Pathgate Journal
Qi Power - A Partnership With The Divine
- Gavin Casey’s experience of being a student of the Pathgate Classical Qigong Foundation Study -
"My initial reasons for undertaking the Pathgate Classical Qigong Study were largely concerned with my search for some sort of order and meaning in my life. In addition, I wished to improve my skill in the internal arts field. The Course has proved to be of a quality and depth far beyond my imagining.
Before beginning the course, I thought that I had some idea of the basics of Qigong. The depth and intensity of the course-work has shown me that my previous understanding of techniques, which I thought I knew, was very superficial indeed. Sifu Yeung’s teaching is at once profound yet accessible and he has an unparalleled ability to demonstrate the essence of a subject, both in its components and also as a coherent whole. The teaching of Sifu Yeung is in the direct tradition of the authentic sacred scriptures of the spiritual paths, and he teaches Classical Qigong as a living action of the power of goodness - that of reverence, sincerity and compassion.
The work of the course has extended the boundaries of my awareness far beyond anything I had previously conceived possible, and has also demonstrated the rewards commensurate with this, which can be attained. As a result of the Study Course, I have undergone a number of physical, emotional, mental and spiritual transformations. Physically, my body has become more open and flexible and areas of old injuries have either cleared up completely or are improving rapidly. Emotionally, I have on a number of occasions experienced a great build up of pent up emotional energy during the course. At these times Sifu helped me and guided me towards the safe and beneficial release of this energy and as a result I have become much less impatient, much happier within myself and am also more able to harmonise situations which previously would have upset and disturbed my equanimity. My relationships with work colleagues, friends and family have all benefited.
Mentally, my thought is much calmer, my mind is clearer and more open and my concentration is better. This has manifested itself in the improvement of my form practice, where previously I had been much more prone to distraction and able to concentrate only for a short time on only a few aspects of the mechanics of the form. My performance at work has also benefited, improved concentration and application have resulted in an increase in the quality of my work and also relieved the element of tedium to which I often used to find myself subject. I find myself much more aware of the environment around me and I am more sensitive to the feelings and emotional and mental states of other people.
Spiritually, through the teaching and example of Sifu Yeung, I have become aware of a subject of which I previously had little experience. Although I am aware that I have only just begun to understand something of the spiritual path, this understanding has already opened my awareness to a completely different and ultimately much more productive and satisfying way of life. Instead of drifting aimlessly through life, focusing only on material goals and benefits for my own sake, I feel I have the opportunity to devote myself toward the greater benefit of not just myself but, in following and living by the example of Sifu Yeung and his teaching, the greater good of others as well.
Experience with Energies
On numerous occasions during the first module of the course, Sifu Yeung has demonstrated various usages and applications of energy work. These have ranged through all levels of structure from physical through to emotional, mental and also to the spiritual level. Within each level, and in more than one level at a time, different aspects and combinations of energies were demonstrated, some of which were relatively straight forward for me to identify and categorise and many more which were much more subtle and less obvious to me in their character and effect. In general, energies working at the physical structure plane are the simplest to perceive in terms of their effects and easier to classify accordingly. At progressively more refined levels, the mechanics of the effects are less obvious yet ultimately much more profound.
In terms of energy affecting the physical structure, the most basic instances are where contact is made when affecting an internal style strike. Even then, Sifu has shown the numerous possibilities open to such techniques, from straightforward projection of energy in the direction of the strike to changing the path of the energy through my body and changing its character and quality. Energies experienced include: diffuse - spreading out from the point of impact; tightly focused like being pierced; strikes that feel as though they cut right through the body; vibrational strikes which have effects in different parts of the body such as the internal organs or in the muscles and even into the bones. Sifu has also demonstrated what might be called the ‘Healing Strike’, which, while appearing to be a contradiction in terms, nonetheless serves to clear up existing areas of injury and congestion within the recipient.
Sifu has also demonstrated the use of energy work to neutralise an attack without visible physical contact. I have observed a variety of ways in which Sifu has changed the energy of my attacks. Sifu is able to ‘tune in’ to this energy and redirect it as he wishes. When this happens, I feel myself being pulled, pushed, dropped or lifted, turned or spiralled accordingly, often in more than one direction at a time. Whatever the redirection applied, the result is the same: I am unbalanced and often thrown many feet away. This often appears very spectacular to onlookers, yet I have never felt in the slightest danger of injury. Sifu is also capable of changing the energy in the environment around an attacker. I have felt my root being shifted from under me as I have stepped forward, the result being much like having a rug pulled from under me, and on other occasions it has felt as though I have been lifted up, pulled backwards or to the side by invisible cables attached to my body, the effect somewhat resembling a puppet being jerked around by the strings.
Another experience I have had is that of my body’s energy structure being displaced as I have made an attack. On one occasion I felt my lower dantien being shifted right outside my body as I was trying to remain in a firm stance. In addition to the redirection and displacement of energy, I have also had the energy of my attack literally dissolved within me, leaving me barely able to stand, let alone make my intended strike. Sifu is also able to absorb incoming energy and then send it back to the attacker so that he is literally hit by his own energy. Once, Sifu allowed me to punch him in the stomach, which I did firmly but with no apparent effect. As I stepped away I suddenly felt energy returned towards me and I felt an impact in my lower abdomen exactly as if I had been punched there myself.
Sifu has the ability to demonstrate the energy inherent to various weapons without the need to physically wield them. I have attacked and been countered by the energy extension of various weapons, despite the fact Sifu was empty handed. I have felt the heavy slicing cut of broadsword, the precise surgical cut and sharp stabbing of a straight sword and the powerful vibrating thrust of the spear amongst others. Each time, the energy I experienced was directly related to the physical form and use of the imaginary weapon Sifu had chosen to demonstrate. Sifu is also capable of showing the energy quality of other physical objects that have no martial association. He once took a small clump of dried grass and then asked me to attack. On doing so I felt myself enmeshed in a loosely woven pattern of energy, the exact analogy for the physical structure of the bunch of dry grass. Sifu has also demonstrated with a sweatshirt, and as I attacked he shook the empty garment at me. This time I felt surrounded by an emptiness which absorbed my attempted strike. Each time Sifu chose a different medium through which to demonstrate the energy application, the form the energy expressed was that of the item Sifu was using, and its effect was in correspondence with the way Sifu wielded the chosen item.
In neutralising an attack Sifu does not confine himself to physical manifestations of energy work. I have experienced similar effects, such as redirection and dissolution but instead of affecting my physical structure directly, I have felt my intent being changed as I attacked. It is difficult to describe exactly how this feels, as part of the effect is to change my emotional, mental and spiritual processes and the intent and energy I put into an attack is countered at a much higher level. When Sifu demonstrates this, the energy changes I feel within me are of a more subtle and refined texture, yet the resulting effects are no less considerable than those already referred to, and as they appear to go more directly to the source of whatever attack I attempt, the result is often more immediate and dramatic. When Sifu is working at the emotional and mental levels, he seems to change my intentions, my very consciousness, altering me at a much deeper level than the purely physical. This alteration is then further manifested at the physical level with results similar to those described above.
When I have experienced Sifu’s working of energy at a spiritual level it has been profoundly moving. What I have felt has been of a higher order again than anything else before. Sifu has occasionally adopted postures relating to a number of different sacred paths and when I have attacked I have experienced the spiritual power inherent in the posture Sifu has chosen. This is a pure, clear power extending far beyond my own physical, emotional and mental awareness and from my perspective it is like catching a fleeting glimpse of something far greater than the merely human. Any attack I have attempted has been countered with the power of benediction and love, completely nullifying it. Each of the postures Sifu has chosen has brought with it the particular association of that figure. On one occasion when I started towards Sifu, I was enveloped by a deep and quiet feeling of calm and love which on reflection reminded me of when I was a small child seeking the comfort of my mother. On another occasion, the feeling was of a great power, pure and bright and uncompromisingly direct, straight towards my soul.
One particular recollection I have is when Sifu used a mudra hand posture from Tibetan Buddhism with his hands folded one over the other in front of his chest. When I attacked, Sifu merely appeared to rotate his hands over. At that moment I found myself picked up and thrown into the air, travelling several feet back, my own middle dantien felt as though it had been grasped and yanked upwards.
Sifu has also demonstrated what he refers to as the ‘Tornado’ and the ‘Tidal Wave’ effects, which utilise the control of the energy field in repelling an attacker. I was invited to charge towards him from some distance and at speed. As I approached, I felt a build up of resistance in the air which rapidly increased, bringing me to a halt some feet from Sifu, I was then propelled backwards with perhaps even greater force than I had generated coming in. The effect was like running into an invisible elastic wall of substantial resistance, which slowed me down and absorbed my momentum before recoiling and sending me flying back.
The effect with the ‘Tornado’ is quite different. This time as I approached I felt myself caught up in a swirling whirlwind of energy, which sent me spinning backwards, arms and legs flailing. In addition to the energy swirling around me, I also experienced the same effect within my body. Energy was flowing and spinning and twisting all throughout me, waves were travelling up and down my spine, all my joints were being flexed and rotated and I felt my muscles and internal organs being stretched and opened up by the flow of energies coursing through my body. It should be noted that I did not in any way find this an unpleasant experience but on the contrary I felt much looser and more relaxed as a result.
The ‘Tidal Wave’ was quite a different experience. As I ran in, I felt a huge wave of energy hit me, sending me sprawling backwards. First I felt it go down underneath me, and then it rose and literally broke over me like a gigantic wave hurling me backwards.
A common theme throughout all these examples is that Sifu shows absolute faith in the authenticity and integrity of what he is demonstrating. Some of what he does can be explained in terms of a very high level of skill and achievement in the field of Qigong and Internal Martial Arts, but by far the greater part of what Sifu is capable of, is beyond the normal comprehension of the world. It cannot be attributed to the physical existence of a single human being, however talented and skilled. No matter what type of energy work Sifu demonstrates, he appears to tap directly into the creative force of the Universe. It is this partnership with the Divine, which makes possible something, which seems miraculous to us and yet to Sifu is as natural as life itself."
