Dragon Spring Taiji

The group consisted of a couple (Americans) living in Saudi Arabia, a Spaniard, teachers and students from four other Taiji schools, plus a few non-Taiji partners and family members, and six of us from RDTC, making a total of twenty four people. The age range was teenage to 78 years!

During our two week trip we visited Beijing, Tiananmen Square, The Forbidden City, Summer Palace, the Great Wall at Juyong, Ming Tombs, Yong He Gong (a Tibetan Buddhist Temple in Beijing), Temple of Heaven, in Xian we saw the Terracotta Army, Wild Goose Pagoda, the Yellow River near Zheng Zhou (the birthplace of Chinese civilisation, and the origins of the Chinese race), Wudang Mountain (the birthplace of Taiji), Shaolin Temple (the birthplace of Chinese martial arts), Longmen Grottos, a Peony Festival (China's national flower) in Luoyang, a Jade factory, a Silk factory, a terracotta factory, and more restaurants and shops than I can remember! We saw Chinese acrobats, Tang Dynasty Dancers, had a dinner with the Zheng Zhou Sports Minister and Secretary, had Qigong lessons from Prof. Li Deyin – one of China's top “100 martial arts treasures”, Mr. Li in Temple of Heaven Park, and a Taoist monk on Wudang mountain - Master Zhu. We had two overnight train journeys and two internal flights. We had tea with the Abbess of Purple Cloud Temple on Wudang, had a tea tasting ceremony in Xian, and ... made some new friends.

______________________________________________
Energy awareness
99% of light bulbs seemed to be the energy-saving type. One early start (4.30am) to catch a flight showed us that Beijing turns off the street lights at some point in the early hours. Public litter bins are allocated for recycling, or non-recycling.

______________________________________________
Qigong
There are five approved Qigong sets in China. There are others that are allowed and practised openly, just not recognised by the Sports Council.

The approved sets were chosen because the original masters that created them are no longer living, therefore no-one can become a figurehead or guru.

Two of these sets are Ba Duan Jin (The Eight Strands of Brocade), which we teach in this school, and Yi Jin Jing.

Early one bright, though slightly chilly morning, in Temple of Heaven park we were taught Yi Jin Jing (Tendon/Sinew Transforming Exercises), a set of twelve movements said to be the original exercises taught by Bodhidhama at the Shaolin Temple in the 6th century. This is said to be the foundation from which Shaolin martial arts developed, although there is no factual historical evidence to prove this; it is part of what the Chinese call “Wild History”, verbal stories that have been handed down through generations, and possibly enhanced or changed by the story teller.

______________________________________________
Tai Chi session with Prof. Li Deyin

Prof. Li has retired from Beijing University and now lives in an area where there are lots of other retired people, many of whom worked at the University. Many of them meet each morning to practice Taiji together along with Prof. Li. These people are very fortunate to be able to practice with Prof. Li as he is held in high regard and still trains and coaches national martial arts champions. We were therefore very honoured to be able to go along to join in a practice session with them and then have Prof. Li teach us the Eight Strands of Brocade.

I was particularly looking forward to this as it is something that I already teach and knew it would be a different version as there are many variations of this set.

We arrived at the practice spot, a sunny parking area in front of a restaurant. Because of the cold wind the previous day, the group had decided to use their indoor practice area - a room off of an underground car-park(!). This looked as though it was used as a dance hall. It had what we would call Christmas streamers across the low ceiling, a low stage at one end, and some snooker tables at the other end.

As we arrived the group were coming to the end of a Form. We were introduced to them. Very few spoke English, though a some had a few words, and some of us had a few words of Chinese, apart form Tary, our guide, who is Chinese (and also Prof. Li's son-in-law!).

It was decided that we should have a cultural exchange by showing each other our Taiji forms. The Chinese group played the 24 step Form, then a Fan Form.

Prof. Li then taught us the Eight Strands of Brocade. Although there were some external differences, the internal principles - natural breath, soft limit and intention - were very familiar.

We then had a brief introduction to Push Hands. This was interesting as I have seen the circular version of Single Push Hands but never had it explained. The Push uses “An”, and the receive uses “Peng”, both Yang energies. In our system we use the Yin energies for Single Push hands so this had a very different feel to it.

Because of the standardised Forms taught in China I had heard that others Forms were not necessarily looked upon very favourably – even thought to be “not real Taiji”. This proved to be completely false. Prof. Li is very knowledgeable and deeply respectful of all styles.

Another Chinese tradition is the group photo!

______________________________________________
Xian

There is no doubt that the Terracotta Army is an awesome spectacle. I found it rather spooky, the stillness of the soldiers and horses standing in rows looking so “real”. Their individuality made it all the more disturbing to see the broken soldiers and horses.

Having seen so many pictures and film of them in the past it wasn't such a big impact actually seeing them – plus, my main purpose for going on this trip was visiting the legendary Wudang mountain.

This one looked just like me!

______________________________________________
Wudang Mountian

When arriving at the gateway to Wudang I was a little disappointed as I could see some hills in the distance which were very unimpressive. Still, this was the birthplace of my art so I was willing to wait and see.

We left our coach and waited for our entrance tickets, then boarded one of the eco-friendly coaches used to ferry people around the area. We were told it would take about an hour and a half to get to our hotel which was halfway up the mountain. It wasn't too long before we reached the hills I'd seen from the gateway. As we began to climb, some bigger hills came into view – this was a bit more like it! As we climbed these hills we eventually saw what I would call mountains! We then had an interesting drive around hairpin bends, steadily climbing for half an hour or so until we reached our hotel. There was a noticeable drop in temperature as we left the coach and found our way to our rooms.

We had a great view from our room overlooking a valley and the peaks beyond.

Wudang is a range of mountains consisting of 72 peaks reaching a height of 5286 feet. The whole area is dotted with Taoist buildings of various kinds. There are two main Temples. We first went down the mountain to visit Purple Cloud Temple. This is home to mainly Taoist Nuns whose main practice is Qigong for healing. There is always a very different feel to living Temples. We had tea with the Abbess.

______________________________________________
Qigong training with Master Zhu

First thing after breakfast on the second Monday of the trip we had amasterzhuQigong session with Master Zhu who had been studying for 17 years. He took us through some simple qigong exercises which he said are very good as preparation for Taiji practice.

The exercises we were taught were great, and again familiar yet externally different from those we use. The principles of breath, structure and intention were the same as we already use, so the movements weren't something I would want to remember as they didn't do anything beyond what we already practice. But from an experience point of view it was great! Here we were, standing in the hotel lobby, on Wudang Mountain, looking out through the panoramic window onto the valley and hills beyond (very atmospheric), being led by a Taoist monk. It fitted with my “romantic/fantasy” image about the whole place.

After this session (and the group photo!) we set off for the other side of the mountain to visit Golden Summit Temple (the highest point on Wudang).

Once you get to the bottom of this peak it can take up to 4 hours to walk up the thousands of steps to the top. As we had limited time we took the cable car, then climbed the remaining steps – probably another 100 feet or so. The views were spectacular.

This Temple has mostly monks. Their practice is more martial than that of the nuns at Purple Cloud.

Visiting Wudang, the birthplace of Taijiquan, was the highlight of the trip for me.

______________________________________________
Zhengzhou

From Wudang we took a coach back to XiangFan to catch an overnight train to Zhengzhou in Henan Province.
Here we visited the Yellow River. This is the area said to be the birthplace of Chinese civilisation; the origins of the Chinese race. We took a hovercraft down river to one of the huge sandbanks situated midstream. Most of the sandbanks had grass on them and some had people grazing their sheep.

A few weeks before the trip there was a national Taiji event in the Midlands with some Chinese guests. Some of these were there to demonstrate their Forms and others included the Ms Liu Dong, Zhengzhou Sports Bureau Director, who is also the Chairman of Zhengzhou Wushu Association, and Li Wei, Secretary-General Zhengzhou Wushu Association. Tary was involved in organising this event and inviting the Chinese delegates, so naturally when we visited Zhengzhou they insisted on returning the hospitality.

We were invited to a dinner with the top three members of the Sports department. These people are very high up member of the Communist Party and have a lot of “clout”. It is very rare for them to associate with “the man in the street”, and unheard of for them to entertain tourists! This was a first, and a great honour.

There were absolutely delightful and genuine people. We had a sumptuous meal followed by the familiar group photo session.

______________________________________________
Shaolin Temple

The next day we went to Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Chinese martial arts. There was definitely an atmosphere in the temple itself, but the surrounding area has been extensively developed for tourism so, for me, it has lost some of its spiritual quality.

There are many martial arts schools in the area, and at Shaolin there are hundreds of young students studying KungFu.