26/01/2018
THE IMPORTANCE OF NEIGONG
The importance of Neigong training in Taijiquan cannot be overestimated. However for many practitioners, especially those training only for health, this aspect is virtually unknown. Of course there are still many benefits to be gained by solely practicing the proper physical aspects of the exercise. But if you trace back the history of Taijiquan it will be found that all of the best practitioners of earlier generations were individually taught the special Taiji Neigong. This was considered an essential part of the original training. In fact it is this Neigong aspect which really makes Taijiquan an INTERNAL martial art.
In the D**g family’s latest book on the life and teachings of D**g Ying Jie, “Grand Master,” it is stated that, ‘the Yangs went to Wudang and obtained the true teachings.’ Regarding this, someone questioned why this was not mentioned in any of the volumes written by D**g Ying Jie himself. The answer is of course, simple. These teachings were secret and reserved only for disciples and lineage-holders. They were not given out lightly, and generally only after a thorough evaluation by the teacher of both the ability and especially the moral character of their long-time student.
For example, Yang Cheng Fu only taught this material one-on-one, often in the dead of night. So, why was this material so closely guarded? Simple - this training supercharged the disciple’s abilities, skill and power and enabled even a person of smaller physical stature to defeat bigger and/or multiple opponents. A modern analogy for this quantum increase would be like when Dom kicks in the nitro in the Fast and Furious movies.
So the question becomes, where do we find this Neigong training? The Classics give us a clear hint. It is said, ‘...the mind stays with (in) the DanTien.’ Oddly enough this is both the beginning and the endpoint of true Neigong training. At the beginning we focus in the Dan Tien to build up our Chi. Later, once all the Jin pathways have been properly cultivated through sitting meditation, the holding of postures and extensive moving repetition of individual postures, all this ‘information’ eventually becomes ‘hardwired’ to the low Dan Tien.
Actually with enough practice, inevitably all three Dan Tiens become joined through the Central Channel which allows all action to be initiated through Shen and the Upper Dan Tien. (The Yi leads the Chi which leads the blood - meaning the body) At this point the Chi will travel through the bones (bone marrow) and therefore also throughout all the body’s tissues, sinews and internal organs.
If you want to feel more Chi in your Taijiquan practice, besides holding your interior focus and feeling-awareness in the low Dantien throughout the entire form, you can try focusing on the tip of the Tailbone and Sacrum. (GV-1 Chang Qiang point in acupuncture.) This region is called Wei Lu gate in alchemy and includes both the Tailbone and Sacrum. Doing this will cause the Chi to rise up the spine and back through the Ming Men, Jia Ji and Yu Zhen gates toward the Niwan and Baihui regions. Try this and see for yourself - it works.
With regards to Zhan Zhuang which is essentially a Neigong type of practice, it’s important to remember that the Daoists used standing meditation with a full retinue of their Neigong system for over a thousand years before Wang Xiang Zhai the creator of Yiquan was born.
