Twentieth in a series: Sifu Randy Choy is a well-respected martial arts teacher in Hawaii. Sifu Fong thanks him for graciously sharing his thoughts on training here.

The Eight Han Dynasty Daoist Exercises

If you have a chance to visit Taiwan, you might want to visit one of their local parks to see what forms of Chinese health exercises are being practiced in the early morning. During the mid-1970’s, Grandmaster Zhang Zhi-Tong introduced a series of twelve external elixir health exercises called, “Wai Dan Gong Shi Er Shi”. Through the practice of these Chinese exercises, the practitioner could activate the Qi within his body, just like electricity. Through daily practice, you can experience the Qi flowing within your body which can bring you the positive effects of good health and long life.

Let’s consider people near to my age group. That group of individuals who are approaching sixty years of age. Don’t you feel yourself getting weaker as the years slowly pass by? How about increased depression? How about those aching muscles and joints? Maybe, you’re catching too many colds too frequently? Well, that’s old age.

So, maybe you might want to consider practicing a set of Chinese health exercises called, “Wai Dan Gong.” It is often referred to as the, “One hundred day gong fu.” There is an old Chinese saying, “If you have the patience to practice these exercises for one hundred days, your energy will increase.” Furthermore, “Given three hundred days, you will enjoy good health, both mentally and physically.”

Grandmaster Zhang Zhi-Tong first taught a series of Han dynasty Daoist health exercises called, “Han Dao Yin Jiang Shen Gong Ba Shi.” The following is a list of the names of those forms: 1. Preparatory; 2. Support the sky and embrace the moon; 3. Flying goose turns its head; 4. Face the wind and travel the ice; 5. Swing the arms towards the sky; 6. Swing the winnowing basket; 7. Bend the waist; and 8. Pulling stalks of grain.

Before I explain the above nine health exercises, it is important to breathe naturally. There are four main sounds you will have to practice. They are, 1. Heng; 2. Ha; 3. Xi; and 4. Hu. Whenever you raise and arc your arms, you say the “Heng” sound. Whenever you lean forward, you say the “Heng” sound. Whenever you bend at your waist, lowering your fist down to the side of your body, you say the “Heng” sound. Whenever you lower your arms, you say the “Ha” sound. Whenever you straighten up your back, you say the “Ha” sound. Whenever you bend at your waist, lowering your fingers down to the front of your body, you say the “Xi” sound. And finally, whenever you vertically stretch your spine, you say the “Hu” sound. These are your basic sound principles you must understand and practice before moving on.

The first form is its, “Preparatory form.” There are a few major points to remember in this form. Stand upright. Look straight ahead. Relax and calm your mind. Close your mouth and let the tip of your tongue touch your upper palate. Do not exert any strength in your arms. Begin by breathing naturally.

Wait for the original Qi to come. Allow the Qi to make your elbows and hands tremble. Do not use any hard physical force. If you follow these major points, your Qi will be activated. This preparatory form is important because it helps to regulate your respiratory system and improve circulation. Your nervousness will begin to go away. You will be in a peaceful state of mind.

The second form is an arm arching exercise called “Support the sky and embrace the moon.” In this exercise, you arc both arms above your shoulders with palms facing up and fingers spread apart. Raise your head slightly and look upwards. This exercise is good for loosening up your shoulders by arcing and stretching your arms up and down. In this exercise, two kinds of sounds are used. The first sound is the “Heng” sound. That sound vibrates your thorax. It is used when moving your arms upwards. The second sound is the “Ha” sound, used to expel the air from your lungs as you lower your arms.

The third form is an arm stretching exercise called, “Flying goose turns its head.” This exercise had good health benefits for people with tightness in their neck and shoulders. By turning your head left and right, you send your Qi to the tips of your upper limbs.

The fourth form is one of my favorite exercises. You bow left and right. It also has a very descriptive title, “Face the wind and travel the ice.” In the Chinese tradition, the act of taking a bow is a custom of expressing politeness. In this bowing exercise, you stretch your spine which helps the Qi to travel from the tip of your backbone to you the top of your head. For example, when you slant your body slightly forwards, you press your stomach in and say the “Heng” sound. Then you straighten up your body and allow your abdomen to expand, you say the “Ha” sound. I really feel rejuvenated as I expel all that carbon dioxide from my lungs.

The fifth form is an arm whirling exercise called, “Swing the arms up to the sky.” This exercise is a quick way of loosening up your neck and the area behind the back of your shoulder blades. When you lower your arms, you say the “Ha” sound. After repeating this exercise a few times, you can feel the Qi flowing in your hands and around the upper part of your back. Don’t be afraid to practice this exercise as many times as you want.

The sixth form is an open arm hip swinging exercise called, “Swing the winnowing basket.” This is such a great exercise. When I practice this exercise, I feel as if my arms are floating on a moving body of water. You get to exercise your legs and loosen up your hips. By widely spreading out your arms, you get the benefits of good Qi flow. Other than its great health benefits, my students want to know what is a winnowing basket? If you have ever been to China, you might observe people collecting rice grain. The winnow is the chaff blown off from the grain that is collected and made into baskets.

The seventh form is a body bending downwards exercise called, “Bending the waist.” In this exercise, you loosen up your back. Whenever you bend your body down, you bend your waist. Say the “Heng” sound. When you straighten up your body, say the “Ha” sound. With daily practice, any pain in your back will slowly go away.

The eighth form is called, “Pulling stalks of grain.” The first part of this exercise, you imitate the motion of lifting up a grapefruit in the front of your feet. In the second part of this exercise, you imitate the movement of pulling stalks of grain. In this exercise, you say the “Xi” when you bend down and the “Hu” sound when you stretch yours arm upwards as if you were pulling out a stalk of grain.

Finally, before practicing any form of health exercise, you should consult your physician. This is very important. Secondly, it is up to you when you want to practice any health exercise. I prefer to practice Wai Dan Gong in the morning. I practice these exercises on an empty stomach. If you had already eaten, wait at least two hours before exercising. Don’t drink any cold drinks after practice. If you are thirsty, slowly drink some warm water or warm tea. The best advice I can give anyone is for them to seek a qualified instructor with years of experience such as Professor Gregory Fong of Gregory Fong’s Chinese Martial Arts in Portland, Oregon.

Mahalo,
Professor Randy Choy
Founder of the Chinese Athletic Arts Academy
Advisor to the Hawaii Martial Arts International Society
Chuk Kai Tai Chi Praying Mantis Organization, Hawaii

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