Zi Ran Men is based on ancient Taoist philosophy, Traditional Chinese Medical Theory and, most importantly, the philosophy

of 'One and Zero'. It combines physical training, Qigong (also, Chi Kung , meditation and combat techni!"es. Thro"gh training, Zi Ran Men enhances the spirit of the mind, reg"lates the circ"lation of Qi (also, Chi and de#elops physical sensiti#ity. $hen the body is in harmony, yo" %ill li#e a long and healthy life. 'There is no beginning or end of movement, There is no beginning or end of stillness, There is no beginning or end of change. Actual attack is hidden within fake attack, Movements are within stillness.' $hen yo" can s"ccessf"lly apply these theories, yo" %ill ha#e freedom of mo#ement. &o"r attac's and defence %ill be fl"id and agile. Zi Ran Men training can be di#ided into three components ( Physical Training, Combat Techni ues and Conditioning. These three components combine for one p"rpose, %hich is to enhance the health of body and mind. Physical Training !ian "a #uan ')**+ Mo#ement Qigong'. ,e#eloped to stretch the tendons, stim"late the flo% of blood and Qi and lighten the body. Ai $ang "u '-o%er .ip /tep', disperses heart fire, opens the body's meridians and brightens the #ision.

Zi Ran Men Stretching

%haolin "a %hi '0ight Mo#ement' Qigong to de#elop internal po%er. #ou &uo Kuang 'Circle $al'ing'. ,e#elops strength, balance, speed and 'lightness s'ill'. Combat Techiques Initially, st"dents learn partic"lar forms and follo% certain r"les. Thro"gh practice, these mo#ements progress from a%'%ard to nat"ral. $hen this le#el is reached, yo" can fight s"ccessf"lly. The methods of Zi Ran Men combat follo% the r"les of nat"re 1 apply the techni!"es %itho"t tho"ght, mo#ements come from nothing. %tance $hen still, the stance resembles an ancient Chinese 2eneral holding a decree tablet. This is 'no%n as '3ao 3ei /ho"'. $hen mo#ing, the feet remain in the shape of the letter 'T' and the hands hold the form of '2host .ands'. 'ands The hands ha#e the feeling of grabbing li'e a steel hoo'. 4"nches are "nseen by the opponent, thro%n li'e a 'nife. 3loc' li'e iron, stic' to the enemy li'e gl"e. Th"s, yo"r opponent %ill be "nable to a#oid the attac'.

Application practice "ody 5#oid the attac' li'e being blo%n by a g"st of %ind. Retreat li'e dra%ing a s%ord from its scabbard. The body sin's li'e a crane, the palms stri'e li'e a biting sna'e. Mo#ements are agile li'e a mon'ey, the head t"rns li'e a floating ghost. (orce

The hands attac' as softly as cotton and land %ith the force of steel. .ardness is %ithin softness. /oftness first, hardness follo%s. (ighting the enemy 5#oid the attac'. Retaliate %hen his force is spent, before he has time to regather.Mo#e %hen the enemy mo#es, attac' %hen he attac's. 06ploit the sit"ation, be light and nimble.5ttac' is %ithin defence. ,efence is %ithin attac', both real and apparent. Conditioning Ziranmen training also contains a n"mber of conditioning techni!"es in order to strengthen yo"r m"scles, bones and tendons, and ma'e the body resiliant to attac'. It sho"ld be stressed that this conditioning is not intended to ca"se any harm to yo"r body. .ard force is ne#er "tilised d"ring these e6ercises. Mother and %on "all .ere t%o iron balls are "sed, one +'g and the other )*'g for conditioning the hands. &o" sho"ld train t%ice a day, grad"ally increasing yo" po%er, !i and repetitions. ,o not "se hard force. .ere the practitioner %o"ld ass"me horse stance and practice lifting, catching, p"shing, pointing, and drilling the balls %ith their fingers. Tiger Mouth %tick 7sing a piece of %ood appro6imately 8 inches long and 9 to : inches %ide %ith ro"nded ends, the practioner practices by grabbing %ith the stic' both hands and t%isting them against each other, in both directions. )ron 'and Training ;ill a deep %o' or pan %ith dried green beans, asss"me horse stance and spear the hands into the beans "p to the %rists. Repeat 9< times, t%ice a day, replacing the beans as they split. 5fter a year, mi6 in =*> yello% beans and contin"e training. 5fter another si6 months, add =*> sand, finally s%itching to )**> sand at the end of the second year. ;rom here on, yo" can grad"ally mi6 iron pellets into the sand.

Basket Walking "rass *ing Training /tarting %ith t%o rings on each arm, the hands are held at the hips in an 'eagle cla%' shape, palms "p. The arms are alternately e6tended straight for%ard, %ith the palm facing a%ay from yo" at the end of the o"t%ard mo#ement. 5dd one ring per arm per month, "p to a ma6im"m of 9? rings. The rings themsel#es are *.='gs each and abo"t ).) inches thic'. +agle Claw %tance 0agle cla% standing meditation is practiced in order to train yo"r !i. If yo" practice diligently, yo" sho"ld be able to reach yo"r goal %ithin 9 years. 0#eryday after stretching, stand %ith yo"r arms o"tstretched at sho"lder height, li'e a birds %ings. &o"r eyes sho"ld be half closed and foc"sed on the tip of yo"r nose. 2ently loc' the teeth together, to"ch yo"r tong"e to the roof of yo"r mo"th and co"nt yo"r breaths. 2rad"ally increase the d"ration of standing "ntil yo" reach an ho"r. To finish, e6hale and drop yo"r arms to yo"r sides. /lo%ly open yo"r eyes. "asket ,alking The p"rpose of bas'et %al'ing is to train yo"r body in 'lightness s'ill'. This ma'es yo"r body act and feel as if it is e6tremely light and agile. 7sing a bamboo bas'et %eighing :.='g, yo" fill it %ith )**'g of peebles.3alance on the bas'et and start to %al' aro"nd it, grabbing the rim %ith alternate hands as yo" step. 0#ery )@ days, remo#e ).=1?.='g of pebbles "ntil only )='g of pebbles are left. 5t this stage, remo#e only one pebble per day "ntil the bas'et is empty.