WuDang Dan Pai

WuDang Dan Pai is a martial arts school teaching Wudang Quan.

## Description

The system is known for its emphasis on practical applications, and its fighting and healing abilities, with many of its masters entering full contact competitions or becoming traditional healers. Equal emphasis is placed on internal training and external strength.

Throughout it's history, particularly over the course of the 20th Century, Wudang Dan Pai masters exchanged techniques with and incorporated forms and even full systems from other martial artists. As such, it is hard to trace the origins of techniques beyond the 10th Generation master Li Jing-Lin.

## History

### Early History

According to *T'ai Chi Magazine*, volume 29, no. 3, Wudang Dan Pai claims direct descent of Zhang SanFeng. Starting in the Ming Dynasty with Zhang Song-Xi, Wudang Dan Pai has been passed down for 13 generations. The system was founded over 500 years ago and has been passed down through the ages without cease.

### Contemporary History

The International Wudang Internal Martial Arts Academy was officially founded in 2006 in Seattle, WA by 13th Generation Masters Chang Wu-Na and Dr. Lu Mei-Hui to spread Wudang Martial Arts and culture. With the direct blessing of Ma Jie, the 12th generation Gatekeeper, the school was to act as his global base for spreading Wudang martial arts. Upon his passing, the academy became the world headquarters for his Wudang system. Since the formation of the Academy, Chang and Lu have since gathered several additional systems of martial arts to add into the system.

This academy is founded on the basis of the practical use and application of its techniques. The two main paths of application are internal and external. Internally the techniques are applied to discover and foster a healthier mind, body and lifestyle. Externally the techniques are applied for self-defense and fighting. To this end, it is the academy’s responsibility to provide students with as accurate and realistic an approach to the material  as possible, an approach that can sometimes be lacking nowadays in traditional esoteric arts.

Since the founding, the academy has taken part in several martial arts competitions, routinely taking top honors in its divisions. It has been profiled and reported on in various newspapers and magazines, and has become a leader in internal martial arts in the Pacific Northwest.

The International Wudang Internal Martial Arts Academy was founded on the ideal of giving back to the community and helping society at large. To this end the instructors have taught seminars and classes to numerous students from all over the United States, Canada, the UK and China. In addition to regular classes, the academy also offers workshops, by-invitation demonstrations and presentations. The academy continues to participate locally and on the national level in martial arts competitions, demonstrations, and cultural exchanges.

This is a place where the old meets the new. Where the esoteric and the pragmatic are side by side.

We follow the example of the old masters who not only drew from what was passed to them, but learned and adapted to the modern environment in which they lived. The art we promote is a living art, and as such it continues to grow and improve.

### Notable Figures

* Zhang San-Feng - Semi-mythical founder of Wudang Quan.
* Zhang Song-Xi - Founder of WuDang Dan Pai during Ming Dynasty.
* Sung Wei-I - Wudang Sword master for the 9th and 10th generations who famously introduced the sword to both Chen and Yang-style TaiJi Quan; he taught the Wudang Sword to Guo Qi Feng 郭岐鳳, Li Jing-Lin, and Fu Zhen-Song.
* Li Jing-Lin - 10th Generation lineage holder
* Fu Zhen-Song - Bagua Zhang master for the 10th generation.
* Sun Lu-Tang - XingYi Quan master for the 10th generation.
* Yang Cheng-Fu - TaiJi Quan master for the 10th generation.
* Li Shu-Wen - BaJi Quan master for the 10th generation.
* Yang Kui-Shang - 11th Generation lineage holder
* Qian Ti-Ming - 12th Generation lineage holder
* Ma Jie - 12th Generation headmaster and Gatekeeper in China
* Xuan Dan - Daoist master of Ma Jie
* Meng Xiao-Feng - Wudang Sword master of Ma Jie
* Han Mu-Xia - Xingyi Quan and Bagua Zhang Master of Ma Jie
* Chang Wu-Na - 13th Generation Headmaster and Gatekeeper alongside Lu Mei-Hui. Studied under both Ma Jie and Qian Ti-Ming.
* Lu Mei-Hui - 13th Generation Headmaster and Gatekeeper alongside Chang Wu-Na. Studied under both Ma Jie and Qian Ti-Ming.

## Martial Arts

Unlike other WuDang schools, WuDang Dan Pai do not necessarily trace their martial arts to Zhang San-Feng, seemingly only attributing their TaiJi Quan to him.

Techniques include: Wudang Sword (6 sections 132 movements), Wudang Qigong Taijiquan, Wudang Neigong Taijiquan, Wudang Two-Man Sword Dueling Forms, Wudang Flying Sword, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, Dian Xue Point Striking, Taiji Push Hands, Wudang Sword Sparring, Taoist Nei Dan Gong, and other meditation practices. The push hands features a combination of Chinese Wrestling and joint locking.

### Wudang Dan Pai Bajiquan

The earliest records of WuDang Dan Pai BaJi Quan seem to be from when Li Jing-Lin exchanged techniques with Li Shu-Wen during the early 1900s around the time of the formation of the Nanjing Guoshu Institute and during their shared military service. Li wrote about the differences between different traditions of BaJi and this may have affected his decision to learn from Li.