In Jiulong Baguazhang we have 8 "palms" of energy for health and martial art. Each year we explore one of these palms at our annual "Gathering of the Circle" in Albany, New York, following the Tai Chi Gala



Aspect 1: Fire Palm Qigong

(Balances the Heart & Small Intestine acupuncture meridians and qi life force.)

“Fire energy” is said to develop a strong clear character. Fire palm is used in deeper qigong study of Daoist self-cultivation practices to balance the fiery emotional energies of mind and spirit. The practice relaxes your nervous system, creates a concept of clear, strong action and promotes a very decisive nature.This energy also contributes to a sense of order and stability by purifying the explosive emotional energies of the Heart (xin). It can draw off excess emotional heat to reduce feelings of irritability and restlessness. The capacity of the Small Intestine energy to dampen the excess fire of the Heart helps to restore your spirit to a state of calm and a feeling of inner grounding or centeredness.

 

Aspect 2: Fire Palm “Zhandouli” Li Zhang = Fire palm (The Martial Aspect: Develops fa-jin and magnetic body skills)

Explore the Yijing (I-Ching) concept of yang’s bursting-upward energy and yin’s clinging energy as related to “fire palm.” Fire's energy is crystal clear like the air on a hot summer day. It is direct and uncomplicated, bursting upward from the earth as a volcanic eruption; primal, elegantly simple and without affectation. Fire palm strikes send maximum fluid shock into the opponent causing internal damage with minimal movement of the subject. This strike is used to create internal shocking force and is often called fa-jin or fa-li. A strike of this type, when executed correctly, will drop an opponent in his tracks instead of sending him backward.

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Aspect 3: Moon Sword Qigong Set and Xingyi Jian

First we will examine the five moves of Li Family Xingyi-Jian (“form of intention” sword) as a martial skill followed by learning to use these moves to channel the electromagnetic qi energy of the full moon through a sword directly into your body’s energetic systems. This rare, almost extinct method of the Li Family is drawn from Daoist (Taoist) and Tibetan shamanistic sources. Using a metal sword like an antenna, you will learn to use the reflected light of the full moon to create an amazing internal transformation of hard-to-flexible energy. It is said of those who can perform this qigong set, that the sword “comes alive in their hands like a coiling dragon.” This method balances and calms overly aggressive energy.