Anyone here practice this? What kinds of results have you had?
Anyone here practice this? What kinds of results have you had?
I was taught two methods
Martial , this strengthens the body, will aid in developing intercostal and muscle connective strength, build Chi and circulate well
Health method, is just mainly for chi and circulation.
Done with martial approach should take about 45 mins and you know you have worked hard.
Health method about 30 mins.
Kune Belay Sau
what can you gain, can this strengthing muscle of internal qi.
I have been doing 8 Pieces of Brocade the last two months and I don't see any Qi building. I have read that 8 Pieces of Brocade were, primarily warm-up exercises and that is why I do them. These exercises go back to the Chinese warlords who made sure their troops were in shape for battle. Similar to the Army Conditioning Drill exercises.
Damian
8 pieces of brocade is probably the lowest impact qi gong set I've ever been exposed to. I wouldn't consider it the kind of qi builder that some of the other sets are.
However, I find it very beneficial. Months ago, when I was virtually bedridden, recovering from surgery for about a month, the only exercise I was really able to do was 8 pieces of brocade and some shallow standing post. I think these aided my recovery significantly, as I was healing about twice as fast as I had previously healed from a similar surgery, and my energy level was much higher, and my muscles didn't atrophy nearly as badly as I had expected from past experience.
Also, 8 pieces of brocade is very simple, and doesn't take the time a lot of qigong sets do, so a person like me with little spare time is more likely to do it.
Yes, there are vastly superior sets for making rapid gains, but it's a solid set unto itself.
The cinnabun palm is deadly, especially when combined with the tomato kick. - TenTigers
The ba duan jin is a great exercise for clearing out the san jiao (triple burner) and also for clearing up the three blockages on the Du meridian. I would say that this particular exercise isn't really meant for chi cultivation as such. It seems to work more as a tonifying exercise more than anything. The ba duan jin is considered a four step exercise, which is known to be one of the 72 arts.
Peace
I can totally sympathize with what people are saying. Some versons of the 8 brocade techniques are really only good for a warm up. Heck, do a search for 8 brocades and you will see that some teachers offer versions that are done while sitting!
The chi kung/qi gong that will help internal development is that which trains the entire body to move together as a unit. The legs, torso, and arms will all move and stop at the same time. The individual movements are training whole body movement in different directions.
From what I can tell, there is nothing magical about chi kung. It just trains the core movements that are found in most techniques. And because you spend lots of time training these most simple movements, it make the learning of more complicated techniques much easier. It is foundation-building work.
I've done chi kung that was relaxing -- and relaxing is good -- but now I see that the chi kung teacher must be able to explain why the movement is usefull for fighting, otherwise it's a waist of time for someone who wants to truly be a martial artist.
Hmm, so to sum-up: there are "relaxation" versions of 8 brocades and there are "coordinated movement" versions of 8 brocades. Both can be described in terms of chi, so whether they are internal depends on your definition of internal and chi. But I say that only the coordinated, whole-body movement versions will improve your martial skills.
-crumble
I covered the brocade by my Shaolin master Shi Decheng, check out our May June 2001 issue http://store.yahoo.com/martialartsma...mag20mayi.html
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
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can someone show me pics?
what are they?
According to Yang Jwing Ming, 8 Pieces of Brocade were created by Marshal Yue Fei to improve the health of his soldiers. Originally there were 12 Pieces of Brocade but after being passed down from generation to generation (over 800 years) they were edited down to 8. Yue Fei is also the Founder of Eagle Claw and Xingyi. Would you believe, Yang Jwing Ming refers to them as Qigong exercises. His book on Ba Duan Jin is very thorough.
Damian
While it is unlikely that Yue Fei actually created the baduanjin, it is a rather old set. Because it is so old there are a huge number of variations of the set (I know three). All of the ones that I know share common themes (pressing up, drawing the bow, etc.). The seated sets are old as well.
Some people treat it as a simple exercise set, opening and loosening the tissue, squatting down, and so on. However this is not the only level at which it is trained. One teacher told me it related to the Qijing Bamai, the eight unpaired meridians. In Chinese medical physiology the Qijing Bamai serve as reservoirs of Qi and help sustain the subtle functions of the organs.
Changes in the relative subtlety or grossness of the movement, the style or timing of the breath, or pace, all make great changes in the perceived effects of the set.
"The heart of the study of boxing is to have natural instinct resemble the dragon" Wang Xiangzai
Unfortunately I don't really rate Yang's Baduan Jin book that much, I personally feel that the only person's to do this practice any justice at all would have to be Staurt Alve Olsens book on the Eight Pieces Brocade. Good source material backed up with very good first hand commentaries. A more superior read.
i wouldn't consider baduanjin to be simple or mild. at different levels it appears to do different things. you can get to the highest levels with baduanjin, and it would be a good set to work with in the long run.
at the beginning it may appear to be nothing, then mild, then potent, and then powerful.
as others mentioned, though, it emphasizes circulation and manipulation of qi rather than accumulation and concentration of it, although one side does leads to the other.
as for yue fei, shierduanjin and baduanjin are attributed to him, but so are many other things.
I'm haven't found a website with pictures of 8 brocades yet. Anybody else have any luck? A while ago I did a search and found a site with line drawings (like those in your typical tai chi text) of both the normal standing and sitting versions.
Can anybody else find it?
-crumble
Sorry, got to do that every once in a while. It's my job. Now back to our regular programming...
Gene Ching
Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
Author of Shaolin Trips
Support our forum by getting your gear at MartialArtSmart