Enhance your treatment by adding your choice of any the following to your massage therapy session (you can choose to add one, 2, 3, or all 4 to your session):
💠 EO Aromatherapy – your choice of Essential Oil Aromatherapy blend
💠 PRO Enhancement – scented Pain Relieving Oil or Cream
💠 Cupping – use silicone cups to create negative pressure to release tension
💠 DTR – Deep Tension Relief Percussive Theragun
Share the Wisdom! 🙏🏻
Referral Discounts: $20 Discount off 1 Month’s Membership Tuition fees for referring a new student to enroll in classes, and a $20 Discount to the new Student that you refer for their first month!
The referral discount also applies to massage services at Mace Martial Arts: our massage clients receive a $20 referral discount for their next massage service each time a new client schedules with us by their recommendation, and the referred client also gets a $20 referral discount for their first massage session! Also, Mace Martial Arts students are welcome to a $20 discount towards one massage service per month. Likewise, our massage clients are welcome to get the $20 referral discount for their first month of trying a Mace Martial Arts membership!
The $20 referral discount also applies to healing sessions with Tetana at Phoenix Rising PLLC — our martial arts students and massage clients receive a $20 referral discount for their first healing session with Tetana (* mental health counseling not included in referral discount), and her clients receive a $20 referral discount for their first month Membership, or private lesson, or massage session at Mace Martial Arts and Massage Therapy.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Schedule Any Massage Service with Dennis Mace, LMT in September to get $30 Off ANY Massage!
*Plus get a FREE 30min Sauna Session!
This Offer is only Good Thru September – Don’t Miss Out!
(Offer good for 1 free sauna session per client, $30 off good thru Sept. 30th)
Dennis Mace, LMT, Bagua Zhang Instructor, Licensed Massage Therapist, owner at Vajra Visions – Mace Martial Arts
Meet Dennis Mace, Massage Therapist at Be Well Spa!
Friendly, compassionate and respectful, Dennis is committed to helping each of his clients relieve tension and pain to feel rejuvenated and achieve your optimal potential health.
Dennis was first introduced to massage therapy and other healing practices through his life path in the martial arts, and views health care and martial arts as flip sides of the same coin.
Dennis completed his massage therapy training with honors at Everest College -Seattle in 2010, specializing in Sports Massage. More recently, Dennis expanded his training by completing an intensive 100 CEU medical massage course, Advanced Pain Management Therapies, from Living Metta (February through June, 2022).
Dennis connects with each client’s particular needs, and integrates a seamless flow of Myofascial Release, Swedish Massage, Lomi Lomi, Tui-Na, Deep Tissue treatment, Thai and Sports Massage to support your process of healing in a way that feels both soothing and rejuvenating.
Originally from Omaha, NE, Dennis relocated to the Seattle area in 1999, and with the exception of living in Asia for a couple years, he considers the Pacific Northwest his home in paradise. A devoted husband and father, Dennis lives with his family in Everett, WA, where he also teaches Qigong and Bagua Zhang Kung Fu.
Dennis Mace is relocating his massage therapy practice, & Tetana Adkins Mace is launching her Mental Health Practice at Phoenix Rising Therapy PLLC! 🐉🦅
Bagua Zhang Massage Therapy 🐉💆🏻♂️👐🏼
Dennis Mace, LMT will be relocating his massage therapy practice starting in September 2022!
In addition to being the Bagua Zhang Instructor at MaceMartialArts, I am also a Licensed Massage Therapist, available by request at Be Well Massage Spa in Mukilteo, WA.
Over the years, I have discovered how incorporating Bagua Zhang principles into my massage therapy practice has helped enhance effective treatment work, as well as having a more rejuvenating experience both for my clients and myself.
My Bodywork Style: my goal is to connect with each client’s particular needs to help support your process of healing and relaxation.
My approach and modalities of practice integrates a seamless flow of Myofascial Release, Swedish Massage, Lomi-Lomi, Tui-Na, Deep-Tissue, Thai and Sports Massage, so that I can help release deeper tension and pain in a way that feels both soothing and rejuvenating.
I completed my massage therapy training with honors at Everest College – Seattle in 2010, specializing in Sports Massage.
More recently, I expanded my healthcare training by completing an intensive 100 CEU medical massage course, Advanced Pain Management Therapies, from Living Metta (February through June, 2022).
If you need to relax and ease some pain, request Dennis Mace when you schedule your appointment with me by contacting the
To schedule an appointment for a massage with me, please call or text the Be Well Massage Spa at +1 (425) 381-3866.
Phoenix Rising Mental Health Therapy 🦅💫
Tetana Adkins Mace, LMHC, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Reiki Practitioner and owner at Phoenix Rising Therapy PLLC
My wife, Tetana Adkins Mace, LMHC is starting her own Mental Healthcare practice — Phoenix Rising Therapy PLLC — we all have challenges, and sometimes expert therapy is what we need to heal from traumatic experiences and insight to help us break through what’s holding us back.
Tetana is accepting new clients at this time for mental health therapy, Reiki and other healings, if you are interested please see her website Phoenix Rising Therapy PLLC.
Phoenix Rising Therapy PLLC
Mental and emotional trauma affect our bodies, just as physical trauma can affect our mental and emotional well-being.
We will be collaborating and discussing this topic in more detail in future articles and classes, stay tuned!
Accepting New Bagua Zhang Students at the Mace Martial Arts WuGuan! 🐉
Bagua Zhang Demo video from June 2022
We have space for a couple more in-person students for group classes at our new WuGuan, message us if you’re interested in learning Bagua Zhang Kung Fu!
Please RSVP to all classes you plan to attend, to confirm location and schedule.
Space limited to 5 students per class for in-person training — please message ahead to confirm your spot!
We also have times available for private lessons if the group classes do not work for your schedule.
For students joining remotely via Zoom, we can host classes for up to 100 participants on our Zoom account.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Breathe Life into your Bagua Zhang Kung Fu Practice — in every aspect of training — the deeper and longer your breath the better! 🐉
This will enhance your focus and whole body awareness for more invigorating exercise, and encourage you to breathe more vitality into every aspect of your life, to be more aware, connected and fully engaged!
We often find that shallow breathing is both a result and cause of stress, tension, pain, withdrawal and fatigue.
I see this reflected in both martial arts and in my massage practice — most people have very shallow breathing, and as result are distracted and disconnected from their bodies and what’s going on around them.
This is why I encourage my massage clients to breathe deeper to release tension and pain, and inspire my martial arts students to to breathe deeper to be more present and aware, as well as to reveal their potential and empower them.
Consciously focused deeper breathing is the critical bridge that helps build our awareness of ourselves and taps our potential for healing, growth and creativity. Consciously focusing and coordinating your breathing with your movement is the most obvious and powerful secret hidden in plain sight, because it’s an aspect of life most people take for granted and ignore.
Some of the most essential lessons in training martial arts is enhancement of awareness and sensitivity, both of oneself, one’s environment and in relation to others.
Proprioception is the awareness of ourselves in relation to our surroundings.
This kinesthetic awareness is sometimes referred to as our “sixth sense.” Most of the physical training in martial arts — partner drills, basics and supplemental exercises, forms, equipment training and weapons practice — enhance our sense of proprioception. Distance, balance, timing (our timing and coordination with an opponent’s timing), reflexes and connection are all aspects of proprioception.
Interoception is our awareness of our inner processes.
Interoception encompasses all the physiological tissues that relay signals to the central nervous system about the state of the body. Disconnection from the body’s signals and internal states may be related to anxiety, depression, PTSD, autism and other disorders.
The internal training in martial arts — standing and sitting meditation, Qigong, silk-reeling exercises — moving from the inside — develops our sense of interception.
Our inner-awareness, or interoception, informs and enhances our sense of proprioception.
Deeper breathing invigorates us, increases our focus and awareness — linking our awareness of the inside and outside of our bodies — as well as our awareness of others and our surroundings.
An often overlooked aspect of “Internal” Martial Arts training is inner-work: meaning working on your emotional and mental health and well being. This is in fact one of the most important aspects of our training. Chinese medicine has long recognized the interconnected relationship between balanced emotional states and specific internal organs.
Mental and emotional trauma affect our bodies, just as physical trauma can affect our mental and emotional well-being.
We will be discussing this topic in more detail in future articles and classes, stay tuned!
New WuGuan Opening this Spring! 🐉
Work in progress — almost finished!
Classes returning at our new WuGuan opening this month, on Saturday, April 23rd!
Since moving last November, we’ve been busy settling into our new home and renovating our garage into our new WuGuan. Five busy months later, we are excited to return to training together!
Bagua Zhang Classes are held on
◊ Saturdays 11am-12:30pm
◊ Sundays 11am-12:30pm
◊ Thursdays 7pm-8pm
at:
Towns at Riverfront
(Please register for classes for address)
Everett, WA
United States
Please RSVP to all classes you plan to attend, to confirm location and schedule.
Space limited to 5 students per class for in-person training — please message ahead to confirm your spot!
For students joining remotely via Zoom, we can host classes for up to 100 participants on our Zoom account.
As the mask mandate from the COVID-19 Pandemic lifted on March 11th, masks will be optional for in-person classes. Students will have the option of wearing a mask in classes with the expectation that other’s choices will be responsible and respectful. Proof of vaccinations are strongly encouraged but no longer required for students with medical exceptions. 💉🦠😷
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
How long do you have to train, and how often until I get a black belt/sash? 🥋
Will Kung-Fu make my eyebrows grow? 😳
Belt ranking systems are very recent in martial arts history, first instituted just over a century ago by Judo founder Jigoro Kano to help students learn with a structured curriculum, originally just with white belt ‘Kyu’ grades and black belt ‘dan’ grades; karate schools in Okinawa and Japan adopted Judo’s belt ranking system in the 1920’s and soon proliferated to other martial arts, and added a rainbow of colored belts afterwards. 🌈
While a few Chinese martial arts have very recently adopted belt ranking systems, most still don’t, where ranking has historically been structured around familial hierarchies.
In the last 50 years, the mystique of “black belts” has been widely blown out of proportion in popular culture — what was originally intended to be a measure of learned skills over years of grueling practice — has in some instances become the delusional projection of a few teachers’ inflated egos and exploitive marketing gimmicks. 🤑
The key is to realize actual Mastery is a path — not a destination, belt color or certificate.
Nor does Kung-Fu require 6 inch eyebrows.
Once you take a step down the path, you realize Kung-Fu is a lifestyle, a prerogative of living artfully — progressively learning, growing and polishing yourself to discover how your art is reflected in all aspects of your life.
When do you start?
Now.
How often should you practice?
Start with carving out a few minutes every day to build a constructive habit — eventually up to a few hours a day — but the real goal is to practice “24-7”.
Every minute of every day.
“How is that possible?!?” you ask?
The “secret” Key to Mastery, and Kung Fu, is to creatively find ways to practice your art in every living moment.
“24-7” requires a prerogative shift to realize that every moment is an opportunity to cultivate your art and polish yourself.
This not only improves your skill and health, it also inspires you to enhance the quality of your entire life!
“But, I don’t have the time for ______ …
I have to wait until _____ to start… I need to ______ first… I can’t do that anymore because _______ … I won’t be any good unless I can practice _____ hours a day…”
Pay attention to when your plans and goals become excuses to avoid living your life to the fullest. Small actionable steps are better than over-planning, so that you are making gradual progress to achieving your goals.
Get out of your own way!
Mastery and Kung-Fu is about living your life artfully, being totally present and mindful, being in a State of Grace.
Remember, there is literally no other time than the present — the past is only a memory and the future is only a dream.
If you work a desk job, “Ti Ding Bai Hui” (“hoist and penetrate upwards with the crown of your head”), open armpits, stretch open the joints of your body to cultivate liveliness and respiration that breaks up tedium to inspiration!
If you’re driving, you can practice deep breathing to calm your mind, and “Ting Jin” (“listening”, extending your senses to feel all around you) to center yourself and enhance your awareness of other drivers and road conditions.
When you’re eating a meal, appreciate the feeling of nutrients re-energizing your body and mind.
If you are in a waiting room before an appointment, imagine a “Mini-Me” version of yourself in your center of gravity, your Xia Dantian, practicing your forms and self-defense applications.
The possibilities are as limitless as your own creativity and potential!
Listen to your body and intuition as you train and develop yourself.
Test your limits, push to the edge of your capacity, that you may always keep learning and growing.
Listen to your own desires, passions, cravings and needs, to set your own boundaries, and chart your own path in life.
Kung-Fu (功夫 Gōngfū) literally means the effort and time devoted to the development of artistic skills that translate into enhancing your quality of life on all levels.
Kung-Fu is not only some physical exercise, or self-defense training — it is how to dig deep into who you are, working through the pain, trauma, guilt, shame and sense of worth.
To work through all of these obstacles, challenges and opportunities to discover your potential, what heals and inspires you, so that you can develop your own personal talents, gifts and purpose.
To chase your dreams.
Self realization.
It requires dedication and perseverance to realize there is no final level or limitation.
You must face your fears and your pains and let go of all that you love and fear to lose.
Every day.
In every thing you do.
Lastly, while practicing, remember: follow your passions and listen to your own discernment, “Never take criticism from someone you wouldn’t go to for advice.”
Likewise, “Don’t let anyone who hasn’t walked in your shoes tell you how to tie your laces.”
Bagua Zhang Massage 🐉👐🏼🌀💫
I’ve been practicing Bagua Zhang during my massage sessions with my clients…
“Wait – What? You beat up your clients?”
Well, not literally! 😜
As an example of my own Kung Fu path, I’ve been discovering how integrating Bagua Zhang principles with the various modalities of massage therapy I’ve learned thus far is continually enhancing and refining both my massage therapy practice, and my martial arts practice simultaneously, and surprisingly how much it benefits both my clients and myself, reciprocally. ☯️♾
The dynamics of continuous flow, concentric coils and spirals, increased awareness and sensitivity apply just as effectively and efficiently to massage therapy as they do to self defense.
The same principles of structure and spiraling movement enhance circulation and relaxation of excess tension to melt away pain. 💆🏻♂️🌀
Transferring Massage Practice to Everett 💆🏻♂️🌀
“Vision is the gift to see what others only dream”
Since moving from Shoreline, WA to Everett, WA in November, I have recently also transferred my massage practice from the Massage Envy in Shoreline to the Massage Envy in Everett.
To schedule an appointment for a massage with me, please call or text the Everett Massage Envy at +1 (425) 353-5000.
Grand Reopening Lunar New Year — Year of the Tiger 🐅
Since moving in November from Shoreline to Everett, WA, it’s taking longer than expected to unpack, we’re still clearing stuff out before we can paint and set up mats and equipment in the garage to turn it into our new WuGuan.
While I originally hoped to reopen in January — and although we’ve made a lot of progress, we’ve had to reassess and postpone.
At this point we’re planning our Grand Reopening at the new WuGuan on/around Lunar New Year, February 5th, 2022, Year of the Tiger! 🐅 🧧
Take care and stay tuned for updates!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
While going over martial applications practice earlier this year, one of my students asked a good question: do we step backwards in Bagua Zhang?
Technically and strategically, the answer is no — in Bagua Zhang, we learn how to pivot around oncoming attacks, turn aside or around to flank and generate turning force, then continue flowing and moving forward.
Circular Stepping in Bagua Zhang solo forms practice starts counter-clockwise, then changes to clockwise, changing back and forth, mirroring cycles of transformation in nature.
But Bagua doesn’t go backwards. Why?
Several martial arts systems incorporate backwards stepping and movements to draw an opponent off balance. While this tactic can be effective, it is always risky to give an opponent your ground. In combat, when one of the combatants is stepping backwards, it’s often because they’re injured, reeling and trying to disengage — this is usually the beginning of the end of the fight.
But in Bagua Zhang training, the concept is to adapt to situations and challenges and keep moving on, going with the flow, taking ground without hesitation or breaking momentum or strength.
Whirling Step
In our branch of Bagua Zhang, we practice a rare stepping method called Whirling Step, which utilizes wrapping and sweeping techniques when turning and changing directions — then continuing to forge ahead to take ground and new opportunities.
This applies to more than just self-defense and combat strategy.
Like cycles of seasons, patterns repeat, but time keeps moving forward, as our planet Earth keeps spinning forward, around the Sun, as our solar system spins along the outer rim of the Milky Way Galaxy…
🌎💫🌌
The past is a memory, the future is a dream, but the present is a gift. 🎁
If we think about the past too much, be it from grief, trauma, or longing for glory days, we stay stuck in the past, and stagnate. Reflecting on our experiences is necessary to learn from them, especially with our traumas and losses — yet to heal and grow, we must stay present to face our challenges, embrace opportunities and forge ahead. 🐉
We’re Moving! 🐉
Speaking of forging ahead, we are moving!
After 3 years in Shoreline, our family has sought opportunities further North, and we are in the process of moving into our new home in Everett, WA.
I will be taking time off from teaching over the next month to rebuild our WuGuan at our new home. There’s a lot to do!
Starting in January 2022, Bagua Zhang classes will be resume at
Towns at Riverfront
(Please register for classes for address)
Everett, WA
United States
Stay tuned for updates and class start dates!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Special Offer for all Workshop attendees: Workshop fees will count towards September Membership dues for Mace Martial Arts classes!
In this workshop you will discover the 4 Main Principles that distinguish Bagua Zhang from other martial arts systems, in theory and hands-on practice!
Training Methods/exercises for the workshop will include the hands-on ‘how and why’ Bagua Zhang works, including both real-world self-defense and health benefits.
Practitioners of all experience levels and other styles of martial arts are welcome!
If you have previously studied Bagua Zhang before, this workshop will help you understand the system on a foundational level and breathe life into your practice!
Masks are required tonight for all attendees! 😷
In King County, as of August 23, masks are required for everyone in public indoor spaces, and recommended in crowded outdoor settings.
Instructor: Shifu Dennis Mace, LMThas been training and teaching holistic Martial Arts and Qi-Gong since 1982. His thorough, hands on approach, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and his commitment to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment has contributed to his widespread popularity in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Starting this month, August 2021, we are changing the start time for Saturday group classesfrom 11:30am to 11am, for consistency (same start time as Sunday group classes). To clarify, here are the updated class times:
Bagua Zhang Classes
Saturdays 11am – 12:30pm PST
Sundays 11am -12:30pm PST
Thursday evenings 7pm – 8pm PST
at:
1108 NW 200th St, Shoreline, WA 98177
Vaccination Policy & Classes at Mace Martial Arts
I have received a handful of inquiries regarding our masking and vaccination policies at Mace Martial Arts, and first of all, I’m glad to hear from all of you, and hope you all remain healthy and well through the challenges of the dangerous and tumultuous recent years!
I respect your thoughtful questions and eagerness to return to training with us, I love sharing this art with good students with a passion for learning and self-development.
I also love creating a safe environment for my students to enjoy learning and exploring together, as we polish our skills to become the best versions of ourselves we can be.
This is why I follow the health and safety measures recommended by state and federal officials, as well as medical doctors at the CDC and World Health Organization, hospitals and healthcare clinics, because I also want to see this pandemic end as soon as we can all help to finish the threat to all of our health and livelihood. My family and I, as well as several of my students, also follow alternate and preventative healthcare methods to keep ourselves healthy. All the various allopathic and alternative methods work best when applied together, instead of separately or in spite of the other.
The pandemic has affected me personally and financially. My family and I got COVID-19 early in 2020, my wife and step-daughter have suffered from long hauler symptoms since April last year. I also have several close friends and family members that have also gotten sick from COVID-19, and 2 have died from it.
For over a year, I had to conduct classes remotely via Zoom, reduced tuition and still had a large drop in student enrollment.
I know firsthand that this is not something to take lightly or dismiss the very real threat this virus poses to us, and this adds to my resolve to do all I can to prevent the spread of this disease, the sooner the better. My family and I, as well as several of my students have all been vaccinated, and none of us have had any side-effects (or super-powers) as result of taking the vaccine.
A growing number of businesses and government agencies are requiring continued masking and vaccinations, notably for health care professionals. Especially as we have seen how well the vaccines have performed in prevention of symptoms over the last 5 months.
My requirement of vaccinations for students is a professional and business decision that demonstrates my dedication to the health and safety of my students, my family and my community.
It is a standard that I share with a growing number of other businesses, schools, hospitals, clinics and government agencies.
Vaccinations have been effective in the suppression of Polio, Smallpox, Measles and other diseases — it could be likewise as effective in eliminating the current pandemic, if there weren’t so much disinformation and dismissal of masking and vaccinations, especially in the United States, where we have the resources to effectively end the pandemic.
With freedom comes obligations and responsibilities to ourselves and our community. This moment is a time for all of us to be considerate to the health and well being of all of us as a community, so that we can all survive and flourish.
Unvaccinated students are welcome to attend classes remotely via Zoom.
I hope you will join us in classes again soon, as well as our united efforts to end the pandemic.
I have been fully vaccinated for the health and safety of my family, students, clients and community.
From the AMTA:
On August 9, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee issued Proclamation 21-14, which requires health care providers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 18, 2021. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series of a vaccine, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine. Because of the lead time needed for the two-dose vaccines, we encourage you to plan now for getting the vaccine.
Massage therapy practices are listed in the Proclamation as a “Health Care Setting” which includes designated areas where massage is administered within non-health care settings like spas and wellness/fitness centers. And, proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will be accepted in the following forms:
CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or photo of the card
Documentation of vaccination from a health care provider or electronic health record
State immunization information system record
Exemptions are allowed for disability-related accommodations that fall under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), or any other reasonable accommodation. There is an additional exemption allowed for deeply-held religious beliefs. Please contact the Washington State Department of Health with any questions.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
I am excited to announce that after a 6 year hiatus, I am returning to make a fresh start with my bodywork and massage therapy health care practice!
I completed the process of getting my CEU’s updated in June to renew my massage therapy license, and (after waiting over 2 months for the Department of Health to process my renewal) will be returning to my massage therapy practice at the Massage Envy in Shoreline this month!
If you are one of my previous massage clients, or if you need to relax and ease some pain, request Dennis Mace when you schedule your appointment with me by contacting the
My Bodywork Style: my goal is to connect with each client’s particular needs to help support your process of healing and relaxation.
My approach and modalities of practice integrates a seamless flow of Myofascial Release, Swedish Massage, Lomi-Lomi, Tui-Na, Deep-Tissue, Thai and Sports Massage, so that I can help release deeper tension and pain in a way that feels both soothing and rejuvenating.
I have been fully vaccinated for the health and safety of my family, students, clients and community.
I’m excited to get back to massage therapy and healthcare, as this professional shift is more in alignment with my path in martial arts, and will allow more flexibility for time to spend with family and teaching group classes, workshops and private lessons.
My introduction to massage therapy comes from my martial arts instructors, who integrated healing modalities and bodywork methods within their curriculum, especially for addressing training injuries and for teaching anatomy and physiology is it pertained to health and fitness training, as well as self defense.
Foundations of Bagua Zhang – Workshop & Pizza! 🐉🍕
In this workshop you will discover the 4 Main Principles that distinguish Bagua Zhang from other martial arts systems, in theory and hands-on practice!
Training Methods/exercises for the workshop will include the hands-on ‘how and why’ Bagua Zhang works, including both real-world self-defense and health benefits.
Practitioners of all experience levels and other styles of martial arts are welcome!
If you have previously studied Bagua Zhang before, this workshop will help you understand the system on a foundational level and breathe life into your practice!
Instructor: Shifu Dennis Mace, LMThas been training and teaching holistic Martial Arts and Qi-Gong since 1982. His thorough, hands on approach, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and his commitment to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment has contributed to his widespread popularity in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Starting this month, August 2021, we are changing the start time for Saturday group classesfrom 11:30am to 11am, for consistency (same start time as Sunday group classes). To clarify, here are the updated class times:
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Why is Bagua Zhang regarded so highly in Chinese Martial Arts?
What makes Bagua Zhang Kung Fu so unique and effective, among all the many styles and systems of martial arts?
Four Main Principles:
In this workshop you will discover the 4 Main Principles that distinguish Bagua Zhang from other martial arts systems, in theory and hands-on practice!
Bagua Zhang is a system that is structurally designed to take a martial arts practitioner’s previous foundational training in another system, to teach these 4 Principles to make the practitioner more comprehensively well rounded, and gradually helps them develop their own personal style and expression.
Training Methods/exercises for the workshop will include the hands-on ‘how and why’ Bagua Zhang works, including both real-world self-defense and health benefits.
Practitioners of all experience levels and other styles of martial arts are welcome!
If you have previously studied Bagua Zhang before, this workshop will help you understand the system on a foundational level and breathe life into your practice!
Are you looking for holistic exercise with real world self-defense?
BaguaZhang Kung-Fu training focuses on core-strength, balanced alignment and maintaining a calm mind while moving from one’s center with continuous circular motion for enhanced awareness. In this workshop, you will learn how to increase your vitality, become more grounded, improve your intuition and connection with others, awareness of your environment, and mindful self-confidence through the spiraling power of Bagua Zhang.
Instructor:Shifu Dennis Mace has been training and teaching holistic Martial Arts and Qi-Gong since 1982. His thorough, hands on approach, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and his commitment to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment has contributed to his widespread popularity in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
Starting this month, August 2021, we are changing the start time for Saturday group classes from 11:30am to 11am, for consistency (same start time as Sunday group classes). To clarify, here are the updated class times:
Bagua Zhang Classes
Saturdays 11am – 12:30pm PST
Sundays 11am -12:30pm PST
Thursday evenings 7pm – 8pm PST
at:
1108 NW 200th St,
Shoreline, WA 98177
Please note: There will be no Bagua Zhang Classes on Thursday, August 12th, Saturday, August 14th or Sunday, August 15th. Classes will resume as usual the following week.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Re-Opening Classes for In-Person Bagua Zhang Kung-Fu Training! 🐉
(Updated on September 8, 2021)
Starting this month, since Governor Inslee has reopened Washington State, going forward, you’re welcome to attend Bagua Zhang class in person, if you have been fully vaccinated.
Unvaccinated students are welcome to attend classes remotely via Zoom.
Students that have received their completed COVID vaccinations are welcome to attend classes in-person with masks and no social distancing restrictions.
I still simulcast our Bagua Zhang classes via Zoom for students that can’t attend in person if they live too far away, are unvaccinated, or are traveling.
Private lessons are available for students who are unable to attend during those class times.
If you have any family members or friends that want to train with us, you can split the cost for private lessons for up to 3 students, at the same price, so you can all practice together while I guide you.
Please reply to this email to coordinate and schedule your private lessons.
You can register for group classes via monthly memberships, and sign up for private lessons here:
I have received a handful of inquiries regarding our masking and vaccination policies at Mace Martial Arts, and first of all, I’m glad to hear from all of you, and hope you all remain healthy and well through the challenges of the dangerous and tumultuous recent years!
I respect your thoughtful questions and eagerness to return to training with us, I love sharing this art with good students with a passion for learning and self-development.
I also love creating a safe environment for my students to enjoy learning and exploring together, as we polish our skills to become the best versions of ourselves we can be.
This is why I follow the health and safety measures recommended by state and federal officials, as well as medical doctors at the CDC and World Health Organization, hospitals and healthcare clinics, because I also want to see this pandemic end as soon as we can all help to finish the threat to all of our health and livelihood. My family and I, as well as several of my students, also follow alternate and preventative healthcare methods to keep ourselves healthy. All the various allopathic and alternative methods work best when applied together, instead of separately or in spite of the other.
The pandemic has affected me personally and financially. My family and I got COVID-19 early in 2020, my wife and step-daughter have suffered from long hauler symptoms since April last year. I also have several close friends and family members that have also gotten sick from COVID-19, and 2 have died from it.
For over a year, I had to conduct classes remotely via Zoom, reduced tuition and still had a large drop in student enrollment.
I know firsthand that this is not something to take lightly or dismiss the very real threat this virus poses to us, and this adds to my resolve to do all I can to prevent the spread of this disease, the sooner the better. My family and I, as well as several of my students have all been vaccinated, and none of us have had any side-effects (or super-powers) as result of taking the vaccine.
A growing number of businesses and government agencies are requiring continued masking and vaccinations, notably for health care professionals. Especially as we have seen how well the vaccines have performed in prevention of symptoms over the last 5 months.
My requirement of vaccinations for students is a professional and business decision that demonstrates my dedication to the health and safety of my students, my family and my community.
It is a standard that I share with a growing number of other businesses, schools, hospitals, clinics and government agencies.
Vaccinations have been effective in the suppression of Polio, Smallpox, Measles and other diseases — it could be likewise as effective in eliminating the current pandemic, if there weren’t so much disinformation and dismissal of masking and vaccinations, especially in the United States, where we have the resources to effectively end the pandemic.
With freedom comes obligations and responsibilities to ourselves and our community. This moment is a time for all of us to be considerate to the health and well being of all of us as a community, so that we can all survive and flourish.
Unvaccinated students are welcome to attend classes remotely via Zoom.
I hope you will join us in classes again soon, as well as our united efforts to end the pandemic.
From the AMTA:
On August 9, 2021, Governor Jay Inslee issued Proclamation 21-14, which requires health care providers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by October 18, 2021. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving the second dose in a two-dose series of a vaccine, or two weeks after receiving a single-dose vaccine. Because of the lead time needed for the two-dose vaccines, we encourage you to plan now for getting the vaccine.
Massage therapy practices are listed in the Proclamation as a “Health Care Setting” which includes designated areas where massage is administered within non-health care settings like spas and wellness/fitness centers. And, proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 will be accepted in the following forms:
CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or photo of the card
Documentation of vaccination from a health care provider or electronic health record
State immunization information system record
Exemptions are allowed for disability-related accommodations that fall under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII), the Washington Law Against Discrimination (WLAD), or any other reasonable accommodation. There is an additional exemption allowed for deeply-held religious beliefs. Please contact the Washington State Department of Health with any questions.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
The only constant is change. Nature repeats in cycles of transformation. Like the seasons, and cycles of birth, growth, maturity, death, and rebirth.
As a martial arts system, Bagua Zhang reflects the cycles of transformation, and harmonizes with them, in many ways and on many levels.
Why I got into martial arts ~
Growing up as an introverted, artistic kid in South Omaha, dealing with bullies and schoolyard fights was common; while at home, I had an alcoholic father with a slow burning explosive temper. So while some of the impulse was standing up for myself and protecting my family, friends and myself, there was a deeper inspiration and connection to martial arts that transcended self preservation.
My artistic inspirations and unquenchable fascination with mythology and ancient cultures from early childhood, led to my cousin and friends introducing me to Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan, Jet Li and Kung-Fu Theater movies in 1982 — the chord that resonated the most was their raw expression and flow of skill and power, even in the midst of a life and death struggle; instead of succumbing to fear or control from bullies, they would take a stand to vanquish oppression.
The core inspirations of martial arts for me have always been:
the virtues and code of chivalry, or Wu-De, and
cultivating the ability to connect with that creative source, the raw experience of “Amazing Grace” or Wu-Wei — the state of connection and flow beyond thought — which led me ultimately to Bagua Zhang.
Shortly after that, at 12 years old, I started training with a great Judo teacher, then a few years later found Kung Fu. A couple years later I saw my Sifu practicing Bagua Zhang, and was immediately captivated.
I love all martial arts and have been blessed with the opportunity to train several styles over the years, but Bagua Zhang was the purest reflection of that experience of creative, adaptive flow of connected consciousness. So over the years, Bagua Zhang eclipsed other systems I practiced and somehow seem to encapsulate them as well; I have gradually shed the excess to focus on Bagua Zhang as the pinnacle of my training, as well as what I mostly teach my students.
Dennis Mace, Bagua Zhang – circa 1998
What is Bagua Zhang?
As a martial arts system, Bagua Zhang (“8 Trigrams Palm”) reflects the cycles of transformation, and harmonizing with them, in many ways and on many levels — not only in self-defense situations, but also in personal development and in social interactions.
In its cyclical training methods and spiraling application of force, Bagua Zhang uses the concept of 8 phases of change inspired by the I-Ching, the ancient Chinese “Classic of Changes,” to emphasize a unique personal transformation, sparking our creativity to awaken and enhance each individual’s aptitude and potential.
Each of the 8 trigrams represents a phase in the states of change; each phase reflects different feelings, strategies and principles to help the practitioner develop skills to adapt to change. To deal with changes, threats, dangerous attacks and the highs and lows in life — on an innate and instinctual level. It requires insightful persistence in training, that will enhance and transform the practitioner from the inside out.
In hindsight, the many hours I spent with all my martial arts teachers seems fleeting; I cherish the lessons I gleaned from their deep wisdom, each one having a uniquely valuable skill set and profound understanding.
Adaptation
What I learned, in seeing different students and classes from different teachers, most notably Shifu Yang Guotai, is that he would tailor his lessons to different people, and what he taught us would also change over time — no matter how peerless the instructor, the greatest ones continuously learn and grow as well… the True Path is never ending.
The changes, exercises and drills of Bagua Zhang are based on principles, connectivity of movement, adaptability and flow — more so than predetermined technical responses that are hallmarks of other martial arts systems.
As fiercely exacting as Yang Shifu was in teaching, his emphasis and methods altered with time, situation, and student… just like the art he taught. What Yang Shifu taught us at one time, he would alter later and complain “tsk, ah, you forget!” Somehow the corrections he made, in hindsight, I now realize was his way of sharing different perspectives and more appropriate alternatives based on adapting to a situation and aptitudes of individuals. I found all of the variations he taught to be valuable, whether he was intentionally tracking what we learned, or even if he had forgotten what he taught us before… What remained consistent, is whatever he taught was always effective.
On Learning Martial Arts…
Since standardization is good for beginners as well as intermediate and advanced students, I created a structured progression in lessons from the random cascade of skills and methods of my various teachers. I’ve found this progressive curriculum helps my students understand the art with much more clarity than my own experiences.
In the beginning, we often see our teachers as infallible sources of perfect truth… Later, as we gain skills they cultivate in us, we start to see our teachers’ humanity. As time goes on, every (martial) artist looks beyond the pedestal we put our teachers on to find our own expression of their art. Every practitioner of any art, after years of devoted training, eventually looks within, and will have their own insights and perspectives,talents, aptitudes & weaknesses…
All we can really do is appreciate each practitioner’s insights, as well as our own. A danger for advanced students is to confuse discernment with the extreme of criticism, and assume we know better; keep an open mind to continue learning always! To call someone with years of training “incorrect” might be seeing through the lens of condescension. This is dangerous because assumption dulls focus, attention and the ability to learn.
Dubious Lineages & Politics in Martial Arts:
Ultimately, you get out of your training what you put into it — it helps to have a teacher that knows their chops, their basics, but lineage (good or bad) doesn’t assure this.
Real skill comes from one thing: training!
So each practitioner’s learning and growth comes down to them. Find a teacher that you have a rapport with, and trust your instincts; learn with discernment, and make time to practice what you learn, on your own time, don’t just wait for class time to train — classes are for learning new material and refinement.
You Reap what you sow. It’s up to you to decide your priorities, set your goals and act on them. Your teacher is a guide, that should inspire you; don’t expect your teacher to carry you, and beware any instructor that warps respect into demands of worshipping their superiority.
If you find that something feels off about an instructor or the lessons, use your own discernment to find out why — is it your own misunderstanding, or is something wrong or misleading? Not all instructors are legitimate, but if you are diligent, you can find good instructors that are more skilled and authentic. I’ve been blessed to find some great instructors, and have had the insight to see through frauds as well; sometimes, it’s hard to tell if an instructor is authentic or not, and it’s painful to be deceived. Take it from personal experience, if we spend too much time focusing on the faults of others, then it distracts us from our own development. Learn from our own failures and triumphs, and the losses and wins of others, and move on; dwelling on the past and casting blame will only stunt your own growth.
Every one who trains earnestly has something of value, that they’ve learned from trial and error, and everyone has their own struggles, so if you appreciate these truths, you can learn from anyone and any situation. Even fraudulent instructors will have valuable lessons to share, even if sometimes the lessons are learning to see through delusions. If you get duped, instead of shaming yourself into victimhood, or descending into blame, realize that you still learned from the experience, and grew because of it. Tearing others down doesn’t build yourself up, it just means you’re too condescending to have the empathy or respect required to learn and grow —good students and good instructors both understand this reciprocal truth.
If you encounter an instructor that exploits or abuses their students, by all means, seek legal help and press charges — I fully support taking down anyone who manipulates others, violates trust and abuses their status and power at the expense of other’s suffering. While those cases are rare, unfortunately it happens; bullies and predators should not be martial arts instructors. Ever. When you go to learn at a school “Don’t leave your common sense at the door.”
Martial arts begins and ends with respect: for your teachers, your classmates, your family, friends, yourself, and Life. Before you commit to learning martial arts from any school, make sure your instructor has innate integrity, and clearly values and respects their students, family and life itself.
Why are there so many branches and styles of Bagua Zhang?
Bagua Zhang is a multifaceted system designed to help build on the foundation of any practitioner’s previous training, to help them develop more well-rounded skills, understanding of mechanics and strategies, awareness and ability to adapt to any situation. The eventual goal is to help each practitioner cultivate their own personal “style”, their own expression of their True Self. Which is why Bagua Zhang is considered a “graduate level martial art.”
Look within to heal and reveal your True Self.
Every teacher, of every art (if they care about their students and training partners), will have their own perspective, a precious gem they’ve polished, that they share because it worked for them in their own experience. It is all valuable, whether we agree and assimilate those insights, or disagree and reject the material shared with us — we can learn from all of it. Just as we learn from our own losses and triumphs. If we can glean the truth at the core of our teacher’s lessons, they can catapult us forward in our own growth, skills and understanding. Especially if we are able to empathize with their experience, walk in their shoes and learn what inspired them and how it relates to us. That includes the most fundamental basic techniques, as well as the most tragic and inspirational life lessons.
We are all fractals from the same source, yet we all have our own individual light and expression. Only we as individuals can decide what we prefer and what works best for us.
As we learn and grow, we each have our own unique perspective, path and expression of our truth — embracing this uniqueness is essential to mastering Bagua Zhang, and realizing your own potential.
We returned to in-person Bagua Zhang training last month, for all students who have completed their COVID vaccinations! More info here, in last month’s post.
New Podcast Interview:
in addition to being invited to be a guest on Ken Gullette’s Internal Fighting Arts Podcast,
I am honored to have the opportunity to share my experiences with these gentlemen and enjoyed the conversations, I hope you do too!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
It was great catching up with Ken during the interview, and though we just started skimming the surface, I look forward to continuing the conversation and training with him.
I highly recommend listening to the rest of the interviews in the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast, there is an invaluable wealth of information there on several topics related to martial arts and healthy living.
Reminder: We will be returning to in-person training next week, April 24th, for all students who have completed their COVID vaccinations! More info here, in last weeks post.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
After over a year of social distancing to curtail the pandemic, we will finally resume in-person classes at Mace Martial Arts on April 24th, for students that have received their completed COVID-19 vaccinations!
This will include private lessons as well as small group classes.
I received the 2nd dose of the Pfizer vaccine today — my Easter Sunday present!
All students that plan to attend in-person training must confirm by showing a copy of your completed vaccine record card before you can attend class. Students must wait to attend in-person classes until 2 weeks after your COVID vaccinations are complete.
We will finally be able to practice applications and partner drills for practical timing, sensitivity and skill development!
I am very excited about training in-person again and looking forward to meet new students and finally see familiar faces in class!
Remote Training Still Available: I will continue to broadcast the group classes live remotely on Zoom, so that students that are unable to come to class, whether they haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccination yet, or are too far away, or don’t feel comfortable yet to attend in person, can still follow along online.
This Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since I’ll be focused on teaching students that attend classes in person, instead of monitoring Zoom, I will be available to answer questions after class from both in-person and remote students via via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership will continue to be half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Please share with anyone you know that might be interested in joining our classes!
Our Bagua Zhang Lineage at Mace Martial Arts, Front row: Yang Guotai 2nd from left, Xu Zhenbiao 6th from left (center, holding Dong Haichuan’s portrait), Wang Wenkui 7th from left, Han Wu 9th from left
In Chinese martial arts, the ancestral lineage of discipleship is often considered a primary factor of the quality of a student’s skill and development. The student is often viewed as a reflection of their teacher, sometimes creating biased presumptions.
Pedigree is important — but not from trivial name dropping and bragging rights, but from understanding and smart, meaningful training. Strive to learn your heritage to understand where your art comes from, to see the system from the lens of your ancestors (their lives, struggles, contributions and accomplishments) that you may glean a deeper understanding of the why and how of the system and how it relates to you, personally. Then practice what you learn from your teacher — in your own time at home, not just during class — so that you can understand, internalize and incorporate the principles they share with you.
That is the true measure of respect for your martial family and ancestors, to learn what they learned, in the context of why and how they learned it, and to apply those lessons to your own life.
Blind fealty to yellowed photos and glorified legends won’t improve your health or character, or save you when your life is threatened, just as assumed privilege from pointing to a family tree won’t help you gain skill, if you don’t apply efforts to practice what previous generations of practitioners lived and bled for. We honor their legacy by striving to improve ourselves, inspired by their example.
The following is our Bagua Zhang lineage here at Mace Martial Arts:
Dong Haichuan
Dong Haichuan ( 董海川 1799-1882), a famous Chinese Martial Artist of the late Qing Dynasty, considered the progenitor of Bagua Zhang (“Eight Trigrams Palm”), though by his own accounts he credited learning the system from a Taoist Priest/Hermit named Bi Chengxia, from whom the system had been passed down in secret purportedly for many generations. Nevertheless, Dong Haichuan was the first person to teach the art of Bagua Zhang publicly.
Dong Haichuan was born in Zhu Jia Wu of Wen An County in He Bei Province. He began practicing Chinese Martial Arts at a very young age, and became a renowned martial artist in his hometown. As an adult, he first went south before traveling all over China, studying martial arts and Daoism. Dong Haichuan eventually moved to Beijing around 1864 to hold a post in the Mansion of Prince Su, where he began teaching “Zhuan Zhang” (Turning Palms), and shortly after referred to the system as Ba Gua Zhang, inspired by Daoism, stemming from the theory of 8 Changes in the classic “Yi Ching” (Book of Changes). There is some intrigue related to Dong Haichuan’s initial intentions for moving to Beijing, in that he may have been a member of the Taiping Rebellion, with the mission of assassination of the Qing Emperor, which is why he became a eunuch to serve in Prince Su’s court; when the Qing Emperor died a few years later, Dong Haichuan shifted his life path and priorities and decided to teach BaguaZhang publicly.
Cheng Tinghua, 3rd from left
Cheng Tinghua ( 程庭華 1848-1900), the prolific second generation Bagua Zhang Master, and creator of the Cheng Style Bagua Zhang. Cheng “Yanjing” (“Spectacles” Cheng) was an eye-glass maker by trade, and a Shuai Jiao expert before learning Bagua Zhang from Dong Hai Chuan. Born the 3rd of 4 brothers in 1848 in the Cheng family village, Shen County, Hebei Province, Cheng Tinghua was fond of martial arts and in his youth he gained skill at wielding a heavy broadsword and a large heavy staff. When Cheng was around 13, he left his hometown and went to Beijing to apprentice with a gentleman who made eyeglasses. Intent on improving his martial arts skill, Cheng also began to study Chinese wrestling (Shuai Jiao) when he arrived in Beijing. In the late 1800s, two wrestling styles were popular in Beijing: Manchurian/Mongolian wrestling and Baoding “fast style” wrestling. Baoding wrestling was quicker than Manchurian style, emphasizing throwing the opponent at first contact, without struggling. Baoding wrestling also combined punching, kicking, joint locking and point striking with its throwing techniques. Cheng Tinghua studied both of the popular wrestling styles when he was a young man in Beijing, and built a reputation with martial artists in Beijing as a skilled shuai jiao practitioner. By 1870, Dong Haichuan had become very well known in Beijing. When Cheng was approximately 28 years old (1876), he sought out Dong in order to improve his skill. Some say that Cheng had become friends with Yin Fu and Shi Jidong (two of Dong Haichuan’s first Bagua students) and they encouraged him to meet Dong. When the two first met, Dong asked Cheng to use his shuai jiao against him. Cheng made several attempts at attacking Dong but was never able to lay a hand on him. Cheng knelt down and asked Dong if he could become a student. At this point, Dong hadn’t accepted many Bagua Zhang students — although Dong had taught many people martial arts in the Prince of Su’s palace, he only taught Bagua to three people prior to teaching Cheng Tinghua — those previous disciples being Yin Fu, Ma Weiqi, and Shi Jidong. The majority of Dong Haichuan’s students in the palace were said to have learned something other than Bagua Zhang. Cheng Tinghua was Dong Haichuan’s fourth disciple, and studied with Dong for 5 or 6 years before Dong passed away in 1882. Dong Haichuan was known to have only accepted Bagua Zhang students who were already skilled in another style of martial art. It is said that after laying a Bagua foundation with the circle walk practice, single palm change, double palm change, and smooth changing palm, Dong Haichuan would teach the student Bagua Zhang based on what the student already knew. Dong Haichuan therefore taught Cheng Tinghua using his shuai jiao background as a base. The Bagua styles which most notably display a Xingyi Quan flavor are the styles which were taught by Cheng and his friends Li Cunyi, Liu Dekuan, and Zhang Zhaodong. The link between Xingyi and Bagua was most likely forged when Cheng Tingghua and his friends Li Cunyi, Zhang Zhaodong, Liu Dekuan, and Liu Waixiang got together to compare styles and learn from each other. Cheng Tinghua was a very open martial artist who would teach his Bagua to anyone who cared to learn it. He enjoyed meeting other martial artist to compare styles and share the techniques and theories of martial arts, and enjoyed sharing his Bagua Zhang skill with other martial artists. Cheng purportedly taught Liu Dekuan, Li Cunyi, and Zhang Zhaodong their Bagua Zhang, however, since they were very skilled in Xingyi Quan and thus were Cheng’s peers, he did not feel right calling them his “students.” Therefore, Cheng said that they should say they learned their Bagua from his teacher, Dong Haichuan. Cheng Tinghua was killed during the Boxer Rebellion when the “eight foreign armies” invaded Beijing (1900). A group of German soldiers were forcefully recruiting locals for a work detail near Beijing’s Zhongwen Gate were Cheng’s shop was located. Cheng was on the street at the time and the Germans stopped him and tried to put him in line with the others. Cheng resisted and fought back; he purportedly drew a knife and may have beaten or killed a few soldiers during the struggle, before Cheng tried to run and leap over a nearby wall. As he was jumping over the wall, he was shot. He was 52 years old.
Zhang Zhaodong
Zhang Zhaodong ( 张兆东 1859-1940), also known as Zhang Zhankui ( 张占魁 ), was born in Hebei Province, Ho Hung Yan Village in 1859, the youngest of three children. His father was a poor farmer and his family was often bullied by those in authority. Later in life, when Zhang became skilled in martial arts, he was very harsh on bullies because of what happened to his family when he was young. As one biographer has written, “Zhang Zhankui was big and tall, short-tempered and bold. He firmly opposed those who were roughshod over the people and disturbed public order.” Zhang only had a primary school education because he had to quit school when he was still young in order to help his father in the fields. In his spare time he liked to practice martial arts, studying with teachers in his village. The first martial art he studied was Mizong Quan (a popular style in Northern China). When he was a teenager, Zhang Zhaodong became a Xingyi Quan disciple of Liu Qilan, a highly skilled master of the art. Zhang Zhaodong trained assiduously and became an esteemed Xingyi master as well. When Zhang was 20 there was a famine in his village, so he left home and traveled to Tianjin, but had difficulty finding a job because his only trade was farming. To raise money for food he demonstrated martial arts forms on the side of the road. Zhang hated to see people bullying others so he would always aid anyone who was being picked on. As his reputation grew, government officials recognized his talent for dealing with criminals and gave him a job as a “thief catcher” (bounty hunter). Shortly thereafter, the famous second generation Bagua Zhang instructor Cheng Tinghua was visiting Tianjin and ran into some trouble. Zhang Zhaodong helped Cheng with his problem and the two became friends. Zhang mentioned to Cheng that he would like to learn Bagua Zhang, and Cheng gladly accepted. Zhang frequently traveled to Beijing to track down bandits who had fled Tianjin. Cheng also introduced Zhang Zhaodong to Dong Haichuan and from that time forward, whenever he was in Beijing he studied with Dong or Cheng. Since Dong Haichuan died shortly after Zhang Zhaodong met him, he probably learned the majority of his Bagua from Cheng Tinghua. During the early 20th century, Zhang Zhaodong and Li Cunyi ran a very well known martial arts association in Tianjin to spread the martial arts. Students in the public class could study either Bagua Zhang or Xingyi Quan, whichever they preferred. Zhang required his inner-door students to study Xingyi before they studied Bagua. Earlier in his teaching career in Tianjin, Zhang Zhaodong emphasized Xingyi Quan, then gradually only taught Bagua in his later years. Since Zhang Zhaodong was a Xingyi man, his Bagua Zhang naturally had a Xingyi flavor. Zhang Zhaodong was a tall, strong man who liked to use wide, open postures in training and liked to strike down on opponents when fighting. His Bagua Zhang form and applications were direct, powerful and relatively simple, not as evasive compared to others because of his strength and Xingyi background. He did not utilize as many throwing techniques as Cheng Tinghua, who had come from a Shuai Jiao background. When Zhang was over 70, he was well known throughout China for his boxing skill and was frequently invited to other areas of the country to participate and demonstrate Bagua Zhang in martial arts events. According to the writings left by his student Jiang Rong-Qiao, Zhang Zhaodong died in 1940 of natural causes in Tianjin at the age of 81. I learned Zhang Zhaodong’s Xingyi Quan and Bagua Zhang from Phillip Starr between 1985-1999.
Liu Bin with his South Gate Bagua Zhang disciples: Liu Bin is between the pillars, second row, 4th from left with a beard, Liu Shikui is in the middle of the front row with a Jian (straight sword), Wang Wenkui is in the front row wearing white jacket with twin hook swords.
Liu Bin
Liu Bin ( 刘斌 1866-1930), the third generation of Ba Gua Zhang, was the disciple of Cheng Tinghua, being one of his first and top students. Liu Bin was a general in the Ching army, but quit his post in disappointment with the Ching government’s corruption and incompetence after his teacher, Cheng Tinghua was killed in 1900 by German troops. Liu Bin then focused on training, developing and teaching Bagua Zhang, and became a highly regarded bodyguard in Beijing as well. As a former general, Liu Bin was an expert with various weapons, and specialized with the 9 Section Steel Whip. Liu Bin taught many students from his school in the Tan Tong area of Heaven Temple Park in Southern Beijing.
Liu Shikui is in the front row, first on the right
Liu Shikui ( 刘世魁 1899-1969) Liu Bin’s second son, Liu ShiKui learned Bagua Zhang under his father’s strict, sometimes harsh tutorage; he trained hard and became a highly skillful master. Liu ShiKui was humble, with a good heart and strong moral fiber. He continued his father’s legacy by teaching Bagua Zhang, including in secret during through the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when traditional martial arts practice was banned. Liu Shikui encouraged his students to become good people, and to avoid trouble and fighting without good cause. Despite his positive life, strong spirit and good nature, Liu Shikui was arrested, tortured, and eventually killed during the Cultural Revolution for teaching martial arts.
Wang Wenkui demonstrating Bagua Zhang
Wang Wenkui
Wang Wenkui
Wang Wenkui ( 王文奎 1900-1986), was one of the top disciples of Liu Bin, and close friend of Liu ShiKui. After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1976, Wang Wenkui was one of the first to teach Bagua Zhang publicly, and helped write and publish popular books about Bagua Zhang. Though short in stature, Wang Wenkui was widely regarded as a generous gentleman and prodigious martial artist of profound skill, good heart and bright spirit, and is still highly regarded in Beijing’s martial arts community.
Xu Zhenbiao, front row, 7th from left, holding Dong Haichuan’s portrait; Wang Wenkui 8th from left; Han Wu 9th from left; Yang Guotai fourth row, 5th from left.
Xu Zhenbiao
Xu Zhenbiao
Xu Zhenbiao
Xu Zhenbiao
Xu Zhenbiao
Xu Zhenbiao ( 徐振彪 1913-1991), the fifth generation of Ba Gua Zhang, was the disciple of Liu Shikui (Liu Bin’s son) and student of Wang Wenkui. Xu Zhenbiao was known for being a devoted student and disciplined practitioner throughout his life, and developed a high level of skill. From Yang Shifu’s accounts, Xu Zhenbiao was a highly skilled fighter who welcomed challenges, and was both a generous and severe taskmaster as an instructor, holding a high standard for himself and his students.
Yang Guotai
Yang Guotai
Yang Guotai
Yang Guotai, front row 2nd from left, Dennis Mace on right side (I introduced an old classmate and his students to train with Yang Shifu)
From left, David Meikle, Yang Guotai, Dennis Mace
Shifu Yang Guo Tai ( 楊國泰 July 10, 1928-November, 2013), Cheng style Dragon Shape Swimming Body Bagua Zhang teacher, was an in-door student of Xu Zhenbiao. Yang Shifu began martial arts training at an early age, with styles such as Praying Mantis and Xingyi Quan, and became a disciple of Xu Zhenbiao in his teens, training closely with him for over 4 decades, even in secret when martial arts practice was banned during the Cultural Revolution. Yang Guotai also enjoyed dancing in his youth, though his lifelong passion was martial arts. After working in a factory for several years (where he lost his right thumb in a machinery accident), Yang Guotai eventually used his martial training expertise and became the head Tui-Na/Massage Therapist at Beijing Hospital. He frequently shared stories about surviving and training martial arts in China during wars and tumultuous periods, including how they would practice in secret during the Cultural Revolution, despite the risks of being caught. Yang Guotai emigrated from Beijing to Vancouver, BC with his wife and son, Greg in the 1990’s, where he continued to teach Bagua Zhang.
I met Yang Shifu by chance during my first visit to Vancouver, BC in 2000. I went to the Tiger Balm International Martial Arts Tournament in hopes of meeting another well known Bagua Zhang teacher, but I am forever grateful to have met Yang Guotai Shifu instead. While watching one of the competitions, I noticed someone practicing Bagua Zhang on the sidelines. I was intrigued and asked about his practice, and he graciously introduced me to his teacher, Yang Guotai, who was officiating the push-hands event; Yang Shifu was discerning and spirited, and asked me if I practiced Bagua Zhang. When I mentioned that I had, he asked me to show him what I learned before; Yang Shifu was underwhelmed with my execution of the Bagua I’d previously been training for over decade, then briefly demonstrated a few seconds of the most amazing Bagua I’d seen before, and asked if I’d like to learn real Bagua Zhang. Though I hadn’t heard of Yang Guotai before that weekend, I recognized I’d discovered a rare and hidden treasure, and enthusiastically returned to Vancouver a couple days later for my first lesson and was blown away by his profound skill, power and depth of knowledge. I continued to make the 2-3 hour drive from Seattle to Vancouver every other weekend and any extra holiday break and vacation time I had for the next several years to learn from Yang Shifu, trained hard with my new classmates and in every class had some new revelation that I continue to learn from to this day. The rest of my classmates under Yang Shifu all had previous martial arts experience. Most of us had already trained Bagua Zhang from various other teachers. We all considered training with Yang Shifu as graduate-level martial arts training because of the depth, complexity and refinement of skills he developed in each of us. His approach was hands-on instruction to show us the principles and functional health cultivation and self defense techniques at the heart of the system, in the old-school practical, non-sport methods of training. He showed us as well as explained the how and why of Bagua Zhang, correcting our previous training errors, from the most subtle skills to the most profound principles, for both health and self defense. We endearingly referred to Yang Shifu as “the Bagua Yoda” because of his irascible yet generous character, profound knowledge and surprising, incomparable skill. After a couple years of training with Yang Shifu, he invited a small handful of my classmates and myself to stay after training and lunch (it was a common occurrence for his wife, our Shimu, to prepare a delicious homemade lunch for us after training at a nearby park) and he conducted a private Bai Shi ceremony in his home in front of his mantle where we were formally inducted to be his in-door disciples and become lineage holders of Cheng style Bagua Zhang. It was shortly after this that Yang Shifu took me aside during a class and encouraged me to begin teaching students in Seattle where I live, while I continued training with him in Vancouver, BC. I introduced Yang Shifu to several friends and former classmates, and coordinated workshops for him to teach in Omaha, NE and Seattle, WA. I consider myself blessed to have known him and drink from the vast wellspring he shared with us. The time spent training with him always felt fleeting, especially in hindsight. I miss him, though I continue to learn more from his lessons by dissecting the many layers and facets, training them and discovering more insights. Sometimes it seems as if I feel his presence, especially when I’m teaching my students, as if he’s watching over us and teaching through me, as I glean more understanding from all he passionately shared with us.
From left, Shimu holding my son, Samuel Mace, Yang Shifu, David Meikle, Dennis Mace, Matt Schumacher.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
I often use the expression “Look within to reveal and heal your True Self.” Why?
Our attention and energy gets scattered and depleted by focusing on everything going on around us. Busy-ness of the world, survival, work, school, family, obligations, politics, hobbies, sports, recreation, games — all the 10,000 things of the world have their place and time, but worrying about all the things can become overwhelming, even to the best of us.
As life seems to be getting more hectic and stressful, it’s easy to loose ourselves and feel disconnected, scattered and exhausted. This year has been exceptionally stressful — all of us have been affected by the distressing pandemic, exacerbated by divisive politics, leading to economic recession and social discord, and more anxiety and fatigue than we’ve faced before.
Especially now, as Autumn and Winter seasons set in, many people feel discouraged because they feel even more tired. But the truth is, this is a natural cycle — as the days get shorter and the nights get longer, notice how plants and animals go into a state of hibernation. Yet because of the demands of a disconnected society, we feel pressured to compensate with fake energy boosters and stimulants, or “numb-out” from the stress with drugs and alcohol, then feel even more exhausted, scattered and depleted after the false-energy boost wares off.
Instead, the best way to revitalize is the natural way — instead of struggling against your natural rhythms, listen to your body’s needs to rest and sleep more — you’ll be able to stay more focused and present.
To restore our energy even more, as well as heal and enhance our senses, we must “seal the 5 senses” and turn inward. This aspect of mindfulness in meditation will focus your mind and help you to harness your energy:
Still your body, heart and mind.
Let go of worries, doubts, grief and longing, and call your attention to the present moment.
Let go of all distractions from the present moment, and reclaim your Spirit.
Be here, now.
Feel the movement of air as you breathe in and breathe out, feel the blood coursing throughout your body from your heart, notice any sensations of tension or pain, as you release them and let go.
Smell your own breath and body and wonder at all the countless processes happening automatically within you.
Taste your own saliva as you swallow to assist your digestion, and lubricate your organs.
Listen to your heartbeat, the sounds of your digestive system, the sound of your breath.
Look inward to see the colors behind your eyelids, shifting your gaze to the kaleidoscope of your mind’s eye, and the light shining within you.
Feel the buzzing hum of electricity through your brain and nervous system, feel the waves of the bio electric field flowing within you, through you and around you.
Each cell within you is its own organism, symbiotically coming together to encompass you, seamlessly working and dancing together in myriads of systems to become whole — just as the vast space between the particles of atoms that convene into the molecules composing each cell are miraculously interwoven and connected, just as vibrant as a solar system, yet deep within you, bringing life and consciousness. Galaxies of energy and matter spiraling within us, composing our mortal coil, just as we are each of us cells, an inseparable and integral part of the countless solar systems in the Cosmos.
This awareness of the vastness of the Universe is paradoxically also where we discover our most essential inner-selves, and how we are all connected in consciousness.
To conclude any meditation practice session, draw your attention to your physical center of gravity, which is just below your navel in the middle of your lower abdomen at your body’s core. Allow the energy you cultivate with Qigong practice to spiral to your center, to assimilate, or “digest” there. This grounds your energy, calms the mind and emotions, allowing you to remain centered even in stressful or startling situations. It is by this mindful process that you may discover the deepest, most essential part of yourself, and feel how integrated you are with the world. That you may “look within to reveal and heal your true self.”
Meditation and Qigong enhances awareness of yourself and your surroundings, which contributes to your mental and physical health, as well as your self-defense skills. Clarity of focus and sharpening the mind are indispensable skills for a warrior, as it enhances awareness of one’s inner world, as well as a deeper awareness of the world we live in, and creates the space where you can discover your hidden reservoir of latent essential power. This is why these practices have been invaluable to warriors and martial artists for several millennia.
Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu classes
We have a few spots available if you would like to start training Remote online with our Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu class, held Saturdays at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm PST!
With all the uncertainty of the tumultuous times we are all living in, Bagua Zhang is an excellent practice to help you improve your health, increase your vitality and awareness, and develop self defense skills to meet the challenges we are facing with focus and confidence.
Once you get some of the basics down, you are welcome to join in our other regular group classes on Thursdays 7-8pm PST, and Sundays 11am-12:30pm PST.
The Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since we are training Remotely via Zoom, you can join us from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a good internet connection. I will be available to answer questions after class from students via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership is only $50 per month, half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us live via Zoom and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts. Also, we are in the process of creating instructional videos and workbooks to help you learn and grow with your practice!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Please share with anyone you know that might be interested in joining our classes!
Bagua Zhang training at the Mace Martial Arts Guan
Over the last 9 months, I’ve been grateful to continue teaching all our group Bagua Zhang Kung Fu classes remotely on Zoom, thanks to modern technology.
Though I miss teaching my students in person, and look forward to training with everyone again with in person classes, we’ve found some creative approaches to traditional training methods to be very constructive and practical in these challenging times.
Time honored practices for developing self-defense-specific fitness, attributes, capacity and skills — which are especially valuable now, while person to person contact is limited due to social distancing measures help to keep us safe from the highly communicable COVID-19 virus.
The various practice methods we have been focusing on include Forms, Basics, Supplemental Exercises, Qigong/meditation, Iron Palm/Iron Body, Weapons, and Strategy Training.
Forms practice — in traditional martial arts, forms are similar to shadow-boxing; forms are prearranged sequences of self-defense techniques, strung together to teach various combinations, principles and strategies. The self defense techniques are “coded” into the forms, like parables with layers of meaning and interpretation based on distance, timing and situations. Learning to decipher the techniques coded into traditional forms is both a skill and a riddle to solve.
Bagua Zhang forms practice has a slightly different goal than in many other martial arts. Where the solo forms of all traditional martial arts styles are catalogs of prearranged self defense techniques, Bagua Zhang has an emphasis on progressively developing principles and attributes that alter the efficacy of techniques as well as gradually transforming the health, ability, efficiency and vitality of the Bagua Zhang practitioner. Forms — Benefits and goals for Forms practice:
balance and structural alignment
Coordination, timing and dexterity
Mental focus and body awareness
Stamina, range of motion, strength and flexibility
Refinement of techniques and efficiency of movement
discovery of layers of self-defense techniques, dissecting movement by range and underlying principles, deciphering the parable of techniques
Basic techniques — drilling to refine and streamline the efficiency of techniques, as well as attributes of timing, strength, flexibility, and cardiovascular endurance.
Supplemental Calisthenic exercises — to develop principles and attributes to enhance self defense capability.
Qi Gong, Tao Yin, Yoga, meditation — clear and focus your mind, balance your emotions, cultivate your vitality and circulation to stimulate your strength and immune system.
Iron Palm, Iron Body — tempering your body safely and gradually to build your striking power and grappling effectiveness, as well as your resilience to pain and injury. Develops the capacity to realize Bagua Zhang’s full potential as an effective martial art.
Weapons Training — develops focus, strength, stamina, balance and coordination that enhance your ability to defend yourself with weapons, every day objects, and enhances bare-handed efficacy.
Strategy Work — in lieu of training partners, using hanging heavy bags and grappling dummies, by swinging them to develop footwork, distance and timing.
Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu classes
We have a few spots available if you would like to start training Remote online with our Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu class, held Saturdays at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm PST!
With all the uncertainty of the tumultuous times we are all living in, Bagua Zhang is an excellent practice to help you improve your health, increase your vitality and awareness, and develop self defense skills to meet the challenges we are facing with focus and confidence.
Once you get some of the basics down, you are welcome to join in our other regular group classes on Thursdays 7-8pm PST, and Sundays 11am-12:30pm PST.
The Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since we are training Remotely via Zoom, you can join us from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a good internet connection. I will be available to answer questions after class from students via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership is only $50 per month, half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us live via Zoom and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts. Also, we are in the process of creating instructional videos and workbooks to help you learn and grow with your practice!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Please share with anyone you know that might be interested in joining our classes!
New Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu class starting in August!
We have a few spots available if you would like to start training Remote online with our Beginners Bagua Zhang Kung Fu class, starting this Saturday, August 1st, at 11:30 am to 12:30 pm PST!
With all the uncertainty of the tumultuous times we are all living in, Bagua Zhang is an excellent practice to help you improve your health, increase your vitality and awareness, and develop self defense skills to meet the challenges we are facing with focus and confidence.
Once you get some of the basics down, you are welcome to join in our other regular group classes on Thursdays 7-8pm PST, and Sundays 11am-12:30pm PST.
The Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since we are training Remotely via Zoom, you can join us from anywhere in the world, as long as you have a good internet connection. I will be available to answer questions after class from students via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership is only $50 per month, half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us live via Zoom and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts. Also, we are in the process of creating instructional videos and workbooks to help you learn and grow with your practice! If you are interested in joining for the first time, or it’s been awhile since you’ve attended our classes, please respond to this message so we can get you started with our Bagua Zhang Martial Arts classes!
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
As we celebrate Emancipation Day/Juneteenth here at Mace Martial Arts, we also recognize bullying and oppression have been on the rise in recent years. All over the world we continually see examples of it, especially in current events that painfully expose America’s unresolved legacy of bullying and oppression, in “the land of the free, and home of the brave.”
I’ve had to deal with a couple bullies in the last 3 years, while teaching martial arts classes at a local park. The first incident, a man approached and asked what martial art we were practicing, but his demeanor was off, and his stilted questions shifted to provocations; I redirected him, encouraged him to give it a try, but he backed down and watched for a while before wandering away.
The second time, a few months later, another man walking his dogs approached our class, inquiring about what we were practicing. I was cordial, despite feeling his skewed intentions. His questions became increasingly rude, then he veered off topic and asked my students and me “who’d you vote for?” He then escalated to making inane, disgusting racial slurs to my diverse students and accused us of witchcraft, proclaiming how “Trump is going to make America great again!” and would send us all back where we belong. I got between him with his dogs and my students, telling him I’d be happy to show him how it works. As much as I hoped he’d back up his hate speech with action, he backed down, and grumbled as he wandered off.
My own experiences of bullying and oppression
On a personal note, among the reasons I started learning martial arts when I was young was to protect myself, not only from any bullies at school, but also from my own father, who had a slow burning explosive temper, that sometimes led to abuse. While my father tried to shelter me from the gang life he grew up in, the threat of brutality lingered throughout my childhood.
This also encouraged me to keep my martial arts training practical, as much as it was a way to channel my emotions constructively towards personal development, and taught me to deescalate confrontations.
I also grew up around a lot of racism being expressed from my father and extended family and his friends. Strangely enough, I have always been revolted by racism, even when I was very young. Some of my earliest memories were being deeply confused and offended by the vitriol and callousness of the condescending slurs I would hear. Even though it was my own family vomiting this hatred, nothing else made me feel more alienated from them. Though I’ve always respected my elders, I couldn’t tolerate their blind hatred, and frequently confronted my father and members of my family in defense of my diverse friends and interests, even if it meant refusing to eat holiday meals with them, or getting another beating.
To this day, I’m continually amazed and disgusted by the systemic hatred exposed by past and recent events that continues to divide and threaten us. I wonder why so many people are so blind to see that we are all connected brethren, spinning together on this tiny jeweled planet, circling a star, on the fringes of a galaxy swirling among countless others in a vast cosmos. But I digress…
The Bully within: where do bullies come from?
Bullies come in many forms, from the domestic violence of threatening partners and family members, cruel classmates and demeaning coworkers, to abusive superiors, oppressive government officials, and brutalizing police officers.
Bullies feel superior to and are intimidated by someone who is different; in response, they seek to dominate and attack. Bullies are predators incapable of having empathy for their prey, and lack any appreciation of diversity. The more bullies feel threatened, the more they escalate and lash out, either individually or collectively.
They may dominate and attack individuals or entire communities. The Bully/predator may threaten, demean, humiliate or attack their victims verbally, emotionally, physically or sexually, by direct or indirect means.
Racism, misogyny, homophobia and religious suppression are all forms of bullying, extremes on the spectrum of predatory behavior; the condescending supremacy is rooted in fear and control.
While bullying and oppression is nothing new, bigots of all kinds have been emboldened to crawl out from under their rocks by the recent torrent of hateful rhetoric flowing from a divisive US government administration helmed by a bully who openly gaslights and encourages hostility to such an extreme degree that it has become a sickening “new normal.”
As these toxic behaviors increase, the predators who participate in this cult of personality try to normalize their oppressive power as they worship their supreme leader. Thankfully, these bullies are being exposed on a larger scale as most people have video cameras and social media to share these incidents on a wide scale, increasing awareness and activism.
Where we stand today
At Mace Martial Arts, we support the massive protests represented in the Black Lives Matter movement demanding a long-overdue end to systemic racism and police brutality. We also acknowledge that there’s a vicious backlash as police and white supremacists retaliate by escalating attacks on minorities, protesters and innocent bystanders. I have deep respect for good police officers that put their lives on the line to protect and serve the people every day, just as I am revolted by any bigots in cop-clothing who try to hide behind their badges while continually terrorizing their communities — these corrupt officers serve injustice and must be rooted out.
My hope is extreme measures are swiftly enacted to put an end to the existential threat of systemic bigotry. But in the meantime, as a martial arts instructor, it’s become necessary that I teach my family and students self-defense to survive attacks from white supremacists, as well as confrontations with anyone else who represents a threat on some level, including those police officers that may abuse their authority. Sadly, as we’ve seen over the generations, and especially recently, sometimes the police are the white supremacist terrorists.
The problem with self-defense for civilians against police brutality and unlawful arrest, is that for legal reasons, the police currently hold legal authority in most states to use excessive force without restraint under the guise of “resisting arrest.” Which is why abusive cops are often heard repeatedly shouting “stop resisting” while they butcher their victims, so that body cameras can correspond with the bogus reports they cook up, and why so many bad cops get preferential treatment in the courts after their abuses of power.
I know the majority of police officers are good, respectful people, but the code of silence of the “thin blue line” that keeps protecting these racist terrorists in their ranks is reprehensible and unacceptable. Respect is earned through responsibility, and for law enforcement to gain trust and respect, the entire law enforcement community needs to step up, hold each other accountable, and be systematically overhauled.
We at Mace Martial Arts support all civilians, officials and officers who encourage these reforms that take a stand for social justice, and reject those in favor of maintaining the warped and evil status quo.
So what do we do about it?
There are 4 ways of dealing with a bully (an individual predator, or group of oppressive predators):
· Cave in to their demands and attacks in hope that they stop; the problem here is that you give the predator all the power, enabling and teaching them they can get whatever they want from you, or others.
· Ignore or avoid them, and hope they stop or go away; this might diffuse the predator’s threat if they decide to walk away, but it won’t stop them from attacking you or someone else later, and it will not stop a physical attack.
· Deescalate, distract or reason with them, to diffuse the conflict; if the bully is self-aware, they might learn to stop their aggression; realistically, this is rarely ever the case.
· Confront them, call them out, or take them to task; they may cower, but if they escalate, defend yourself to eliminate the threat, by whatever means appropriate and necessary. Bullies must be held accountable for their actions for them to stop attacking others and be forced to take responsibility for their actions.
Confronting bullies requires courage, but it is the only way that you stand up for your own rights and life, and the rights and lives of others the bully/predator may target.
To stop bullies, we must learn to say “no!” to them, draw a line to end their attacks and hold them accountable.
At Mace Martial Arts, we value the sanctity of all life, celebrate diversity, cultivate peace and justice, and accept students who are interested in learning how to improve and protect themselves. We have a zero-tolerance policy for bigotry and will reject any potential or current student who bullies or discriminates against others based on ethnicity, religious beliefs, or gender/orientation.
Return to Class on Father’s Day!
As King County received approval today from the Washington State Secretary of Health to enter into Phase 2 of the Safe Start program, we will be returning to in-person classes this Sunday, June 21st on Father’s Day!
We are ramping up on sanitation protocols and will require face masks in class for the instructor and students. This includes private lessons and small group classes of up to 5 students.
Remote Membership Option: I will continue to broadcast the group classes live remotely on Zoom, so that students that are unable to come to class, are too far away, or don’t feel comfortable yet to attend in person, can still follow along online.
This Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since I’ll be focused on teaching students that attend classes in person, instead of monitoring Zoom, I will be available to answer questions after class from both in-person and remote students via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership will be half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts.
I wish you a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend with your family, as we honor those who have served our country and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, especially now in light of the unprecedented and unpredictable changes we are all facing this year.
The next step in gradually lifting social distancing restrictions for the pandemic may come in early June — When Phase 2 rolls out, we will resume in-person classes at Mace Martial Arts, as Washington Governor Inslee indicated that martial arts is part of the activities allowed for small gatherings. This will include private lessons as well as small group classes of up to five people.
I will confirm when in-person classes will resume when Governor Inslee gives the order to move into Phase 2 of the gradual lifting of the Pandemic quarantine measures.
But wait, there’s more: I will continue to broadcast the group classes live remotely on Zoom, so that students that are unable to come to class, are too far away, or don’t feel comfortable yet to attend in person, can still follow along online.
This Remote Membership will give you the ability to continue training by following along with our regular group classes, and see us go through exercises, forms, applications and partner drills live. Since I’ll be focused on teaching students that attend classes in person, instead of monitoring Zoom, I will be available to answer questions after class from both in-person and remote students via via the discussion board on our members-only Mace Martial Arts private chat group.
The Remote Membership will be half the price of the in-person monthly Membership, but will still give you the ability to keep training with us and access to student resources at Mace Martial Arts.
“The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches, but to reveal to them their own.” – Benjamin Disraeli
The martial art that we practice at Mace Martial Arts, Bagua Zhang, is fundamentally based upon transformation — not only in the dynamics of a chaotic situation to a harmonious resolution, but also in the evolution of the practitioner.
At early stages, the Bagua Zhang student is taught basic structural principles and strategies, that through progressive training, evolves into a creative, raw and intuitive expression at advanced stages of practice.
This is one of my favorite aspects of this art, tapping into that creative flow, feeling the state of grace, and helping students discover their hidden potential and creativity.
Weeknight classes starting December! 🐉
Starting December 12th, we are adding Thursday evening classes, from 7-8pm!
Please advise if you plan to attend Thursday 7-8pm, and/or Sunday 11am-12:30pm classes.
Invite friends and family – receive a $20 discount from your next month for the referral, and they get $20 off their first month as well!
Reminder: no class held this coming Sunday, November 17th, so we’ll be making up for the time when we resume class on Sunday, November 24th.
Update – Mace Martial Arts Dojo/Guan:
We’ve been here in Shoreline for a year so far, and the training hall is coming together nicely. Come join us in class and check it out! We are holding Bagua Zhang classes on Sundays, 11am to 12:30pm, with a new weeknight class on Thursdays, 7pm-8pm, starting December 12th!
I’m teaching private lessons in the same space. It would be great to have you join in!
Kung Fu Theater Open Dojo & New Weeknight Classes at Mace Martial Arts!
Join us for the open house celebration of my new Guan (Dojo) in Shoreline, & I’m eager to add a weeknight class starting in September!
Kung Fu Theater Open Guan (Dojo) Double Feature!
Have you been wanting to check out our new training hall in Shoreline, or just have a fun, relaxing evening with the rest of us at Mace Martial Arts?
Join us for the open house celebration of my new Guan (Dojo) in Shoreline on my birthday, Saturday, August 17th, 2019, from 6pm-10pm!
I’m setting up the projection TV in the training hall, to play a Kung Fu Theater Double Feature:
Big Trouble in Little China, and Kung Fu Hustle!
All current, previous and new students are invited to the party — Please RSVP to this event here or to this email as space is limited!!
New Weeknight Classes:
For the last couple years, we’ve only had one weekly class on Sunday. I’m eager to expand availability in our new space to add a weeknight class, based on your demand, starting in September!
Are you interested? If you are, please let me know which day and time you prefer to attend:
either Wednesday or Thursday, from either 6-7pm, or 7-8pm.
Based on your feedback, I will confirm later this month with a follow up email which evening and class time we will start training on weeknights next month!
Update – Mace Martial Arts Dojo/Guan:
Since moving to Shoreline in November, we’ve transformed the 2-car garage into our new training hall. We have finished painting, have all the mats, some of the training equipment already, and planning to get training mirrors next!
We are holding Bagua Zhang classes in the new space on Sundays, 11am to 12:30pm, with a new weeknight class coming soon!
I’m teaching private lessons in the same space. It would be great to have you join in!
We’ve all faced many challenges over the last year. It’s been a chaotic and unpredictable ride for me personally, with tragic lows and exhilarating joys, shocking surprises and wonderful new changes. You can probably relate, as I have witnessed similar experiences for many of my family, friends and students, and have seen the same extremes on national and global levels as well.
May we embrace our struggles as lessons for our growth and celebrate our triumphs.
May we leave behind disappointments as ashes from the past and embrace the blessings as we rise like the Phoenix, and soar forward into this New Year with gratitude and grace!
January 2017
There are 5 Sundays this coming month,
I will be holding a bonus Bagua class tomorrow to ring in the New Year together with a renewing practice at Wilcox Park!
If you know of a good place, I’m open to suggestions!
Referral Bonus: $20 Discount off 1 Month’s Membership Tuition fees for referring a new student to enroll in classes, and a $20 Discount to the new Student that you refer for their first month!
Throughout the Universe, energy tends to move in spirals, naturally forming matter into spheres.
The polarity of opposites creates vortexes throughout nature — from galaxies, the movement of solar systems and the gravitational fields that create planets, hurricanes and typhoons, tornadoes, are also seen in the eddies in the currents of wind and waves. Reflected even in the growth of plants, DNA strands, and in molecular and atomic structures, the swirling patterns of the Golden Mean and Fibonacci’s Curve are omnipresent throughout the universe.
Taoist sages recognized these patterns as well, and these universal truths are reflected in Bagua Zhang, the “Eight Trigrams Palm“, a refined and formidable martial art founded on an ancient practice of meditative circle walking. The goal of this ancient circle walking practice was to increase vital energy and find attunement with the energy of the universe and enlightenment.
The Sacred Spiral is reflected not only on molecular and cosmic levels, but also in the structure of our muscles as they dynamically curve around our bones, and even in the muscle fibers themselves, like rope, or cable. Bagua Zhang systematically uses these structures in our bodies to naturally develop strength, health and maximize expression of power. Bagua Zhang emphasizes circularity and the principles of spiraling and the dynamic sphere more than any other martial art, for:
structure and fluid expression of force,
health and strength development,
strategies and principles of application in self defense, and
energetic dynamics for alchemical internal cultivation.
More specifically, in Bagua Zhang training, the Spherical Structure is expressed in each of its foundational principles:
Moving from Center – with gyroscopic Centrifugal and Centripetal Force, going with the flow with continuity and non-resistance.
Opposite but Complimentary Force and Movement – this unifies the whole body, for maximum expression of power. Bagua is the most ambidextrous martial arts system, emphasizing training both sides of the body bilaterally.
Maintaining bows and curves in the body and limbs – stretching open like the arches in bridges, and bows in archery, it also applies to powerful stances and footwork, and efficient expression of force through the body, arms and hands.
In striking along straight lines, the force spirals like drilling.
In circular strikes and kicks, the hands and feet cut in elliptical arcs from one’s center.
In grappling, the arms & legs coil and wrap the opponent’s to counter, lock and sweep.
In throwing, body and hands spiral in elliptical arcs to disrupt balance of the opponent.
Energy flows in a torus spiraling around the body, as in all magnetic and gravitational fields. The Intrinsic Life-Force Energy (Qi) naturally flows to and from spherical, spiraling fields, or centers in the body – expanding (reeling outward) and contracting (reeling inward) vortexes — understanding this dynamic maximizes efficient force with minimal effort – conserving strength by utilizing the power of spherical structure and stability. Bagua Zhang’s emphasis on these coils and spirals naturally increases the practitioner’s vitality. The rigorous and balanced training stimulates the mind, increases strength, flexibility and dexterity, while also cleansing impurities, and promotes healing on physical, emotional and spiritual levels.
Bagua Zhang is truly a profound, life-changing holistic method of self-cultivation and self-defense, and why I am so passionate about sharing this amazing, life transforming practice with as many people as I can.
This new schedule will provide us the opportunity to create more instructional video and written reference material of the Mace Martial Arts curriculum for my students. We are also seeking a more stable indoor location for our classes. Stay tuned for more details!
This will also free up time for private lessons —
Private lessons now $80 per hour, and $240 for a package 4 private lessons
— please *Contact me* to schedule times to continue your training.
I am grateful and happy to announce that I have found a wonderful new location for our Bagua Zhang classes! Starting tomorrow morning, Saturday, October 1st, I will be offering class at beautiful Wilcox Park in Lynnwood.
This park will be much easier to get to for those of you a little further North of Seattle, and there are many bonuses to our practicing Bagua at this lovely park.
First, there is plenty of off street parking, with two separate parking lots–one in front and one in back!
Second, there are proper, easily accessible bathroom and drinking fountain facilities.
Third, there are two covered shelters for practice in case of inclement weather–one smaller band shelter that could be a small space for a one-on-one lesson, as well as a larger, covered picnic shelter a little higher up the same hill.
Fourth, this park is located very near my new home, and my fiance, Ana Maria and I have decided that the most practical solution to an indoor class space during cold weather should be our living room, which we intend to set up as a convenient Bagua practice space, as well as one conducive to meditation and yoga.
In addition to all of these positive aspects of our new practice location, my favorite things about Wilcox Park are it’s gorgeous wooded areas, with sizable, mature trees, and that there several places within the park where we can actually practice with more serenity and privacy. Not only do the trees provide excellent shade cover for many parts of the park, but I found a few specific, really awesome spots within the canopy of trees, which are large enough to accommodate a decent sized class. These areas feel to me like a natural, open air temple, and the whole area feels very uplifting and inspirational for practicing Bagua. I trust you will love this park as much as I do!
The resonant feel and privacy of various practice spots within Wilcox Park, and the prospect of bringing classes into my home in case of cold or rainy weather, will offer a more welcoming, personal, and family atmosphere for us all. I am really excited about this, as I have desired this sense of community for our classes for some time.
Speaking of family, one last thing to mention about this park, is that it has a children’s playground and a basketball court for those of you with children, in case you care to bring them and someone to watch them while you practice!
Protect yourself with Mace Martial Arts training, and Stress Less with Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade Essential Oils!
Stress Less with Essential Oils
I’ve been familiar with the benefits of essential oils for several years, from when I was studying and practicing massage therapy. I’d heard of doTERRA, but I hadn’t actually used the brand until September of last year, when I was invited to attend the International doTERRA annual convention in Utah. I have to admit I was blown away by the high quality and diversity of their products, and even more so with the integrity of the company and their leadership in environmental and social consciousness. That weekend was a life-changing experience, and I knew this was something I had to be a part of.
If you are open to alternative forms of health care, tell me some of your health goals — I’m happy to share some samples of essential oils for you to try for yourself. If you’d like to learn more, I’d love to meet with you, either one on one, or to set up a small gathering with some of your family and friends for a personal presentation. I’m confident these oils will have a profound impact on your life as well!
Protect Yourself with Mace Martial Arts
Also during my next visit to Omaha in 2 weeks, I will be teaching a 2 part workshop on Bagua Zhang (“8 Trigrams Palm”) and Self Defense, on Sunday, March 13th, from 10am to 2:30pm.
Learn to boost your confidence, awareness, strength and flexibility with practical, hands on training and no-nonsense techniques for defending yourself.
Part 2: Self Defense and Awareness — focusing on awareness, evasion, and body weapons that women and even small children can use to protect themselves
Instructor:
Shifu Dennis Mace has been training and teaching holistic Martial Arts and Qi-Gong since 1982. His thorough, hands on approach, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and his commitment to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment has contributed to his widespread popularity in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
When Karen Atkins & I started collaborating to create the Essential Energy Classes a couple months ago, we were both deeply inspired to share the integration of the Energy Cultivation of Qi-Gong traditions we’ve practiced for decades, with the naturally supportive qualities of Essential Oils — both of these ancient technologies have had a profound impact on our lives, and we know that these simple daily practices can improve the lives of millions of people, by restoring their vitality and youthful joy.
Since then, we’ve already taught Essential Energy Workshops from coast to coast:
Essential Energy Workshop Seattle 24Oct2015
from Arcata, CA and Seattle, WA,
Essential Energy Workshop in Bangor, ME 07N0v2015
Essential Energy Workshop in Bangor, ME 07N0v2015
to full capacity in Bangor, ME, New York City and upstate New York —
Essential Energy Workshop in Bangor, ME 07N0v2015
— in each event, Karen and I have loved to see the inspiration catch like wildfire in the attendees!
We are planning more Essential Energy Workshops and programs, so let us know if you’d like us to teach in your area, share with others that would enjoy these classes, and stay tuned for upcoming events!
Intro to Bagua – the Root of my Energy & Martial Arts Practice
The culmination and pinnacle of my training and teaching in Martial Arts and Energy work over the last 33 years, is the holistic and esoteric art of Bagua Zhang (“8 Trigrams Palm”), The Circular Art of Transformation.
Are you looking for holistic exercise with real world self-defense?
Bagua Zhang training focuses on core-strength, balanced alignment and maintaining a calm mind while moving from one’s center with continuous circular motion for enhanced awareness. You will learn how to increase energy, become more grounded, increase intuition and connection with patients and your environment, and build self-confidence through the spiral movements and coiling power of Bagua Zhang.
Discover your inner-power and evolve with the ancient wisdom of Bagua Zhang~ the Art of the Vortex! For children and adults, beginners and experienced practitioners welcome!
Next month, I will be teaching 2 Intro to Bagua Workshops:
Karen Atkins cultivates practices that help people take better care of themselves and find their optimal state of being on all levels. Through “Restore Your Soul”, an awareness based business, Karen supports lifestyle education and transformation through nourishment, Qi Gong, essential oils, BodyTalk, music, and other therapeutic methods. She has recently been featured on Ted Talks and Good Morning America.
Dennis Mace – Instructor, Owner of Mace Martial Arts
* Dennis Mace – LMT, Yiliquan Kung Fu Black Belt, Formal Disciple of Yang Guotai
Shifu Dennis Mace has been training and teaching holistic Martial Arts and Qi-Gong since 1982. His thorough, hands on approach, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and his commitment to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment has contributed to his widespread popularity in the Pacific Northwest and beyond.
What we call “Mixed Martial Arts” today is mostly a sport-based amalgamation of Western Boxing, Muay Thai, and Brazialian jiu-jitsu, usually practiced in sporting events where fighters compete in a matted “cage” or ring. There are often other systems that influence the athletes in the sport, but these systems are the most common and popular. “Mixed Martial Arts” is the newest fad in martial arts training, and became popular in 1993 with the heavily promoted ‘Ultimate Fighting Championship.’
Actually, all traditional Martial Arts are “Mixed Martial Arts.”
Modern Muay Thai is a sport that comes from a root of older “Muay Boran” (traditional combat styles from Thailand), and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu comes from a simplified combination of Japanese Jujutsu systems and Judo.
Judo itself is a blend of several different Jujutsu systems compiled by Dr Jigoro Kano, simplified to be presented to the public at large in Japan, with a focus on self development at its core.
Taijiquan (Tai Chi) comes from 5 different martial arts systems, combined by a battle hardened Chinese General 500 years ago. Though it’s the most widely practiced martial art in the world, most people only learn the outer shell of it for exercise and meditation, without any understanding of the practical self-defense roots at the core of Taijiquan.
Choy Lay Fut is a well-known Chinese Street-fighting martial art combination of 3 different systems (that were also combinations of other family systems).
Wing Chun is widely popular Chinese Martial Art, with roots in various martial arts from the Shaolin Temple, made famous by it’s most legendary proponent, Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee is often credited as the “Father of Mixed Martial Arts”, as his philosophy “Jeet Kune Do” (“Way of the Intercepting Fist”) was to learn the basics of a system, then adapt, “use no way as way”, and express one’s self without the limitation of style. Though Bruce Lee was an inspiring visionary, the practice of mixing and adapting in martial arts has been with us since their inception several millennia ago.
The legendary Shaolin Temple and Wudang Temple are both important melting pots of hundreds of different systems in China. The Shaolin (“Young Forest”) temple is often credited as the birthplace of Chinese Martial Arts, but this is not so — the Chan (Zen) Buddhist Shaolin Temple was built in the 7th Century AD, and Chinese martial arts were already deeply systematized over 4,000 years before that (refer back to Sun Tzu’s “Art of War”).
Karate is commonly translated today as “Empty Hand”, however, it originally meant “China-Hand” in Okinawa, because it was comprised of multiple different systems imported from China. Later, in the early 20th Century, when Karate began to be taught in Japan, the Imperialists in Japan changed the characters’ meaning Kara (Chinese) to Kara (Empty), because of racist politics of the fascist regime at the time.
Tae Kwon Do & Tang Soo Do are both Korean derivatives of Shotokan (“Shoto’s House”) Karate, Shoto meaning the nickname for the Okinawan Instructor Gichin Funakoshi, who brought Okinawan Karate to Japan.
Silat are a collective of hundreds of very different martial arts styles from Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia, and the Phillipines, many of which are heavily influenced by Chinese styles of martial arts.
Dong Haichuan (1797-1813)
The system taught here at Mace Martial Arts is Bagua Zhang (“8 Trigrams Palm”),
the origins of which is credited to Dong Haichuan (1797 – 1882), who was already an accomplished expert of several different Shaolin martial arts styles, before he purportedly traveled to live at a Taoist Monastery for a decade. It is there, where Dong Haichuan learned the the ancient Taoist circle walking practices (at least 4,000 years old) and secretive martial arts that formed the foundation of what he synthesized with his previous martial training and later started teaching in Beijing as “Zhuan Zhang” (“Turning Palms”), which was eventually termed “Bagua Zhang” (“8 Trigrams Palm”). Dong Haichuan is therefore acknowledged as the primary transmitter of the system, not the actual founder, as the original arts arts Bagua Zhang was based on were taught secretly for thousands of years before he was introduced to them.*
Dong Haichuan selectively accepted many disciples, though purportedly only ones that were already experts of other martial arts. Dong Haichuan then took each students’ individual background training, and enhanced it with the dynamic circular principles of Bagua Zhang, resulting in myriads of different branches of the system. The differences between branches of Bagua Zhang is further widened, as each disciple was encouraged to find their own natural expression of the art, after they had built a solid foundation with the basics of Bagua Zhang.
Thank you for being a part of this rich tradition here at Mace Martial Arts!
Introducing new Bagua Zhang Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts!
Now offering Package Programs — for students that want an immersive learning experience, with more support and resources to help guide you to your goals. Bagua Zhang Package Programs Online
Start or deepen your martial arts training with Bagua Zhang!
Do you want to study a holistic martial art – Bagua Zhang, but don’t have a teacher in your area?
Here’s your chance to learn with a devoted instructor who cares about you, with live remote video classes!
Bagua Zhang Instructor Dennis Mace correcting a student’s posture in “Zhi Tian Cha Di”
While it may not be as personal or effective as learning in person with an instructor, it’s the next best thing, thanks to developments in technology. Here are
5 reasons why Live Online Video Classes are one of the best ways to learn:
Books are great insightful references, but the information may be difficult to decipher, and the author can’t respond to your questions. But with live online remote video classes, the teacher is right in front of you helping.
Recorded videos are great for getting the idea of a skill, but you can’t get corrections or feedback from the instructor in a recording — but with live remote online video classes, you get immediate feedback and insight from your instructor.
Online remote live video classes give you an opportunity to learn a style you want to learn – on a regular basis and from anywhere in the world –when the style or teacher you want to study from isn’t availablewhere you live. Let’s face it — it’s unrealistic for most people to move just to follow a teacher or a system, based on family and work obligations, travel visas and financial feasibility.
Remote Live online video classes allow you the convenience of training from home, on a regular basis, especially if you have moved away from your instructor and want to continue training with them. Giving you skills to work on in the meantime until you can travel to train with your instructor in person, or invite them to a workshop in your area for more personal training.
Remote Live Online training gives you the chance to learn under an instructor’s watchful eye, and correct errors or misalignments that you might be oblivious to in your own solo training; an experienced instructor will notice subtle differences that could save you years of mistakes and potential injuries from incorrect training, and accelerate your learning curve, with much more depth to boot.
Teaching Bagua Zhang Strategies
All you need to get started with remote online video classes is:
a high speed internet connection,
an account on Zoom.us ,
a space big enough to practice in front of your webcam, laptop, tablet or smart phone so I have visibility of what you’re doing,
a decent video camera and microphone that you can plug in to your computer (most laptops & tablets already have them built in!),
and you’re set!
Bagua Bridging Counter
Before we get started, here are
10 keys to enhance your online (or in person!) learning experience:
Be real (authentic) and courteous with your self and your instructor: keep your training realistic, honest, safe, and fun. Respect and honor yourself, your instructor, and the generations of practitioners before you that poured their blood, sweat and tears into cultivating this wellspring of wisdom that you are now a part of. Appreciate what you’re learning, and celebrate your growth and accomplishments!
Stay focused during lessons, and solo practice: pay attention to how you feel, think about what you’re learning, and what the movements mean — it is a path of discovery!
Commit to practicing at home at least 30-60 minutes a day what you’re learning in class: you’ll be surprised how fast you improve. If you practice only during classes, then you’ll waste class time trying to remember, instead of learning and progressing – take initiative for your growth! Use class time to refine your skills and learn new information. Mastery is a path, not a destination.
Be mindful of how the art you’re learning relates to all aspects of your life: Consider you are practicing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week — constantly learning and growing.
Stay humble: what you’re learning can make you healthy, as well as powerful — but that power doesn’t entitle you to manipulate, bully, or use others to try out new skills — that’s what the classroom is for! Like the saying goes: “with great power comes great responsibility.” Martial Arts is about nurturing one’s self, and protecting the sanctity of life. Remember, keep a beginners mind — because there is always potential to grow!
Private Classes can include more than just yourself: a) invite up to 2 other people to join your private lesson, get feedback while training with each other, and split the tuition of $80 per hour. b) If you can get 3 or more people to join you during your private class, you can create your own weekly group class, at group class tuition – this is a win-win situation, because it’s cheaper for you and your classmates, more beneficial for your instructor, and you get more opportunities to learn and grow with classmates!
Try to join Group Classes: if you are taking private lessons, try to join one of the regularly scheduled group classes remotely, so you can see others train and get more feedback and learning opportunities.
Ask questions! Be thoughtful about your training, if there’s something you’re unsure about, don’t hesitate to ask — this is for your growth, and I’m here to help you!
Take notes after your lessons! This helps you remember material covered during class so you can practice on your own outside of class. Get a notebook dedicated to your martial arts classes, so you have your own convenient reference as you progress.
Invite a local school or several friends to join you and a) Sponsoryour instructor for a workshop where you live, or b) schedule times when you can come train in person with your instructor to get the hands on training you need to progress!
Bagua Zhang Throwing technique
So all that’s left is to sign up and schedule your classes – I’m looking forward to training with you soon! Register for Private Classes Online
Introducing new Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts!
Now offering 2 package programs — 6 month Essential Package, and full year Journey to Mastery Package — for students that want an immersive learning experience and are ready to commit to lifestyle change and certification, with more support and resources to help guide you to your goals. Each of these programs include all regular group classes, private lessons, half-off workshops, testing fees and membership fees all at a package discount.
Have you encountered problems in your life where you feel attacked, dominated or just overwhelmed?
We all have at some point – maybe your job, an irritating family member, financial burdens, a painful injury, severe weather, an obnoxious neighbor, a bad haircut, or who died in the last “Game of Thrones” episode – most of us are struggling with some tragic situation almost every day.
When I was growing up, one of my greatest struggles was with my father — a quiet, funny, tough, street-wise man — who was also domineering, alcoholic, sometimes cruel, demeaning and abusive. I learned to deal with it by isolating myself, being introverted, and becoming very sensitive to my Dad’s slow-burning, explosive temper — especially after he’d been drinking.
There were times I remember my little sister hiding behind me in a corner of my room, as I pushed through our terror to try and protect us from Dad’s rages after he’d been out drinking.
Instead of being bitter about it, I realize the experience fostered attributes I might not have otherwise: empathy, being protective of family, vowing never to become alcoholic, and a passion to express myself through art, and martial arts.
Despite the turmoil, my Dad encouraged my passion for artwork and martial arts. I’ll never forget when, at my High School graduation, with a tear in his eye and lump in his throat, my father told me how proud he was of me (since he’d dropped out), and how sorry he was for many of the things he did; he said he wanted to make sure I grew up to be a better man than he was. He passed away just 4 months later.
Even though it was rough growing up sometimes, I realize — especially after becoming a parent myself — my Mom and Dad were both doing the best they could, and I appreciate all the opportunities they gave me. I miss Dad more as time goes on, and wish I could have thanked him before he passed. I wouldn’t change my childhood at all, even if I could. It’s helped me grow to be who I am.
Dad and I, 1982.
Through the courtesy and rigor of martial arts practice, we learn to defend ourselves from physical attack — the first, most obvious threat to health and well-being. In the beginning, we learn a system of strategies, that teach us attacks targeting us are bridges to opportunity for survival, learning, and improvement.
As we progress in training, and integrate those strategies into our being, we realize that those physical techniques are metaphors for how the strategies can be applied to any aggression or obstacle in our daily lives, to improve self-expression and communication in how we relate with friends, coworkers, and family.
Even further, as we continue to train, we realize those same strategies are powerfully effective in overcoming personal barriers in our own spiritual growth.
Here at Vajra Visions, I share an innovative system that integrates
the principles of the Taoist martial art Bagua Zhang (“8 Trigrams Palm”, the art of transformation),
with the mystical Elements of Tantric Buddhism – a holistic system designed to cultivate each student on all levels.
Experience the Vortex — Discover your inner-power and evolve with the Ancient wisdom of Vajra Bagua Zhang (金剛八卦掌 “Thunderbolt 8 Trigrams Palm”), the Circular Art of Transformation! Take the next step in your evolution – join our classes today! www.MaceMartialArts.com
Training available in person and remote/private video classes online!
Instructor: Shifu Dennis Mace began Martial Arts in 1982, and now teaches in Seattle, WA
with thorough, hands on detail, emphasizing courtesy and ethics, and is committed to cultivating each student’s authentic skills and improving their overall health and empowerment. He is also available for workshops and seminars!
Introducing 3 new Bagua Zhang Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts!
Introducing 3 new Bagua Zhang Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts — quarterly, 6 month, and full year — for an immersive learning experience, with more support and resources to help guide you to your goals. Each of these 3 programs include group classes, private lessons, full uniforms (shirt, pants & sash), half-off workshops, testing fees and membership fees all at a package discount.
Moving Meditation – Bagua Zhang: Art of the Vortex
Private Bagua Zhang Classes Worldwide Online
Have you been interested in taking Bagua Zhang Classes, but there’s no teacher in your area, or the class times do not fit your schedule?
I have a great solution: I am launching a new program to teach Bagua Zhang classes privately via remote video online!
All you need is:
a high speed internet connection,
an account on either Google Hangouts or Skype,
a space big enough to practice in front of your webcam, laptop, tablet or smart phone so I have visibility of what you’re doing
Schedule a time to begin your training now!
Introducing 3 new Bagua Zhang Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts!
Introducing 3 new Bagua Zhang Package Programs at Mace Martial Arts — quarterly, 6 month, and full year — for an immersive learning experience, with more support and resources to help guide you to your goals. Each of these 3 programs include group classes, private lessons, full uniforms (shirt, pants & sash), half-off workshops, testing fees and membership fees all at a package discount.
Welcoming the Year of the Ram with a fresh start and renewed purpose!
Fresh Start for the New Year!
“You have sole ownership of your vision. And the Universe will give you what you want within your vision. What happens with most people is that they muddy their vision with “reality”. Their vision becomes full of not only what they want but what everybody else thinks about what they want, too. Your work is to clarify and purify your vision so that the vibration that you are offering can then be answered.” – Esther Hicks
I am setting a new tone for the coming year, with more structure and opportunities in my Vajra Bagua Zhang Classes to maximize your growth on all levels:
membership section of my website with a continually growing reference library of information available to my students (written articles and video)
simpler tuition schedule (payments due 1st of each month, prorated for new students, credit card options via PayPal, Square & Wave)
more organized, progressive curriculum
a ranking system to track and encourage student growth, with a quarterly testing schedule
Quarterly Workshops with more specialized training
remote video/online options for both private and group classes
6 Month and 1 Year Package Programs for students interested in mastery or passing on the system by teaching
Uniforms (starting with T-Shirts with Vajra Visions – MMA logo, later on with traditional custom uniforms)
With new Vajra Bagua Zhang Class times —
Saturday mornings 11am-12pm
Sunday mornings 11am-12pm
Tuesday evenings 6pm-7pm
— comes refined tuition options, please let me know which day(s) you plan to attend as you enroll:
□ $50 – Private Class (call to schedule Taoist Yoga/Qi-Gong, or Martial Arts/Self-Defense) – per 1 hour session
□ $60 – Basic 4 Week Bagua Zhang Course (One – 1hr group class per week) Choose: Tues – Sat – Sun
□ $90 – Standard 4 Week Bagua Zhang Course (Two – 1hr group classes per week) Choose: Tues – Sat – Sun
□ $120 – Intensive 4 Week Bagua Zhang Course (Three – 1hr group classes per week)
Refer a friend or family member and get $10 off your tuition!
If you would like to continue with regular training,
Join our New Bagua Zhang Classes!
Saturday mornings 10am-11am, at Seattle Asian Medicine and Martial Arts,
Tuesday evenings 6pm-7pm, at Seattle Asian Medicine and Martial Arts, and
Monday afternoons 12pm-1pm, at KeyArena at Seattle Center (outdoors, North Courtyard)
Please let me know if you have any questions — Talk to you soon!
Sincerely,
Dennis Mace, LMT
Vajra Visions – Mace Martial Arts & Massage Therapy www.MaceMartialArts.com The Other MMA ~ Look within to reveal and heal your True Self!
“Vision is the gift to see what others only dream”
Why Martial Arts and Massage Therapy?
I hear this question a lot.
While it seems contradictory, the practices are actually complimentary – on several levels.
Martial and Healing Arts have been practiced in tandem in most cultures for several millenia. Though this tradition has been lost in the West, in most of Asia it’s stereotypical for the village martial arts instructor to also be the village doctor. As I was growing up, each of my martial arts instructors had a background in some form(s) of healthcare, from first aid and western medicine to Chinese medical theory & Tui-Na — and we learned those healing methods as part of the martial arts curriculum.
Why’s that?
Well, not only does first aid come in handy for training injuries, but other healing methods keep us in top shape to continue training on the path of personal refinement.
Also, a strong working knowledge of physiology and anatomy makes self-defense skills much more practical; alternately, learning self-defense also makes a healthcare practitioner aware of not only the frailty of life, but also it’s limitless potential to heal and grow. From an ethical perspective, martial arts teaches responsibility to help ourselves, and help others.
“With great power comes great responsibility…”
For me, massage therapy is a facet of my martial arts practice, the goal is to help others heal and find balance.
I view Healthcare and Martial Arts as flip sides of the same coin, and believe that martial arts is a Fourfold Path:
Warrior
Scholar
Sage
Healer
Becoming a professional healthcare provider has been a rewarding step in fulfilling this Fourfold Cycle. My martial arts background enhances my bodywork practice with refined sensitivity and intuition. I integrate Deep Tissue, myofacial release and energy work in each therapeutic session. My commitment is to provide each client their own individual treatment plan, and a uniquely fluid, integrated bodywork experience that is seamlessly restorative and relaxing.Schedule your appointment today, and enroll in my life-changing classes — I will help you return to your center, health and wellness!
P.S. Announcing new Bagua Zhang classes!
Saturday mornings 10am-11am, & Tuesday evenings 6pm-7pm, at Seattle Asian Medicine and Martial Artsand Monday afternoons 12pm-1pm at Seattle Center, Key Arena (outdoors, North Courtyard)
In Chinese Astrology, 2014 is the year of the Green Wood Horse, leading us from the trepidation of the last Black Water Snake year, into a bold, new era.
According to this ancient wisdom, we are at the brink of startling new growth and exhilarating potential.So saddle up, and let’s ride the Horse to Health and Happiness!If you’re feeling blocked, stiff or sore, come in to get some relief, clear your body and mind with a soothing massage so you can get focused and back on track!
Starting Saturday mornings, later this month on February 21st, from 10am-11pm at Seattle Asian Medicine and Martial Arts 12025 Lake City Way NE Suite B Seattle, Washington 98125 www.sam-ma.com
Looking forward to helping you again soon ~ Happy Lunar New Year to you and your dear ones!
Tonight is the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year, and you might feel a bit sleep deprived, with Holidays and the Year’s end upon us.
While the days are shorter and the nights are longer, do you find yourself wanting more sleep than usual? Maybe waking in the middle of the night and struggling to get back to sleep?
Rest assured, you probably don’t have a sleep disorder — I can certainly relate, and am looking forward to catching up on rest!
Sleep is necessary for us to “recharge our batteries” energetically, to “reset” and heal our body, mind and spirit. Good, restful sleep is deeply restorative in many ways:
keeps our mind sharp and alert
keeps our heart healthy with stress recovery
reduces weight gain by balancing metabolism and cortisol levels
keeps our nervous system functioning at the optimum level
increases vital energy — therefore boosts our immune system and pain threshold
boosts motivation and libido
improves mood and relationships
One of my Bagua Zhang instructors recommended waking up in the middle of the night to train and meditate because of the lack of distractions and optimal energy flux in our bodies’ natural cycles. There are ancient Taoist manuals that recommend practicing Qi-Gong around 2am because of this energetic circadian rhythm.
I remember when I was child waking up in the wee hours of the night and having profound moments of clarity and calm. I sometimes still do this, but because of our modern perception of what our sleep cycles “should be” (8 hour blocks), I wondered if I had a sleep disorder.
You might be surprised, as I was recently, to find out it was once common to have a bi-modal sleeping pattern, referred to as ‘first sleep‘ and ‘second sleep‘ before electric lighting in homes, where people would go to sleep around 8pm, wake up between 11pm and 1am to read or write for a couple hours before returning to sleep again… therefore the expression “burning the midnight oil.”
Apparently, bi-modal sleeping patterns are more natural, and our modern perception of sleep cycles are distorted and need some revision… This lends credence to the adage “early to bed, early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise“…
Here’s a great article that challenges the myths of getting “a proper night’s sleep”:
Other research suggests sleeping more than 6 hours at once can be detrimental
to our muscles (due to inactivity),
to our use of nutrients (starving then stuffing your body), and
to our mind and perception (long periods of consciousness being separate from the body can lead to anxiety about physical reality, a sense of unnatural separation of the personality, causing a distorted view of the polarity of good vs. evil, etc).
A better solution could be sleeping in 4-6 hour blocks, and then taking a nap later on if necessary.
The truth is, we all have different individual needs that change season to season, and under different conditions. So, listen to your body’s needs, including following your own sleep patterns, and you’ll feel much better!
Wishing you and yours very Happy Holidays and a refreshingly restorative Winter!
Come in to check out my new space and get a great massage at New Seattle Massage in Seattle’s University District!
Starting this month I will be consolidating my practice from Bothell and Seattle to one central location, with more availability for your schedule at New Seattle Massage.
To enhance your healing experience, this tranquil and beautiful environment offers
warm spacious massage rooms with heat lamps and soothing music,
a sauna,
a steam room,
a spacious class room and
showers for after your massage session!
To schedule an appointment with me at New Seattle Massage,
call (206) 632-5074.
P.S.: If you have a massage package or gift certificate that hasn’t been completed or redeemed yet, please schedule with me at either my Wallingford or Bothell office before they expire at the end of October ~ you can forward the credit to a friend or family member as well ~ email or call me if you have any questions!
In my previous article, I introduced two crucial deep breathing methods to reduce pain and increase your energy. Now, I’ll be taking you to the next level, to help you eliminate pain, get grounded, more connected and discover your inner-power!
“Inner-Power“, you ask?
Yep!
In Chinese, it’s called Qi (pronounced “chee“), and means “breath” and “energy”, interchangeably. Have you seen the Star Wars movies? “The Force” is the same ancient concept of connection and Vitality.
Using the Reverse Breathing method I shared in my previous article is a key to tap your inner-power, combining focus and imagination in this transformative healing aspect of Qi-Gong (“Breath/Energy Cultivation“), called “Microcosmic Orbit“.
Microcosmic Orbit
This practice connects the 2 main center-line Acupuncture Meridians*
in your body in a continuous loop.
These meridians flow naturally — as long as we’re alive. By practicing Microcosmic Orbit, you consciously open and “charge” this circuit for increased healing energy, circulation and awareness.
The key elements to practicing Microcosmic Orbit are:
As you start, focus on your body’s center of gravity, in the Lower Abdomen at your body’s core, for at least 4 full breaths. This grounds & centers you.
press the tip of your tongue up, as if through the roof of the mouth (like switch, or circuit breaker between the 2 Meridians),
imagine your body is standing like a tree. Extend feeling through your feet deep into the Earth, like the roots of a great tree. Extend your head upward (as described in the first article “A Simple Secret to Pain Relief“), like the branches and leaves of a tall, powerful oak.
As you inhale, grip the ground with your toes and heel, arch the bottom of your feet to create a pumping/suction feeling, and imagine drawing your breath & energy up through your feet, as if through a straw, up your legs, through your spine, to the crown of your head — like a tree drawing sap, rich in nutrients up from the roots through the whole tree.
As you exhale, press your feet flat into the ground and allow your breath and energy to sink with your weight, as if it were sunlight and fresh rain, washing through and nourishing the limbs, trunk and roots of your body, from head to feet.
when you conclude, focus again on your body’s center of gravity, in the Lower Abdomen at your body’s core, for at least 4 full breaths. This grounds & centers you, allowing your energy to safely, naturally “digest” throughout your body.
Practice this cycle for several breaths for the full effect. You may feel warmth, tingling, magnetic pressure, a rush of awareness, as well as physical healing and emotional clearing. You can practice while sitting, standing, and eventually even while walking!
Practicing Microcosmic Orbit will help correct your posture, boost and ground your energy, while helping you feel more open and connected at the same time!
If you liked this article, and want more, I’m creating
free weekly articles (with video)
with practical tips & ancient techniques for vitality and getting grounded & centered
Classes are once a week, in progressive 8 week sessions, starting in Seattle on Tuesday August 20th or Saturday, August 24th, and in Bothell on Thursday, August 22nd. Register for the 8 week session now!
* the 2 main center-line Acupuncture Meridians in your body are:
Governing Vessel rises through the spine to the top of the head, then descends to the roof of the mouth,
Conception Vessel descends from the tongue through the throat, down the chest and abdomen to the perineum.
In my last post, I shared one of the most effective secrets to correct posture and reduce pain — deep breathing.
What results have you noticed from using the posture & deep breathing methods in my previous article?
To enhance the health benefits, here are 2 deep breathing methods that will help you feel more centered, grounded, and energized!
The key to both methods is to imagine drawing your breath deep into your belly, to your body’s center of gravity (below your navel 1-2 inches, at your body’s core).
Abdominal Breathing
Abdominal breathing is the relaxed breathing we naturally use when sleeping. This form of breathing soothes tension and anxiety, clears the mind and calms emotions.
In abdominal breathing, your abdomen naturally expands when you inhale, and contracts as you exhale.
Reverse Breathing
Reverse breathing is the breathing we naturally use when exerting to lift, pull or press something heavy. Referred to as “prenatal breathing” by Taoist Masters, as it is the “breath” used by infants still in the womb. For thousands of years, Qi-Gong (“breath/energy-work”) Masters have regarded this breathing method as a secret to vitality and longevity.
In Reverse Breathing, your abdomen contracts as you inhale, then your abdomen compresses and your lower back (around your kidneys) expands as you exhale. This creates a subtle, yet powerful internal pump that stimulates the endocrine system and energy flow throughout your body.
So, if you are feeling anxious or stressed, practice Abdominal Breathing to calm your mind and soothe tension, and to help wind down at the end of your day.
If you are feeling exhausted or scattered, practice Reverse Breathing to revive and get focused, or to start your day when you wake up — who needs coffee, right? 😉
More details on Reverse Breathing coming in my next article!
Stay tuned for my next article ~
I will share more to clarify and enhance the efficacy of the Reverse Breathing method…
If you liked this article, and want more, I’m creating
free weekly articles (with video)
with practical tips and ancient techniques for vitality and getting grounded & centered
P.S.: If you’d like to learn more about these powerful healing methods hands on, come check out my classes ~ Announcing my first 8 week session of Moving Mediation – Bagua: The Circular Art of Transformation!
In these classes, you will learn how to
increase energy,
become more rooted/grounded,
increase intuition and connection,
and build self-confidence
through the spiral movements and coiling power of Bagua Zhang.
Classes are once a week, in 8 week sessions, starting in Seattle on Tuesday August 20th or Saturday, August 24th, and in Bothell on Thursday, August 22nd. Register for the 8 week session now!