The Long Form of Liu Hung Jie
The Long Form class is only available to those who have advanced sufficiently in the short form, and who are willing to put in the extra practise that is needed. It is not a drop in class.
The Wu Style Tai Chi Long Form contains the full internal development of Tai Chi - all of the 16 components of neigong. It takes twenty to thirty minutes to complete.
B. K. Frantzis learned this form from his Daoist lineage master, Liu Hung Jie. Liu lived and studied with Wu Jien Chuan, founder of the Wu Style, who made him a lineage disciple.
What makes this form different to others is that Liu transformed his Tai Chi practice into an authentic vehicle for Daoist Meditation. Although Tai Chi is often described as a form of moving meditation, genuine meditation was never practised in traditional Chen, Yang or Wu Tai Chi. Many people confuse the ability of all well-designed Tai Chi forms to promote relaxation and manage physical stress with actual meditation.
Liu Hung Jie spent his life in the study and practice of meditation, first Buddhist and then Daoist. After being declared enlightened by the Tien Tai Buddhist sect, Liu spent a decade in the mountains of Western China living and studying with Daoist masters. There he became the head of an important Daoist lineage.
While in the mountains, Liu learned long moving qigong forms. Some of these were similar in many respects to Tai Chi forms. These ancient Daoist long forms were designed as vessels for moving meditation. Having learned the specific energetic and meditation methods within them, Liu altered his Wu Style form to make it completely consistent with the energetic and meditation parameters of the Daoist long forms.
Unlike previous ages when the threat of physical violence was much more common, ours is an age of anxiety, where most people are under far more emotional and mental strain. This is why our focus in Daoist Internal Arts is primarily on health: firstly physical, but increasingly emotional and mental. This is where Liu Hung Jie’s Wu Style plays such a vital role. For as well as being a superb healing form, it has specific methods for managing emotional and mental stress.
Recommended reading
Frantzis, B. K., The Power of the Internal Martial Arts (Berkeley: North Atlantic Books, 1998).
Frantzis, B. K., Tai Chi: Health For Life (Berkeley: Frog Ltd., 2006). ISBN: 1583941444
Frantzis, B.K., Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body, 2nd edition (Berkeley: Blue Snake Books, 2006). ISBN 1-58394-146-0.