INSIGHTS

   from  the              

Ching Yi Kung Fu Association Newsletter

JULY 1988

  by Michael Alan Brown            President -  CYKFA

Edited by W Kraig Stephens CYKFA Black Belt #68

PUBLISHED WITH PERMISSION OF THE CHING YI KUNG FU ASSOCIATION

INSIGHTS:  "Pitfalls":  Through my 25 plus years in the martial arts, I have experienced, observed, and been taught about numerous "traps" or "pitfalls" that can be encountered along the path to Gongfu greatness and can halt or hamper your progress.  Some are somewhat esoteric, others very concrete.  I'd like to describe one of these traps in case you may have already experienced it, or if you do so in the future.  Since I have on other frame of reference for this phenomenon, I'll just make up a name and give you a description:

The "Yin-Yang Trap":

When one starts to develop significant Qi power, through practice, that power is displayed as a extraordinary Yang energy.  Not being accustomed to it, the body craves more Yin for balance.  It's a mark of real progress.  The problem is that without guidance, the practitioner picks the wrong way to get that Yin.  Excessive sex, alcohol, sweet high-calorie foods, excessive sleep, marijuana, etc., are some of the ways this "Yin craving" is satisfied.  It's quite evident in any of the martial arts books. 

The way to avoid this trap is to 1) recognize that it exists, 2) consciously resist attraction to these negative Yin influences, and 3) set up a regular program of seated or standing meditation.  The meditation will give you a positive Yin input, subdue the physical Yin craving, and allow your power to increase progressively.