Knoxville, Tennessee, Yin Style Bagua seminar with He Jinbao, Success!

This is just a quick post to follow up with the rest of the commentary on the Yin Style Bagua Facebook page regarding the Fall Tour workshop in Knoxville this year. More details on a personal level are to come. In the meantime, interested parties should check out the Facebook page and see the photos from our awesome workshop.

Knoxville, TN Workshop - Day 2

First circle walking was trained to improve footwork and agility. Three foundational direction changes - or strikes carried out while circling around an opponent for position - were taught. The moving with the force chopping and enfolding hooking strike combination forms were taught; the objective being to combine various types of body movement and footwork with strikes. These combinations were then applied in partner drills to reinforce accuracy and gaining advantageous position when fighting. Kicks and their setups were trained to finish out the day.

Knoxville, TN Workshop - Day 3

Six foundational attacks from the Lion system seizing and grasping grappling attack methods were taught. Each technique was drilled to develop body coordination, waist power, and tight integration with strikes during use. Partnered applications of the holds and locks were then trained to develop accuracy and smoothness in technique during combat. We finished out the day with a variety of kicking drills.

Knoxville, TN Workshop - Day 4

First circle walking was trained to improve footwork and agility. Three foundational direction changes - or strikes carried out while circling around an opponent - were reviewed. The holding & lifting seizing and turning the back grasping attack combination forms were taught; the objective being to combine various types of body movement and footwork with grappling attacks. These techniques were then applied in partner drills to reinforce accuracy. A form showing set ups for knee attacks was trained then applied in partner drills to finish out the day.

As always, I'd like to extend a huge thank you to He Jinbao and Matt Bild for making it happen and doing such a great job with it.

For everyone out there that wasn't here, you really missed out. You need to make your plans now to attend next year and see to making it happen.

Yin Style Bagua Knoxville seminar with He Jinbao, Day 1

This is lifted from the Yin Style Bagua Facebook page. Check it out if you haven't already. Anyway, our first day was awesome, as the post indicates! Local fighters and martial artists, come see what all the fuss is about and train hard like a superman!

Knoxville, TN, Workshop - Day 1

Isometric strengthening postures were trained to develop improved circulation and muscular strength. Three foundational strikes each from the Lion system chopping and hooking strike attack methods were then taught. Each technique was drilled to develop body coordination and waist power when striking. The strikes were then paired with various types of footwork and drilled for power while moving. Partnered applications of the strikes in various combinations were then trained to show changes in technique during combat. Emphasis was placed on tight integration of footwork to set up proper position and support technique.

He Jinbao and Yin Style Baguazhang International in Knoxville next week!!!

By this time next week, some of the toughest men and (hopefully) women in Knoxville will be finishing up with dinner and getting ready for an early bedtime after one of the hardest days of martial arts training in their lives. Yin Style Baguazhang International is coming to Knoxville again, for the third year in a row, and the workshop taught by incredible martial artist He Jinbao kicks off bright and early at 8:00 am next Thursday, October 20. Local martial artists that haven't yet decided to take advantage of this awesome opportunity to improve their fighting skills are highly encouraged to do so! If you live near enough to Knoxville to be able to make it, then don't miss it!

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: St. Petersburg, FL, Oct. 27-30

Although no one needs an extra excuse to visit beautiful St. Petersburg, FL, this year's Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, tour stop, taught by He Jinbao, gives us all one more reason to head to the sub-tropics. This U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level, like the seminar in Knoxville the week before, featuring different material so that those with the opportunity to hit both stops definitely should!

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.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Berlin, CT, Oct. 13-16

The Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, is coming to Berlin, CT, near Hartford! Like the other seminars on the 2011 tour circuit, it will be taught by He Jinbao. It makes the fourth U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International and features the Phoenix System at an intermediate level, getting into some of the deeper material including the subtle and effective transforming palm striking methods.

Like all of the Fall Tour stops, the Connecticut stop is open to anyone and everyone that is interested in attending. The curriculum will cover the dodging, extending, shocking, and transforming palms of the Phoenix System, and as mentioned before, it will be at an intermediate level, so while it isn't required, some familiarization with the Phoenix System or Yin Style in general 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.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Haverhill, MA, Oct. 6-9

The second visit of the Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, to Haverhill, MA, just north of Boston, taught by He Jinbao, is less than a month away! This third U.S. Fall Tour stop this year by YSB, International features the  Lion System at an intermediate level. Here practitioners will have a great opportunity to deepen their understanding of the foundational system of Yin Style Baguazhang.

Like all of the Fall Tour stops, the Massachusetts stop is open to anyone and everyone that is interested in attending. The curriculum will be on the shocking, blocking, 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.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: Boulder, CO, Sept. 29-Oct.2

The Boulder, CO, Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, workshop with He Jinbao is right around the corner now, starting in just three weeks! The Tour stop in Colorado is the second U.S. Fall Tour this year by YSB, International, and it features the Phoenix System at a foundational level. That means that people that are new to the art or that want to expand their training outside of the Lion System need to be looking toward the Rockies to get a taste of this fast, whirling animal that emits whip-like power from the shoulder.

Volume ladder training protocol for massive development

There is a particular key to training a martial art well, and that key is repetition. In Yin Style Baguazhang, things are no different, and as every practitioner knows, massive repetitions of the basic drills and exercises are expected and required to move forward. Of course, these repetitions cannot be performed blindly if development is desired; there must a be a constant endeavor to improve coupled with smart training techniques and constant refinement. Still, doing huge numbers of repetitions is a daunting task that can begin to feel like grinding, possibly leading to burnout, stagnant training, or frustration. A bodybuilding protocol called the "volume ladder" can be implemented, however, to help with this situation.

Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour 2011: San Fancisco, CA, Sept. 22-25, 2011

The San Francisco, CA, Yin Style Baguazhang Fall Tour, 2011 edition, workshop with He Jinbao is less than a month away, and it will officially kick of the U.S. Fall Tour this year by YSB, International. Those people interested in experiencing real baguazhang first-hand and doing so with the lineage holder of a very respectable system in the art should pay close attention to this one. Not to make it sound too much like an advertisement, if you've had interest in baguazhang, Chinese martial arts in general, or Yin Style in specific but don't know the first thing about it, this is the seminar for you!