Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Knoxville, TN, Oct. 20-23

I hold a special place in my heart and on my blog for the Knoxville, TN, visit of the Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, taught by He Jinbao! It's home! Our U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level. In Knoxville, though our training will actually take place in Maryville, just south of Knoxville, we look forward to a great seminar this year. Any and all are welcome! Definitely come see us and train with us! I'd like to extend a special invitation to any and all martial artists in the Knoxville area that want to experience real baguazhang, want to deepen the fighting arts they already practice, and that want to learn practical fighting techniques of awesome effectiveness... plus all the ones that really like hard, old-school drilling for skill.

The curriculum will be on the chopping, hooking, seizing, and grasping palms of the Lion System, and as mentioned before, it will be at an intermediate level, so while it isn't required, some familiarization with the Lion System will be very helpful. Consider getting the foundational videos to prep yourself, which can be found on a link on this post of mine about getting started in Yin Style.


The drilling in our home seminar will include standing strengthening, basic strikes, strike combinations, footwork, striking while stepping, and forms, all presented with applications. In addition, there will be circle turning practice, including basic directions-changing drilling in both the Lion representational posture. Each day's training in Knoxville will finish up with some footwork and kicking methods of the Monkey System, including a form.

Each day is, as in previous years, broken into two sessions, morning and afternoon, with a 90-minute break for lunch between them. The morning session will last from 8:00 am until 12:00 noon, and the afternoon session runs from 1:30 pm until 6:00 pm.

This year's Knoxville, TN, workshop will last for four days, October 20-23, a Thursday through Sunday, organized similarly to the other seminars. More specific details of the days go like this:

Thursday, October 20

• Lion and chopping palm standing strengthening 
• Chopping strikes and combinations with and without footwork 
• Applications will follow, then lunch.
• After lunch chopping and hooking standing strengthening will be trained
• As will hooking strikes and combinations with and without footwork and applications
• Bending kick methods from the Monkey System finish the day

On Friday, October 21

• Lion circle turning with direction changes 
• Drilling the crushing moving with the force chopping form, including drilling basic strikes from it
• Applications will follow, then lunch 
• After lunch the surprising enfolding hooking with basic strikes will be drilled, emphasizing footwork
• Applications of the forms
• Monkey System stomping kicks

On Saturday, October 22

• Lion and seizing palm standing strengthening
• Seizing strikes and combinations with and without footwork
• Applications will follow, then lunch.
• After lunch seizing and grasping palm standing strengthening will be trained
• As will grasping strikes and combinations with and without footwork and applications
• Hip and springing leg kicking from the Monkey System finishes the day.

On Sunday, October 23

• Lion circle turning with direction changes
• Drilling the subtle and powerful holding and lifting seizing form, including drilling basic strikes
• Applications follow, then lunch 
• After lunch drilling the brutal turning the back grasping form with basic strikes, emphasizing footwork
• Applications of the forms
• Monkey System form

To get yourself arranged for the YSB-2011-KxTN stop, contact Bradley Moore for further details, including cost and location. We'd absolutely love to have you there!