Hard Qigong
Eagle-Dragon Gate Hard Qigong
Part of our Qigong practice.
Eagle-Dragon Gate Hard Qigong brings together two traditions: the Hard Qigong of the Tibetan Eagle School and the Dragon-Gate Qigong of Wudang Daoism. It is a high-level hard qigong system that combines wellness cultivation with martial-arts training. In the West it is often known as ‘Ying Qigong’, ‘Steel Jacket’ or ‘Iron Shirt’ training.
Traditionally the practice is divided into three stages of thirty-six movements each, training both dynamic and static postures. Practised faithfully according to its requirements, the 100-day foundation practice is traditionally held to restore the body’s vitality and to lay a solid basis for physical fitness and further martial-arts training.
Lineage
Tibetan Eagle-School Qigong traces its origin to the Tang dynasty. A royal guard accompanying Princess Wencheng brought the art to Tibet. The guard later embraced Buddhism, and the martial heritage was preserved within closed lineages. It has been passed down for twenty-eight generations and remains largely unknown to the public. The school’s skills include qigong and light-body kung fu, together with legendary feats such as the Five-Toxic Palm, reputed to strike at a distance.
Shifu Liu Quanjun has introduced this heritage to the United Kingdom. To suit teaching and daily practice, he has streamlined the original routine to twelve movements for each stage. Students report improvements in both physical condition and mental wellbeing.
The 100-day course — Stage One
The 100-day course is Stage One of the system: the level-one foundation, taught in the twelve-movement form. It runs over a period of 3 months (100 days) and consists of an initial series of intensive workshops in the first week followed by daily self-practice, culminating in a 24 hour ‘closing’ session involving one to one acupressure treatment timed against the meridian clock.
It is a serious, challenging and demanding programme that works on both an internal and external level, mental and physical. Students report a strengthened and rejuvenated body and mind and greater vitality; a central aim is to fortify the body’s internal systems against injury, laying the foundation for the later stages of steel jacket training.
Eligibility
This is a level one foundation course and is suitable for all adults (18–65) in good mental and physical health, who are able to commit the time to daily practice and adhere to strict lifestyle restrictions. It is not suitable for anyone who has experienced severe physical or psychological trauma or mental illness, and prior experience of qigong, meditation or intensive training is recommended.
Course Structure
Subject to compulsory attendance of the workshops in London at the beginning and end, the course can be completed remotely with periodic consultation via Zoom. After around three months, students may choose to demonstrate their progress in optional supervised testing. Such demonstrations must never be attempted outside class — without expert guidance from a master, serious injury can occur.
Registration
Please note this is a specialist course with limited places and enrolment may be subject to interview. To inquire, please email support@taijicircle.com
Hard Qigong: a historical note
The term ‘Hard Qigong’ did not exist in ancient China. It was formally adopted at the National Qigong Report Conference in 1978. Before then, these methods went by the names of individual skills: Iron-Head Skill, Iron-Arm Skill, Golden Bell Shield, Iron-Finger Skill, Iron-Foot Skill, Iron Cloth Shirt, Iron-Abdomen Skill, Iron-Groin Skill, Iron-Knee Skill, Iron-Leg Skill, Iron-Elbow Skill, Iron-Fist Skill and others.
Hard Qigong embodies a single integrated principle: cultivate qi internally; strengthen muscles, tendons and skin externally. Through long practice of gathering, storing, circulating, holding and releasing qi, combined with external striking and conditioning exercises, the practitioner learns to concentrate the body’s internal qi under mental focus.
Traditional accounts describe this concentrated energy released through a specific part of the body to generate great striking force, or held so that the body can bear heavy pressure and resist sharp objects. Recorded feats include breaking bricks and stones with the palm or fingers, smashing stone tablets with the head, lying on steel forks without injury, bearing heavy weights calmly, and standing unharmed under blows from wooden rods. Within the tradition these are regarded as expressions of latent human physical potential. None of them should ever be attempted outside a supervised class.
In this view, every person carries a deep-seated, subtle potential for internal power, and can learn to awaken and express it. Hard Qigong is therefore far more than physical training. It is a field for studying how human potential can be mobilised, and for exploring the mysteries of human life.
The descriptions on this page reflect traditional martial-arts accounts and the subjective experience of practitioners. They are not medical claims, and they do not replace professional medical advice or treatment.
