I moved to Harrisonburg, Virginia in the summer of 2008. I had been living in Japan for the previous six years where, among other things, I had been studying martial arts. A brief visit to a couple schools around the city gave me the impression that there was no available practice for me to take part in that was anywhere near the quality that I had experienced abroad. I quickly gave up my search and focused on settling into my new community and my new job.
At the downtown bike shop one day, my glance happened across a tiny paper flyer advertising “qigong classes” being held once a week at a nearby acupuncture clinic. I had heard of the practice, pronounced ‘chee-gung’, through some friends in Richmond years ago, and had experienced a little of the art at an aikido seminar back in the 90s. I remembered only that it made me feel really good, although I couldn’t tell how or why. I showed up one early evening to the place described on the flyer, which turned out to be a quiet, grassy spot under an Osage tree behind the parking lot of the clinic. There were four of us, standing in a wide circle facing each other, basically just breathing and moving slowly for about an hour.
And the rest is history. I was high as a kite for days, until the next class, at which I ‘recharged’ my batteries, and pushed the bliss a little higher. It was such a compelling, new experience for me. The movements were slow and in sync with the breath. Each of the exercises flowed so naturally into the next, creating a sense of cohesion in the mind and body that I’d not previously experienced. Time kind of stood still and the hour was up before I knew it. Each class brought me closer in touch with myself; physically and mentally. Over the next few months, I gradually came to feel more flexible and stronger. But not in the way yoga or other exercises I’ve experienced would. It was much more subtle; gentle. There was a clarity of the mind that was totally new to me.
Qigong is not a martial art. Rather, I consider it an essential component of martial arts; specifically *internal* martial arts, and of efficient movement in general. After six months of biweekly classes and plenty of practice on my own, I branched out into other arts; xingyi and bagua (aka ‘first cousins’ of tai chi). About a year into the practice I underwent some more rigorous training and eventually began to teach my own classes. I still regularly attend classes at Shen Dao clinic, on Market Street. I also teach several classes each week, at different locations around town. How ever accomplished I may feel in my practice, with more intense workouts filling out much of my week, I still always return to qigong. It simply feels like the most solid foundation ever.