två Flyglarna
Behandlingar
för manlig fertilitet och ICSI ihop med IVF med äkta akupunktur
Akupunktur
efter ett negativt eller positivt graviditetstest
Behandling
med akupunktur i kinesisk medicin efter missfall
Akupunktur
för att stabilisera känslor under resans gång
Familjebehandlingar:
att göra familjens väv avslappnad och lysande
Akupunktur
som hjälper dig under graviditeten
Akupunktur
när barnet är fött, både för föräldrarna och barnet
Vad
behandlar den äkta akupunkturen i Kinesisk Medicin?
Fallbeskrivningar
Tipsar
dig om resurser
och kontakter om akupunktur för ofrivillig barnlöshet och IVF
Beställ
boken här!
Ofrivillig
Barnlöshet och Akupunktur kostar 220 SEK plus frakt inom Sverige
(runt 50 kronor). Du kan förbeställa den på acu@smallchange.se
eller ringa oss och
beställa den direkt på
0702/23 28 95. Frakt brukar bara ta några dagar, men kan ta
lite längre tid innan jul, så tänk på att förköpa boken i tid.
Boka
föreläsning om ofrivillig barnlöshet och akupunktur
Om
du är nyfiken på att få veta mer genom en föreläsning så bara
kontakta oss. Daniel Skyle är professionell föreläsare inom
ämnena, och har föreläst om dem sedan 1990-talet, både för
allmänheten, företag, sjukvård och universitet. Du når oss på
acu@smallchange.se
för föreläsningar, eller direkt på 0702/23 28 95.
Julerbjudande
för julen 2015!
Förra
året gav vi ut den första boken om Taoismen på svenska, Taoismen
– Förändringens Tradition: schamaner, bergseremiter och
meditationsmästare, och det är den första boken på svenska
som går igenom den levande traditionen av Taoismen med dess
meditationskunskaper, texter, och uråldriga visdom och hur den har
genomsyrat Kinas kultur. Den inkluderar också ett kapitel om
Kinesisk Medicin, där vi har med kunskap från vår lärare i
Peking, Dr Wang Juyi, som varit akupunkturläkare i Peking i 53 år.
Den
ihop med Ofrivillig Barnlöshet och Akupunktur kostar i
vanliga fall 490 SEK tillsammans, men med julerbjudandet får du båda
böckerna för endast 420 SEK! Frakten tillkommer. Med julerbjudandet
har du chansen att ge bort en spännande och bra översikt över
ämnena till någon i jul!
We
were very happy to be in the magical surroundings of Longyearbyen on Svalbard when we did a first visit helping and treating people there this November! You can see pictures of some of the treatments and happy
patients here. All our acupuncture treatments are completely painless: when someone is skilled at needling, it is always pain free.
...and
also the treatments with moxa, which makes the body warm and relaxed inside
even when you go out into the winter cold in Longyearbyen, here. You can read about moxa for humans and dogs further down in this text.
Our
next visit to Longyearbyen is booked for January
15th! We
will have the visiting clinic there for five days. We are now taking
pre-bookings for that visit. Remember, there are a limited number of
places, so book yours in advance to be sure of treatment and help
while we are in Longyearbyen.
We
put up a separate page on our website for Longyearbyen Visiting
Clinic. On it, you can read more about the treatments, and see a list
of some of the wide range of problems and illnessess we can help you
and your family with: Longyearbyen Visiting Acupuncture Clinic.
För dig som vill läsa om de djupare behandlingarna för känslor, livskriser och vårt liv som finns i den Klassiska Kinesiska Medicinen som är den äldsta sortens Kinesisk Medicin, så hittar du en beskrivning av dem här: Djupare behandlingar för känslor, livskriser och vårt liv.
To
celebrate the start of the visiting acupuncture clinic in
Longyearbyen we have added some discounts – Christmas
Package
and Early
Bird prices!
You can also find a Healthy
2016 Package,
if you want to give your present any time during 2016! For those of
us who love our dog, we are offering a Dog
Moxa Package,
giving them better health and warmth through moxa treatments.
Christmas
Package and gift card
The
Christmas Package is a great christmas present, and comes with a gift
card and nice christmas wrapping. The price is 700 NOK/treatment
normally, but with the Christmas Package you buy four treatments for
2400 NOK total instead of 2800!
Acupuncture
in Chinese Medicine works the best with several treatments that
slowly go deeper in our body and mind and help them to gently become
healthier and more free. With several treatments our mind also
becomes lighter and happier, and more relaxed inside us. One
treatment helps a little, but only several more treatments help to
make the change more permanent. This package of four treatments makes
sure of a good start to that. A great christmas gift to help the
health of those you love.
The
Christmas Package is personal and can only be used for the visit from
Small Change Acupuncture Visiting Clinic in January 2016. If you want
to give more gifts that can be used during our visits for all of
2016, look at the Healthy 2016 Package below!
Early
Bird bookings
Early
Bird bookings are for those who want to be sure they have places when
the clinic is visiting Longyearbyen.
Early
Bird Bookings offer
six treatments booked at a discount: instead of 4200 you pay only
3700! Six
treatments during the time we are visiting make sure that the
treatment really has the chance to gently open the person´s system
and go deeper, stabilizing the effect to last longer. They
are personal and valid for the time they are booked. If you want
something that is valid for the whole of 2016, look at the next
offer!
Healthy
2016 Package
The
Healthy 2016 Package offers a full set of six treatments for the
price of five, which means the help and treatment really has a chance
to go deeper in your system and become more permanent. Long-time
illnessess need more time than this to be affected since they have
been around for a long time, but six treatments make a big and
noticeable difference to the better for the person´s physical and
emotional health.
The
Healthy 2016 Package can be used anytime during 2016, and tailored as
a gift or birthday present. If you tell us what kind of card or
message you want, we will make one and send to you by post. The
Healthy 2016 Package is for one individual.
Dog
Moxa Package
Moxa
uses a herb that is dried and pressed and then lit, giving a gentle
warmth as it´s held above the body and acupuncture points. It is
used both for humans and animals, and among other things it treats
pain, stiffness, joint pain and coldness inside, or a fear of cold
outside.
It
is a great help for dogs too, especially those who are stiffer, have
stiff joints or pain, or to help heal a wounded dog faster. It makes
the dog warmer and more relaxed – they usually react like they are
lying happily in front of a warm fire!
Treatments
for dogs are 350 NOK. With the Dog Moxa Package you give your dog a
great gift in healing and feeling warmer in the cold, with four
treatments for 1200 instead of 1400!
You
can see an example of moxa treatment on a human, here. Moxa treatments are painless, like all the acupuncture we do. Moxa just gives a gentle warmth going deeper into our body and healing us.
Moxa
treatments are very helpful for helping dogs heal faster if they have
been injured. Older dogs who have become stiff or have joints that
ache become softer and warmer with moxa treatments, looking younger
and with easier movement again.
Booking
details
If
you book the Christmas
Package
with gift card (christmas-wrapped and sent to you before Christmas)
please remember to have booked and paid for it by 8/12.
Then the post will have time to send your card. Otherwise you can
still book a Christmas Package until the 15/12!
The
Christmas Package costs 2400 for four treatments instead of 2800, and
is individual.
You
can book the Early
Bird discount
up until the 5/12016 by
which time the money has to be in account. It´s only 3700 for six
treatments instead of 4200! The Early Bird Booking is individual.
Healthy
2016 Package
can be booked from now and during anytime over 2016. It is also valid
during the entire year for our coming visits in 2016. It has to be
booked and money in the account at the latest ten
days
before our visit to Longyearbyen. Remember – you can ask for this
as a birthday present too! Just tell us what you want and we will
make a gift card adapted for the gift you are giving and send it to
you by post!
As
we are travelling up to Longyearbyen from the south of Sweden for the
visiting clinic, there are no refunds.
Dog
Moxa Package is
1200 for four treatments instead of 1400. It is individual for that
dog, and has to be booked and paid into the account at the latest ten
days before our visit to Longyearbyen – on the 5/1
2016
for this first visit.
Book
now!
Just
book on acu@smallchange.se
or call me at 0046
702 23 28 95.
If you want to give a gift of health to your loved ones with a card,
remember to book in time so we can send it up to you!
Welcome
in to Small Change Visiting Clinic in Longyearbyen!
Föreläsning
3 av 4 i föreläsningsserien på Café Kjugekull 2015
I
årets sista föreläsning i serien från oss på Small Change Akupunkturklinik i Kristianstad och Malmö ska vi titta på hur den äkta
akupunkturen i Kinesisk Medicin behandlar och hjälper till vid ADHD,
ADD, DAMP samt problem med länkar till neurologiska
funktionsnedsättningar. Det är behandlingar vi har gjort en hel del, och sett den bra effekten och hur viktig den hjälpen
är i vårt samhälle.
Vi
kommer bland annat att titta på följande:
Kort
introduktion till hur den äkta akupunkturen i Kinesisk Medicin
arbetar
Hur
Kinesisk Medicin ser ADHD och ADD
Hur
man hjälper till att stabilisera och lugna ner problemen hos vuxna, ungdomar och barn – behandlingarna
skräddarsys alltid efter individen, men det varierar också
beroende på vilken åldersgrupp patienten är i
Tips
från Kinesisk Medicin om hur man tidigt motverkar ADHD-liknande symptom
hos barn i vårt samhälle idag
Foton
från akupunktursjukhus och kliniker i Kina
Föreläsningen
hålls på Café
Kjugekull
(Se Café
Kjugekull
på Facebook för detaljer och menyer: https://www.facebook.com/cafekjugekull?fref=ts). Caféet kommer att vara öppet
och servera fantastiskt goda ekologiska kakor och gott kaffe 1230-1330.
Serveringen stänger 1330 inför föreläsningen.
Datum:
Lördag
14/11 2015
Tid:
14.00-16.00. Gratis inträde.
Föreläsare:
Daniel Skyle, akupunkturläkare, föreläsare, journalist och
författare. Han skrev den första boken om Taoismen och Kinesisk Medicin på svenska –
Taoismen:
Förändringens Tradition,
som kommer att gå att köpa på föreläsningen. Daniel Skyle har en
akupunkturklinik i Kristianstad och en i Malmö. Kliniksidan är
www.smallchange.se. Han
håller just nu på att skriva den första boken om akupunktur och
ofrivillig barnlöshet och IVF, som borde vara ute till julen 2015. Du kan läsa mer om det här, på Facebook.
Kontakt:
0702/23
28 95 eller kontakta oss direkt på acu@smallchange.se.
Begränsat antal platser, så anmäl dig gärna i förväg om du vill
vara säker på din plats!
Akupunkturen
i Kinesisk medicin kan åter bygga upp reserverna i oss som stress
har tömt
På
Small Change Akupunktur i Kristianstad är vi specialister på hur
man behandlar jobbstress och utbrändhet med akupunktur. I den här
föreläsningen ska vi titta på hur jobbstress och utbrändhet
fungerar och påverkar vår hälsa, och få lite tips på hur man kan
lösa det.
Den
äkta akupunkturen i Kinesisk medicin behandlar många olika
sjukdomar och problem. Bland annat kan den åter bygga upp vårt
system när vi har blivit utbrända – och hjälpa oss att undvika
det genom att behandla i tid.
Du
kommer även att höra berättelser från patienter som har läkt
sina gamla problem med jobbstress och utbrändhet tack vare den äkta
akupunkturen i Kinesisk medicin.
Det
är dags att starta en öppen diskussion i samhället om hur
jobbstress och utbrändhet faktiskt påverkar folk: följ med oss när
vi påbörjar den.
Ta
hand om dig och läk med äkta akupunktur – Small Changes
patientnära akupunkturkliniker i Kristianstad och Malmö!
Datum:
11/10
Tid:
14.00-16.00. Caféet stänger sin försäljning 13.30 inför
föreläsningen
Plats:
Café Kjugekull utanför Fjälkinge. Se Café Kjugekull på Facebook
för karta. Här kan du även läsa om deras goda ekologiska
lunchpajer och morotskaka!
Pris:
Gratis. Tänk
på att förbok om du vill ha en garanterad plats på föreläsningen.
Bara förboka på mejlen eller ring på numret nedan
Kontakt:acu@smallchange
eller ring oss för att boka tid på 0702/23 28 95. Vi behandlar alla
möjliga sjukdomar och problem, från stress till ofrivillig
barnlöshet och vid IVF, ryggproblem, smärta, hjälp att åter få
glädje i livet, etc. Välkommen in på klinikerna!
Som
del av organisationen Barnlängtan i Sverige startar nu en ny grupp i
Blekinge för dig som vill ha råd och stöd runt barnlöshet. Det är
den första i Blekinge, och första mötet kommer att hållas den
29/8 i Ronneby. http://www.barnlangtan.com/kalender/
Om
du dessutom vill ha hjälp av den äkta akupunkturen i Kinesisk
medicin, så finns det en sluten Facebookgrupp med folk i samma
situation som kan ge dig råd och stöd runt det, och du hittar den
här: https://www.facebook.com/groups/401650363371163/
Du
kan bli medlem i Barnlängtan om du vill, och få hjälp och råd om
ofrivillig barnlöshet, och stöd från många andra som håller på
med samma resa. Deras hemsida är www.barnlangtan.com.
The
evolution of practice over a lifetime is something I have been
thinking about for many years, as I have seen different long-time
practitioners and what they make of their training in the long run.
This spring, I again had the chance to interview one of my teachers,
Master Ma Baoguo, and get an overview of his evolution of the
material. This is after his more than 50 years of intense practice
and research into the external and internal martial arts and qigong,
under highly skilled long-time practitioners in China.
In
which direction do people go, as they practice?
Master
Ma Baoguo began training when he was seven. He has had several very
skilled teachers over a lifetime of practice in the Internal Martial
Arts and qigong. I thought we would follow his journey in meeting
them, what he learned from them, and how he has kept evolving his own
practice from what they taught.
We
will also look at the principles he uses in his own system: how he
emphasizes that the first and most important thing is to cultivate
one´s own heart and integrity – xiude,
xiuxin
– to become a good person, and then to use the energy and strength
from the training to always help others.
The
practice of internal martial arts, qigong, and meditation continues
to evolve over the life-time of the practitioner. It has done, for a
very long time. So many others have walked the same path as us,
living their life, evolving themselves, and helping others through
the increased clarity and energy and good heart they got from their
training.
It
is a warm day in April in Shanghai when we sit in Master Ma´s
apartment before class, and begin to talk.
Family
Kung Fu: Beginnings
”My
family had it´s own Shaolin-system. This is where I started to
learn.” This is quite common in China, just like in Chinese
medicine, where many middle- and upper-class families already have
quite a lot of knowledge in Chinese medicine before they begin
apprenticing or going to university to become acupuncture doctors.
Formal
training began at age seven, and Master Ma has taught his own son the
same way. Yet there is also the factor that since he was born, he was
surrounded by people who practiced, people whose movements were
percolated through by practice and who talked in ways infused by it.
”My
father was a soldier in the army in 1942,” Ma continues. ”He
fought the Japanese, and he was famous for special missions behind
enemy lines thanks to his skills in gongfu. After the war, he became
a police officer and continued to use his skills to catch criminals.”
In
1970, Master Ma himself joined up. Here he was taught more
gongfu-skills based on military usage, and he kept up training
intensely on the side throughout his service. He was also taught more
advanced gong fu-training for special missions, just like his father.
Discovering
Internal Martial Arts – finding Xingyiquan and Master Shang Ji
In
1982, Master Ma went to university again. But this time, he tells me
over the tea, he had the good fortune to meet Dr Shang Ji, a famous
Xingyi-master.
Shang
Ji is a lineage holder in Hebei Xingyiquan – 94 years old as of
this article and still training every day – and is the third
generation from Guo Yunshen through his teacher Ma Litang. Master
Shang also studied for other skilled teachers, including Chen Fake of
Chen Taiji.
Master
Ma had good fighting skills by now, but Shang Ji could easily beat
him. This made Ma realize that there might be something to this
Xingyi. He began an apprenticeship with intense training that lasted
for the three years of his university course.
He
was taught Hebei Xingyi Five Elements, the Twelve Animals, Xingyi
spear and a lot of pure fighting skills in how to actually use the
system.
Since
then, he has kept training for master Shang Ji, and still is.
Here
you can see Master Ma Baoguo showing his own version of the Hunyuan
Chen Taiji form, where he has added components and intent from the
Daoist martial arts and teachings of Guo Shenghai. He can do it as
the standard version too, just as with Hebei Xingyi and standard
Chen, but prefers to focus on the work that has opened up with the
skills of master Guo.
Deepening
the Internal Martial Arts: a meeting with master Guo of Wudang and
Emei gongfu
Then,
in 1987, he met another of his important teachers: master Guo
Shenghai, a Daoist monk who had been trained in the skills of Wudang
and Emei martial arts.
Guo
Shenghai was born in 1916. He had been left in a temple on Emei
Mountain when he was three years old, to be raised as a monk. Trained
deeply in the martial systems of Wudangshan and Emeishan, he also
knew many of the really old gongfu skills that are lost now.
When
master Ma met him, Guo could easily beat him despite all his previous
practice, so master Ma began training for him. Guo charged a lot of
money for private lessons; 40 yuan for an hour, the same as the
monthly wage for a skilled worker at the time, and master Ma had to
save up money for class. In the beginning he could still only afford
15 minutes, but he kept on training.
One
day, master Guo suddenly said it costs 800 yuan instead. He could
teach master Ma the secret skills of point-attacking from Emeishan,
but it would cost that much. The older gongfu master said this
tentatively – 800 yuan was a fortune. Master Ma realized that his
teacher was in some kind of financial trouble but didn´t want to ask
outright to avoid losing face. As real students should also help
their teacher, Ma borrowed from friends and saved money for this, and
took that single lesson at that price.
Later,
the old master ended up in jail due to a misunderstanding. Thanks to
his own contacts, master Ma managed to help him get out of jail and
then took care of him for a month in his own home, where he helped
Guo heal after the beatings he suffered in prison. After this, master
Guo taught him for free. The daoist master started to spend several
weeks at a time in his home, teaching him all his knowledge.
Today,
it is master Guo´s Daoist martial teachings and knowledge that is
most deeply ingrained in master Ma´s entire system – all his
teaching is based on bianhua,
the study of change, and on principles set out in the Daodejing. He
has also studied the Yijing deeply, both with master Shang and Guo,
and on his own.
The
subtle skills of Chen Taijiquan – Wang Changhai, student of Chen
Zhaokui and Feng Zhiqiang
Master
Ma´s training-journey took another step forward in 1997, when he met
Wang Changhai, a master of Chen Taijiquan. Wang was a disciple of the
famous Chen Zhaokui, and after his death he kept on studying as a
disciple of master Feng Zhiqiang. Feng himself was a disciple of Chen
Zhaokui´s father, the legendary Chen Fake.
Feng
Zhiqiang was a master of Chen Taiji and created the Hunyuan Taiji
system. Now Master Ma began learning them both from master Wang
Changhai.
Earlier
in his training Guo Shenghai had introduced him to push hands, but
never the deeper skills of Taiji. With Master Wang he finally started
to learn how to use a small force to overpower a much larger force.
Both
he and his son trained with master Wang, just like they had with
master Guo and master Shang Ji, and they still practice with him
today. One thing that also stands out concerning master Wang is his
good heart and generosity towards others, and he is always careful to
show students just enough to make them understand the power but never
actually hurt them.
And
here you can see a more recent clip, showing his continual research
evolving, and the energetics and work becoming even more internal
than it already was.
Qigong-skills:
first from family, then from each teacher
”With
master Wang, I also learned more qigong, but this time from the
Hunyuan Qigong-system that master Feng created.”
Master
Ma had been taught qigong ever since he was in his teens – this was
when he was taught the family qigong-system by his grandfather and
his grandfather´s brother.
”My
grandfather´s younger brother was very good at both martial arts and
qigong. He was able to crack concrete slabs through hitting them with
his forearm.”
The
family qigong-system was deepened both with material from Shang Ji
and then, much more, from the Daoist skills of Guo Shenghai.
Now
master Ma added the repertoire of the Daoist-based Hunyuan
Qigong-system to this, and began creating his own version of them.
The
road-map for your practice – whose map are you using, and for what
roads?
It
is interesting to think on where we want to go. What intent do we
have with our practice? What are the actual goals we want to reach?
And when do we know that we have reached them?
I
still remember a great description written by well-known IMA-teacher
Sam Masich: ”One
difference I saw between how Chinese and Westerners practiced, was
that the Westerners went into the practice looking for something; the
Chinese all knew they only refined something that was already there.”
Another
one of my teachers, Alex Kozma, uses the phrase, ”Whose
map are you following?”
So, which practitioner´s map are you using for your own journey?
This is a good place to start. And how is that map-holder as a
person? Do they have a good heart? Do they manifest their life and
practice in a positive, ethical way for others, and for society? Do
they walk their spiritual talk? It is interesting to look at where
their map has landed them: is their map positive for other beings?
You
always want to look at the teacher´s senior students; they are the
litmus-test of the teacher and his/her ways of teaching. Are the
senior students compassionate, balanced, and skilled at whatever the
teacher is teaching? If not, you already there have knowledge of how
that teacher´s map works for others.
Master
Ma´s story also illustrates something important. Many of the really
skilled Chinese practitioners were taught like he was, from seven and
onwards. The material they teach is usually adapted for that kind of
body and background, where solid basic training might already be done
by age 15... It is rare that they adapt their material for Western
bodies and the learning curve they might need. Is the teacher
adapting their material for Westerners?
And
what intent does the teacher have with his or her own practice? Do
they adapt this safely for their students? If someone is a hermit, or
practices six hours a day, do they adapt the material they teach for
a student with a more normal life in the West?
Master
Ma Baoguo has kept researching and evolving his own practice,
continously, all through his life. The past few years he began
distilling the knowledge from his teachers and training into his own
system: the Hunyuan
Xingyi Taiji Men.
This
is a short, improvised sequence where he shows Xingyi.
Teaching
change: a system based on the Daodejing
Now,
after all his training, his system is based on different ways to
teach the core Daoist concept of bianhua,
change.
”Each
sequence in the system was created from principles in the Daodejing,”
master Ma continues. Daodejing is the Daoist practice manual, The
Book of the Way and the Power.
”The sentence that sums it up is this:”
The
Way gave birth to the One;
The
One gave birth to the Two;
The
Two gave birth to the Three;
And
the Three gave birth to the Ten Thousand Beings.
–
Daodejing chapter 42, Mawangdui version,
Lao-Tzu
Te-Tao Ching, Henricks,
Ballantine 1989
His
son, Ma Xiaoyang, is sitting at the end of the table, and he adds,
”All the practices in the system are studies in bianhua,
change.”
Each
of the 12 Qigongs and forms have three levels of increasing
difficulty and complexity, all of which are focused both on creating
good health and very effective fighting ability. Even the first level
is quite complicated, however, and the system is not practical for
practitioners who lack good basics or who don´t have a previous,
very stable practice going.
Over
the past few years, with the generous help of master Shang Ji, master
Ma and his son Ma Xiaoyang have put together a new form for the
Hunyuan
Xingyi Taiji Men.
This has the same three levels and is taught after the twelve
qigongs. In class in his apartment here in Shanghai, there is a
strong focus on applying the form using close-range and abrupt
application practices.
Eight
principles of practice – and nourishing the heart and integrity
When
class is over, we move into the room next to the training-hall for
dinner and continue the interview there. ”What are the keys to your
system?”
”Eight
points.” Ma lists them easily, and it´s obvious that his evolution
physically and energetically also has been built on a strong system
of theory.
1)
Practice your heart. And practice to become a good person. You must
nourish your xin,
your heart, to create a good heart inside you. You must also practice
your de,
your virtue and integrity, which is part of the phrase wude,
”Martial Ethics”.
This
point is the most important, and the principle is called xiuxin,
xiude:
”Cultivating your heart and cultivating your virtue”.
”When
you practice gongfu,” Master Ma leans forward towards me to
emphasize, ” you always need to think about how to use your energy,
strength, and good heart from the practice to help others, and how to
help society.”
(Very
reminiscent of what a Daoist monk said when I interviewed him in the
White Cloud Temple in Beijing: ”We
need to become good people before we can become people of Dao!”)
3)
Practice qigong first, then martial arts. You first need to get your
health good and get a strong body before continuing with martial
practices
4)
First you need to know single movements in depth and very well, only
after that can you learn forms
5) You need to learn the details in the movements of how to change the
direction of force, and genuinely research this and understand it
well. Why this way, why that way? How does it work in real fighting?
And how can you change it, while in a real fight?
6)
Your practice should include both good health, good heart, and the
ability to use your skills in actual fighting and combat
7)
The practice is good for intelligence, and should bring out your
natural intelligence and enhance it
8)
You cannot separate fighting ability in real life from health-care.
If your practice has them separate, it is not really Chinese gongfu.
(You
can read an earlier interview with master Ma Baoguo here: http://www.levandestillhet.se/artiklar/ma_baoguo. Both
articles were published in Tai Chi Chuan Magazine in the UK, 2005 and 2014.)
Master
Ma or teachers teaching his system can be contacted at
http://www.hunyuantaiji.co.uk.
Master Ma is soon publishing a book on his training-life and the
styles he has learnt on the way. Daniel Skyle is an inner door student
of Ma Baoguo. He is also a writer and a practitioner of Classical
Chinese Medicine and acupuncture at his two clinics in Sweden. His
blog in (mostly) English can be found at www.acupractitioner21.blogspot.se
and you can find this article and others in English at
www.levandestillhet.se/artiklar.
He is currently publishing the first book on Daoism in Swedish, which
includes interviews with Daoist monks and a go-through of classical
Daoist and chinese medical texts and their training principles. It
will be translated into English in 2016. Books to follow in the same
series include one with essays on spirituality based on Daoist
practices, and one with interviews with hermits in the mountains of
China. He has recently begun a doctoral thesis on Chinese medicine in medical anthropology, based on interviews he is doing while studying Chinese medicine in China.
