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July 26, 2005
How A Vietnam Vet Rehabbed His Wooden Arm Back To Life With Qigong
Do a little qigong… and you’ll feel better, no question. Do a massive amount of qigong and the results can sometimes be astounding. Here’s the strongest qigong rehab story I have personally ever encountered:
In the winter of 2001 I flew to Albany, New York to bone up on some therapeutic qigong methods. At one point my teacher was too busy and asked one of his students to take me into the basement and show me some new moves.
I had been watching this gentleman move around earlier while practicing for a Lion Dance. Strong, agile, mid-fifties, a little “militaristic” in his bearing, but rolling around with the best of them. Let’s call him Paul.
After watching me practice, he told me I needed to relax more in my upper body. I told him how I had recently injured myself in the upper back while carrying a lady up a cliff face in Hawaii… and was still feeling kinda stiff.
“Hah! Tell me about injury,” was his brusque response.
Turns out Paul had been manning a machine gun in the Tet Offensive when an explosion just behind him shattered the back of his skull.
His right arm got caught in the gun and was almost ripped out of the socket.
The medics took Paul for dead and he was left out all night on the battlefield. In the morning, when they found him alive, they lowballed his chances and put him through triage… which meant they didn’t bother with him until around 24 hours after he’d been blown up.
For more than the next twenty years Paul’s arm went from bad to worse, despite a ton of medical and therapeutic attention. His right arm felt like a useless piece of dried wood, just hanging by his side. He suffered from regular, blinding headaches and serious kidney problems.
Paul tried yoga and a number of alternative practices. Nothing helped. Then he discovered tai chi and qigong. The effect was magical – he completely regained the use of his arm, his kidney problem cleared up and his headaches disappeared.
But, in some ways not magical… because he spent at least four or more hours a day on his qigong to arrive at that rehab.
Paul was no BS artist, but I did check with his teacher, who confirmed the condition he was in when he first showed up.
There are a number of messages you can extract from this story. But what I am wanting to emphasize this time round is a version of Michelangelo’s famous response when complimented on his art: “If you knew how much work I put into it, you wouldn’t think it was so marvelous.”
Practice, practice, practice. You gotta put in the time if you want the results.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 9:50 AM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2005
If God Only Let You Remember Five Qigong Mobility Methods, What Would They Be?
Yow! I sure hope that doesn't happen to me any time soon, but a variant of this question was asked of me at the recent Unlock! Seminar.
Basically, of course, it's the "if you only have five or ten minutes, what are the very best things to do", kind of question.
Much as I shy away from encouraging quick fixes in a discipline that is all about subtly working every aspect of the body’s mobility through a significant array of methods, I’m a hyper-busy publisher who could often benefit from applying Pareto’s Law to my qigong practice.
In fact, when I’m out of town at a marketing workshop, for instance, where every minute is at a premium, I’ll definitely select some “big-quick-return” methods.
So, for a very fast energy boost and for general mobility I would do:
A shaking practice – shaking out every part of the body, as I described in an earlier blog.
The Wall Squat – nothing better for loosening the hips and lower back, for a pumping energy rush and for leg strength. See my Qigong Recharge for full details.
Spiraling Qigong – spiraling one hand up and then the other (again, see my Qigong Recharge for full details.)
Double Dragons Play with Pearl – Keep palms facing up all the time. Lean forward, spread arms out wide at just above shoulder level. Lean back, continue to circle palms back round and up above head, while rising up. Lean forward, while circling palms out and back behind the body until mid-torso height, squatting down, then circle palms round and in close to the ribs and to front of stomach. Repeat. Finish with palms above head.
Whole Body Dipping – Squat low, stay at that level, cock the wrists back, circle hands out, up, down and around beside legs. Repeat with hands inside the legs. Circle both hands up down and around in front of stomach about twelve times to relax yourself.
Do yourself a favor and come to the next Unlock! Seminar and you can learn all of these methods in detail… and a whole lot more.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 8:44 AM | Comments (0)
July 11, 2005
How Qigong Helped A Counter-Terrorist Trainer Pass His Kettlebell Snatch Test
Did you know that there's now a university in California offering all kinds of courses in anti-terrorism and urban warfare? One of the trainers attended our June 2005 Russian Kettlebell Instructor Certification program and afterwards posted these comments on the dragondoor.com forum:
“I had the pleasure of meeting John Du Cane in June, at the RKC workshop. He's not a big and intimidating individual, as a matter of fact he was very soft spoken and gentle but yet the hardest to forget out of everybody. He's just different...though he's soft spoken and gentle there is a balance and strength in him that’s hard to put words to, and even harder to forget.
On the third day of the RKC workshop I still had not passed my rep test (32reps) ("which was agonizing since I was doing about 40 hardstyle snatches at home") I THOUGHT since I was too tired to let nervous anxiety steal my focus, that Id be good to go...But once they said to get on the floor to start the day, those old feelings were back, and strong as ever.
We started the day with Qigong, after which I was very focused and calm. We all went immediately out to the field and I completed my reps in front of Steve Cotter. I felt I could have went a couple more too. For about two weeks this anxiety was killing me and was the biggest contributing factor in failing the test.
It got worse & worse until John put my energy in check and I was able to focus on the task at hand. Thanks John I hope I get a chance to meet you again.”—Jeremiah
Well, hopefully Jeremiah’s initial comments won’t expand the size of my head… which is big enough already, according to my friends and relatives… but it does illustrate some qualities qigong practice can give you, which are very hard to quantify.
Longterm, diligent practice of qigong methods will usually change your energy enough that other people will start to “feel” something about you that they sense as strong, without there being any overt display of power.
It’s as if we all had one of those light switches in us that let’s us gradually change the brightness in the room. Most people deplete themselves so much, they’re eventually lucky if they can emanate much more than a dim flicker.
Qigong practice will normally recharge if not supercharge your internal energy system to a powerful glow, as it were. Nothing mystical here, really, just common sense, once you know what to do and practice it on a regular basis.
And the other part of this is qigong’s impact on Jeremiah’s nervousness, which sapped his physical strength. The hallmark of an elite athlete is their ability to be very relaxed while also turning on the tension and strength when they need it.
And qigong is superb at helping train this skill. I wasn’t surprised when I heard that Phil Jackson had my friend and former Dragon Door qigong author Terry Dunn come in and conduct qigong classes for the Lakers, for two of the years they won the championship. Hmmmm…
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 6:52 AM | Comments (0)
July 4, 2005
More Qigong FAQ
A gentleman from San Francisco emailed me with four qigong-related questions. My responses follow each of his questions.
"I just purchased your whole Animal Frolic DVD set and the book. I am extremely impressed and extremely enthused about the whole venture. You did a wonderful job in creating them and your calm, benevolent energy is in clear evidence. Four questions arose for me though, and I would be honored if you might find a moment to respond, especially to the first two.
First, is there a regimen you could recommend for what sequence or combination to do the Animal Frolics in. Would you do only Crane in the summer, Bear in winter, etc. Would you mix them in a single day, or go through all four each week--one or two a day? I'm just looking for a sense of how to proceed. I assume it's a very personal thing, but can you generalize about how most people settle in to a daily practice?”
Answer:
The traditional Five Animal Frolics sequence goes Crane, Bear, Monkey, Deer and Tiger. You can do them all through in one session if you have the time, you can break them up through your day, doing one or two animals per session, or you could do a different animal each day.
If you feel you need to concentrate on a particular organ system, like the kidneys (The Bear) then by all means concentrate on that either any time or all the more during the Winter season.
You also have the Bliss Qigong program, which is a stand-alone, separate from the Animal Frolics. I recommend doing this first thing in the morning and in the early evening. The Bliss Qigong program is a good one to commit to as a daily practice. You make it relatively short, ten minutes, or extend it to about half an hour.
Bottom line, as you say it is very personal, but for best results commit to be a very regular daily practice or you will most likely lose your momentum.
“Second, I teach 4th grade at a public school in San Francisco. I do small tidbits of meditation and yoga with the kids each day. I think that developing an energetic/emotional intelligence is as important as learning math. Have you heard of people using the Animal Frolics with kids? I'm pretty intrigued by the idea.”
Answer:
I have taught the Animal Frolics to Fifth and Eighth graders with some success. Definitely worth giving it a shot!
“Third, do you know of anybody in the San Francisco Bay Area that leads group practice based on your version of the forms. I would love to do these things with other folks.”
I recommend to check out a very knowledgeable and skilled qigong practitioner, Michael Mayer in the Bay Area. He has extensive experience and interest in the Animal Frolics, although he teaches a different style than I do, I believe. He has a great new book out called Secrets to Living Younger Longer. Check him out at www.bodymindhealing.com. His phone is 510-849-2878 and his email is drmichael@bodymindhealing.com.
“Fourth, and I hope this one isn't insulting...it is meant in the spirit of honest inquiry. Some of the other Dragon Door materials seem a little...I don't know...brutish and paramilitary for the lack of a better description. The information on how to kill and maim seem a bit out of keeping with the gentle, life-affirming spiritual nature of Qigong. I'm not naive, not necessarily even a pacifist (though it would be nice if everybody was...but this brings us back to "I'm not naive"), but I wonder whether or not you see these as complementary or sort of separate endeavors under one--Dragon Door--roof.
It just brings up some confusion for me. I understand the concept of the enlightened warrior, but some of the catalog materials seem to be based entirely on the physical level divorced from heart involvement or spiritual input. I suppose this question will see me dismissed as a "nut from San Francisco," but I am genuinely interested in hearing how they go together. We San Franciscans can be quite open-minded, and I'm asking with an open mind on the subject.”
Answer:
You’d be surprised at how many Special Forces and other “hard types” – including my author Pavel, have responded very favorably to qigong for many of the benefits it gives them: energy, stress-reduction, joint health (huge) and strengthening from the iron shirt practices.
You’d also be surprised, perhaps, to discover how many of the hard types are also very spiritual people.
That said, there is a reason we have established two catalogs for Dragon Door: Hard-Style and Vitalics. My personal interests lie more with the development of health and inner peace, which is reflected in Vitalics. I see tremendous value, on the other hand, in the strength information we publish. An indication of the information’s value is reflected in the high number of customers we have whose life depends on their physical strength-skills.
Personally, for instance, I have benefited greatly from complementing my qigong practice with kettlebells and Pavel’s strength training concepts.
See all of John Du Cane’s qigong resources.
Posted by james at 6:21 AM | Comments (72)