Gulun Kung Fu Ba Duan Jin and Meditation Retreat with Ben Lucas

Storing Energy in Winter

Just before the turn of the lunar new year, the natural world is still drawn inward. In the classical Chinese view, winter is for storing energy; and, when yin reaches its quietest depth, yang is born.

This retreat offers time to charge up ahead of the new year by entering deep Zen stillness so you can step into the coming year full of Qi, ideal for anyone feeling drained by modern life who wants to restore their energy with traditional Chinese internal cultivation methods.

Gulun Kung Fu is a rare, internal form of Shaolin born from Zen. This is the art form Shifu Shi Heng Yi trains in and is famous for its mesmerising spiralling movements that flow between softness and hardness, embodying both quiet stillness and immense internal power.

In traditional Chinese practice, Bā Duàn Jǐn is used to work with the body's energy channels. Every lineage has its own style, and the Gulun Kung Fu version is unique: more circular, flowing and internal than most of what you see.

We study two versions, sitting and standing, that you can take home with you for a simple daily practice. In traditional terms, the practice works with the meridians and Dantian to cultivate Qi. It offers a daily way to develop continuity of movement, attention and internal coordination.

What Is Included

Venue accommodation and booking details at Shaolin Temple Europe will follow.

About Ben Lucas

Ben Lucas lives in China and has trained one-on-one with Grandmaster Wu Nanfang since September 2024, the first Westerner to do so. His background includes seven years in Chinese martial arts, over a decade of meditation across Theravada, Zen and Tibetan Buddhist practice, and more than 200 days on silent and darkness retreats. A former Goldman Sachs lawyer, he coaches people on bringing meditation and martial practice into everyday life.