Bruce Frantzis, Ph.D., is an author, teacher and founder of B. K. Frantzis Energy Arts, Inc.. He is from Marin County, California and is a ba gua lineage master versed in the Taoist meditative and martial arts from China. His specific emphasis is with the water tradition lineage, as is represented in the "Tao Te Ching," written by Lao Tse. His teaching practice primarily includes various chi gung (qigong), tai chi, and ba gua zhang styles although he also is knowledgeable in Hsing-I and several Japanese martial art styles which he learned earlier in life.
Frantzis focuses on teaching internal work (nei gung) in the body which taps into and develops the energetic foundation of the body. His emphasis is on the use of the water tradition method which is characterized by not using force and allowing the body to loosen up by a dissolving meditation method. Dissolving is a process that opens up the body by feeling and allowing the release of emotional and physical tension that corresponds to chi blockages. Central to Frantzis' system is his 16-part nei gung internal power system, which describes initial practices, such as learning breathing methods and feeling internal energies, and advanced skills that can be achieved with chi gung methods, such as projecting energy and controlling energies of the spine and channels. Frantzis has written eight books and has produced over twenty audio recordings that support his teaching efforts. As a lineage master, he has taught and held workshops in the United States and Europe since 1987. Bruce Kumar Frantzis. 1993. Opening the Energy Gates of the Body. Chi Gung for Life Long Health. North Atlantic Books. pp 3-18. <ref>B. K. Frantzis. 1998. The Power of Internal Martial Arts. Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I. North Atlantic Books, Berkely, CA. p. 60-61. http://www.energyarts.com/Products/Books.html
Life and Career of Bruce Frantzis
When young in New York, Frantzis leaned the Japanese martial arts of judo, jiu jitsu, karate and aikido. At the age of 14 he also started meditation practices of Zen Buddhism to hone his fighting skills. At the age of 18, Frantzis enrolled in Sophia University in Tokyo for formal education, but he also studied during that time with the founder of aikido, Morihei Ueshiba. His quest for an understanding as to how the internal power of aikido was manifested led to further studies in Hong Kong, India and China.
His martial art studies (in 1981 and 1983-1986) culminated with Grandmaster Liu Hung Chieh in Beijing, revealing to him the meaning of water method of Taoist meditative and martial art practices. Also, through the teaching of Wu Style Tai Chi by Liu, Frantzis was also able to finally recover from serious spinal injuries that he received from an automobile accident. His experience with personal healing has influenced his current emphasis on teaching how chi gung can be used for health improvement and spiritual development. The 16-part nei gung system of his program is taught through the use of a 6-part chi gung and nei gung system that includes classes in longevity breathing and forms called Dragon-Tiger, Opening the Energy Gates, Gods Playing in the Clouds, The Marriage of Heaven and Earth, and the Spiraling Energy Body. Frantzis also teaches classes in tui na massage. http://www.energyarts.com/Energy-Arts-System/What-We-Teach/index.html Bruce Kumar Frantzis. 1993. Opening the Energy Gates of the Body. Chi Gung for Life Long Health. North Atlantic Books. pp 3-18.
Bruce Frantzis Quotes
The limited number of books available in America on Taoism tend to be filled with abstract descriptions or interpretations of Taoist rituals that never fit together into an integrated whole, or contain impossible coded and baffling language.... or strange exercises whose rationale is never spelled out. From "The Great Stillness. The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Vol. 2, p. 13.B. K. Frantzis. 1999. The Great Stillness. The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series. Volume 2." Clarity Press. Fairfax, CA. p. 13. http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stillness-Method-Taoist-Meditation/dp/1556434081#reader_1556434081
Taoists commonly look at spirituality and meditation in terms of spiritual health, rather than a super-ordinary condition called "enlightenment." ....both spiritual and physical health benefit from ongoing maintenance and upgrading of the individual's Chi. From "The Great Stillness. The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series," Vol. 2, p. 15. B. K. Frantzis. 1999. The Great Stillness. The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series. Volume 2. Clarity Press. Fairfax, CA. p. 15. http://www.amazon.com/Great-Stillness-Method-Taoist-Meditation/dp/1556434081#reader_1556434081
The Dissolving method has been used by Taoists for millennia to deal with shock—no matter how serious. The Dissolving method can help you get through incredibly life-altering events. The Dissolving method can help you let go. The actual term in Taoism is sung shin, which means “to relax into your heart or being.” Here Taoists are talking about the core of your being, about how you connect with your soul.http://www.banyen.com/Reviews.htm?ISBNNum=9781556437892
Consistent martial arts training of any kind can either reinforce some animal aspects of human nature or help human beings realize their spiritual potential. From "The Power of Internal Martial Arts. Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I", p. 5. B. K. Frantzis. 1998. The Power of Internal Martial Arts. Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I. North Atlantic Books, Berkely, CA. p. 5. http://www.amazon.com/Power-Internal-Martial-Arts-Chi/dp/1583941908/ref=pd_sim_b_5
After more than a decade in cross research, my focus returned completely to the internal martial arts. I wanted effectiveness in combat without aggression, and I found that internal martial arts could give both and make me healthy as well as serve as genuine vehicles for the practice of meditation. From "The Power of Internal Martial Arts. Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I", p. 33.B. K. Frantzis. 1998. The Power of Internal Martial Arts. Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing I. North Atlantic Books, Berkely, CA. p. 33. http://www.amazon.com/Power-Internal-Martial-Arts-Chi/dp/1583941908/ref=pd_sim_b_5
Tai Chi and Chi Gung for Health Improvement
The following is paraphrased from the interview of Bruce Kumar Frantzis, in part 1 of this four-part series: Fit, weak, strong, or uncoordinated, we all have to live with our bodies as we get older. Tai chi enables one to keep the same king of strength and vitality when young as you get older. Those who have practiced karate and judo when young will have a lot of accumulated injuries and tai chi has the ability to cure and get rid of these injuries. It is the soft aspect of tai chi that improves health, whereas the hard aspect develops power. Tai chi uses all of the muscles, organs and elongates the spine if practiced properly. It radically changes and strengthens the nervous system, improving your resistance to stress. Frantzis explains what chi gung is as well. There are two major types, breathing techniques and visualizations and work that consists purely of energy and mind (nei gung). A lot of tai chi is different from chi gung. Nei gung develops the whole system at one time. Chi gung methods tend to work on one specific aspect of the body.
