Robert returns this winter to teach more material from his teacher, Master Wang Hao Da. Students who attended any of this past Cloud Hands workshops will already be somewhat familiar with this material, but now Robert will teach this set in full.

Master Wang's Zhong Ding (Central Channel) exercises are similar to Gods Playing in the Clouds, but there are some interesting differences. The exercises involve a lot of turning around the zhong ding and some involve shifting and stepping.  Practicing this way cultivates the primary separation of yin & yang energy by loosening the tissue around the bones and zhong ding.  Some of the movements appear the same as Gods (or close) and are practiced in a similar manner, dissolving through the length of the zhong ding for example, but they have more focus on drumming the chi.  The exercises range from simple circular patterns to utilizing more complex timing. The last exercise in the set, which integrates the left/right channels with the central channel, even requires moving the channels in different rhythms.

The evening sessions, Monday through Wednesday, will expand and incorporate the zhong ding material into tai chi. As describe in the Tai Chi Classics as "flow like a great river and still like a mountain", the primary stepping method in tai chi is zhong ding, the four others are variations.  The real beauty of understanding zhong ding as a stepping method is that it incorporates the power and stability of the central channel in movement.  It brings together what you do mechanically, energetically and mentally through each of the three components in tai chi, cross-body, left right channel and central channel.  It teaches how proper body mechanics are reinforced by the energetics and provides a very precise foundation for footwork, alignment, stepping and shifting.
 
We explored some of these stepping methods in Cloud Hands last year, but with a fuller exploration of the zhong ding exercises over the weekend, this time is sure to reveal much more depth.

Workshop Details

You can sign up for the weekend (Saturday and Sunday) or the full event (weekend plus 3 evenings). Class times are:

Saturday, Feb 20: 2-6pm
Sunday, Feb 21: 10am-1pm and 3-5pm
Monday, Feb 22: 6:30-9:30pm
Tuesday, Feb 23: 6:30-9:30pm
Wednesday, Feb 24: 6:30-9:30pm

Register for the Whole Event, $340
Register for the Weekend Only, $180