B.K.FRANTZIS'
TAOIST WATER METHOD
NEIGUNG
THE WEEKEND COURSES I
TEACH
Written and Prepared
by Jamie Dibdin
CONTACT: baguamonkey@gmx.de or call 0049 69
61994710
LEVEL
2
WU
TAI CHI AND OPENING THE ENERGY GATES
LEVEL
1
LONGEVITY
BREATHING
INSTRUCTOR
Photo 1.Jamie
Dibdin in the Wu Tai Chi Posture Single Whip
California 1999
LONGEVITY BREATHING
DESCRIPTION
Just as when a
baby breathes its whole body is in motion,Longevity
Breathing(previously known as Taoist Whole Body Breathing)developed by Liu Hung Chieh and B.K.Frantzis helps you to breathe using the belly/waist,the sides
of the abdomen,the lower back and the upper back smoothly and without strain.
This weekend
will teach you how to use your breath to increase your circulation,increase
your breathing capacity,aid in developing deep relaxation,massage your internal
organs and improve your stamina.This type of breathing is basic to all Chi Gung and Tai Chi and Bagua
practises,it is the way these arts at a primary level gain access to the
feeling of Chi in the body.
These
breathing principles can be practised in any of the four modes of Taoist practise,those being
standing,sitting,moving and lying down.Using the 70 % Rule as a guide this
method allows you grow at your own rate and yet gain steady increases in your
breath capacity.
I am Certified as a Level 1 Instructor for Longevity Breathing.
DRAGON AND TIGER CHI GUNG
DESCRIPTION
Dragon and Tiger Chi Gung is one of the easiest Meridian
Line Chi Gung systems to learn,with only seven relatively straight forward
movements to practise,this set is ideal for beginners or those who wish to have
an Internal Exercise routine without
the need to absorb long and complicated sequences of movements.
Despite this
simplicity Dragon and Tiger is a
powerful set for developing the feeling of Chi
especially in the External Energy Field and
the Left and Right Channels of the body.The movements themselves are greatly
useful for releasing tired nerves, loosening the major joints of the body and
providing a thorough massage for the muscles.
Although I am not Certified in this set I have taught it many times since learning it
in 1992,especially to students who need to benefit from taking a Chi gung that would be both gentle and
forgiving to practise and that is of use as an effective system for pain
relief.
OPENING THE ENERGY GATES CHI GUNG
DESCRIPTION
This set is
fully described in the book Opening The
Energy Gates of Your Body by B.K.Frantzis
published by North Atlantic Books.It has also been published twice in German first as Qi Gong-Wege zu den Energiequellen des Koerpers by Rowohlt and more recently by Windpferd as Die Energie Tore des Koerpers offnen-Der weg zur Meisterschaft.
This Chi Gung starts with one of the
Classics of Internal Martial Arts-Standing.First
there are the all-important physical alignments designed to open the joints of
the body in accordance with Taoist Body
Principles.Then you learn how to literally feel the inside of the body ,to become aware of the places inside
of your body that are or are not easily accessible to your conscious awareness.
The next step
is to put this ability to feel into an exercise called Outer Dissolving,this is where you try to become of the finer
energy blockages and to release them or Dissolve
these blocks so the enegy inside them can return to a smooth flow.This is not a
visualisation technique-it is firmly based on someone gaining the ability to
have a accurate sense of the sensations
that exist on the inside of their body.
Photo 2.Jamie
Dibdin doing Cloud Hands
at a weekend course
in Frankfurt 1998
Then there is
the first moving exercise of the set-Cloud
Hands.This exercise teaches you how to move the weight from one leg to the
other while maintaining the alignments learnt for Standing,then there is the principle of waist turning and finally
spiralling from the arms and legs that takes place throughout the whole motion.
Cloud Hands
also teaches how to use Opening and
Closing of the joints and the motion of the Kwa,to make the
exercise even more useful for Internal
Arts practise you can also add in the Primary
Energies of Peng,Liu,Ji and An.
The next three
moving exercises are known collectively as the Swings,these use relaxed arm and Kwa/waist actions to lightly massage the lower,middle and upper
parts of the torso.The first Swing
uses the same leg waist motion and the arms simply let go and follow.The second
and third Swings share a sideways
motion of the unweighted leg and the third adds the ability to use the Kwa and legs to provide vertical
lifting motions to the arms and spine.
Then at the
end of this set there is the invaluable Taoist
Spine Stretch,the beginning of Taoist
Spinal Chi Gung as taught by B.K.Frantzis
founder of Energy Arts Inc.
The big
difference between this and typical Western exercises for the back is that it
starts all motion at the base of the back as opposed to the head being
first.Also the Taoist Spine Stretch uses
the Outer Dissolving to cause nervous system release before any motion takes
place in the back hence reducing the chances of strain.
Indeed this
ability to release the underlying nervous tension and the energetic blockages
in the spine is the unique feature of B.K.Frantzis'
whole system of Chi Gung.It enables
a practioner to gain changes that will stay with the body during the day and
will help to develop the capacity to prevent strain from becoming set in the
body.
I am Certified as a Level 2 Instructor of Opening the Energy Gates Chi Gung.
MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND EARTH CHI GUNG
DESCRIPTION
This is the Chi Gung set that has the simplest
movement set and the most valuable Internal
Principles contained within it.The movements are both logical and
balanced-the movements being a mirror image as the two sides of the body move
simultaneously in the same pattern.
Photo 3.Jim La Plante in a Static Posture
suitable for Marriage
of Heaven and Earth Chi Gung
Practise
The movements
of this set are only about 10% of the total work that is done the rest of the
exercise includes learning more about Taoist
Breathing principles,including how to move the front sides and back of the
body,Opening and Closing of the Joints,by gaining the ability to move(at will) the synovial fluid
inside the joints,which can have an effect on arthritis and Lenthening the Tissue,the facia which wraps around and through all the muscles of
the body.The ligaments are also given a workout in this set via the vertical
bending actions this adding a certain "bounce" to these tissues.
Energetically
this set shows you how to circulate energy through the Left and Right Channels,to
project energy into the torso for health and how to stimulate the energy flows
of the Micro and Micro Cosmic Orbits.
The Spinal Work began in the Energy Gates set is taken further
too,through the two bending actions which are a part of the Marriage Chi Gung.
Although I am not Certified to teach Marriage of Heaven and Earth I have
taught it as many times as Opening the
Energy Gates since I first learnt it in 1989.Before the idea of Teaching Training Certifications occurred
I was teaching a number of subjects from B.K.Frantzis
Chi Gungs as part of the classes I taught in the U.K. (from 1991 to 1995
-even up to the present) without having attended a Certification course.
At one time
the principle was if B.KFrantzis
thought you were capable he would let you teach certain subjects,as indeed I
did after 2 years training in the U.K. when I became the representative of F.I.T.C.A.But it should also be
remembered I have only taught those things where I felt able to do so and the students
had enough background to benefit from the exposure.
16/18 MOVE WU STYLE TAI CHI SHORT FORM
Photo 4.The
Founder of Wu Style Tai Chi Chuan
Wu Chien Chuan
in the Single Whip Posture
DESCRIPTION
This is the
form developed by B.K.Frantzis,with
the encouragement of his teacher Taoist
Master Liu Hung Chieh.The Wu Style,as
taught by B.K.Frantzis specializes
in developing a strong and healthy body and a relaxed and released mind.These 16/18 Moves taken from the Original Long Form are by no means
simplified but contain all of the essential information that make Tai Chi work for health.
The Wu Style of Tai Chi uses small circular movements and relatively high stances
which have several advantages over other Tai
Chi styles,especially at the beginning of the learning process.For those
with knee problems ,for example,the higher stances help you to learn the
alignments,which generate healthy joints,without unneccessary strain.
Over time you
learn to Open and Close the Joints of the body,Lengthen
the tissue,develop sensitivity to Chi
and balance the Left and Right sides of the body.This
sensitivity helps you handle the daily stresses and strains that are connected
with chronic stress,e.g.working with computers,sitting at a desk etc.
I am Certified as a Level 2 Body Mechanics Wu Style Tai Chi Instructor in the Enegy Arts Program.
BEIJING BAGUA ZHANG SINGLE PALM CHANGE
DESCRIPTION
In this course
I teach the Primary Physical and Energetic practise,the Single Palm Change,of the Beijing Bagua Zhang transmitted to B.K.Frantzis by Taoist Master Liu Hung
Chieh.
In this
weekend you will learn Bagua's
characteristic Basic Exercises ,Circle Walking,Static Upper Body Walking Post and the Single Palm Change and how to practise Bagua for health.For those who are interested Martial Applications and Rou
Shou will be covered,but only as a mnemonic aid to learning the Single Palm Change.
Photo 5.Various
Masters of Bagua Zhang
in the Characteristic "Guard"Stance
Although I am not Certified in Bagua Single Palm Change I have been seriously practising the style
for over seven years and have taught it in my weekly classes in Frankfurt since
2000.For further details of my training background please read my
biography.
COURSES I TEACH BUT NOT AS WEEKEND SEMINARS
DESCRIPTION
Here you will
find two subjects Bend the Bow and Gods Playing in the Clouds.For full
descriptions please refer to the Energy
Arts Inc website.
Bend the Bow
is the Spinal Chi Gung of B.K.Frantzis
system,previously I have taught this Chi
Gung as a weekend workshop both to
my own students and those of my colleagues Chris
Chappel and Glen Jenkins but I
have decided to only teach regular students in future to try to guarantee that
all participants have a better chance to learn this very powerful set.
In 2001 at the
Energy Gates Instructor Training I
asked B.K.Frantzis about this Chi Gung and Marriage of Heaven and Earth,especially about me teaching them,at
the time Bruce said that it was fine to teach the Marriage and about Bend the
Bow he said it was best if I only continue teaching the basic pump of the
set.So please bear this in my if you contact me regarding these two sets.
Photo 6.Isaac
Kamins kindly showing the first of the
Gods Playing in the CloudsExercises in 2000
Gods Playing in the Clouds is a six movement Nei
Gung method that contains all the previous material of the Chi Gungs before it and has its own
unique material too.Again this is a subject I am only offering to regular
students there will be no weekends where I teach this set.
THE SPIRALLING ENERGY BODY
DESCRIPTION
Again please
refer to Energy Arts Inc. website
for a full description.
This is
generally the most powerful of B.K.Frantzis
Chi Gungs and is only taught at retreats.I must emphasize that I do not
teach this set and will not be offering it as a weekend seminar at all.
This is the
set that represents the Fire Element in
Bruce's Taoist Water Method of Chi Gung. First students are given a
personalised posture which is designed to open as many of their Chi Channels as possible.
Next you learn
how to start initiating the upward current of energy from the earth and how to
generate spirals of energy at the Dantian.It
is essential that prospective students of this method have practised the Outer Dissolving technique and the rest
of the Energy Gates set before
beginning this process,as this is the best protection against any potential
problems that can arise.
Other topics
include how to neutralise both your own and environmental negative energy
states and how to use the energy developed by this set to power the movements
of the Energy Gates movements.
Again please
do not enquire about courses for the Spiralling
Energy Body I do not teach it.
CONTACT:Baguamonkey@gmx.de
:0049 69 61994710