Syllabus
You may have all sorts of wonderful ideas, what you consider to be
valuable contributions and insights, your own personal take on matters.
Nobody cares. Quite the opposite. The fastest way to alienate yourself in a
dojo is to make known these ideas or to volunteer your suggestions on how
training might be better or more effective.
(Dave Lowry)
Belts
This page contains a list of the 17 grades explored within our syllabus.
Grades are split into 5 levels: beginners, intermediate, experienced, teacher training and advanced.
White
Yellow
Orange
Green
Blue
Purple
Red
Brown
1st dan
2nd dan
3rd dan
4th dan
5th dan
6th dan
Teacher training
7th dan
8th dan
White
To pass their white belt, the student must be proficient with the
following material:
· Alignment
· Balance
· Centre
· Chin na (intro)
· Qigong
- 8 topics
· Stepping
· Structure
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Yellow
To pass yellow belt, the student must be proficient with the following material:
· Chin na escapes
· Monkey paws (intro)
· Neigong (intro)
· Penetrating defences (intro)
· Posture testing
· Pushing hands
· Pushing legs (intro)
· Qigong
- 8 topics
· Striking
· Yielding exercise
The student must also complete:
· Challenge – full circle qigong
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
The student may also wear a kung fu suit if they want to.
Orange
To pass orange belt, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 4 ounces
· Central equilibrium (exercise 1)
· Countering (intro)
· Floor work (intro)
· Group work/melee (intro)
· Punching rehabilitation
· Yang Cheng Fu form (section 1)
· Yielding basic skills
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - form challenge
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Green
To pass green belt, the student must be proficient with the following material:
· Central equilibrium (exercise 2)
· Fear of falling
· Playing the attacker
· Qigong development
· Shuai jiao basic skills
· Small san sau
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - qigong development
· Challenge - small san sau challenge
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Blue
Blue belt is the start of the intermediate level.
To pass blue belt, the student must be proficient with the following material:
· Countering/pushing peng
· Dying ground
· Melee 1 & 2
· Qigong
- 16 topics (column 2)
· Silk arms (1-10)
· Yielding/chin na
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - 5 minute yielding/chin na endurance challenge
· Challenge - silk arms challenge
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Purple
To pass purple belt, the student must be proficient with the following material:
· 3-D
· 60/40 stance
· Countering punches, kicks and grapples
· Everybody falls
· Form application (section 1 intro)
· Knife drills
· Neutral state/composure
· Penetrating defences
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - 10 minute endurance challenge
· Challenge - knife drilling
· Challenge - penetrating defences drilling
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Red
To pass the red belt, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· Being hit
· Gravity striking
· Loose striking
· Melee 3-5
· Pushing peng (partnered)
· Pushing peng (striking)
· Speed striking
· Walking stick (cane) drills (set 1)
· Yang Cheng Fu form (section 2)
· Yielding/countering
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - 5 challenges
· Challenge - form challenge
· Challenge - walking stick (cane)
drills (set 1)
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Brown
To pass the brown belt, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 13 postures
· Balance, rhythm, timing
· Countering a knife
· Elbow
· Escapes/knife
· Neigong
- 21 qualities
- extras
· Yang Cheng Fu form (section 3)
· Yielding/knife
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - 13
postures challenge
· Challenge - form challenge
· Challenge - shuai jiao relay (5 mins)
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the belt in class.
Black (1st dan)
1st dan is the start of the experienced level.
To pass 1st dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 5 animals
· Breath meditation
· Entry methods
· Finishing-off
· Form application
(section 1)
· Frame size
· Floorwork
· Folding
· Freeform
· Leg stretches (set
1)
· Neigong
- incorporation
· Penetrating
defences against a knife
· Qigong
- Form posture qigong (60/40)
- High circle qigong
- Qigong on one leg
- Standing post with arms
· Shen
· Sparing yourself
· Walking stick (cane) drills (set 2)
· The way of the bear
· The way of the bird
· The way of the
monkey
· The way of the
snake
· The way of the
tiger
· Yin
· Wu nien
The student must also complete:
· Assignments
- Assignment #1 interpret a koan
- Assignment #2 write a haiku
- Assignment #3 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (1)
- Assignment #4 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (2)
- Assignment #5 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (3)
· Challenge - knife attackers (5 minutes)
· Challenge - walking stick (cane) drills (set
2)
Having been graded, the student is entitled to wear the black belt in class.
Black (2nd dan)
To pass 2nd dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 3-tier wallbag
· 5 elements striking
· 60/40 against a knife
· 8 powers striking
· Floorwork (control)
· Freeform grappling
· Heavy bag
· Kicking
· Leg stretches (set 2)
· Massage
· Newton's Laws of Motion
· Pushing hands development
· Small stick drills
· Small stick flexibility drills
· Yielding/chin na/knife
· Walking stick
(cane) drills (set 3)
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - one-hit wonder
· Challenge - small stick drills
· Challenge - walking
stick (cane) drills (set 3)
Black (3rd dan)
To pass 3rd dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 2 person stick form/drill
· Becoming the centre
· Chin na applications (introduction)
· Crude fa jing
· Double pushing hands
· Da lu
· First hand/second hand
· Form application (section 2)
· Freeform
· Holding down the pillow
· Improvised weaponry/knife
· Large rhythm, small rhythm
· Latent movements
· Meditation on emotions
· Projections (set 1)
· Silk arms dismantled
· Silk arms knife defence
· Stretches & joint work (set 3)
· Walking stick drills dismantled
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - 2 person stick form challenge
· Challenge - da lu
· Challenge - double pushing hands challenge
· Challenge - hammer into anvil
Black (4th dan)
To pass 4th dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· 5 elements striking (part 2)
· Assignments (2)
· Broadsword
- solo drills
- partnered drills
· Chin na applications (detailed)
· Disarming
· Fa jing
· Form application (section 3)
· Freeform (non-cooperative)
· Kuai jiao (Chinese fast wrestling)
· Meditation on body sensations
· Monkey
· Neigong
- 11 qualities
- incorporation
· Overwhelming attacks
· Projections (set 2)
· Rolling
· Stretches & joint work (set 1)
· Tools
· Yang Cheng Fu form (mirrored)
The student must also complete:
· Assignments (5)
- Assignment #6 interpret a koan
- Assignment #7 write a poem
- Assignment #8 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (6)
- Assignment #9 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (7)
- Assignment #10 interpret a zen/tao excerpt (8)
· Challenge - form application challenge
· Challenge - mass attack (5 minutes)
· Challenge - mirrored form challenge
Black (5th dan)
To pass 5th dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· Pao chui
· 5 elements striking (part 3)
· Cultivating sung
· Disintegration
· Dying ground (experienced)
· Energy drainage
· Form application (power)
· Form in self defence
· Freeform
· Kinetic pathway
· Neigong
- 8 qualities
- incorporation
· Open & close
· Projections (set 3)
· Qigong
- column 3
· Reflex drills
· Rhythm
· Small circle
· Stretches & joint work (set 2)
· Unite upper & lower
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - chin na applications
· Challenge - improvised weaponry
· Challenge – pao chui challenge
· Challenge - projections challenge
· Challenge - reflex drills challenge
Black (6th dan)
To pass 6th dan, the student must be proficient with the following
material:
· Adapt, change & improvise
· Bone marrow washing
· Cavity press
· Chin na against a knife
· Consolidation
· Dim-mak (dim-su/incapacitation)
· Dividing the muscle
· Fa jing (variations)
· Flowing chin na
· Freeform
· Internalising
· Jing
- 13 postures
- 44 expressions
· Misplacing the bones
· Neigong
- 10 qualities
- incorporation
· Power generation
· Pre-natal breathing
· Reeling silk
· Rhythm
· Sealing the breath
· Small frame
· Striking methods
· Sung
· Tortoise breathing
· Waving
· Yin body
· Yin/yang
The student must also complete:
· Challenge - non-cooperative relay (5 mins)
· Full syllabus revision
Teacher training
Completing teacher training means that you are capable of opening your
own class.
If you do not pass teacher training, you cannot study the advanced level.
Baguazhang/bagwa/pakua is offered alongside teacher training.
Black (7th dan)
7th dan is the start of the advanced level.
A 7th dan practitioner is a teacher in their own right.
If they are running their own class, they have the rank of 'sifu'.
These topics need to be completed:
·
The art
· Form
· Meditation
· Principles
· Self defence
· Sensitivity
· Simplicity
· Softness
· Strategy
· Study
· Tao
· Whole-body movement
· Zen
7th dan involves an in-depth exploration of the internal arts, tao and zen.
It is about becoming a scholar.
Extensive study and research is required.
The entire syllabus must be reconsidered and revised in light of your findings.
Black (8th dan)
An 8th practitioner is both a teacher and a scholar, possessing a
considerable sense of the art and its philosophical heritage.
8th dan involves taking your understanding and knowledge a step further.
To come full circle the student must explore a number of topics.
These topics need to be completed:
· Awareness
· Balance
· Contribution
· Creativity
· Innovation
· Insights
· Intuition
· The Silent Flute
· Te
· The way
The student must make a unique, personal and significant contribution to the
art.
This can take the form of new insights, approaches or applications.
The contribution must be meaningful and extensive.
It needs to affect every aspect of the training.
The exponent has come full circle and has a beginner's mind once more.
Study, research, practice and progress must continue.
The art must unfold and your insight deepen.
Coming full circle also means that you are capable of training students to
become a teacher.
Page created 23 January 1999