Discipleship Ceremony

Glenn and my family were all picked up at 8:30am.....and we went to the Tian Tan Sports Hotel where the Ceremony was to take place. We prepared our Disciple Request to be accepted as his disciple.......these are to be presented to Master Zhao which if he accepts means we will be his disciples.......there are 21 of us......from young to old..........I think I am his oldest disciple. 

Master Zhao Da Yan held the accepting new disciples ceremony at the Tiantan Sports Hotel in Beijing.

Many masters wrote calligraphy to celebrate the event......this one reminds us to be good at Martial Arts one must first be a good person.

The group presiding over the event represented the Li Zhi Ming Branch of Bagua Zhang. 

these are the older generation of Masters and family members.

The list of dignitaries and Wushu Masters is impressive.  Coach Wu arrived late but ready to take part in the ceremony.......also met Master Qin who I have not seen in more than 10 years......the first group of San Francisco Wushu Students I took to China in 1997......trained with him.  He is a Master of Shaolin Wushu......he is now promoting traditional wushu and calligraphy....and his is exceptional!  There are also many of the major officials in the China Wushu Association and also the Beijing Wushu Association. 

I was quite happy to see Coach Wu, who was quite proud of the fact that I had worked hard to promote Chinese Wushu.

It was good to see Master Qin again...he is next to me.....a master of Shaolin Quan.

The disciples with the Head of China's Wushu Association, ZhangYau Ting.  He also contributed some of the Calligraphy for the ceremony.

Li Zhi Ming's fifth daughter is very active in the promotion of her father's Martial arts.

Our group with Madame Zhao.

At 10am, the Ceremony begins with Master Zhao lighting incense and paying his respect to the previous generations of Baguazhang.......then we file in and present ourselves and our disciple request....he accepts each of us......and then as a group we bow and show our respect for Master Zhao.  Then Da Shixiong........number one disciple, thanks Master Zhao for accepting us and pledges all of us to promote and further develop traditional wushu.  Then after that I had to make a speech too....since many of the Wushu older generation have not met meet me, Master Zhao felt it was very important to introduce myself.  Master Zhao advised that if I wish to promote Wushu in America having contact with the leaders and old masters would give me recognition and open doors in China......After this,we took pictures  with the older masters and Wushu officials......then the new disciples took pictures with the older disciples.......they became disciples in 1984......being older than many of them....I got treated with a lot of respect................and the younger disciples who can speak some English sat and talked to me about Wushu in America.  Then lots of good food and lots of Ganbei.......it  was a very special event....when you realize not only are you part of a new family, but also part of the of Wushu World of China.  Hope you enjoyed this look into the Traditional Wushu World......this has been the way to pass on knowledge to the next generation........by verbal transmission not digital....................some things a book and a video cannot convey you have to experience it.......I should mention as part of the ceremony each of us received a manuscript describing how to practice wushu, qigong theory, and history and development of Taiji.............you might wonder why Taiji......Master Zhao while not a disciple of Taiji was given transmission of Yang Style by Yang Zhenji............he was laosan....number three in the Yang Family.  While I am Master Zhao's Bagua Disciple.... and will be considered a fifth generation master of Bagua.....I will be responsible for promoting Yang style Tai Chi and Qinna.......that is the job given to the new disciples.......the older disciples are responsible for promoting Bagua.  However, I will need to teach someone the Bagua that I have learned and make sure it is practiced correctly.  It was quite a day and something special to a martial artist....to be recognized for one's hard work and singled out to carry on a tradition and legacy of Chinese Martial arts!

Ok cya......... going out tonite with..........Wudi....we are going out for dinner. Bye!!  Thanks for reading!

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