Ask Dr. Jimberly: Starting your own Yin Style Baguazhang study group

As promised about ten days ago or so, I would get around to writing a second installment to an "Ask Dr. Jimberly" post, this time addressing the question of how to go about starting a study group for Yin Style Baguazhang in your neck of the woods. Here's the link to the original post, answering "Why the Lion System?" for those that are interested. Of course, these questions are overlapping to some degree, as I indicated in that earlier response. For reference, here is the text of the email that I was answering again:

I started with the lion dvd's several years back as that is what was recommended by ATS, but I am far more interested and physically inclined to the dragon system, so that's been my focus for the last year and a half or so. Also, I am trying to start up a study group in my area - what do I need to do to make such a group recognized by the YSB association at large?

In this post, I'm addressing only the part of this email indicated in italics, as the rest has been dealt with previously.


For creating your own study group, if you want to get recognized, then you have to pay your dues, so to speak.

Basically, there are a few things that have to happen before they'll recognize you officially:

1. You have to want it badly enough to suck up the rest of this list.
2. You have to have met He Jinbao (and Matt Bild) and proven to them your character for training, meaning your willingness to work and train hard. This is best accomplished at a workshop or intensive, even if you have to travel to make it happen. I'm part of the core of the Knoxville, TN, group, one of the more recently recognized, and I/we had to travel to New England for three seminars in three consecutive years before we got the "welcome aboard" stamp -- we just weren't good enough before that. The Florida group (St. Petersburg), I understand, was a bit quicker than we were. To make a long story short: You have to go to some of the workshops where they already are and put out high quality effort at them. You don't have to be awesome, but you have to work hard, try hard, and show honest intention to get better. Then, when they see you again, you need to have improved. This is the absolute most important aspect of the process. [Tip: Some practitioners find it very useful to set aside a certain amount out of every paycheck or a certain amount at other regular or irregular intervals into their training fund/account. Setting up this kind of system makes it far more likely that you'll be able to afford training at a seminar or intensive when they come. You might have to save for two years to get to Beijing, but you could make it happen that way.]
3. You'll want to start organizing a study group, even if it's informal. Obviously, you can't be recognized as a group if you don't have a group. Find some like-minded folks to study the videos with you and make the best of it together. Try to attend workshops as a group, if possible. Having several people is kind of a minimum requirement, but it isn't going to ensure anything.
4. Train hard and often, daily, in fact. You have got to make improvements to be considered serious and capable of teaching the art. That requires training and lots of it. You have also got to take the corrections that He Jinbao gives you very seriously and try to make real improvements on those areas. The officially recognized study groups are deemed those that are serious enough to be officially recognized. They are not casual entities, at least not about Yin Style training.
5. Try to arrange visits to existing groups even outside of seminar times. The more access to direct instruction that you can get, the better you'll get. This will translate into making improvements that are obvious, and it will allow you to network with those of us who have already made it happen, so we'll be able to assess you better and put in any good words that you earn and deserve. There are groups in many parts of the U.S. (complete U.S. list, here), and most folks are within several hours of one. All of the groups I'm aware of would be happy, with sufficient notice, to arrange something for someone that is serious about studying, training, and progressing in the art, so get the contacts and set something up. Then again, flights are about the same almost anywhere, so Ann Arbor is kind of the hub at the moment to consider. For my European comrades, I'd have to recommend a trip to London or Stockholm. Others of you out there, you might want to pool your resources into getting videos and then to an intensive in London or Beijing. Be aware that many intensives and workshops now have basic prerequisites, and so you should look into those on the Yin Style Baguazhang homepage or by contacting the seminar organizers and then equip yourself with the proper background materials so you don't waste everyone's time.
6. I'm going to tell you this again because it's so important: get to workshops, seminars, or intensives where you can train directly under He Jinbao. This cannot be understated in importance for the process of getting recognized (or even for getting your Yin Style Baguazhang training going properly).

Good luck to you with that! We (in Knoxville) did it blind, so we know it's possible even without help like this. These suggestions should hopefully make it all the quicker and smoother for you if you take them to heart!