Dr. Yang Jwing-Ming
From his recent interview with Lama Somananda Tantrapa…
“Between the ages of 9 and 12, I had almost no food. Taiwan was preparing for a war against mainland China. Most of us kids were starving.
There were nine children in my family, and at that time, feeding nine children was not easy. All our problems gave me an ulcer by the time I was 16 years old.
One day, I was sitting in the corner in a cold sweat. My White Crane Kung Fu master said I had a stomach problem. “What should I do?” I asked him. I had no medicine, and no money to see a doctor.
“At that time, in the early 1960s, you could not go learn another style without your master’s approval. It was not like today—people making ‘chop suey’ by mixing all these different styles.”
He said, “I’ve heard that Taiji can help you relax your internal organs.”
My master encouraged me to learn Tai Chi Chuan. That is the reason I started at the early age of 16. My motivation was not fighting; it was to ease the pain of my ulcer, and hopefully to heal myself.
Did it work? It surprised me. Six months later, the painful episodes had been reduced. After most of a year, they disappeared.
So that is why I started practicing Tai Chi Chuan. It is not because I liked it…I hated it, but it helped me to calm down.
Listen to the entire MP3 interview with Dr. Jwing-Ming Yang at Secrets of the Qigong Masters.
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6 responses so far ↓
1
Josh Young
// Sep 8, 2009
How ironic that few people can now afford to train taiji with Yang Jwing-Ming.
2
drew hempel
// Sep 8, 2009
Similarly Mantak Chia began training because he had “low sex energy” yet ironically success is based on no male ejaculation! haha. The secret to relaxation is the vagus nerve of the female climax and the “stem cell” energy, as Mantak Chia states, is better than any food. But public sex is not cheap. haha.
3
drew hempel
// Sep 8, 2009
http://www.i-sis.org.uk/Medicine_in_a_New_Key.php
Check out Dr. Mae-Wan Ho’s “Quantum Jazz and the Tao” articles as well — she discovered that chi is from POSITIVE charge — proton conductance — which explains why John Chang didn’t register on the meter tests of his healing energy.
4
Chris
// Sep 8, 2009
Josh,
LOL. In the interview, he explains why he set up the YMAA retreat center. Apparently, some of the students there train for free (but in the end someone has to pay).
Drew,
Your interview is scheduled to go up tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.
5
Josh Young
// Sep 9, 2009
I am well aware of the costs of attending and running his retreat. I have even spoken with him about the requirements for applicants.
His retreat is nice, but prevents anyone like him as a child from attending. The cost of attending for the better part of a year is nearly 20 thousand dollars.
6
YMAA.com
// Oct 7, 2009
Hello,
Im writing on behalf of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. First, thanks to the host for this short article and the discussion.
The nonprofit Retreat Center is run by volunteers like myself, and is funded by private donations and by Dr Yang’s personal funds.
Dr. Yang has been very open about his finances throughout his career, and with the Retreat Center. There is a bizarre misconception that he is rich, but this is entirely incorrect. Not that its your business, or that someone should be penalized for making a living, but after teaching for 40 years, opening many schools around the world – many of which barely scrape by each year, and putting three kids through school, Dr Yang had a small savings for his retirement.
Full disclosure: http://ymaa-retreatcenter.org/news_events/2009/06/24/financial-summary-2008
Rather than retire, he put his entire life savings into the purchase of land and construction of the Retreat Center. He is over 60 years old – he teaches, starting at 5am, almost every day of the year. This center is being constructed for the benefit of the next generation. Dr Yang will be working during these last years of his life – not sitting around enjoying his retirement. He will not get rich from it. He has no interest in glory from it.
The Retreat Center exists to offer a chance to train in the ancient way, for a long period, without distraction.
Most of the donors are individuals who have benefitted some way from Dr Yang’s teaching, or who are living vicariously through the experience of these young students.
Of the 8 students presently training, only three are sponsored by sponsors or family. The rest are paid for by Dr. Yang. With insurance and food, it costs about $10,000 per student. New student applicants have been encouraged to find a sponsor, or afford their own insurance, but that is not always possible.
The students training at the Center, with one exception, are EXACTLY as Dr Yang was in his youth, with very similar backgrounds and poor finances.
People are invited to visit and join in the training, at a very reasonable fee, for SHORT periods (not a year for $20K). http://ymaa-retreatcenter.org/visiting Week-long seminars are also offered, again at a reasonable cost. http://www.ymaa.com/seminars/california
To imply that Dr Yang charges too much for training, after his decades of sacrifice, is inaccurate and unfair. People like Josh should spend less time complaining and disparaging other people’s hard work, and more time working, and training, and perhaps accomplishing things for the benefit of others.
David Silver
YMAA
(my own opinion, and not representative of YMAA)
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