Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts Blog

Qigong - Chi Kung - and the Eight Pieces of Brocade

chi kung eight pieces of brocade qigong Feb 19, 2014

It’s impossible to trace the origin of many chi kung exercises. The Chinese people have a military history that dates back thousands of years, and the value of exercise and stretching were probably recognized very early as being beneficial for the success of battlefield troops.

The images above – and below – were found in the tomb of King Ma, who lived before Christ, died in 103 BC and was buried with many documents, including military training manuals. The documents were discovered when his tomb was found in 1973. Some of the images are very similar to chi kung exercises, including movements from the Eight Pieces of Brocade.

I first learned the Brocade exercises as chi kung, but the more I practiced, the more I came to believe that these were also used as stretching and leg conditioning exercises for Chinese soldiers. It is possible that the chi kung interpretation was added many centuries later.

The Eight Pieces of Brocade is not a mystical or magical routine. Practicing the...

The 8 Pieces of Brocade - Qigong and Conditioning All in One

chi kung eight pieces of brocade how to use qigong in daily life qigong Aug 06, 2009

I just put a new video onto the online school-- the 8 Pieces of Brocade. This is a qigong exercise -- 8 movements -- that also serves to help in strengthening and conditioning the body, particularly the legs.

The 8 Pieces of Brocade are said to have been created about 1,000 years ago in the Sung Dynasty by Marshal Yeuh Fei for the exercise of his soldiers. It's pretty clear to see when you perform them that these are very effective for stretching and "warming up" before hard exercise or a good workout. In fact, it's possible this series of movements wasn't created as qigong at all, but that qigong was injected into the movements as the centuries went by.

I'm a firm believer in the positive impact of qigong, although I don't necessarily subscribe to the ancient science. When you calm the mind and body, put part of your mind on your dan t'ien, detach from daily concerns and use mental visualization techniques (involving the visualization of chi) it has a tremendous impact on your abi...

Ken Gullette's Internal Fighting Arts

Qigong - Chi Kung - and the Eight Pieces of Brocade

The 8 Pieces of Brocade - Qigong and Conditioning All in One

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