Together with my student Philipp, we were invited to hold a seminar at the Wahnam Headquarters in Frankfurt. Everybody was very friendly and fully concentrated on the content which we tried to squeeze into eight hours over two days. The main goal was to introduce internal Wudang study and to comprehensively understand its principles.
Since our last Wudang travel during autumn 2018 was a great success with many participants, our Wudang academy is planning to start a new journey with a slightly different approach. Since our primary mission is to support Wudang culture as much as possible, we want you to decide to which school you want to go. We will start off as a large group from Vienna flying to Beijing airport, from there we plan to travel by train to Wudangshan.
The connection between the sword hand and the sword is necessary, the sword hand is always the other hand on the opposite side which is for directing your sword. The connection between these two never changes, and because of this connection, the hip can generate power from the Dantian to move into the tip of your blade. As long you keep the connection between sword and sword hand centered you can direct your power in all directions with the help of the hip movement.
Hold your horses here! If you want a traditional school, you have found it! It is not usual in traditional schools to tell you everything from the beginning. Why should the master even teach you? Just because you paid a lot of money? That is not how tradition works in China. In the San Feng lineage, one must prove himself to be of good personality and dedication to the lineage to improve oneself. Whining about your lessons by demanding it will not help you when the master has no interest in teaching you that may be a sign to get your “things” (almost said a bad word) together.
Ba Gua, the eight trigrams, are denoted by symbols named 爻 (Yáo). 爻 is drawn as an odd diagram (奇畫, also referred to as the Yang symbol, 陽爻) or even diagram(偶畫, also referred to as Yin symbol, 陰爻). Combined in pairs represent 四象 (this can relate to the four directions or the corresponding mythical beasts, or each corresponds to two of the eight trigrams, 太陰, 少陽, 少陰, 太陽, grouped by the composition of Yin and Yang). With an additional symbol, the diagrams consisting of three symbols make the Ba Gua. The three symbols correspond respectively to “sky above, earth below, and human in the middle.”
There is only a second place for those who are unwilling to learn, the first place is reserved for those who are determined. There are no surprises ahead, and the improvement of ourselves is not bound on a mere event or situation, it is a constant development – a race going up the hill – for nobody but yourself – only you will arrive there first as long you continue you will find yourself at the first place over and over again. This timeless racing is the doctrine of living diligently and with virtue.
The comprehensive understanding of the internal martial arts and providing the right methods for developing the work with yin and yang itself. Someone may study for decades, but without the correct method, it is hard to improve. What is Taiji and how can we use it in our daily life and our practice? It is the most exciting part in the internal self-development to understand the freedom of oneself and to improve weak points and to overcome existing health problems.
We had the opportunity to ask all kinds of wild questions regarding internal arts at the end of our seminar. This interview is an entirely unbiased video, and the students threw many questions at Master Chen Shiyu. This video is brought to you by our Wudang Academy!
Everyone came from all around the world, and it filled us with great honor to show Master Chen Shiyu the importance of this educational meeting. This gathering was something that no one can achieve on his own. What connects us is the knowledge of the San Feng lineage, and the tradition grew very fast beyond the Chinese borders with the power of everyone. Together we are the San Feng family and ready to bring harmony to ourselves through determination and hard practice. We must communicate and help each other to spread the knowledge, that was Master Chen Shiyu’s last request before he left on the last day.
It is the 17th August, and we are at halftime of our five-day seminar in Vienna with master Chen Shiyu! Everything is going as planned and we are right on schedule with our content. I think the workshop inspires many people and also gives new insights and perspectives on the internal Wudang martial arts. Learning the right principles is essential, only with the knowledge of how to do it, one can attain mastery. Most of the movements are not seen outside and focus on Qi circulation, concentration, and breathing.
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You are in a traditional martial arts school of San Feng family, which means there are specific rules to consider. Most of them are self-explanatory, but some rules may be new and unknown, also try to practice your Chinese, I am sure master Chen Shiyu will appreciate your dedication and effort.
