Testimonials

I really enjoyed this short course. The teaching was clear and accessible, and the practice made me feel great. I came away with an easy smile on my face. I'd recommend it to everyone. Paul Robinson

Since enrolling on Sifu Jordan's (Cosmos Chi Kung) course in September 2007, my life has changed for the better. Originally starting out with the intention of learning genuine Chi kung and relieving myself of severe eczema affliction, six months later I can say that not only am I cured of my skin complaint, but I have the most powerful tool available to ensure my health, vitality, happiness and well-being for life. Words could never convey the gratitude I feel toward Sifu Jordan and Wong Sigung for teaching me this priceless art. Max Paulus, 19, 11 Feb 2008

"Thank you Jordan for an informative, well constructed course, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it has really helped motivate me to get back to my practice of Tai Chi Chuan and Chi Kung. I have previously studied Wu and Yang style Tai Chi as well as Shibashi, Five Elements and Eight Strands Chi Kung forms. The relaxed, informal style of teaching does not disguise the fact that there is a mine of knowledge and experience behind this gentle teacher, without being intimidating to the novice. I would wholeheartedly recommend this course as an excellent and concise introduction to the mysteries of Shaolin Chi Kung and the soft martial arts. I will definitely be continuing study with Jordan on a higher level course in the future. Namaste." Tony Chamberlain, Bristol

By Nick Jones

When I think back to my reasons for starting kung fu I find them very difficult to clarify. I wanted to be 'better' than I was, I knew I needed to grow, I was intrigued by what I had read in Sigungs' books and in the Forum, and I think I wanted an escape. I had practiced Chi Kung from the books for about 3 months and had been able to finally end 8 or so years of cannabis addiction, which brought an amazing sense of freedom to my life.

On arriving at my first class in Gillingham in July last year I was greeted with smiling faces and warmth unlike any I had encountered in a martial arts club. I wanted to be a part of this happy family before me and was greatly impressed by the calm friendliness of Sifu (Jordan Francis)

Two weeks into my practice and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the Chi Kung courses at Summer Camp and learn directly from Sigung; a truly great experience, which spring boarded my kung fu practice on my return to regular classes.

Diligent practice from then on brought a gradual brightening to my life, and finally allowed me to open enough to love those around me. My relationship with my family began improving and I met my now girlfriend (Update: now married!), whom I am sure I would not be with if it wasn't for this opening of my heart caused by my practice.

I think it took me up until the January Intensive Kung Fu Course to begin to realise the depth of the emotional burden I had been carrying for most of my life. Intensive cleansing on the first night of the course introduced emotional buoyancy I had never felt before. I learnt so much on the course that is only now beginning to germinate. I had a period of frustrated practice for the first couple of months afterwards; my stances felt wrong, I couldn't enter a chi kung state of mind properly, I techniques were executed poorly etc.. With hindsight however I realise this was a great transitional period, and not a recession, through which my Sifu helped me greatly; with tweaks to my form, advice on my daily practice, and the constant heart to heart transmission I receive in each class. In fact if I watch myself on the videos of the course, which Wei Foong so kindly recorded, I almost cringe at what I thought was relatively competent form, execution, etc and at the foolish amount of pride I had about my meagre abilities.

I have been thinking of writing a testimonial for a while now, but the time was not right. Now however it is. I am deep in the midst of heavy cleansing, riding an emotional rollercoaster, and its fun! So fun in fact that I'm smiling from the heart just thinking about it, actually I'm smiling from the heart most of the time now . I had a great weekend: On Saturday I started crying. I cried for a lost little boy, I cried for years of hate and loneliness, and I cried for everyone now feeling how I had felt. After maybe 20 minutes of weeping, my tears began to mix with laughter, which in turn mixed with insane cackling. I laughed for the future and for life.

Thank you Sigung, Sifu, Family. Thank you for reading.

Nick

Andrew Barnett - Klosters, Switzerland

My initial interest in Kung Fu was from the martial films which I used to watch as a teenager. I never had the opportunity to learn at the time though.

Once I started travelling a lot on business I realised how unfit I was becoming and how "unsafe" I felt when alone in big foreign cities. So I decided martial arts was the best way to "kill 2 birds with 1 stone". So, being naive, I searched the internet .... and found a lot of stuff which, being a complete novice, was no real help and confusing. But the term Kung Fu was in my head and that was what I wanted. I checked out the "local" sources (all 2 of them) but decided that what they were teaching and how and where was not right for me. So I did a silly thing..... bought a video course from Australia. Well actually it wasn't that silly as I later discovered from my own experience that learning from a video is really not possible!

So, having given up on the video, I decided to take what was available locally --- Shotokan Karate. My son and I started and we had fun .... sort of. The biggest problem was my back - 2 herniated discs - which were hindering my progress and getting worse. That and the constant injuries from free sparring .... yes, as white belts with 4 weeks of experience we were into free sparring ... even the small kids (7 years of age).

During this time I had been reading Sifu's Q&A series (Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit). I had discovered a source which seemed to be more than just knowledge. I was constantly drawn back to Sifu's site and could hardly wait to read the next installment (still can't).

Back in 1999 I was also still smoking and just couldn't kick the habit. So I thought I'd try writing to this Grand Master I had been reading so much about (and so much from) and ask for his advice. To my big surprise, he answered -- personally and in great detail. So I decided to follow his advice (printed in the Q&A series of 1999), started practicing Lifting the Sky from his books and gave up smoking within just a few months without any side effects or withdrawal symptoms.

The big "change", however, came when I decided, with my wife, to take a Chi Kung regional course with Sifu. It was for health reasons that we went - despite me being told by everyone (and me believing these experts of course) that the physical damage in my back could not be reversed and that my condition would most likely worsen. In fact my prognosis was possible wheel chair within a few short years. Lifting heavy objects (like my own kids) was out of the question. Sports --- reduced to a minimum.

This course we attended in Finale Ligure, Italy was to be the turning point. After just the first few hours of learning from Sifu I was able to walk for miles which had previously been impossible. Of course there were ups and downs in my development after this initial and spectacular success, but the trend line was (and still is) upwards. I have been practically pain free since 3-4 months after that first course. When translating courses for Sifu here in Switzerland, I have been able to stand, without pain, for up to 9 hours in a single day.

When I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to talk with Sifu during that first course and thank him for what he had done for me he told me to quit karate and learn Kung Fu from him.

This was the opportunity of a lifetime. So I quit the karate and flew off to Malaysia. I haven't looked back since - and nor has my back!

During another course, some time later, I also realised (hadn't noticed for some reason) that some of my other earlier ailments had disappeared too. The hypoglycemia (low blood sugar levels) which had caused me much discomfort particularly in stress situations had gone away. My regular migraines (suffered from 6 months of chronic migraines --- daily!) stopped too. I sleep better and need to sleep less.

There's more --- but I think that's enough for the moment.

Andrew

By Anthony Spinicchia

Before I first visited Sifu (Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit) I was diagnosed by medical doctors with several conditions.

One was painful ashtma that I had developed over the previous year. My doctor had prescribed some medication to be inhaled but it really did nothing. Sometimes breathing was very painful and I felt short of breath at times particularly while I was on airplanes. My doctor told me that some of his patients had overcome ashtma with meditation and I kept this in mind.

Second, I had developed a type of insomnia where I couldn't sleep more than 4 hours at night. It was very frustrating and although I would simply try to make the best of it by reading or doing other necessary chores once I was awake this wasn't satisfactory because I wasn't very fresh during the day. I took prescribed pills and it helped my sleep longer but I wasn't getting refreshed the way you should after you sleep.

Third, I was diagnosed with painful Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP). This is a condition where the heart valve doesn't completely close and not all of the blood is pumped out of your heart. I was shown the video inside my heart and it was quite interesting to see. Another effect of MVP is an irregular heartbeat. Mine was also very irregular. Some think that this isn't a painful condition and for many it isn't but I consulted some support groups and I learned that many suffered severe pain. I couldn't sleep on my left side due to severe pain in the muscles around my heart. Like the other conditions this was very frustrating.

I wrote Sifu about my conditions and asked if Chi Kung can help. He assured me that the Asthma would be overcome quickly, the insomnia may take a few weeks or months and the heart condition may take a longer but would be overcome as well.

Needless to say, everything went as Sifu predicted. The ashtma was gone the first day, never to return. The insomnia took 6 weeks. I began taking a little less of my nightly pill by cutting it up and after 6 weeks it wasn't necessary and never returned (it's been 5 years).

The pain from the MVP lessoned quickly and after a couple of months was gone. One year later I dated a Medical Doctor who checked me out. She was convinced I was completely healthy and had no trace of MVP. I won't be taking any videos of my heart due to the cost and nuisance of it. It's not necessary. Its gone and was forgotten until I decided to write in this section.

Other conditions I had but didn't realize I had are gone too. For example, my feet were always cold but I didn't think much about it. Needless to say, my feet have always been warm ever since. I only noticed it in passing.

Every function of my system is working better and hasn't stopped improving. I keep asking myself when will the improvements stop but now I'm inclined to believe they never will. Wahnam Chi Kung still amazes me after all these years.

This is all a result of learning a high level Shaolin art and practicing it everyday. If people only knew how easy it is to practice and what the benefits are it's hard to believe anyone wouldn't do it.

Sifu, thank you for this and for the opportunity to share it with others.

Anthony

By Joan Browne

On March 23rd 1994, I attended work as a Psychiatric Nurse, a day like any other day or so I thought. Yet, this was the day that changed everything!

Without going in to too many details of what actually happened that day, suffice it to say that I injured my back twice and that by 7pm that evening at the end of duty, I could hardly turn my neck and had severe pain in my upper back.

I followed the routine of what most people who injure their backs do... GP, painkillers, anti-inflamatories. After six weeks off work, I thought that this must be all in my head, and went back for two days. By the second day, the weight of my uniform on my shoulders was unbearable! It was then that I realised that something more was wrong.

So followed the next round of : physiotherapy, orthopaedic consultants, rheumathology consultants, steroid injections, MRI scans (finally!) and then... acupuncture, sitting meditation, yoga, osteopathy, home traction etc. The MRI results showed four protruding discs in my upper back and two fused in my neck. Now, I felt that I had something to work with... the problem had been diagnosed, so now we fix it, right?!!!! How naive!!

After visiting a number of consultants of various qualifications, the answer that was coming through was the same... because of where the problem was, the risk of surgery was too dangerous, I could end up qualriplegic ( like a stroke victim). So after five and a half years, the advice was... Try and live with the pain as best as you can, you will not work again and will probably end up in a wheelchair in time.

I remember feeling so frustrated with the medical system, especially as a nurse. The system that I had trained and worked in for 12 years was letting me down very badly. I was angry, depressed, in constant pain and couldn't see a way out.

Fortunately, the osteopath that I was attending twice weekly was a great lady for self- help books and she was the one who introduced me to many of the books that helped me in those days. The first book on 'energy' that I read was 'The celestine prophesy' from there I read more and more and even attended a local class on Chi Kung and Tai Chi Chuan, despite the pain, I loved that class! The teacher, whetted my appetite for more Chi Kung and although he often mentioned in class about people doing many 'crazy' things during their chi kung practice, he admitted that he couldn't teach it. So when I read Sifu's book on Chi Kung for Health and Vitality, I guess the seed had already been sown.

I contacted Sifu (Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit) around November 1999, we had just been connected to the internet! And Sifu kindly responded very quickly. I remember the excitement of getting that email!!

After securing a loan, I was accepted on the January 2000, Intensive Chi Kung course in Malaysia. I always believe that there was a higher power looking out for me on deciding to go to Malaysia. For those of you who don't know me, I live in a very rural area in Ireland. The thought of going so far and not even knowing who I was going to, was scary. Sifu wasn't teaching as much in Europe that time, so I was only going by his emails and website and a lot of instinct!! My family were very worried, but I was determined to go. What had I to lose!

By this time, the pain resembled having two toothaches on a constant basis. It affected my upper back, neck and I also suffered from many headaches and migraines. My mind was not clear, from a combination of medication and pain. I had begun the slippery slope of despair as nobody could do anything to help.. At the time that I went to Malaysia, I was on home traction, physiotherapy and at least eight painkillers a day. I was also attending an osteopath twice weekly. I couldn't even lift a 2-litre milk carton. I lost many of my friends during this time, as I had to move back home and just wasn't in the mood for socialising nor indeed could I afford it.

After a journey that seemed so easy and effortless to Malaysia . I was especially struck by how approachable, generous, kind and happy, this gentle Master was when first introduced. I really didn't know very much about a 'Grandmaster' and am sure that I made many mistakes, all I really wanted was somebody to take away the pain. What Sifu taught me there (the contents of the Intensive course), I came home and practised. I was so afraid coming home that I would forget everything, but the worry was needless, as it usually is. The whole setting in Malaysia was beautiful and everybody was so kind and helpful. The great thing that I found initially, was that, I was able to get more pain relief by practising this gentle art, than I was getting from the other treatments. I stopped going to the Osteopath and only took pain relief when the pain was really bad- (this varied but perhaps twice a month- a lot different from taking eight everyday). This in itself was a miracle to me. I had been getting constant colds and flus and after the first day, the flu that I had arrived with disappeared. The best was yet to come, by September of that year, I was totally pain free and I also felt a more content and happy person. Now the pain was gone, I had hope again and felt that I could do anything.

I was really amazed that this could happen and vowed that I would invite Grandmaster Wong to Ireland as soon as was convenient for him to hold a w/e course on Shaolin Chi Kung. I thought that, even if only one person on the course overcame the illness that he presented with, it was worth a try. Well the rest, as they say, is history. Sifu did arrive in Kerry in February 2001 and helped many people, he has been coming back here twice a year since then. But just let me finish the story...

Three weeks after coming home from Malaysia in January 2000, I felt a very strong urge to go to the local Bingo, of all places !! I begged my sister to go with me and borrowed the money from my brother. We had a good laugh as we hadnt been there for at least a few years and weren't able to keep up with the marking (well we were greedy and had two books each!). Finally the jackpot sheet came up and I was keeping a close eye on my sister's sheet, she was getting very close. Suddenly I looked down at my own and found that I was waiting only for number 71! Next thing I heard was... 71 and yes! I had won the jackpot, which hadn't been won for months. It was the exact amount of the loan that I had taken out to go to Malaysia! Good chi flow or what?

I owe Sifu my sanity and my life as do so many people here in Ireland.

Mile Bhuiochas,

Joan.