Home Made Qigong Energy Brush!

 Self massage is an important aspect of any physical training program regardless of being a martial artist or not. There are numerous products on the market that can be used for self massage such as foam rollers, lacrosse balls, and various rolling devices specifically designed to help your muscles recover faster from intense physical training. However, there is a tool that peaked my interest because it's aim was to not only help you recover faster from hard training, but also to help improve the flow of "chi" through out your body. This tool is the bamboo energy brush, and it's been around for centuries.

 The energy brush can be found under other names such as the samurai brush, or massage brush. It consists of around 108 thin bamboo rods and is said to help improve your blood flow as well as energy and chi flow through out your body by massaging and striking acupuncture points. The energy brush can be used after joint mobility training, Qigong, or after a hard physically demanding workout.

 The largest modern proponent of energy brush usage is Shifu Yan Lei, if you haven't seen this guy on YouTube than just know that he's pretty bad ass! The man is a 34th generation fighting shaolin monk who trains regularly in Sanda and iron jacket techniques. He also swears by the energy brush as a means of recovery, improved heath, and energy flow. However, he does sell these energy brushes from his website. So naturally I'm a little skeptical about the claims he makes when he is selling the product for a profit. I figured I would have to test it myself to see if Shifu Yan Lei was selling this brush because it works well or if it was just a gimmick!

 I headed to Shifu's website and looked up the brush, and it costs a pretty penny for something so simple ... around 38 British Pounds!This means around $60 Canadian! Well I'm not so curious that I wanted to spend $60 plus shipping on something I was unsure about and looks like I could make myself. So I did just that and decided to make my own energy brush!

All I needed was an old bamboo roll down blind that I had kicking around, a pair of scissors, and a measuring tape!

I carefully pulled out 54 bamboo rods. Each rod was rather long so I cut them in half, then measured them and trimmed them to around 22 inches each. Once they were all cut and trimmed I bunched them together and, levelled them out on the counter, and trimmed any bits from the tips of the bamboo that looked too long or pointy. After that I was left with 108 perfectly trimmed 22 inch bamboo rods to form my energy brush! 

Next up it was time to try out the brush. So over the next week after every single workout and every single morning, I used the energy brush exactly how Shifu Yan Lei demonstrates in the YouTube video I've attached below. I bunched all the rods together and held them at the base, which kept them from falling apart. I guess you could also tape them together as a handle if you like. 

 I found that after each use your skin tingles slightly, this is most likely due to the the bamboo striking your bare skin. I doubt it's anything mystical! What I was surprised about however was that after using the brush I did feel a little more relaxed, loose, and tension from hard workouts seemed to ease. Recovery from each workout feels a little better than usual, especially immediately after a hard workout. Could this be because I'm focusing on a task and regulating my breathing, maybe. Could the brush have something to do with it, also, maybe!

 All in all, I like the brush and I think that Shifu Yan Lei is honest in his attempt to spread it for it's benifits! I did find that it helps slightly with recovery and mental alertness, but there is not real way to tell if it's just a placebo effect or if the brush actually has a real effect on recovery and energy flow. All I know is that whatever it is, I like it and feel that it adds something different to my recovery routine and it didn't cost me anything. Would I spend $60+ on one, heck no! Why would you when you can make your own for $12 or under! 

 So if you're like me and want your own energy brush, or just want to give it a whirl, than grab a cheap bamboo blind and make your own. Let me know how it goes! Oh and Shifu Yan Lei's video instructional is below! Enjoy! 

                               

- Tim