Do Chinese martial arts *really* have any special health benefits?

[sanjuro_ronin]

From another thread:

I remember this old man back in the old country, Figueriedo was his name, smoke, drank, ate what he wanted, was an ex-naval fuzileiro (Marine/specal ops), swore like an SOB and screwed like a porn star ( or at least he kept getting caught with married women).
He lived till he was 98 and died in his sleep, natural causes ( probably screwing his old lady), on his 98, 6 months before he died, he swam out in the middle of a storm in the atlantic ocean ( we lived by the beach) and mooned every body on the beach.
Never did a day of qigong and pork was his fav food.
I hate people like that !

[SimonM]

Pork can be a very healthy meat if you cut the fat off and cut down on how much salt you add to it.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Pork can be a very healthy meat if you cut the fat off and cut down on how much salt you add to it.

Guess what he did?
LOL !

[SPJ]

Chinese martial arts and chinese medicine have very close relationships.

1. marrow washing and tendon/ligament exchange exercise. is actually part of wider yogic (yoga) regimes. so if you believe yoga help your health, then so are marrow washing and yi jing jing.

2. Qi gong are breathing exercise. the most popular one being 8 brocades since song dynasty. Song was considered weak in military defense against jin and mongolians. Song was considered to be a country ruled by literary people. so they were weak. 8 brocades were based on theory of chinese medicine. such as lung kidney, 3 burners, -- it also helps your nervous system. It actually would keep you fit and healthy and it also heals chronic diseases. There are plenty of research papers well since Song dynasty.

both 1 and 2 are practiced in Shaolin temple. like every morning supposedly.

CMA also include hard body conditioning such as hitting your self and hitting bags, poles, etc. these hard stuff if not carefully and gradually done, we may wear and tear even damage our joints and body etc

Like any sports, it wears and tears, thus sports injury and sports medicines for any sports.

3. Daoist first and foremost is to persue the elixir of the life or long life. Daoist Qi Gong is different from Shaolin.

If meditate alone, no worries about worldly things, close to nature, seek balance and harmony in life (including your own and others and everything else between the heaven and earth)-- if this is not helping your health and fitness, mmm what else???