I. The Root of Chinese Qjgong- The Secrets of Qjgong Training, published
28. Taiji Sword, Classical Yang Style; YMAA Publication Center, 1 999
5.3 PURPOSES, ADVANTAGES, AND DISADVANTAGES
Before we go into the theory of the Yi Jin Jing, we would like to discuss the pur
poses ofYi Jin Jing Qigong, as well as its advantages and disadvantages. Although we discussed this subject in Part One, we will cover it now in greater depth. If you have a clear understanding of this art, you will be more confident in your training, and bet
ter able to predict and expect results.
5.3. 1 Purposes of Yi Jin Jing Qigong
• To strengthen the physical body and maintain health. This is the most common goal for most practitioners. Many Qigong sets were based upon the same principles to achieve this same goal, such as "The Eight Pieces of Brocade" (Ba Duan Jin, A&'* ) or "Da Mo's Strengthening Qigong" (Da Mo Zhuang Qigong, lt� JIHvh ). Most of these sets are purely Wai Dan, and emphasize building up Qi in the limbs, rather than in the body. They provide a way for people to strengthen their bodies and maintain their health through simple, specifically designed movements. They do not require any in-depth, detailed knowledge of how Qi functions and circu
lates in the body.
• To increase the Qi storage and circulation in the Governing and Conception Vessels (Small Circulation). This is a higher purpose than the previous one. It is Nei Dan Qigong, and most practitioners who train it tend to go on to Grand Circulation. The Conception Vessel is responsible for the six Yin Qi channels, while the Governing Vessel governs the six Yang channels. Opening and filling these two vessels are the first steps of Nei Dan Qigong training.
• To eliminate stagnation in the twelve primary channels. Once you have filled the Conception and Governing Vessels with Qi, you learn how to lead the Qi to the twelve primary channels, which are related to the twelve organs. When you have reached this stage (Grand Circulation, Da Zhou Tian, -*..Jil :k ), practicing will not only strengthen your limbs, it will also improve the condition of your internal organs.
• To strengthen the Guardian Qi. After you are able to circulate the Qi smoothly in the twelve primary channels, you learn how to expand your Qi from these channels to the surface of your skin, eventually reaching the hair, nails, or even beyond your skin. This strengthens and enlarges your Guardian Qi (Wei Qi, .ft ft. ) shield and protects you from any negative influence from the surrounding Qi.
• To increase martial abilities. Soon after the Yi Jin Jing was taught to the priests, it was applied to the martial arts. Its principles and exercises were
Purposes, Advantages, and Disadvantages
used to develop Iron Shirt training, and to train martial artists to use their Qi effectively to energize their muscles to a higher level.
• To build a firm foundation for Xi Sui Qigong practice. In Da Mo's Qigong training, Yi Jin Jing is considered the Yang training which empha
sizes the physical body and builds up abundant Qi, while Xi Sui Jing is considered the Yin training which uses this Qi to nourish the marrow and brain. These two Qigong practices must be balanced. One generates the Qi and the other uses the Qi. One makes the body Yang, the other makes the body Yin. Therefore, in order to train the Xi Sui Jing and reach the final goal of enlightenment, you must first have plenty of Qi, which is obtained through Yi Jin Jing training.
Now that you have a better idea of the general purposes ofYi Jin Jing, you should have some idea as to what you want from your training. Next, we will list some of the advantages and disadvantages ofYi Jin Jing training.
5.3.2 Advantages of the Yi Jin Jing
• The Yi Jin Jing is easier than the Xi Sui Jing to understand and practice.
The theory is simpler and the training is easier, and it is therefore more accessible to the average person.
• With the Yi Jin Jing, you are able to see results in a short time. Because of this, more people are willing to accept the training.
• More documents are available and, since the training is more popular, it is relatively easy to find a master. Because the Yi Jin Jing is easier than the Xi Sui Jing to understand and learn, more people have practiced it, more docu
ments have been written about it, and therefore, more people are teaching it.
• Compared to Xi Sui Jing, Yi Jin Jing training is safer. Because there are more documents available, more people have trained it, and more experi
ences have been shared with the public. In addition, Yi Jin Jing emphasizes the external physical body and does not directly involve the vital organs, as does the Xi Sui Jing.
5.3.3 Disadvantages of the Yi Jin Jing
• It is a Yang training. Though health can be gained, increase of longevity is limited. We mentioned earlier that the Yi Jin Jing teaches you how to strengthen your body and build up the Qi internally. All of this effort will lead your body into a Yang state. Although this strengthens your physical body and Guardian Qi, it also causes the body to degenerate faster. To increase the length of your life significantly, you must learn how to use the Xi Sui Jing training to utilize the Qi.
• It may over-stress the physical body and cause San Gong ( ti:.l'/J ). This is commonplace among martial practitioners of Yi Jin Jing training, because they are trained to lead their Qi to the limbs with heavy breathing. This will energize the muscles effectively, but it also builds up the muscles and over
stresses the lungs. Frequently, the muscles will be over-developed.
Unfortunately, when these people get older, their muscles lose their flexi
bility and elasticity, and degenerate faster than the average person's muscles.
This phenomenon is called "San Gong" ( ti:."'h )(energy dispersion) in mar
tial arts society. In Yi Jin Jing training for health, however, you usually do not place as much emphasis on training your muscles, and this problem is not usually encountered.
You can see that there are more advantages than disadvantages. Furthermore, most of the disadvantages can be controlled easily if you know the theory of the training. It has been proven that Yi Jin Jing training is one of the most effective ways to change the quality of the physical body.
5.4 WAI DAN AND NEI DAN Yl JIN JING
Wai Dan ( $7H'J-) means "external elixir" and Nei Dan ( � !T ) means "internal elixir."
Wai Dan Qigong (often called Wai Dan Gong) and Nei Dan Qigong (often called Nei Dan Gong) are the two major categories in Qigong practice. Since these two terms have been discussed in my earlier books: Qigong for Health and Martial Arts and The Root of Chinese Qigong, we will only review their definitions here.
In Wai Dan Qigong training, you learn to build up the Qi in the limbs through special exercises, trainings, or treatments, and later you learn to allow the built-up Qi
to flow back to your body and organs, thereby nourishing the organs and maintaining smooth Qi circulation. This means that Qi is built up on the surface of the body or in the limbs, and then flows "inward" to the body. Common Wai Dan Qigong prac
tices are limb exercises, massage, and acupuncture. Because in Wai Dan you build up the Qi (or elixir) externally, it is called "external elixir."
In Nei Dan Qigong, the Qi (elixir) is built up in the body, and then led outward to the extremities. For this reason it is called Nei Dan (internal elixir). Nei Dan practice includes ingesting herbs to generate Qi internally, generating Qi in the Lower and Upper Dan Tians through various methods, regulating the Fire Qi in the solar plexus, building up and then circulating Qi in the Conception and Governing Vessels (Small Circulation) first and later expanding the Qi to the entire body (Grand Circulation), as well as tech
niques which lead Qi to the marrow and brain to nourish them (Xi Sui Jing).
Wei Dan and �ei Dan Yi Jin Jing
According to the available documents, Yi Jin Jing training emphasizes both Wai Dan and Nei Dan equally. When you train Yi Jin Jing, you should not train one and ignore the other. Wai Dan training is considered Yang, while the Nei Dan is consid
ered Yin. While Wai Dan Yi Jin Jing focuses on training the physical body, Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing aims at building up Qi. Both of them must cooperate with and balance each other. When one side of the training is neglected, the balance will be lost and problems may occur. For example, many external style martial artists have emphasized only the Wai Dan Yi Jin Jing and have experienced "San Gong" (energy dispersion) problems. I believe that in order to avoid making this mistake, you should first under
stand these two subjects and study their relationship.
5.4.1 Wai Dan Yi Jin Jing
The purpose of Wai Dan Yi Jin Jing is to strengthen the physical body, which includes skin, muscles, tendons, fasciae, and bones. Though the health of the internal organs may also be improved significantly by correct training, the organs are not the primary concern. Technically, the training of the organs is handled by Nei Dan train
ing and by the Grand Circulation, which form a combination of Wai Dan and Nei Dan practices. We will discuss this subject later.
In order to reach the goal of strengthening the physical body, many training meth
ods were created. The popular techniques are massage, slapping, pounding, beating, and striking. In addition to these stimulation techniques, many Wai Dan exercises were created which specialize in building up the Qi in the limbs. Often, special train
ing equipment was adapted for these exercise sets.
Normally, the first year of training focuses on the central body area, starting in the stomach area with massage, then gradually using the slapping, pounding, beating, and striking techniques. In this year you must learn Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing, which teaches you how to build up the Qi at the Lower Dan Tian, and later you must circulate it to the Conception and Governing Vessels (Small Circulation). Only after one year, after the center of the body has been trained completely, will the special Wai Dan exercises and muscular training of the limbs be started. This will last for the next two years. In these two years, the Nei Dan practice should teach you to expand the Qi which is built up at the center of the body to the limbs to complete the Grand Circulation.
The above description should give you a clearer picture of the role Wai Dan Yi Jin Jing plays in the training. You can see that the Wai Dan stimulation training described above can energize your body to a higher energy or Yang state.
5.4.2 Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing
The purpose of Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing is to build up the Qi internally at the center of the body. Later, this Qi is led to the limbs and the entire body. The reason for this is simple: in order to energize the physical body to a higher energy state for Wai Dan training, the Qi must be full and abundant. The physical body is like a machine and
Qi is like electricity. Only when the machine is in good condition and the power sup
ply is sufficient will the machine be able to perform at peak potential. One of the major goals ofYi Jin Jing training is leading the Qi to support the physical body effi
ciently to maintain and strengthen its health.
Another goal of Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing is to regulate the Qi in the internal organs.
When you have completed the Small Circulation, you will have learned how to fill up and smoothly circulate the Qi in the Conception and Governing Vessels. The Conception Vessel is the Qi reservoir which regulates the six Yin organs, while the Governing Vessel is used to regulate the six Yang organs. When the Qi in these two vessels is full and is circulating smoothly, the twelve internal organs will be regulated effectively, and the health of the organs can be maintained and improved.
Furthermore, if you have also completed the Grand Circulation, you will be able to lead and circulate the Qi in the twelve primary channels smoothly. In this instance, you may use Wai Dan exercises to enhance the health of the organs.
Usually, the Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing training begins after four months ofWai Dan Yi Jin Jing training. It normally takes three to eight months to complete the Small Circulation. However, it depends on the individual. To understand this thoroughly, you should very carefully study the Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing training, which will be dis
cussed later. After you have completed the Small Circulation, you will start the Grand Circulation, and from there it may take you a short time or forever depending on how deep you want to dig in. When you have reached this stage you will understand that the Qigong field is so deep that the deeper you study, the deeper it goes.
Normally, Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing is trained through still meditation. During still meditation, both your physical and mental bodies are relaxed, your mind is calm and peaceful. Consequently, your body tends to be more Yin compared to Wai Dan train
ing. It is only when you are in such a meditative state that you will be able to concentrate your mind on building up the Qi at the Dan Tian and directing it to the desired places.
You should be able to see from this discussion why it is so important to train both Wai Dan and Nei Dan Yi Jin Jing equally. In order to help you settle this in your mind, I conclude with the following important points:
• Wai Dan training stimulates your physical body and energizes you, there
fore it is a Yang training. Nei Dan training deals with the internal Qi field, the body is relaxed, the mind is calm and peaceful, and therefore it is a Yin training.
• For correct and safe Yi Jin Jing training, Wai Dan and Nei Dan must be mutually coordinated to balance each other.
Wei Zhuang and Nei Zhuang
• The time required for Wai Dan training is relatively shorter than that for Nei Dan training. Nei Dan training can last forever, especially when this Nei Dan is combined with the Xi Sui Jing training.
• Wai Dan is easier while Nei Dan is harder in both theory and training.