Strategies for in Between Worlds: A Baguazhang and Taiji Quan Workshop

Workshop Description:

In this unique workshop we will learn about the movement philosophies from sister practices Taiji Quan and Baguazhang as strategies for honorable living.Lingji Hon and Yunuen Rhi, two dedicated non-binary teachers of Chinese internal martial arts for over a decade will interweave their wisdom into this workshop.This workshop will link the Chan Buddhist teachings of Boddhidharma to the matriarchal lineage of the Daoist Immortals. Instructions will be provided to breathe, walk, and strategize in movement, from the pelvic floor in the two different internal martial art styles. In doing so, we can access a place of infinite potential known by the Daoists as the “mysterious feminine.” Cultivating the awareness of the in between within the tendons and joints we discover key principles in moving and living in empowered alignment.

Program:

• I Ching principles in Taiji Quan and Baguazhang
• Zhan Zhuang Qi absorption postures
• Daoist alchemical breathing
• Linear Walk in two styles
• Baguazhang 88 forms
• Reeling silk in Taiji Quan
• Fundamentals of partner training

The workshop will collectively answer to the following questions:1. What does it mean to live in purpose and in alignment with the Dao?2. How can we live a state of being that serves the community and transcends the desires of our ego at the same time?

3. How can an accountable practice provide us the strategies to connect to the root/core of our being and enable us to become masters of our destinies?

4. What is the water path, the fire path?5. How can the union of fear, love and wisdom or seemingly oppositional paths bring us to a state of transcendence?

Instructors:

Lingji Hon 韓靈芝 is a Berlin based Taiji Quan and Qigong teacher from New York City. They began studying with their father, Sifu Sat Chuen Hon, when they were 5 years old, and are a lifelong student of his school- the Dan Tao Center of New York. They have a Bachelors of Fine Arts from Middlebury College and la Sorbonne, and studied Modern Dance with Ellen Robbins, Hunuyan Taiji with Xiaowu Qin, Baguazhang with Yunuen Rhi, Butoh with Valentin Tzsin, and DIP Whirling with Ziya Azazi. They are currently enrolled in a fascia-therapy mentorship and doula immersion with Camalo Gaskin. Their practice lies at the intersection of art and healing, integrating their dance training with their background in Classical Yang Taiji Quan, their explorations in Taoist philosophy, Chan Buddhism, Queer Theory, and their journey through parenthood. They have been leading regular classes and workshops in Europe and the US since 2017, and have taught as a guest professor and mentor for the dance department at the Universität der Kunst- HZT Berlin from 2020-2024. They believe ancient Chinese healing practices can serve as a powerful medicine in today’s world, as well as a vital tool for activism, empowerment and protection. Their practice approaches Taiji Quan as an evolving anthropological entity with a foundation in I Ching Philosophy, and matriarchal Taoist lineages, and as an internal alchemical art or Neigong.

Yunuen Rhi M.A., founder of Isuini Martial Healing Arts and co-founder of Dandelion Medicine Liberation Co-op In their consulting and wellness coaching, they combine Baguazhang internal martial art instruction, restorative justice circle keeping, ceremony, and performance art research. Their roots are in Mexico, the United States, and Korea. As a result they have cultivated Western, Eastern, and Native medicine pathways to awaken the interconnections between the multiple aspects of “Self.” Their practice offers creative bridges for self-healing, to individuals, communities and organizations to develop accountable and empowered practices.As a fifth generation instructor of Ma Gui Baguazhang, they have trained with their teacher Grandmaster Li Baohua since 2015 and with their previous teacher, Liu Xuyang, in Beijing between 2008-2014. They have also trained since 2021 bases of Huang Sheng Shang Taiji of the Yang Family lineage with Sifu Benjamin Sanchez and have been certified since 2023 in his Tai Chi table Treatment for structural alignment. They have also trained in Pikiti Tirsi Kali with Tuhon Roberto Pagan. Their teaching brings to the front their research for their upcoming book Our Bodies Our Battlefields, engaging the value of oral traditions and martial philosophy for vulnerable bodies. They also bring forward their experience with the grounding foundations of Balinese dance, Butoh and danza Mexica. They are honored to share their practice and outlook with you.

LINK FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE PRACTICES:

https://mailchi.mp/2fa8f2bda6e4/taijibaguazhangworkshop-16533780?fbclid=IwY2xjawLl44ZleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHtmHfH6ICdeM8eAhz8cRICe3FZRflJNLip59FmEATjWaYErFqxDGRhZL-gBE_aem_7et1r5q3tCqFK9UOMNCPlQ