Hey,
I am currently studying shaolin kung fu and I am planning a trip overseas to teach english and to continue training in kung fu. My problem lies in the fact that I am also a practitioner in falun gong. In the cultivation practice of Falun Gong you are not permitted to learn any other Qi Gong system. My question is....If I were to go oversea ie: china, korea, spain would I be able to find a master who would respect the fact that I already have my system of Qi Gong but not be offended and teach me the other physical aspects of the art?
I am under the impression Shaolin Kung Fu has their own complete system of Qi Gong but am wondering if you can still learn the art without having to study the Shaolin Qi Gong system?
Any information you can tell me would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
xxxx
A few years ago, before the Falun Gong became widely "discouraged" in China, you could find Falun Da Fa practitioners practicing their forms of qi gong, early in the morning, in one of the parks in Dengfeng. In fact, they seemed to congregate at the base of the small mountain to the east of Dengfeng, the one with the large pagoda on the summit.
You don't see them anymore.
The Chinese government became agitated, for lack of a better word, when the Falun Da Fa organization started to become too organized. Their practices, at least according to the state run television programs, were depicted as extreme, dangerous, and unrealistic; claims of people immolating themselves, or, doing incredibly stupid things while thinking that their form of Falun Qi Gong would protect them from harm or death, were commonly exhibited. The TV shows also attempted to debunk many "myths" and claims that these Falun Da Fa would try to impose on the general populace. Claims of healing the incredibly sick, along with other unrealistic healh healing abilities, were commonly proposed by this group. I kind of find it hard to imagine that the Chinese government would even care about a few people immolating themselves in some desolate region of the outback, or, some people making absurd claims that caused a few others to fail to get necessary health care and die. I think the government was more worried about some small organized movement becoming a large organized movement. Hell, if you look at their history, it's the small organized movements that eventually become governments there. Regardless, it was probably the way that the Falun Da Fa presented themselves more so than what they presented themselves. Nobody in China likes public demonstrations in Tianenmen square.
I've looked into this form of qi gong, and personally, I find some of what they teach to be a little extreme with respect to their views. But, to each their own. Hell, I sometimes find the claims of regular qi gong practitioners to be a little extreme, so, I'm the wrong person to judge.
A few things need to be kept in mind here.
For one, if you're going to be in China, you really should do as the Chinese do. And that includes, not pissing off the officials. I think that if you go to China and start expounding on the health benefits and other wonders of the Falun Da Fa, you're eventually going to draw attention, and get into some sort of trouble. Years ago, when I first went to Tibet, it was very difficult for single foreigners (not in groups) to obtain visas; the fear of a few nuts starting pro democracy demonstrations for the Tibetans was high, and the Chinese didn't even want to have the slightest risk of having it. Keep that in mind.
Second, if you go up in the mountains and do your thing on your own, most probably, no one will notice you. Or, even realize what you're doing. Falun Da Fa qi gong, from what I've seen, is not all that different from other forms of qi gong movements, though, I think that their claims are a little more out of the ordinary. As with anything else, if you keep it to yourself, you'll usually get away with it.
Third, trying to integrate Falun qi gong with Shaolin training, with respect to the monks, just won't work. Many years ago, I was taught a so called upper level form of qi gong, called Lohan Drangoon qi gong. Very complicated and long form of qi gong. The monks that I've trained with, hadn't learned it, and the ones that knew about it, suggested that I don't use it, as it was too "dangerous". Well, the damn thing was long and complicated, and, in my mind, qi gong really shouldn't be a complicated thing to do. The monks that I've worked with, the older ones who you would think would be more "open" to the more traditional forms of Shaolin arts, preferred that I kept with the more simpler Ba Duan Jing qi gong that they all used. I think that you'll find with the younger monk generation now, that they probably never heard of Lohan Drangoon qi gong.
Fourth, Ba Duan Jing qi gong is tightly integrated with Shaolin training. I doubt that you'll find a monk or other teacher that will separate the two. I also doubt that learning this Shaolin qi gong will negatively influence your practice in Falun qi gong. Ba Duan Jing is pretty simple, and learning it won't harm anything.
I think that if you try to teach or integrate your version of qi gong with what is generally taught in Shaolin, that you'll raise a few eyebrows, and, because of the general fear of the citizens of their government, some other issues. Remember, the Falun Da Fa beliefs have been widely televised, in a negative way, on the state run television stations. And people believe what they see on TV there. You're looking for trouble if you practice your Falun Da Fa beliefs over there. Just like I told the lesbian years ago; keep your personal life personal, and you'll do just fine.
Comment