Gulun Kung Fu with Grandmaster Wu Nanfang

Shaolin Temple Europe · Direct Lineage Foundations

Learn the complete foundations of internal Shaolin Kung Fu directly from 31st-generation Shaolin lineage holder Grandmaster Wu Nanfang.

Booking details will be announced here.

禪拳

01 Overview

We Practise Chan, Not Quan

From 1869, when Wu Gulun stepped away from Shaolin Temple to protect its internal teachings from conflict, this practice was passed down quietly within one family across five generations. While modern styles often emphasise speed, performance, or fighting, the Wu family preserved kung fu in its older form: a method for expressing Chan (Zen) through slow, spiralling movement and rooted internal power.

Grandmaster Wu Nanfang, master to both Shifu Shi Heng Yi and Ben Lucas, has spent more than fifty years in this practice on Songshan Mountain. As he teaches his students: "We practise Chan, not Quan" (Zen, not fist-fighting). This week begins at the very beginning, giving newcomers and experienced practitioners alike a direct transmission of the core Gulun foundations.

日課

02 Practice

What You Will Practise

Direct Lineage Foundations: Empty stance (Xū Zhuāng 虚桩), Dantian breathing (Dāntián Hūxī Fǎ 丹田呼吸法), and internal coiling (Lián Huán Zhuāng 连环桩) taught directly by Grandmaster Wu Nanfang.

Wǔ Bù Zhuāng Gōng (The Five Stances): The five foundational stances (Zhuāng Gōng 桩功) of Gulun Kung Fu to build lower-body rooting, structural alignment, and relaxed power (sōng jìn 松劲).

Introductory Gulun Movements: Selected foundational exercises from the Gulun syllabus, paced to the group's level.

Chan Meditation & Talks: Daily seated meditation, guidance on a comfortable sitting posture, and talks with Grandmaster Wu Nanfang on uniting Zen with daily life.

含

03 Included

What Is Included

Direct daily instruction and hands-on posture corrections from Grandmaster Wu Nanfang, with translation and support from Ben Lucas.

Opportunities to talk with Ben about your life, applying the practice day to day, and continuing at home.

Videos of the practices covered during the retreat to support continued training at home.

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

誰

04 Who

Who This Retreat Is For

Complete beginners as well as practitioners from other traditions who want to experience internal Shaolin from the source.

No prior online course or martial arts training is required.

Practice films: Basic sequence with Shifu Wu Nanfang · Five stances with Shifu Wu Nanfang

師

05 Teachers

About the Teachers

Grandmaster Wu Nanfang is a 31st-generation Shaolin lineage holder and fifth-generation inheritor of the Wu Gulun tradition. He is the teacher of Shi Heng Yi and Ben Lucas and has more than fifty years of practice. Ben will support his teaching and help participants work with the material.

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

訂

06 Prepare & Book

Continuing Your Practice

Prepare for the retreat and continue practising at home through our online programme, which includes a free introduction at gulunkungfu.org/online.

Booking details will be announced here.

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