Hunyuan Gong, Primordial Qigong, is a system of twelve meditative exercises, generally attributed to the famous Daoist priest Hu Yaozhen (1879-1973) and his disciple, Chen Style Taiji Quan Master Feng Zhiqiang. Feng studied with Hu for approximately nine years. Master Ge Chunyan is one of the disciples of Master Feng Zhiqiang.
Hu was equally versed in Daoism, martial arts (specializing in Liu He Xinyi), and Chinese medicine. Hu's Daoist training came primarlily from Peng Tingjun, a disciple of Shanxi Province Daoist Priest Huo Chengguang. Hu was also a student of Zhang Qinlin (born 1887), another Daoist and martial artist, who had been initiated into the Golden Elixir School of Daoism under Daoist Zuo Laipeng and trained in Yang Style Taiji Quan with Yang Jianhou (1843-1917). In 1959, when Hu was 80 years old, he added a new technique to his repertoire, reporting that he studied Taiji Ruler with Zhao Zhongdao, then age 114! (Zhao passed on four years later).
Among Hu Yaozhen's famous writings are Wu Qin Xi "The Five Animal Frolics," written in 1963 (a system he learned from Peng Tingjun) and Qigong Ji Bao Jian Gong "Qigong and Health Preservation Training" (1959). The latter work, reissued as Bao Jian Qigong "Preserving Health Qigong," includes instruction in classical qigong systems, including Standing Post (Zhan Zhuang), Self-Massage (An Mo Gong), Qi Circulation (Zhou Tian Gong), Muscle-Tendon Transformation (Yi Jin Jing), Twenty Movements for Dispelling Disease and Lengthening Life (Que Bing Yan Nian Er Shi Shi), as well as advice on eating, sleeping, and spiritual cultivation .
Feng Zhiqiang expanded on Hu's teachings, combining his lifetime of experience and research into a system he calls Taiji Hunyuan Nei Gong (Undifferentiated Primordial Inner Work) or Primordial Qigong for short. In 1998, Master Feng published details of his system in Chen Shi Xinyi Hun Yuan Taiji Quan Jiao Cheng "Chen Style Mind-Intent Primordial Taiji Quan Instruction Manual" (Qingdao Publishing Company).
Primordial Qigong also belongs to the Daoist qigong (dao gong) category because it incorporates concepts and practices from Daoism, such as xing ming shuang xiu "body and spirit cultivated in balance," shui huo xiang jiao "fire and water meet," and lian dan "cultivating the elixir." Like Chen Style Taiji Quan, Primordial Qigong emphasizes learning how to concentrate on the dan tian (and how to turn the dan tian to generate movement). External movement is always accompanied by internal movement, and for this reason Primordial Qigong may be considered "inner work". To a large extent, the dan tian is the hunyuan. It is the place in the body where yin and yang, hun (yang soul) and po (yin soul) and the three treasures (jing, qi, and shen; essence, breath, and spirit) are harmonized and unified. Primordial Qigong is Daoist meditation in action. Primordial Qigong has three roots, reflecting the three major facets of qigong: martial arts conditioning, health, and Daoist spiritual cultivation.
Primordial Qigong is a method of healing qigong (yi gong). Among the many benefits of Primordial Qigong, Master Feng includes: · improving the function of the respiratory system, digestive system, circulatory system, and nervouse system · strengthening the internal organs · increasing elimination of toxins · clearing the acupuncture meridians The Chen Style Xinyi Hunyuan Taijiquan (henceforth Hunyuan Taiji),one of the most excellent martial arts was created by Grandmaster Feng Zhiqiang, the living legend of Taiji. Feng is a prominent figure in the world of martial arts; he represents the famous Chen style. He is the only living grandmaster who could learn the secrets of the style from the 17th generation grandmaster, Chen Fake. He is also the only disciple who could study the complete material of Hu Yaozhen, father of the modern Chinese Qigong.
Inside the body the Taiji trains the 'jing', the 'qi' and the 'shen'. Physically, it trains the bones, the muscles and the tendons. While practising, the mind (yi) controls the qi, and the qi controls the li. Training the li might cause injuries, training the qi can lead to stagnation, however, training the yi results in a 'free flow'. The real value of the method is in the spirit. This school emphasizes to increase, collect, actuate and use the qi. The aim is to create the 'original', to nourish, strengthen and mix it. In order to create a strong qi we must store and maintain the li from the original qi. This is the culmination of the Taijiquan of the Chen family represented by Grandmaster Chen Fake and that of the Xinyi represented by Grandmaster Hu Yaozhen. It unites the very best of neigong from the Xinyi Liuhequan, expressing the real meaning of Taijiquan: to get to a higher level of the Hunyuan Qi, controlled by the will of the mind, the training based on the Dantian Hunyuan Qigong and the theory of Yin and Yang, practicing and applying the 13 routines of Taiji. This qi is a mysterious small ball or orb, circulating freely in the body. It cannot be seen or felt outside the body, but it gives tremendous power and energy to the practitioner, without making any effort. This is what distinguishes between the martial arts schools. Some use the 'inner', while others use the 'outer' in their teaching methods. .
BAFANG WUSHU - HUNYUAN GONG PROGRAM
The Hunyuan Gong program of Bafang Wushu is based on the teachings of GM Feng Zhiqiang as inherited by his disciple, M. Ge Chunyan.
Gong Fa | 功法
The Gong fa is the foundation of the Hunyuan Taijiquan. Practising it increases qi and improves the movements. It also enhances the inner jin (power) and the inner 'gong'. There is a saying: Those who practise quan without gong are sentenced to death because they miss the essence, the inner content down to the last breath.'
The Hunyuan Taiji has a passive gong (静功) such as zuo gong (坐功) and the zhan gong (站桩功), as well as an dong gong (动功):
The inner gong that regulates Taiji is especially important, as at it organizes neigong, chansi neigong, baojian gong, the techniques, the method and the circling, rotating, shaking, pressing and spiral movements at a higher level. These techniques improve and complete the movement of the inner qi. This is the method that raises the power of gong to a more advanced leve
Quan Fa | 拳法
In the Hunyuan Taijiquan system Quan fa is the pillar.
The Hunyuan Taiji is an inner martial art, serving both as a fighting sport and as a Daoist gong. This art emphasizes the importance of inner and outer exercises, but regards the inner more important. Inside it trains the 'three treasures' (jing, qi, shen), outside it trains the three parts of the body (upper, middle and lower), and the arms and legs. Moreover, inside it improves the dantian hunyuan qi, on the outside the limbs, the body, the bones, the muscles and the tendons. It forces the mind (yi), the qi and the spirit (shen) to become one, uniting the quan and the gongs. The disciple must respect the order of the exercises. Qi is controlled and directed by the mind (yi). If we can achieve the mind control, we reach the qi. If the qi moves and flows, the body moves, as well. The yi, qi and shen unite when the yin and yang taiji circles are performed.
The Hunyuan Taijiquan method has 9 forms: ：
The practitioner must learn the easy forms first and then the more difficult ones. With time the abilities and skills improve and the student will understand the inner essence.
Tui Shou | 推手
Tui shou | 推手 Tui shou is one of the favourite exercises in Taijiquan. It is important in four different fields: · It trains the Ting jin so that you can know yourself and your opponents. · It develops fajin, enhances the precision in the movements and drives to self-examination. · It increases interest in Taijiquan. · It helps to understand Taijiquan better. In push hands the disciple must learn to relax and find the inner peace. If they are unable to do it, they cannot get to the highest level. Push hands practice is also necessary to test the students' abilities and reflexes. It is a method, not the aim, and as a method it has rich content. It is a fact that the injuries boxing might cause can be avoided in the push hands – it is a training method and a sport for the practitioner.
The Hunyuan Taijiquan has its own systematic, strict and effective teaching methods. They were created by Feng Zhiqiang who is a renowned practitioner of push hands and boxing. The Hunyuan Taijiquan students can start push hands exercises when they have reached the necessary level of gong and quan. The only way to perfect push hands and sparring is to perfect the abilities of gong and quan.
In push hands first the one-handed techniques are taught (dan tuishou), using vertical (liquan) and horizontal (pingquan) circles. When the disciples achieved the necessary level in the one-handed techniques, they can start learning two-handed push hands techniques that use two methods. The style teaches the 'four main directions' (Sì zhèng tuī shǒu) method first. It shows the practical applications of peng, lü, ji and an. Understanding the four main techniques leads to the understanding of the four secondary directions (Sì yú tuī shǒu, or Da Lu). This method teaches the cai, lie, zuo and kao techniques. The push hands methods help to understand the use of the eight postures and teach the practical applications of the spiral force. In a spiral movement we must discover the methods of 'adherence', 'sticking', 'continuity' and 'following'. Practising with fixed or free steps helps to understand the central balance that belongs to the 'five steps'. The ability to change is the basis of the central balance. The hand and leg movements play an important role to keep the balance. If one practices the push hands with the right approach, it improves the xing (character), and xing creates jing (peace, calmness).
Wu Qi | 武器
The use of weapons is complementary to the practice of Hunyuan Taijiquan. The weapons are considered the extension of the limbs, therefore they are very important in the basic exercises, in the forms and in the gong fa. The original interpretation of the weapons has changed culturally, but the Hunyuan Taijiquan preserved the original meanings and a number of fighting techniques. The most important weapons are: the broad sword (sabre), the sword and the rod.
- Hunyuan Taiji Saber | 混元太极刀
- Hunyuan Taiji Sword | 混元太极剑
- Hunyuan Taiji Staff| 混元太极杆
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