Led by Tom Bisio and Valerie Ghent, our small group of IAI instructors from New York City and Hamburg, Germany, traveled to Beijing this August. During the second part of our trip, we trained in traditional Qin Na with Master Zhao Da Yuan, who for forty years taught Qin Na’s practical and even deadly techniques to police, bodyguards and military personnel from many countries. Upon his retirement several years ago, Master Zhao has focused on passing on the full scope of the art of Qin Na to his very dedicated disciples.

                  Master Zhao Da Yuan Teaching

Hard Training

Training was conducted on agricultural farm/hostel just outside of Beijing. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Master Zhao and his disciples. Many of Master Zhao’s disciples came from distant provinces. They had gathered at the farm to train intensively for a 5-day period.

We began the next day wearing karate uniforms (gi) so that we could practice seizing and throwing techniques without having to actually seize the tendons and fascia. The heat and humidity combined with the long sleeve uniforms was a challenge. We drank many bottles of water and literally wrung out our uniforms before hanging them up to dry in between training sessions.

Although the training was grueling, it was wonderful to share farm fresh meals each day, including freshly caught fish, with Master Zhao and his disciples.

         Gao Yu Bing Demonstrates a Technique

Foundation First

Master Zhao is a methodical precise and exacting instructor. One of his top disciples Ms. Gao Yu Bing, put us through our paces each day under Master Zhao’s watchful eyes. We started from the ground up with basic foundational exercises, blocking drills and intensive practice of the Qin Na Hooking Hand (Diao Shou), which is used to seize sinews, flesh, channels and acu-points. Then we progressed to throwing and falling, including flipping off the thrower’s back to land on one’s feet.

Qin Na

Before learning specific Qin Na techniques, we practiced Yielding Body Training (Rou Shen Gong). Rou Shen Gong is a method of teaching the body to relax and flow with the opponent in order to escape joint locks. This was not as easy as it looked, but added greatly to our understanding of the Qin Na body mechanics and tactics.

                               Yielding Body Gong

Once Master Zhao saw that we had the basic skills for avoiding injury, we learned two  Qin Na forms, Ba Ba Zhong Na “Eight Forms of Upper Seizing”, focusing on wrist Qin Na, and Ba Ba Shang Na “Eight Forms of Upper Seizing”, focusing on elbow and shoulder Qin Na.

Ba Ba Zhong and Na Ba Ba Shang Na are each composed eight basic techniques, which can be also practiced as a solo form. When training with a partner each of eight techniques has a least two variations, counter moves, and counters to the counter move. So eight techniques quickly became thirty techniques! Each night we furiously wrote down all the variations in our notebooks. By the end of our training we realized we had just scratched the surface of the art.

After five days of intense training, although our joints were sore and we ached in places we didn’t know existed, we all agreed that we wanted to come back and do it again as soon as possible.

If you missed Part 1 of Training in China 2016 – Click Here

Ba Gua Zhang

Internal Arts International held a Ba Gua Zhang seminar in France at the new training facility and clinic of Pascal Jauffret and Anna Zerbib and their Association San Qi. Tom Bisio and Valerie Ghent, assisted by Pascal Jauffret, gave 10 hours of Ba Gua Instruction over a two day period. This is the fourth Ba Gua Seminar hosted by San Qi in France and the students are making excellent progress. Students practiced the 28 Foundational Exercise, Ba Gua 12 Posture Standing, Circle Walking Nei Gong and San Cai Sing Shi as well as partner exercises and the Crane, Phoenix and Chicken stepping patterns.

IAI instructor Pascal Jauffret has plans to expand his Ba Gua program by offering both weekly classes and weekend intensive seminars, including a 6 day intensive Ba Gua Zhang retreat in 2018.

Chinese Medicine

San Qi and Internal Arts International have organized a number of seminars in Chinese medicine in Le Beausset over the past four years and we have been fortunate to be joined by experienced practitioners of Traditional Chinese medicine from France, Belgium, Switzerland, Norway, Finland, Denmark, and England who are looking to expand their clinical skills. May 7-8 and May14-15 marked the culmination of two series of seminars: Orthopedic Acupuncture and Zang Fu Tui Na.

Instructor Tom Bisio was assisted by Pascal Jauffret who also provided translation.

Orthopedic Acupuncture III is the final integrative “master class” of the Orthopedic acupuncture series in which students link anatomical acupuncture skills with channel theory in order to create clinically effective global treatment protocols. Students learn how to efficiently utilize and combine Luo, Divergent, Sinew, Extraordinary and Main Meridian channel treatments. They learned to propagate Qi through the channels, using acupressure and acupuncture, while locating and dispersing energy blockages, using a combination of palpation, visual cues and techniques of needle manipulation.

In Zang Fu Tui Na students energetically manipulate and regulate the internal organs (Zang Fu). This extremely effective method of regulating organ function and the Qi Dynamic, greatly improves clinical results on many levels and can be combined with acupuncture, herbal treatments and medical Qi Gong.

The Zang Fu Tui Na Level IV class in Le Beausset was the final class in the Zang Fu Tui Na series, and the first time this class has been taught anywhere. The instructors were both surprised and pleased at the speed with which students mastered the global integrative protocols, which combined and expanded upon previously learned techniques. Equally impressive was the facility of the students with “fascial unwinding” techniques. These techniques both unlock hidden restrictions and blockages in the fascia and internal organs, and release stuck pathogens that create chronic pain and dysfunction.

All in all, a great experience enhanced by the relaxed atmosphere and sunshine of the South of France.

These Ba Gua Zhang classes, taught in 3 month blocks, are designed to guide students towards deep internal change which affects the fundamental way they physically relate to the world.

The teaching method encourages students to combine the weekly classes with building a daily Ba Gua practice. Engaging with this approach steadily improves structural alignments, opens energetic meridians and organically unifies the movement of the body, leading to increased health, vitality and mental clarity.

BEGINNING LEVEL 1
An introduction to Ba Gua Zhang that gives students an opportunity to build a personal practice that will grant them access to the full range of Ba Gua’s benefits. Weekly feedback, corrections and review will accelerate the development of integrated body mechanics, alignments and martial skills. Many students choose to take this block multiple times to solidify their foundation in the fundamentals of Ba Gua Zhang. The curriculum will cover:

• Yin Yang Acu-point Patting disperses stagnation in the body, opens the meridians, courses the Qi, and is an important precursor to advanced energetic practices.
• Standing Meditation integrates the body and mind, connects the qi and breath, refines the body’s neutral alignments and lays the foundation to move harmoniously with grace and power.
• Joint Rotations regulate the function of all the joints in the body, increasing proprioception and mobility while integrating each individual piece of the body with the whole.
• Ba Gua Circle Walking unblocks and energizes the meridians, cultivates a powerful, integrated body structure and reprograms walking so that you instinctively move correctly with balance, power and agility.
• Linear Piercing Palm applies the footwork and integrated body principles of circle walking to moving through space in a linear way, all while training the foundational martial technique of piercing palm.

BEGINNING LEVEL 2
Beginning Level 2  builds on the practices and skills from Beginning Level 1, adding more in depth training in specific areas of Ba Gua Zhang. Completion of Level 1, or prior training in Ba Gua circle walking, are required in order to take this class. The rotating curriculum at this level correlates with seasonal changes to maximize the training benefits for the mind and body. For the Summer session this workshop will focus on:

• Ba Gua Circle Walking will be explored in more depth, refining this central practice of Ba Gua Zhang and adding more variations and ways of changing on the circle.
• Foundational Body Training improves joint mobility, strengthens tendons and bones, and balances the musculature of the body, all while actively engaging the body’s natural, spiraling power.
• Partnered Seven Star Training conditions the main striking surfaces utilized in Ba Gua while developing power, timing and footwork.

Dates: Mondays, May 2nd  – July 25th 2016
Time: Level 1 6:00-7:30pm, Level 2 7:30-9:00pm
Location: Moving Body Resources, 112 W. 27th St, 4th floor, NYC
Fee: $350 for 1 block or $500 for both blocks
Instructor: NYIA instructor Thad Wong
Registration: To register, email Thad at moc.liamgnull@niloahskroywen

by Tom Bisio

Song Zhi Yong & Valerie Ghent practice Pi Quan

This summer Valerie Ghent, JP Magenis, Steve Farrell and myself traveled to China to train with our Xing Yi teacher, Song Zhi Yong. Our small group met in Beijing on August 10th and reunited with Huang Guo Qi, our translator and my stalwart friend.  The next day we flew to Taiyuan, the capital of  Shanxi Province. We were greeted by Song Zhi Yong and his disciples at the airport. Valerie was reunited with some of her school brothers and Master Song’s joy at seeing us again was reinforced by his broad smile and powerful embrace.

A view of Two Dragon Mountain

We immediately drove into the center of Taiyuan for lunch, an incredible meal of many indescribable dishes – some of our favorites are the spicy mung bean noodles and eggs prepared over hot river rocks. After lunch we drove out of Taiyuan along the river, to North University of China, which is nestled among several small mountains known as Two Dragon Mountain.

Song Zhi Yong correcting Steve’s Pi Quan

We stayed in a hotel on the University grounds and every day met on open basketball courts shaded by trees. Training began at 6 am with intensive practice of Tu Na Si Ba, followed by very slow and precise practice of Pi Quan. At 9 am we met in our room to practice push hands and Tai Ji Quan, and in the afternoon trained more Xing Yi, Wu Xing and Lian Huan for several hours.

JP gets Tu Na Si Ba corrections.

This visit brought an introduction to Li Gui Chang’s Tai Ji Quan and incredibly slow practice of Pushing Hands. It was a treat, although certainly not easy. For JP, this was his first trip to China and the first time he had trained with Song Zhi Yong. It was great to see his Xing Yi improve day by day. Steve, Valerie and I had all trained with Master Song before, and we also felt our performance of the subtle internal mechanics of this profound art sharpen as the days passed.

Eight days of this kind of intensive training often feels like a month. By the last day, we knew we had plenty of things to practice and were ready to return home

During our stay, we also squeezed in several photo shoots for Song Zhi Yong’s next book on Xing Yi Quan, to be published next year.

Remarkable food, remarkable weather, remarkable training. Every training visit to China lingers long afterwards, as the insights, focus and teachings settle in and become part of our being. Our gratitude to my school brother Song for his generosity in teaching, and for the marvelous dinners he organized for us.

All in all, an outstanding visit to China!