FlexEnergetics: Meihuaquan Fitness Methods

Based on several decades of teaching workshops, we have assembled a curriculum for FlexEnergetics that explores health and the body through the traditional Chinese health concepts of Jing, Qi, and Shen. The goal is simple: to "return to the original condition" (fanben huanyuan); that is to say to return to the original qi condition of a child. Children are flexible and have great vitality- their internal qi condition is one of unity. Thus the name of the course is based on the goal of training a Flexible body and an vibrant, calm mind based in an Energetic state of qi and shen.

Where:
New Dance Horizons
2207 Harvey Street
Regina, Saskatchewan 

When: 
Sundays 
February 23rd - March 29th
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM

Registration Fees:
Drop in: $15
Bundle: $75

Please call the office (306) 525-5393 or email events@newdancehorizons.ca for more information and to register!

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​About Flex Energetics

The 1.5 hour class of dynamic movement interspersed with meditative static positions is inspired by time-tested martial arts training regimes. The class begins with an invigorating warm-up incorporating breath training, followed by multi-dynamic functional movement in choreographed and improvised movement patterns that rely on low-stance body postures to simultaneously build strength and flexibility. Much of the training is undertaken on a field of over 30 wooden posts (25cm high). This method re-habituates the way we connect with the ground and move the body. Difficult to describe, but easy to feel, the training is an exploration of the Jing, Qi, and Shen aspects of your body.

The training goal: self-directed practice arranged according to the flow of one's 'qi' energetic condition, embodying a meditative quality. By releasing the body through large postures, blockages and inhibitions are removed from the body which in turn give rise to a stronger energetic flow. The energetic flow, in turn, strengthens the physical body and nurtures a stronger mind, clearer focus, and enhanced energetic state. The training creates a personal workout that leaves you feeling energized, coordinated, mentally engaged, and stronger. This approach is a foundational method of Meihuaquan and is, generally, very much unlike the training methods of other forms of kung-fu.


About Meihuaquan（梅花拳）

Meihuaquan（梅花拳）, also called Meihuazhuang (梅花桩), is one of many Chinese traditional internal martial arts (often known as “kung-fu”) perhaps more easily understood to Western people as bearing some similarity to Taijiquan. While everyone has heard of Taijiquan, or the more vigorous "external" training of Shaolin quan, very few people have heard of Meihuaquan which arose in the 17th century, much earlier than most martial arts so well-known today. The fact that meihuaquan is so little-known is rather ironic as it was, according to my field research in north China over a 30 year period, the most widespread and popular martial art on the north China plain. I estimate that it has several million followers. Theory: Stresses of the modern world cause a distinct body-mind disconnection in which the qi energetic state of the body is scattered leading to low energy and diminished physical skill. Training on posts with attention to breath requires full concentration leading to a recollection of qi,  grounding the body, and enhanced physical capacity. Training will relax the shoulders to allow weight to sink, adjusting and monitoring breath to relax the body and mind, and release tension. Working with the eyes and lines of sight, Meihuaquan aspires to train the ‘shen’ or mental acuity to coordinate with movement of the body. These integrated processes clear scattered thoughts out of their minds and liberate movement.

​Practice: Exploration of partially improvised movement patterns while standing on posts serve to ground the body, drop weight through the legs, and use the corresponding upward spring of force for movement of the body and arms. 
Much of the training will involve various patterns of walking on the posts to sense the drop of weight, feel the "collection" that occurs on each step as the weight is transferred.  Some of the work will explore how the body weight rises and sinks with steps, jumping, and kicking while on the ground and on posts. This form of training quite naturally develops an attuned sense of balance, deepens flexibility, strength, and improvisational skills that lead to energetic, unrestricted movement.​