Customer Reviews

Shaolin White Crane: Hard and Soft Qigong

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

 

 

I myself have training in the arts of Tae Kwan Do and Karate. After I dedicated a few years to each school, I decided I enjoyed Chinese martial arts more so than Korean style. Every sect of martial art is unique and wonderful; however, I found the most enjoyment in Chinese. This in turn led a search to find a proper, traditional kung fu school. Well, such thing does not exist in Colorado, however, Dr. Yang's DVDs do!

Do not get me wrong, as White Crane techniques have been adapted into nearly every martial art, this DVD is priceless regardless of style (or lack there of.) This DVD is much more strenuous than some may believe too. Even in Soft Qigong, it is easy to break a sweat (if done properly.)

Dr. Yang's "Shaolin White Crane" book compliments this video. While the book is not required, it is highly recommended. It goes over the spiritual aspects, history, and breathing, while the video does not. In my opinion, the book may be more important than the physical training itself.

If you want to build a properly strong foundation for TRUE Shaolin Gong Fu (Kung Fu) studies as I am doing, this DVD is second to none. For you see, Dr. Yang is a White Crane (among other arts) student of two TRUE Shaolin masters (you will have to buy the book to see whom.)

This is a DVD I will be using ten - twenty - thirty years down the road with my White Crane studies. At YMAA.COM (Yang's Martial Arts Association) site, there are near countless other videos, books, compact discs, art, uniforms, etc. Included in these are White Crane Basic training 1 & 2 (2 tapes, or one DVD.) Moreover, Basic training 3 & 4 are due out in a month or two. Currently there are Kung Fu Fundamentals, Ti Chi, Chi Na, and much more, take time to visit www.ymaa.com, you will not be disappointed.

In addition, there is NO affiliation with YMAA and myself. I simply have much passion and respect for such true quality video training, A RARITY now a day.

I digress though; this DVD is broken down into Soft, Hard, and extras (ymaa video clips for others videos.) Within Soft and Hard are subdirectories that allow simple navigation to any point of study. I find the best feature is how there is nearly no talking, just soft Chinese music that escorts the current movement or exercise. Actual training is VERY easy to understand and follow, but to replicate the flowing movements of Dr. Yang, well that is up to hard work and time.

Yet that is what martial training is:

time, dedication, development, and enlightenment.

Peaceful Years.

Ivory Crane.

As a student of Shaolin Kung-Fu, this is an excelent resource. I gave it four stars because I expected it to have a little more instruction on the body movements. The video consists only of Dr. Yang demonstrating the movements (which in itself is very valuable).

If you are interested is this video I recommend getting "Shaolin White Crane Gong Fu Basic Training 1 & 2" first (also by Dr. Yang).

The companion book, "The Essence of Shaolin White Crane" by Dr. Yang, is a must have with this video. The video is simply a demonstration of various movements and exercises. The book details the breathing, internal tension and theory for each move. Without the book the student is left doing nothing but a bunch of hand waving, and looses the internal training (the most important aspect of Qigong).

Together the book and video present instruction that is surpassed only by a qualified instructor. The book gives the details and theory, and the video demonstrates the correct form and technique.

This video is excellent. It is over three hours of various exercises,unlike most of the other fluffy qigong videos out there. It teaches the theory of qigong in general, and briefly explains the difference betweenthe methods of Hard and Soft qigong.
Dr. Yang is in horse stance almost the entire time (how old is this guy?!). For the first month of training my legs were a sore distraction,but now they're used to the stance and I can focus on my deep breathing,which is the key of qigong: Getting more oxygen into your body, so your cells can more efficiently repair themselves, build muscle, clear toxins,etc.
The DVD helps also to focus the mind on the specific part of the body you are training, which has helped me immeasurably to use my mind to lead the energy in my body where I want it to be.
These movements generate a lot of Qi energy in the body, and Im learning to store it in my 'dan tian', or 'elixir field', which is about 2 inches below the navel, in your center of gravity. This is the main place in your body where your bioelectricity is stored and circulated from. After training these qigong for a few months I can feel an abundance of Qi here and can also circulate it through my body, into my limbs and back.
Dr. Yang's demonstrations of these movements is invaluable and inspiring,and the narration is very clear and simple. I expect to train with this DVD for several years, and will probably refer back to it repeatedly for the rest of my life!

I very much enjoy this video. The chinese masters (including Dr. Yang) have a healthy power and softness of movement that is so obvious to the eye and typically so lacking in most western martial artists, but how does one train that characteristic? For the Southern White Crane system, I believe the Hard and Soft Qigong sets presented in this video are the answer.

The sets are subtle, and there is much in them to keep the student learning for years.

I've only so far sampled the Soft Qi Gong which alone is 94 min long & was tiring for me. I felt very stretched out after & as I was doing it could feel the smaller tendons in my spine & chest working.
Since it is narrated in English by a person who's native language is English with English subtitles as Dr. Yang demonstrates, this was easy to follow with a good flow.

There are video clips on his site for all his media at ymaa com

i think it should be noted that this dvd is lacking in some aspects. it is a video demonstration of the hard and soft qigong described in the book of same name. please note that unlike other ymaa dvd's it is lacking in descriptive narration and is strictly video demonstration. it could benefit from even basic description such as inhalation/exhalation patters. however this information is contained in said book. therefore i would not recommend this dvd on its owns- it really is a companion and anyone looking to learn would greatly benefit from both. that being said my opinion is that dr. yang is a true master of traditional arts and becasue i respect his teaching efforts i give it 4 stars- also plese note i purchased this from ymaa distribution as used-like new for less than half of list- which it is certainly worth in my opinion.in conclusion i value the dvd becasue it is possible to ascertain sublte aspects of the qigong sets in the book by watching the dvd, but would caution buyer to understand what is contained here.