Daoist Fighting Arts

Located in Seattle, WA 

DFA offers an alternative to the gym focused concept to fitness that the western mind typically imagines. Through the medium of the martial art of  Tàijíquán (also commonly known simply as Tai Chi) , DFA brings a holistic approach to health & fitness that can inspire self-confidence, tone the body and invigorate from the inside out.

Typically the learning focus is on the movement, body control and postural aspects of the art but if requested I would be more than willing to bring out the  self-defence aspects in your training.

Sessions are informal and are either private or semi-private (groups of up to three). Tai chi requires very little in the way of equipment so all you’ll really need is clothing that allows ease of movement and you can begin.

Daoist Fighting Art's speciality;

The Wú style of Tàijíquán [吳式太极拳]

The Wú style of Tàijíquán is famous for the longevity of it’s practitioners. My understanding of the daoist approach to longevity is living for the longest you can in the best of health before your end.

There have been numerous medical studies of Tai Chi and the results have shown it can provide a catalogue of health benefits from reducing blood pressure, improving the range of motion in the body (in the ligaments and tendons), lowering stress hormones, improving mood, to conditioning the body facia (the web of connective tissue that lies between the muscles bones, organs, blood vessels and nerves. It is also noted for improving balance in the body and as the number one cause of fatalies in the home for people in their golden years is through falls, this is an important area for everyone to develop.

When it comes to self-defence Wú style has a compact fighting style that strongly emphasises circular movements. Tai chi style self-defence emphasizes using your opponent's force against them, ergonomic motion (to increase perceived speed) and whole-body power.

What is Daoism?

Daoism (Dàojiā [道家] also spelt Taoism) is an ancient Chinese school of philosophy that centres around being in tune with the flow of life, nature and being natural with yourself and your environment.

What are Daoist Fighting Arts?

Simply: Chinese Fighting Arts that have their roots in Daoist philosophy. Some examples would be;

[太極拳] Tàijíquán (Supreme Ultimate Boxing), [八卦掌] Bāguàzhǎng (Eight Trigram Palm Boxing), [形意拳] Xíngyìquán (Form-Intention Boxing) and [醉八仙拳] Zuì Bā Xiān Quán (Eight Drunken Immortals Boxing).

Make the leap

If your interest has been piqued why not drop me an email.

Feel free to contact me anytime. I look forward to hearing from you.

Terry (in black headgear) in the Advanced Sǎn Shǒu (散手) Division at Tiger Balm Internationals, Vancouver, B.C.