Is Qi gong a martial art form? Is it a warm-up for martial arts? Is it an easy form of tai chi? Is is a moving mediation? Some combination of the above?

I have a set that I like to do from a Tai Chi DVD that I own, but am just not clear what these movements are considered.

The following is a very informative site on Qigong:

www.qigonghealing.com/qigong/aboutcohen.html

"Qigong (also spelled Ch'i Kung) is a powerful system of healing and energy medicine from China."


Ken Cohen is a Qigong world renowned master. I have read books of his on Native American healing and he is a fantastic author, but have not yet read about Qigong.

From that site, here's the definition page -

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hmmmm, a healing slow-moving mediation.

This page on that site you cited has the specs:
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jinx lisa, we did it again!

My acupuncture doc said qi is the life force and qi gong helps to keep it moving freely.

It is highly recommended for arthritis, by the way.

Yep, I've been doing Qi/Chi Gong weekly for some time now and it is sort of a tai chi-lite! Unlike Tai Chi (which I have also taken and could not get into) the moves tend to make more sense and are more intuitive to me. (Definitely not simple though!)I do also have osteoarthritis happenning and I think it helps.
I believe that tai chi is really a slowed down version of the martial arts form so maybe that's why we ended up in this forum.:>

You could use Qi Gong to defend you from a stuporously grumpy turtle

Yeah a grumpy turtle who'd been sedated first LOL!

It *is* a cool thing though and really does affect your relaxation response. (And I am a cynic, trust me!)
They say that being flexible and remaining that way, is one of the most important anti-aging things to do and I really believe that. Tai Chi/Qi Gong strengthens the ligaments and thus the joints. I'm going to keep doing it!

Yes I agree completely, we all should find ways to maintain flexibility and balance as we age

You guys are too funny about the turtle!

I don't know if I really like the qi gong or not. I don't dislike it - i like it well enough, but i don't know how much I want to incorporate it in my practice. It's a little bit boring. (Or maybe I am missing something key here).

I have been doing it frequently as i can stick it in my computer as a 20 min break in my day, and do the moves in my tiny office. I don't have to go upstairs and mess with the TV/DVD/moving furniture around, etc. I guess that makes me lazy.

I have a great qi gong, tai chi dvd. It's by a lady who teaches worldwide and lives in Memphis.

My problem is my "hurry-up-itis". Same as with meditation, only in qi gong, she's moving so slowly and gracefully and I'm all done with the movement and waiting on her. Which is totally not the point. My acupuncturist said the slowness is essential--more important than getting the movements right is doing them slowly. So, of course, I gave up. LOL

Here! Here! This Qi Gong sounds very interesting. I am familiar with Cohen's Native American teachings, but think I will look more into this also.

Sorry about the delay in answering. There's actualy an article in the Martial Arts section about it too: BellaOnline ALERT: Raw URLs are not allowed in these forums for security reasons. Please use UBB code. If you don't know how to do UBB code just post here for help - we will help out!

Deb - maybe you have to slow down in stages, so try slow yoga for now until you can focus on that, and work your way "down" to tai chi and qi gong