The Art of Movement​

This practice is the lowest impact training to help strengthen and protect your internal organs, ligaments, & tendons. The is an Ancient Chinese practice which translates into "The Soft Way"

The martial art school of neigong emphasises training the coordination of the individual's body with the breath, known as the harmonisation of the inner and outer energy creating a basis for a particular school's method of utilising power and technique.

Neigong exercises involve cultivating physical stillness and or conscious (deliberate) movement, designed to produce relaxation or releasing of muscular tension combined with special breathing techniques such as the "tortoise" or "reverse" methods. The purpose of this process is to develop a high level of coordination, concentration and technical skill. The ultimate purpose of this practice is for the individual to become at one with heaven or the Dao.

Martial nei gung is about developing internal power. One way to possibly achieve this is to train particular exercises regularly where the breath is matched with movements of blood to effect the movement of blood throughout the body. Through these exercises it can be possible to move the blood to a particular area during a particular movement to have a particular result. One of the benefits of martial nei gung exercises is the relaxation of blood vessels, nerves, muscles to help the body move more freely. With the body moving freely and an excess of blood moving to a particular area with little or no effort, the practitioner can possibly develop many benefits such as

• faster recovery from injury to the hands
• an ability to hit with more force
• an ability to move faster (speed is crucial in martial arts)
• the health benefits of being relaxed
• an increase in connection to your legs, spine, arms and head
• increased stamina
• increased athletic ability and health
• regulation of blood pressure
• actually experiencing the channels of the body as they truly are, which can possibly be different from the books
• developing an authentic dan tien that is consciously nourished and deliberately formed which is not defined in the books
• greater sensitivity for sparring and fighting .

This type of practice requires concentration and internal reflection which results in a heightened self-awareness that increases over time with continued practice. Practitioners report awareness of the mechanics of their blood circulation, muscular movement, skeletal alignment, balance, etc

Qi Gong can be thought of as the brother to Nei Gong. While Nei Gong is all about staying soft and relaxing, Qi Gong can encourage more tightening of the muscles and standing in specific postures to allow you to cultivate the most energy possible to you.

Qi is life-energy Gong is cultivation, together Qi Gong is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in Chinese medicine, philosophy, and martial arts, Qi Gong is traditionally viewed by the Chinese and throughout Asia as a practice to cultivate and balance ones own energy.

Qigong practice typically involves moving meditation, coordinating slow-flowing movement, deep rhythmic breathing, and a calm meditative state of mind. People practice qigong throughout China and worldwide for recreation, exercise, relaxation, preventive medicine, self-healing, alternative medicine, meditation, self-cultivation, and training for martial arts.

Think of Taiji formally known as Tai Chi as a Supreme Qi Gong Form or Dance. If Nei Gong is Qi Gong's sister than Taiji is Qi Gong's Father or Grand Father. Taiji is a series of Gong Fu Postures blended together into a seamless Flow Form. This practice has tremendous positive impacts of the health of ones body and mind. It is considered a moving meditation and once you get in the flow you can relax into the movement and postures. I like to call it a slow martial arts dance but it is much more than just that!

Another Ancient Chinese Internal Martial Art Style also referred to as simply Bagua or Pakua. This practice similar to Taiji helps strengthen and improve your skeletal system, your agility, and your balance. Internal in my simplest version is hard on the inside yet soft and relaxed in the muscles and tension. External is more focused on blocking and stopping with strength and power. Internal arts teach you to yield and get out of the way when you can.

Walu is a style of Kung Fu I learned from Ray Hager of the Chinese Boxing Institute International and it includes all of these art forms and more. The founder Christopher Casey also known as 'Kai Sai' was born and raised in Tennessee United States and found himself in Taiwan during a pivotal point in history when most of the Chinese Gong Fu Masters fled over there from China. That is where he encountered the Grand Masters of Walu. It includes a series of carefully chosen martial arts qi gong exercises as well as several martial arts forms and partner practices. More can be found at ChineseBoxingInternational.com and Walukungfu.org