Beijing is the capital of China and center of most of her historical dynasties and it’s also the center of Chinese Internal Martial Arts.   There were many very famous internal martial artists who had lived, challenged, and passed on the skills and martial virtue from generation to generation.  Yangluchan – founder of yang style Taijiquan, Donghaichuan - founder of Baguazhang, Wuquanyou – founder of Wu style Taijiquan, Guoyunshen – the greatest fighter in the history of Xingyiquan…As a native of Beijing, returning to my hometown, to feel great energy there, to study the arts that I have the passion for; this trip is always an inspiring, exciting, and memorable experience!

We are planning to go back to Beijing to visit and train in the internal martial arts of Tai Chi, Ba Gua &  Xing Yi  again in Decembe: This Year's Details  Please e-mail us if you are interested in going with us.  Tina Zhang’s email: tineez@aol.com
 

Chongwenmen Hotel

This is the third year of our annual study trip, and the best study year ever with living legends Grandmasters Li Bng Ci and Liu Jing Ru. These two outstanding Masters have devoted their entire life times to the arts, and they have very exceptional teaching methods and incredible skills.  Their Qi inspired and led me to a much deeper level of understanding in the internal arts.  It was a short stay, but not too short, having about 50 hours of training with these true Masters of the arts. The benefits of this study will stay within my daily practice, forever. We took Continental Airline’s 13 and a half hour direct flight from Newark to Beijing – a beautiful city with modern facilities which is also the capital of ancient China’s historical sites. We stayed in the Chongwenmen Hotel located in center Beijing.

We trained with my 77 year old master Li Bing Ci, who is the fourth generation Grandmaster of Northern Wu Style Taijiquan and the leading representative of the style. Li Lao Shi is the head of the Beijing Northern Wu Style Taijiquan Association.
 

Li Lao Shi teaching the basics to Steve Nardi.  Li Lao Shi teaching the group the classical  Northern Wu Style Taijiquan  form

The Classical Northern Wu Style Taijiquan form was created by the style founder, Manchurian Imperial Guard, and student of the famed Yang Lu Chan, Quan You, (1834-1902). Quan You had three famous disciples: Wu Jian Quan (son of Quan You),  Wang Mao Zhai and Guo Fen.  Wu Jian Quan moved to the Southern part of China later on, while Wang Mao Zhai stayed in Beijing and taught Quan You’s original form to his disciple, Grandmaster Yang Yu Ting. Yang Yu Ting lived to be 96 years old and taught many people in Beijing. His best known disciples are Master Wang Pei Sheng (1919-2004) and Master Li Bing Ci.These are the best teachers of their generation who have helped to spread their art to the world.  Not only was the style which we leaned and practiced very graceful and most effective for health improvement, but also the teaching style of Master Li was extremely impressive and very easy to understand.  He explained in a very detailed manner how to practice Taijiquan internally and how Taijiquan is applied in daily life .  Li lao Shi has a wonderful personality of a kindly grandfather and told us many stories of Taijiquan practice and practitioners.  Frank and I thought that one of the greatest stories is about Li Lao Shi’s teacher – Yang Yu Ting. The outstanding line of the story was: “He practiced 75 years of Taijiquan , lived to be 96 years old, and he smoked, but he knew how to nap”. We also learned and practiced a lot “Push Hands”, with Li Lao Shi.  He taught the “secret” techniques of Push Hands and Taiji power.  He was very proud of his non-Chinese group, who were interested in learning the traditional Taijiquan form, push hands, and applications, in the manner Taijiquan was originally developed.

We also trained with famous Baguazhang Grandmaster Liu Jing Ru in the original Cheng Style “Old Eight Palms”.This 70 year old traditional Baguazhagn and Xingyiquan Master is still in fighting shape, and he’s funny. We had so much fun with Liu Lao Shi’s sense of humor. Liu Lao Shi teaches the old original Ba Gua of Cheng Ting Hua and does so in the original teaching style of strict posturing and fighting applications for each movement, but also teaches with grace and style, patience with his more non athletic students and of course everything spiced with that lovely sense of humor. Liu Lao Shi is known through out the world for his traditional Chinese martial arts skills and we were very lucky to have Grandmaster Li Bing Ci introduce him to us and to get to study with a teacher who is unquestionably one of the highest level masters in the world of Baguazhang. Training with Liu Lao Shi in traditional Cheng Style Baguazhang   “Old Eight Palms”

Liu Lao Shi explaining the “Yin & Yang Fish”  posture in Baguazhangi Liu Lao Shi sparring with Frank

Of course, a visit to the tomb of Baguazhang founder, Dong Hai Chuan is always one of the highlights of the trip. We also were privileged to view the tombs or graves of the other Baguazhang masters which are also at the site. Visiting this tomb site is a sacred pilgrimage for those devoted to the art of Baguazhang.

Visiting The Great Wall of China is also an annual event. Standing on the only man made structure which can be seen
from outer space and thinking about how China used to end at that wall and the barbarian horse warriors lived on the other side of the wall is an awe inspiring experience. Perhaps Mao was right when he said, “To be a Great Man one must stand atop The Great Wall!”

The Great Wall
 
 
 

 The Legend of Kungfu

If Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan. Chow Yun Fat and Jet Li combined their talents to create a multi million dollar Kung Fu Extravaganza on Broadway it would look like “The Legend of Kung Fu” at the Red Theater in Beijing. This breath taking show not only showcased top notch Shaolin Kung Fu, but also a host of acting talent, a fast paced script with a traditional story line, a moving modern soundtrack and sets and costumes to match any on Broadway. I would highly recommend this moving event to all visitors to the fair city of Beijing and should this show ever be convinced to travel, the world would be enriched by it.

White Cloud Temple is a major Taoist Temple that sits right in the middle of Beijing. It   is the headquarters of the Dragon Gate sect of the Complete Reality School of Taoism and a sort of   Taoist clearing house where many other Taoist sects hold their testing and ordinations. Spending  some time at White Cloud Temple to soak up the atmosphere and do a little meditating helps one to  get in touch with the Taoists roots of their Internal Martial Arts. This is always one of the more  popular aspects of our trip to Beijing. Sculptures

Taoist priests  performing a ritual

While at White Cloud Temple we practiced the Taoist internal   martial arts of Taijiquan, Baguazhang, and Xingyiquan  and spent  some time in meditation.
 

Xingyiquan - Keith Taylor

Baguazhang - Jonathan Molenar

Baguazhang - Frank Allen

Baguazhang - Frank with Chris Chappell, Director of Real  Taoism Studios, London

Baguazhang - Tina Zhang

Taijiquan -  Jan Golden, Director of Dublin Tai Chi

          Tina Zhang ©

Comments about the trip from our group:

 “Tacking a trip to Beijing and training with two incredible Martial art Masters was the best thing I ever did. Not only was the training great but the sight seeing and whole experience was a great learning experience. The people were friendly the food was good and the Chinese culture is fascinating. This trip was incredibly well organized.  I highly recommend traveling to Beijing and training for any serious martial artist”

Chris Friedman - has been practicing martial arts for many years. He holds a Second-Degree Black Belt in American Karate under Stephen Levi, a Black Belt in Taijutsu under Jean-Pierre Seibel, and is a First Gup in Tang Soo Do under Michael Masley. He currently studies Tai Chi Chuan, Baguazhang and Hsing I Chuan with Sifu Frank Allen.  He recently placed First in Restricted-Step Push Hands at the 2004 Taiji Legacy Tournament.

                            My experience of training trip to Beijing 2005.

 “After many correspondences with Tina and Frank, the time finally came for me to travel to Beijing and sample Chinese culture and experience the honour of training with traditional tai chi masters. Travelling alone from the United Kingdom, I was apprehensive of the experience which would lie ahead.

I was met at the airport and escorted to my hotel, which was to be home for the next two weeks. I later met up with Tina,
Frank and the others, my journey had begun and friendships formed. Training began the next day, this was the highlight of my trip and the skills and knowledge I hoped to gain were to become reality.

Master Li Bing Ci taught push hands and Wu style long form. His method of teaching was outstanding, as he had the ability to break down the form and work through it slowly and thoroughly. As the weeks past we were able to develop a mutual respect as teacher and students, and the explanations of the form were explained in greater depth. Especially with push hand technique, the explanation enabled me to understand the application of force and how to dissolve the force of your opponent. To be able to watch a master perform their art was a privilege and honour.

We also had the honour of training with Master Liu Jing Ru who taught the eight changing palms of Baguazhang, over 5 days. His method of teaching was also outstanding, and incorporated a lot of humour, and his technique and movement was inspirational. We were able to learn 2 forms per day and applications. The skills and knowledge I obtained from these two highly respected masters were more than I could have hoped for. To have the opportunity to train with national treasures, which I had only seen in books, fulfilled all my expectations. The whole experience of Beijing and its culture is something that I will always remember.

Many thanks to Tina and Frank for organizing the trip and always keeping me updated. I appreciate the way you welcomed me into your group and hope to keep in contact with you both. Thank you for a positive and enjoyable experience”.

Regards
Keith form England

Keith Taylor – is highly experienced martial artist from England.  He has practiced both Japanese and Chinese Martial arts over the past two decades.
 

 Please e-mail us if you are interested in going with us.  Tina Zhang’s email: tineez@aol.com

Frank Boxing Zhang	Zhang and Frank	The Gang
White Cloud Temple		Temple of Heaven
			<= Photos by Bill Shackman

We are planning to go back to Beijing to visit and train in the internal martial arts of Tai Chi, Ba Gua, Xing Yi  again in December, 2005.  Please e-mail us if you are interested in going with us.  Tina Zhang’s email:  tineez@aol.com

We climbed the Great Wall!		Temple of Heaven
Visiting the Forbidden City		Ba Gua Dragons at Nine Dragon Wall	Pandas everywhere
Beijing at night		One of the the 88 McDonald’s locations. Have you seen their delivery by bicycle?
		Master Zhang presented a banner to Frank Allen.   It says: To Wu Tang PCA, A Tornado Sweeps the Martial Art World!

	Zhang Sheng-li is a native of He Nan Province, where he began his martial arts studies near the Shao Lin Temple at the age of eight.  Martial arts became his passion and love in life and he has diligently learned, practiced, trained, researched and taught these arts ever since. He received his Phys Ed degree in college in Sichuan Province and won two National San Da Championships at 55 kilos, one in 1989 and another in 1993. He taught Tai Ji for five years at The Beijing Sports Institute and currently teaches Pa Kua, Hsing I and San Da at the Beijing Police Academy as well as at his own two studios.
	Still in his mid thirties Master Zhang is the youngest 6th Duan ranked in Chinese Wu  Shu. Zhang Sheng-li has decided to be one of the creators of the arts instead of one of the many recorders of the martial arts and therefore is developing and teaching his own Zhang Style Internal Martial Arts. The Long Xing, or Dragon Shape, Ba Gua set which he taught to Tina Zhang and Frank Allen on their recent trip to Beijing is an advanced form from his Zhang Style Ba Gua Zhang. Within it are many of the classical techniques and signature moves from earlier forms and older masters.
	We trained with the best young Master Zhang Sheng-li in RiTian Park (The Temple of the Sun) every day.  Why did we train there? It was ten minutes walk from the Guo Tai Hotel where we were staying and more importantly, there is 2-Star public bathroom you can use that you will not necessarily find everywhere in Beijing. Frank trained with Zhang on Xing Yi Chuan Elements and a Linking form and the Ba Gua Dragon Shape form, with of course, lots of applications and fighting techniques of  Ba Gua Zhang including Zhang’s specialty Qin Na.
	One afternoon Frank went to one of Zhang’s two studios to train and exchange information on Chinese San Da and that was a fun day. Frank does Push Hands with an instructor from  Zhang’s studio.

We had very pleasant visit with professor Kang Ge Wu at the China Wu Shu Research Institute.  He rode a bicycle over on a Saturday morning, which the only time he had for us. He is a very busy person who does a lot of studying and researching and collecting all the valuable information of Chinese martial Arts.

Visiting White Cloud Temple:  The most important Taoist practice Temple in the world.
Frank in White Cloud Temple
	This is a 9 months old boy who came with parents from far away Xin Jiang province to see Doctor because he’s been sick all the time since he was born.  The parents went to the White Cloud Temple to pray for the baby.  One of the old Taoist from the temple told the parents to find few lucky men in the temple to hold the babe to give Yang energy to the baby boy in order to protect baby from sickness and bring him good luck on health.  Frank was one of the few people who was chosen by the parents on that day to hold the baby and give him Yang energy.   We all wish that baby boy good luck to his health and his life.

Visiting Dong Hai Chuan’s Tomb. During the visiting of his tomb, we saw some famous Ba Gua Zhnag masters graves were put next to Dong Hai Chuan’s.  There are Masters Wang Shu Jin, Li Zi Ming, Liang Zhen Pu, Guo Gu Min.
Master Dong Hai Chuan (1797-1882) was the founder of Ba Gua Zhang.
Frank in front of Wang Shu Jin’s Grave	Tina in front of Li Zi Ming’s Grave

	Professor Li De Yin is the creator of the 48 Posture Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan Form, an international Martial Arts judge and has taught in Beijing Sports University for more than 30 years.  Professor Li’s father and uncle both were world-well-known martial artists who trained with the famous Master Sun Lu Tang. Prof. Li learned martial arts when he was 6 years old from his family.  His wife Fang Mi Shou, taught Tina the 24 Posture Yang Style form earlier while on a visit to the United States.   Here we happily met again! Tina trained 48 postures Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan with Professor Li in the community center near their house during this trip.
48 Postures Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan was created by Professor Li in 1976.  This form based on traditional Yang large form is combined with signature postures   and movements of Chen, Wu, Sun and Hao styles.  It’s an advanced form and is a requirement course for martial arts majors in colleges in China and wildly practiced around the world.
Tina enjoyed the training so much!

We are planning to go back to Beijing to visit and train in the internal martial arts of Tai Chi, Ba Gua &  Xing Yi  again this December: This Year's Details   Please e-mail us if you are interested in going with us.

Tina Zhang’s email:  tineez@aol.com