Customer Reviews

Shaolin Nei Jin Qi Gong: Ancient Healing in the Modern World

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

 

 

A previous reviewer describe the form that this book documents as "too simple" for people interested in the martial arts... For the record, the form described by this book was a closely guarded secret of the Shaolin temple and it formed the basis for developing "external" qi for both martial and healing applications. The form was made public early in the twentieth century and has become very popular in China. Most extremely effective qigong are deceptively simple. The secret of their application lies in years of constant practice.

This book is excellent for those who wish to renew their health and maintain it. The most important part is the Horse Stance and
One Finger Gong. Practising this alone soon brings qi to the hands and other parts of the body thereby allowing the individual to experience energy very early on. Martial artists may want a much harder form of Qigong and not this 'soft' form which seems to be good for all ages.

I agree with the two most recent reviewers....this is an excellent book for those wishing to learn this ancient and powerful Qi Gong method. I learned the form 8 years ago from a Chinese master in Vancouver, B.C., and have searched for more information since. This book provides comprehensive descriptions keyed to clear photographs showing both how to do the form as well as describing applications. With any Qi Gong form, having an instructor standing in front of you is ideal. However, Peter Fenton does the next best thing for those without this option. I learned key information that my instructor had not provided and I continue use the book as a valuable guide.

As a person who studied with students of and later Peng Jui Ling himself (continuing to Luo Han Gong, Kongjing Qigong and the Poison Hand techniques), the man who is supposedly the source of the information of this book, I would like to take issue with the content. When I studied this form (taught by Master Peng as One finger Zen, also known elsewhere in the world as One Finger Art and Yihizi Chan Qigong), I was given his notes and I find many inconsistencies from notes to book, one of the most glaring the amount of time bending each finger, which is actually the core of this form. I would suggest this book be used as an introductory primer for someone considering taking one Master Peng's courses with either him or an instructor recommended by him, not as a substitute for actual instruction.

Having studied with reputed "Masters" in Taiwan and Hong Kong, I've long been under the impression that correct form is everything in qi gong; indeed, that poor form can be hazardous to one's health. Therefore I'm at a loss to explain how anyone with more than a book knowledge of the art could give this tome a good review. It is true, as some reviewers note, that simple forms can hold great power. However, even simple forms must be correctly executed, and this book fails to explain, or sufficiently illustrate, the correct execution of its movements in a manner that would allow the average reader to perform them accurately.

In a word, the book is useless, and the debate about the relative merits or lack thereof of the Shaolin style (or whether this really is an authentic set of "Shaolin" practices) is beside the point.

Here is a typical "instruction" from page 88 of the text:

"From a Natural Stance [to be fair, the Natural Stance is adequately defined and illustrated elsewhere in the book], with the knees relaxed, breathe in and circle your hands behind the body so that they meet together in front of your body in the prayer position."

The accompanying single photo illustrating this part of the movement shows the hands in the "prayer position". There are no photos demonstrating the (miraculous) shifting of the hands from front to back and front again without tying the practitioner into a human pretzel, or any specific articulation of what it might mean to "circle" the hands.

If you can visualize how this movement might be accomplished, and wish to gamble with the results from your trial and error attempts, then by all means, buy this book. You'll have similar opportunities to exercise your imagination on every page.

If you want safe, well-illustrated, comprehensive documentation of qi gong movements of this style or any other, look elsewhere.

I'll leave you with this math exercise, from pp. 52-54, on finger stretching exercises. The author first says it should take between 7 and 10 seconds to lower a finger and raise the next. (This itself appears to be an error. I think he means to say that it should take 7 to 10 seconds to raise a finger and lower the next.) Then he says you should hold each finger position from 8 to 10 seconds, and that you should subtract the amount of time spent lowering and raising fingers from the actual hold. So how much time does each hold actually last? By my count, an 8 to 10 second hold minus a 7 to 10 second movement into/out of position results in a 1 second or less hold. The author, however, says the final hold, after adjusting for movement, will be 5 to 7 seconds ... huh???

The writing is clear, but some parts of the book contain mistakes. There is confusion about the right and left sides. This has not seemed to do any good. This is more like a myth then effectual.

I bought this book thinking it would have Chi applications for martial arts. I found out that the book is very simple and would be better for beginners. Good for those who wish to learn more about Chi Kung to increase vitality or however you want to say it. But if you are a martial artist with some experience with directing Chi and you know about meridians and all, then the information will seem simple and have little use to increase your power for self defence or destruction, whatever your goals may be. I gave it a three cuz it can be usefull to some people. My guess is that the author is trying to make some money from a now popular practice.