EXPLORING QIGONG DEMO: MEDITATION, MARTIAL, AND MEDICINAL

Medicine is poison unless you understand intention, application, and dosage. This is a fundamental concept in martial arts. 

David Wei and I made it our goal to squeeze all we could out of one iconic Qigong exercise for a room full of our mentors, and it was a full circle from the first time I met this community. Here's the short version of how being a stunt performer who loved to hurl his body onto hard surfaces almost 20 years ago evolved into performing Qigong in front of a room of Kung Fu and Tai Chi masters. 

20 years ago I was asked to assist and bring some of my young martial artists to a demonstration and when we got there, there were no mats and about 20 schools that needed them. The masters and teachers who wanted to demonstrate their techniques were hindered because people may get hurt. My name was thrown into the mix as a "stunt man," and they asked if I was ok with falling on hard floors. Of course I was, duh. 

So I had the privilege of being thrown around all day on a stage in front of a bunch of kung fu masters. Towards the end, the great Dr. Alex Feng mentioned that the master's table wanted to see what I could do because they had seen me on stage all day and they were impressed that I could fall and flip around all day and not be hurt or tired. So I nervously said ok. 

This was my opportunity to show a story of martial practice. I started with yoga, then went into Middle Eastern variations of strength and combat wrestling, then into kung fu forms. All the same movements, but expressed from different cultures and intentions. They loved it, I was honored, and we never crossed paths again, until...

David Wei mentioned this event. Put on by the same master, Alex Feng.

I have wanted to study under Alex for decades, so I was very excited about this opportunity. Plus, David Wei is a soulmate of mine in this work, so he and I were on the same page about taking one thing and showing an in-depth demo of how it can be used in many ways. From poison to medicine. 

Plus, we wanted to show the variations and sloppiness that often happen to adapt a technique. David is much larger than me, and we both have our strengths and weaknesses. Traditional martial arts are often trapped by their traditions, and to have this demo so appreciated by our mentors was an honor. We showed our love for the tradition but always honor it by striving to keep it relevant and evolving.