Zhàn zhuāng (站樁) is a standing meditation practice that has been an integral part of Chinese exercise for centuries.
If you have ever tried to catch a fish with your bare hands, then you know the frustration of a martial artist trying to combat a Baguazhang stylist. Baguazhang (Pa Kua Chang), like its sister arts Taijiquan (T'ai Chi Ch'uan) and Xingyiquan (Hsing-I Ch'uan), is commonly referred to as an "internal" or "soft" style.
Qi has many meanings in Chinese; the most common one is air. In the context of Taiji (T´ai Chi), it means the internal energy. Quan literally means a fist, when it is used after any name it becomes a martial art style. For example Taijiquan (the pinyin spelling for T´ai Chi); Bagua Quan and Xingyiquan, the later two are other famous internal martial styles.
It is often justifiably said that to understand deeply the Chinese martial arts, one has to research to an extent the Chinese language as well. One of the least understood ideas in Chinese martial arts happens to be the use of Power, and that misunderstanding stems from differences of culture and language.
Wang Hsiang Zhai, (Wang Xian Zhaï) the creator of Yiquan, has been labeled by many as one of the greatest masters of Chinese kung fu in the history of the arts. Many stories are told of his legendary abilities. He defeated some of the best martial artists of his generation, including boxers, wrestlers, kickers, and hybrid style practitioners.
Although many styles of Neijia exist around the world, three "internal" martial arts are most widely known... Taijiquan (T'ai Chi Ch'uan), Baguazhang (Pa Kua Ch'ang), and Xingyiquan (Hsing-I Ch'uan). Several other martial arts such as YiQuan (I-Ch'uan) must also be recognized because of its close adherance to the basic principles of Neijia as well as Aikido, a Japanese martial art.
Western medicine would benefit tremendously from this Chinese wisdom. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, chronic, degenerative diseases like asthma, diabetes, heart failure and kidney problems are disorders of qi, whereas psychiatric diseases are disorders of shen...
The origins of the Shaolin temple is somewhat confusing and controversial. Most believe that the temple was built by a Buddhist monk from India named "BaTuo" around 495CE in the 19th year of the reign of Emperor XiaoWen. It was built on a piece of land that had been recently burned near Shaoshi Mountain in Henan Province...