Is Qigong cross-transplantable?

[Falcor]

By this I mean that is Qigong you learn in one style translatble to another style? I take it that basically you got health Qigong and martial Qigong. I am under the impression that health Qigong can be applied universally - that Qigong you learn for your health in one art can easily be applied at another art (or is this true?), but I'd think that martial Qigong is somewhat style specific since it's been developed to enhance the effectivensss of that particular art. Is this right? But what about instaces where same or similar Qigong forms are found in different arts - i.e. Muscle Change/Bone Marrow Washing or 18 Lohans - I sometimes find them listed in the syllabi of Northern Mantis and Hung Ga schools. Is this becasue they are health Qigong only? If one knew Iron Wire (for instance - which I hear is a HG Qigong set, essentially), can it be applied to NPM or Hsing-I? What about the reverse - taking some Qigong aspect from an IMA and applying it in a more external art?

[blooming lotus]

sure...qigong is just the cultivation and control and/or direction of the energy/qi...and good health, is good health.....I guess different styles have different cultivation exercises but same sh*t different application...apply it inward or outward through different movements...qi is qi dude

[backbreaker]

I would say absolutely yes. All qigongs are the same in a way, but different styles have different things they are especially good for. Every style I have learned improved aspects of the other styles I did.

[Repulsive Monkey]

Sorry about but I think its obvious that the answer is absolutely no.
Qi gong basically breaks down, to Health, healing, Taoist, Buddhist and martial qi gongs. I think you have to be clear about what it is you are using the qi to cultivate because although moving qi around the body to get rid of blockages in a health qi gong will be of benefit for anything you do in life, other qi gongs are very specific about in what way they are cultivating the qi.
Cultivating qi per se, is a good thing and there are some basic foundational qi gong practices that are good for this, 8 Brocades, Standing post, Taijiwuxigong etc but some of the spiritual qi gongs are very specific in what they do and some people may not want to cultivate in this manner.
There is a reason why there are many different schools of qi gong because their variety indicates different uses, and some are not that universal in what they proport to cultivate and develop.
Im sorry but the any old qi gong mentality is an unhealthy one and in some areas quite a hazardous one too.
This is from personal experience in trying some qi gongs and winding both ill mentally and physically at times.

[EarthDragon]

I would have to agree with repulsive monkey on this. I practice a medical qigong, (by the way there is medical, martial, health, religious and scholar types of qigong) but in my stlye there are specific channels, points and techniques you do to shoot the qi and use it to unlock blocked qi in my patients.
This is in no way similar to basic qi manipulation which just cultivates the qi say in the lower dantien.

This however does not mean that the cultivation's are not alike becuse some very well may be, but different qigong place certain aspects on certain techniques only. That would not be fesible to apply to say general qi excersizes.

[backbreaker]

I cannot agree at all that qigongs are not translatable in general. If you have practiced taijiquan for several years I think you will already know important aspects and pick up other styles more quickly. If a teacher said, forget evrything you have learned previous when you learn this new style, that could be a huge waste of time if you think the principles are different. My experience with different qigong styles is that the principles are universal , but some are good at developing some things at first, and other styles develop other attributes at first , but the skills are transmutable and are important in other styles. Say for example, if a style emphasizes visualisation to more of a degree than another, visualisation skills learned will cross over. If the energy is flowing stronger , then that will cross over. If a style has exellent relaxation techniques it will crossover. I think different breathing methods will come together eventually and crossover. In general, I have found the skills and techniques totally cross over. If you do qigong in the morning, and then in the aftenoon , your afternoon training will better off no matter what the morning qigon was, especially I think if it was different. My general findings though are mostly health and more for beginning. All the qigong I have seen was very similar, and definately crossed over to taiji and others, but I wouldn't take part of one form and put them in another form at all at my level, but I think in general they are all the same with different strengths and weaknesses.It seems cross training is all throughout the past, and many masters in the past combined systems into one. Many though are so similar, even the same. Really the enrgy flow is the same in the arms and legs and body, it doesn't matter whether you move your hand along your arms touching or a few inches away, or if you slap along the arm, it seems the same and transmutable to me even if one focusus on connecting deeper pathways into one path, and one is from the outside moving inwards. Actually I could go on forever about how all the qigongs I've ever seen were all exactly the same in the beginning to intermediate levels and even what I know of advanced. The similarities of all qigongs is surprising to me, Energy paths, absorbing and releasing energy, oneness princple and polarities, , refining energy, internal organs, constellation postures( or entire universe postures), opening closing, stretching. I will say that taiji , qigong, yoga, and meditation are all absolutely translatable with different strengths and weaknesses, as well as probably most martial arts.

I have heard at some point to become a disciple or lineage holder, or go high level, you should focus only on that style until you master it, because the practice can be complicated in many different ways and difficult.

[Golden Arms]

I agree with RM and ED on this one. A couple examples..there are some QiGong techniques in some styles that you only start after you have done some others for a long time, to prevent injuries, both soft and hard. Or, to use Iron Wire set as an example..a person can learn the movements and theory behind it anytime after they can tie their shoes, but to be able to DO what you are really supposed to be doing..you have to be in excellent shape and have been doing various other things for a long time..to the point that they are ingrained in your subconcious and not a concious thing you have to try and do anymore..this takes at least 10 years of heavy practice for most people, if not more, and that is just to start it.

[blooming lotus]

your right, but qi is still qi, no matter how it's applied or cultivated, or what meridian you gather, collect or move it through...sure, different exercises are geared to put focus in different aspects, but like I said, same sh*t, different bucket

[Repulsive Monkey]

It is still unadvisable to switch between different qigongs as they can certainly upset the body, as although qi is qi even though there are many different kinds/ qualities of it aswell though especially when you delve into TCM. If you are doing a specific qigong to move or develop the qi in a certain way and then switch to a different qigong which moves the qi in another way you are undoing the work of one qi gong over another. If you are doing a medical qigong like a bird qigong to help regulate and tonify qi in the lungs and then suddenly you do something else which draws qi away from the lungs a directs it somewhere else, surely you can see that you have negated the medicel/bird qigong in its work?
Switching between several qi gongs frequently most certain can have a detrimental effect in beginners and intermediate stages, in fact when you are highly cultivated and have a supreme control over the bodies energetics then you can do anything becasue then if you have problems you can retrace your steps and move the qi back to a more healthy state more easily, so Blooming Lotus this is in fact the complete opposite of what you've stated.

The truth is, is that not all qi gongs are the same, regardless at what stage the practitioner is at, and that cross training several qi gongs can very easily be hazardous. If you are training a complete qigong, why would you need to cut and paste several others anyway?
This attitude is not down to the qi gong practice its down to the practitioner and their attitude.

[scotty1]

Can't argue with that

[Mr Punch]

Surely the answer is is the same as that to all of the other questions on this board:

some of it is

and some of it isn't.

A lot of different kf and tc schools have a version of the eight-brocade, which is a closed set, with its own complete workings on each meridian. I've learnt a few versions, some harder than others, some using different visualization, some using different energy, but it seems that these are superficial variations, or at the worst easily translatable into another kf style.

On the other hand, I know there are some more meridian-specific and technical sets or techniques which follow one very set and individual philosophy.

There are absolutely no absolutes.

[David Jamieson]

no-

some gongs are for specific purposes and will counter others if done together.

qigong exercises that are put together to form a system of gongs should be done in the order they are given and mixing isn't the best idea. You may be undoing what you are trying to achieve by undertaking to mix and match without a more thorough understanding of teh purpose of the gongs.

not dissimilar to yoga in this way. there are schools of yoga which are contradictory but seek to achieve similar goals.

the manipulation of the spine, muscle , tendon and bone should not be approached with any haphazzardness at all.

basic gongs of course are benign in and of themselves, but "specific" gongs are not. If you have not the knowledge or experience then you probably shouldn't be messing with yourself in such a fashion.

The results of gongs are for the most part not immediately apparent in the practitioner and you may notice the benefit or the detriments months or even years later.

reversal is difficult at that point.

It's like building a steel house and then realising that you probably shouldn't have used a clay foundation.

be mindful of your practice and concerned with the teachings you have received. Not to be taken lightly anymore than improper lifting techniques or cv exercises.

Some are advanced and are mneant to be incorporated after other criteria is met and the core is strong.

just fair warning. With time and effort more understanding is gained. Undoing the incorrect will take more time than to do it right at the outset.

cheers

[Repulsive Monkey]

Extremely wise words from Kung Lek there, it would efficacious to pay heed to them.

[phantom]

Well, couldn't you do gongs with different purposes on separate days from each other? Would that give you the best of both worlds? Thanks in advance.

[Golden Arms]

Couldnt you instead just do one until you know exactly what its doing because you can feel and see its benefits, instead of pursuing several and not having the time to get benefit from any? They do take a long time for the most part, especially if you also have to train drills, forms, etc.