At the heart of GiCheon is NaeGa ShinJang, a difficult stance that trainees lovingly and deploringly call "The Pain." It's an awkward looking position that resembles the form a phoenix assumes before hatching her eggs:
The legs are spread shoulder length, feet firmly pressed flat against the floor, and the toes are turned inward at a sharp angle (the YeokGeun principle). The knees are then bent down and inward, as close to the floor as they can possibly go while still maintaining a space approximately the size of two fists between them. The back is arched -- buttocks pushed out and shoulders back -- so that strain is put on the long, vertical muscles that run down both sides of the spine. The arms are then stretched out in front, above shoulder-height, with palms pressed outward. The ankles, knees, waist, shoulders, and wrists are locked tight in the YeokGeun position.
In NaeGa ShinJang, students feel an extreme stretch in the ankles and outer shin muscles, and intense strain on the quads, buttocks, muscles of the back and shoulders. The muscles in the neck and shoulders are not tensed to the point of being "uptight," however. The neck remains relaxed, the eyes closed, and the breath steady. Meanwhile, the GiCheon master beats students with bamboo rods in order to stimulate the flow of Gi throughout the body.
The cumulative effect of NaeGa ShinJang is considerable, although not unbearable, physical and mental pain. And students are required to hold this position for as long as possible, five minutes being the minimum for beginners. More advanced students might hold the position for well over an hour.
Originally, the nameless GiCheon sages practiced NaeGa ShinJang from sunrise to sunset while facing the East sea. "Nae" means "Inner," "Ga" means "House or Structure," "Shin" means "Spirit," and "Jang" means "Palm Position." However, other names include ˇ±GiCheon Tae Yang Yeok Geun Nae Ga Shin Jangˇ± or ˇ°Mah Bup Nae Ga Shin Jang" or ˇ°Mah Bup.ˇ± the latter referring to a method the ancients used to mount a horse. Many of the basic TaiChi, KungFu, and other martial arts positions have been traced back to NaeGa ShinJang. Through this and YeokGeun, GiCheon practitioners believe it is possible to achieve the ultimate level of spiritual development.
NaeGa ShinJang is a self-contained truth -- an end within itself. In other words, it isn't necessary for students to ponder abstract questions about the nature of the cosmos or to strive for spiritual awakening while in this position. Surely enough, a trainee will reach a state of meditation in this stance, in part because it is nearly impossible not to breathe deeply from the abdomen while holding this position. All that remains is for the student to completely empty his or her mind of all prejudices and expectations -- to allow for spiritual awakening to occur spontaneously.
NaeGa ShinJang also has verifiable healing powers. It stimulates all of the major acupunctural points on the body and opens the Gi channels, making it possible for many ailments and diseases to heal naturally. People suffering from serious ailments such as scoliosis or slipped discs, shoulder pain, diabetes, chronic headaches, and even obesity have all experienced dramatic improvement after practicing GiCheon regularly for six months or more.
One of the reasons NaeGa ShinJang is so effective in treating illnesses is that it incorporates one of the therapies used in oriental medicine to treat patients suffering from paralysis, a treatment called Tah (Beat) Tong (Flow). Using bamboo rods, oriental doctors of the not-so-distant past would literally beat patients suffering from paralysis or apoplexy to help stimulate the affected part of the body.
In GiCheon too, TahTong is used to treat a kind of paralysis -- paralytic or stagnant Gi. In the NaeGa ShinJang position, a GiCheon teacher will beat students on the back, arms, and legs with a set of thin bamboo sticks, or for more power, one large bamboo rod, wooden stick, wooden sword, and even iron stick.
To the uninitiated, it sounds masochistic, but the pain of TahTong is really quite mild, especially when compared to its benefits. The stimulation on the skin and muscles breaks through the blocked Gi channels, causing a tingling sensation throughout the body. And in areas where there is a pre-existing injury, TahTong creates a greater feeling of strength and stability -- less pain, in effect, than before the treatment.
This is also one of the few instances in which the GiCheon master comes into physical contact with trainees during practice and it's believed that the master passes on some portion of his power, some of his Gi, to his students through TahTong.
NaeGa ShinJang is one of the greatest contributions of GiCheon, offering trainees extraordinary benefits.Through it, students learn the virtues of patience and perseverance, and can experience mental catharsis and unimaginable physical and mental empowerment -- something that cannot be expressed in words alone.