Five Thunder Dim Mak China Tour 2013 - Part #1
2013 saw the 1st ever Dim Mak Training Tour organised by the Five Thunder Chinese Martial Arts Association and led by Sifu Steven Burton and Master Liming Yue. People came from Ireland, UK as well as 2 people from Tahiti. The trip started in Beijing in the north and ended in Guangzhou in the south stopping off a different places on the way to train in Dim Mak with Sifu Steven Burton and to train with various high level Masters in various arts.
The group of 24 people began the trip by arriving at Beijing and were greeted by Master Liming Yue who is a famous master of Chen Style Tai Chi based in Manchester. Master Yue took the group to their hotel to freshen up and as soon as the group were ready the action packed trip began. The group hit the ground running and visited the Great Wall of China first which is a must if you visit China. Climbing hundreds of steps on the Great Wall was tiring but rewarding at the same time. The day didn’t end there as the group were treated to a Kung Fu show by Shaolin monks in the city during the evening.
Each day saw the entire group practice Tai Chi and Qi Gong in the morning with Master Yue followed by sightseeing and day 2 didn’t disappoint as the next place to visit was the Summer Palace which is stunning and felt like you were in the middle of a movie set. Then moving on to the Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace which is right in the heart of Beijing city itself. The Forbidden City is incredible to see and just to be a place that has such colourful history was amazing.
The next day started again with Tai Chi practice in the morning and some time was given to the group to explore the Silk Markets of Beijing. Sifu Steven Burton was flying in later that day to start the Dim Mak training with everyone. On meeting Steven the group were immediately put at ease as his manner and style of teaching made it easy to learn the fabled Dim Mak skills that are the stuff of legend. Dim Mak is the ability to utilise the weak points of the body to disable an attacker with ease by striking or manipulating the acupuncture points. Steven is a world renowned exponent of the art and tours Europe and the rest of the world teaching the skills of Dim Mak.
Once Steven had arrived and the group had commenced their training it was then time to go to Wudang Shan which was the birthplace of Dim Mak and the Internal Martial Arts of China to continue the training with Steven and also a Taoist monk. Wudang was an overnight train journey away and so the group excitedly went to the train station and boarded the overnight sleeper train. The train really has to be seen to be believed and is an experience in itself.
The following morning the group arrived at the 5 start Wudang Tai Chi Lake Hotel and as soon as the group checked into the hotel they began training again with Steven learning how to locate the Dim Mak points and how to defend against various attacks and counter by striking the points. This was really educational for the group as many had never trained the art but had heard the legends. Steven taught the skills in a way that was easy and effective so that everyone irrespective of what art the individual did could apply it to their own art. Later that evening both Steven and Master Yue introduced the group to an Internal art called Shen Wu Lin Chuan which at a basic level develops the Qi (Chi) vital energy both for health and for martial use.
As morning broke everyone got up and after breakfast headed to the coach which was to take them to Wudang mountain to meet Master Yuan Li Min who is a 15th Generation master of the famous Wudang clan. On arrival the group were treated to a demonstration by the students of the Sanfeng Martial Arts school and by Master Yuan Li Min. The power of the Wudang arts was astounding and everyone was so impressed they were eager to start their training too. Master Yuan Li Min taught Ba Gua, Hsing Yi, Tai Chi and Wudang weapons to the group who studied hard and impressed the teacher. The group were keen to learn as much as they could from the master.
The following day was again an early start as they were to visit the many temples on Wudang including the Purple Cloud temple that featured in the remake of the Karate Kid with Jackie Chan. The temples were stunning and overwhelming, climbing to the top was quite a feat but the group managed to do this and at the top many paid their respects to the ancestral master of Wudang by burning incense in the traditional way. The group were feeling so energised that they decided to walk down the mountain tackling the mountain path. This took several hours and there were certainly some aching legs that day.
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The group of 24 people began the trip by arriving at Beijing and were greeted by Master Liming Yue who is a famous master of Chen Style Tai Chi based in Manchester. Master Yue took the group to their hotel to freshen up and as soon as the group were ready the action packed trip began. The group hit the ground running and visited the Great Wall of China first which is a must if you visit China. Climbing hundreds of steps on the Great Wall was tiring but rewarding at the same time. The day didn’t end there as the group were treated to a Kung Fu show by Shaolin monks in the city during the evening.
Each day saw the entire group practice Tai Chi and Qi Gong in the morning with Master Yue followed by sightseeing and day 2 didn’t disappoint as the next place to visit was the Summer Palace which is stunning and felt like you were in the middle of a movie set. Then moving on to the Forbidden City and the Imperial Palace which is right in the heart of Beijing city itself. The Forbidden City is incredible to see and just to be a place that has such colourful history was amazing.
The next day started again with Tai Chi practice in the morning and some time was given to the group to explore the Silk Markets of Beijing. Sifu Steven Burton was flying in later that day to start the Dim Mak training with everyone. On meeting Steven the group were immediately put at ease as his manner and style of teaching made it easy to learn the fabled Dim Mak skills that are the stuff of legend. Dim Mak is the ability to utilise the weak points of the body to disable an attacker with ease by striking or manipulating the acupuncture points. Steven is a world renowned exponent of the art and tours Europe and the rest of the world teaching the skills of Dim Mak.
Once Steven had arrived and the group had commenced their training it was then time to go to Wudang Shan which was the birthplace of Dim Mak and the Internal Martial Arts of China to continue the training with Steven and also a Taoist monk. Wudang was an overnight train journey away and so the group excitedly went to the train station and boarded the overnight sleeper train. The train really has to be seen to be believed and is an experience in itself.
The following morning the group arrived at the 5 start Wudang Tai Chi Lake Hotel and as soon as the group checked into the hotel they began training again with Steven learning how to locate the Dim Mak points and how to defend against various attacks and counter by striking the points. This was really educational for the group as many had never trained the art but had heard the legends. Steven taught the skills in a way that was easy and effective so that everyone irrespective of what art the individual did could apply it to their own art. Later that evening both Steven and Master Yue introduced the group to an Internal art called Shen Wu Lin Chuan which at a basic level develops the Qi (Chi) vital energy both for health and for martial use.
As morning broke everyone got up and after breakfast headed to the coach which was to take them to Wudang mountain to meet Master Yuan Li Min who is a 15th Generation master of the famous Wudang clan. On arrival the group were treated to a demonstration by the students of the Sanfeng Martial Arts school and by Master Yuan Li Min. The power of the Wudang arts was astounding and everyone was so impressed they were eager to start their training too. Master Yuan Li Min taught Ba Gua, Hsing Yi, Tai Chi and Wudang weapons to the group who studied hard and impressed the teacher. The group were keen to learn as much as they could from the master.
The following day was again an early start as they were to visit the many temples on Wudang including the Purple Cloud temple that featured in the remake of the Karate Kid with Jackie Chan. The temples were stunning and overwhelming, climbing to the top was quite a feat but the group managed to do this and at the top many paid their respects to the ancestral master of Wudang by burning incense in the traditional way. The group were feeling so energised that they decided to walk down the mountain tackling the mountain path. This took several hours and there were certainly some aching legs that day.
Wu Dang Shan - Purple Cloud Temple - Jackie Chan Set for Karate Kid
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