Table Of ContentQigong for Internal Growth
Eight Brocades and other exercises to
develop your Energy
氣功為內在成長
By
Sifu Bob
Editing by Lavericia
Text and Pictures Copyright © 2016 Robert G. Downey
Modeling
Lavericia - Ny’Jae - Sifu Bob
All Rights Reserved
Public domain Photos from Gray’s Anatomy
(If you don’t have a volume get one!)
All content in this book is subject to copyright. You are not entitled to
copy pages, logos, images, or photographs for commercial use without
prior written permission.
The information in this book is provided as a service to the general
public. While the information in this book is about exercise, health and
lifestyle issues, it is not intended as medical or health advice or as a
substitute for medical care or consultation. Understand that your
practice of any exercises or examples, dietary practices or food, drink
or nutritional supplements carries with it the potential for certain risks,
some of which may not be reasonably foreseeable and requires your
consideration of the impact on your health. Always seek the advice of
your doctor with any questions you may have regarding a medical
condition prior to practicing, changing your diet or consuming any
nutritional supplements.
This book may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. The
information is not guaranteed to be correct, complete, or up ‐ to ‐ date
but is put forth in a best effort manner. All pictures have been edited to
provide a more detailed view. Chairs and other objects have been
removed. We promise better quality pictures as we become better
editors and are very supportive and thankful to open source software
and our favorite Gimp.
Dedication
To all my many teachers
Grandmaster William C. C. Chen
Grandmaster Liang Tse Tung
Master Chan Bun-Piac
[1]
And the many more
Remember as T.T. always said “you need teachers and you need
books” and now maybe videos … coming soon?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
QIGONG FOR THE INTERNAL GROWTH
Eight Brocades and other exercises to develop your Energy
DEDICATION
PREFACE
QIGONG IN REGARDS TO INTERNAL ARTS
YIN AND YANG
CH’I
Opening of the voids
Breath
Breathing Exercise
Another Breathing Exercise
THE FOUR FLOWS
FOUR DISCHARGES
THE BENDING PRACTICE
TAOIST CIRCULATION
Taoist Yoga[16]
Banking the Fire
MACRO AND MICRO COSMIC ORBITS
Macroscopic Orbit
Microscopic Orbit
CLEARING EXERCISES
Standing Clearing Practice
The Water Fall
The Spot Light
A QIGONG FORM FROM THE TAI CHI FORM
STANDING
Two Legged Standing Practice
Some Additional Postures
One Legged Standing
I CHUAN STANDING PRACTICE
BENEFITS OF STANDING
BAGUA QIGONG PRACTICE
Stepping and the Turns
EIGHT SECTION BROCADE QIGONG
THE EIGHT BROCADES
SWIMMING DRAGON QIGONG
TAI CH’I RULER
THE END
THE AUTHOR
THE EDITOR
END NOTES
Preface
This book is focused on the basics of the physical body and
the exercises that use that knowledge to develop the
channels that allow the flow of energy commonly called
Ch’i[1] throughout the body. The information on the body
is just a primer and is focused on the areas that have the
most impact to the Internal energy development. You
should study other sources and even take a course in basic
anatomy and become certified in First Aide as part of your
development.
The exercises that are discussed cover the basic exercises
and methods of moving the energy so that you can get
started in your practice. As with any Internal Art, you
should consult with a qualified teacher as you advance
since the development of internal energy is not without its
risks. Always consult with your doctor if you have any
unusual issues with your health. In addition, the use of a
qualified Doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine[2] is
highly recommended.
Each of these volumes may have exercises and information
within them that appears to be reproduced across the
volumes. That is partly correct. There are movements that
appear to be the same but the teaching and use is different
across the subtleties of the Internal Arts. The focus of each
volume is on the manner in what the movement has to be
practiced within the referenced realm of the art.[3] You
need to understand the difference in the studies before you
start with any of these volumes. What are the
energies? What is the focus when doing an activity?
In the Internal Arts any movement follows a path through
the directors which are Yi, Nei, Ch’i, Li – mind, Inner
Effort, Internal Energy and external strength.
What does that mean? Yi is the mind. The thought of
action which then triggers the Nei, intent and ability to
make the imagery of the movement which leads to the Ch’i,
the energy which allows the activity of the body to begin
and then to the Li, the muscular force that causes the
muscles to move. This is the quality of an action. There
can be actions without Yi and Nei – reflexes take on this
role but you can argue that Yi and Nei have a role at a base
level – you need to protect the body. Although a reflex
action is triggered before the signal goes to the brain, we
can modify a reflex action.
Yigong – Yi is the mind. Working on the mind is a
complex problem that involves developing practices that
cover meditational activity as well as the thought processes
of everyday living.
Neigong – Neigong uses the imagery of the mind to define
what is being done in a movement adding to it the
subtleties of breath, energy movement and quality of
energy, opening joints, specific movement and feedback to
the mind on all the results.
Qigong – Is the development and movement of the energy
in the body – not only the movement but also on the
accumulation of the energy from daily life processes and
the things you encounter every day.
Ligong - Li being physical strength, this involves the use of
weights and resistance to develop the body. This can be
focused on the techniques to develop martial practices but
also the development of the body to aid in the health
practice of daily living.
There will be overlapping methods but the focus of each
volume will be directed to its main practice. There will be
more volumes relating to Internal Arts and related
practices. Qigong II, Daoyin and Ligong will be the
following volumes. Others will be focused on specific
versions of the arts. Each of these will be an introductory
course for the first volume. A second volume will be
written that delves into some of the more scientific and
esoteric aspects of the Arts. In this manner, the reader can
gain the basic knowledge to practice and if that practice
proves valuable, the second volume will provide a more in
depth focus.
Qigong in Regards to
Internal Arts
Qigong also spelled as Ch’i gong is an art that is becoming
better known and taught in more places. It means energy
(qi) work (gong). Ch’i is the word for energy and gong the
word for work. This phrase is still meaningless in the
Chinese language since it requires a description of the
energy that is being worked to make a phrase. The Chinese
language needs to have the description of the energy such
as the Ch’i of air or wind or water. Even in the body, there
are many types of Ch’i and you can refine your description
by stating what energy you are working on. The full scope
of the discussion on Ch’i variations is beyond the scope of
this section. It is important to remember that any
discussion on Ch’i needs to be focused on the type of
energy that is being worked.
The Internal Martial Arts[4] are very effective in working
with Ch’i in the body. Again, the type of Ch’i has not been
described. This is a generalized statement about Ch’i and
its effect on the body. Practicing Internal Arts, Meditation
and / or Qigong will allow the body to heal itself and to
enhance the base constitution of the body. Since we are
discussing Internal Arts as a whole system, it is imperative
to provide some basis for working on Qigong or at least
understanding how it affects the Internal Arts and the
impact on the body. Most of the practices in the Internal
Arts are Ch’i building exercise but to follow a complete
system there are various techniques and forms that can be
played to work on the various Ch’i types.
