The idea that we are
going to develop here is true for all the aspects of taoist arts that we
practice:
Chinese medicine
Combat arts
Meditation
Chi kung
This simple idea is the very essence
of my school. Lots of styles who say that they are taoist do not have this
concept or it was forgotten a long time ago.
It is simple enough to express nevertheless
this could change everything in daily practice, it is the difference between
a living or dead practice:
Do not confuse the practice and the
exercises which develop the practice.
It is very difficult to understand
this idea without examples, so we are going to give examples on the following
named subjects.
For chinese medicine, the student
is going to learn the theories, the examples and some clinical cases. He
will surely also have the chance to work with a confirmed accupuncturist
where he will see the theories in application. He will be a good practitioner
if by understanding what he has learned, he applies the theories in a unique
waywith every case, otherwise he will stay at a beginners level acipesnd
perhaps all his life. That seems obvios but still today accupuncturists
apply recipes without particular specifications following the patient. The
student learns the alphabet with the theories, words with the recipes and
some simple sentences with the clinical cases studied but he must still
learn to make whole texts, even poetry. The practice of Chinese medicine
leans on the exercises learnt but it is not only that. There is therefore
a difference between the two. The art of healing must not be an application
without analysis of healing methods but an entirely separate art which adapts
to the unique person that you have infront of you: The patient. By experience
we will see that a recipe never works 100%. Therefore the healing techniques
were only a necessary step in learning not a rigid mould. When we treat
a patient we use our knowledge to find out how to heal while trying to not
be closed in by case studies which are not adapted: It is a creative search
within the limits of science. We must not invent but we must not copy. The
practice is therefore quite far from what we learned and changes with the
place we are at: We will not heal in China like in the occident.
For the combat arts it is even more
obvious: the trai ning methods develop the attributs nessecary for combat,
the forms give an idea about the way of moving, the two man techniques apply
the concepts of combat with a partener but none of this is combat. For combat
we will use all that but in a free way and changing following the case.
If in combat we chose to follow a particular form or a particular technique,
it is an assured defeat. We can only intellectualise during training, During
combat we will be limited to reactions. The reaction will be the fruit of
all the training without being similar to it, like a fruit on the outside
does not resemble at all the tree from which it came.
In every punch exchanged during a
physical confrontation all the exercises will permit more precision during
the chaos of battle. All the forms and the rooting exercises will help us
to be stronger, but real combat stays something separate which seems foreign
to daily practice.
We can see the link between training
and the reality of combat, Try to make the two the most
On the other hand, we can develop
techniques linked with our weaknesses in combat
For meditation and chi gong it is
obviously the same thing. the visualisations and the images used in the
beginning of training are made to create an energy that we want to work
with.But after a certain time we must directly look for the energy without
passing through visualisation. Meditation becomes a simple practice and
without technique, like combat. It is also true for chi gong, when we look
to produce energy it is not to waste it on mental creations. Chi gong must
also become a practice without form otherwise it will stay at a weak level.
We can thus understand that techniques must be well chosen so as not to
loose time, and ones practice must be personal to be effective.
To conclude I would say that it is
necessary to think about ones practice so as not to train dozens of useless
things but clear training methods, adapted to your case.And of course do
not confuse the methods and the practice itself.

serge

Serge,
Thanks again.


P.S.: Your concept(s) of things seem very familiar to "Uncle Bill's" (Willem DeThouars)concept(s). I was priveledged to listen to his views on Chi/Nei/Qi-Gung exercises (being different for different people) this past December. Have you met him?