Good Read: The Five Animal Frolics Qigong

Wu Qin Xi or Five Animal Frolics is one of the most revered ancient Chinese Health Qigong exercises, which imitates the movements of tiger, deer, bear, monkey, and crane. It is proven that this exercise can offer multiple health benefits to practitioners and it is also fun to play. The recent publication of The Five Animal Frolics Qigong: An Adaptation of Master Jiao Guorui’s Five Animal Frolics, translated by Kevin Siddons and Ariel Ma’ayan provides a profound aspect of the form practice.  

Hua Tuo (145 ACE – 208 ACE) of Han Dynasty (206 BCE – 220 ACE) was one of the most prominent traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctors in the history who created the Five Animal Frolics and taught his student Wu Pu. It employs the Qigong techniques of Breathing, Dao Yin (Guilding the Qi movement through external movements), Relaxation and Visualization. It is a low impact exercise. You can google it and find out there are many different ways to practice it. Almost all major Chinese martial art branches like Shaolin and Wudang have their own versions of the form. Due to its popularity and accessibility, most people practice Wu Qin Xi as an external exercise and overlook the most precious aspect of the art, which is internal. 

Master Jiao Guorui (1923-1997) trained with many Tai Chi and Qigong masters and did much research of the Chinese classical texts on the subject. He was a Chinese medicine doctor and instructor at the Academy for TCM in Beijing, China. He founded the Institute for Qigong and considered as an expert on acupuncture, moxibustion, and Qigong. He used Qigong as a therapy method to treat patients. 

Sifu Kevin Siddons, Ed. D has a long history of learning various martial arts and healing arts, which includes but not limited to Karate, Nunchaku, Keno sword, Jo Staff, Aikido, Mindfulness Meditation, Five Animal Frolics, and Hun Yuan Tai Chi and Qigong. He has been teaching Tai Chi and Qigong at a community college and a public library for years. Ariel Ma’ayan, BS, MTCM, DMQ has an incredible journey of learning Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi, and Qigong. His interest in the healing art is beyond the physical movements. He learned Chinese language so he can understand the art the authentic way. He went deeper and studied the Chinese philosophy behind the art and the Chinese medical theory embodies in the art. He received a degree from Stanford University and a doctorate degree from International Institute of Medical Qigong. He traveled to China to study and then was ordained as a Daoist Priest in 2011. He has been teaching Chinese language and Chinese medicine, and working as an acupuncturist and herbalist as well as a translator. 

With their combined knowledge and experience, Siddons and Ma’ayan have translated Master Jiao’s Wu Qin Xi from Chinese to English. Even though the book has only 105 pages including sections of Early Reviews, Endnotes, Bibliography, and Study Guide of drawings of 95 movements. This 6” X 9” spiral bound book with large fonts does contain important information about the history and philosophy of Qigong at a high level and the internal Qi work of the form at a working level. 

Master Jiao was a student of Master Hu Yaozhen (1897-1973), who was a Tai Chi/Qigong master and notable TCM doctor. Hu focused on the internal Qi cultivation or Neigong during Qigong exercise. Master Jiao integrated Hu’s Neigong and Tai Chi 13 Postures into his own Wu Qin Xi. Each of Jiao’s frolic has its external aspect of postures and movements as well as its internal aspect of mindfulness of internal Qi movement and the development of a state of serenity. Master Jiao emphasized four major training principles of ”combining inner and outer”, “combining motion and stillness or qualities of Yin and Yang”, “combining yielding and unyielding or powers of softness and firmness”, and “combining spirit and form by imitating each animal’s spirit” in Five Animal Frolics.  Additionally, Jiao also focused on “intention and Qi or mental activity and energy”, “large and small motions”, and “movement speed” in his form. The Five Animal Frolics do not have complicated external movements and they are easy to learn. Nevertheless, it will take long practice to adhere to the aforementioned principles. These principles are also fundamental to all Tai Chi practices. 

Based on his clinical experience and research data, Master Jiao coined a term “internal motion”. “When training Qigong to develop a quiescent state, one is reducing muscular activity and tension to develop a physiologically relaxed state. This is not ordinary relaxation, it is a deep mental and physical relaxation. From within this deeply relaxed state we can become mindful of the internal movement of Qi (page 77 of the book). This is profound and should be applied to not just Jiao’s Wu Qin Xi but also any Qigong or Tai Chi form. Jiao stated that during the practice, one would develop the “internal motion” and “sensations of heat” within the body. 

A major part of mindfulness in this form practice is to express the energy of the animals. Jiao gave vivid descriptions to help practitioner to lead their energy via the right path. Kevin and Ariel took an extra step and included photos of the animals in the book to give a visual aid. 

It was Sept. 2018 when I first met Kevin. We both attended the Tai Chi Enthusiast Symposium. Kevin asked me whether I knew any Chinese who could assist him translating Master Jiao Guorui’s Five Animal Frolics to English. I was intrigued by his project since he does not speak nor read Chinese, Master Jiao is not well known in the West, Kevin never studied with Jiao in-person, how he realizes that there is a value to bring Jiao’s book to the English-speaking world, and most importantly there is little financial incentive to publish a Qigong book nowadays. At that point, Kevin already worked on the project for more than a year. He first checked 7 colleges and universities in and around his city Bethlehem (PA) for a qualified candidate and found Yin, a visiting student from China for a year. Then, the project came to a stop because Yin completed the education and went back home. He continued to search and found another person; unfortunately, only for two months. So he was a little bit desperate but still hopeful. I didn’t hear from Kevin until the end of Jan. 2022. He emailed me a draft of his book for feedback. I am glad that he found a perfect partner Dr. Ma’ayan and completed the translation. He then funded the publishing of the book. I admire Kevin’s tenacity for getting the book done regardless the obstacles. 

I recommend this book to whoever wants to learn Qigong or already learned Qigong regardless they will learn Jiao’s Five Animal Frolics because the information is solid and the principles can be applied to all Qigong forms.