There’s a lot going on next week at Eastover Estate and Eco-Village in Lenox, MA. I’ll be assisting Master Fukui Yang teaching Introduction to Baguazhang, Friday May 11 to Sunday May 13. Then, starting Sunday evening, May 13, I will join some exceptional teachers for the Eastover Qigong Taichi & Eastern Medicine Symposium. The symposium runs May 13-18. Master Yang and I will attend Sunday through Tuesday.
First a word about baguazhang. Here is a demonstration Master Yang performed at Eastover last fall:
Of course, we won’t be doing anything quite so complicated…or vigorous. This is an introduction, after all.
What is baguazhang?
Baguazhang (Pakua Chang) is an exquisitely beautiful and powerfully effective Chinese internal martial art. Bagua emphasizes spiral movements, graceful footwork, and whole-body energetic connection. Regular practice develops grace, flexibility, agility, and internal power while also cultivating a calm, focused mind while engaged in vigorous activity.
The spiraling energies of baguazhang are unique and are an effective complement to the other two principle Chinese internal martial arts, taijiquan and xingyiquan. It relies on open hand techniques rather than fists, and uses spinning, turning, and change of direction to evade and misdirect rather than clash with an adversary. It is said that it was designed to fight up to eight opponents at a time.
Bagua derives its name from the “Eight Trigrams” of the Daoist classic, Yijing (I Ching, or Book of Changes). Few teachers are as able to impart its mysteries quite so effectively as Master Fukui Yang. He joyfully shares his deep understanding of Chinese martial arts, medicine, and philosophy, learned initially from his grandfather and great-granduncle and continued throughout a life of exploration and study.
This seminar takes it back to basics, from body mechanics to energy cultivation to moving meditation. It is open to all levels and will provide a good foundation for continued study as well as solo practice.
Please register for this right away. Space is limited. Tuition is only $150. Meals and lodging not included.
And this guy blows me away. Master Lu Zijian lived to 118 years old, active til the end. Here’s a video from the young age of 105:
I hope someday to move with such grace. There is a body-mind integration that is unique to bagua. I believe that even a simple practice can bring huge benefits.
Then, starting Sunday night, Master Yang and I will be joining some wonderful teachers for the symposium. Junfeng Li, Terry Dunn, Liz Ely, Jay Emmanuel will share their wisdom and experience. I believe that Master Yang will show how to create virtual acupuncture needles from qi and teach some medical qigong. I will share some recent discoveries for connecting up to the Big Qi through some simple postural adjustments to access superconscious states.
I hope you can join us!
