Peaceful Fight Reviewed Books/Video :

Qi Gong / Tai Chi / Internal Arts

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This book was one of those pleasant surprises you get when ordering a book "blind" from Amazon. I term this the "finger wiggling" book as this is main feature which separates this form of Qigong from the myriad of others. My greatly simplified understanding of this Qigong is that stimulation of the meridians lying within the fingers is achieved by slow flexing and concentration. By combining these Qi exercises at the extremities of the upper body with total body exercises leads to enhanced Qi flow. The method worked very well for me when added to more traditional Qigong systems. The book also has a very good section on the healing aspects of Qi and its circulation around the body.

Well, it's not quite "complete" as even I (as a Kung Fu exponent) could add bits to it when I read it. However, it is a useful starting point for any "do-it-at-home" Tai Chi exponents and has some good explanations of the concepts which underpin Tai Chi and Qigong. Don't plan to achieve mastership by reading this book but maybe work through it before going to local classes (but don't argue about any differences you see in the form : an instructor is real and might take offence, the book only apes the true movements so doesn't really care !)

Part of Peaceful Fight developed from a concept that we all knew what to do in the martial and healing realms but just needed to understand ourselves more to unlock our potential. This was the first book after I'd had my "big idea" to align with the "natural being" concept (at least on the healing side). Goes to show there's nothing new under the sun ! Same thing happened with my "self discovery" which lead to what I called "hard" energy flow : turned out to be Bagwazhang all along ! One day I'll find something new, just need to keep looking ! However, although it would be nice to discover something new, it's equally good to find that other, more talented people have similar views to those on the route of Peaceful Fight. That said, this book isn't anywhere as useful as his "Chi Kung : Cultivating Personal Energy" book (detailed later). The text is sparse and a bit "imprecise", almost like the book was contractually necessary but there was little extra to say which wasn't in the earlier text. Bit of a disappointment overall.

Of the two McRitchie books listed here, this is definitely the one to buy (if you can find it). Very detailed, very good chi kung exercises (for all levels of practitioner) and an easy to digest writing style. I find the "energy spiralling" exercise especially beneficial when I'm feeling a bit "fragile". This combines diaphragm breathing with deep focus on the lower dantien whilst allowing "opening and closing" of the body by the action of qi spiralling in an out of the lower dantien. A great way to start (or finish) the day.

A very small book on Chi Kung explaining some of the aspects of "Shibashi" (18 Movements) Chi Kung. In some ways the smallness of the book emphasises the simplicity of chi kung and how even limited training can be of benefit. An interesting "starter" book to explain the roots and concepts of chi kung and the 18 movements produce a fine "whole body" chi kung.

If you want to do Qigong properly and actually understand what you are doing (or supposed to be doing !) then this is the tape for you. Very detailed explanations of the 3 circle, san jiao and other qigongs make it all appear very easy. That is until you start to try to do it ! Erle Montaigue's work is superb and having video instruction helps it all make sense. Video instruction is never as good as having a good teacher correcting your posture each week but certainly better than having a bad teacher who doesn't know the art at this level. If you are even remotely interested in Qigong, get this video (and also visit Erle's site for more details of qigong).

After watching the previous item (MTG10), this tape was a relative disappointment and I would recommend not purchasing this one. It's not that the Qigongs shown are bad as they are really good. However, there is very little information on the tape and it could have been covered in about 1/3 of the time. That said, I teach in a very similar, sort of rambling style so maybe it's the pot calling the kettle black ! Think overall. what is on the tape was available to be "worked out" by students if the items taught on MTG10 had been practised in a diligent fashion. Think this sort of comes down to the situation where people prefer to be told something rather than finding it out for themselves and Erle is fulfilling this need (and in the end, hey, I bought the thing so maybe I'm as guilty as everyone else !).