Why look for a teacher?
There is too much to learn for one lifetime. Having a good teacher provides a shortcut, especially if that teacher already has acces to the wisdom and experience of generations of teachers, who shared their valuable findings from a life long of dedicated fulltime training.
Profound teachings are a rare jewel to find, it takes persistent training over a long periode to embody a high level skill. In the traditional Chinese way, a master would not share profound skills in public, only to selected disciples. Many only had one or two disciples in a life time. Much was kept secret and never teached ‘outside’. The family’s secret teachings where their heritage. Only in the recent few decades, I have seen the change to teaching larger groups and public sharing.
Can I learn from a book or video alone?
Still – not all is written down in books, many books miss out parts. Years of training and correction by a teacher are important to reprogram a body to guide you to a level of practice where it starts to get really interesting: the internal movements, understanding energy, training the “Y”. Before that level, much written in books (if it can be found in a book at all) will not make sense to a student, as it can not yet be perceived. Also partnertraining and correcting of postures and body alignment is needed, as we are often unaware of our own issues (that we got used to).
Who is a teacher?
“Chi Kung teacher, lecturer, trainer or instructor” are unprotected titles. Anyone can call themselves that. Some have only read one book, some have taken a course for a year, others constantly trained daily for decades. You can take a look at the lineage your teacher comes from, is the teacher authorized by the lineage, how long and intense was the education?
A lineage with roots in China can be helpful as the source of this knowledge comes from China and cannot all be found in books. How many years does the teacher train and how intense? Does the teacher have teaching experience? Good testimonials? Does the teacher radiate vitality, calmness, good character? Do you want to become like this teacher?
So, where are the masters?
During the cultural revolution in China, Chi Kung masters were often tracked down and tortured, even killed. Many great masters then fled, especially to Hong Kong or Taiwan, taking their knowledge with them. Now there are masters in China, many other countries, and some western teachers have already mastered the arts.
Often a teacher looking and dressing “Chinese” is associated with being a good teacher. This prejudice is as funny as thinking all Latinos are great dancers. China has discovered “Chi Kung” and “Shaolin training” as a source of income. China often sells government-approved knowledge, with government-issued certificates. Business is business, it does not automatically mean that you will gain authentic, in-depth knowledge.
My Zhan Zhuang Qi Gong lineage
The many different Chi Kung styles and schools can be traced back to individual Chinese Chi Kung masters. A Chi Kung master passes on his or her knowledge in a ‘lineage’ to direct students, the student to his or her students, etc. A demonstrably authorized instructor within the authentic, traditional lineage of master Lam Kam Chuen has:
- Access to deep knowledge. Chinese masters work with ‘Chinese copyright’: important information is not contained in their books or publications, it is only passed on personally to family and carefully selected teachers and disciples (the “inner door students”), with whom they have built up a long-standing relationship and who reached a level of training that allows them to be teached more. An authorized instructor has access to the knowledge and experience of previous generations within the ‘lineage’ through their own master.
- Lifelong training. An instructor in our lineage has been trained for years before being allowed to teach and continues to develop under his or her master afterwards. There is no ‘shortcut’. To really understand Chi Kung in all its depth and master it yourself, decades of (private) lessons and own training are required to change ones system. Teaching energy development goes far beyond ‘explaining exercises’, the physical positions and movements are simple to explain.
- Motivation. Being an instructor within our lineage is not without obligation. An instructor has invested a lot of effort, time and money in a long and not easy training and plans to continue developing for decades. Without love for this ‘internal art’ this would not happen.
- Demonstrable authorization. An authorized Zhan Zhuang instructor in our lineage has proof of authorization.
How to become a teacher for Zhan Zhuang (Chi Kung / Qi Gong)?
You can become a Zhan Zhuang instructor in our lineage upon invitation, after years of training, as soon as your teacher considers you sufficiently developed to start a teacher training and spreading the Zhan Zhuang tradition. Your body needs time to transform, it takes often a few years to built up sufficient and reasonably stable chi and to be able to read the energy in others.
Because the teacher assesses the individual development of each person, there is no fixed time frame in which you can ‘guaranteed’ become a Zhan Zhuang instructor. Moreover, after becoming a teacher, you continue to develop and train under your teacher, your training is never ‘finished’. It is completely nonsensical in Zhan Zhuang – and not possible in the lineage of Wang Xiang Zhai – Professor Yu – Master Lam Kam Chuen to obtain a teacher’s authorization within a year and without prior knowledge and training.
I am an authorized instructor for Zhan Zhuang in the lineage of Wang Xiang Zhai and the Hong Kong master Lam Kam Chuen. My first teacher Anders Håkansson passed away in 2011, he officially authorized me to start teaching after 8 years of intensive training, taking 4-6 hours classes a week, many weekendworkshops, instructor workshops, private classes and my own daily training hours at home. During a ceremony in the presence of dozens of witnesses, I received a certificate with his seal and a special shirt.
In addition to my training with Anders, I have been taking workshops, (private) lessons and (instructor) training with my teacher’s teacher since 2004 and I continue until now: Master Lam Kam Chuen. Since 2017 I have been training with a closed circle of disciples (inner door students) of master Lam, of which many are already training 30-40 years. I am registered with the Lam Association under number 725 and you can find me on master Lam’s website.
What is my lineage for Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung?
Zhan Zhuang Chi Kung (Qi Gong) – TAO geomancy – Feng Shui – Amsterdam
Garden of Chi 