June courses at IS
June Courses at IS:
Hi friends,
well, I’m in China and everything is going according to plan.
I managed to avoid getting terrible jet lag and basically got my sleep schedule changed within the first few days. I’m also very excited to continue my cultural studies in Chinese martial arts and music (I’m studying Erhu, a two string fiddel with a performer in the Shanghai orchestra).
This June I am offering three very special courses including:
1: Introduction to the Tian Zhaolin lineage of Yang Style Taijiquan:
Early bird sale: save $20 if you ues this link to buy the course before June 5
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/tianstyle1/sa8y9z3
The Tian Zhaolin lineage of Yang style Taijiquan is sometimes called Old Yang style and emphasizes the middle frame of Yang style Taiji practice as transmitted from Yang Jianhou, the son of Yang style founder Yang Luchan.
This lineage is especially famous in Shanghai and I was officially requested by my teacher Yin Qing to teach this style in 2012. I also have experience in another lineage promoted by Master Shen Zaiwan which I studied with various teachers in Canada before being introduced to Master Yin.
The Tian transmission has various special features not seen in the more popular large frame style from Yang Chengfu including:
alternation between slow and fast movements,
changes between high, middle and low postures,
a rotating and circular approach to martial energy,
much more emphasis on abdomen, waist and back flexibility.
After more than 16 years of studying this style I’ve decided to finally hang out my tile and offer detailed and authentic instruction online.
Tian style is much more complex than other branches of Yang style and the middle frame is halfway between the slow and steady large from and the fast and explosive small frame style.
The style is broken into three sections which depending on how the movements are counted may have as many as 150 movements. I will teach the first section this year and will start everything with this introductory class in which we will learn the first posture, a special kind of Neigong technique which teaches the essential methods of:
Peng: the expanding power of Taijiquan which in our style is expressed as though rolling a ball,
Lu: the rolling back power of Taijiquan by which the force of an opponent is absorbed and drawn inward,
Ji: the pressing force which uses one part of the body to generate force through another part of the body,
An: the pushing power which is often used to seal the hips in push hands and combat,
Cai: a plucking power which strongly pulls an opponent out of their root,
Lie: a rending or splitting power which can create whiplash in an opponent,
Zhou: the power of the elbows,
Kao: while often thought of as shoulder power, it is also the power of the body in general,
Zhan Zhuang: Standing post exercise.
The opening movement can be thought of as consisting of as containing around eight movements and all of the famous eight gate energies of Taijiquan as well as the standing post method.
This is a much more complex and demanding movement than the opening form of any other Yang style variation and is perhaps more similar to the opening of Liu He Ba Fa in complexity.
As such you will need to learn the movements and the basic body method which includes detailed instruction about the activity of the head, chest, abdomen, back, waist, hip joints, knees, and feet.
The plan is to teach you these methods over the course of four weeks during June. Each week you will get a video lesson teaching you another layer of the movements as well as lectures when appropriate.
By the end of the month you can expect to have a good handle on this first movement which will establish many of the skills you need to go farther in the style.
The first class will be published on Gumroad on Saturday June 6 and all subsequent classes will be uploaded on Saturdays.
I am also happy to receive videos of your practice to offer correction and will give you instructions about how to share videos if you reach out to me.
This is a very unique method of Yang style and my hope is that in the future we may be able to set up some live classes with Master Yin who is the lineage bearer and gatekeeper of the style.
Our lineage is:
Yang Luchan: Yang style founder who popularized Taijiquan in Beijing,
Yang Jianhou: son of Yang Luchan who specialized in middle frame,
Tian Zhaolin: the head student of Yang Jianhou,
Wang Chengjie: one of the top disciples of Tian Zhaolin,
Yin Qing: master Wang’s top student,
Me: nothing special, but I hope that I can pass down this excellent style in a correct and authentic way which will benefit you.
Class details:
When and Where: recordings of movements and explanations will be uploaded to gumroad every four Saturdays starting June 6.
What’s included: full instruction of the first movement of the Tian transmission which includes the eight gates and standing post.
How much: $80 USD (around the price you would pay to attend four classes of Taijiquan in any major city).
What else: anyone who takes this course is invited to continue learning Tian style and it is my hope that we can spread this unique lineage in the West according to the request of my teacher. By joining this and future programs you will be part of an authentic and unique transmission of Taijiquan which is not compromised by the late 20th century official standardization of the style and still contains all traditional elements which have often been lost in other methods. I will also be regularly visiting with master Yin over the next two years, so you will be getting access to my own development as I advance in the style (this is why I waited until now to start teaching online, although I’ve been teaching in person for many years).
Get the early bird sale and save $20 here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/tianstyle1/sa8y9z3
2: Overview of the Small and Large Heavenly Orbits:
Get it here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/biwllo
Neidan is a poorly understood subject in the West and there many arts like Qigong and Taijiquan use similar ideas such as the small and large heavenly orbits, but these subjects in Neidan studies are totally different in training methods and results.
In this four session pre-recorded program you will learn about the small and large orbits from the Neidan perspective.
This course is designed for three groups of people:
1: people who already practice and want to find out precise details about how the levels of Neidan work,
2: people who are starting Neidan and have already taken a course or two with myself or other teachers and want to know what to expect as well as how to adapt to chnages,
3: people who practice Taiji, Qigong or Chinese Medicine who want to understand the essential nature of internal alchemy as it pertains to the transformation of jing, Qi and Shen.
This course will have four units:
1: Interpreting the small and large orbits from the perspective of the three treasures:
in this unit you will learn the traditional meaning of “refine the Jing and transform Qi, refine the Qi and transform Shen” from the Neidan perspective. This subject is not just a meaningless form of lingo, it explains three key parts of practice from the beginning to advanced stages of practice.
2: The Small Orbit beyond the Ren and Du meridians:
the small orbit is so much more than Qi going up the back and down the front of the body, it is the means by which a subtle material hidden profoundly in the deepest part of the body is mixed with innate consciousness and turned into spiritual energy. In this section you will learn about how Jing becomes Qi, the relevance of the lower, upper and middle Dantians in Qi development, and how to recognize essential components such as the “closing of the yang gate,” “jade fluid,” and how to nurture the energy so it becomes bigger over time.
3: Understanding the large orbit: in an energetic sense the large orbit is about the connection of the three Dantian via the middle channel, but it is also concerned with the transformation of Qi to spirit and the gradual cultivation of the upper Dantian to maturity. In Neidan practice it is not possible to achieve advanced levels of practice without completing the large orbit process, but few people have explained it clearly in the literature, especially in English, so this is your opportunity to find out how it works.
4: My experience of the large and small orbits:
I completed the small orbit around 2017 and the large orbit in 2023 and will share a synospsis of my experience with both in their early, middle and final stages. The progression of Neidan experiences are somewhat subjective, but most people experience most of the same phenomena, so having an experienced practitioner guide you can be a great help.
Classes will be released on Sunday mornings starting June 7 and consist of a pdf and recorded lecture each week.
The course is $150 USD.
Get it here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/biwllo
3:Eastern School Hundred Character Ancestor Steele:
Get it here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/orlioi
Lu Xixing was a great secular master of Internal Alchemy during the Ming Dynasty who wrote extensively on the practice of Nature and Life Dual Cultivation. His approach starts with pre-heaven energy work as works toward the cultivation of the Yang spirit and merging nature with the Dao. Lu Xixing is also believed by many contemporary scholars in Asia to have specialized in dual cultivation partner practice which may either mean male and female parners meditating together, or even Neidan sexual practices depending who you ask. In this introduction to Lu’s methods we will learn his annotation of the Baizibei, the first Neidan document left behind by the immortal Lu Dongbin, but don’t expect a simple explanation of this 100 word document since Lu uses it to explain his profound Neidan method.
There are many subtle elements of nature and life cultivation which haven’t been well explained in the Western Daoist world so far such as how Qing/feeling interacts with Xing/nature/mind and yet concepts like this are the foundation of the mixing of water and fire and metal and wood.
The contents of Lu’s annotation of the Baizibei deals with these and other subjects such as why “forgetting to speak” doesn’t just mean sealing off the mouth, but has a much deeper meaning found in profound states of meditation in the pre-heaven state.
During the month of June we will read this text over four Thursdays starting on June 4.
I will be pre-recording the program and giving my translation and providing the videos in the gumroad space, although I’m certainly open to having a meeting to discuss the text.
I’ll be recording during my day time in Kaifeng, so if you live in North America or Europe you can expect it around the time you wake up every day.
The classes will be $150 USD for the month and you will learn true knowledge and practice of the Eastern school which is associated with the transmissions of Lu Dongbin and Zhang Sanfeng.
Get it here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/orlioi
4: Internal Alchemy of the Dao De Jing Chapter 8:
Get it here:
https://immortalitystudy.gumroad.com/l/dvhfag
Chapter eight of the Dao De Jing reads:
“上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭，
the highest good is like water,
water’s good benefits all things and does not contend,
處衆人之所惡，故幾於道。
It stays in places all people despise and is thus close to the Dao,
居善地，心善淵，與善仁，言善信，正善治，事善能，動善時。
Stay on good lands, keep the heart in good depth, confer good humanity, speak in good faith, be upright in good governance, act with good ability, move with good timing,
夫唯不爭，故無尤
those who do not contend have no worries.”
Those of you who have taken my Dao De Jing courses before know that there are many ways to interpret the chapters, but usually there is one big thesis.
In our Dao De Jing series we look at the text from four perspectives:
1: the text and grammar of the text according to early Chinese literature:
we use documents such as the etymology text Shuo Wen Jie Zi to understand the meaning of the characters of the Dao De Jing, then we read the document according to the situation of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods when the text was written.
2: Early annotations:
in the second week we look at early annotations of the text from Wang Bi and He Shang Gong. Wang’s annotation is largely metaphysical, while He Shang Gong’s attempts to merge inner practice with social philosophy.
3: Huang Yuanji’s Neidan interpretation:
in the fourth week we read the Dao De Jing Chan Wei, the only annotation of the Dao De Jing exclusively concerned with meditation. Huang teaches how to interpret the text in order to achieve the golden elixir.
4: Modern reading:
we read modern Chinese sources to understand how present day Chinese people understand the Dao De Jing as a work of ancient philosophy.
This is a good program with many students who have participated in every course, you should check it out if you are interested in the Dao De Jing.
This month the program will be released in pre-recorded format on Sunday mornings.
You will receive pdf translations of the documents we are working with and video lectures four Sundays starting June 7.
Get it here: