I am posting some new video and text in the QiGong classroom- "Not all QiGong is Martial Art, but all Martial Art is QiGong" -it is all principle, all tension, compression and relaxation, rooting, structure and flow. I will also be working with some more formally Qigong (non-martial) sets, but I want to emphasize the crossover, all the Martial Arts are QiGong.

Ever seen an "electric" lighter?Not one that has a wheel and a flint, just a push button that goes -click- and the lighter lights? That click is the effect of compressing a small crystal enough that it generates electricity, it's call the piezoelectric effect. The interesting thing is that it happens in your body as well, when you compress your bones, tendons, ligaments and muscles- they create electricity- really! Not, as some would have you believe, a woo-woo notion of "energy" but electricity. Interesting. What do you think?

I have used many methodologies to activate energy and spirit in my life, I always come back to these three, Qi Gong, Martial Art, and Yoga. However, I find both Qi Gong and Yoga inside the Martial Arts. The asanas of Yoga are a wonderful method of opening up the body, and I have practiced Iyengar and Ashtanga Yoga almost as long as IMA, I always found them to be most effective when moving between poses, maintaining the inner flow of Prana/Chi/Qi rather than holding tightly to a stasis. That always led me back to Taiji and Bagua, where the muscles and joints were activated not only by stretching but by twisting the fascia, getting to the bone and root energy. So why "As Yoga" ? I feel that the concept of "Yug" the Sanskrit root of the word "Yoga" has deep meaning, including "Yoke" as in to attach, to harness. I want to use the idea of attachment, non-attachment, to the body, to the world, to the Universe, in order to fill my practice with meaning, personalize my Tao to manifest a true inner form. The word brings notions of work, effort, and joining with self and others to carry on traditions that have many common ancestors, and yet more common offspring. Namaste.

I wanted to ask, have the people who have subscribed to this channel tried the warmups or beginning training series? Anyone have feedback on how it works (or doesn't) for them? or any questions? Feel free to let me know here!

No, it does not. It feels like Yoga. Asana tends to be open, expressive and the movement includes the limbs extending in order to stretch the muscles and tendons to open the joints and create space in that way- reaching outward. Internal Martial Art teaches us to open the joint directly at the ligament level. The ligaments connect the bones to each other, and are a strong material that is hard to reach with the mind, hard to stretch with the muscle. QiGong and IMA cleverly use the leverage of the bones along with relaxation and gravity to make space in the joints. The intended effects are the same, but the method is different. The key to both systems is the mind. The projection of the mind from the head outward to the body is a large and mysterious capability. These tools, the skin, muscle, nerve, fascia and bone - are a doorway to discovery of our true self.