Zen And The Art Of Training - You Already Are What You Want To Become

As most of you know, The Shaolin Temple is considered the birthplace of martial arts and Ch’an (Zen) Buddhism. This doesn’t mean that in order to practice Shaolin we need to be Buddhists but the Ch’an philosophy can help us to see our world with fresh eyes. This was the Bodhidharma's ambition when he came to China, he wanted to get away from the books and learning and enter the pure raw experience.

One of the Ch’an teachings that we can apply to our training is aimlessness. This means: You already are what you want to become. Does a tree have to do something? The purpose of a tree is to be itself, and your purpose is to be yourself.

We have everything. There is no need to put anything in front of us and run after it. So, whatever it is that you believe you want – good health, more energy, an increased sense of wellbeing or to be an exceptional martial artist – you already have.

Bring this energy into your practice and you will find that it will enrich whatever you are doing – running, kung fu , qigong, meditation, and also your work and family life. It helps us to stop putting our life on hold or waiting for the future when we think we will have more time or be less stressed.

There is no future time there is only now. And now is the most important time we have. Now is the building block for the future. Instead of drifting into the future of “if” and “when”, we focus on the single point of now.

For this month, check yourself and train from that perspective rather than constantly trying to improve yourself or thinking there is something wrong with you.

Remind yourself that right now you have all the elements for your health, you just have to apply the Shaolin techniques you are learning.

Shaolin Martial Arts helps us to reach the potential in ourselves that we only dreamt of before. Using the powerful life energy that exists inside our body we can make ourselves healthy and balanced. If you approach these Shaolin teachings with intelligence and determination, you can bring to your life the wholeness, health and inner satisfaction that you seek.

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Fix It With Massage

Babies need to be held and touched, when we become adults, we still hold and touch each other, whether that's hugging goodbye to a friend or shaking hands with a business partner.

When our body is tired, we want to be massaged. When we go to the spa, we step into the Jacuzzi to help our muscles relax. The need for touch and massage is instinctive. Massage is one of the oldest healing practices.

The Shaolin Temple has a long tradition of self-massage, using the bamboo Instant Health Massage Brush and progressing to the heavier metal brush. Shaolin disciples train as much as Olympic athletes but we don't have an army of massage therapists or physiotherapists, self-massage along with Qigong is the only thing we use to reduce the risk of injury and keep us fighting fit. 

The Qigong massage doesn't fit any types of massage that are given person to person, for example: sports, acupressure or deep tissue. It combines all of the above and even more, the end aim is to use the vibrations of the brush to penetrate and detoxify the bone. By doing this massage we feel empowered because we are taking charge of our health.

Because the self-massage is convenient and cheap - it's only the cost of a brush -  you can do it on a daily basis or at least a few times a week. The more you do, the more effective your massage will be.

When you do this massage,  don't be afraid to use power. You will feel a little pain but not too much. Each day you use it, your massage will get stronger and stronger. The aim of the massage is to keep the Qi and blood flowing properly, open the meridian channels, reduce any muscle tension,  detoxify the body, increase the immune system, and open the joints. 

In the UK, we don't have much sunshine and especially in winter, the cold can be a problem for people's joints especially when they get older.  Doing the Instant Health massage can help to reduce this problem.

The signs that you are doing the self-massage correctly is that your body skin will be incredibly soft. You will feel energized when you have done this massage. You will sleep better at night and have more energy throughout the day. You will get colds less often and you will feel stronger. 

I teach how to do this massage in all of my Qigong DVDs apart from Volume 1 and also in my book Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity.

The massage equipment is available from my website.

Activate Your Environment To Support Your Goals

It's a good idea to have some small things in your home to remind you that you need to train. Whenever I travel, I always wear a Jade Buddha amulet. This isn't just for good luck, this also reminds me to be peaceful. If something difficult happens, I tell myself to calm myself down. I also carry a small Buddha with me. Before any important decision, I meditate for twenty minutes to clear my mind.

I also take my Instant Health Massage Brush with me, and a skipping rope in case I can't find a place to run then I can find a small park to skip for half an hour. This means, I never have an excuse not to train. 

In my office I have a Jade Energy Stone and a  Wooden Star Palm Massager in front of my computer. When I work at the computer a lot, I stop and use this to massage my hands for a while.

These are all powerful things to remind myself to have a positive mental outlook and to keep training. These positive things I surround myself with, make me feel that I'm not even training, this is just my routine, this is part of my life.

Different things inspire different people, think about what inspires you. Can you see it every day? Small changes in our environment can help us to activate our health and fitness goals and make them real. Research has shown that even simple things like using a smaller plate helps us to eat less. 

If you're environment isn't positive then change it so it is.  Make sure that your environment is supporting and not hindering your goals.

Body Conditioning & Qigong Self-Massage - Metal Massage Brush

For many years, my on-line students have asked me to provide them with the metal brush they have seen me using in my book and DVDs. I have been reluctant to do this without seeing the student first because this metal brush is not like the bamboo brush, if used incorrectly, it can cause damage to the body.

The person who uses this brush needs to be trained correctly and train with responsibility. But now that many of my students have followed all of the training from my first DVD through to my fifteenth, I feel, if their body is telling them they are ready to use this brush, then they are.

This is a professional brush, only to be used by highly trained martial artists, fighters, Qigong masters. It is not suitable for anyone under the age of 18, pregnant women, old people or health seekers. The Instant Health bamboo massage brush is perfect for most people and they should continue to use this rather than change to this metal brush.  The bamboo brush is safe to use for all people.

I had this metal brush hand-made to my specific specifications. It was difficult to find someone who could make it for me, and I only have a limited number available. This is a very heavy metal brush, it weighs about 1.6 kg and has 108 metal rods. Shaolin Temple is carved in Chinese on the end of the brush. If used correctly, it will last a lifetime.

Safety Guidelines for Using The Metal Massage Brush

1) The brush needs to be cleaned with a soft cloth before use. 


2) The brush must never be used on the head, face or any other sensitive area.


3) Keep the brush in a private place away from children and adults.


4) Never share the brush with another person.


5) Never use this brush without doing Qigong first. 


6) Warm up with the bamboo brush first then move onto the metal brush.


7) Do not use this brush for body conditioning unless you have had direct training from a qualified master.


8) Only use this brush for self-massage after the Qigong Forms that I teach on my DVDs.


9) Your body should feel happy when you massage. Listen to your body. If something feels wrong or there is any pain, stop immediately. 


10) Exercise extreme caution. Remember, this brush has the potential to damage your internal organs. Make sure you know and understand what you are doing. If in doubt, seek advice from a qualified instructor. 

I teach five Qigong forms that can be used with this brush. They can be found on the following DVDs:
The Way of Qigong Volume 1,2, & 3
Qigong For Upper Body & Lower Body
And in my book:
Instant Health: The Shaolin Qigong Workout For Longevity 

Apart from Qigong Volume 1, all of the above give precise instructions as to how to do the Instant Health Massage. The instructions are the same for the bamboo brush and the metal brush. If you are using the metal brush, warm up with the bamboo brush first. The metal brush gives a deeper vibration to the bones.

I've also made this video to give more clarification on the different uses of the brushes. This is only for a guide and is not a teaching video. Please refer to my teaching DVDs and books for correct instructions on the self-massage.

The metal massage brush is available from my website.

Building The Stamina Of Your Mind

I recently had a student who was a chess player. He came to study Shaolin with me for two weeks. He asked me if he needed stamina when he played chess, I said, yes, it would help him,  because when you play chess, you need to be steps ahead, working out your moves and your opponent's moves. This is the same as fighting but every teacher or coach knows that if their student don't have stamina then it doesn't matter how good they are, they can't use their skills.  This means, you have build your stamina. Through building your stamina you build the strength of your mind.

When you're tired, you can't show your weakness, you have to pretend that you still have stamina. If your opponent finds out then this is your weakness and he can beat you. Sometimes you have to learn how to hide your feelings, it's the same when you have an injury, you have to hide your injury. This is the same as a chess player who makes a bad move, he can't show it or give up, he has to hide.

The warrior fights to the end. The warrior is really competing with him or herself. His competitor is his teacher

When I taught this chess player, I made him do a lot of physical exercise; running, punches, squats, press ups. All training that had nothing to do with the mind. He wanted to give up but I pushed him. He trained with me every day for two weeks. Towards the end of his training, I made his training plan a little easier and suddenly he found out he strong he was. Everyday he trained, I would do just 25 minutes of Qigong to show him how to balance his Yin and Yang. I didn't want to do too much because I didn't want him to think. 

He told me that the Shaolin training gave him a lot of confidence and he felt  stronger when he played chess because he no  longer cared whether he won or lose, he only thought how to  make a strong move and how to conquer himself. If he made a mistake, it didn't matter, he just kept going, sometimes he could change the situation from bad to good but the most important thing was that he always gave his best.

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How To Balance Your Yin And Yang For Mind And Body Health

When you watch my Qigong DVDs, I always start with a warm up, stretching or some physical training then I do the Qigong form. The reason I start this way is not only because this is the professional way but also because I've found many Western people believe Qigong is light training or very focused training, they believe it's about using the mind in a thinking way to control the body.

All exercise has internal and external, it's just we can't see it. For example, if you are running ten miles but at the beginning your pace is too fast then you won't be able to do ten miles. You need to understand how to pace yourself. This is the internal part of your training.

The Yin and Yang needs to be balanced and this is a combination of Qigong and physical exercise. When a person does personal training with me and I start with a warm up and stretching then the five basic stances, they find it hard.  A recent student who had been working with my DVDs, realised he was only using 20% of the strength he was supposed to be using for Qigong.  This is because he had a mistaken belief that Qigong was soft training. I told him, the training is not difficult, it's your body that is not strong yet.

Some fighters want to learn Qigong with me but they feel everything is too slow. They don't have the patience to learn it. I tell them, if you can't close your eyes and sit for five minutes to clean your mind, I guarantee you can never become a champion because you don't know how to calm yourself. Your body, mind and heart is not working together.

I am different from most Shaolin Masters because I don't just teach forms. I use my heart to find a way to help people achieve their health, fitness, martial art or fighting goals.

If you want to fight, Shaolin only give you a good foundation, you have to change and use modern techniques. If you think I'm wrong then you can research any kind of fight, K1 or UFC. Can you find any Shaolin traditional martial artists fighting there?

The world has changed. This is why I teach my fighters a fusion of traditional Shaolin with modern fighting techniques.

If you want to make your body healthy then you need a routine and a proper balance. For fighters, I recommend when they finish their training they do Qigong for half an hour.

If you are working with my DVDs and feel they are too hard this doesn't mean my DVDs are too hard, it means you are not strong enough yet and you need to build up your strength. Don't underestimate yourself.

You don't need to follow everything exactly. Learn from my DVDs then swop things around to make your own training programme that suits you and your lifestyle. 

For more information please visit http://www.shifuyanlei.co.uk/

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The Shaolin Way To Train Mixed Martial Arts - Part Three

Every morning, I get up and train. My students see me do the same thing, year by year by year. It’s only when they go in the ring and fight that they understand why I do the same thing every year, every day. The simple things are the most useful but they take time and effort to master.

For example, I train my left leg to be fast and sharp. It’s not very powerful but it's fast. My right leg is very heavy and I use my left leg to attack, to break my opponents plan, any time I have the opportunity. I use my right leg to do the round house kick. If I get them with this kick then I know I will knock them out. I practice many years just for this one kick. I know I can do this kick from any angle, close or long distance. I have confidence because I've done this kick so many times.

I'm not very tall but I'm quite heavy. My opponent is always taller than me so they have a longer reach than me. This is why I need good body conditioning. I don’t have as much opportunity as them to punch and kick. I practice a lot of body conditioning so I know that my body can take their kick and punch.  When I get close to them, I can use my kick to finish this fight.

The important thing is you have to know yourself and know your body. Everyone is different. My technique wouldn’t work for you. Do you know what would? What do you want to do? Build up your punch or your kick? What are you good at? What are you bad at? How do you hide the things you're no good at? How do you use your good things? No-one can teach you. You need to find this out for yourself. You have to become your own teacher and teach yourself.

If you love martial arts then you need to be humble and lonely and simple. Try to make simple things not simple . Try to make lonely life not lonely. Try to make hard training easy. Once you have this kind of thinking you can become a good fighter because you have truly  conquered yourself.

Related DVDs:
Fighting Punches and Kicks Volume 1 & 2
Shaolin Bootcamp Volume 1 & 2
Shaolin Workout Volume 1, 2, 3
Kung Fu Ch'an 
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