Master George Xu (Xu Guo Ming)

Hua Shan is one of the sacred Taoist mountains of China. Hua Shan means, "flower mountain". Each monastery on the sacred mountains has its own emphasis on different arts. The 36 Circles sequence is one of the standing exercises of the Hua Shan Taoist system. It is considered a neigung or internal skill practice. It was formulated to consciously circulate qi through the meridians and channels of the body to generate external movement from internal. Although this qigong form can be viewed as a health exercise promoting illness prevention and longevity, it can also be applied to taiji and other martial art systems because it focuses on the principles of moving qi, which is the underlying foundation of all martial arts. The 36 Circles trains the upper, middle and lower dantians focusing on internal qi circulation generating external movements of the body. The movements are demonstrated once, which is followed by a teaching section and a further repetition of the movement before moving on to the next exercise. Volume 51 covers movements 1 through 18. Volume 52 covers movements 19 through 36