training question
Helen Shen
Sorry it took me months to get back to you. I started to teach the
Chinese conversation class and got busier than expected.
I'm not quite sure what you mean by "female qi," and "male i," they
maybe a mistranslation of "Yin Qi," and "Yang Qi," whose properties are
of "metaphysical," and not directly related to a "female body" and/or a
"male body."
>From the martial arts point of view, Qi does not function differently
between a female body and a male body. However, due to the different
build/function of a female body and a male body, the QiGong/Gongfu
practice may practice differently. They are two types of breathing
practiced with Gongfu, flow type (Shun-Shi 順式) and reverse type
(Ni-Shi 逆式).
Flow type breathing is to expand the lower abdomen when inhale and
contract it when exhale, which are all done by moving the diaphragm.
The reverse type does the opposite, that is, contract the lower abdomen
to inhale and expend it to exhale, however, it is not done by moving
the diaphragm, but by moving the chest.
Most people breathe the flow type breathing normally; however, when
some kind of tension builds up, or more oxygen is needed, they revert
to reverse breathing, which is actually to increase the heart beats and
blood pressure to increase the blood flow, a natural response, but it
may not be good for a martial artist sometimes IF it disrupts the
steady flow of Qi or the heart beats. Guess that's why in Gongfu
practice we
practice one type of breathing for a particular form, and not mixing
them randomly. [In my style of white crane practice, we use reverse
breathing, inhale by expanding the chest (浮/Fu), but exhale by
pushing the DanTian/diaphragm (沉/Chen) to push the knee to the feet
to gain counter reaction of the gravity. When I do Taiji, I prefer flow
type breathing. Yoga uses flow type breathing.]
As breathing exercise goes, in the old days, a lot of people practiced
QiGong due to the poor health condition, so whoever might have invented
the exercise that could work with the internal organs but did not
demand the practitioner to be able to move the footsteps because the
health condition. And, in general, most of Gongfu/Taiji practitioners
do not talk about coordinating breathing with movements and say
breathing naturally, but often 'naturally' is unclear or undefined.
Some people can feel 'what is' naturally, but most of us need to
practice it diligently year after year (It is said: 論年不論月,
counting years not months when practice white crane gongfu if one
expect to see some progress in Gongfu/NeiGong). For martial arts,
coordinating the breathing with the movements is the fundamental
practice of Gongfu NeiGong (內功).
And for a "female," we should avoid practicing [heavily] the Gongfu
with "flow type" breathing during the pregnancy or menstruation period.
Hope this helps.
Best wishes,
Helen
Cathy said:
"Hello,
My name is Cathy and I am a student of Okinawan Gojuryu. I am the
only advanced female in our school and I have wondered if you would
tell me if there are fundamental differences I should be aware on the
way my energy systems will develop than that of the males in my dojo.
AsI begin to work more closely with the softer side I feel things that
don't coincide with what my Sensei has experienced or what he hears
from the males in the class. As you know, some of the Ancestors of
Gojuryu were trained in White Crane and I have always been facinated
by the fact that a n aspect of it came from a female. I have not been
able to find much about it other than what is in the Bubishi. I
wondered if you could and would be willing to help me. I appreciate
agreat respect any information you can offer. ...
Cathy"