In recent years, it is said that the Chinese government represses members of the Falun Gong cult.
Some people like to claim that the Falun Gong has something to do with tai chi.
Sima Nan is an investigator who tried for years to find a real chi master in China. As an investigative reporter, he was beaten severely by the followers of some masters who turned out to be frauds. In fact, Sima Nan (who is Chinese) never found a real chi master.
Hmmmm, so what does that tell you?
When I first heard about how horribly the Chinese government was treating the Falun Gong followers, I did some research. The Falun Gong believe there is an eye in the sky and if you meditate long enough, you can see anything that happens around the world.
Okee dokee, then. As Woody Allen said, "Excuse me, but I'm needed back on the planet Earth."
Here is an interview with Sima Nan about the Falun Gong. It sheds a little light about the founder. There are reports that hundreds of Falun Gong believers have died as a result of government action. That, of course, would be very unfortunate. But our own government was investigating the Jim Jones cult when that tragedy happened, and a congressman was shot to death at Jonestown when the mass suicide happened. Should the "spiritual" beliefs of people be subject to investigation, or should they be left alone to be taken advantage of by folks like Jim Jones and the founder of the Falun Gong?
It's an interesting controversy, but it has nothing to do with tai chi or chi kung. The Falun Gong is a cult.
About the author:
Ken Gullette is the owner and instructor of an online internal arts school - www.internalfightingarts.com. He has studied martial arts since September 20, 1973, when he took his first class with Grandmaster Sin The in Lexington, Kentucky.
For the past 35 years, he has studied Shaolin kung fu, Taekwondo, T'ien Shan Pai kung fu, boxing, Yang Tai Chi, Hsing-I Chuan, Baguazhang, and Chen Tai Chi.
For the past 21 years he has focused on the internal arts--Hsing-I, Bagua, and Tai Chi. He began his internal arts training under Sifu Phillip Starr, founder of Yiliquan.
In the late 1990's, Ken was introduced to Chen Tai Chi and it became the foundation of his practice. He has learned from members of the Chen family, including Grandmaster Chen Xiaowang, Grandmaster Chen Xiaoxing, Master Ren Guangyi, Master Chen Bing. Among Ken's teachers are Jim and Angela Criscimagna of San Diego, both disciples of Chen Xiaowang.
Ken began teaching in 1997. His students gained a great reputation in the Midwest for the quality of their martial arts and their many tournament victories. Ken continues to compete in black belt divisions, and in February, 2007, at the age of 54, he won first place in both black belt contests at a tournament in Illinois.
Ken's instructional DVDs have been praised by martial artists around the world. His teaching style is described as "inspirational." He teaches in a friendly, no-nonsense way, trying to make his DVDs truly instructional and not just repeated movements. His DVDs are available through this blog and at www.kungfu4u.com.
Ken and his wife Nancy owned Kung Fu Quad Cities in Bettendorf, Iowa, but shut the school down after Ken was hired at a major research university in Florida in May, 2007. Ken is now working full-time on his kung fu, producing DVDs, and on July 4, 2008, he launched an online internal arts school that teaches Chen tai chi, Hsing-I Chuan and Baguazhang. Check it out at www.internalfightingarts.com.
(Typepad.com, February 9, 2010)
Original text from: http://internalarts.typepad.com/ken_gullettes_internal_ma/2010/02/the-controversy-of-falun-gong-and-its-repression-in-china.html
