Different types of Qigong

There are many, perhaps thousands of kinds of Qigong but normally they are classified into five schools: Daoist, Buddhist, Confucian, medical and martial art. I feel that true Qigong consists only of the Daoist and Buddhist versions. Daoist Qigong concentrates on soft, internal relaxation and steady, gentle training movements with postures moving from soft to hard. Buddhist Qigong is strong, active, dynamic and external in movement with postures moving from hard to soft. Both, however, aim to achieve an equal balance of Yin and Yang and 'emptiness' of mind. So they are similar and most Qigong follows one of these ways. Confucian Qigong is rare, and the methods are rather basic, indeed simplistic. Medical Qigong is involved with theory, not with practice -it concerns the acupuncture points and channels. Martial art Qigong (such as Taiji Quan, Shaolin Quan, Xing Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang and Wing Chun Kuen) all have their internal training that should not really be considered a separate classification anyway, since any method adopted will belong to either the Daoist or Buddhist schools.