Freeing the qi and force of life

The lift glides noiselessly to the top floor of a 10-storey residential building in Beijing and I step toward my appointment with the same anticipation I came with last time. I am hoping Master Liu Qing will beat me with a stick. Two sticks, in fact.

Liu, 41, is a martial artist from Cangzhou, Hebei province.

But he is not waiting behind his door for any sort of combat. Using training that includes health-oriented offshoots of martial arts, his holistic practice in Beijing and Zhuhai includes Chinese qigong (Chinese breathing exercise) massage, the mechanics of martial arts, acupuncture, scraping, cupping and sports medicine.