DaBeiQuan

or Great Mercy Fist

DaBeiQuan (sometimes labeled “Zen TaiJi") is a rare form of Northern Chinese Kung Fu. DaBeiQuan was created by a Buddhist monk named QiYun (1904-1966). As a young man QiYun lost his family in a tragic event. To cope turned to the Buddhist “Great Compassion Sutra” or “Da Bei Zhou”, for guidance. As part of his meditation he blended the Great Compassion Sutra with the martial arts he learned as a youth. The result was the birth of DaBeiQuan.

 As a martial arts form DaBeiQuan is characterized by softy flowing movements and deep body articulation. Though aesthetically similar to TaiJiQuan and yoga the moves in DaBeiQuan are based in a completely different martial art form and have a very different foundational vocabulary. The practice of DaBeiQuan stretches the tendons while relaxing the joints resulting in a truly pleasant and powerful training experience.

Josef Haber studies DaBeiQuan with 3rd Generation Master ZhangZongYi in TianTan (The Temple of Heaven) in Beijing. In teaching DaBeiQuan Josef encourages his students to gently build up the strength and flexibility necessary to get all they can from this beautiful form.