Dr. Wu Jui-wen had tried every kind of exercise he knew of to lower his chronic high blood pressure--jogging, calisthenics, martial arts--but nothing seemed to help. Medicine provided temporary relief but he felt relying on pills wasn't the answer. Then one morning walking in the park he came across a group who seemed to be practicing the shakes more than exercising. A neighbor of his who happened to be in the bunch, noticing his puzzlement, explained their seemingly irrational behavior and urged him to give it a try. Buckling under to his friend's persuasion, he thought "what's there to lose" and joined them.

Strange to say, one year later not only had Dr. Wu's blood pressure returned to normal, his problems with sore feet and rheumatism had disappeared too. Now, whenever a patient comes to him with a chronic ailment, Dr. Wu, besides writing up a prescription, also suggests trying waitankung.

Waitankung has truly caught on in a flash. Since it first began to be widely promoted in 1978, some 700 training centers have sprung up around Taiwan, with an estimated 300,000 practitioners. And the first overseas association was formed recently in Malaysia.

It got started there like this: A provincial police chief found that the training increased his vigor and strength and recommended it to his subordinates. Word spread quickly and soon other policemen, then servicemen and finally ordinary citizens began taking it up all over the Country.

When delegates from the Chinese Waitankung Association arrived in Malaysia this April to certify the new chapter, they caused something of a stir. The delegation, led by President and Grand Master Chang Chih-t'ung, paid a visit to the father of modern Malaysia, Y.T.M. Tunku Abdul Rahman, who received them seated in a wheelchair. When Chang noticed the swollen, discolored legs of the 81-year old Rahman, who suffers from severe rheumatism, he asked if he could apply some waitankung techniques and try to open up his circulation. Rahman agreed. Much to the surprise of attending officials, Rahman's legs regained color and his originally twisted and immovable fingers could be stretched freely again.

Waitankung is not as graceful as t'aichi and not as agile and forceful as Shaolin kungfu. So wherein lies its appeal?

The answer is simple--"Because it works, it's easy to learn and anybody can do it!" says Wang Su-chiung, whose stomach problems have cleared up since she started the training ten months ago.

Waitankung, long the exclusive preserve of Taoist adepts, is a form of kungfu directed primarily at maintaining good health. It is not a martial art and has nothing to do with attack and defense. Its theoretical roots go back to the ancient Chinese concept of ch'i, or vital force.

The importance of ch'i and of regulating breathing in preserving life was mentioned more than two thousand years ago in the Yellow Emperor's Classic. Later works describe numerous techniques to use this force in protecting the body and extending life. Generally speaking these techniques can be divided into two categories--external and internal. The external are directed toward training the skin, muscles and bones to resist attack from outside. The internal are aimed at controlling breathing and circulation to improve organic functions.

Waitankung seems closer to this latter kind. Its basic principle involves using external movements to tap into the internal force of ch'i and thereby preserve good health. The fundamental movements are twelve in number, each but the first directed toward a particular part of the body. Success depends on daily practice and the person's original physical condition. "Just like trying to start up the engine of an old car," says Grand Master Chang, "it takes more time for an older or unhealthy person to start up their ch'i."

And what does it feel like when someone finally does "start up their ch'i?" "Your whole body shakes, starting with your fingers, like getting an electric shock," recalls Hsu Shu-yuan, who lost his watch the first time it happened to him. "I shook like crazy for about twenty minutes. When it stopped I was soaking with sweat but felt completely free and easy."

"It's natural to shake when one's inborn ch'i starts up. Beginners don't yet understand the secrets, so they can't control it. But once they get the hang of it, they can control whether the shaking continues or not," says Tainan City Councilman Huang Kuo-chan, vice president of the association.

There are five levels of attainment in waitankung, from "dispelling sickness and extending life" to "transforming the essence into spirit." But at present most practitioners are still at the first level. Only a few have progressed to the second, "wandering clouds under the moon." At that stage, the inner ch'i is said to undulate throughout the body like ocean waves.

What sort of scientific basis is there for reports of waitankung curing disorders? Dr. Sung Ping-hsiang, a biochemist doing research in the U.S., believes the training can have a positive effect on health but "it's not a wonder pill; its main purpose is to strengthen the body and not to cure sickness. Although it can't substitute for medical treatment in serious cases, it can help the body recover health more quickly." Indeed, for many people today, plagued by overeating, hypertension and lack of exercise, waitankung can probably have a beneficial effect in increasing the body's resistance, stabilizing the emotions and improving overall health.

Waitankung techniques were passed on from master to disciple by Taoist adepts for centuries. Grand Master Chang studied under one of the last in Tientsin in 1937 but students were few and Chang's abilities at the time limited. It was only after following the government to Taiwan in 1949 and taking up a teaching position in rainy Chiufen, where his health was not good, that Chang, coming across a booklet left him by his old master, resolved to give it a try. Based on the booklet, he developed the twelve basic movements and, after decades of practice, started his first class in 1976. Two or three students became hundreds and then thousands. Two years later, he founded the Chinese Wiatankung Association in Taipei. The development from then on has been phenomenal.

Reasons for waitankung's popularity are not hard to find: It's easy to learn, it doesn't require any special equipment, the time to practice is short (a half an hour a day will do) and, equally important, there's no fee. Enthusiasm is what motivates practitioners to set up training camps, give instruction and spread the word.

When asked why these enthusiasts would take so much trouble for neither fame nor fortune, Master Chang's answer is simple: "Enjoyment with others beats enjoyment alone; the more the merrier!" That reply may not exactly tally with the spirit of his ancient Taoist predecessors, but who's to say they'd mind?

(Peter Eberly)

[Picture Caption]

Three of waitankung's twelve movements. From left to right--"front and b ack hand-swinging," "vertical arm stretching" and "leveled palm lifting."

Stomachaches? Not at all. They're practicing the second movement, "respi ration, tortoise style."

Many women practice in the park at dawn.

Professor Cheng Heng-hsiung (1.) of National Taiwan University teaches w aitankung in his spare time.

This intense practitioner seems already to have reached the fifth level of attainment.

Three of waitankung's twelve movements. From left to right--"front and b ack hand-swinging," "vertical arm stretching" and "leveled palm lifting.".

Three of waitankung's twelve movements. From left to right--"front and b ack hand-swinging," "vertical arm stretching" and "leveled palm lifting.".

Three of waitankung's twelve movements. From left to right--"front and b ack hand-swinging," "vertical arm stretching" and "leveled palm lifting.".

Stomachaches? Not at all. They're practicing the second movement, "respi ration, tortoise style.".

Many women practice in the park at dawn.

Professor Cheng Heng-hsiung （1.） of National Taiwan University teaches w aitankung in his spare time.

This intense practitioner seems already to have reached the fifth level of attainment.