Chinese Wand (Jiangan) Exercise or Chinese Health Wand is an obscure ancient exercise system, related to the martial art Kung Fu. The "wand" in Chinese Wand Exercise is a 48-50" long dowel, 1" in diameter, (wood or bamboo, for example), used as a fulcrum for balance, form and posture. "It’s the pyramid effect, with you as center." "Seventeen gentle bending, twisting and lunging movements flow in exact order, specially designed to get the blood circulating more efficiently throughout the body. These exercises are done in gradual, easy ‘Stages’ while using an original Chinese deep-breathing technique" and chi energy, and can be easy or more challenging as the individual chooses. Together they exercise every major muscle in the body and take no more than 20 minutes to complete. The relative ease of the 17 moves (11 standing and six floor exercises) engage all the organs and muscles of the body together in harmony rather than separating out one part of the body from another. This produces a more efficient way of staying fit and healthy by increasing and balancing the chi energy. "Chinese Wand prevents illness and delays the aging process of many cells." Together, they exercise the entire body safely and gently. Chinese Wand was known as a "preventive" of disease while acupuncture was the "treatment." History in China Although awareness of its existence is recent, Chinese Wand is said to be thousands of years old. It was passed down through Grand Masters and kept private for the use of the succeeding Chinese rulers and their families. They were devised for the emperor to slow down the aging process and maintain perfect health. The exercises were derived from studying animals at play in nature, hence some of the names of the forms: "Springing of the Tiger," "Raising of the Bird’s Wing," "Panda Rolls," to name a few. Chinese wand is not by itself taught as a method of self-defense. The source of all current information stems from Bruce L. Johnson, who is currently the only known living Grand Master of Chinese Wand. Coming To America According to Johnson, when he was 19 he learned the exercises from 93-year-old Grand Master Ch’eng in 1945. He and two Navy buddies, all wrestlers, were exploring Shanghai and were amazed by an 80-year-old rickshaw man's ability to pull a wide rickshaw with the three muscular seamen up and down the steep hills of Shanghai.