Qi 91

Cover: Master Michael Tse
Qi Magazine is published by the Tse Qigong

Centre. Its aim is to bring you information not
readily available in the West.
Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Michael Tse
Darryl Moy
Proofreading:
Peter Andersen
Jessica Tse
Consultants:
Grandmaster Yang Meijun
Grandmaster Ip Chun
Grandmaster Wu Chun Yuen
Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang
Columnists:
Peter Andersen
Kate Britton
Martin Gale
Sihn Kei
Darryl Moy
Adam Wallace
Readers may contact any of our contributors

c/o Qi Magazine.
We encourage all our readers to contribute
articles, letters or questions for possible
inclusion in future issues of Qi Magazine.
Articles appearing in Qi Magazine do not
necessarily reflect the opinion of the editor.
Adverts appearing in the magazine are not
necessarily endorsed by it or the editor.
Exercises appearing in Qi Magazine are
for reference purposes only. Thus anyone
wishing to study should seek qualified tuition.
Michael Tse 2010.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication
may be reproduced, stored or transmitted
in any way without the written permission of
Michael Tse.
Qi Magazine
PO Box 918-A
Kingston upon Thames
Surrey, KT1 9PA
tse@tseqigongcentre.com
0845 838 2285
International +44 845 838 2285
http://www.tseqigongcentre.com
ISSN 1358-3778
very morning when I wake up, I

always feel a little bit anxious and
I ask myself, Did I do enough
yesterday or should I have done
more? Therefore every morning
I plan what I will do that day. Usually
though, by the end of the day, I find
I have not finished everything but by
then it is too late and it is time to rest or
sleep. On the other hand, I sometimes
ask myself, Why dont I take it easy and
enjoy myself?
The saying, Life is short is
true, especially when you are over fifty.
Maybe some people in their forties
also think this way as well. As
human beings, we contradict
ourselves all the time,
one minute we do not
work hard enough and
the next we find we
do not enjoy ourselves
enough. Actually that is life,
we need to push ourselves to
see how far we can go, but at the
same time we need to enjoy our
lives. That is the true meaning of
life or you can say the right way
to live our lives. If we just push,
then even if we are successful, we
may lose other things, such as the
people around us, our family, friends
and even our health. But if we just
enjoy ourselves with no strength of
purpose, then we will become weak
and cannot face any difficulties. It
might also make us mentally and
physically ill. Did you know that
overcoming difficulties makes us
grow stronger and more mature?
People of a certain nature
will attract other people of the same
nature. Chinese say, If we are close
to red powder, we will be red. If we are
close to black ink, we will be black.
, . It is very true. If we
look around at what kind of friends we
have then we can see ourselves. Even
though we might sometimes complain
that our friends make certain mistakes,
we ourselves actually make similar
ones.
Sometimes we have friends
whom we have known since we were
children. As time passes we grow
up and find we are quite different.
The longer we are separated the more

differences we find. We may become
so different that we do not get along
anymore and so we stop talking to each
other and just let the relationship go.
Then we concentrate more on our own
lives. That is normal. So do not criticise
your friends because they are different,
as you will have changed as well. Look
at a tree:- all the branches come from
the same root but they all grow out
in different ways, so it is normal. It is
very difficult for all the branches to
grow together the same way and if this
happens, this is actually not natural. If
we keep growing and developing, we
will find other friends who are similar
to our nature or have similar interests.
That is why the Chinese say, Things
of a similar nature will gather
together. .
So I will try to work
hard when I work but at
the same time when I
rest or enjoy myself,
I will let go of all
of the work. I am
lucky that my
work is what I
enjoy and that is
Qigong practice.
When I practise,
though, it is not the
same routine as
that which I teach
because when
I practise I will
choose the forms
I like or need to
practise. For
example, if I
am feeling
a little
tired or
only
Qi Magazine Issue 91- Year 2010 page 1
have a short time, I will just choose the simpler Qigong forms
or the ones that I am most familiar with, such as Balancing
Gong, Healthy Slapping Gong, Seven Stars Opening Gong
or even Wing Chun forms or Wild Goose Qigong.
I believe that I know over one hundred forms now and
it is like being in a library from which I can choose the book I
most want to read. I actually really like libraries and books.
When I see a library with all the books filling the shelves,
they send shivers through me. All my nerves and all the
meridians are open, because I know I will find new knowledge
and inspiration there. I am always impressed by good
knowledge, particularly philosophical phrases, wise stories
and history. These
help me think and see
clearly. Some phrases
catch the essence of
the subject in a way
that brings a deeper
understanding.
Throughout my life
I have been looking
for wisdom and wise
but at the end we all come to the same end. Thus, sometimes
we get along better with friends from outside than the ones
we grew up with or even members of our own family.
From watching plants we can understand nature and
it is actually very simple to keep living and surviving. That
is Dao. Book after book has tried to explain Dao, but the true
meaning is in nature. It is all around us whether we have
noticed it or not.
Sometimes we can look at the sky and wonder why it is
different every single day? It is like that because it is balancing
itself. We are also changing, but the change is to balance with
nature, our bodies are part of nature and so they need to be
people.
H o w e v e r,
I am not
that lucky to
come across
many of these.
So the books
I re ad can al low
me to communicate
with amazing, wise and
knowledgeable people such as
Buddha, Laozi and Kong Zi
(Confucius) . Even though they
lived two to three thousands years
ago, reading their books allows us
to communicate with them even
today. For me that is amazing!
When I was living in Hawaii,
I begin to enjoy looking at plants
and even growing things from seed.
They are amazing too. Plants are
not very complex but they know how
to live and many of us can learn from
plants. They have only one thing to
do and that is to live and grow seeds
to create the next generation. Each
plant has the same goal, to live
and carry on the next generation.
Different kinds of plants have very
different ways in which
in harmony with it. We cannot tell the sky what weather we

want because the weather changes so that the earth can stay
balanced. It is all about balance and this is the same reason
we get hot, cold, sick, feel good and even feel emotional. This
is also the principle of Qigong. We need to practise to make
the body balanced. Moving the body in a Qigong way allows
it to work things out by itself.
Nature is very powerful; the most powerful thing to
do is allow our bodies to go back to nature. Just think about
how powerful all living things are from one generation to the
next generation to be able to evolve into different species,
evolving from a single cell organism to complicated creatures
and in the end becoming all living things in the world. Whether
human beings are part of that, I leave you to make your own
conclusion. That is respecting other peoples opinion whether
we like it or not.
I also like to read stories, history and watch ordinary
peoples lives. Why is it that some children do not like their
parents? Is it because some parents do not know how to treat
their children? Why are some people very successful and some
people are not? It is because some people work hard and have
good sense for what they do or just have more luck?
In China there was a very successful businessman. He
was very nice and he tried to help his close friend who had
fallen on bad times as they had grown up together. In the
end, though, the friend kept wanting more and more money.
The businessman knew this was not good for his friend in the
long run and so he refused. Unfortunately, the friend did not
remember how much he had been helped and got very angry,
so angry that he killed the businessman.
On the surface we would say that this
is not fair, but if we look closer, we will notice,
the businessman should have seen through his
friend and seen that he had changed and was no longer the
innocent boy he was when they were younger. The friend
saw the businessman was doing very well and he wanted to
be successful like him. When he could not succeed, he kept
Our bodies are part of nature

and so they need to be in
harmony with it.
they do it, but the goal

is the same. That means we can
be very different in the beginning,
page 2 Qi Magazine Issue 91 - Year 2010
wanting to borrow more money and more money. We all

know that we should be a kind person and help others, but
without wisdom to see the outcome of the good deed, we can
sometimes end up doing more harm than good. Sometimes
what we think is helping can actually harm the other person
or ourselves in the end.
The moral is the same in this story:- one winter, there
was a farmer walking along in the countryside. As he walked
he found a snake lying in the road freezing to death. The
farmer was a kind man and so picked up the snake and put
it inside his coat and shirt and onto his chest to try and warm
it up. After a while the snake woke up and then suddenly
bit the farmers chest. As the farmer lay dying, the question
on his mind was, Why did he kill me even though I saved
his life? The answer is very simple. It is because that is the
snakes nature. The snake did not know right and wrong it
just knew how to survive and bite anything it thinks is going
to harm him.
By reading stories and watching human behaviour we
can understand more about cause and effect and in particular
wisdom. All situations have their own reasons for being the
way they are, whether we believe it or not. Life is complicated
but the theory is very simple - it is cause and effect. Generally,
if we treat people well then people will treat us well but we
need to know what kind of person we are treating. This comes
through knowledge and experience as well. If someone treats
us badly we should not take revenge as this is not the right
thing to do. Revenge will cause more suffering, not only to
ourselves, but a lot of the time to the ones we love the most.
So we need to learn to develop our wisdom then we will see
things more clearly.
In the end we might find we will let go of material things
and even relationships. That means we might understand
more about enlightenment or Buddhism. By that time we
might want to be a monk or nun and some people might
think that this is too much and too difficult. However, even as
ordinary people, we can still live happily to enjoy every single

moment of our lives.
However, even as ordinary people we can find that
life can be very difficult, too. There are a lot of issues that we
must deal with in our relationships with other people such
as how can we make our lives smoother and get along with
all the people around us. Parents will worry how to teach
their children to understand that they need to have a good
education to help them through life? Most parents will be
strict with their children and make them work hard in school.
The final result might be that the children do not like their
parents. How do we treat our relationships with our parents,
friends, boss or employee? All these questions will all come
along as human beings are very complex and it is difficult to
be a good person.
One day when we start to understand how to treat
others, we will begin to understand Rujia (Confucianism)
thinking. Confucius said, We should not treat others in the
way we ourselves do not want to be treated. ,
. It is the same as vice versa. So if we want to be treated
well, we need to treat others well. This thinking is not far away
from Christianity.
If we keep watching, listening, reading and learning,
we can start to apply some of this knowledge to our lives. We
might not be able to do all of it but even if we can do some,
then we might to start to feel good, enjoy life and eventually
we will feel more peaceful and calm. We can then let go
more. When we can let go more, this is actually helping us
to become a part of nature and nature a part of us. With this
kind of thinking, there is no difference between others and
ourselves, as we are all part of nature. In some ways we are all
individual but in others we are the same and all together.
Click on title to go to article

1
Editorial
PO Box
10
Time For Everything
with Michael Tse
We should be patient when developing our skill. On

the other hand we should also acknowledge when we
are ready to move to another level.
23
24

Communication Qi
Qi underlies everything we do. When we communicate

with other people we are using our Qi and so the quality
of our Qi is very important.
By Adam Wallace
12

28
30
31
By Kate Britton
15
40
18 Warm Up - Level 2 Poem
A charming little poem about the level II warm up
A personal account about how Balancing Gong get you

through a hectic day.
by Barbara Nixon-Mackay
20
Wing Chun Self Defence
There are some techniques within Wing Chun that we

should all know as they are very practical and you never
know when you might need them.
By Michael Tse
What you put into anything determines what you get out.
So what are the important ingredients in developing good
Wing Chun skill?
Understanding
Understanding is a double-edged sword because if you

think you know, then you often block yourself to deeper
understanding or even enlightenment.
20 Years of the Tse Qigong Centre
This year is a huge landmark for the Tse Qigong Centre

as it marks our 20th anniversary. Master Tse shares some
of his thoughts, reflections and some of his hopes for the
future.
By Michael Tse
by Rachel Couper
Balancing Gong and the Busy Day
Check Your Recipe
Cover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...
By Michael Tse
19
Fasting is a tool that has been used for thousands of years

to help the body become healthier, however, it is a far cry
from the modern fad diets of today.
By Sihn Kei
Wing Chun Story - Part 16
Wong Wah Bo has been studying with Leung Lan

Kwai and his skill is developing well. One day, he
spots somebody from his past and this leads to
confrontation!
Bigu - Fasting
By Martin Gale
Let Nature Take its Course
Nature is very powerful and sometimes, when we are

sick or injured, we can be too quick to intervene instead
of letting the body find its way.
Type II Diabetes is something that many people face. The

author was diagnosed with this condition and decided
to find out how to treat it using a mixture of Qigong,
Acupuncture and diet.
By Michael Tse
By Mike Baker
14
Treating Type II Diabetes Are Your Own Best Healer
By Peter Warwick
One Touch
The Listening Skill of Chen Taijiquan
To train any martial art effectively we must make sure

we can move with our opponent. This entails listening
to their energy and the better we are at this, the more
successful we will be.
Here is a chance to test your own knowledge of food cures

and the properties different foods possess.
By Jessica Tse
By Darryl Moy
11
A Question of Food
44
What the Tse Qigong

Centre Means to Me
A selection of personal
comments from students
of the Centre, from
those who have been
members for many years
to those who have just
started.
56
32
Shanghai is Chinas largest and fastest developing

city. Join Master Tse and Jessica Tse on a trip of
discovery and revelation.
58
This is a short story, but it has a deep message.
60
Experiencing Dzogchen
Wisdom Beyond Emotion
Dzogchen Rinpoche travels the world teaching his

lineage of Buddhism and has a slightly different
approach to self-cultivation.
63
Back to Earth
64
First hand experience of a four year Tibetan Buddhist

Meditation retreat with no contact with the outside
world.
By Martin Hird
Balance is everything. How do we balance our Qigong

training? The answer is to listen to our body and follow
what it tells us.
Xing Shou - Part 6
From the movement Golden Snake Spinning to Beat

and Control the Tiger.
By Michael Tse
Wanna Fight?
This is a question all martial artists should never ask,

but all must have the answer if it is asked of them.
By Peter Andersen
By Gemma Keogh
38
Listen to Your Body
By Tor Arne Oigard
The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

Contributed by Nicci Pearce
37

Every student of Qigong has an interesting story to tell.

This is a personal account of how the author came to
Qigong practice and how he almost did not believe
the outcome.
By Earl Gottshalk
Shanghai - Part 2
By Jessica Tse
36
My Qigong Experience
Feng Shui of the Tiger
How has the energy changed now that the Tiger has
taken over from the Ox? If you know, then you can
help your luck change for the better.
By Michael Tse
Kung Fu Weapons
Longquan (Taiji) Dragon Sword
Double edged straight blade, engraved & finished with brass

and copper. Comes with scabbard and tassel. (Length 81cm)
To order contact:
Tse Qigong Centre PO Box 918-A
Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey, KT1 9PA
0845 838 2285
tse@tseqigongcentre.com
Tse Qigong Centre members 90 / Non-members 100
Kang Li Telescopic Practice Sword
Well-balanced steel practice sword. Comes with carrying case

and tassel. (Length 71cm)
Tse Qigong Centre members 36* / Non-members 41*
Longquan Dragon Knife (Broadsword)
Engraved blade finished in copper. Includes engraved

lacquered scabbard with brass finish. (Length 77.5 cm)
Chinese Spear (Length 215cm)
Chrome plated spearhead with white wax wood

shaft and red ying (hair). Requires cutting to size.
White Wax Wood Staff (Length 200cm)
Wing Chun Knives - Baat Jam Dao (Length 45cm)

Prices include UK p&p and are by express courier service.

*Telescopic sword includes UK p&p by standard post.
Please make cheques payable to Michael Tse.
Specifications and prices may vary.
Please contact the Tse Qigong Centre for latest details & prices.
Wing Chun
Knives (Baat
Jam Dao)
Longquan
Dragon Knife
(Broadsword)
Longquan (Taiji)
Dragon Sword
POBox POBox POBox...
20 Year Demo
his year will be the 20 year anniversary

of the Tse Qigong Centre. As usual we
will be holding a special demonstration
and workshop but, not so usual, we
will be making the demonstration a
free event for all with seats on a first come first serve basis. If, however, you do wish to
guarantee your seat, there will be a nominal
charge of 4 members/5 non-members and
children under ten will be 3. Afterwards there
will be a workshop of the different skills we teach
and this will be 8 (advance fee) for members
and 9 non-members (advance fee).
Due to fire regulations there is a limit on
the number of persons allowed in the venue,
therefore we will be issuing tickets for both FREE
entry and RESERVED seating. There is a form
both online and in this issue of Qi Magazine.
You can register your places by returning this
to us. Please remember that seats are limited
and will be allocated on a first come - first serve
basis! Should all the seating be filled by the time
we receive your payment, we will return any
payment to you/not charge your credit card.
*Note: Free tickets do not guarantee seating.
For reserved seating please see booking form
in this issue. (There is a fee for the optional
workshop.)
Free*20th Anniversary
Demonstration
27 Nov 2010
*
and Workshop
Wild Goose Qigong

Hard Qigong
Wing Chun Kung Fu
Chun Yuen Quan
Chen Taijiquan
Lion Dance
Click to go to booking form
Ip Man in the Movies

S
The other film is entitled Ip Man the Legend is Born and

pring is in the air, and so is the release of two new movies
follows the life of Ip Man during his early years. It follows his
about the life of Grandmaster Ip Man! One is the eagerly
training and also how he came to meet
awaited sequel to last years
his wife. In some way it fits in nicely as a
award winning movie Ip Man and
prequel to the movies starring Donnie Yen.
the second is a is a dramatisation
It is reported that some of the same crew
of Ip Mans early life and even stars
worked on this film and it stars Sammo
Grandmaster Ip Chun.
Hung, who this time plays Master Chan
Ip Man 2 follows the life of Ip
Wah Shun, Ip Mans first teacher. Ip Mans
Man, once again played by Donnie
second teacher was Leung Bik and this
Yen. Although full details of the plot
role is played by none other than our own
have not yet been released, it is known
Grandmaster Ip Chun (Ip Mans eldest
that the film will focus on how Bruce
son!) It is hard to believe that at the age of
Lee came to study with Grandmaster
85 Grandmaster Ip Chun is adding Kung
Ip Man before going on to becoming
Fu movie action star to his list of stellar
a legend in the martial arts world.
Click to play the trailers for
achievements. On the filming of the movie
Sammo Hung was charged with
Grandmaster Ip Chun said, It was hard
directing and choreographing all the
both movies.
work and sometimes we got quite cold
action scenes in the first movie (for
while filming, but it was very exciting.
which it won awards). He does this as well in the sequel, but he
See the trailers by clicking on the photo on this page or
also stars as a Hung Gar master named Hung Jan Nam, who
go to: http://www.tseqigongcentre.com/currentnews.html
fights Donnie Yens Ip Man!
Which
Palate?
Dear Sir,
Great magazines on the variety of
martial arts and information presented!
Im new to the art of
Qigong and if it is not
too much to ask, may
I ask a small question
regarding placement of
the tongue on the upper
soft palate and when it
would be the right time
to place it. Hypothetically,
during my Tai Chi form
or any martial art form
(Wing Chun),when is the
right time to switch the
tongue from (Yin) lower
(natural) placement to
upper palate (Yang) forced
placement. I hope this
makes sense. Thank you
for any help and assistance
with better developing my
form.
Kindest regards,
Many thanks!! Danny,
Cyprus
via the Qi moving naturally through the

channels. The Chengjiang can be used to
help restore consciousness and activate
Qi and blood and for cases of swollen
gums, mouth ulcer and reduced saliva.
The Yinjiao point can help clear heat
and dampness, restore consciousness,
swollen gums epilepsy and lockjaw.
Sky Eye
Yinjiao Point
Dear Danny,
Chengjiang Point
Thank you for your
enquiry. Many people have asked this
question and it seems there are many
ideas as to what is right. However,
according to Traditional Chinese Medicine
(TCM) theory and also the Dayan Qigong
principles, when the tongue rests against
the upper palette, it does so naturally and
without our having to think about it.
In this position, the tip of the tongue
is helping to connect the Ren and Du
Mai (channels). The Du Mai completes
at the Yinjiao point which is at the centre
of the upper gum and lip. TheRen Mai
completes at the Chengjiang point in the
small hollow below the lower lip.When
the mouth is closed, the tongue naturally
rests against the upper palette and serves
as a bridge for the Qi between the Yinjiao
and Chengjiang points. These two points
When we practise Qigong and are
are the crossover points for the Du and
healthy, Qi will naturally flow through
Ren Mai.
the Ren and Du Mai and this flow of
The points themselves are often
Qi is called the Xiao Zhou Tian (Small
used in acupuncture/acupressure but
Heavenly Circle). The RenMai connects
in Qigong, by closing the mouth and
with all the Yin channels of the body and
breathing through the nose and doing
is also called the Sea of Yin Channels.
our exercises, we allow the Qi to bridge
The Du Mai connects with all the Yang
through these points and stimulate them
channels of the body and is also called
the Sea of Yang Channels. This should

not be forced through visualisation but
let it happen naturally. This is balanced
and healthy.
Sincerely, Michael Tse
Which
Parts?
Dear Sir,
If I want to do Part 1, 2 and 3
of the Healthy Living Gong all in one
practice or the Balancing Gong and part
of the Healthy Living Gong, should I do
all of the Part 1 including the meditation
and then start Part 2 or should I do all
the stationary and moving exercises for
the different DVDs together and then
do the meditation at the very end rather
than at the end of each section? Also
do I just choose one meditation or do all
of the different ones together? I need
this information so that I can practise
correctly and would be grateful if you
can clarify this for me? I thank you very
much for your time and help,
Sincerely, Emidio Gomez, Jr
Dear Emidio,
Thank you for your question which
is a good question.
In regards
to your practice,
generally, it is
easier to do all
the exercises
from one set
as they each
have their
own energy
and it is good
to complete
it. Doing the
exercises as per
the sequence
also helps to
imprint them in
your mind and
body memory
so they become
a part of you. Having said that, if say,
you experienced a shoulder problem,
then you can find those movements that
will help with this particular problem and
repeat them gently to bring more Qi and
circulation to the area.
As for meditation, it is best to wait
until you have finished your practice
completely and do the meditation then.
Our Sky Eye

helps us listen to
our body, sensing
when something is
not quite right.
Some days you might find you want to

do a particular meditation like horse
stance and others, maybe you feel
more tired and so you can do a sitting
meditation. The most important thing
is to listen to the body. When we do
meditation, then we also develop our
senses more. This quietness will help to
settle the mind, the heart and the Qi.
Eventually, our Sky Eye will develop, too.
Our Sky Eye helps us listen to our body,
sensing when something is not quite right
and this is how we can learn to use our
Qigong to heal ourselves.
Sincerely,
Michael Tse
Student
Questions
Q:
Can we practise Qigong and
Chun Yuen Quan together? If so, which
one should we do first?
practice of the Chun Yuen and Qigong,

then we should do some meditation even
if only for 5 minutes as this will help the
Qi to store in our Dantian and we can
then have more energy throughout the
day as we do our work.
Q:
If I have stiff shoulders and
neck, what exercises will be good for
me?
A:
This is actually quite a common
problem as today most of us sit in front
of computers all day long and
so we do not move enough.
To h e l p t h i s p r o b l e m
practise the exercises
Big Bear Stretches
from the Balancing
Gong, the Level
I Warm Up and
also sitting
meditation.
W h e n
sitting to
Do the Chun
Yuen Quan
before Qigong,
& we will open
the channels.
A:
Of course, we can practise both
Qigong and Chun Yuen Quan together
and this is what I do each day. First we
should at least do the Level I Warm Up as
this will make us warm and more flexible.
Some people who are more advanced
can carry on to do the Level II and even
Level III warm up. Afterwards we can
then do our Chun Yuen Quan and then
the Qigong and then meditation. Some
people will do the Qigong first and then
not have the feeling of wanting to do any
more as the body has already come to a
relaxed state. However, if we do the Chun
Yuen Quan before we do our Qigong, we
will open the channels and make all the
circulation strong so we feel warm and
full of energy. Then it is easy to do our
Qigong afterwards. When we finish our
meditate, rest the hands on the thighs so

the Laogong Points on the palms cover
the Liangqiu points on the thighs.
Q:
In the history of Wing Chun
Kung Fu, who was Leung Jan?
A:
Sijo (Founder) Leung Jan is
one of the most important figures in the
history of Wing Chun. Before Leung Jan,
there are few details about any of the
other Wing Chun ancestors. In fact, there
is some debate as to whether they even
existed at all!
Leung Jan studied Wing Chun from
two people, Leung Yee Tai and Wong
Wah Bo (see Master Tses serialisation
of the Wing Chun Story on page 15 of
this issue). His level of skill is said to have
been extremely high. However, he was

also a very skilled Chinese doctor and so
we can see that he was very educated
and very intelligent.
Sijo Leung Jan was also the Sigong
(Grandteacher) of Grandmaster Ip Man,
as Ip Man studied with Leung
Jans student, Chan Wah
Shun and also Leung Bik,
who was Leung Jans
eldest son. Chan Wah
Shun was not highly
educated and was
also a very strong and
physical man, and so his
Wing Chun reflected this.
Grandmaster Ip Man once
said that he learnt the basis of
Wing Chun from his Sifu Chan
Wah Shun and the finer points of
Wing Chun from Leung Bik.
Leung Jan may have also been
the first of the Wing Chun ancestors
to begin to simplify the Wing
Chun skill. Grandmaster Ip
Man credited Leung Jan
with saying, Whoever can
simplify the Wing Chun
skill and not lose any of
its essence is the best. This
approach had a profound
effect on Grandmaster Ip Man
as this shaped his teaching and
practice.
F o l l o w i n g L e u n g J a n s
philosophy on Wing Chun,
Grandmaster Ip Man reorganised
the forms and also gave more
structure to how the skill was
taught. This approach has
been a huge factor in the
success of Wing Chun and
its spread all around the
world.
Grandmaster Ip Man
also said that he was not
able to simplify Wing
Chun any further.
We can argue that
this was said out of
respect for his Sigong
and is a sign of how
highly Ip Man respected
Leung Jan.
In 1982 the movie Prodigal Son
starred Yuen Biao as Leung Jan and
Sammo Hung as Wong Wah Bo. The
movie was a huge success and is one
every Wing Chun fan should see. There
was also a 21 episode TV series screened
in China called, Mr Jan from Fatshan
(Foshan).
Really Useful Websites

Confucian
Institute
Online
An amazing little site with hidden gems in
every click. A plethora of resources on Chinese culture
including language, movies, kung fu, literature, art.
And dont forget music. There are clickable pictures of
traditional Chinese instruments where you can hear a
sample audio clip of that particular instrument. There are
even samples of Chinese songs (even one of a popular
artist with lyrics in Pin Yin should you fancy a singalong!)
Can easily entertain yourself for a good while!
Go to http://www.chinese.cn
Nciku Online
Dictionary
An excellent site for discovering the meaning of
Chinese characters. There are different ways of doing
this. If you already have the Chinese character to hand,
you can copy and paste it into the search bar. If not,
there is a small box where you can use your mouse/
mouse pad to write your own Chinese character. As you
draw the strokes, a drop down menu will appear with
different character choices and you can click on one
which will then appear
in the search box as if
by magic.
Once you have
entered your character
then you can place
your search. If the
word is two characters
like Bigu () as in
the Fasting article on page 24 of this magazine, you can click on each syllable separately and
get a definition and an option to listen to an audio pronunciation by both a male and female
voice. An excellent resource for those learning Chinese. The dictionary will recognise both
simplified and traditional writing.
Go to http://www.nciku.com
For those with iphones, you can get an iphone app of the nciku software for your phone at:
http://itunes.apple.com/app/id351524716
Over the years, a number of students who were about to embark on teaching a
class of their own have asked me for advice. Thats not to say Im better than anyone
else. No, only that I have been teaching a lot longer than most. There is always one
theme that links all of them. The question, I dont know if I am ready yet?
A Time for Everything
veryone remembers the first class

they taught. Mine came about when
Sifu decided to start teaching weekly
classes in London. Before this he taught
in Manchester on a Monday and Tuesday
night and had opened another class in
Hazel Grove, Stockport on a Wednesday
night. I knew about the plans for Sifu
to go to London on Wednesdays and
Thursdays but I had not asked what
would happen to the Hazel Grove Class.
Then two weeks before the London
classes started, Sifu said to me, You
will take over the Hazel Grove class.
He smiled at me and then added, You
will be OK, just speak up.
I was shocked and stunned, and
as the day approached, I grew more and
more nervous. I had the same questions
and doubts that all new instructors have
and they all seem to begin with, How
do I, Can I ... and What if On
the drive to the class I even doubted the
route there, even though I had done it
every week for the past five months.
However, despite all my fears and
doubts, the class went smoothly. I even
remember thinking I sounded like Sifu in
the things I was saying and I chuckled to
myself about it on the way home.
That was my first real taste of
teaching. The next big teaching test
came about when I taught my first
weekend seminar. This was a Kunlun
Twining Hands Bagua Seminar in Devon.
I think my personal doubts and fears
were even more, as I had to survive a
whole weekend hundreds of miles away
from the safety of home ground. Unlike
the class, I had no idea who would be
attending and how much they knew. My
main concern
was, What if
they know more than me? Of course,

my fears were unfounded.
Both situations made me realise
that people who come to you do so
because they want to learn from you,
they want to listen to you and they are
not there to give you a hard time, in
fact quite the opposite. They want to
enjoy themselves and get on with you.
They are all looking for something and
hope that you will fulfil this. Of course,
whenever there are people involved
things do not always work out the way
you would like but you have to deal with
it as you would in any walk of life.
Nowadays the Centre has a
very structured route to becoming an
instructor. You are required to study
regularly with your Sifu for a minimum
of three years and then your Sifu will
nominate you to attend an instructor
course. By the end of the course you are
very well prepared. However it seems
that for many people the same doubts
and questions still linger, the How do,
can I and what ifs.
The first big question to answer
is, How do I teach a class? You already
have the answer to this right in front of
you. Copy your teacher. He or she has
succeeded in bringing you and most
likely others to this point. Although I
chuckled at myself when I realised I
sounded like my Sifu, now I realise
that this is natural and, more than
that, it is essential. As students, the
first thing we learn to do is copy
our teacher. Without this first
step we cannot learn the skill
or develop the knowledge

about the skill. Teaching is
the same and we need to develop this
skill in the same way.
The second question is, Can I?
The answer to this is simply, yes you
can. Your teacher has already seen this
potential in you, both in the way you
behave in class and help others. If you
did not have this potential, you would
not have been nominated.
The last main question is, What
if someone comes to challenge me? A
challenge can come in many forms. It
may be a challenge to your authority
in class, a challenge to your knowledge
or even a physical challenge. Always
remember you are not alone, your
students will be with you, your Sifu will
support you and all the ancestors will
be watching over you. At the end of
the day everything comes down to one
thing. In that class you are in charge and
what you say goes. If someone is being
difficult then you simply say, If you do
not like it, there is the door. If you really
want to study, then listen and follow.
Trust what you know and trust
what your Sifu has taught you. Teaching
is the way for you to develop to another
level. Of course, you will make mistakes
- we all do. But if we trust what we know
and do and teach with our hearts any
mistakes will only be small things. Then
your students will trust you and follow
you and before you know it you will
be nominating your own students and
giving them advice about starting their
own classes
By Darryl Moy
Qi is energy, not just internal energy or cosmic energy but

also thoughts, feelings and information, which form the very
basis of communication.
Communication Qi
ll forms of art are expressions

of Qi and spirit. Thoughts and
emotions felt within the creator are
transmitted to the receiver (audience/
reader) and may be felt deeply, affecting
emotions and Qi. True communication
is universal, transcending language,
cultural, and geographical barriers.
Two foreigners without one word
of common language or culture between
them can hold an entire conversation
simply by using hand gestures and facial
expressions if it is the desire and intention
to be understood, and care and effort
is paid to listening to what the other
is expressing. Conversely, two people
with the same native tongue can hold
a dialogue full of misunderstandings.
(George Bernard Shaw once said,
England and America are two countries
separated by a common language.)
In this case one or both
parties fails to listen properly so
the channel of communication is
blocked. Reasons for this can be
egocentricity (believing
that it is the other s
responsibility to make
himself understood or to
comprehend), fear and over-anxiousness
(trying so hard to understand and please
the other that the mind simply cannot
relax and receive the i nformation), or
lack of basic intelligence (inability to
analyse a situation).
The more we listen the less
misunderstandings occur and hence,
less arguments and ultimately, the less
problems we create for ourselves. In
discussion people commonly zone
out, thinking of personal matters, only
to return to the present moment with a
nod of agreement and feigned interest
when a pause in conversation demands
a response. Communication requires
being in the present and connecting with
the other person. Some people are so
insensitive and talk so incessantly that
they fail to realise when their company
has lost all interest. They do not relate
and connect, and in some cases, even
fail to recognise the other as a person.
Children become frustrated
when misunderstood and can even
become violent. Today, many adults are

guilty of the same behaviour. Lack of
understanding and meaningful dialogue
is the chief cause of violent conflicts
throughout world history.
Listening requires sensitivity and
making yourself understood demands
clarity and directness. Many people,
out of fear (of judgement), send mixed
messages as they lack the conviction
to say what is truly upsetting them.
Problems of communication exist
between generations (teenagers and
parents), races, and religious or political
ideologies, between husbands and
wives, and families etc. So many couples
enter counselling just to learn how to
communicate with partners, which is the
very foundation of any relationship.
Communication with
nature, as
within
all
ancient
cultures, is
an important
aspect of both
Daoism and
Q i g o n g.
Society today
features more
diseases
a n d
conditions
f r o m
stress solely
b e c a u s e
this communication is
lost and
we cannot tell
what is
good or bad
for us, be it
our diet or our
environment.
True wisdom is
being receptive to the messages and
signs that are all around us. This means
to listen to our heart, our inner voice,
our instinct; some may say our Higher
Self. It will always tell us when to do
the right thing or warn us about taking
a possible course of action. How many
people suffer because they do not listen
or fail to act on the message?
Most gardeners know that plants
respond to communication, gentle words

and touch (loving energy) and will grow
better than plants without these things.
Similarly, when bothered by insects or
even rodents we do not need to kill them;
sometimes just sending out a strong
and clear mental message is enough
to send them away. Some will laugh at
this notion but the wise will understand.
High-level communication requires no
words. One can tell anothers health,
state of mind and character without ever
asking for the information.
Many ancient cultures (with some
traditions still remaining today) would
communicate with dead ancestors. Some
made mummies for this purpose. Others
enter trances and dance to the drums,
allowing the spirits to enter their bodies,
often aided with brews and potions,
all to gain vital knowledge for future
prediction or healing.
All of our sensations,
feelings, thoughts, motor and
emotional responses, and
learning and memory, depend on
the healthy communication between
nerve cells (neurons). Diseases including
diabetes, multiple sclerosis and cancer
are all a result of a breakdown in cell-tocell communication. Numbness of limbs,
joints, and extremities occurs when there
is a Qi blockage preventing information
reaching the various parts. The practice
of Qigong opens the channels and
enables internal Qi to permeate
the whole body, and thus
improve this connection.
We l i v e i n a
society. Our survival
within that
society depends
upon
our
ability
to communicate and lies in forging
connections. Traditional Chinese cultural
skills are still handed down orally from
teacher to student. Correct learning is
based on the teacher possessing good
communication skills as well as the
student who must receive with an open
heart. The highest level of teaching,
according to Lao Zi, is Teaching without
Words
By Adam Wallace
One
Touch
The Listening Skill of

Chen Taijiquan
Martial arts have many aspects
from increasing flexibility to improving
confidence, however, there is one main
element that should not be overlooked
self-defence.
artial arts were created to

enable people
to defend themselves
from attack. The
high level martial
arts developed in
such a way that
techniques could be
practised freely
without the practitioners
being injured. If a martial
art injures you before you
use it for real, can it
be good for your long-term
health?
Ta i j i q u a n w a s
developed by the Chen family as a
formalised method to protect
themselves from bandits and to help with their
work protecting people and goods. The principles are very clever, use minimal
strength, use the opponents strength against them, redirect energy and of
course use spiral energy to apply the techniques. To develop all of these skills
Tui Shou (pushing hands) was developed. This method of practice allows all the
techniques contained within the forms to be practised safely whilst developing
sensitivity and an appreciation of combat. However, given the many hand forms
and weapons forms, it is not surprising that Tui Shou is sometimes forgotten or
not really developed to its full potential.
Time has moved on since this art was founded and it would be logical to
think that more modern approaches have surpassed this method of training.
Sadly, given the recent popularity of cage fighting, it appears that many
fighting arts have degenerated rather than evolved. It is claimed that these
modern methods produce the ultimate fighter, one which can take on allcomers of any style. These arts are not about self-defence and protecting loved
ones but, rather, forcing violence

upon an opponent, and whilst
the opponent receives a
beating, the winner
also sustains a
great deal of
damage. The key
question here is how
many cage fighters will
still be practising when they reach
eighty years of age? I very much doubt
that many will be able to walk easily, let
alone fight.
So what makes Tui Shou a superior
practice method? Grandmaster Chen Fa
Ke (17th Generation standard bearer of the
Chen Family) once said that contests didnt
need to go on for 15 minutes - one touch
should be all that was needed and when
he was pressed to clarify this he propelled
his opponent across the room as soon as
they made contact with him. The ability
to read an opponent and situation by one
touch alone comes from sensitivity and the
the other to move, the other is using his yielding skills and waist movement
to redirect the oncoming attack and turn the situation to his advantage.
The next level is stepping backwards and forwards. After having
learned how to redirect and fend off an attack in a stationary position the
practitioners begin to develop stepping. This can be extended to stepping
deeper and lower to train the flexibility and strength of the legs.
Whilst this may seem impractical, it must be remembered that it is a
training exercise to develop the person for the next level. Flexibility and
strength in the legs are vitally important for maintaining a good
stance and issuing power. The two forward/backward stepping
exercises are undertaken whilst still maintaining the fixed
pattern of the hands. The next stage trains footwork and
the practitioners step and walk in changing directions.
The final stage is not fixed and the practitioners
are free to move in any direction they choose. Once this
level has been achieved it is possible to introduce the full
repertoire of techniques into the Tui Shou, from Qin Na
(joint locks) to throws and punches. By this time, it should
What makes
a Tui Shou a
superior
practice
method?
practice of Tui Shou develops this.
In the beginning when single
pushing hands is practised, this involves
making contact with the opponent and
following a fixed pattern with the hands
in a stationary position. This teaches the
practitioners to move correctly from the
waist and understand when to go forwards
and when to go back. The second stage
is to utilise two hands. Again a fixed
pattern is used to develop further the
skills learned at the first level. This tends
to be the point that most Taijiquan people
reach, the ability to follow a fixed pattern
with two hands.
Whilst practising this fixed pattern
it is possible to practise many applications
contained within the forms. However, in
order to develop Taijiquan to a usable
level, the pattern should be broken and
each person allowed to try and move the
other. As this exercise is stationary it helps
to develop the grounding and rooting of
the stance and whilst one is trying to get
be possible to deal with whatever

the opponent has
to throw at you without getting
hurt as the ability to
read the situation will have been
developed through
increased sensitivity.
Sensitivity can
be achieved by understanding
the principle of Yin
and Yang. Yang is strong and
powerful, Yin is soft
and yielding. In martial arts, Yang is
not always better, it
is the balance between the two that
is important. When
the opponent is strong (Yang),
you should be soft
(Yin), when the opponent is Yin,
you should be Yang.
Never do you see Yang against
Yang as in this case
the stronger will win. A good
martial art should mean
that the smaller guy can win,
not just the bigger or stronger
of the two.
What this really means is that it
requires some intelligence, the
ability to work it out and change the plan according to the opponent, rather than
carry on throwing punches regardless. This is the learning ground of Tui Shou,
the opportunity to work things out and develop high-level skills. Touching hands
can be regarded as a conversation, one person says something while the other
listens and then gives a suitable response. If you shout all of the time, eventually
people will become used to it and you will run out of steam. It can be said that a
man will never be wise if he does all of the talking and never stops to listen. The
aim of Tui Shou is to develop a level that requires very few words
by Mike Baker
For more detailed information about Tui Shou skill, please refer to Michael Tses book
Chen Taijiquan Essentials available on www.tseqigongcentre.com
Last Summer I shut my hand in a heavy, swing door. A stupid accident

that happened because I was very busy and rushing instead of taking things
at a more measured pace. Had I been less frantic, and not tried to do the
work of two people, I would probably have got just as much done, and saved
myself an extraordinarily painful experience.
Let Nature Take

Its Course
H
indsight is a wonderful thing. My

fingers hurt so much I could not
sleep the first night for the pain and
throbbing in them. Someone noticing
the damage the next day asked if I had
been to the doctor and if I had put ice on
my hand to reduce the swelling. It had
never occurred to me to seek medical
assistance for something like that, and
besides, I have my own way of dealing
with such things.
I had cleaned and dressed the
wounds to my fingers because they were
day because the

skin at the base
of the nail is
very thin, and
it had been
severely
mashed. I
dressed the
wounds to
stop me
dripping
b l o o d
Im not a fan
of putting ice
on injuries
bleeding copiously, but beyond that, it
was simply a question of time and the
bodys miraculous healing powers to put
it right. I suppose a doctor may have
given me antibiotics to prevent infection
setting in, but thanks to Qigong, I have
a strong immune system to deal with
that and I would not have wanted to
do anything to compromise it by taking
drugs unnecessarily.
As for the swelling, Im not a fan
of putting ice on injuries. While it may
help to take the swelling down in the
short term, all that cold and damp settles
into the joints and may result in arthritis
ten or twenty years down the line.
But my friends reaction set me
thinking about my philosophy when it
comes to health, and in this case, minor
injury. My fingers bled for more than a
everywhere, and
then set about dealing with the
inflammation. Using a feather light
touch, I gently massaged the areas of
swollen tissue, avoiding any areas of
broken skin. This was a very delicate
process because both the tissue and
bones were badly bruised. Anyone
who has bruised or broken a bone will
know that bone pain is particularly
debilitating. But it did not take long to
clear away the stagnation

and reduce the puffiness.
I then kept my hand up as
much as possible to stop the blood and
fluid collecting in the damaged areas.
After a day the bleeding had
stopped, so I took off the dressings and
went out into the garden to do some
Qigong. Luckily it was a beautiful sunny
day and I was able to spend a long time
doing Healthy Living Gong Part 1, and
especially the exercise called Golden
Dragon Stretches Its Claws. This is a
really good one for any problems with
the hands, since it brings a lot of Qi
to that area. I also practised the Wild
Goose First 64 Movements. This form
is particularly good for resolving health
problems and injuries that you have
acquired during your lifetime. By
the end of my practice the soggy
tissue had dried and things were
looking better already.
Of course, such a heavy blow
to two fingers meant that I lost half
of one nail and the other was badly
disfigured. It takes several months
to grow a completely new nail but
eventually the damage grew out.
Someone else had said I would not get
away without permanently distorted
nails but I am pleased to say that
everything has come back looking
normal. Even the dent across the skin
just above the nail, the centre of the
impact, has finally disappeared.
I know people often forget
what a valuable toolbox they have
at their disposal in learning Qigong.
From time to time, students say to me
that they have been unable to come
to class because they have had a
bad back or other musculoskeletal
problem. If we can do a little
Qigong at such times, even if
we have to make the movements
smaller, or do them more slowly, or
for a shorter length of time than usual,
then the Qi will start to circulate through
the area and the healing process will
be greatly accelerated. The power of
Qigong never ceases to amaze me, and
it is a First Aid Kit that I have with me
wherever I go!
by Kate Britton
Time passed by very quickly and Wong Wah Bo learned all the Wing
Chun Kung Fu skill from his Sifu, Leung Lan Kwai, and he respected him
a lot. He worked very hard and was very good at training and, aside from
that, there was nothing else he needed to do. His Sifu was very casual
when he was teaching him but the detail and knowledge was very deep.
Wing
Chun
Story Part 16
ne day Wah Bo went out to the market to get food for

dinner. He was quite a good sailor and his Sifu loved
his chicken and pepper with black bean sauce. The
main thing he needed was a chicken. He was good
at choosing a good chicken, making sure the chicken
was fed well. He also would check the attitude of the chicken
even when it was in the cage. He would see if the chicken
was walking around
normally and when
someone went to pick it
up, that it reacted well
and tried to escape. If
it did, then he knew it
was a good chicken as
it was strong and alert.
Also Wah Bo would
check the throat of the
chicken, because some
bad traders would feed
sand to the chicken to
make it weigh more, as
a heavy chicken would
sell for more money. Wah Bo was very careful even if he knew
the chicken trader. It was his nature to make sure everything
was all right.
That day, whilst he was checking the chicken for the
dinner, he spotted someone buying vegetables who looked
familiar. It was an old colleague from the opera, but not one
of the actors. Then he suddenly realised it was one of the
sailors who worked on the boat. Wah Bo was very excited to
see someone from the opera and so he quickly finished his
business with the chicken trader, but when he turned back
around the sailor had finished his shopping and was already
walking some way down the street.

Wah Bo followed him at quite a
distance. He did not want to run
to catch him up as it might draw
too much attention as there was
a chance he was still a fugitive
and wanted by the government.
Wah Bo wanted to know what his
colleague was doing and where
he lived.
After a short time Wah Bo
followed his old colleague through
another area of the market. There
he saw a group of five Qing
government soldiers with red
uniforms carrying big broadswords around their waists.
This made Wah Bo slow down and become alert like a tiger
observing his target. His eyes were as sharp as a knife. Then
one of the soldiers suddenly kicked one of hawkers baskets,
sending the tomatoes inside it flying. The soldiers started
shouting at the hawker and it was obvious that they were
not very happy with the him. At that time it was very common
for soldiers to come to the market and take whatever food
they wanted and some might even demand money from the
traders. So the hawker was in trouble.
"He suddenly cried

out in great pain
and quickly pulled
his leg back.
Most of the tomatoes that had landed on the floor

were ruined, but this was not enough for the soldiers who
then stamped on those that were still okay. The hawker was
now crying for mercy but the soldiers just laughed at him.
One of the soldiers decided he wanted to kick him to show
his superiority. He swung his leg at the hawker, but as he was
about to land his kick, the solider suddenly cried out in great
pain and quickly pulled his leg back. A long bamboo stick
had just hit him very painfully on the shin and even though
the soldier was wearing long boots the bamboos impact had
been very powerful!
Everybody, including Wah Bo, looked to where the
bamboo pole had come from and who was holding it. Wah
Bo was surprised to see the person holding the long bamboo
stick was his colleague, the sailor. This sight brought some
memories flooding back.
Wong Wah Bo remembered that he would often see
him standing holding a long pole, which he used to push the
boat along, a little bit like rowing. As long as the water was not
too deep, he would stab the long stick into the bottom of the
river and push the boat forward. If the water was too deep, he
used a paddle to row the boat with the other sailors. However,
Wah Bo had never seen someone use such a long stick as a
weapon before. Just beside the sailor, Wah Bo noticed a stack
of long poles lying on the ground that were normally used by
the hawkers to carry things.
All the soldiers looked at the sailor. They all knew
that he would resist arrest so they all went to pull out the
broadswords they were carrying tied to their waists
However, as one of the soldiers was drawing his sword
his hand burst with pain as it was hit by the long bamboo
stick. It was so painful that he yelped in agony and dropped
his sword. Of the five soldiers two were hurt so only three now
remained to fight. As they approached the sailor, they raised
their swords to chop him down, however, the sailors long
stick was too fast. He used the tip to hit one soldier square in
his chest and send him falling back five or six steps before he
fell painfully to the ground.
Another soldier managed to get closer, but as he
swung his sword down the sailor hit it with the middle of the
stick sending the sword flying up in the air. The strike was so
powerful that there was no way the soldier could hold onto
it. Almost at the same time the long stick came back down
and hit the soldiers shoulder. He gave a loud scream as he
fell down. Only one soldier was left, but as the sailor turned
to him, he was already long gone. The sailor had expected
this and he smiled to himself.
All the people in the market were staring at him. Who
is the person with the stick? the people were asking but no
one dared to approach him as he stood there with that fierce
smile on his face. The hawker was now terrified and began
packing his stuff as quickly as he could and disappeared. He
knew that attacking government soldiers was a big crime and
he did not want to be involved. The sailor dropped his stick and
turned to run as well as he
knew that more soldiers
would be coming.
Wo n g Wa h B o
watched all of this and it
raised his curiosity even
more so he continued
following his old colleague.
After few miles, they had
come to a quiet area. The
sailor suddenly turned
around and glared at Wah
Bo with an unkind face.
Wah Bo knew the sailor
was ready to fight.
Wah Bo had seen
him fight with weapons
and wanted to know how
good his bare hand Kung Fu was so he immediately closed
on him and threw with a straight palm to hit his chest. The
sailor was not slow and blocked Wah Bos attack, hitting his
forearm with his own. The sailors forearm was very powerful
and struck with great force. It was fortunate that Wong Wah
Bo was just testing and had expected the sailor would block
him. Immediately Wah Bo changed his straight palm to be
Huen Sau (Circle Hand), moving his hand from outside to
inside. He then used Laap Sau (Grapping Hand) to hold the
sailors strong forearm.
This was good for Wah Bo because the sailor was so
strong that the more force he used, the easier it was for Wah
Bo to hold onto. It is like holding a pole; the more stable the
pole the safer it is. Wah Bos right hand was gripping the top
of the sailors right forearm. Even though the sailors arm was
very strong, it was still not strong enough to overcome Wah
Bos Laap Sau. Wah Bos Laap Sau was pushing downward
and he then used Juen Ma (Turning Stance), which was helping
him to use his whole body to press down. So, as powerful as
the sailor was, he could only lift upwards with his forearm and
he could not compete with Wah Bo.
It is like arm wrestling when someone uses only the
forearm, but the other person uses the whole body together
with a good angle. The sailor felt Wah Bo had tremendous
force, which he had never come across before. He knew he
was strong, just about the strongest person in his area of
expertise, even within his sailors group. How can this skinny
man have more strength than me? he asked himself and so
he used even more strength to try and lift up his arm. This
is a very natural reaction, if a person finds he is not strong
enough to do something he will try to use more force and
more strength next time round.
The sailor was surprised and happy when his increased
effort worked! But he suddenly realised it was too much as
suddenly there was nothing there to push upwards against!
Wah Bos hand had disappeared! The sailors initial happy
reaction quickly changed to panic, as he knew it is not good
when there was no force to move against. He had not expected
that and he knew he needed to stop his own arm shooting
up, but unfortunately it was too late.
He had used so much strength that his fist shot up and
back hitting him in his own face. It was embarrassing. How
could he hit himself with his own fist? This made the sailor
angry and his face hurt. He knew that this time he was facing
someone with high-level
Kung Fu and this was bad.
However, when he
looked over at the skinny
gentleman, he saw he was
smiling at him and that he
was not threatening him.
Now he really was confused.
He stared at his opponent for
a while and then suddenly
realised he knew this skinny
man. It was the leading actor
on the opera boat. The sailor
asked, Are you the actor
Wong Wah Bo? Wah Bo
was surprised that he had
recognised him so quickly and
answered, Yes, I am. With
a confused look the sailor asked, Why did you hit me?
Wah Bo smiled. I just wanted to play with you. No
other meaning. The sailor asked with interest, I did not
know you wanted to play with me. Where have you learned
such a skill? I did not know you knew such powerful Kung
Fu? Wang Wah Bo replied, You also have such good stick
skill which I never noticed before.
You saw me back there in the market then? the sailor
asked with wide eyes. Wah Bo did not say anything apart
from, Mmm, but nodded his head a couple of times. Then
Wah Bo asked, What is your name? I know you are a sailor
from the boat,
You are with the government soldiers, arent you?
the sailor asked in return. Nooooo, if you had not beat those
soldiers up, I would have! Wah Bo answered very firmly. All
right. My name is Leung Yee Tai, the sailor replied sincerely.
What a coincidence! My Sifu is also called Leung, that means
we are close. Wah Bo said happily.
What kind of Kung Fu did you use on me? It was
interesting; I would like to try with you again, Yee Tai asked,
just as a child would who had found an interesting game. A
part of him also did not believe Wah Bo was that good and
he may have lost just because he was not prepared. Good,
we can compete again to see who is better, Wah Bo replied
as his interest had also been aroused
How can this

skinny man have
more strength than
me? he asked
himself.
to be continued on our website ... by Michael Tse
Warm Up Level 2 Poem

I feel a strange stirring within, the sensation of Wind
beginning to blow the internal Fire. The Wheels in all my
special places begin to turn; change is in the air.
The Wind and Fire dispel all the damp, stagnation and
rot, creating inside Dry Weather and then the Thunder cracks,
arousing the heavens to a call of action, sending a Tornado
reaching from above to below and finally I am connected to the
Earth Dragon.
I look deep into the eyes of the Dragon and see a reflection
of many Chinese New Years and the Fireworks Kick, dance and
play until all the necessary elements come together to form Iron,
and there is a moments stillness, a calm, a sense of solidity.
The Iron Monkey then jumps into the water, whereupon
arises a beautiful lily, the Lily Leaf Kicks upon the ripples and
waves, feeding the Wooden Dummy. The child within impatient
and looking for excitement builds a swing upon the tree of the
wooden dummy and kicks its legs in the air, and the Blossom of
the tree kick about as if in play also.
The Flying Swallows join in and tease the Flying
Swimming Dragon, all elements in harmony and dancing,
interacting with one another with mutual respect. Then the child
begins to understand, so the Child Worships Buddha for all life
that has been given.
The Buddha upon seeing the clarity and sincerity of the
child, allows this new understanding and wisdom to grow and
sends to the child a Flying Wild Goose to show the way and to
give the child a long life, so that the child will always remember
to stay connected to all that the child has seen and learnt.
by Rachel A Couper , 30 Jan 2010
Balancing Gong
and the Busy Day
I love Balancing Gong! It was the first form I was taught and still, many years later, each
time I practise I am thankful for this form. Many days, I wake up and think of all the things Id
like to get through. Its tempting to get up and start being busy with this and that, or often, this
and that at the same time. But I find that the days that go the best start with Qigong. Quickly, it
wakes me up and reminds me to notice and correct my posture, breathing and general relaxation.
p I hop, take a breath of fresh air, and its straight into

the Tse Qigong Centre Level 1 warm-up, followed by
the relaxation Shou Gong and Im ready to begin.
We start off with the first three moves, Holding
the Dantian, Dantian Up and Down and then
Opening and Closing the Dantian. Am I breathing evenly
and fully? Is my posture upright and even? Is my busy mind
calm, focused and relaxed? Slow down and follow the breath.
Keep breathing, in and out, slowly, evenly and calmly. Focus
on posture and relax and enjoy the time.
Next we move on to Beautiful Woman Turns the Waist.
Slowly and evenly we rotate the Dantian first one way and
then the other. I try to check that both rotations are even and
enjoy feeling my organs wake up.
Turning the Head and Twisting the Tail is usually a
challenge at the start as my shoulders and arms are often stiff
from working outside or from business on the PC the previous
day. As the Qi starts to flow from the Dantian, up through the
body to the tips of the fingers, its time to check the posture.
Head balanced evenly over the shoulders, from one side
to the other. Slow down and enjoy the flow.
When youre ready, begin Peeping Monkey. This
is a nice tall move, again with the head balanced
evenly over the shoulders, assisted by the glance
upwards towards the heavens in the middle. Enjoy
the connection of Zhongchong to Yamen and Hegu to
Mingmen when you peep down by the shoulder.
Time for a change and to get those organs
stimulated with Big Bear Stretches. I find this
particularly good for checking the evenness of my
weight distributed through the hips, legs and feet.
Breathing evenly, enjoy the flow through this gentle
stretch.
Move on to Roc Extends The Wings. Again, I
check, is my weight distributed evenly through my hips,
legs and feet? Am I letting my legs do the work while
my body lets the Qi gently flow through the spine to
my fingers? Check those connection points and enjoy
the flow. Im really feeling good by now which is why I
Like Balancing Gong so much. By now, Im well through
my practice, feeling good, much more alive and ready
to go.
Its now on to Supporting the Sky. Even though its
easy to get too enthusiastic with this move, I try to relax,
breathe and gather the Qi up to Sky Eye and gently release

back down keeping a nice round figure in front of me.
Shou Gong.
Most days, I continue with Cloud Steps and Monkey
Walk but sometimes just stop here and finish off with Ma Bo,
(Horse Stance), again settling the Qi, breathing calmly and
evenly, and gently focusing on even weight distribution and
posture.
Fantastic. Im feeling great and ready to get on with
the day. The practice took 20 minutes at the most and now
Im looking forward to a productive day. Things just seem to
fall into place and jobs get finished. Tai Sigong, thank you for
giving us Balancing Gong, and, to my Sifu, Belinda, thank you
for passing on the teaching so well.
by Barbara Nixon-Mackay
Wing Chun
Self Defence
Wing Chun Kung Fu is

famous for its practical self defence
applications. Here are some classic
techniques which every Wing Chun
student should know.
1. Paak Da
a
a. A and B face each other with their
right wrists in contact.
b. A steps forwards and uses Paak Sau

to slap Bs hand down.
c. As A steps and uses Paak Sau, he

also punches forwards with his right
hand striking B.
It is important not to press on your opponents wrist before you step in as this will alert your opponent who could use this strength
against you as you move forwards. The step forwards, Paak Sau and Zhong Kuen (punch) should happen at the same time, thus giving
your opponent only a split second to defend himself.
2. Paak Sau, Lap Sau

A
a
b
b. A steps forward and uses Paak Sau
to slap Bs hand down and strikes
forwards with his right hand. B uses
Taan Sau to block As attack.
c
c. A changes his striking hand to a
Lap Sau and pulls Bs hand down,
trapping his two hands together.
He then strikes Bs face with his left
hand.
In Wing Chun when we strike we only use strength at the moment of impact then we relax. This allows us to change our technique
should our strike be blocked. In this case the hand is blocked on the inside and so we change our striking hand to Lap Sau. This traps
the opponents hands and allows us to strike cleanly.
3. Paak Sau, Lap Sau

A
a
b. A steps forward and uses Paak Sau

to slap Bs hand down and strikes
forwards with his right hand. B uses
Paak Sau to block As attack pushing
it to the left.
c. A follows the strength of Bs Paak Sau

and uses his left hand to Lap Sau Bs
left hand, thus trapping both of his
opponents hands. Then he punches
Bs face.
Wing Chun teaches us to be flexible with our techniques and change them should our opponents reaction be different than what
we expected. Whether our hand is blocked on the inside or the outside changes how we react. In this case, we Lap Sau with the other
hand as this allows us to use the strength of our opponents block against him.
4. Bong Sau, Lap Sau

A
a
a. A and B face each other.
b
b. B throws a punch with his right hand.
A turns his waist 45 degrees and uses
Bong Sau to deflect Bs punch.
c
c. A immediately uses Lap Sau to pull
Bs hand down and a chopping palm
(Pek Cheung) to strike Bs throat.
Bong Sau is one of the most common and important techniques in Wing Chun and it can be used high and low. In this case the
high Bong Sau is used and it does not stop the opponents punch, but instead deflects it and allows it to continue along the wrong path.
This then enables the use of Lap Sau to pull the opponents hand down, making him fall forwards into the strike. This is a perfect use
of the opponents strength against him.
4. Bong Sau, Lap Sau

A
a
a. A and B face each other.
b. B throws a punch with his right hand.

A turns his waist 45 degrees and
uses Bong Sau to deflect Bs punch.
c. A steps forwards with his right foot

and changes his Bong Sau to a Lap
Sau, pulling Bs right hand out to
the side. At the same time A strikes
Bs chin with Waahng Jeung (side
palm).
In this technique we change our Bong Sau to a Lap Sau. We can do this if the opponents fist is pushing back towards us rather
than continuing forwards, or even if the opponent stops and is about to withdraw his fist. It is important to step forwards and strike
at the same time otherwise you will not be able to reach your opponent.
5. Bong Sau, Dai Kuen (Low punch)

B
a
a. A and B face each other. B throws a
punch with his right hand. A turns
his waist 45 degrees and uses Bong
Sau to deflect Bs punch.
b
b. B realises his punch has been blocked
and tries to Lap Sau As Bong Sau. A
feels B change to Lap Sau and lifts
his Bong Sau higher, whilst at the
same time moving forwards a little.
This makes Bs energy wrong and so
his Lap Sau does not work.
c
c. Holding Bs arms up slightly, A steps
in and strikes B in the stomach with
a Dai Kuen (low punch).
When you have trained a lot of Chi Sau (Sticking Hands) you should be able to read your opponents movements, energy and intent. In this
technique we must be able to feel our opponent change and adapt to disrupt his new attack. Lifting the Bong Sau a little means the opponents
Lap Sau does not work and also traps both his hands against one of ours. As we have a free hand we are able to attack. We must be careful
when striking low and should only do so when there is no danger that our opponent can hit us in the face at the same time.
by Michael Tse
In looking at food cures, it is interesting that some things are plain

common sense and are things which are common knowledge, even in the West.
A Question of Food
your food cures knowledge. Although
the quiz is given in fun, it actually helps
us to see how much we understand
about how the food we eat can actually
affect our health for the better or even

make a condition worse. Answers are
provided at the bottom of the page.
Good luck!
by Jessica Tse
Questions
1. Circle four foods below that would be beneficial/non-harmful to someone
who has acute acne (pimples)?
Sausage & Mushroom Pizza
Cherries
Chicken
Watermelon
Houmous
Red Apples
Red dates
Celery
Dried bananas
Sauted pork loin
2. What are signs of a Yang body type:Soft spoken

Red complexion
Strong voice
Likes to sit quietly

Hot hands
Active
Pale complexion
Cold feet
3. What are signs of a Yin body type:Soft spoken

Red complexion
Strong voice
Likes to sit quietly

Hot hands
Active
Pale complexion
Cold feet
4. Name three things below that would benefit someone suffering from cystitis
or urinary bladder infection?
Mild cheddar cheese raw
Mild cheddar cheese melted
Cooked barley
Chrysanthemum tea
Corn
English tea
Green tea
5. Is garlic Yin or Yang? Is it cold energy or hot energy?

6. Are carrots warm or cool energy?
7. Which of the below items would you eat if suffering from nausea and stomach
cramps?
Salad
Mashed potatoes
Walnuts
Spaghetti bolognaise
Ginger with hot water and honey
Warm milk with cardamom seeds & honey
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Celery, Red Apples, Sauted pork loin, Watermelon

Red complexion, Hot hands, Strong voice, Active
Soft spoken, Likes to sit quietly, Pale complexion, Cold feet
Chrysanthemum tea, Corn, Cooked barley
Yang - warming
Warm
Answers
till there are other food cures

that have taken experimentation
and time to prove and show their
effectiveness. These food cures have
developed over many hundreds of
years and the principles are based upon
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
theory and observation.
Food cures were not just part of
the Chinese Emperors diet but had also
spread out to other countries including
Korea. Using herbs as medicine is not
new. Englands Nicholas Culpeper had
written his theories down in the 1600s
and some of these remedies are still
used today. However, it is only in Asia
that food cures became part of family
diet. That is not to say that everyone
who is Chinese knows this knowledge,
particularly the younger generation who
have the convenience of take-away food
24 hours a day in China.
There is less and less time
for working families to prepare the
traditional tonic soups that require slow
simmering for many hours to develop
their healing properties. Hopefully, this
skill will not be entirely lost but with the
Internet so widely available there is such
a cross cultural exchange of ideas that I
am starting to see these traditional cures
diluted with diet fads from the West,
particularly in Hong Kong. Whereas
in the past a child with constipation
would be given sweet sesame soup
or cooked spinach with sesame oil,
todays younger generation parents
are less likely to think of diet and are
instead more likely to go to the chemist
for an over-the-counter drug to solve
the problem. Unfortunately, this latter
solution can create a dependency on
the action of the chemical rather than
effecting a change to healthier eating
habits to support and balance the body
and health.
So how much do you yourself
know? Can you think of a food good
for a cough or sore throat? Below are a
few of the questions that were presented
to students on the recent Five Element
Cooking Course. Maybe you would like
to quiz yourself and see how you rate
Peter Warwick takes a journey

of discovery from the initial diagnosis
of diabetes to its eventual control with
diet, Qigong and acupuncture
Treating
Type II Diabetes
n February this year I was diagnosed with Type II

diabetes. This was no surprise as diabetes runs in
the family. My brother is at the terminal end of the
disease. I have two cousins who are similarly afflicted.
My parents escaped, but my grandfather died of it.
There are two types of diabetes . Type II differs from Type
I in that it affects older people. Type I strikes in childhood.
However, because of our diet and lifestyle in the West,
Type II diabetes is now affecting not only more people, but
younger people too. The disease costs Western Medicine
(WM) millions in its treatment. The complications are so
devastating and expensive to treat that the government
and the medical profession choose to treat it rigorously
with medication from the first diagnosis, hoping to alleviate
its symptoms, thereby costing less to treat in the long
term. Having said that, some doctors who are faced with
someone who is obese, will give the patient a chance to
control their blood glucose levels with diet.
It is my belief that diabetes is controllable, indeed,
reversible by strict diet, regular exercise and other changes
to lifestyle. Such methods can slow its progression in
a much more healthy way than taking medication and
continuing with an unchanged lifestyle, which exacerbates
the root of the disease, requiring greater and greater
levels of medication; when these are no longer effective,
injections of insulin are prescribed. Finally, the patient dies
from complications of the disease, whereas if the patient
had changed their lifestyle radically from the beginning,
You are your

own best
healer!
rather than relying on

medication, I believe
they would live a longer
and healthier life.
With Type I diabetes,
the pancreas loses its ability to
secrete insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin reduces blood
glucose. Cells run on glucose, insulin is the chemical key which
opens cells to allow glucose to enter, firing cells and the human
body into action. Glucose could loosely be called cellular Qi,
from a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) point-of-view. As some
of you may know, the pancreas is also the spleen in TCM theory.
Many people I treat with acupuncture have Spleen Qi Deficiency
as a complicating factor of their disease. It will be interesting to
see if they go on to develop diabetes in later life. Hopefully, with
timely treatment and advice about diet and lifestyle, they will not.
However, genetics plays a leading role in this disease.
Type II diabetes differs from Type I in that the pancreas
still functions, but cells are resistant to insulin. The chemical key
doesnt fit the lock. As glucose is unable to penetrate the cells,
it remains in the bloodstream with devastating effects. Cells,
starved of their source of energy, suffer malnutrition. Reserves of
fat are used to fuel action, thereby causing rapid loss of weight.
The body craves glucose, so the sufferer eats more sugar laden
food, increasing blood glucose further. Blood becomes like honey,
hence the name Diabetes Mellitus (Mellitus is taken from the
Latin: honey-sweet). Increased urination occurs as the bodys way
of excreting glucose, causing tremendous thirst. As the situation
worsens, weakness and emaciation occur leading to organ

failure and death. Type II diabetes is of slow onset, so medical
intervention usually takes place before disaster strikes. Type I
requires immediate injections of insulin to avert catastrophe.
Prior to the invention of insulin treatment for diabetes in
1922 at the University of Toronto, Canada, the disease was
incurable in the West.
The Chinese have been treating the disease with
acupuncture, herbs, diet and lifestyle for thousands of years.
For many Chinese, the progression of Type II diabetes would
have been slowed down considerably or reversed, but it
is doubtful that Type I diabetes could have been treated
successfully. TCM labelled diabetes as The Thirsting, Wasting
Disease for obvious reasons. It divided it into three patterns:
upper, middle and lower diabetes. However, the root of the
disease, from a TCM point-of-view; is the kidney. I will not go
further into TCM pathology as it is beyond the scope of this
article.
Initial diagnosis and self-treatment
I left the doctors surgery feeling jubilant. I had a
challenge! If I could treat myself successfully, I thought,
I could pass on what I learn to others who seek my
help.
My doctor was concerned, if not a little angry. I
had refused to take the medication he prescribed, but
the diagnosis was the kick up the backside I needed
to fashion a really healthy diet for myself. Before my
consultation with the doctor, I had reasoned that diet
was key to the natural treatment of Type II diabetes.
My diet, previous to the diagnosis, had been excellent,
but very rich as I had a sweet tooth. I love to cook, so
coming up with a new, healthier, diet was going
to be an enjoyable challenge.
The initial blood test showed fasting
glucose levels at 14. Normally, blood glucose
is between 4 and 6 after fasting and around 10
after a meal, with an average level of 7.
My doctor said I had two-weeks to get
my blood sugar down or I would have
to go on medication.
On arriving home, I called a
friend who is a practice nurse and
diabetic. She said I wouldnt be able to
get my levels down in two-weeks. I would
need about three months. She thought
the doctor wanted me to start medication
because I wasnt overweight. Therefore,
he probably thought, diet would not render
results. She kindly gave me a new blood
glucose monitor and some test strips so I could
monitor my blood glucose daily.
That evening, I went to the library
and withdrew a number of books.
After speed-reading them,
I chose two to work
with, discarding
the rest. I
searched the internet for clues of how to treat the disease,

and found a number of supplements I could introduce to my
diet which were known to reduce blood glucose levels.
I read the two books I had chosen thoroughly. The first:
The Diabetes Revolution by Dr. Charles Clark, advocated
a Low Glycaemic Index diet (Low GI). In the treatment of
diabetes, Type I or II, it is important to consume foods that
convert to blood glucose slowly over a prolonged period,
avoiding spikes in glucose levels. Foods that convert to
glucose quickly should be avoided. Foods that convert to
blood glucose slowly should form the major part of the diet.
These are called Low GI.
High GI foods are refined carbohydrates, and other
starchy foods, which include bread, potatoes, rice, pasta,
pastries, biscuits and sugar-laden confectionery. Whether
pasta is high or low is debatable. Some sources say pasta,
al dente, is low, but it seems to increase my blood glucose
significantly, so I treat it as medium GI. High GI foods should
be eaten only rarely by diabetics
Low GI foods include most vegetables, most fruits,
pulses, beans, meat, dairy and fish. These should form the bulk
of the diet for diabetics. Medium GI foods can be introduced
to low GI meals sparingly.
The first book I mentioned above seemed to have
recipes that contained a lot of meat, dairy and fish,
although it had a good, but small, vegetarian section. I
tend towards vegetarianism, eating a little high quality
meat occasionally, little dairy and a fair amount of
fish. I didnt want to construct a diet around the
dietary recommendations of this book
entirely. However, it is a very good book,
which explained diabetes and Low GI
well.
The second book: The Reverse
Diabetes Diet by Dr. Neal Barnard, was a
well-researched book that advocates a Low
GI diet and veganism. I dont like extremes and
feel a little meat and dairy in a diet is healthy.
I opted for the middle way, mainly vegetarian
with a little high quality meat, and a little dairy.
I love fish, so plenty of that; lots of vegetables
and fruit, beans and pulses, cutting out High GI
foods completely, having a few Medium GI foods
occasionally.
Within two-weeks my fasting blood glucose
levels were down to 7. I visited the doctor again, who
thought I had worked really hard but, he said, I would
still have to go on medication because my average
levels had been 10 over the past three months. They
should have been 7. I refused medication again
saying I needed another two-months
to prove my methods. My average
blood glucose had been taken over
the Xmas period where I had
partied too furiously for
my own good health. He
relented, saying I had
two months to get my
blood glucose down to
acceptable levels, or I would
have to do it his way. I knew I
wouldnt fail.
My three-step method
First: Diet
Third: Acupuncture
My immediate
concern was to lower
blood glucose. The
best way to do this
was with a Low GI
diet, which can be
delicious and very
healthy. I lost weight,
had an increase of
e n e r g y, n e v e r w e n t
hungry because Low GI
means one can eat lots of
healthy food, maintaining slow rises in blood glucose without
the spikes that stodgy carbohydrates produce. Low GI isnt
only for diabetics. It is a great diet for those who want to lose
weight and eat tasty, healthy food, while feeling good, without
the highs and lows of a High GI diet.
Acupuncture balances mind and body. Luckily, being

an acupuncturist, I am able to treat myself daily. Before my
meditation, I place needles into points which are relevant to
my imbalances, withdrawing them after about half an hour.
After two-months on my new diet, Qigong and
acupuncture treatment, I had a blood test. The doctor
confirmed my blood glucose was normal. I had succeeded!
A few weeks after the good news, I went to see the diabetic
nutritionist who advises newly diagnosed cases. I had to record
everything eaten over one week. My diet is now a fusion of
North African and Middle Eastern food, rustic Spanish, Italian
and French, and Indian vegetarian and fish dishes. Of course,
omitting any food within those cuisines which is High GI. I
add a number of spices which are considered to reduce blood
glucose levels, along with certain vitamins and minerals, which
have similar benefits.
A remark from the nutritionist about my new diet was
telling. She said there was nothing she could teach me about
nutrition. The way I had tackled my disease was excellent she
said. However, I was the only person in her career so far who
had researched the disease thoroughly and was prepared to
change their diet totally (my lifestyle was already reasonably
on track). She said her job was to cajole her patients into
eating a small burger, rather
than a large one. I found
the remark damning
not only from a Western
Second: Stress
Stress elevates blood glucose. This is where Qigong
comes into its own. When we suffer stress, which is part of our
modern life, our body goes into a fight or flight response.
Blood glucose is elevated in order to fire our cells into action
to either fight the stressor or run away from it. We are cave
people living in a modern world. When our ancestors met
with a stressful situation, they could either hit it or run. Either
w a y, t h e i r c e l l s
burned glucose.
Today, we lead a
more sedentary life,
sitting in front of
computers at work,
often under stress.
We cant hit out or
run so our cells dont
burn glucose. We
have to sit and bear
the stress, causing
more disease than
just diabetes. If
we are diabetic,
however, blood glucose rises with nowhere to go.
As we all know, Qigong is relaxing. Furthermore,
it is good exercise. It burns glucose! In order to maximise
relaxation, I do twenty minutes meditation after my Qigong
practice, twice daily.
TCM recognises three syndromes which result in
diabetes: upper, middle and lower. My diabetes is due to
kidney and spleen deficiency, i.e. middle and lower. Wild
Goose, 1st and 2nd 64 are perfect, therefore, for treating
diabetes from the point-of-view of Qigong. The 1st 64 works on
post-natal Qi, which fits spleen deficiency perfectly; whereas
kidney deficiency is addressed by the 2nd 64, which works on
pre-natal essence. Other than the Wild Goose form, any other
exercises which work on kidney and spleen energy should be
practised daily.
I refused medication
saying I needed another
two-months to prove
my methods.
Medicine point-ofview, but also from

my view of patients
newly diagnosed
with the disease.
I feel doctors and
nutritionists shouldnt
be talking down to
their patients, but
up to them. Quite
clearly, my doctor
didnt think I had the
self-restraint to deny
myself certain foods, or to research

and change my diet totally. He told me
I would probably relapse, especially as I
was about to go on holiday. Consequently,
WM doesnt even mention the Glycaemic
Index to newly diagnosed diabetics, thinking
its patients wouldnt have the will to change
their lives or the intelligence of discovery.
However, I do sympathise with the views of
some doctors and nutritionists. It is indeed
difficult to get people to change. Some people
prefer slow suicide, rather than fundamental
changes to their diet and lifestyle which is a
view I do not understand.
Disease can be a wonderful catalyst for
change, marking a route to some new wisdom
for the individual who suffers. The surest way to
deviate from this path of self-discovery and learning
is to take a pill and return to work. We are our own
best healers!
Peter Warwick, Bsc (hons) TCM: Acupuncture. MBAcC,
is an acupuncturist who works from his clinic in
Carshalton, Surrey, England
An example
of Low
and High
Glycaemic
Index Foods
ow GI Foods are not just for

the treatment of diabetes.
Anyone who wants to lose
weight and have a really healthy
and delicious diet can follow the
Low GI principle.
Please note: this is not an
exhaustive GI listing, just a small
sample. For example, rice is a
High GI food, but organic, brown
basmati rice is medium GI. The
internet provides a good starting
place to determine the GI value of
most foods. I havent provided a
medium GI list as, I feel, there is
some confusion and it depends on
the individual. Some foods which
are deemed Medium GI raise my
blood glucose, other medium GI
foods dont.
Low Glycaemic Index

Artichokes
Asparagus
Aubergine
Beans
Broccoli
Brussels sprouts
Cabbage
Cauliflower
Celeriac
Celery
Chillies
Courgettes
Cucumber
Fennel
Leeks
Lettuce
Mange tout
Onions
Peas
Peppers
Radish
Spinach
Tomatoes
Dairy Products
Eggs
Fish
Meat
Herbs
Most fruits with exceptions
Nuts, seeds
Dry white wine
Red wine
High Glycaemic Index

Biscuits
Cakes
Pastries
Buns
Savoury crackers
Savoury crisbreads
Bran flakes
Rice cereals
Cornflakes
Fibre and fruit cereals
Quick-cook porridge
Confectionery style breakfast cereals
Chocolate confectionery
Sweets
Crisps
Dipping crisps and chips
Most desserts with sugar added or
sweet pastry
Beer, ale or lager
Cider
Most fast foods
Bananas
Melon
Mangos
Rice
Potatoes
Bread
Pasta (controversial)
Parsnips
All refined sugars
Jam
Marmalade
Bigu
Fasting
Have you ever felt very hungry? I think most
people have had that experience. When we stop
eating we will become hungry and the longer we go
without eating the hungrier, sicker and weaker we
feel. However, did you know that some people will try
to stop eating in order to train the body? In fact, this
is one kind of Qigong training.
n several Daoist Qigong training methods people will

practise Bigu, (pronounced bee-goo) which means fasting.
Bi means minimise or unusual, Gu means grain. Bigu
means refraining or minimising eating. We all know
that if we do not eat we will die but our bodies can
survive several weeks without food, though only three
to four days without water. So generally we cannot live
without food, but we can survive for a certain period
of time with just water. In the training of Bigu we
can drink water. Bigu training is thousands of years
old. In the early times Chinese people wanted to
live longer or wanted to be immortals. Some would
even train themselves to be immortal. As an immortal
they would not need to eat as an immortal is not like an
ordinary person. So in order to be immortal they needed to
learn how to live without food.
Bigu is also called Quegu , Juegu ,
Duangu and Xiuliang . These all mean the same
thing as Bigu. Those people who trained this way definitely did
not eat meat or cooked food but instead just ate some herbs
and fruits. Different styles of Qigong allowed different kinds
of foods. Some would exclude grains/cereals from their diet,
particularly some Daoist sects. Also they needed to practise
Qigong, particularly Shiqi Eating Qi, also called Fuqi
and Yanqi .
Bigu has an over 3000 years history in China and this
is before even the Qin Dyanasty . The Han Dynasty book
called History Record , mentions the Lau Hau Family
. The story goes that Lau Hau was very ill and so he
decided to direct his Qi and did not eat rice,
. Also he learnt Bigu and Directing Qi. Eventually his body
became very light ,,. In the Three Kingdoms
Period (220-280) Cai Pis Scripture of Discussion
mentions there was man named Xi Jian who lived in Yang
City . He heard that a turtle could direct Qi, so he followed
the turtles actions. Afterwards he generally did not feel hungry
and eventually he could swallow Qi and stop eating
, , , . The North History
biography of Li Xian mentions The young son
of Li Xian, called Xiao, who swallowed Qi and did not eat for a
l o n g
time. When he was over 90 years old, he looked like a child
, , .
In the conversations in The Yellow Emperor Internal
Classic it mentions, Over eating and drinking
will cause damage to the stomach and intestines ,
. It also mentions, Yin is created by five tastes. Yin
organs are also damaged by five tastes , ;
, . That means the Yin Qi, which is nourished
by the food, covers the five tastes of sour, bitter, sweet, spicy
and salty. These five tastes make our organs balanced, but
the organs are also damaged by those five tastes if we eat
too much or do not eat in a balanced way.
In the Ming Dynasty (13681644), the Book called
Dong Gu Talk mentions People like to eat a lot,
there are five problems: first, going to the toilet a lot, second,
urinating a lot, third, unable to have a peaceful sleep, fourth,
not exercising then putting on weight, fifth, easily having
digestive system problems : ,
, , , .
The book called Protecting Original Qi and Longevity
advises, Do not eat too much while very hungry.
Do not drink a lot while too thirsty. Eating too much will gather
too much waste in the stomach and drinking too much will
gather too much phlegm. So when eating you should only be

half full and drinking alcohol should not be over 39% (100%
is drunk). , ; ,
. , . ,
.
In the Jun Dynasty (265-420), Zhang Hwa
in his encyclopaedia mentioned Eating less can make
us happy - more eating makes us unhappy. If this continues
for too long, it will damage the body. , ;
, , .
Daoism also says There are three kinds of insects
in our bodies, one in the brain, one in the chest, one in the
stomach. Those insects rely on food to survive so if we stop
eating then the three insects cannot survive :
, , . Therefore
Daoists need to Bigu.
Today there are many people training Bigu in many
countries, though not everyone is doing it for health. Some
stop eating for religious reasons and so their training is not
the same as Chinese Daoist practices. However Bigu is a good
thing for health. The high level is to completely stop eating
and drinking. Of course, people will die if they completely
stop but not eating might be all
right for a certain number of days.
Fatter people can last longer
because when there is no food
supply the body will use fat and
proteins that it stores in muscle
to survive. So generally fatter
people can survive better, but
without water the maximum we
can go on for is 2 to 3 days and
then we will die.
So how does Bigu work?
We know throughout history
many people have done it and
gone for a long period of time.
We all know that Qigong can make us healthy because we
can gather more Qi by doing movement and mediation so the
body will be calm and the internal organs strong. When we
are going to do Bigu, we stop eating and that means we need
to get our energy by training instead of from food. Generally
we cannot go without water so it is important to drink water.
Then we can start to do Bigu. On the first day we drop one
meal, afterward we drop another meal, so we drop one meal
a day. There are a lot of monks and nuns who only have one
main meal a day, usually only lunch. After 12 pm they will
not eat. This is because Buddhism says, In the afternoon no
eating .
We can start by choosing a day which is not so busy or
one where we do not need to work, then we can not eat for
the whole day. At first we might feel a little uncomfortable,
a little low in sugar, tired and some might even feel a light
headache. That is because the body needs to find a way to
adjust to the changing conditions. Since food is not coming
into the body it will reduce the energy used and supply energy
from another part of the body, such as reducing muscle
strength so more protein can go to supply other areas of
the body, particularly the heart. The heart and lungs have to
keep going, but they actually do not need too much energy
to keep going. So somehow it is very good for some people
whose heart is not well.
After we have tried Bigu for one day once a month for
three consecutive months, we can then start to do Bigu for
two days. This is a little bit more difficult, particularly on the
second day, as we are used to just one day. This is also about
our mindset, so if we can just let go and try one more day then
we find it is manageable. However, towards the end of the
second day it can be difficult because we know we are almost
finished. So some people might find it hard to finish towards
the end because they think that there are only a few hours
left. This is usual and it is just like the end of a marathon. As
I said we should try to develop Bigu slowly, from one day to
seven days. Not eating will make the body change and a lot
of toxins in the body will slowly go.
There are some herbs people might use for a day
and here is a formula for Chinese medicine from the Daoist
Dragon Gate System .
Fructus MoriAlbae, Polygonatum (Wong Ji) ,
Polygonatum Odoratum, Lotus Seed, Ginger Skin
, Flax kernel , Walnut . We can pound these
dried herbs into a powder and then mix them with honey to
make pills to take. Generally one would take up to 3 to 5
pills a day during Bigu. Also some people like to take them
three days or seven days
straight with reducing a
meal a day first. This is all
right too and is all about
our mind.
In China there
was a gentleman named
Yuan Tian Shu, who had
a heart problem. He
decided to Bigu as a lot
of his friends had done
it and so he believed
it would help. He went
to Chongqing, Jinyun
Mountain ,
White Cloud Temple to practise his Bigu for 15 days,
without any food, not even a piece of bread, fruit or rice. He
just drank water. After 15 days Bigu he felt great, his heart
problem seemed to be gone and he felt healthier.
There is an organisation named Dragon in China,
which gathers people to apply themselves to Bigu together
via the internet.
Our Dayan Qigong system also has Bigu. We choose
the first and fifteenth day of each lunar month of the Chinese
calendar to do Bigu. On the first day of each lunar month there
is no moon, so the Qi is very Yin in energy. By not eating we
can gather the Qi from nature to the internal Yin organs. On
the fifteenth day the moon is full so the Qi is Yang in energy
and we can gather the Qi to our internal Yang organs. When
the moon is full the Qi is very Yang and some people who are
very sensitive will find they have more Qi. Around those days
we can practise Bigu for one to three days, so our internal
organs will try to gather more Qi from nature. Over this time
we will also practise more than usual.
I believe Bigu is very good for our health. Doing Bigu
once in a while, or reducing the amount we eat, is always
healthy. Today we really eat too much and also what we eat is
too high in nutrients. Fasting a little bit will strengthen the body
more and maybe help us live longer and healthier lives
There are many

monks and nuns
who only have one
meal a day.
by Michael Tse
When making your way up the mountain, whatever the purpose or

reason for your journey, to lose sight of your base camp, your basics, could be
a recipe for disaster not only for yourself but also for the others who may be
travelling with you.
Check Your Recipe
he mountain I am thinking about

here is Wing Chun, which is a
rather large one, with plenty of
twists and turns that can take you in
the wrong direction, especially if you
lose your focus. Wing Chun is a martial
art that works through accuracy and
from correctness created by constant
practice.
So how and where do we find
these components? Well, first of all, we
find them in the classroom. Through
consistent attendance, we can learn
and train with others. Without this
commitment to your classmates and
your teacher you will have no continuity,
no line to hold on to and will lose your
focus. Once you have found your line
there are many other parts you need
to grasp tight hold of and these are
found in the first form you learn in
Wing Chun:- Siu Lim Tao. This form
contains practically all the equipment
required to send you on your Wing
Chun journey and if it is not found
within this form it can be found in
the other two forms of Tsum Kui and
Biu Jee.
The three most important
components found within Siu Lim
Tao are Taan Sau, Fuk Sau and Bong
Sau. These basic hands are essential
for Wing Chun practice and must be
accurate and correct. First up is Taan
Sau (open hand). When Taan Sau is fully
extended the edge of the inside of the
wrist bone should be on your centreline.
The fingertips should should be on a
level with your chin.
Next is Fuk Sau (resting hand).
The knuckles of the hand should be
on the centreline. When extended the
elbow should be at least a fists distance
from your body with the hand relaxed.
Do not try to pull your elbow onto the
centreline or it will make the shoulders
too tense.
The third hand is Bong Sau
(wing hand). This hand is different from
the first two in that the elbow is out
and is replaced with the wrist on the
centreline. The upper arm is parallel
to the ground with the elbow the same
height as the shoulder.
These hands and others may, at
first, be hard to do but through constant

practice, not only on your own where
you think you are correct, but also in
class where you can be guided and
corrected by your Sifu. In class you will
also be able to train your Wing Chun
skill whilst practising Chi Sau with other
students and so a good level can be
achieved.
Chi Sau is known as sticking
hands. This is where you can develop
not only hand techniques but also
footwork and using the waist is used
to change distance and angles as your
training partner moves. Chi Sau also
develops sensitivity to
their movement and can tell you when

you need to change your position. In
order for your Chi Sau to be good,
relaxation is also required so that you
can sense your opponent and also to
have a calm mind so you can see things
clearly and not panic. In part, how good
your Chi Sau is will depend on how
correct your forms are, so if you find your
defences are being breached then it may
be that you need to take a look down the
mountain and go back to basics.
For instance, if you have your
hand in the Taan Sau position but your
opponent seems to ride over it and get
through to your centre then you need
to find out why if you do not know how
this keeps happening. So the first thing
is to look at the position of the Taan
Sau and see if is correct. Perhaps the
elbow is too close to the body and so

you have no distance to defend as the
elbow is already weak. Perhaps your
elbow is too far out and so the arm
structure collapses under pressure. Or
maybe your opponent can get in by
using Gong Lik to overcome your elbow
in which case your legs may be weak
and you need to do more Siu Lim Tao
training to build up your own Gong Lik
(internal power).
These same questions can be
asked of any of the hand or footwork
techniques we use in Chi Sau. Why does
my Wu Sau not work? Maybe it is too
close to the body so there is no space
(or time) to defend against an attack.
So maybe you need to look a bit closer
at your form to make sure it is all still
there, or maybe you need to focus
on the form when you practise,
making sure you are not just going
through the motions and flinging
it all about, because if you are
then you may be creating a
recipe for disaster.
The recipe for disaster
may not be so bad if you
were only baking a cake:- a
bit of flour, a bag of sugar,
a box of eggs and bung it in
the oven and hope for what
comes out - a door stop if
youre lucky! But if your recipe
for disaster involved mixing concrete
or chemicals in the same unfocused,
hap-hazard manner with hope and luck,
it may be the last thing you or those
around you ever do.
Wing Chun is not baking cakes
or mixing concrete or chemicals but it
requires a cup of focus on what you are
trying to create. Even if you have made
it before, it is good to check your recipe
again, ie. go back to your forms and
see if the principles are correct. You
can then get a fresh cup of accuracy
and correctness and then mix them in
the Wing Chun bowl with one and a
half cups of Chi Sau. Stir well until the
ingredients are strong and have a good
consistency and then place the mixture
in a classroom and let everyone enjoy
a slice - mmmmmm!
by Martin Gale
There are many things in this life that improve with age, like
wine, certain kinds of teas and cheese. Another thing is true skill
practised with the right guidance and a sincere heart.
Understanding
f someone asked me when I first

began to understand Qigong, I
would say, I am still learning. But
if asked when I first began to START
understanding Qigong, i.e. in the sense
that I could finally see some of my bad
habits and learn how to correct them,
then I would say it was after 10 years of
practice. Until that time, the corrections
made were very external. I had not yet
developed how the body should feel,
how the energy
should connect
and flow.
So it was
more about the
hand being in
this or that
position, the
knees bent,
weight on the
back leg, etc.
This is a stepping-stone but by no
means the end of the journey. Luckily
our Qigong ancestors gave us good
guideposts to follow, connecting the
movements with acupuncture points and
channels to help us develop our health
even though we did not yet understand
how to do so.
Understanding at this stage is
impossible and it has been through my
Qigong practice that my understanding
developed doing rather than
thinking.
However, it is only now, after 17
years of practice, that I find my body is
starting to feel what is right and wrong
based, not on what someone tells
me, but because I am starting to feel
when there is an imbalance of posture
or a blockage of Qi, and this too is
ongoing.
Take the movement Recover Qi
in the 1st 64 Wild Goose Qigong form.
In the beginning, I knew that I needed
my Laogong point in my palm to connect
with my Yintang point on my forehead. I
tried to be very precise about it and even
lined up my forearm so that it fell in a
straight line, following my Ren Channel.
I had never been conscious of this until
polishing one of Sifus students. I noticed
that when she did this movement her
arm was rounded, and so the elbow was

outwards, not in a straight line.
All of a sudden, even though I
was far more experienced than she, I felt
like a beginner! I instinctively felt that
she had grasped something important
that I had missed and yet it has taken
me several more years to finally see
what that was. That epiphany came a
few years ago through a photo I took
of Sifu doing the movement, Cloud
All of a sudden,
I felt like a
beginner!
Hands. When choosing photos for the
class brochure, I suppose I was looking
at the photos with a different mindset
than usual and so saw it rather more
as an outsider. I saw that his arms
were rounded on both sides of his
body, creating two circles, like a
Taiji symbol. Wow! I thought
amazing! I then started looking
through other photos and saw
even more circles.
Circles help create,
circulate and even contain
a lot of energy whilst
straight lines
facilitate the
fast flow of
Qi but do not
necessarily hold it. Hmmm, this was
very interesting.
The other development came
when Sifu made the comment, Even
though I correct all of you, many of
you still dont change yourselves. This
bothered me and I kept wondering
why. I think a part of it is that the body
is not yet ready and cannot change so
easily because of a blockage. Another
reason is that old habits are hard to
change and it requires a lot of diligence
to remind oneself during practice to do
a movement differently, particularly if
one has been practising it

incorrectly for some time,
it is easy to forget and slide back into
the comfortable groove we have worn
over time.
So when I polish now, I
try to go over and over that
particular correction until it
becomes a part of me. The
other thing I have tried to
do is to feel whether or not
my body is balanced.
I notice Sifu never
seems to have
to think about
whether it is left
foot first and
right hand to
match. He
just does it.
I have secretly
always felt this
was because he
has done this
skill before,
not just in this
lifetime, but
many previous
ones. But there is
another reason and
that is because he
listens to his body
whilst he practises. His
sensitivity and relaxation
is such that he can feel
when something is not
balanced.
Of course, even
a master if they are
good will still continue
to develop themselves,
climbing higher and higher up the
mountain. So although sometimes we
think we are not making progress, we
usually are if we are trying to. It is only
when we give up, stop listening and
close ourselves that we will not develop.
And, as the universe is always moving
and changing, if we do not go forward,
then we will go backwards and our
skill will get worse. Even in what we
see as stillness, there is progress and
development
By Sihnkei
Master Tse has been to many different parts of China, but one place he
had not been, which had always been high on his list of places to visit, was
Shanghai. Last year, together with his wife Jessica, he finally got the opportunity
to go and see Chinas largest city for himself.
ver since my Sifu Michael Tse (who is also

my husband) saw Bruce Lee walking down
Nanjing Lu, one of Shanghais most famous
roads, in the film Fist of Fury it has been
his dream to visit this modern jewel in
Chinas crown. So it seemed a good omen that our
accommodation was just a short walk from this
shopping icon. The major part of it is pedestrianised
and it is so long that there are little trolleys that one
can board to take you from one end to the other for
a mere 2 yuan (10 pence).
We arrived at Hongqiao Airport, which
means Red Bridge Airport. Although it seemed more
of a regional airport handling internal flights, it was
by no means a quiet airport. Throngs of people were
pouring both in and out of its doors and we flowed
with the current towards the taxi rank, which was
the only means of getting into the city aside from
private car or bus.
We instantly saw that this was by far the most
popular choice and we pushed our trolley into a
queue of over 100 other hopefuls. We expected a
long wait but we had not counted on the efficient
airport traffic control. As far as the eye could see,
there was a queue of taxis, and not only in single
file rank, but in four parallel, jam-packed lanes.
With ease and nonchalance, a uniformed airport
employee directed passengers to the appropriate
car and within less than ten minutes, we were
speeding away to the big city.
Even though it was nearing late September,
it was still the rainy season in
China and the weather was slightly
humid. Still, it was nothing like the humid climate in

south China, which we had just left. We had flown to
Shanghai from Guangzhou where we had just had
two very busy days in Hong Kong and three days in
Guangzhou with the six Wing Chun students whom
we had taken to Grandmaster Ip Chuns 85th birthday
party celebrations.
As we belted along in rush hour traffic, our taxi
dodging from lane to lane and getting token honks in
response, I watched the scenery. I could have been
in Europe from looking at the architecture. There was
development after development of new apartment
complexes and homes. It really did not feel like I was in
China at all but it was somehow what I had expected.
I knew Shanghai was very modern and so had not
expected cultural overload.
As we neared our hotel, it began to rain yet
again, making us doubly glad that we had not tried
to be travel martyrs and struggle with the bus system.
We and our luggage would have been thoroughly
drenched.
We had found a very good deal for our

accommodation. For less than an equivalent
standard hotel room, we could have a one bedroom
flat right in the midst of the city, no more than ten
minutes from Peoples Park and the famous Nanjing
Lu. The hotel reviews had all been excellent so we
had decided to take the plunge. With bated breath
we waited to see if it really was of the standard
that everyone said. Luckily, they were right and the
bellboy led us into a very large, spacious kitchen
diner. The lounge, bedroom and bathroom all led
off from here.
After checking out all the amenities, of which
there were quite a few, including a DVD player, I
quickly unpacked all our clothes and books. It was
a relief to unload and unpack our luggage knowing
we would be not be travelling to any other cities
and that we had eight
blissful and stationary
days of relaxation and
enjoyment ahead.
Now it was time for
a treat and I decided
on a long, luxurious
soak in a bubble bath.
Having left Sifu perusing
Chinese television, I
slipped into lavender
scented bubbles and
sighed away the last bit
of stress that might have
been clinging.
I was in heaven. Soon, though, I could feel my
tummy rumbling and thought it was definitely time
for food. I stepped out of the bath and went into the
bedroom to get dressed.
I had forgotten my slippers, though, and
went back to fetch them from the bathroom but
got a big surprise instead. They were not where I
had left them. They were floating in two inches of
water that was quickly seeping over the bathroom
threshold into the kitchen (fortunately tiled) and into
the bedroom (not tiled). I gave a shout to Sifu and
he came running and then skidded to a dead stop
with open mouth. What did you do? he asked
(which is putting it kindly as it was really a bit more
of a shout).
Nothing!!! I said vehemently, clutching at
my towel whilst snatching and throwing other towels onto the floor
to try and stem the flow. Sifu grabbed any bags and things lying
on the floor, threw them into the lounge and then he left me to call
the front desk and ask for assistance, telling them that their bath
drain was blocked.
They were highly embarrassed and agreed to move us at
once. Any relaxation had fled and it was a high-speed chase to get
dressed and repack clothes and other odds and sods before the
bellboy arrived. This accomplished we were, less than one hour
later, ensconced in new digs. Gone was any enthusiasm for settling
inwe were just plain hungry and going out, no matter that it was
still chucking it down with rain.
The bellboy pointed us down the road to where he said
were some restaurants. Just three blocks away, we turned into
the street and found that some restaurants was an entire long street
of eateries. All kinds of food abounded:- Hong Kong style cuisine,
seafood, Shanghai style dumplings, Harbin style dumplings, Muslim
food and more. We decided on the Hong Kong style restaurant as one
of their specialties was herbal soups steamed for many hours in clay
pots. Things are looking up again! I thought to myself.
We took our seats and began to look through the expansive
menu. I let Sifu do the ordering and was happy to see they had one of
our favourite vegetables; baby pea sprouts called Dou Miu. A larger
version of it can be found sometimes in England but never the tiny
alfalfa like sprouts that are infinitely more tender and sweet but still
with that distinctive almost bitter aftertaste.
I let Sifu order me one of their special soups. He ordered me
black-skinned chicken soup, which is good for creating blood and Qi
and so is often given to ladies when they are weak or after pregnancy.
It is also very good for the skin, making it very soft and pink. It was
truly stunning and surprising as well. I had seen black-skinned chickens
Shanghai really
has a different
feel than other
places in China
(plucked ones that were ready
to eat) in Chinatown before,
so it was no surprise that the
skin was black but what I did
not expect was that the bones
are also black! In Chinese
food therapy, black foods are
usually good for the kidneys
and so they are treasured as
tonic foods.
In fact, I cannot
remember the rest of the
meal, as both these items were
so good that they eclipsed all
else. After dinner, we went back to
rest and plan for the rest of the trip.
gent who held up his hands in the classic time out

position and flashing(?) on at me in Chinese, much
to the amusement of the other matchmakers who
all got a chuckle over his outrage.
All in all, this ingenuity of the Chinese people
impressed me. I think for some it was quite a serious
plan whilst for others it was just an excuse for a good
chinwag amongst friends.
Acrobatic Evening
One evening we decided to treat ourselves to
an acrobatic show. It seemed we were never going
to get a taxi to get us there on time as it was raining
yet again and they seemed to have become a rare
commodity. The poor concierge stood beneath a
The famous Nanjing Road.
huge umbrella by the side of the road trying to flag
an empty one down and, after a fifteen-minute wait,
he finally found one for us.
The Dating Market
We zipped along the un-pedestrianised side of Nanjing
One day I went out on my own to the Peoples Park
Lu and it felt a bit like being in New York with all the designer
whilst Sifu went book shopping. He had mentioned that he had
shops lined up one after another. This was not a China that
seen something very interesting there Chinese matchmaking
I had often encountered. Luckily, the journey did not take
21st century style. He had taken some photos to show me but
too long and we were at the theatre with ten minutes to
these were just the appetiser. On this Sunday, I had obviously
spare just enough time to find our seats and make a quick
hit the market [in full entre] (during the main course). In all
trip to the loo. This theatre was obviously a new jewel in the
manner of creative marketing, there were ads galore. In
architectural crown of Shanghai. It was amazing both inside
fact, I can easily say there were hundreds of ads stringing
and out with lovely spacious ceilings and seating. What was
for well on a quarter of a mile into the park. There were no
not so accommodating was the four toilet cubicles to deal with
live specimens for appraisal, only the factual, flattering, and
a whole crowd of customers wanting to spend a penny. I kept
usually glowing recommendations of the promoter.
looking at my watch and wondering if my turn would come
This seemed to be Shanghais equivalent of a dating
before having to ditch the effort so I would not get locked out
service. Instead of personally going onto the web and creating
from the show. Fortunately, I made it.
an online profile, parents were taking things into their own
The first act was a group of men who jumped and flipped
hands, much like in the past when marriages were arranged.
through hoops, starting with somersaulting through one on
It seemed a fierce contest to find the right match and make
the ground and then escalating to doing double flips through
sure their son or daughter did not leave
hoops four high off the ground. Not one
them grandchild-less. I saw one
missed and breaths were let out as the
clever mum had even listed her
troupe exited the stage for the next
sons very ample salary as a
act, which was a young woman
commendation.
sitting alone in a park setting,
Most others were
looking sad until a young man
fairly standard, being
came upon the scene. They
hand written with the
then enacted a story through
listing of physical aspects
dancing through the air on
of height in centimetres,
velvet ropes suspended from
weight in kilograms
the ceiling. At one point, she
and personal interests.
was gracefully lifted into the
Some had the photo of
air and he was lifted as well,
the wannabe bride or
holding on only to her foot,
groom. One clever father
some 20 feet off the ground.
had copied the photo of
Slight though she was, she
a fashion model from a
made him look as if he weighed
magazine to draw interest to his
nothing.
Dating adverts laid out for passersby to see.
ad. He obviously had had onlookers
Other acts were some sleight
taking photos of his display before as he
of hand with cards, some knife throwing,
had a No photos! sign attached above.
which was less for skill than comic relief with audience
Always listed, however, was the progenys date of birth,
participation, and more gymnastic feats with ladies this time.
which it seems is still used to predict compatibility of partners
The programme passed quickly and we left feeling light and
based on their horoscope. Generally it was the mothers who
magical. We decided to prolong the evening a bit more and
were there to promote their child, though there were some
enjoy the atmosphere of the theatre whose two-storey canopy
fathers and many career matchmakers present. As I walked
encompassed an outside fountain with shops around its
through, I took some photos, managing to get told off by one
periphery, including the ubiquitous Starbucks. We sat down
Shanghai Musuem built to look like an old fashioned cauldron with

handles called a Ding.
to watch the queue of people waiting for taxis and enjoy a

tea and cake. Then we walked one block and found a taxi
instantly, which I thought was a clever use of the Wing Chun
skill principle of using the least amount of energy to achieve
your purpose.
The Bad Shirt Day

We tried to find some hidden, unmodernised areas
of Shanghai and set out for an area in which the guidebook
said there was an original Hutong (area where people are
living in low rise, one
or two story buildings
built in the traditional
way, like inter-twined
stone caterpillars).
Whilst, in essence, it
was still preserved, it all
felt a bit calculated and
uncomfortable. It was a
small square-mile area
surrounded by high rise
construction sites on
one side and modern
hotel and shopping on another, with only a tiny park, more a
token strip of green to compliment the fancy pedestrian bridge
than a community amenity. We walked through the Hutong
and it felt as if I were a scientist examining a specimen
under a microscope. It did not feel as if I was strolling
through peoples lives but more like a controlled
experiment where the government was offering
concessions of a bit of double-glazing
here and there to replace the aging
wooden windowless windows with
the promise that residents still
maintain a primitive external view
for tourist postcards.
So within half an hour
we were back on the road and
this time heading for the foreign
concession along the Bund. I
expected to find small gracious
buildings of European descent
and was sadly disappointed not even to be able to see

the Bund itself as it was being revamped for the 2011
World Expo. We crossed over the bridge over the Bund
and were able to see more. It was obviously THE place
to take photos, despite the four lanes of fast streaming
cars, as not only ourselves dodged cars to get to the
scenic view but also numerous tourists and even a bride
and groom in full regalia.
After this I was longing for a cup of tea and had
visions of an old-fashioned English high tea. This was
not to be as the Peninsula hotel was closed for business
as well as the Bund sightseeing tunnel and river walk!
Hmmmm had I put my shirt on the wrong way round
this morning? It did not seem like a very lucky day! That
is until our walk back when we discovered a small tea
shop where we bought some Tikuanyin tea. So we had
a Chinese tea party, instead of an English one, in our
room instead of in a restaurant. Uncle Choi!
Moon Cake Festival

As it was nearing the end of September, it was also the
time of the mid-autumn moon festival. Although in the past
this was an evening when one gathered with friends and family
to enjoy the full moon and take refreshments together, it has
now turned into a major commercial opportunity.
Traditional moon cakes are pastry pressed into special
molds and filled with ground, sweetened lotus seed paste that
has salted egg yolks throughout, representing the moon. The
more moons a mooncake has, the more expensive it is. Today,
there are many, many kinds of mooncake fillings and even
casings. There is a very thin
white pasty filled with white
lotus seed filling that Hong
Kong produces, as well as
red bean paste fillings, nut
fillings, green bean paste
fillings, etc. Even HaagenDaaz, located on the on the
edge of Peoples Park, was
not to be outdone and they
had created a frozen ice
In the past this was

an evening to enjoy
the full moon.
Dragons guarding.
Qi Magazine Issue 91 - Year 2010 page 35
cream filled mooncake, which had lots of takers.

However, the most unusual filling I have ever heard
of was in a Shanghai bakery and this was for a meat
filling, making the delicacy a savoury one rather than sweet.
Somehow, meat mooncake does not have the same ring to it
and I gave that one a wide miss.
Whatever the filling of the mooncake, the packaging
is just as important of a detail as the tasty cake itself. China
has the most beautiful packaging, outdoing even Hong Kong.
There is not only the box or tin that is highly decorated,
there are also stylish paper carrying bags that will bear the
manufacturers details.
However, Hong Kong still leads on taste by far as they
put more oil in their mooncakes and so it makes the pastry very
soft and delicious. The pastry for the Chinese version is usually
much drier and does not have that melt in your mouth texture,
thus taking away some of the overall taste of the filling.
Mooncake giving is as pressurised as Christmas gift
giving is in the West. There is a duty involved. Literally, people
will buy not only for family but also for important business
contacts, teachers, their Sifu, etc. When we went to the
post office to mail back some books, there were numerous
people mailing boxes and boxes of them to family in other
parts of China. The post office had even gotten in on the act
and offered their own mooncakes for purchase and delivery.
Fortunately, we do not have to worry about this for our Hong
Kong family members as all the brothers and sister consider
the cakes too fattening and Ah Ma, my mother in law, cannot
have them due to her diabetes. We will hopefully have a good
son or student to give us one box of the Hong Kong mooncakes
for ourselves when we get home, though!
Going Home
Usually, I am never ready to leave China and always
feel sad to go back home. However, this time I was ready
as I really did not connect with this ultra-modern China of
Shanghai. I usually feel I am stepping back in time when I
visit China whereas with Shanghai it was almost the reverse.
I think if we had gone to some of the neighbouring areas, like
Suzhou, this might have balanced it more.
Shanghai is an amazing city and for me is like a young
professional, who has a successful job in the city and has
gotten some good promotions to make him good money
and so is therefore a bit arrogant and cocky. Beijing is more
like an old fashioned business owner who looks ordinary and
stylish at the same time. Beijing is both genteel from its strong
historical roots and solid because of its financial, government
and cultural position. Shanghai is still trying to prove it is the
best by its higher than, glossier than architecture. Whereas
Beijing, even a bit shabby in places, does not have that same
need to prove itself it is the capital city of China and its
position is clear.
In some ways I did not feel I was in China at all. It felt
more like the developed, fast pace of Hong Kong but with less
people and wider streets. I admit that I prefer the intimacy of
Guangzhou and other smaller cities. Even Beijing, as immense
as it is, still has a more personal feel to it, perhaps because
of the connections to my Sigongs and the skill, although I do
not believe it is wholly that. I guess I like to feel I am a part
of the place I am visiting, not just an outsider looking in, and
that was more difficult to do in Shanghai
By Jessica Tse
The Difference Between

Heaven & Hell
One day a man passed away and was asked at the

Judgement Gates where he would like to go heaven or hell. He
was not sure and asked what the difference was between the two.
He was told that he could have a look at both and then make his
decision.
So he went to a room in which there were people sitting
around a dining table with lots of delicious looking dishes.
But instead of enjoying the food, they were all struggling with
their 6-foot long chopsticks and trying to get the food into
their mouths. Not having much success they were starving and
behaving like an angry bull stung by a bee!
The man shook his head and went on to look at heaven.
Again he saw a dining table laden with fragrant dishes and delicacies and people with 6-foot long
chopsticks. The only difference was that, in this room, the guests were feeding each other and
enjoying their food.
Contributed by Nicci Pearce
Experiencing Dzogchen
Wisdom
Beyond
Emotion
In the West we are often told that the key

to our wellbeing is to understand our emotions,
that inner balance can be realised through being
constantly in touch with our feelings. But His
Eminence the 7th Dzogchen Rinpoche, holder
of the ancient Dzogchen lineage, disagrees. He
teaches that this approach could actually be
doing us more harm than good.
zogchen Rinpoche explains that it can be dangerous to

over-indulge in emotional analysis. We are encouraged
in the West to continually assess our emotions. In
conversation we frequently ask and are asked, How are you?,
How are you feeling?
In Asian culture, especially Tibetan culture, How
are you feeling? is not something that is generally asked
because of the understanding that emotions are fickle and ever
changing. Hence importance is not placed on them, instead
it is placed on accumulation of wisdom.
In Tibetan Buddhism, particularly in the Dzogchen
tradition, we say emotions have no inherent existence as we
cannot pinpoint where they come from, where they reside/
stay or where they go. In essence we cannot find them and
when we stop examining them they pop up.
However the experience we have of our emotions is
often so intense that we believe in their reality. This is just a
trick of the mind but we can unwittingly get drawn in and like
moths attracted to the light of a fatal flame, we suffer.
When we have not recognised the empty nature of
our emotions we can become caught up in their complicated
details and create more suffering for ourselves and others.
The answers that we constantly search for do not lie within
our emotions.
Instead when we rest our mind, we can recognise our
emotions for what they really are and experience wisdom that
lies beyond them.
This approach is at odds with popular Western
psychology, which suggests that we repeatedly examine our
thoughts and feelings in search of the missing clue in the
mystery of wellbeing. But as Dzogchen Rinpoche explains,
emotions are the culprits of our dissatisfaction, the thieves that
in fact deceive us and rob us of our inner-peace.
All emotions are based in the three poisons of anger,

attachment and delusion. They are regarded as internal
enemies which create instability and prevent us from resting
our mind.
From a karmic point of view, when we allow the three
poisons to lead us we plant very uncertain seeds for our future,
both within this life and the next.
When we follow the games that our emotions play,
we become entranced by the magical display of our mind and
we cannot see beyond it. We are not able to recognise our
Buddha nature, our great potential as human beings, because
this innate wisdom lies beyond the intellectual mind.
So how can we recognise and transform the suffering
that our emotions create? Dzogchen Rinpoche offers a very
simple but profound solution based in the ancient meditation
tradition of Dzogchen.
When we turn our minds inwards and rest, we can
experience a stability that is beyond the highs and lows of our
emotions spontaneous peace that is beyond the mind.
At first we may doubt this method because we are often
encouraged to doubt the things we can actually have faith in.
But when we rest and allow our thoughts and emotions to
settle, we can experience the great peace inherent within us
all, present from beginningless time.
When we make resting the mind our habit, we will
no longer be fooled by our emotions and we can experience
genuine wellbeing.
In April 2010 Dzogchen Rinpoche will be holding a
series of public talks, an empowerment and a retreat in the
UK, teaching further on how, when we recognise the true
nature of our emotions, we can experience the great peace
of Dzogchen.
By Gemma Keogh
For more information on Dzogchen Rinpoche and his talks,
please visit: www.dzogchen.org.in or call 07964 856 410.
This article was first printed on page 14, 2009 Winter Edition of
Snow Lion Buddhist Magazine (see their website for further book
resources:- www.SnowLionPub.com)
Qi Magazine Issue 91 - Year 2010 page 37
In June 2009 at Samye

Dechen Shing retreat centre on
the Isle of Arran in Scotland, a
group of fourteen men completed
a four year Tibetan Buddhist
meditation retreat. I was one of
the fourteen and Tse Sifu asked
me to write something about the
experience. I have been a student
of Tse Sifu since 1995, but have
not been actively involved in the
Qigong centre since coming to
Arran in 2004.
ama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche is the main teacher for the retreat centre
and is the abbot of Samye Ling Monastery and Tibetan Centre at
Eskdalemuir, Dumfriesshire. He is a fully ordained monk and has
done more than ten years of solitary retreat. Lama Yeshe said that
it would not be good to write about the practices that are done in
the retreat, so I will say a little about the tradition of this type of retreat and
then a little about my experience of it.
Traditionally, in the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism, three year,
three month group retreats have been done by some monks. Typically,
a monk would do such a retreat at the end of his formal education and
following the retreat would become a teacher. It would also be possible for
a monk to spend much longer in retreat. The Kagyu teachers have brought
this tradition to the West and the recently completed retreat was the fourth
one offered by Samye Ling teachers in the UK. The retreats in the UK have
been open to lay men and women in two retreat centres, one for men
and one for women. The four-year retreat program is a variation on the
traditional three year, three month retreat. The retreat texts are in Tibetan,
so it is essential to be able to read Tibetan.
Since the retreat, I have been asked lots of questions about it and
the most common have been, What made you want to do it?, Was it
worthwhile? and Would you do it again? Ill do my best to say something
about these questions here.
The reason I wanted to do the retreat was to explore the

relationship between mind and body. It is clear that when we
die our bodies decay and return to the elements from which
they have been formed, but what about our minds? While alive
we cannot see our minds nor pinpoint their location, so what
happens to our minds at the time of death? Is the mind the
same as the body, or different? These questions seem to me
to be important, because without having some idea of what
happens at the time of death, it is difficult to tell which actions
are beneficial and which are not while alive.
Tse Sifu often says that practising Qigong gives us the
good health that we need to be able to do whatever it is that
we want to do in our lives. Although I have heard him say
this, I have never quite believed it! I always thought that there
was more to Qigong than good health. But then we could ask,
What is good health? If we include mental health as well as
physical health, then I think we come closer to what Qigong
is able to provide. It seems to me that as I have practised
Qigong, gradually I have become physically healthier and also
my personality has become healthier,
although people who know me might
disagree! Qigong does seem to make
people more balanced, both in the
sense of being able to stand on one
foot and in the sense of being able to
drive across London without swearing!
I think this is the good health to which
Sifu refers.
In the medical traditions of
India, China and Tibet, the relationship
between body, energy and mind is
recognised and described in detail. For
example, as Qigong
practitioners, we
are aware of the
connection between
the health of our
internal organs and
our emotions. Another
example is a Tibetan
doctor who visited a
psychiatric ward in
a hospital in the UK
and afterwards said that many of the chronic patients had
energy imbalances that could be readily treated with Tibetan
medicine.
So, seeing that body, energy and mind are closely
related and that their state of health can be improved through
practice, we could then ask, Is there a limit to how healthy
we can be? The answer seems to be, No. As I understand
it, as one becomes healthier and healthier in this wide sense
of good health, eventually one becomes a Buddha.
The four-year retreat provides an opportunity to explore,
in a concentrated way, the relationship between body, energy
and mind and so to develop good health. In doing so, it might
give the possibility of taking a few small steps in the direction
of becoming a Buddha. At least it might give the possibility
of establishing the correct direction! This is the reason that I
wanted to do the retreat.
So, was the retreat worthwhile? Well, becoming a
Buddha seems to be a very difficult thing to do! If it was easy,
I guess we would all be Buddhas by now. A great benefit of
the retreat is that it introduces you to practices that people
in the past have used to become Buddhas. Four years may

sound like along time, but really it is just an introduction. For
me, I would say the retreat was worthwhile, just to have been
introduced to these practices.
Now back to earth! What did I get out of it? Well, for the
duration of the retreat we remained inside a small compound
with the same people, day in, day out. If you had an argument,
the person you argued with would be sitting there at breakfast
eating his porridge, as he was the day before and as he would
be the next day. So, you learned tolerance. There wasnt any
other choice! Also, for much of the retreat you were alone in
your room, engaged in whichever practice you were doing at
that time. However, the thoughts that you had been thinking
for most of your life continued. There was no TV, iPod, cinema,
country walk or anything else to distract your attention, so
you became very familiar with your thoughts. These were the
thoughts that you had been thinking for most of your life! So
you learned tolerance with your thoughts. Again, there wasnt
any choice!
Would I do it again? Definitely!
A young teacher, known as Drupon
Rinpoche, has recently come to Scotland
from Tibet and he is fully trained in both
the philosophical and practice aspects
of the Kagyu School. He has agreed
to give the practice instructions for
future Samye Ling retreats. Lama Yeshe
Rinpoche will continue as the retreat
teacher and his experience together
with Drupon Rinpoches training will
make an excellent combination for
future retreats.
The next four-year
retreat is due to start in
November 2010. The mens
retreat will be at Samye
Dechen Shing on Arran,
while the womens retreat
will be on Holy Isle, off the
coast of Arran. Prospective
four-year participants are
recommended to have
previously done a oneyear retreat. It is also a great advantage to have studied
Buddhist philosophy and practice and also the Tibetan
language. Shorter individual retreats can be arranged
by contacting Samye Ling. Information is available at:
http://www.samyeling.org
For anyone wishing to learn more about Tibetan
Buddhism, there are excellent booklets by Ringu Tulku
Rinpoche, called the Lazy Lama Series. For those who like
to dive in at the deep end, there is a stunning book called
Mind Beyond Death, by Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, which
gives a complete description of the process of life and death,
as it is taught in Tibetan Buddhism. A good place to find these
books is http://www.wisdom-books.com/
Finally, the Head of the Karma Kagyu School
of Tibetan Buddhism, is the twenty-five year old 17th
Gyalwa Karmapa, Orgyen Trinley Dorje and his website is
http://www.kagyuoffice.org/
few small steps

A
in the direction of
becoming a Buddha.
By Martin Hird
Martin learned to read Tibetan during his retreat and undertook
practices in the Tibetan language.
Over the
course of
a lifetime,
twenty years is
not a long time,
but it is also not
a short amount of
time. Over that twenty
years a baby can be born,
grow up, go to school and
even graduate from university.
Maybe twenty years is a long period of
time for someone who has not gotten married
and had children, but for those of us who have
done so, then twenty years goes by so quickly
and we can not only be parents but also become
grandparents.
or an organisation like the Tse Qigong Centre, twenty

years is also not long, but also it is not a short time
as well. It has taken some time to build up and we
have gone through many difficulties. When we look
back, though, it can be seen that we have achieved
something. The Tse Qigong Centre is an organisation that
teaches Traditional Chinese skills. Traditional skills are skills
that have been passed from generation to generation and
that have gone through many experiences, even difficulties,
and work very well. All the skills we have are good for us and
have a good history. Qigong in particular is very important
for people, as it is very good for their good health. Because
of this we used Qigong in the name of the organisation. Tse

is my name, and in Chinese, it means Thanks. In order
to not be confused with other Chinese Qigong or Taijiquan
organisations I decided to use my name to distinguish it. It
meant that whether the organisation turned out to be good
or not was my responsibility - all Michael Tses fault!
As I said before, Qigong is for good health. So anyone
coming to join the Tse Qigong Centre if they practise then
they will become healthier. Some will even become super
healthy. These students then do not easily get ill and they
do not often need to see doctors. I even have some students
whose patient records have been lost by the doctors because
they have not seen them for so long.
Master Tse explains the concept of Qi to a fascinated audience. This was

during a Wing Chun seminar with Grandmaster Ip Chun in 1987.
Master Tses very first demo of Qi
Transmission in the UK.
One of the first regular Sunday

seminars in Manchester.
Master Tse gives a demo in Leicester Sqaure

for Chinese New Year 1991.
An early photo of Master Tse.
Master Tses Wild Goose Qigong teacher,

Grandmaster Yang Mei Jun. With her blessing and
encouragement, Master Tse began teaching Qigong
in the West.
Master Tses first demo at the

Mind, Body, Spirit Festival in
London in 1992.
However, it all depends on how much you practise. No matter what we want to
do with our lives, though, we all need good health. It does not matter whether you are
famous or ordinary, rich or poor. All of us can benefit from Qigong. Many people do
not understand good health and think that generally they are all right, but when they
join the Centre and practise Qigong, they start to realise that they are not that healthy.
Many people, since practising their Qigong and being with the Centre for a while, find
that their nature has changed for the better. They are happier, kinder and more sociable.
Master Tse and Grandmaster Ip Chun

Chi Sau during a seminar.
Seminars in Manchester start to attract

students from all over the UK.
This is because when we are healthy our natures

will change because our emotions good or bad
relate to the health of our internal organs.
If someone is always complaining, negative
or even mean, then usually that persons internal
Qi does not flow smoothly and they have some
blockages. So when they join the Centre and
practise Qigong they become healthier, their Qi
can flow smoothly and so their nature will start
to change.
The Tse Qigong Centre is continuing to
grow and that is because all human beings want
to be healthy. It is natural that we all want to feel
good and be able to have the energy to do the
things we want to do. Many people have come
to us and our number of members is over four
thousand. Although during the time some have
left, at least those who are not with us have still
benefited from what I or other Centre instructors
have taught them. Chinese say, Get benefit
from someone, we should remember them for a
thousand years .
It is very true that if we have benefited
from a person we should always remember and
appreciate that. Then we will keep getting benefit
from others because good people will recognise
our appreciation.
Remember there is no one who at sometime
in his or her life does not need some help, so we
must not be cocky and arrogant. Life is both up
and down. When we are up, we should think
about the day we will come back down. When
we are low, because we have appreciated other
people and have helped others or given benefit
to others before, those people will come to help
us overcome our difficulties. Look at today, when
a disaster happens somewhere in the world, the
whole world puts in efforts to help. A lot of people
donate money to help, some even go to the area
to help physically and spiritually. That is the right
attitude.
That is another thing that most new
members in the Centre notice; we do not just
teach students skill only, we also teach them how
to be a better person through Chinese culture and
philosophy. Chinese culture and philosophy has
over five thousand years of history and there is so
much we can learn from it, from good health, good
skill, good philosophy, good relationships, from
this life to many lifetimes. Whether you believe
in reincarnation or not, we can learn from the
philosophy behind it.
Today the modern way of education
concentrates more on the method of teaching and
students test scores rather than on developing the
students character and showing them how to be
a good person. We no longer put much effort into
good attitude, behaviour, good heart and conduct.
So people who learn from the Centre really want to
know how to be good and get along with others.
Many people today are lost, so they go to learn
from other cultures. For many Western people,
Chinese skills and culture are fascinating.
Master Tse and his old friend, the late

Danny Connor, Christmas 1990.
Qigong Healing Day seminar in

Manchester which proved popular!
John Hayes - Master Tses first and

most senior student.
The Tse Qigong Centres first

home - Master Tses living room.
Master Tse teaches a workshop at the

GMEX in Manchester.
The Tse Qigong Centres first

London demo.
Blindfolded Chi Sau during the first London

demo.
One of the early seminars in Germany, early 1990s.
Grandmaster Yang Mei Jun shows her flexibility at the

mere age of 96!
One of the early seminars in

New York.
Balancing Gong Instructor

Course
Some enjoy going to a restaurant, having good

Chinese food, using chopsticks, celebrating Chinese New Year,
watching a lion dance performance or practising martial arts,
meditation or Taijiquan. Others may enjoy watching Bruce Lee
and Ip Man films, learning more about Chinese medicine,
having an acupuncture treatment, discovering Feng Shui and
the Yijing and so on. All of this skill takes many lifetimes to
learn. China is an old country and she has kept the system
going without changing the main principles, the language or
the writing, which she still uses now after such a long time.
One of the reasons for this is that the principles of different
skills are the same. For instance Feng Shui, Qigong, Taijiquan,
cooking, medicine, even Daoism and Rujia are all based upon
the principles of Yin and Yang and/or the Five Elements.
So there is much knowledge for someone, or even a
group, to learn. In the Centre we have students who joined
to study with me before the Tse Qigong Centre even formally
began. These students have already been studying with me for
over 20 years. There are also a great many students who have
been studying with me for over 15 years, 10 years and new
students are joining in all the time. We always say in Chinese
culture that time proves everything and that if something is
right and good then it will last a long time.
But for something to last a long time, people need to
take care of it. So my students and myself all must learn to
respect the skill that we have been lucky enough to learn. This
is our responsibility and this is why we are strict about not
letting people teach until they have become properly qualified
and are ready. Someone cannot have responsibility until they
are good enough to do things for others. So we make sure all
the skills we pass down are passed on in the right way and
the instructors are good quality. Many people have told me
there are many bad quality teachers of Qigong, Taijiquan and
Kung Fu. The reason is they are not qualified to teach, some
will even learn from DVDs, You Tube or books and then go to
set up a class. Communication is very easy now, we can just
about get any information we want, but it does not mean that
we can learn any skill without a teacher, at least if we want
to learn it well.
For things like cooking, traditional medicine and
language we need to really learn from a good teacher so we
can get it right. Particularly something like Qigong, which is
internal and deals with the energy of the body and health.
We cannot see Qi so how do we know we are doing the
movements properly? If we learn it incorrectly from the wrong
teacher, we might have more problems than if we had not
learnt it at all.
There are some people who do not like to learn in
the traditional way, they like to be free and mix up different
kinds of knowledge and put them together in their own way
and then call it something new. In a free country people have
their own choice. But for the Tse Qigong Centre and myself,
we will continue to follow the traditional way and this way, I
believe, must be right as we are still growing with so many
good students. For the rest of my life, I will continue to pass
down the skill and help other people.
Since I began teaching twenty-two years ago and since
setting up the Tse Qigong Centre twenty years ago, there are
many, many good people who have become students. We
will continue to help them to have better health and become
better people. I am proud of all of you.
We will continue and keep going. Thank you.
by Michael Tse
What the Centre Means to Me
The first Wild Goose Residential

Course held at Wye College.
The very first Wing Chun Residential Course, held at Keele

University in 1997.
To learn the skills and philosophy that the Tse Qigong Centre teaches
helps us both to overcome our own problems. We are very grateful for that.
The Centre has everything we need. Thank you Sifu and Simo for giving us
this opportunity.
Tor Arne Oigard and Nina Iversen, Norway
Living in a modern
Western society means that
even a Chinese persons
roots can have limited
visibility. The traditional
Chinese skill passed down
by the centre has allowed
me to explore the minds
of the ancients I have
descended from. Thank
you.
Yun Ki Lee, London
Visiting Grandmaster Yang Mei Jun with a group of students
New York Hard Qigong Level I seminar.
Celebrating Grandmaster Yang Mei

Juns 100th Birthday!
To me the Tse Qigong Centre means two things, family and skill. I studied
Taijiquan and Qigong for several years before luck brought me to one of Master
Tses seminars. I didnt realise then that my life was about to alter its course but I
was very impressed, not only by his obvious skill, but also by his kind nature and
respect for his own teachers in passing down the skill in its pure form.
When I first saw the Wild Goose 1st 64 form I thought it looked both beautiful
and, quite honestly, a little strange since then I have learnt that all those strange
movements (fluttering and slapping etc.) have a very specific purpose that relates to
the meridians, acupuncture points and the movement of Qi. In fact Dayan Qigong
is such a profound skill that it always seems that the more I learn, the more there
is to learn! Now, for me, it is one of the true wonders of the world.
As the years have gone by I have come to appreciate and value the family
aspect of the Tse Centre more and more, especially with all the support I have
had from Sifu, Simo, Sihing Moy and many others since setting up new classes in
Denmark. I now realise that family and skill are two inseparable parts of traditional
Chinese health and martial arts. When you help others and you also have a lot
of support, as with a good family, then your skill will improve much more and last
much longer. Happy 20th anniversary!
Peter Andersen, Denmark
Master Tse with the students in Nashville.

My journey has been challenging

at times, the centre has helped me to
maintain my focus, and to remain
positive and centered. It has also
trusted me to pass on and to share my
experiences.
Paul Munro, Manchester
Seminar with Grandmaster Ip Chun

in London in the mid 90s.
Nashville Seminar
Whilst recovering from the

rigorous treatments for Breast Cancer
I needed something to help me return
to my previous levels of fitness and
strengthen my whole body. My teacher
Jan Kitteridge recommended Qi Gong.
The benefits are enormous, both
mentally and physically and whenever
I am feeling particularly tired, doing a
few exercises and feeling the Qi flowing
helps carry me forward, knowing that I
am doing something positive to maintain
my health. My young daughters like to
copy Mummys Jackie Chan! and
we all have a wonderful few moments
together!
I am getting on for 80 years

old and am now in my second
year of practising Tse Qigong
and contact with the Centre.
I am finding that Tse Qigong
is occupying an increasingly
important place in my life. It has
greatly improved my physical
condition, my concentration and
my balance, while at the same
time helping me to cope with
the hurly-burly of daily life in the
centre of London.
Pauline, London
Master Tse, Jessica Tse and John Hayes at

the very first Wild Goose Instructor Course.
Elizabeth Hutchinson
Master Tses Chun Yuen Quan teacher,

Grandmaster Wu Chun Yuen.
I have been a dancer all

my life. Discovering the wonderful
forms of Wild Goose Qigong and
Chun Yuen Quan as taught by my
Sifu, Lee Masters, has allowed me
to experience movement that is
intended to help me heal and achieve
balance in my life. It is so rewarding
for me to dance in this new way! I
am blessed to be part of this worldwide family, honouring and caring
for this amazing heritage.
Dawn Sare, Canada
The Tse Qigong centre has

been the backdrop to my life since the
beginning of my studies there. Just
like family it is a place that keeps me
anchored and grounded. The skills I
have learned from my Sigong, Sifu and
brothers and sisters and the friendships
I have made, permeate every part of
my life and I am much more the richer
for it. I also have a wonderful sense of
being part of something much bigger
than myself and the skills that are being
passed down to me, give my life a real
sense of meaning.
Dingan Mkhize, London
Master Tse and his Chen Taijiquan

teacher, Grandmaster Chen Xiao
Wang
The Tse Qigong Centre is such an integral part of my life now, not a day goes
by when I dont practise my skills and, in one way or another, relate to the Centre.
My students, my Qigong brothers and sisters all over the world, my wonderful Sifu
and Sigong and my Tai Sigong in the Spirit world, whose presence Im sure we all
still feel, are constantly in my thoughts, words, deeds and way of life. The feeling
I carry inside of me of this well-being and this support for my development as a
human being is really powerful and important to me and very central to who I am
becoming. In this day and age, it is truly an amazing thing to be able to sincerely
and deeply trust a leader. Over the course of the past seventeen years, Master Tse
has won my trust and loyalty. Withdeepest respect and gratitude,
Lee Masters, Canada
For me the principle of the Tse

Qigong Centre is to teach traditional
Chinese martial arts but the essence of
what it is about can only be summed
up in to one word....Family. Every
time I visit London/Manchester or any
seminar it is like coming home. Thank
you to you and everyone for making it
seem this way.
Jens Thinnesen, Grimsby
Wild Goose Instructor Course at Wye College in 1999.
The longer I practise Qigong the more I realise its depth. It has an impact
on all aspects of my life and is the most effective and precious method of looking
after my health. Without my Sifus continuous support and way of teaching,
lots of polishing and emphasising of the principles, it would not be possible for
a deeper understanding to grow. Modern life throws lots of challenges at us:
long working hours, stresses, distractions, unhealthy habits and unsupportive
environment. The energy and presence that emanate from my Sifu and the
Qigong centre as a whole enable me to keep on growing stronger in my practice
and as an instructor.
Vera Externest, Australia
Seminar with Grandmaster Chen Xiao Wang.
Lee Masters from Canada,

at an early Wild Goose
Instructor Course.
Seminar in Seattle, Washington, USA.

Martin Rooney, Hard
Qigong Level III test!
I am enormously lucky to have first been

exposed to Qigong through the Tse Qigong Centre
as I now realize that the respect for the tradition of
Qigong and the high standard, constantly upheld, is
not common in Western communities. Since learning
Qigong I can safely say my husband, Ian, and I do
not get sick, we do not have arthritis and we do
not get tired and fatigued but instead are always
energetic. The combination of core physical strength,
coordination and memory required to successfully
master Qigong is something that can be learnt by
anyone, just more slowly if you are older or unwell.
Eventually, with regular practice, good health will
become the norm. Knowing you can grow old well
is a very powerful tool in life. Qigong is also a family
which I will remain part of for the rest of my life.
Alison Harrington, Brisbane
Mike Baker & Simon

Bedford studying
Hard Qigong Level II
I hope the wild geese that fly

over the Hudson River here in New
York City recognize me as kin as I
practice the forms and philosophy that
I have learned from my Sifu, (Adam
Wallace) Tse Sigong, Sitai, Siba....
all my Teachers from the Tse Qigong
Centre where I have been a member
for more than 10 years. These very
good people have taught me to
follow nature, conserve my Qi and
have courage on my journey, to look
after my sisters and brothers in the
Centre, to be loyal to the traditions
and spirit we have inherited from our
Wild Goose ancestors. Thank you all
for Being.
Maureen Madden, New York
Master Tse and students in Hawaii.
Master Tse and students in Australia.
The Tse Qigong centre provides me with a path to good health. Tse Qigong
teaches me relaxation and has improved my flexibility. It is my insurance policy for
continuing quality of life in my retirement. Since commencing Tse Qigong five years
ago I have never felt better. Before this I may have been facing a loss of flexibility in
my joints and muscles but I feel I have actually improved. I have more energy.
It is invaluable to have direct instruction in the techniques. I do not think that
Tse Qigong is something that can be learned from books or videos. It needs to be
done properly to provide the most benefit. I am fortunate to live in a city which has
two excellent Sifus to pass on the instruction from Master Tse.
Peter Dawson, Toowoomba, Australia
I think this is the hardest

question I have ever tried to
answer. I have tried to write a
couple of short sentences but have
been unable toput into wordswhat
it means to me. The only answer
I can give (which doesnt turn
into an essay) is that, The Tse
Qigong Centre means everything
to me.
Simon Frankham, Manchester
The Tse Qigong Centre is a family of

Qigong practitioners who are on a lifetimes
journey being guided each step of the way
by our Sifu/Sigong Master Tse. He shares
with us his knowledge of this profound skill,
encouraging us to be responsible for our
health and happiness by developing our minds
and bodies through good practice, meditation
and a respect for Chinese Traditional Medicine
and Culture. When Im with Sifu and my
Qigong family I feel my spirits lift as I take
each step with them.
The 10th Anniversary of the Centre!
Jan Kitteridge, Aylesbury
Master Tse teaching in New Zealand.
Wild Goose Instructors Course 2005
Two words spring to mind when asked what the Tse Qigong Centre
means to me. They are appreciation and respect. From all directions
and on so many levels, these two words go some way to help understand
the depth of heart and skill offered by the Centre. I appreciate so much that
these skills are made available to anyone who is willing and open to learn;
and I respect and honour so much, those who offer their time and patience
in passing on not only the skills, but the wisdom of generations past. With
immense gratitude, thank you.
Belinda Hadfield, Kapiti Coast, New Zealand
Master Tse writing Chinese

calligraphy for the Centres
Scholarship fund.
The Centre represents

a great source of personal
growth for me. From my contact
with Tse Sigong, I have learnt
a lot about myself and about
life. Through his teaching and
writing, he inspired me to
pursue a career in health care
that I enjoy to this day. I am
very grateful for the centre and
everyone that is part of it and
I hope it continues to develop
far into the future.
Michael Walter, London
Centres 15th Anniversary!
Students in Canada studying Damo Staff
It is a great privilege to
learn traditional Wing Chun in a
great atmosphere with wonderful
teaching. Many thanks,
Nick Hamilton, London
The Centre is like a family. Sifu teaches me

about life and I learn a lot about myself. Thank you.
Shan Ng, London
Master Tse teaching at the Wild Goose Instructor Course 2005

Master Tse teaching a seminar in New York.
In some respects it is difficult to describe what

the centre means as it has played a large part in my
life, from providing the opportunity to learn a new skill
to meeting many people from all over the world. In fact,
Ihave made so many good close friends over the years
that some have become like family to me. The centre
has become central to my life, so if I had to answer the
question what does the centre mean to me with one
word it would simply be - home.
The Centre for me is two things. First it is like a

compass - it shows me direction, the way to go and the
discipline to make the journey. Second it is like home - a
place where I feel comfortable, at peace, somewhere I
can take my friends and have a good time with them.
Above all, it is a way of life my way of life.
Manuel Rodriguez, London
Mike Baker, Birmingham
Master Tse & students in Rome.
Master Tse, Grandmaster Ip Chun and students at the Ip Man Tong,

Foshan, China.
The Centre is a place of welcome and

opportunity, to get out of my head at the end of
the day and remember I have a body and hear
myself laugh.
Ingrid Stellamacher, London
It is really good and an honour to learn a fascinating set of skills and

philosophy in such a nice environment. The best part is only after a short while
you get to know everyone and see everyone improve together. I have had lots
of fun over the years and lots more to come!
Peter Baird, London
Master Tse & students in Manchester.
The Centre has helped

me stop my backache and more
importantly helped me adopt a
more positive attitude towards my
career and life.
Alan Cowsil, London
Grandmaster Ip Chuns 85th

Birthday Party.
The centre means to me, a means of way of learning

a martial art that has been going for years and that I respect
and like doing. Its a form of keeping fit and healthy as well
as meeting new people making friends and socialising.
Mahesh Chudasama, Birmingham
Master Tse & students in Norwway.
The Centre gives me balance in my life. There is

a calmness of practise and the discipline and control that
comes with polishing and learning. To know there is no
end to learning and improving totally changed the attitude
I have towards who I am in the world and I hope has given
me humility. It has also given me the connection to many
wonderful people. Thank you Sifu.
Vanessa Backus, London
Wild Goose & Chun Yuen Instructor Course continues to

grow every year.
The centre gives me a weekly class that I dont want to

miss, which provides a fun way to learn rare skills. It gives me
the opportunity to work towards good health without relying on
western medicine. Great tuition and great friends from all over
the world to share experiences with.
Master Tse & students in London 2010.
Ian Armstrong, Birmingham
2009 Wing Chun Residential Course.
Master Tses 50th Birthday!
Of all of my studies, academic, personal, and professional, Wing Chun and the
Tse Qigong Centre have been the most meaningful. The Centre and its teachings are the
hub around which all facets of my life connect. I thank you sincerely.
Lance Linke
The Tse Qigong Centre

for me has all to do with
growing. The Centre passes on
huge knowledge and for me it
is like a different world and is
mind broadening. The Centre
gives me nearness to the heart
of the art of the Kunlun Dayan
Qigong, through direct linage
which I otherwise never would
have experienced. Its teaching
enriches my understanding of
body and mind in a new way.
Together with this, the Centre
gives me a unique opportunity
to meet and connect with people
with different backgrounds from
all around the world but with
similar interest.
Saskia v. Heusden, Norway
To me, the Tse Qigong Centre means friendship and

family. When I return to UK the warmth and welcome I receive
is genuinely overwhelming, and when I am away I always
feel connected and have support. I feel deeply enriched for
having my Sifu, Simo and all my Centre friends in my life. It
is also means to me a place where one can learn some very
special life skills, taught with heart, ethics and dignity. Ive
gained so much from the knowledge and philosophy over
the years - not just the treasured skills themselves but about
life (how to handle difficult situations and becoming a better
person) and, to me, this is worth more than anything material
in the world! I am truly happy and grateful to be a part of it
and very proud to say that I am a member of the Tse Qigong
Centre- Adam Wallace
When I think what the Tse Centre means to me the
following words come to mind:
Family
Integrity
Health
High Level Skill
Wisdom
The Centre has been to me, more and more in recent

years, a rock of stability in my life. If you are lucky in life
you get born into a good family. If you are really lucky, you
get to create your own family. For me, the Centre is my
second family. A family made up of heroes that inspire me
to want to be a better person and to keep on developing. In
addition to the obvious skill that the Centre has, there is, just
as importantly, the integrity. You practise and embody what
you teach and stand for. How many people in the world can
truly say this? Through all your hard work and dedication you
have achieved unparalleled skill and, more impressively, true
wisdom that you are happy to pass on to your students. You
never hold skill back.I am a better person for being part of
the Tse Qigong Centre. Thank you so much for all you have
done.
Rick Charles & Peter Diesner doing Tui Shou.
The Tse Qigong Centre preserves

precious human skills that might otherwise
vanish. Who would have heard of Dayan
Qigong, if not for the Tse Qigong Centre?
The disciplines the Centre teaches are as
important as artworks or as musical and
literary treasures and they are just as
fragile. They transcend national boundaries;
they are humanitys shared inheritance,
important for human health and wellbeing.
Tse Sifus teachers have sacrificed and
struggled to ensure the continuation of
their lineages. The Centre exists to uphold
their legacy. I am honoured to play a very
small part in safeguarding these treasures
for future generations.
Jane Pollard, Australia
Peter Walfisz, London
Teaching the Wing Chun Wooden Dummy.
Hard Qigong is just one of the treasures taught by Master Tse.
I am just beginning my 8th year of

belonging to the Tse Qigong Family. With the
help of my Sifus and the visits of Sigong I have
been encouraged to improve my mental, physical
and emotional well-being. Every week at class
I am encouraged to stay within my physical
capabilities, but, also to extend myself, just a
little. In short, being a member of the Tse Qigong
Family has changed my life dramatically. I am
so pleased to have found Qigong and my Sifus
when I did.
Mary Mountford, Toowoomba, Australia
The Tse Qigong Centre (Centre) means many things to me because the skills and knowledge I have gained
throughout my 8 years of membership has had a tremendous impact upon all aspects of my life. It means dreams
fulfilled as I have been able to fulfil several of my own dreams by studying under a high level teacher who genuinely
cares about his students and grand-students. It also means new opportunities because through the Centre I have
been able to travel to both Asia and Europe to hone my Qigong and kung-fu skills and meet my Centre ancestors,
brothers and sisters. It means fearlessness because with the skills I have acquired I have the confidence and courage
to face the fears and challenges of my life. I have learned to clear the physical, spiritual and emotional blockages
that I previously allowed to burden me. It means freedom because with the blockages cleared, I am now able to enjoy
life to the fullest. The Centre has given me the ability to appreciate life above and beyond its everyday stresses while
at the same time not diminishing the importance of what is transpiring throughout the world.
It means inspiration because I am inspired to have a positive impact upon others and to leave this world in a
better condition than when I entered it. The Centre makes me want to work towards having others remember me as
someone who made an impact, who the world was better for having and who they were better for knowing.
After approximately eight years with the Centre, I will be the first to admit I am far from perfect. However, I
firmly believe that the Centre has helped shape me to become more like the person I want to be and helped me live
more of the life I want to live than before I began. I believe I am more balanced and better able to enjoy life than
ever before. These are but a few of the things the Centre means to me. Thank you to Sifu and Simo for their love,
guidance, patience and support through the years. I am forever grateful for the skills taught and generosity shown
to me by them and the rest of the Centre ohana (which means family in Hawaiian).
Brandon Eugenio, Hawaii
Classes and courses always have a good feeling,

were people are genuinely happy and healthy. Tse Sigong
has given so much that has benefited manypeople all
around the world. I have not met anyone else like him
andit isan honour to study with the Tse Qigong Centre.
My Sifu Peter Baird and seniors Jeremy Dallow and Peter
Dickinson are shining examples of seniors within the
Centre that makeevery classenjoyable. I look forward
to Wednesdays where I can spend time with people of
the sameheart.
Jonathan Hawes, Winchester
Students from all over the world enjoying the Damo Staff
residential course.
The Tse Centre has provided me with an activity

that suits my nature and temperament. I find the Tse
Centre skills taught to be stimulating, fascinating,
inspiring, fun, strengthening, energising and health
orientated.For me the Tse Centre is more than a contact
point for members. It is a link to the skills and knowledge
of Sigong and those that have come before.
In 2009 I attended my first instructors course. At the
residential seminars, I met members from other countries
and other areas of England. Even though I was meeting
these people for the first time, the time spent and the
atmosphere was like a reunion of friends and family. The
polishing sessions were very good.
It is amazing whata person can accomplish.Watching
aged members in themorning class and other students in
the evening class practising and polishing and seeing their
energy flow is at times quite inspiring. There is more of
that to do, aiming to follow the principles and be healthy
for life.
Michael Riedel, Toowoomba, Australia
Enjoying Chi Sau together.
Chun Yuen Level IV Warm Up.
The Tse Qigong Centre is important to me in

a number of ways. First of all because it represents
Tse Sigongs motto for living healthy, happy, lucky.
These three words sum up the amazing difference that
mindful practising of the skills, knowledge, wisdomand
values taught by(and caught from) the Centre can and
do make to my life and others I observe - such as many
of our students here in Wellington. But the Centre also
represents fantastic friendships and connections made only once a year in most cases in person - but all year
round through seeing pictures and reading about events
around the world following Sigongs and sometimes Sifus
and other seniors travels. Our own and other instructors
classes in New Zealand form similar bonds as we continue
to learn and polish these amazing skills. Thank you
Sigong for creating this Centre and for enabling the
connections to spread to the other side of the world!
Thank you for your personal visits here to rejuvenate our
learning and re-inspire our students.
Master Tse with instructors from Australia and New Zealand.
Cynthia, Wellington, New Zealand
The Centre is a very special place with a

special energy, special knowledge and very special
people.
John Graham, London
Students studying Chen Taijiquan Double Sword.
The Centre is where I feel comfortable with all

the people I meet. Whenever I come to class I always
feel better, stronger and healthier when I leave. I
am looking forward to learning more and growing
healthier and, with Gods help, wiser.
Five Element Healthy Cooking is another

popular subject.
Ingrid Royle, London
Abundanthealth, which says a lot for a physically-injured old

woman...knowing that in Qigong there is always something I can
do to improve my well-being, seeing the goodness in everything,
evenness of temperament with respect for all,expanding capacity
in adversity, mindfulness of purposeful movement in all aspects of
life, deepening awareness of the nature and flowof energy...and
confidence that my teachersand fellow students are always here to
nurture mylearning and growth inthis amazing ancient skill.
Ingratitude,Deb Tyler, Canada
Students enjoying Dim Sum together.
The Tse Qigong Centre is a part of my life that brings to me

feelings of pure joy and happiness. I am forever grateful to Sigong Tse
for having a vision, creating the Tse Qigong Centre, and passionately
living his dream. I am equally grateful to Sifu Wallace for sharing the
same passion. They are truly special men. They not only teach these
amazing traditional Chinese skills, which have been passed down for
many generations; but they do so in a warm, kind, caring and patient
manner. These same qualities are evident in each and every one of
the members throughout the centre. From the beginning of the family
tree; Sigong and Sitai Tse to Siba Moy and Sifu Wallace and all of my
brothers and sisters. You are all truly extraordinary.
Without our ancestors, and the sacrifices they made, this gift of
the Tse Qigong Centre wouldnt be possible at all. I have never felt so
strongly or as devoted as I feel toward the Centre. This is a journey of
a lifetime:- a journey of learning and practicing traditional Chinese
martial arts, living life to the fullest because of good health and an
unwavering desire to carry on the tradition. Happy 20th to the Tse
Qigong Centre! I am looking forward to many years together and
growing older and wiser, all the while surrounded by a family that I
truly care about. A family forever connected by one true heart.
Deborah Hart, New York
Anthony Tse & Dinghan Mkhize.
The Tse Qigong Centre is

a warm and friendly place where
the opportunity to work with
a master means youre on the
steady track to good health. Not
to be missed.
Sue Skinner, London
Master Tse leads students through Great Sadness Gong.
The Centre has given me my health, fitness, focus and

direction in life. It has made me who I am and will shape who I
will become. So in short the Tse Qigong Centre means everything
to me.
Martin Gale, London
Senior student Adam Wallace
The Tse Qigong Centre for me means; learning

about getting healthier, learning to develop and
promote good character, learning to help yourself stay
healthy, and finally... identity.
Barry Horrell, Nottingham
I am new to Qigong, but I feel I am on

a new journey.
Practising Balancing Gong at the Instructors Course.
Catherine, London
The Tse Qigong Centre means to

me being able to learn unique skills to
improve my health and life, doing it with
lots of other very nice people and having
great fun on the way. Attending the Centres
seminars is like stepping into a better world
and coming out with batteries recharged to
face the busy everyday life. The Centre has
become like another family and I enjoy it
very much.
Its like a large international family dedicated

to health and longevity, and following principles based
on having a good heart and developing good skill. It is
an important point for the world in this time.
Susanne Jungersen, New Zealand
Christine Barbier, Hexham
It means another
way to look and live my life.
A challenge but always a
good one.
Sue Beckett, Birmingham
Open air lecture in Canada.
Five Tigers Break the Door Broadsword.
Master Tse with Grandmaster Ip Chun at the

Wing Chun Athletic Association in Hong Kong.
It means to me a gathering of good

spirit and minds who wish to develop ourselves
for good. Basically I love it.
Earl Gottshalk, Birmingham
The Tse Qigong Centre is many things

to me. Its an oasis of calm during the working
week, a lovely bunch of friends, an opportunity
to train with one of the greatest masters of
our time and a chance to help other people
discover these great skills - which I love. Since
I started practising at the Centre my life has
changed in many ways. The good health that I
have started to enjoy has been the foundation
for a much more rewarding life, and Sifus
and Simos kindness and generosity is at the
heart of that. Heres to the next 20 years of
this precious organisation
Alistair Clay, Teddington
Group Horse Stance (Ma Bo) practice in Manchester.
I would like to say a big thank you for bringing the

Wild Goose skill over to England and for all your support
on the phone and email when I have asked for your
advice. Thank you also producing the DVDs for Balancing
Gong, Healthy Living Gong 1, 2 & 3 and Wild Goose 1st
64; they are very informative and helpful as a reference. I
also really appreciate having many of the old back copies
of the magazine with so many interesting articles.
Jackie Hayman - Norwich
Master Tse in Hawaii.
In very simple terms becoming a student of the Tse

Qigong centre was the start of a new more fulfilling life.
Since joining at the end of 2008 I have been introduced
to wonderful new skills that are helping me to change
the way I think, move and live. I feel healthier, stronger
and constantly challenged in a positive way. I also cherish
the new friends I have made since joining. Thank you Sifu
and Sigong for this wonderful gift.
Master Tse celebrates his teacher, Grandmaster Chen Xiao
Wangs birthday.
Nicci Pearce, Teddington
The Tse Qigong Centre has a variety of meanings for me:- firstly it
is to do with exercise and health. I feel I have got more supple in the year
I have studied at a weekly class. Particularly my knees, which suffer from
arthritis, I can now bend more. Psychologically, I also feel that I am doing
something about my health because of coming to the class and doing some
practise during the week and the different movements really challenge my
left brain/right brain divide which I know is good for me.
Secondly, I like the whole ethos of the Centre. The way the teacher
is respected and the way that students at all levels help each other out. It
is a real model of cooperation rather than competition, which I particularly
like.
Thirdly, I was introduced to the Centre by my son and now I have
introduced my partner so it feels like a family concern which I also know
is encouraged by the Centre. Its a place I feel pleased to belong to and
where everyone gets a really warm welcome regardless of age, creed or
colour. I also like the social aspect of the meals out.
Jiffy Sandison, Teddington
Master Tse looking forwards to a bright future for

the Tse Qigong Centre.
For me the centre means continued

health and happiness.
Andrew Ashton, Manchester
Master Tse passing on his skill and knowledge.

I started Qigong at the advice of my Sifu

Kate Britton in late 2004 after I had mentioned
to her that I was suffering from knee and back
problems. I had looked at Qigong previously
and really thought nothing of it. I just wondered
why they were doing certain movements and
steps. I suppose at the time you can say it never
really mattered to me.
y knee problems started when I was very young and my

doctor called the condition Osgood Schlatters disease, a bone
condition just below the knee which happens to young children
or athletes. They say it usually stops after the growth period of
teens into adulthood. Did I like sports? Yes I did. My favourite
sports in school were basketball and table tennis but basketball I took more
seriously. I played in school teams and also local leagues. At the same time
I was into Martial Arts, which I also enjoyed.
Sometimes, on the orders of my Mother, I would take a break from
my activities to stop the pain. I took prescription painkillers regularly but
over the years the pain continued. As I got older it got worse, up to the
point where I was having X-ray after X-ray and more painkillers. After
a while I stopped taking the painkillers because they did nothing for
my knees. The pain then became constant. I wore knee supports
and ankle supports for long periods of time and I avoided bending
my knees for fear of pain. Sometimes I did bend my knees just
to show that I could, but later on I would pay for it when I
relaxed. Using the stairs was the same, it was painful
going up, but especially so coming down.
Then things got even worse when
I injured my back in 1999 while
lifting some furniture off a van, and
so I ended up at the doctors again,
going to hospital for X-rays again,
seeing a specialist and taking more
painkillers and gels to soothe the
pain in my back.
My
Qigong
Experience
I really started to think that that was it for the rest of

my life and so started to live with it. Often my back would
act up with a vengeance and in response I ignored the pain.
If I had to do any activity, I would do it on a Friday so that I
would have the weekend to let the pain kick in and so that I
could be able to walk again by Monday. What I did not notice
was that my posture had started to lean forwards to ease the
pain in my back and my knee. Also when the pain was bad
I would automatically start to put more pressure on other
areas such my ankles, back and my other knee if they were
not hurting at the time. My body started to lose its natural
movement and posture and was adopting a new one. At first
I did not notice the change, I thought I was walking normally.
I then developed a severe pain in the heel of my foot and so
I ended up at a foot specialist!
The foot specialist told me that I would need a
foot support and then said to me that I have knee
problems and probably back problems too. He
asked me what I did for exercise and I said
I dance and I play basketball. He
said one word, Stop.
Tw o y e a r s l a t e r I
found myself walking around
Birmingham. I desperately needed
something to do and what I really wanted to do was
Taijiquan. I found myself walking through
an area called Digbeth. I walked up the
hill until I reached the top and then got
to Moseley road. I saw a place called
the Friends Institute which seemed to
have a lot of things happening there.
I was about to walk past but said to
myself, Let me look inside, there might
be posters on the wall. As I walked through
the door I saw a picture on the wall of Master
Michael Tse in a Chen Taijiquan movement
and another picture, again of Master
Michael Tse, in a Qigong movement and
underneath
were dates
and times
the classes
started at
the institute.
The following
week I started
with Chen
Taijiquan and
I met both my
teachers, Sifu
Kate Britton and Sifu Mike Baker.
At Sifu Kates advice I started Qigong. I was still in pain
at this point and whilst my heel seemed to be clearing up, the
back pain and especially that in the knees was ever present.
Climbing up the stairs to the class was the most painful part
of the night.
The more Qigong I did the more the more I liked it,
but get this, I started feeling more pain! It was weird but what
I realised was that my body had created its own structure to
combat the pain by taking out my natural alignment and
replacing it with one that it perceived to be tolerable and less
painful. So getting good posture back was going to be hard
work. Sifu Mike went to work on my back with Balancing Gong,

which today, after six years, is still one my most used sets of
movements for posture. So now I was feeling a new pain. It
had taken me many years to get myself into the disjointed
condition that I was in and so I realised it was going to be
tough to get out of the old ways. As I moved along through
the three sets of Healthy Living Gong, my shoulders started
to move down away from my ears, the stiffness in my knees
reduced and they became more flexible, my waist
was moving without my back reminding me that
it was too much and I started to feel a lot less
pain in my back. I was then beginning to bend
my knees more and worry less about my knees
starting to fire up when I crouched down.
What really made the change for me
was the Wild Goose Qigong 1st 64. It
really opened me up and brought
insights into other things I did
not realise were wrong. For
one, I discovered I could not
lift my right leg above my
waist without pain kicking
in. It was as if the exercise
was bringing things out that
were hidden under the surface. I
did not know what to do at first
but I asked Sifu Mike and he
smiled and said, More
practise! So I did polishing
and practised. My fellow
brothers and sisters in the
class were telling me how
they felt as well, and then
I started the Wild Goose
2nd 64 form and everything
changed again. This time, after
I practised, the leg pain had
gone. I did not say anything
for the longest time because
I worried I would jinx myself.
Now it has been gone a few
years and I can lift my knees
much higher, I can crouch
down and tie my shoelaces in
comfort. The other, final thing
that happened was the knee
killer - the stairs. I remember
walking up the stairs and for
some reason I had forgotten
about my knees, I got to the top of the stairs and stopped.
Wait a minute, I thought. I stepped back down and stepped
back up, no pain. To be sure I walked all the way to the bottom
of the stairs and then back up again and still no pain! I was
so happy! To be able to go upstairs and feel no pain was
amazing. I wont tell you what happened over the next few
minutes as I walked into the class, only that there were a few
small celebrations.
Now I continue to train and have even added the Chun
Yuen Quan skill to my practice. To walk without wincing is
good. To do activities and courses without pain is even better.
If you want my advice, Taking a Qigong pill daily keeps the
doctor and his bills away. Practise, practise, practise
I stepped back down

and stepped back up, no
pain. I was so happy!
by Earl Gottshalk
Listen to
Your Body
There is a Chinese saying that every
poison can be a medicine and every medicine
can be a poison. It is the same for skill. No
matter how good the skill, if we do not respect it
and train appropriately, then instead of getting
benefit we may get something else.
year ago I was practising Hard Qigong. I had

practised for some years, but at that time I increased
the effort in order to prepare for taking the test. Being
eager to reach the magic number of fifty repetitions
of each exercise, I impatiently increased the number
of repetitions I had been doing. However, instead of building
up slowly to let the body adapt and get stronger, I increased
the number of repetitions in large steps of ten.
When we first start to practise Hard Qigong even ten
repetitions can be quite heavy and jumping from 30 to 40 or
from 40 to 50 is very hard and if done too quickly can also be
quite reckless. As time went by my body felt weaker instead of
stronger, and some days I had to take a day off from practice
before continuing. After practising I often found my body was
totally exhausted. I was too tired to eat, and sometimes, I was
even too tired to sleep. In retrospect, during the last month
of practice there were many signs that should have caused
the alarm bells to go off. But they didnt. After all it is called
Hard Qigong and I thought it was normal that the training
should be hard.
Then one morning I woke up and my body felt totally

empty. All the energy was gone. At that time I did what I
should have done much earlier. I contacted my Sifu and it
turned out that I had exhausted myself. Sifu encouraged me
to go back to basics and practise only Balancing Gong and
horse stance (Ma Bo) to build up my body again. Finding
the situation scary and uncomfortable I wanted to recover
as quickly as possible. Even though my body was exhausted
I continued practising with special focus on the horse stance.
However, being used to comfortably standing for 45 minutes,
I found it hard to accept going back to one to five minutes.
Apparently the lesson had not been learned and again
I started increasing the length in large steps, with the result of
a relapse. Of course, this had to happen several times until
I basically was not able to stand for even a minute and was
forced to stay in bed. Going to the toilet was a real struggle
and watching TV or reading was very tiring. At the same time
the craving for food increased to abnormal proportions. I was
hungry all the time and as soon as I was done eating, I was
already planning the next meal. It was hard to go through the
night without eating. My body felt very heavy and sluggish,
and of course, my body weight increased a lot.
My legs were very weak and almost constantly
vibrating/shaking. I remember once I tried to walk down the
stairs in our apartment and was not sure if I would be able to
walk back up. I was surprised at how fast things could change.
One day I was able to do one hour of Siu Lim Tao (Wing
Chuns first form) but now I found even doing one minute of
horse stance impossible. I also remember feeling very helpless
since the tools I had in the past relied on to keep me healthy,
my Qigong, Wing Chun, Chun Yuen and Hard Qigong practice,
had been all of a sudden taken away.
Luckily, after some weeks I was able, very slowly, to start
practising but just with tiny bits of Balancing Gong and tiny bits
of horse stance. This was just little by little, like baby steps. This
time I had learned my lesson and I increased the amount of
practice very slowly, and as time went by, my body slowly got
stronger and felt more balanced. My extreme hunger reduced.
From time to time I tried to test my body a little - sometimes
it was okay and at other times it was not okay and I had to
take a few steps back.
After a couple of months I could do some small walks
outside. I was even able to travel to England to attend the
Wing Chun residential. That was a little victory. I was not
able to practise much whilst there, but just being around with
happy healthy people helped a lot and over the days it felt
like I was recovering quicker than before. On returning from
the residential course, I felt slightly stronger and could start
practising the Wild Goose form again.
It is now almost a year since this all happened. Although
I have not recovered 100% yet, and still have a relapse now
and then, I am slowly getting stronger. The Qigong practice
My Sifu always says, Listen to your body. Ive heard

it many times but apparently it never sank in properly, despite
it being so immensely important. To practise can be so much
fun and so it is easy to get carried away. But practising Qigong
is not only about going through the forms and being happy
with that. An important part of the practice is to listen to your
body all the time, and not only when we practise, but also
after practice. When I was not able to practise I realised how
much I really love the Qigong and Chun Yuen practice. Now
I feel that every practice session is a privilege.
Hard Qigong is a marvellous skill and should not be
feared, only treated with care. It has so many health benefits
but one should never forget to listen to the body. For some
people, that is probably the real test. If in doubt, never be
afraid to talk to your Sifu. He or she has undergone years of
practice and has lots of experience and wisdom to share. Over
the months the support and guidance of my Sifu has been of
utmost importance and Im incredibly grateful for that.
This article started off with a Chinese saying, and I
would like to finish with another Chinese
saying that has been very
helpful. Incidentally it
is the text on this
When I was not

able to practise I
realized how much
I really love the
Qigong and Chun
Yuen.
has helped me very much over the months and in addition,

Im able to practise the Chun Yuen forms. The Qigong helps
me to re-energise the body and strengthens it in a gentle way.
The Chun Yuen practice helps me develop more stamina and
fitness and creates strong circulation in the body.
years anniversary polo shirt, and it says Water dripping

consistently on stone will eventually create a hole. This
means that one single drop will cause unnoticeable change
on the stone. However, if one works consistently over time,
little by little, eventually one will achieve results
by Tor Arne Oigard
Xing Shou is the first form in the Chun Yuen syllabus. It is an

exciting form that teaches all the basics and attitude of Chun Yuen
Quan. If your Xing Shou is good, then you will be very healthy with a
good posture, strong bones and Qi.
Xing Shou
Part 6
24. Golden Snake Spinning
a. Turn the left toes to the left side and spin the body round
90 degrees.
b. Meanwhile, bring the left hand to the left side of the chest
in a fist and sweep the right arm round in front of the chest.
The forearm is like a bar in front of the chest with the right
elbow bent 90 degrees and the right palm facing down.
The right foot should press into the back of the left knee
which is slightly bent.
When we turn on the left foot, we must turn on the heel and keep
the weight on it. This is because this part of the foot is most connected
to the ground. If you watch anyone doing a form you can spend a lot of
time just watching their feet and see whether they turn on their heels
or toes. Of course, sometimes we will turn on the toes, but most of the
time it will be on the heel. The heel gives us the most support and this
is particularly important when we need to stand on one leg.
A healthy person must be grounded, which means the bones will
be strong, healthy and connected. We have bones in our body to help
us stand, sit, walk, etc. Imagine a person without a skeleton, how can
they live? If your body has a problem, but your bones are strong, then
the problem cannot be too bad. It is just like a house, there might be
some problems with the walls, windows or paintwork, but if the main
structure of the house is good, then people can still live there. Bones
therefore are the most important part of the body. Of course, the joints
are important too as they connect all the bones together, so we must
keep them all strong. The most important bone that connects to the
ground is the heel. So for turning, walking and stepping we need a
strong heel to support the whole body.
Turning on the heel is the key to Golden Snake Spinning. The
hands follow the body while turning and when the right foot steps up
behind the left knee, the hands should already be in place. We put the
right foot behind the right knee only to make the posture look good.
The martial application would have the right foot on the ground,
behind the left and the right hand would be used for grabbing or
pushing the opponent.
25. Left Hook and Right Stab

a. Place the left hand on top of the right hand with the palm facing
upward.
b. Now turn the left palm down and make a hook with the
fingers.
c. Bring the right hand towards the chest with the palm down and
the fingers facing out.
d. Turn the body to the right 180 degrees on the right leg and then
strike forwards with the fingers of the right hand. Meanwhile,
extend the left arm out behind so that the hook of the left and
the right hand make a straight line.
a
In Chinese martial arts the most common bare-hand weapons are

the fist and the palm. The fist can be vertical or horizontal and the palm
can be straight up, left, right or down, it can even be used as a chop. The
hook and the finger strike are the next most common hand techniques.
The hook is actually a grab. We might grab the opponents wrist, elbow,
arm or even hand. The finger strike can be used on the eyes and this is a
very serious self-defence technique. A lot of techniques are very useful
d (side view)
but are also very harmful, therefore, in Chinese Martial Arts,

there is a moral code to control our behaviour. The main code is:
do not harm someone who is not trying to hurt you and only use
your skill for self-defence or for protecting your family and your
country. Of course, today we have firearms and so martial arts
might not be as useful as they once were for defence.
Today martial arts are mainly to train us to be disciplined.
If someone is not disciplined, then everything they do will
eventually fall apart. Discipline is about the mind and the body
working together. Today many people easily give up when facing
difficulties and criticism. Martial arts actually train the mind
through physical movement. Then the mind can become strong
and you will be able to handle all these difficulties and you will
not give up easily, but this does not mean that you are stubborn.
I have been training martial arts and Qigong for over 35 years.
They have helped me a lot for both my body and mind. First they
give me good health and secondly they give me a good, strong
body and mind.
Xing Shou means Style Hand and it contains many beautiful
and interesting traditional Chinese martial arts hand positions.
Although the hook and stab movements are martial arts techniques,
they are also very good for the wrist and elbow. They are also
very good for the coordination and this is very beneficial for the
body.
This part of the form has many small and detailed movements
that are very difficult to get right. Although it looks as if we just
move the hand and change direction, we must learn how to move
from the leg. Then the energy will go to the fingertips in the strike.
The back hand, held as a hook, will also connect to the strike as
well.
26. Big Tornado
a. Both hands change to horizontal

fists.
b. Bend the right arm so the elbow
points forward. Step back with
the right foot, but keep the
weight forward.
c. Then, turning to the right, spin
180 degrees withdrawing the
right fist to the right side of the
waist and changing the left to
block the front of the body. The
fist should be upwards and the
elbow slightly bent. The right
leg should be bent and the left
leg should be straight to form a
bow stance.
This movement should actually be

done as a jump but in the beginning we
do things step by step without jumping,
just as in the Chinese saying which
says, Dont run before learning how
to walk. The Chinese way of learning
is to learn things step by step. From
clear, correct, slow positions and
structures to flowing and natural movements. Then eventually you

can do the movement whichever way you wish, but it must always
follow the Dao (nature). Many people, however, just want to learn
the top level and do not want to do the basic level. Without the basic
level, though, everything will eventually fall down, just as if your
desk is full of books and to make more space you pile all the books
up. If you do not pile them up properly, then in the end, when you
put a book on the top of the pile they will all fall down. Some older
books might get damaged or the books might knock other things
off the desk, like your cup of tea or flowers in a vase.
In this movement we step back with the right leg and then turn
the body. You can see that there is a 180-degree turn. So the jump
is where the right leg steps back, so we must step very quickly
and turn around. When you jump, you must start with the right
leg and then the left leg and the hands immediately turn. Once
we do the jump we go straight into the next movement, Beat and
Control the Tiger, which is a very fast movement. We cannot do
a quick jump followed by a slow movement as the energy does
not flow this way.
An application for this movement is grabbing one or two
opponents and swinging them around and then punching them.
This is why we close the finger strike and hook into fists.
This movement is also very good for developing our
coordination, learning how to jump and how to make everything
flow together. However, the movement must come from the legs.
27. Beat and Control the Tiger
a (front view)
a. Lift up the left leg and bring both fists to the right side
of the body. The right fist should be up and the left fist
lower down.
b. Step forwards, 45 degrees, with the left leg making a bow
stance. Meanwhile punch down with the right hand and
lift the left up above your head, keeping the arm slightly
bent at the elbow. All the movements happen at the same
time. The hand movements - right swinging down and left
swinging up - come from the waist.
As I said before, this movement is connected with Big

Tornado. This movement is almost the same as Kick and Beat
the Tiger. The only differences are that it starts from a different
position and the timing of the punch. In Kick and Beat the Tiger,
we punch when both feet are on the ground, but in Beat and
Control the Tiger, we lift up the left foot and then we punch and
step at the same time.
As I mentioned, this movement comes from the story of Wu
Song who beat a white tiger whilst he was walking through a
dangerous forest when he was drunk. Afterwards he became very
famous. This story itself comes from the famous Chinese classical
novel Outlaws of the Marsh.
When we lift up the leg, we also raise the right hand up above
the head. The left hand is lower and close to the chest and right
armpit.
Whenever we lift up the leg the knee must lift up as high as

possible and the toe and heel must push in towards the other knee.
This gives us a firm stance as it helps us to grip the position.
In Chun Yuen Quan posture is very important. During my life,
I have come across many masters of Qigong and other martial
arts, both in my own studies and also when doing interviews for
articles in Qi Magazine. Of all of them, my favourite is my Sifu,
Wu Chun Yuen. His posture was perfect and it came from inside;
it was internal. There are a lot of young Wushu practitioners
who are very flexible and who can hold some very low postures,
however, they are not internal. Someone might be able to do some
very difficult positions, but this only means they are flexible and
does not mean that it is internal. All good Qigong and martial
arts must be internal as this makes us healthy and strong in both
our body and mind.
In order to be internal the movements must come from the
waist and the hands and legs must be connected. When we punch
down we can see the left and right hand are in line and the left
and right punch form a curve. The back must be as straight as
possible but we can look down at the punch, as our eyes should
look to wherever the energy goes. The front leg should be bent and
the back leg should be straight so they form a bow stance.
by Michael Tse
When you train a martial art people will often ask if you ever
have to use your skill. This is a fair question. After all, if we live a
normal, decent life, how many times will we actually get into a fight?
Wanna Fight?
f course, a martial art has to work,

otherwise it is not a good martial
art, and if we train a martial art
we should also be able to use it. Having
said that, in one sense a good martial
artist will never have to use their skill as
they will sense a bad situation before
it happens and do something to avoid
it. If conflict is unavoidable then, in the
Chinese martial arts world, it is actually
considered one of the highest levels of
skill if you can defeat an attacker without
hurting them.
In another sense, however, a
good martial artist will use their skill
all the time. A good martial art will
not only help you to develop strength,
speed, stamina and technique, it will
also help you to stay relaxed, develop
your sensitivity and improve your
health. When we are faced with a
difficult situation, for example, if we
have a difficult client or colleague
at work, it is probably not a
good solution to just punch
them. It might be tempting,
it might even feel good in
the short term, but it will
cause you problems later,
such as getting you fired, or
put in prison or both. Also
the person you hit might
carry a grudge against you
for a long time and may
want some kind of revenge.
What if they later become
your boss?
Clearly, if we can stay
relaxed, then we can deal
with the situation better. If
we get upset then things
can easily get out of hand.
When we train Tui Shou
(Taijiquan partner training,
also called pushing hands) or
Chi Sau (Wing Chun partner training) we
develop our sensitivity to other people
and train our ability to stay relaxed
when we are being attacked. This is a
very useful skill in everyday life because
if we are sensitive to people then we
can more easily understand them and
that will help us to be able to find a
solution in an impasse. Also if we can
stay relaxed in a difficult situation then
we can avoid over-reacting, can think
clearly and therefore be better placed

to solve the problem.
When we practise pushing hands,
for example, in the beginning we might
be very tense because we are not good
at relaxing and because we are scared
that someone will push us over and
that we will then look weak or foolish.
This is nearly always a problem in the
beginning and it relates to our ego. To
get over this we begin by training slowly
and gently so we know that we will not
get hurt. After a while, as we develop
our skill, we realise that it is when
someone manages to push us that we
have an opportunity to improve. They
have shown us a weakness that we can
now try to avoid, so actually we should
thank them.
The Chinese say, invest in loss,
and this is what we do in pushing hands.
We learn from our mistakes and so we
improve. When we have
this attitude then
the atmosphere we train in will be

more relaxed and enjoyable and we can
often see people who are training Tui
Shou or Chi Sau laughing and having
fun as they train.
When we train Tui Shou with
a lot of different people we find that
we have to adapt to each person, as
everyone is different. Some are soft and
some are strong. Maybe we are good at
handling the strong people but not the
ones with soft energy. This can

also help us in our everyday
life as we constantly have to
deal with many different kinds
of people.
Another benefit of partner
training is that it clears the mind. Put
simply, you are not able to think about
your daily worries or your supermarket
shopping list if someone is trying to hit
you. The training forces you to live in
the present moment and this too is good
training for life because if we think too
much about the past, or the future, we
can easily make ourselves unhappy.
A good martial art will also be
good for our health and should be
something we can train even when we
are old. If we find that we get a lot of
injuries from our training then how can
this be good? A lot of traditional Chinese
martial arts have given a lot of thought
to this aspect and so when we train
we find that it improves our posture,
coordination, balance, fitness and
strength without damaging us.
Of course, if we are fit and
healthy, then we will
enjoy life more.
Finally, if we
are strong, fit and
healthy, then we
can help other
people who are
weaker. On a
physical level
we can use
our martial art
skill to protect
others, or we
can use our
extra energy to
care for people,
but also, if we can
read situations better
because we are sensitive, then
we can make good decisions and give
helpful advice.
So, as you can see, there are
many good reasons to learn a martial
art even if you never have to use it. In
fact, in a list of good reasons, punching
people you dont like should be at the
very bottom of the list if there at all.
by Peter Andersen
Change is the natural way to keep things in order. In our body, every single
minute, something changes. It can be things we notice very easily, like our
feelings (we can feel good or feel bad), but they change.
Feng Shui of the Tiger

S
ome other things change very slowly and so we will not

notice, like our bones or our organs. No matter what,
they change. The energy in the universe is the same, like
us it changes.
In Chinese Feng Shui there are also different kinds
of changes from big to small. Big change happens every 60
years, medium changes happen every 20 years and small
changes happen every year. Actually to be truly correct, there
are changes every month, week, day, hour and every minute
as well.
Most people are mainly concerned with the change each
new year brings and so many
of you will be interested in
this year. Whether our home
is a house, flat or even a
huge mansion, it is likely
that you will not be able to
change it around too much.
But if we can find where the
good Qi and bad Qi come
into our homes we can do
something about it.
Here is the chart for
the year 2010. The Chinese
New Year started on the 4th
of February and we mark this
as the beginning of Spring
. We also count this as the
beginning of the year. So the
new energy started on this
day, remember we do not
count from the beginning
of January as the first day
of 2010 as the Chinese
calendar is based on the
lunar calendar.
This year the number
8 is at the centre which means it is in charge. The number 8
represents, good, right and money. So this year is good for
people to make money in a proper and stable way, not for risky
money, like gambling or the stock market. It is always good
to make money through our hard work rather than by taking
chances. Number 8 is the Earth element, so if we put a green
carpet or a red carpet at the middle of the house that is good
for bringing up the Earth Energy. If we have many rooms in
the house, we need to find out which is the central room of
the house and so put the carpet there.
On the West side is number 1 and this is the Water
element which relates to travelling and moving such as moving
house and even relates to relationships. Metal creates Water
(in the Five Element theory) so it will be good to place metal
things such as TVs, radios, stereos or anything related with
metal here if you want to benefit from the number 1.
Northwest is the number 9 and this is a good number.
7
6
3
4
N
It relates to celebration and parties, so if you like celebrations

and having good friends coming together more often, we can
put a red carpet here because number 9 is Fire element.
North is number 4 which relates to studying or
promotion. It is the Wood element. Here we can put an
aquarium or some thing with water in it, even just a glass of
water will help, but it is better to change the water from time
to time.
The Northeast corner is the number 2 and this is not a
good number. It will cause sickness, so we should not bring up
this energy or do things to fight against it. Instead we should
release the energy. As it is
the Earth element and earth
creates metal, so we can put
something white in colour or
some other metal colour like
gold and silver and this will
help to release this unwanted
energy.
On the East side is
number 6, which is a good
number. This is the money
star but it is not usual money.
It is surprise money, for
example, if someone gives
you extra money, extra work
or a bonus. Number 6 is the
Metal element. So we can put
a potted plant here as earth
creates metal.
In the Southeast corner
is number 7 and this is also
not a good star. It is the
Metal element. So we need
to release this energy because
this star is for losing money.
Put something here which
relates to water or a round object as this will help.
To the South is number 3 and this is the Wood element.
Again this is not a very good star as it brings up arguments.
So the best thing to do is put some red flowers or a nice red
painting in this area. This is good as it will release the wood
energy.
In the Southwest corner is number 5 and this is a
very important star. It is the Earth element and it represents
the centre of all the energy. So here we should not do any
decoration or put anything in this area. Keep this area as a
quiet area and for stillness and do not have any big activities
here. It is like the Dantian of the body so we should not
damage it.
Remember Feng Shui is the energy of the area but if
our heart is good then things will always change from bad
luck to good luck
5
1
by Michael Tse
Wild Goose
Qigong
Chun Yuen
Kung Fu
WEDNESDAYS
TUESDAYS
MONDAYS
Chen Style
Taijiquan
Wing Chun
Kung Fu
Tottenham Court Road

St George's Church Vestry Hall
6 Little Russell St.
London WC1A 2NR
Wimbledon
St Marks Church Hall
St Marks Place
Wimbledon SW19
Notting Hill Gate

Essex Unitarian Church
112 Palace Garden Terrace
London W8 4RT
Tube: Tottenham Ct Rd
Tube/Train: Wimbledon
Tube: Notting Hill Gate
Time
Class
Time
Class
Time
Class
6.30pm
Chun Yuen Quan
6.30pm
Chun Yuen Quan
6.30pm
Chen Taijiquan
7.30pm
Wild Goose Qigong
7.30pm
Wild Goose Qigong
7.30pm
Wild Goose Qigong
8.30pm
Chen Taijiquan
8.30pm
Wing Chun
8.30pm
Wing Chun
St Marks Church Hall

l
sP
Rd
a
dr
Al
Notting Hill Gate

Tube Station
ace
Terr
hurch st
gton C
ex
an
t Rd
Wimbledon
Train/Tube Station
A40)
ate (
Hill G
ens
Gard
ll R
Cour
ing
Nott
Kensin
Hi
r St
ham
xford S
Essex Untiarian Church
ce
Pala
on
ed
bl
im
ark
M
St
ad
dge Ro
Pembri
nR
pto
m
Co
St
e
Gow
n
Totte
Gt Russell St
New O
ell S
Russ
Plac
eum
Mus
Little
Bury
lace
er t P
Gillb
Tottenham Court Road Tube Station
0845 838 2285 www.tseqigongcentre.com
Whats
On UK
Contact: Tse Qigong Centre

PO Box 918-A Kingston Upon Thames
Surrey KT1 9PA
Tel 0845 838 2285 or Email tse@tseqigongcentre.com
April
10-11 Great Sadness Gong - London
Great Sadness Gong is a most amazing Chun Yuen Quan form that will help to increase circulation and make the lungs and heart
strong. It will benefit anyone suffering from asthma, depression, too much worry or sadness. Sadness is the emotion which relates
to the lungs and so this form has opening, stretching and even some jumping movements which help to release stale lung Qi.
There is both a slow, soft version for beginners and a more dynamic version for advanced practitioners.
17-18 Plum Blossom Gong - London

This form is an advanced form in the Dayan Qigong system that is based on Daoist principles. It is very beautiful and contains
many special hand gestures and movements that help to open the three Dantians to develop Jing, Qi and Shen. The collective
energy brings harmony between practitioner and nature.
30 April-3 May Wing Chun Residential Course

See inside front cover and booking form in this magazine.
July
3
1st Annual Tse Qigong Centre Picnic all invited - London
Everyone is invited to attend the first Annual Tse Qigong Centre picnic. Enjoy good company and good food.
Call to book and obtain directions.
Hard Qigong Test London
(Fee: 90/70 in advance). Open to those members who have studied Hard Qigong at previous courses.
August
7-13
Wild Goose Qigong & Chun Yuen Quan Instructor Course
(*The last two days will be optional polishing and testing days for Chun Yuen Quan. Anyone who has finished the Level II Warm
Up is welcome to join in, even if you just want to polish any Chun Yuen form learned, whether completed or not.)
14-17 Green Dragon Sword Residential

See booking form in this magazine.
14-17 White Crane Sword Residential

See booking form in this magazine.
19-22 Buddhism Opening Fragrance Gong

See outside cover and booking form in this magazine.
September
18/19 Wild Goose Qigong 1st & 2nd 64 - London
Wild Goose Qigong is a longevity skill that imitates the movements of the Dayan. It is one of the most famous
Qigong skills that has survived many centuries in China.
The 1st 64 is the beginning of all the Wild Goose Qigong forms. This form works on post-natal illnesses and
problems in the body and it will help balance the body and open the channels. The 2nd 64 works on pre-natal
illnesses and problems. As such the energy goes deeper and the movements are a little more intricate.
(Will split into different groups according to what level has been learned.)
October
16/17 13 Grab Stick Chun Yuen Quan
(Fee: 170/150 in advance, includes white waxwood stick) This is a form which can help develop
how to use a short stick for defending oneself against attack. In practical use, a short stick could
be substituted for an umbrella or even a walking stick. Using principles from traditional martial
skills in the Chun Yuen tradition, this form is also good for improving circulation. There is no need
for any previous martial art experience and it is open to all. Thirteen Grab stick is a fun and useful
form to practise and learn, helping to keep tendons and arm and finger joints supple.
November
6/7
Plum Blossom Gong - London
(see 17/18 April for further details)
27
20 Year Anniversary Demonstration and Workshop
See inside back cover and booking form in this magazine.
December
4
Wing Chun Wooden Dummy- London
The Wing Chun Wooden Dummy is a very special training method. The Wooden Dummy hones your skill by correcting angles,
polishing positioning and refining footwork. It also allows you to practise techniques that you cannot practise on a partner, for
example kicking and Fa Ging. Each of its eight sections highlights certain techniques and teaches different aspects. Training the
Wooden Dummy will bring your Wing Chun to a higher level and is a must for all Wing Chun students.
Meditation Day - London
There are many special meditations in the Dayan system. Some are for helping to
heal illness, some for developing Qi in certain parts of the body, some for helping
to open human potential. These particular ones relate to the Yijing (Scripture of
Changes) and help to open the human potential in different ways.
WEEKEND SEMINAR FEES

UK fees for seminars (excluding residential courses & other special seminars).
1 day - 80 (20 Discount if paying in advance*) or 2 days - 140 (20 Discount if paying in advance*)
*CHEQUES must be received at least 10 days in advance of the seminar and CREDIT CARD payments at least 7 days in advance
of the seminar. If wanting to pay on the day, cash only will be accepted. However, this must be arranged in advance with the Tse
Qigong Centre, otherwise you will not receive the discounted seminar fee.
Membership
Yearly Membership includes reduced seminar fees on certain seminars & classes, Centre polo shirt & discounts on certain
merchandise.
Family Membership covers family members living at the same address. Other details as above, but with two polo shirts. Please
see our website or contact the Centre for current rates.
Whats On
Worldwide
Canada Duncan BC
3 June
Free Demonstration
4 June
Miju Quan Secret Ancestor Fist
5/6 June
28 Constellation Gong
A rare opportunity to witness and experience traditional Chinese skills rarely seen in the West. Chinese philosophy and healing will be
discussed with an opportunity for audience questions.
Miju Quan is more like a Qigong form but is within the Chun Yuen Quan tradition. It uses quite soft and gentle and dance-like movements
to help develop brain and body coordination. It is excellent for helping to loosen shoulder joints and knees.
The Chinese name of this form literally translates as 28 Mansions, which are actually a group of stars or constellations that relate to
different directions and energy. When we complete this form, we will have covered all of these directions and opened the five internal
organs of the body.
For more information contact: Lee Masters tel (250) 748 4060 or email rivendellrhythm@shaw.ca
Denmark
7 May
Introduction to Hard Qigong
8 May
25 Movement Chen Taijiquan
9 May
Healthy Slapping Gong
Hard Qigong is a very special type of Qigong and is one of the treasures of the Tse Qigong Centre. Using special breathing techniques
and movements Hard Qigong creates powerful Qi that helps dramatically improve circulation and energy levels.
This form is based on the teachings of Master Tses first Chen Taijiquan teacher, Grandmaster Fung. It follows the principles of Chen
Taijiquan but it has a different flavour and emphasis, being livelier than other forms such as Laojia (Old Frame) with much faster and smaller
spirals. It contains a great deal of martial arts knowledge and helps make the body light and more flexible.
Living in crowded areas, it is often difficult to find enough space to practise our Qigong forms. Time can also be at a premium so short
forms that work quickly on the body are nice to know. Healthy Slapping Gong is a shorter form which works to open the channels and
release sick Qi through slapping.
For more information contact: Peter Andersen tel 20538998 or email wildgoose64@gmail.com
USA
5/6 June
Joint Opening Gong
You need both Yin and Yang energy to be healthy and Joint Opening Gong is a good example of both. Part I gently loosens the lower back,
knees and waist and Part II is more dynamic and makes the Qi in the body stronger, improves circulation and mobility in all the joints.
For more information contact: Adam Wallace tel (212) 330 8327 or email wallace@dayanqigong.com
Norway
19/20 June & 4/5 September Wild Goose Qigong - 1st & 2nd 64
Wild Goose Qigong is a longevity skill that imitates the movements of the Dayan. It is one of the most famous Qigong skills that has
survived many centuries in China. The 1st 64 is the beginning of all the Wild Goose Qigong forms. This form works on post-natal illnesses
and problems in the body and it will help balance the body and open the channels. The 2nd 64 works on pre-natal illnesses and problems.
(Will split into different groups according to what level has been learned.)
For more information contact: Tor Arne Oigard tel 97 17 58 97 or email ta.paamelding@gmail.com
Rome
13/14 Nov
Wild Goose Qigong 1st & 2nd 64
See description above
For more information contact: Giuseppe Siani tel 33 94 528 511 or email giuseppe.siani@gmail.com
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Members : 465* for early registration / 495 for payments

received after 15 July 2010.
A high level form within the Dayan Qigong system that uses special
movements which can help the practitioner to open certain channels and
organs to release fragrance that can be transmitted outside the body.
Different fragrances connect with different organs. For instance, fragrances
of jasmine, sandalwood and others can be transmitted when the body is
healthy and has reached a good standard.
Note: Special conditions apply please apply to the Tse Qigong Centre for these but note that the minimum requirement is that
one must have a current membership and studied with the Tse Qigong Centre concurrently during the last 12 months. However, all
applications will be subject to final approval of the Tse Qigong Centre in all cases.
Click to go to booking form

To reserve your place, please send 100 non-refundable deposit to:Tse Qigong Centre
PO Box 918-A, Kingston upon Thames, KT1 9PA
For enquiries, please telephone:0845 838 2285 or +44 208 224 2306 (overseas)
Full & final payments need to be received before 15 July 2010 in order to receive discounted course fee of
465
Cash on the day payments must be arranged in advance (before 15 July 2010) or will be charged full fee.

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Cover: Master Michael Tse

Qi Magazine is published by the Tse Qigong

Readers may contact any of our contributors

very morning when I wake up, I

The longer we are separated the more

Qi Magazine Issue 91- Year 2010 page 1

in harmony with it. We cannot tell the sky what weather we

Our bodies are part of nature

they do it, but the goal

wanting to borrow more money and more money. We all

ordinary people, we can still live happily to enjoy every single

Qi Magazine Issue 91- Year 2010 page 3

Click on title to go to article

Time For Everything

with Michael Tse

We should be patient when developing our skill. On

Qi underlies everything we do. When we communicate

18 Warm Up - Level 2 Poem

A charming little poem about the level II warm up

A personal account about how Balancing Gong get you

Wing Chun Self Defence

There are some techniques within Wing Chun that we

page 4 Qi Magazine Issue 91 - Year 2010

Understanding is a double-edged sword because if you

20 Years of the Tse Qigong Centre

This year is a huge landmark for the Tse Qigong Centre

Balancing Gong and the Busy Day

Check Your Recipe

Cover Feature...Cover Feature...Cover Feature...

Fasting is a tool that has been used for thousands of years

Wing Chun Story - Part 16

Wong Wah Bo has been studying with Leung Lan

Let Nature Take its Course

Nature is very powerful and sometimes, when we are

Type II Diabetes is something that many people face. The

Treating Type II Diabetes Are Your Own Best Healer

To train any martial art effectively we must make sure

Here is a chance to test your own knowledge of food cures

What the Tse Qigong

Shanghai is Chinas largest and fastest developing

This is a short story, but it has a deep message.

Dzogchen Rinpoche travels the world teaching his

First hand experience of a four year Tibetan Buddhist

Balance is everything. How do we balance our Qigong

Xing Shou - Part 6

From the movement Golden Snake Spinning to Beat

This is a question all martial artists should never ask,

Listen to Your Body

By Tor Arne Oigard

The Difference Between Heaven and Hell

Every student of Qigong has an interesting story to tell.

Feng Shui of the Tiger

Double edged straight blade, engraved & finished with brass

Tse Qigong Centre members 90 / Non-members 100

Kang Li Telescopic Practice Sword

Well-balanced steel practice sword. Comes with carrying case

Longquan Dragon Knife (Broadsword)

Engraved blade finished in copper. Includes engraved

Chinese Spear (Length 215cm)