Grandmaster Fu demonstrating Emei Qigong

Boston Seminar, May 10th, 2014

Grandmaster Fu Wei Zhong Seminar

This weekend members from the MIT Qigong Club attended a two day seminar with Grandmaster Fu Wei Zhong. Thanks to Coach Jim Roselando for organizing such an incredible event.

Master Fu Level 1 Seminar | Boston, MA | May 2014

Fu Wei Zhong biography taken from: http://www.emeiqigong.us/lineage/lineage/fu-wei-zhong.html

 

The future envisioned by Grandmaster Ju Zan centered on a young man named Fu Wei Zhong who began his training on the day he was born in 1949. Driven by an exceptional interest in old texts, he began studying traditional Chinese medicine and reading ancient Chinese philosophies when he was only six years old. By the age of 12, Fu Wei Zhong was treating and healing people with techniques he had learned from his reading and the instruction from his grandfather, a traditional Chinese medical doctor and the emperor’s family doctor.

He began his martial arts training in Shaolin Gongfu at the age of seven. Several years later, he became a student of Luo Xing Wu, an eminent Chinese martial arts grandmaster, from whom he learned many martial arts disciplines, including Xingyi and Bagua Gongfu.

Like many other young people during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Fu Wei Zhong was sent to the northeast China Heilongjiang province. Because of his training, he was asked to work on a collective farm as a veterinarian. He was 18 years old when he arrived and opened a medical clinic. For eight years, he used traditional Chinese medicinal herbs and treatment techniques, including acupuncture and Chinese massage, to treat multitudes of sick people and animals with great success.

Fu Wei Zhong returned to Beijing in 1976 and taught martial arts at the Beijing Dongcheng District Martial Arts School for a year. He planned to take a master’s degree in religion and was looking for a renowned professor to guide him in the beginning. A friend, Liang Shu Ming, said that he would take him to meet Abbot Ju Zan, the Supreme Abbot of Chinese Buddhism and 12^th Lineage Holder of Emei Qigong.

Fu Wei Zhong had had a recurring dream since childhood of a monk who would change his life. He didn’t know who the monk was or why the images were coming to him, but when he saw the face of the Abbot he recognized him as the monk from his dreams. At their meeting, they looked at each other and the Abbot said, “Oh, you’ve finally arrived, it’s time for you to train!” as if they already knew each other.

Fu Wei Zhong was invited to join a distinguished group of men and women chosen to undergo training and a selection process for the position of 13^th layman Lineage Holder of Emei Qigong.

After six months of intensive training and testing, Fu Wei Zhong was selected by His Holiness, Grandmaster Ju Zan, to receive further instruction in Buddhism, Daoism, traditional Chinese medicine, Taijiquan, Qigong, Feng Shui, future prediction, and other Dharma methods exclusively transmitted from one Lineage Holder to another within the Emei Qigong system. During this time, Fu Wei Zhong was often in seclusion—studying, cultivating, and integrating the system’s ancient texts into practical forms and easy-to-read language that could be effectively taught to the public.

In 1984, the title of the 13^th Lineage Holder was bestowed on Fu Wei Zhong. He received the Emei Qigong sacred book “The Emei Treasured Lotus Canon” and officially assumed the title of Grandmaster as well as the responsibilities of being the Lineage Holder. Grandmaster Ju Zan directed him to begin teaching publicly, “In order to end the pain and suffering of the world and to allow Emei Qigong to bring out humanity to shine like the sun.”

In the spring of 1985, Fu Wei Zhong began teaching Emei Qigong healing techniques throughout China, thereby initiating a national revitalization of the role of Qigong in Chinese medical theory and practice. In 1989, he went into seclusion again to meditate for three years so that he could further develop Emei Qigong techniques so they could be more easily taught to the public in our fast-paced modern society. It was during this period of extended meditation that he was able to achieve the Qigong state necessary to decode the sacred Emei Qigong skills. Fu Wei Zhong was able to decipher this information and now teaches these skills in his lectures, seminars and writings.

Grandmaster Fu believes that only by training thousands of skilled Emei Qigong practitioners will it be possible to restore and preserve the health of millions. He has personally treated, healed and helped thousands of people—the rich and famous as well as orphans and patients considered incurable. China’s late president Deng Xiao Ping was among those helped by Grandmaster Fu. Using the methods of Emei Qigong cultivation, medical qigong and traditional Chinese herbal medicine, Grandmaster Fu has successfully cured tens of thousands of people who have come to him for healing.

At age 36, he was recognized as one of the most prominent grandmasters of Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Chinese have dubbed him “Emei Wizard” and “China’s Medical Buddha," as well as deeming him “The Father of Modern Medical Qigong.” In addition, Fu Wei Zhong has been made lifetime president of two Qigong institutions: The International Medical Qigong Academy and The Emei Linji International Qigong Medical Research Institute, and he holds honorary positions and titles in more than 50 hospitals, medical colleges, Qigong clinics and Qigong associations in China.

Fu Wei Zhong is a learned scholar. Having read thousands of books, both Chinese and foreign, he is well versed in the medical, philosophical and theological theories of different schools, both Eastern and Western. While studying, he took careful notes and wrote down his reflections, which number over three million words. To date, he has published six books and over twenty treatises in China.

Fu Wei Zhong immigrated to the United States in 1995. His goal was to disseminate Emei Qigong’s therapeutic techniques so that its methods could be fused with contemporary western medical techniques. His goal is to alleviate much of the suffering in today’s world. He is determined to transmit the knowledge and skills of Emei Qigong to the American public.

Since his arrival in the United States, Grandmaster Fu has given lectures and workshops in over 30 American cities. He was invited to the University of San Francisco and the University of California at San Diego to lecture on Qigong and was a visiting professor at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine in San Francisco, where he taught curriculum-required courses on the Emei methodology of Qi (energy) emission for diagnosis and treatment. In 1996, he participated in an experiment at the Atlantic Tumor Hospital in California that involved the emission of Qi into cancer cells. The initial positive results enabled the experiment to be taken to a bigger scale. In 2001, these encouraging results were published in the magazine, Spirituality and Health.Fu Wei Zhong also participated in an experiment conducted by the California Pacific Medical Center of Complementary Medicine Research Institute to test Qigong and other holistic modalities in the treatment of brain tumors from a distance. The Discovery Channel filmed Grandmaster Fu at theMedical Center and aired the documentary in Canada on a show called “Daily Planet.”

As of 2006, there are many thousands of Emei Qigong students in the United States and 2 million followers of Emei Qigong worldwide. What the world needs now, more than ever, is a heart-centered system like Emei Qigong to bring health, vitality and true kindness to people.

In the fall of 2006, Grandmaster Fu taught the Level IV seminar, the Emei Qigong Level I Teacher’s Training, for the first time. This month-long session was held at Emei Mountain in China, and students stayed at the Emeishan Grand Hotel at the base of the mountain during this time. The training was successful; students emerged from this intensive training with a much deeper and comprehensive undertanding of Emei Qigong, and many will continue their training to become Level I teachers. A second group of prospective Level I teachers took Level IV in 2007.

For the next few years, Grandmaster Fu will concentrate on training the monk who will become the next lineage holder inChina and the students who will become Emei Qigong Level I teachers in North America. 

Coach Jim Roselando leads MIT Qigong Club in Siu Lin Tau

The Art of Siu Lin Tau

Excerpt from an article by Jim Roselando from Wing Chun Illustrated:

There is one thing that is common across all lineages of Wing Chun Kuen.  The universal foundation set of our art, the Siu Lin Tau.  This mother set is preserved in its original platform within the Cho family and also a Siu Lin Tau Kuen Kuit "boxing poetry" which is designed to holistically strengthen and unite the whole body with our Gongfu.  This one long mother set would later be broken or split into three smaller sets during the Red Junk period.  

 

Most Wing Chun lineages state that our art originated from a fusion of Snake and Crane technology.  Research provided by the Cho family and their decedents supports this theory.  Miao Shun's fusion of Ng Mui's White Crane boxing with his own knowledge of Emei internal art (Snake Qigong) resulted in a "Snake" Body with "Crane" Boxing art.  Snake & Crane!  This new hybrid was rooted in two giants of Chinese martial and internal technology, which thus became a new advanced soft style of boxing.   

 

Across the spectrum of Wing Chun lineages,  almost everyone agrees that Wing Chun is a soft style of boxing.  Well, the term soft has specific criteria within internal arts.  This means the body, breath & mind must be cultivated with softness with your Gongfu.  The set directly develops ones physical body by loosening each joint from the tip of the fingers to the foot.  So not only does a practitioner use the Siu Liu Tau technology to develop their combat skills, and concepts, but also to achieve a deeper state of cultivation. Physically the muscles, tendons, joints all are to be targeted and trained.  This will not only loosen the body but also gradually realign the skeletal structure.  The benefits for real life situations are many.  A loose body will have the qualities of heavy and light, enabling it to react and respond dynamically.  A loose body has a greater range of elasticity allowing for maximum open, close, rise & sink which are essential for issuing and receiving force.  

When one begins to study breathing in their Siu Lin Tau practice they must only bring a light awareness to breathing from bellow the belly button.  Our ancestors placed a special importance to this practice.  Commonly known as Som Bai Fut (three prayers to Buddha), this section is known as Kang & Rou (release and load) is specifically performed slowly in order to target your breath with stillness during our boxing.  Why is it important for the reality of fighting?  If the breathing isn't freely flowing then the body immediately tenses up and the body becomes sluggish, clumsy and weak rather than dynamic and spontaneous.  

 

The first stanza in the Siu Lin Tau Kuen Kuit states: "Collect the Yi, Union with the Shen in the Equal stance".  This maxim clearly discusses the third area of discussion in this article regarding basic cultivation: the mind.  First, let’s break down this Kuen Kuit for you.  Collect the Yi is telling us that over-active thoughts must be quieted and then it will Union with the Shen (spirit) or have equilibrium of a relaxed mind, relaxed breath & relaxed body in the Yee Jee Ma or Character "=" Stance.  This equal stance is discussing the concept of neutral power, which allows for stability, strength and movement in any direction.

 

The fundamental purpose of lower abdominal breathing is to gradually quiet the mind over time and this is why is must be isolated and trained faithfully.   The process isn't complicated, but is often neglected by practitioners.  The simple truth is the above knowledge is the basic Gong in Gongfu.  What benefits does this bring us in the reality of the streets?  Emotions are extremely powerful before and during a heated exchange.  The ability to stay calm will cage those emotions allowing your full athletic potential to surface.

Emei Qigong with Mater Fu Weizhong

From: http://www.emeiqigong-buddhistmedicine.com/

Emei Qigong is a great treasure-offering to the world from the Emei Linji Chan Lineage of Chinese Buddhism. Held in secret for almost 800 years, reserved only for the monastic Chan community, this wisdom tradition has been passed down through an unbroken lineage.  Only in the past 10 years, in a historical and revolutionary act of expansive compassion and generosity, have the jewels of understanding in this tradition been revealed to the world’s lay population. It embraces a comprehensive system of teachings and practices particularly relevant to the challenges of the modern world by promoting physical health and healing, emotional balance, and the development of higher levels of awareness to help awaken to one’s True Nature.

Emei Qigong is taught only by Emei Masters and teachers recognized by Grand Master Fu Weizhong, 13^th Lineage Head of the Emei Linji Chan School of Chinese Buddhism. It is unique in that it includes all forms of Qigong yet transcends the limits inherent in each of them—Spiritual Qigong, Medical Qigong, Martial Qigong and Performance Qigong. The highest form of Qigong awakens the understanding of how to, first, skillfully and harmoniously journey through the relative, material world and, second, realize our own True Nature and the nature of the universe. The methods of Emei Qigong unleash one’s natural meta-intelligence—that which exists beyond our mundane level of intelligence—to give rise to the expression of our highest human potential.

What specific practices and teachings are offered in Emei Qigong trainings?

- Internal and movement practices to heal and maintain the health of the body, balance the emotions, and expand the mind and our view of self and reality

- Internal and movement practices that delete negative thinking, so that positive thinking can naturally arise

- Internal and movement practices that help us cultivate greater compassion, peace, comfort, and capacity to adapt to changing external conditions

- Methods to skillfully liberate us from the influence of difficult events in the past, and to give rise to good thinking and a more unencumbered, joyful, generous way of interacting with the world

- Practices that balance physiological functions and powerfully transform unhealthy physical patterns

- Teachings and practices to effectively utilize food and food therapy as a basic condition for our health and happiness

- Healing methods that can be easily learned and are highly effective when applied to oneself and or to others

- Practices that balance the influences we are born with that drive physiological patterns and mental habits

- Methods to adjust personal and environmental fengshui to create beneficial internal and external conditions for our life

- Teachings that offer insights into the laws of nature in our universe and demonstrate how to live in harmony with them