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Testimonial: Herniated Discs, Migranes,
& Smoking Cessation
Andrew Barnett
Engineer
Switzerland
My initial interest in Kung Fu was from
the martial films which I watched 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 two birds with one stone. So,
being naive, I searched the internet...and found a lot of
stuff which, being a complete novice, was no real help.
But the term Kung Fu was in my head, and that was what I
wanted. I checked out the local sources (all two of them)
but decided that what they were teaching was not right for
me. So I did a silly thing: I bought a video course from Australia.
Well actually it wasn't that silly, but 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 thrown into free sparring...even the small kids (7
years of age).
 During
this time, I began reading Grandmaster
Wong's Question and Answer series on his website. I discovered
a source that seemed to be more than just knowledge. I was
constantly drawn back to his 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 Grandmaster 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 Cosmos Chi Kung course with
Sifu Wong. 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 a possible wheelchair within a few years.
Lifting heavy objects (like my own kids) was out of the question.
Sports --- reduced to a minimum.
 The
course we attended in 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 suggested that I consider learning 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.
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