Beautiful dawn Tai Chi and Qigong videos featuring the magnificent San Francisco Fog, Marin Headlands, and Sifu Jensen are heading your way. The last two weeks have seen the maniacs behind 10,000 Victories heading out before dawn to grab the first rays of sunlight.
Although there are only four maniacs on the film crew including Sifu Jensen, Rachel Jensen, Sean Lim, and Noah Tartarsky-Omarzu, and not 10,000, we have achieved some stunningly beautiful results including all the different Qigong methods taught by Sifu Jensen at the 10,000 Victories School. We have also recorded an incredible 17 minute long Tai Chi Form and 10 minute Post Standing Qigong at dawn as sunlight dramatically pierces the fog. This wonderful performance is having a soundtrack created by Jacob Musselman to enhance its beautifully uplifting imagery. Truly you will feel like you are in mystical cloud realm isolated from the trials of the normal world breathing pure air full of life. All of these pieces are in the process of being added to the 10,000 Victories Online Academy. A few will find their way to YouTube!
Northern Shaolin Recordings Too!
If our magical dawn Tai Chi and Qigong sessions aren’t enough, we have also had our first four recording sessions on the Northern Shaolin system taught by Wong Jackman. So far, we have recorded instructional lessons on three classical combat oriented Kung Fu routines or forms. The first is known as Lian Bu or Linking Steps. This is a foundation footwork and leg strength form the features powerful strikes and throws for self-defense. Lian Bu is a famous form taught by many Northern Chinese Kung Fu teachers. In addition to Grandmaster Wong Jackman, Grandmaster Liu Wan Fu also taught Lian Bu to both his Lan Shou Quan, or Arresting Hands, and Xing Yi Quan, or Form and Will Boxing students. For Lian Bu we recorded both the movements and many of the self-defense applications. Sifu Joseph Vigneri was Sifu Jensen’s partner for the self defense demonstrations.
In addition to recording Lian Bu, we have also recorded Xiao Yuan or Small Circles and Beng Po, or Exploding Step, from the Seven Star Praying Mantis System of Kung Fu. Xiao Yuan is not actually a Northern Shaolin form. Grandmaster Wong Jackman taught Xiao Yuan as a supplementary form to help prepare students for Northern Shaolin. Xiao Yuan is about the same length as Lian Bu but contains more complex and smaller circular movements than Lian Bu. Northern Shaolin forms are quite difficult to learn and practice without some preparation. Xiao Yuan has great choreography and that old school Kung Fu feeling we all love.
Beng Po or Exploding Steps is the main form of Praying Mantis Kung Fu. The founder of Praying Mantis Kung Fu only created a single hand form, Beng Po. Later generations created all the other hand forms. In truth most Praying Mantis Kung Fu hand forms are relatively recent and only four total hail from the ancient period. After the founder passed his students created their own lineages of Praying Mantis and these include the Seven Star Praying Mantis, Six Harmonies Praying Mantis, Eight Steps Praying Mantis, Tai Chi Mantis, and Southern Praying Mantis branches. Our version of Beng Po is from the Seven Stars lineage. Wong Jackman, in typical Ching Wu Association fashion, taught a curated mix of the best
of the traditional combat oriented Kung Fu to his students surrounding the classical Northern Shaolin system with other styles that each taught additional skills and had important historical connections.
Beng Po is the longest and best form in the Seven Star Praying Mantis Style. Every style of Praying Mantis Kung Fu contains a version of this form. If you learn this form and practice it well, you will get a solid grasp of the special skills and strategy of the deadly Praying Mantis style.
Next, we will record the self-defense applications for each of these forms and then move onto all the other Northern Shaolin forms quickly!