Customer Reviews

Muscle/Tendon Changing and Marrow/Brain Washing Chi Kung: The Secret of Youth (YMAA chi kung series)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The previous comments on this book are basically accurate. The reader is correct that it does not go into detail regarding the small circulation, but that's cause it wasn't meant to. Dr.Yang mentioned in the beginning that you should have already read and accomplished some part of the Yi Gin Ching before going on to this volume. Also he mentions that you should have READ and UNDERSTOOD what was written in his previous books, "The Root of Chinese Chi-Gung" and "Chi-Gung, Health and the Martial Arts". The Health and the Martial Arts book is where the Small and Grand circulation is mentioned and taught in much greater detail.

I have been into REAL Gung-FU, Wu-Su for twenty-two serious years now and for fifteen years when I first wrote this review. I know that what Dr.Yang is talking about is correct because I was taught, or heard my instructors talking about the same things as Dr.Yang for years before I read his books. I was taught by a student of a Gung-Fu Master that grew up in one of the last Shaolin Temples that was destroyed in 1927. He is now over one hundred years old and looks like he's about sixty, with a strong solid physique, so you can be sure that he knows that Marrow washing Chi-gung as well.

Dr. Yang states repeatedly in his books that you must make sure that you read and understand all the theory and comprehend it BEFORE you go on to the next level of material. Train smart and slow, NOT stupid and fast as Dr. Yang repeatedly states in his books. Just cause you may not understand something, don't assume that it's the authors fault. I'm not saying that it's all perfect, some things could be a little clearer. But being into physics myself since I was about 6 years old, and that fact that Dr.Yang also has a degree in Mechanical engineering, has greatly helped him in his ability to break down and explain the material from both a spiritual and physical point of view and from both the eastern and western view as well.

Overall he has done and excellent job in his material and I personally owe him many thanks. The knowledge has helped me to grow and learn even more and faster than I was before and attain new levels of health, fitness, youthfulness, energy and more. It also helps me when teaching my students as well. You don't have to be into physics though to understand the material. It is difficult to understand no matter how you look at it. Even with my experience, I took Dr.Yangs advice and read each book about thirty times, some sections more than that BEFORE I started doing anything in the books, that is what you must do to, especially if you are a newcomer to the field.

Read "The Root of Chinese Chi-Gung" first. Read it over and over if you have to, then go on to the "Eight Pieces of Brocade" then to "Chi-Gung-Health and The Martial Arts" then, after at least two years, if you understand and have done those things seriously and accomplished at least the small circulation, I would say that you could begin some of the material in The Marrow washing volume. Follow the same pattern of reading it many times over and UNDERSTANDING the material well BEFORE you practice what is written in there. Also, FOLLOW the rules for Chi-Gung practice that are written therin and DO NOT take them lightly. I am speaking from experience here, you CAN mess yourself up and your health if you do not follow the rules that are given to you by Dr.Yang. This is especially important for MEN who are generating and converting semen from the testicles. Don't waste that chi through excess sexual activity, stress, getting mad, run down or such. Women must also make sure that they limit chi loss at that time of the month as well as follow the same rules regarding stress both emotional and physical too. Fortunately I know some other healing techniques that I was able to fix what had been done to me and replace the lost chi, which was my own fault, no one else's.

The techniques are safe and glorious, as long as you don't rush or take the information and warnings lightly. Do it right and you won't believe the results that you will get. Email me at Richsifu at gmail dot com for more info or questions. Just like driving a car is safe when you follow the rules of the road, you should be able to go for a lifetime without any accidents or problems. Take care, all the best to you in you Chi-Gung journey.

Anyone desiring to understand Qi, whether for Feng Shui, Marital Arts, or any other reason, must understand the internal human Qi, and the best avenue to this understanding is through Qigong.

This profound book is definitely recommended reading for a multitude of reasons, including its great contribution to the understanding and cultivation of Qi utilizing obscure and elusive techniques developed in antiquity through enlightenment.

Da Mo, also known as Bodhidarma, was an Indian of the Mahayana Buddhist Sect. He was considered a Bodhisativa who greatly affected the Chinese Shaolin Sect. His theories incorporated that the physical body is important and must be clean and strong (both externally and internally) in order to attain enlightenment.

Two rare ancient texts are attributed to him, both of which have been comprehensively researched and eloquently translated by Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang and offered with historical data and commentary. This second volume is an excellent sequel to the author's prerequisite book, The Root of Chinese Qigong : Secrets for Health, Longevity & Enlightenment.

The Yi Jin Jing is the Muscle Changing Text and instructs techniques for physical health and physical strength.

The Xi Sui Jing is the Marrow & Brain Cleansing Text and instructs techniques for internal cleansing and strength of the physical body via the internal organs including the blood and immune system. It further describes ancient practices designed as methods for channelling what can be termed sexual energy to energize the brain and gain enlightenment.

These two texts may initially appear more applicable to the channeling of male sexual energy as they were written in an ancient society predominated by male monks. However, these texts afford a great contribution to the understanding and cultivation of Qi within the framework of "Being" and the information is pertinent to both men and women.

Buy this book, it is essential reading for anyone interested in defined techniques for longevity and enlightenment.

I have mixed feelings on this book.Firstly,It is my understanding that it was written as a kind of compilation of ancient knowledge,training keys and'secrets'in order to understand the concept of the muscle/tendon changing,brain/bone marrow washing classics.Do not approach this book as a 'how to'.Especially frustrating was the lack of specifics governing the small circulation training which is repeatedly stressed as the premier means to accomplish the higher level chigung practices.In the area of commentary,Dr.Yang provides very intersting transliterations and explantions of chinese writing and idealogy.The pictures remain useful throughout the book and the grand circulation exerices are good and useful and the sexual hormone chigung is extremely informative and usable it would be a good idea for the prospective reader to cross train or learn of other systems before tackling the Yi Gin Ching namely because it is conceptually different than the average chigung book.I applaud Dr.Yang for researching so much and praise his commentary .It is a good and usefulbookprovided you already have a working level of chigung knowledge and practice under your belt

Yang uses Buddhist and Taoist documents, reproduced and translated section by section, to explain the esoteric training methods Yi Jin Jing and Xi Sui Jing. The first method generate qi to strengthen muscles and tendons, the second teaches Huan Jing or how to return vital energy through the spine to energize the brain. Evidently very baffled by certain aspects of these exercises, Yang sometimes has to conjecture. His translation is uncertain, yet this description includes valuable source material withheld in the popular books by Mantak Chia. This is an early work of a prolific writer who could really use an editor, and readers may find the non-standard Cantonese transliterations rather puzzling.

The reason people give this LESS STARS is most likely due to their inability to comprehend the true dedication and long term commitment this training requires. The fact that this training has even been uncovered and now available for the lay person is a miracle! Dr. Yang has the trifecta of expertise (the rare ability of translating Ancient Chinese Writings, the know-how and expertise of The Oriental Arts, and a modern day expertise of science with a PhD in Physics from Purdue) which makes this work close to the pinnacle of his existence. This is not a quick read. A long term commitment to progression beyond your present comprehension is a good idea for this one. Do not start something you can't finish, this training is very very serious. It is life changing and it is exactly what Dr. Yang plans spending his retirement years now doing, amongst the giant redwoods, in northern California. This is only for the most serious meditators, but a MUST HAVE for a more encompassing understanding of your training, whatever your direction.

The book is dangerous because:

Dr Yang admits he has no first hand experience and does not include any comments by any living masters who have experience in Marrow Washing. This is extremely discouraging because we don't learn this until near the end of the book (page 213) and also because there are difficulties in translating these ancient texts. Without first hand experience there is chance that something is mistranslated and that could lead to incorrect training and serious injury.

I doubt there is enough detail to complete Marrow Washing through all the levels. Nor do I believe you can correctly learn Muscle Tendon changing exercises with his limited photos. Lots of info here, but be prepared to buy one of his videos (the muscle tendon video references yet another book for breathing instructions!) and also buy books by other authors such as Mantak Chia. Still, you will never be able to verify that any living person on the planet has been able to read Dr Yang's book and complete the Marrow Washing based on his instructions.

I give Dr Yang 3 stars because the information seems important and is rare.

First, a comment on the format and style of this book. The book has a combination of both English and Chinese, with frequent "paragraphs" of Chinese included in the text. I'm not sure why this was done but I found it both irritating and confusing since I don't understand Chinese. The English is poorly worded and often seems, to me, to be missing information. The book is also lacking an index.

The drawings are rather simplistic and, compared to many other Qigong books, poorly drawn. The "exercises" are often depicted in only one frame with arrows supposedly indicating the movements; this is quite confusing and doesn't really show the intention very well.

The book is oriented around dividing Qigong into four "distinct areas" with "specific" exercises from each discipline. Not only have I never seen this type of division before but, again, the division is very arbitrary and little is done explain the relationships between these divisions. I found errors in the "history" sections as well. I suspect they have been plagarized from other books and I would recommend the reader to investigate other sources such as Grigg and Deng Ming Dao.

Then there are the actual exercises. Some of these can be found in many other books (although without the arbitrary divison of this book) and an interested Qigong practitioner probably has them already. However, many exercises in this book, particularly in the Martial section, are extremely dangerous if practiced without proper supervision.

In the history of Qigong there are numerous stories of master's who didn't transfer 100% of their lessons to disciples with the end result being crippled students. Many of the exercises in this book, particularly those utilizing sticks to pressurize points and blows to the body can lead directly to serious injury.

The book does not, in my opinion, satisfactorily explain this fact, nor does it outline a progression of study to lead into the exercises. It also doesn't even appear to mention many of the "standard" Qigong exercises such as "hugging the tree" that have a long proven history of providing benefit.

All in all, I was very disappointed with this book and certainly don't recommend it. Spend the money on finding a good master in your area and you'll be a lot farther ahead...

We are blessed that Dr. Yang has these information still in print.
Most true Kung Fu manuals are not printed any longer.
Many Kung Fu manuals, Martial arts manuals, books today are garbage. There is an old saying in Chinese.
True Kung Fu technique is taught in a page. Fake is in volumes.
The old teachers do not like to talk a lot. They keep it brief.
There are many many information collected here. Many techniques.
The thickness of the book is justified.
My Chinese Kung Fu manuals are thin. As thin as a pen, or a post it note. Some are thicker.
The garbage is really thick. This book is NOT garbage.

I have not read the entire book.
I have not found the chinese writings either as mentioned by another review here.
If they are there, the Chinese writings were presented to prove the source of the translation, and for those, like me, who can read Chinese, can interpret the meanings ourselves. I have 4 of his other books, also have Chinese in the last few pages, but not seen it yet in this book.

The Shaolin exercises are real. I have the Chinese version from another author printed before 1930. I haven't dedicated my life to practicing them, due to distractions in life. No I don't have an ipod, a big distraction today. But there are other distractions. and 24 hours a day isn't enough for me to use.

The information presented here are gathered from many sources, I believe, and organized in a way Dr. Yang and his teachers would believe as appropriate.

The diagrams on the 4 seasons were very helpful for me to understand the source of some of the 6 healing sounds, and how some people remember them in the past. You didn't see them ? You didn't pay attention. And you cannot read Chinese.

The information teaches: Getting up before sunrise.
Never knew the reason until I read it here.

Lots of information. Too much. Depending on your age, you should only practice some of the information taught here.
You cannot have time to practice all unless you are still 22 or younger.
It takes 10 years to succeed in ONE practice/ skill routine.

You think it takes 2 days ? 2 months ?
2 years would built a foundation. And most "fakes" would take this opportunity to teach and make money.

Update:
The Shaolin exercises needs to be modified to be perfect. Take it easy.
Take it slow.
Or you will over exert and give up like I did at one time
The clue is about our heart, and American way of isolating the muscles
for strengthening works here.

Dr. Yang is certainly a prolific reader of classical Chinese literature on meditation, chi kung and internal martial arts. Though he sometimes confused himself and over-simplified matters (like his "modern" interpretation of kan and li as a simple balance between heat and cool, which everybody can appreciate without the "confusing" concept of kan and li!), he did a good job in translating these to the west, in particular to western folks who teach the stuff to westerners and need to back-up their teaching with more background information of their practice.

Having said that, I find the practical content of this book quite disappointing, because it over promises. As a proficient martial artist, Dr. Yang is more than qualified to introduce and teach Yi Jin Jing. That practice however is readily available in many literature if one cares to search the web. Learning from Dr. Yang is of course a good choice but treating the practice as esoteric or hidden secret will be quite another matter.

Xi Sui Jing is actually a lost art (only being mentioned in some old classical Chinese literature without adequate instruction, as one can appreciate after reading Dr. Yang's book, not without some disappointment as I read one reviewer here felt) . It is therefore, to say the least, an over-promise for a book claiming to teach the stuff to its readers. According to available classical writings, Xi Sui Jing is very similar, if not the same as, Taoist practice of immortality. For readers interested to understand this practice, I would suggest them checking on Taoist Yoga: Alchemy & Immortality, the only Taoist classic on the subject (and an excellent one too) having been translated into the English language.

Another great book by Sifu Yang Ming. Lots of great info, charts and photos showing the exercises. They are not done easily and require great commitment. Prior knowledge on qigong is also definitely useful. But it is one of the best books on the topics I've seen.