Health Benefits of Kung Fu Training
By Tim Burns
Occasional reminiscences are another aspect of health and wellness. Nostalgia can be a
great panacea. I recall learning Tai Chi and Kung Fu in downtown Toronto in the Grange Park
in Chinatown near Dundas and Spadina. I still recall as though it were yesterday, Arthur,
twirling and arcing in the park while performing is Kung Fu sword routine. Graceful and
flowing like water, his dexterous movements struck me as a dance rather than a series of
martial arts maneuvers. Though Caucasian, with light brown hair and blue eyes, the front of
his head was shaved with long hair at the back tied into a pony tail, Shalin Temple style.
I soon learned that he was a student of Master Pan King Fu, whom he visited every weekend
in London, Ontario. Master Pan had starred in Kung Fu films after gaining a reputation as a
great master, who had trained the police forces in China after the CCP banned firearms,
leaving the police powerless to contend with the Triad gangs who were well-trained in Kung
Fu without any defensive weapons or Kung Fu training. Hence, Master Pan stepped forward
to train all the police forces in China, a tall undertaking.
When a friend invited Arthur to London to meet Master Pan, he was delighted to find that
Master Pan was receptive to taking him on as his latest student. And so, Arthur’s training
began. Now you might think it was all performance training, learning the routines, the
maneuvers and the stances. Not in the least. Much of Arthur’s schooling consisted of listening
to Master Pan’s lectures and demonstrations of how to heal wounds and injuries resulting
from Kung Fu injuries, consisting of the application of pats and dressings soaked in herbal
remedies.
Indeed, Master Pan was as much a master of herbal medicine as Kung Fu itself. It is often the
case that master will master many skills by applying himself adroitly to only one in the
beginning. As Nietzsche’s Zarathustra put it, “I love him who has only one virtue, as it is more
of a knot for fate to cling to.”
In order to increase the bone density of the knuckles of his hands, he made it his morning
routine to punch steel plates one thousand times a day. A blow from his fist has been
compared to being struck by a thirty pound wrecking ball. Ouch, wouldn’t that smart?
However, the pain and injury was not one-sided. Master Pan also received injuries in the form
of cracked and broken skin on the knuckles, blisters and sores, which had to be treated with a
herbal healing balm. Hence, he could often be seen wearing dressings, his hands wrapped in
cotton dressings which held the medicinal patches in place.
Adhering to his master’s methods to the letter, Arthur also took pains to increase the bone
density of his knuckles by punching steel plates daily. Injuries were commonly incurred by
both master and disciple, requiring the herbal remedies which Arthur had been taught, which
he, in turn, passed on to me. I recall that one tincture consisted of a mixture of oil of turmeric,
neem oil, and tea tree oil. Within three days, both the cut and the swelling would be
completely healed. I have found it a perfectly effective healing balm for treating infections,
myself.
There is one further health and wellness consideration when it comes to Kung Fu training. I
noticed that many of the moves were circular rather than linear like Karate or Taekwando.
Along with being extremely graceful, the circularity of the movements engenders an effective
shield against any in-coming blows. However, what I noticed is that it caused the Qi centre in
my navel chakra to spin. The spinning action of my arms and legs fostered a resiprocal
spinning action in my Qi. I soon realized that Qi Gong was the result of my spinning Qi being
projected outward not just in my spinning limbs but beyond my finger tips, so that, if I chose
to, I could deliver a blow upon an opponent without any direct physical contact. Such a blow
might knock an opponent from his feet leaving him winded and prostrate, effectively taking the
wind out of his sails, thus neutralizing any further aggression.
However, it was not the defensive potential of Qi Gong that intrigued me. Rather, it was the
spinning action of the Qi itself, which struck me as very powerful as a viable and palpable life
force, and one that could be harnessed as the locus of my will, my energy, my effort,
exuberance, and exertion. I have felt the same spinning wheel in my Qi centre during
sessions of Tai Chi, another very graceful, dance-like, mind-body meditation artform.
I highly recommend either form of mind-body meditation artforms, which is how I see them.
The health benefits are multifold from invigorating one’s Qi, to providing aerobic exercise,
enhancing blood circulation, in addition to cardio-vascular health.
