Jiulong Baguazhang or "Nine Dragon" Baguazhang. The Li Family Baguazhang method, as taught by Dr. John P. Painter (PhD). The essence of Baguazhang is move, flow and change continuously without pause. The basic training consists of holding specific upper body positions while walking in lines and circles. Sharing certain principles with other internal arts, Baguazhang differs primarily in its emphasis on circle walking, active stepping, and defending against multiple opponents. Jiulong Baguazhang's effective teaching methodology makes the art ideal for modern lifestyle. Concise lessons provide you with the tools you need for success. Joshua Craig has been authorized by the Jiulong Baguazhang Association to lead seminars and classes in this method. Here is what you will learn:                                       • Seated Meditation                                       • Taoist Yoga                                       • Standing Qigong                                       • Shifting Drills for Connection and Power                                       • Linear Walking Drills                                       • Circular Walking Drills                                       • Inside and Outside Turns                                       • Neutralizing Strikes                                       • Sensitivity Games                                       • Partner Drills The basis of whole body power is physical relaxation and skeletal alignment. Jiulong Baguazhang is known for its practical approach to combat. Dr. Painter and his instructors have spent many years refining the method in light of modern application, including offense versus knife, gun and multiple opponent scenarios. Though this is the case, the New York City study group is not a “combat school”. Yet, we do study the martial applications of the art. Why? Baguazhang was first and foremost a martial art. The health benefits of Baguazhang were of peripheral value…the greatest recognized “health benefit” of the time was that Baguazhang enabled you to live through combat! In the West the emphasis has changed. We are now living much longer and are looking for ways to enhance our lives and increase the vitality through which we live. Baguazhang offers us a great deal. However, the health benefits were the result of the martial practice. Without the martial applications it is difficult to replicate the conditions under which the liveliness, for which Baguazhang is known, developed. It is only by training in this way that we gain access to the health benefits we are looking for. Martial applications are a way of testing our physical relaxation and skeletal alignment - a form of progressive resistance training. Learning to relax under these conditions is immediately translated into our daily lives. Learning to remain aligned and in a position of power under these conditions translates into a more dynamic way of living. Practitioners of Jiulong Baguazhang find that, with consistent practice, they have an abundance of physical and mental energy and a greater capacity to deal with stress. All in all, dedicated practice of Jiulong Baguazhang gives you more energy than you put in - a true foundation for happiness. At the New York City study group you will learn vital self-defense techniques - awareness of potential danger, techniques of physical and verbal de-escalation, and tactics to deal with general aggression. The emphasis is on avoiding a confrontation when possible, defusing it when feasible, and escaping at all costs. After that, we work with lower intensity martial applications and partner work in order to enhance the physical relaxation and skeletal alignment that is the foundation of the art of Jiulong Baguazhang. How many days have you been alive? How many of those days have you spent fighting for your life against a determined attacker? How many days have you spent being stressed by work, illness, and/or family? If you find that you are stressed more often than you are in physical danger, then you might want to consider the situations in which you find yourself stressed to be the “enemies” and to learn how to efficiently deal with these attackers. Jiulong Baguazhang can benefit many areas of your life. If you are truly interested in combat, you have the option of studying with us in order to learn the foundation upon which the combative responses are built and then studying directly with the combat instructors at The Gompa - the Jiulong Baguazhang training center in Arlington, Texas. At The Gompa you will be placed in higher intensity environments that will demand much more of your body, mind and emotions. You will experience the adrenaline dump that accompanies being struck, thrown and locked with force. You will experience what it is like to lose. You will learn about yourself under the most adverse of conditions. Can you take out an opponent who is (or opponents who are) attacking you? Can you escape to safety? The only way to ensure this is to train under these conditions. Form work will not do this. Heavy-bag work will not do this. Only in working with living, progressively resistant opponents will you gain the experience of your own actions and reactions necessary to survive. I have only used my physical martial arts skills “for real” six (6) times in the last fifteen (15) years. I hope to never have to use them again. This mindset does not make me a suitable combat instructor. I have recovered from a pedestrian hit and run and developed a larger capacity to enjoy my life. All from “martial practice”. This is what I have to share. Joshua Craig vi·tal·i·ty n 1. abundant physical and mental energy usually combined with a wholehearted and joyous approach to situations and activities 2. the ability of something to live and grow or to continue in existence 3. the nonmaterial force that, according to vitalism, distinguishes the living from the nonliving