ABOVE THE EARTH – Wu Dang Sword

Get ready for this year’s Sword Seminar Tour with my teacher, Ismet Himmet! As an absolute expert in Wudang Sword Arts, he will share his deep knowledge with us across multiple locations, covering various aspects of his craft.

I’m especially excited to host him at his first stop in Berlin at our academy, where he will deepen our understanding of the essential foundations of Wudang Sword. He’ll also be teaching the 8 Postures of Sung Wei Yi. These postures help us wield the sword as if it were an extension of our body, enhancing flexibility and adaptability during exchanges with opponents.

Check out more information about his upcoming Sword Seminars and Intensive sessions below!

01.-02. March 2025 – Wudang Jian – 13 Principles – The Foundation of Wudang Sword – Berlin, Germany

08.-14. March 2025 – SWORD CAMP – School of the 5 Dragons, Nuremberg, Germany

12.-14. April 2025 – ‚ESSENCE OF SWORD‘ CAMP – WDP Türkiye – BEYKOZ MOVIE PARK, ISTANBUL

https://www.loft46.com/

Wudang Deutschland

What Is Tai Ji Quan?

Tai Ji Quan (Tai Chi Chuan) is a meditation, health and martial art.

Especially in times like these, when wars are spreading, societies are becoming more divided, and technology is leading us to increasing disconnection from our own inner nature, it has become more important than ever to have a tool that can help us to reconnect with our physical and inner selves. Join us in this interview and discus with us, why Tai Ji Quan is an art for everyone, that is not just about learning to fight, but even more about expressing ourselves and reconnecting us with a healthy way of living.

Move slowly with us in our upcoming Tai Ji Basic Seminar, Intensive Full-Time Month, or Summer Camp:

Basic Seminar: 06-07.07.2024

Intensive Month: 06.07.-04.08.2024

Camp: 01-04.08.2024

Xing Yi Quan – Internal Skills and Speed

Often it is questioned, how we can use Xing Yi nowadays in a realistic combat situation… While this question can be answered in my option also with the very basic techniques of Xing YI Quan, it can even more simply answered by the speed and power development principles of Xing Yi Quan. If we understand how we can generate power through center control and timing, through releasing and step work, we can apply these skills very directly also into fighting arts like Boxing or Wrestling…

Xing Yi Quan – Close Range Fighting Concepts

Xing Yi Quan is an ancient internal Chinese martial art that offers us numerous concepts for health, spiritual development, and fighting practices. Often, practitioners of other martial arts don’t understand how traditional arts are applied in real fighting situations. The basics may seem abstract and too distant from practical application. However, just as an MMA fighter builds strength through power training, a Xing Yi practitioner utilizes traditional basics to develop power while simultaneously fostering healthy movement habits and various skills. This doesn’t imply that a fight should mimic the basics; after all, an MMA fighter doesn’t do push-ups inside the ring. Therefore, in our recent Xing Yi Camp, I explained how we progressively integrate basic exercises into more realistic fighting scenarios within close-range combat. I hope you enjoy.

Xing Yi Quan – Striking from Emptiness

In the very moment we expect something, we tend to overextend. This is very normal. Xing Yi Quan, can be a great tool to improve our skills in “non-expectation”. By observing our overextending reactions we can learn step by step to release from them. What is very useful for our daily lifes, is also very necessary for building up a relaxed and efficient striking method. How can we get soft and powerful at the same time, when we stuck in old body habits and expectations? The art is to let go of “winning and losing” and instead give our self to the hidden values (xuan de) of our practice. In these we start to embrace failure as an important way companion and give our self to an endless, targetless journey… that ultimately leads into emptiness.

What is Xing Yi Quan? – Interview

Xing Yi Quan (Hsing I) is one of the primary internal martial arts practiced in Wudang. It is an art that emphasizes the concept of softness and releasing in order to generate fast and direct motions. Originating from ancient spear fighting techniques, it also integrates principles from eagle claw Kung Fu and Chinese medicine.

Meditation is Simple!

Maybe the first question should be… how you define meditation?
But maybe also simply not…
Because meditation should not be about defining nor about doing anything.
Yes, we aim to find a state of quietness.
A state of observing and entering into emptiness.
But how to aim for a target, which disappears in the very moment we start to look at it?
It seems very paradox, but as difficult as it is, as easy it is at the same time.
We need to learn to give space.
Space to aim… and space to not aim.
Space to do… and space to not do.
We think through knowledge, we can short cut all this, and save some time.
It is difficult for us to accept that meditation is actually all about wasting time.
Not being productive. Not getting anything from it.
And yet to do it, simply for the sake of doing it.
What a relief…
To simply sit and to do nothing.

The Legend Of Zhang San Feng – Performance 2023

There are several legends of the origin of Tai Ji. One of them tells the story of a Martial Artist who retreated to the Wudang Mountains to cultivate the self. His name was Zhang San Feng. (Three Times Crazy Zhang). In our “End of the Year” celebration, we shared with our friends, family and students this little story… with movement… music.. and a lot of heart inside the chest…

Heart that can only be there, because of the people in and around this place, that make XUAN what it is. In this sense, thank you to everyone! For being part of this place, in one or the other way… Thank you for an amazing year of training!

To watch the full video click here: https://youtu.be/YwF96FIdXQw

Sitting and Standing Meditation Online Class 2024

When I started practicing martial arts, I would have dreamed of the possibility of learning Gong Fu in an online class. Therefore it is a heart-whish of mine to not only teach at the academy in Berlin but also in other frames like at our Hidden Turtle Online Platform.

In January 2024, I will start there a new online class series, which will be all about the absolute foundations of martial arts: Sitting and Standing Meditation.

The class will start on January 22nd, 2024, and will take place every second week on Monday for one hour (18:00-19:00 Berlin Time Zone). For registration simply register on the Hidden Turtle:

home

Note that starting from next year the monthly membership will be 35€. If you register now you will be able to follow lifelong in the current membership fee of 20€.

Teacher Training – Next Season Starting October 24

The next season of our systematic inner martial art education is starting next month: 21th October 2024 The start of a new season is the only time, new students can join the process. If you are interested, contact me as soon as possible. ALL LEVELS ARE WELCOME 🙂 For three years we have guided students with all kind of levels and backgrounds through our monthly meetings, training plans, and video feedbacks. Entering together into a very special but also intensive process of learning, practicing and making gong fu, not just a hobby, but much more a way of life.