Sam Masich Workshops - Push Hands & BaDuanJin - Vancouver BC Canada
Register now for the Sam Masich workshop March 25-27 in Vancouver BC!
Yang-style Taijiquan 'Eight Pieces of Brocade' #2 (Baduanjin 楊式太極拳八段錦)
Friday evening: Four Push-hands Tricks
On this evening we will look some fun and practical push-hands techniques that can be used for free style push-hands play. These 'tricks' are all based on the principles of jue-shou sensing-hands and will deepen our exploration of the 'four do's'—‘sticking,' ‘adhering,' ‘connecting,' ‘following’ (zhān nián lián suí 粘黏連隨), and the 'four don'ts'—'reaching,' 'skewing,' 'losing,' resisting' (dǐng piān diū kàng 頂偏丟抗).
Saturday & Sunday: Yang-style Taijiquan 'Eight Pieces of Brocade'
Taijiquan is often described as 'meditation in movement' but meditative and energetic aspects of the art often take a back seat to outer form. Learning this type of 'Taiji Qigong' (太極氣功) will transform your understanding of the art and add depth to your practice. Fragments of the Yang-style Taijiquan 'Eight Pieces of Brocade' (Baduanjin 楊式太極拳八段錦) have been passed down through various sources but it is not common to find instruction in the entire set. The material was considered by early Yang masters to be an essential part of internal training. While parts of this neigong practice have appeared in print, for example in Chen Yanlinʼs (陳炎林) 1943 book 'Taiji Boxing, Sabre, Sword, Pole, Sparring Compiled', to date there is no full rendering of a Yang 'Eight Pieces of Brocade' in English.
In last year's class we looked at the the first two parts of the Yang Baduanjin—Section 1: Peng and An, and Section 2: the 21 gesture 'Taijiquan Fundamental Strengthening Body and Mobilizing Qi Method' (太極拳初步健身運氣法). This weekend we will continue with sections three (the waist and spine), four (the arms) and five (the legs) as well as a review of sections one and two.
Friday and Saturday venue: First Church of the Nazarene, 998 E 19th (at Kingsway & Windsor) -- please enter at side basement door. Lots of free parking on street and in parking lot behind church. On #19 bus route.
Sunday venue TBA
cost Full weekend $285
(Early bird price $260—payment deadline Feb. 20)
Friday night-only $50
Sat/Sun only $260 (Early-bird $245).