March 21-28, 2027
Ba Gua Camp
Immersion at Pacifica Garden in the Siskiyous of southern Oregon
Instructed by Lindsey Wei
Wudang Five Dragons Patriarch Lü’s Ba Gua Zhang
Eight Trigram Dragon Heart Palm (Wudang Bagua Long Xin Zhang)
The Eight Step Heavenly Big Dipper Palm (Commonly referred to as BABU – the Eight Step)
Similar to what is popularly known as Ba Gua Zhang, the 8 Step is a very old style of circle walking. It is intertwined with Daoist theory and principles of the Eight Trigrams. The patterns the practitioner walks are ancient symbols which mimic the cycles of the Earth, the moon, the sun, and the stars. By maintaining one’s place within these patterns and unifying the body with universal principles, the practitioner is able to harness a great intrinsic power.
This practice is divided into yin-yang 8 steps and three parts: Heaven, Earth and Man.
The Wudang Chun Yang Sect has been passed down by the Daoist Patriarch Lü Dong Bin. It has already existed for a thousand years.
The Wudang Chun Yang fist method (the Eight Step Big Dipper Palm) is a unique, precious and rare form (taolu) of internal martial arts of Mount Wudang Kung Fu, passed on within the sect. It originates from a Daoist high priest, a greatly respected master of Wudang’s martial arts’ studies. It was transmitted and imparted by 100 year-old Daoist Immortal Master Liu Li Hang.
This form (taolu) resembles Tai Ji Quan however it is not Tai Ji Quan.It resembles Eight Trigram Palm (ba gua zhang), however it is not Eight Trigram Palm. It also resembles Xing Yi, however it is not Xing Yi.
“The Eight Step Heavenly Big Dipper Palm is ancient and unadorned, refined and rare, transcending the mundane, and casting off the conventional.”
The Essentials
The Wudang Chun Yang Fist method regards the cultivation of the body and nourishing one’s nature as its purpose. Transmissions outside the sect view the three circles, the six parts, and the ‘Nine Characters Returning to the One’ as their guiding principle.
The three circles
Circles of crossing and linking the hands, circles of bending the legs and stepping, circles of rotating and twisting the waist.
The Six Parts
Hands and feet, knees and elbows, shoulders and hip.
The nine characters returning to the One are
Spirit, Intent, Qi, Strength, Patterns, Dynamics, Softness, Empty and Soul”
It regards the” three swiftnesses and the five unifications” as its aim.
The three swiftnesses are
Hand swiftness, body swiftness and stepping swiftness.
The five unification’s are
“The Spirit unifies with the Intent;
The Intent unifies with Qi;
The Qi unifies with Force;
The Force unifies with the Postures;
The Postures unify with the Sparring.”
Style
Furthermore the waist resembles dragons and snakes, coiling left and right. Crossing, linking winding and stepping, twirling naturally and at will. Qi is circulated, unimpeded and harmonious. the power emissions are fast, attacks happen in a flash of lightning, the execution of gong (skill) is light and quick as if a whirlwind.
The eight methods are:
Whirling and rotation, piercing and crossing over, winding and coiling, rolling and transforming.
Emptiness, spirit, circularity and dynamics are its gist and main aim.
Its strengths are contained in:
Methods of lifting, leaning, rolling of palm, elbows, chopping, cutting, bursting, flicking, pushing, pressing, pulling and subduing, embracing, propping, clashing, colliding, charging, stances and postures, transverse movements, and blocking.
Special points:
Passing through, connecting and winding movements, yin and yang mutually exchanging, the eight trigrams turn; The dragon swims in the ocean and the heaven. As if a swallow sweeps past the waters, it resembles an ape’s vertical climb. The body and the stepping are light and graceful. Its stepping method has a route, treading on the Tai Ji Yin-Yang five elements eight trigrams diagram. Its shape and pattern is elegant and floating, its appearance likened to a flying immortal.
The flower of life holds a secret symbol containing the most important and sacred pattern in the universe. This is the source of all that exists; it’s called the Fruit of Life. These multidimensional systems are able to give us access to everything ranging from the human body to the galaxies.
Concerning the requirements for the thoughts, body and spirit unify, as walking on clouds.
In correspondence to above, Three Terraces, Big Dipper, Sun, Moon, Seven Stars, stepping on the Yin Yang, Five Elements, Eight Trigrams, Nine Palaces, Four Directions, Ten Dimensions merge as an organic whole. Pre-heaven essence, qi and spirit, post-heaven intent, qi and strength, unify as one. This is Daoism’s thought of the unification of Heaven, Earth and Man emerging in the midst of the form.
Therefore this kind of ancient form is different from other Kung Fu forms in their intrinsic qualities. In the past the highest skill of the practice was secretly transmitted inside the religious gate.
Some of the unique movements and stepping patterns that are performed by High Priest during Daoist Ceremonies and Rituals can be found inside the martial transmission from Five Dragons Temple so in the middle of the Kung Fu world one have an opportunity to comprehend the universe, the great Dao, human life and the sublimation of oneself.
Effects
One can achieve the refinement of Qi, longevity, getting rid of diseases and prolonging one’s life. It is also effective for protecting life, sparring and fighting as well as repelling enemies. Furthermore its content contains secrets that are not passed on outside of the sect.
“When one practices this fist method, the qi feels strong.
Within a very brief period one is able to perceive
the Cinnabar Field’s Qi becoming vigorous and abundant.
When Qi circulates in the entire body,
the body is light and the feet grounded。
The state of mind is joyful and jovial.
Detached from the worldly realm
one is able to have a sensation of the body being high in the clouds.”
Location
Hosted at Pacifica Garden in Williams, Oregon.
Daily Schedule
Arrival day
March 21
Check-in at 3pm
Dinner at 6pm
Opening Circle at 8pm
Sunrise Qigong
1 Hour
Breakfast
BaGua & KungFu Basics
9:30am - 11:30am
Lunch
Bagua
3pm - 5pm
Dinner
Meditation
8pm-9pm
Departure Day
March 28
No Class - Check out 10am
Accommodations
All accommodations are for 7 nights (last year was 6 nights) same pricing per night
Book during registration.
The Pond House
16 guests, 4 bedrooms, 9 beds, 3.5 baths
2 living rooms, pond access with deck.
Food Program
Home cooked meals by rotating teams of students.
Accommodating to vegetarian and gluten free.
* Included in tuition fee
Apply for a 20% discount on tuition if you have previously taken Bagua Immersion 2022 at Cedar Bloom or Bagua Course 2023 at Five Immortals OR attended more than 2 immersions in the US.
Applications
Contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
Cancellation and Refund policies:
If you cancel 90 days or more in advance, we retain a non-refundable deposit of $150 for reserving your space during that time and covering the transaction fees incurred, the rest of your registration payments are refundable
If you cancel 30 days in advance, registration is only refundable (minus $150) if we can fill your spot.
If you cancel less than 30 days in advance, your registration is non-refundable.