The view was awesome, the feeling was amazing

Mixing the energy bubble a top a great rock on the Western Hills (Badachu)


















It took us about an hour to hike up to this area and the view on Beijing and the surrounding hills and temples was breathtaking.

Out of all the places I visited during my trip, training in this area and the memory of it, as well as the feeling I experienced while doing my training here, will surely be one of the most memorable moments of my trip.

In Fang Shen Do we encourage our students to anchor important moments you go through either in your training or in life in general.

An anchor helps recall past experiences you can use in the present moment to snap yourself in a specific state at some other point in your life. You can relive a feeling you had in 3, 6, 12, 24 mths from now just by calling upon that anchor.

Think about a moment in your life where you felt the happiest, the most confident, or the strongest. With the right anchors in place you can get to feel that way every day.

We all live with anchors or associations, some of those can be positive while others can be negative.

I count on the positive anchors I've set to keep myself motivated, happy, thankful, and energized every day. These over power any negative ones that might creep up.

Music can be a source of empowerment or it can put you in a sad, depressed state so be weary of what you listen to.

Starting something new might bring some anxious feelings, butterflies in the stomach, these can remind you of past failures and stop you from following through or they can fill you with excitement knowing you're going to learn something new.

Sitting on the couch to watch TV might help you relax, unwind and disconnect or it can serve to remind you that lying down catatonic doesn't help you in any way to grow and reach the goals you've set for yourself.

These are just basic examples. Think of all the associations your mind has made since you were born.

Which associations do you have about exercise?

Waking up early.

Reading.

Drugs.

Relationships.

Smoking.

Etc. Etc...

The good news is associations and habits can be changed or replaced in 21 days or less.

Are you ready to make exercising a positive starting point to make other key changes in other areas of your life?

Here's how I'd like you to get started.

Master Yourself,

Sibok M

Mind like a Monkey

Calming the body is pretty easy.

There are many ways to do so via physical exercise, foot and body massage, a hot bath, sauna, etc...

Where it becomes difficult is with our mind.

The mind will never stop.

It will never be satisfied or at ease.

New thoughts will enter your mind as quickly as one is dismissed.

The first source of your thoughts come from your five senses.

Everything you've learned since you were born has entered through your five senses.

Naturally, your five senses often distract you from enjoying your relax time or your training time with a hefty supply of feedback such as:

Too hot. Too cold. I'm itchy. You're hungry. Need to move. I'm tired. My feet hurt. etc...

How do you shut it off?

While in China, this particular condition plagued me at first.

Out of my usual routine of doing several hundred reps to now stepping it up in the thousands and performing them at 1 and 5 am and at different times in the day, my mind literally was like a monkey.

Wandering. Questioning. Complaining.

Until I reminded myself what the master's wife had told me earlier.

There is no You. There is no Space. There is no Place. None of them exist. Only focus on the Chi. Bring your full attention, your spirit and your heart to that place and time will just fly by.

Time really did fly by. I've returned more motivated than ever to spread the elements of Neigong.

Before reaching the point of creating and mixing an energy bubble you need to get started on the foundation work of Neigong contained in the first installment in the series.

Here's the first step to reaching that level.

Master Yourself,

Sibok M

P.S. There is a level of calmness you've never experienced before after training in Neigong. I want you to feel what I feel. Get started today.

Perfect example of yin and yang.

Can you imagine reaching a level where your "Chi" dictates how you move.

To most martial arts practitioners this makes sense.

You might already feel like that at times.

But I've seldomly heard about it being transfered to other areas like chinese calligraphy.

Until a couple of years ago.

I had a chance recently to watch my Neigong instructor, Raf, perform flawless brush strokes depicting various chinese symbols on very fine rice paper.

The perfect example of yin and yang.

Just enough strength to press the ink to reveal a letter and just enough softness to not rip the paper in half (he ususally has you hold the paper while he writes), this level of hand dexterity then extends to sword play.

As you can imagine, it's hard enough to write just standard english calligraphy let alone chinese calligraphy.

It's a perfect example of the finesse you can acquire when practicing an internal art like Wudang Neigong.

As martial artists, we have to understand that what we do is an art.

An artist is judged by his or her performance. In our case, in martial arts it's demonstrating a kick or a series of attacks. It must be beautiful to watch the practitioner move with strength, balance and flexibility while making it look effortless.

The same is true with painting or calligraphy.

By watching the end result of their work you can better understand what's going on inside. It has a way to reflect the artist's inner world.

If he is angry, sad, distracted or unyielding, his work will be less than stellar.

If he is happy, focused, clear and flowing with his chi, it will display itself in his finished work.

Like I mentioned earlier, I had a chance to watch Raf do this recently and managed to snap a picture of his performance. You can see it here.

Master Yourself,

Sibok Martin

P.S. I'll keep you posted for upcoming Neigong seminars at a school near you. Stay tuned.

The same as Tai Chi, Chi-Gong or Yoga?

A common type of question I get alot about our Neigong (internal martial art) training is:


"Is it the same as Tai Chi, Chi-Gong or Yoga? "

Before I answer that question let's take a look at what's out there when it comes to internal energy development.

The internal arts are getting more popular by the hour because aging baby boomers are looking to stay young and vibrant, healthy and disease free.

Even adolescents and young adults are drawn to this aspect of the martial arts since everyone knows the chinese are very advanced in terms of chi development, superhuman feats of strength, long life spans, and child like flexibility.

Who wouldn't want that?

There's something attractive about strenghtening the mind-body connection, making sure every organ functions efficiently, and becoming more knowledgeable when it comes to Chi and the meridians of the body.

If only every instructor in the martial arts taught this science.

I have a confession to make.

I can't stand some of the Tai Chi, Chi Gong, Yoga instructors sometimes.

Especially the ones who try to be overly spiritual to a point where it becomes really cheesy and mystical. Or the ones that talk really quietly and slowly, trying to show you how much control they have. Makes me think of the movie: "They call me Bruce".

There's this one memorable scene where the master is speaking to his students about control over one's self, mastering your emotions and how important it is to their development when suddenly the phone rings.

The master heads on over to his office to pick up the phone, it's a bill collector!

He goes on to swear, call names, basically scream at the guy for a few minutes while the students over hear everyhting until he hangs up and goes back on the training mat with a straight face and says: "As I was saying, you need control".

Hilarious.

How many instructors have you seen do this?

Promote health and fitness then walk outside for a smoke and a coke?

You hear an instructor talk about respect, discipline and commitment but he's on his 3rd divorce.

I once saw a supposedly "Master", down 3 jumbo sized Ice teas laced with 10 packs of sugar twins at a business dinner. That would explain why he seems to have aged 30 years in the span of 5.

The martial arts is loaded with stories like this.

My point is, we've gone to great lengths to practice what we preach.

I've searched for what is taught in our Neigong training for a long time. I've had my share of disappointments until I finally found what I was looking for.

Is it the same as Tai Chi, Chi-Gong or Yoga?

The purpose is the same, the end result is the same, the difference lies in the presentation.

When you want to go somewhere fast do you prefer the long road or the shortcut?

This once underground style of internal work is 800 years old. It's a system designed by martial artists for martial artists.

It will strengthen you from the inside out. Unblock meridians. Flow your chi the way it was intended to and strengthen your martial art foundation.

You can try it risk free by visiting this link.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

P.S. Avoid and say good-bye to "posers", their goal is to purposely show you useless techniques making you feel like you're in a one paddle row boat. That's right going in circles is no fun. Get the full benefits of an effective internal martial art, learn Neigong now.

The Body serves the Mind

A picture of Raf, my Neigong instructor, at a recent seminar held at our private training pagoda.

The old masters believed that: "External Martial Art Training without the Internal Development was a waste of time".

Interesting point.

Even believing if you had great physical skill you would quickly hit a plateau in your development, even hitting a point of stagnation.

The wise practitioner who would merge both, external and internal training would benefit from unlimited progression and a constant expansion of skill.

I'm all for that.

I'm one to believe you should put all the chances on your side to win.

Winning for you might be to get in the best possible shape.

Winning could also possibly mean you feel totally confident you could defend yourself when you walk down the street at night.

Winning for someone who's never finished what they started might mean finally following through on the goals they've set for themselves.

For others Winning might mean to be proficient in their martial art expression.

"Martial Art Expression" you might ask?

Yes.

Whenever you practice martial arts you reveal a part of yourself to yourself or to your partner.

You reveal bits and pieces of your character.

If you pay attention close enough you can actually learn from every training session.

That's what I like about my Neigong Training.

When you listen, you hear some of your internal dialogue, sometimes you're distracted by something that's bothering you which makes you lose your count, or you get to see how you react to a little bit of uncomfortable muscle pain.

That's where you see who's in charge?

Your body or your mind?

I like to believe the mind controls the body. The mind will tell the body what to do and the body will be a good servant and follow the orders.

But for many that is not how it works, it's the complete opposite. Once the body shows the slightest sign of weakness or soreness the mind gives in and offers a... Break.

Remember: "The body serves the mind" and not the other way around.

Well, at least that's how it's supposed to be.

This is one of the biggest benefits I've gained from the Neigong Training.

I'm able to hold and squeeze my body through difficult postures and positions, as well as repeat any number of reps I ask of it in various exercises without giving in to my "lazy" body.

If you wish to feel what I feel when sharing the above experiences with you, and if you want to master your body and mind, I seriously think you should join me in my Neigong Training.

If you're just starting out here's where you can take the perfect first step:

Begin Neigong Training

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin

More Updates Part 2

I had a chance to present some elements of Fang Shen Do during a 3 minute demonstration.

There were 1200 people there.

That is really my element.

Going on stage with no preparation really, apart from a few general ideas.

Just letting the Chi move my weapon where it wants to go spontaneously. In that moment I am totally happy.

I was assisted by Sifu Patrick from our Gatineau Kung-Fu Sc and Sifu Silvain from our Nepean Kung-Fu School.

I never get bored of doing Demos. Every demo is different and I learn something from each one.

We'll also release this demo on Youtube very soon. I'll give you a heads up when it will be uploaded.
It's not long but worth checking it out.

The biggest comments I got are related to Speed.
We have a very unique way of honing, sharpening, and developing speed.

Something no one was covering during our stay in France.

As you know, speed is everything. If you can't reach your opponent all your techniques are worthless.

If speed is on your mind (and it should be!) make sure to check our first of 3 speed products here.

Master Yourself,

Sifu Martin