In our school the martial arts are used as a path for personal growth. Our practice emphasizes awareness in stillness and in movement in order to connect us to the divine within ourselves and others. The study of martial arts develops our awareness of ourselves and others, and increases our physical well-being and martial abilities. Our grandmaster, Dr. Wei Ren Feng, stated our philosophy this way: "It is about being and becoming."

The fundamental rules of our practice together are to show respect and to practice safety. In our study, we work together to learn a sense of inner and outer balance. We transmit the knowledge and wisdom of our lineage through personal teaching.

Philosophy of Wu Chien Pai

Wu Chien Pai, meaning "spaceless style," is a system which promotes an awareness that there is no separateness. The Wu Chien Pai martial arts develop a sense of harmony with nature and the self. The guiding principle of our system is Qi Dao, the Ultimate Way. Qi Dao is built on six principles: peace, love, freedom, happiness, health, and progress. These principles, when present in one’s inner state, will be manifested externally.

Opening of Zhi Dao Guan

In 2002 we celebrated the opening of Zhi Dao Guan - The Taoist Center in Oakland. This is the first major center devoted entirely to the Taoist arts in the Bay Area. Zhi Dao Guan incorporates the Wu Tao Kuan School of Martial Arts seamlessly with other Taoist arts such as traditional Chinese medicine, painting and calligraphy, and meditation.

Read the official announcement of our Grand Opening:

OPENING CEREMONY FOR FIRST MAJOR TAOIST CENTER IN BAY AREA

Charlene Ossler, Dr. Alex Feng, and Professor Wang Pei-Kun Dr. Feng is presented with a gift from one of his top students, Shifu Anthony Daniels.

Sunday, August 4th, 2002 The first major Taoist center in the Bay Area opened with broad sword flourishes and ritual blessings today in Oakland’s Laurel district. Dr. Alex Feng, a Taoist Master and founder of Zhi Dao Guan, as the center is known, says he hopes that by offering a setting for the teaching and practice of Taoist precepts, internal Chinese martial arts and healing with traditional Chinese medical practices, such as acupuncture, qi gong, acupressure, herbology and tui na, Bay area residents will have the opportunity to learn more about one of China’s least understood but most important cultural phenomena: its Taoist tradition. “Being and becoming forms the foundation of our understanding of the self,” said Dr. Feng. “I believe our center can help bring this tradition to the West.” Taoism, linked to nativist traditions in China going back 4,000 years and articulated by Chinese thinkers such as Laozi and Zhuangzi, emphasizes living in harmony with nature through simplicity, spontaneity, and tranquility. Acknowledged as one of California’s leading practitioners of Chinese medicine, Dr. Feng is also an accomplished martial artist and teacher. Wu Tao Kuan, a martial arts institute he founded in 1973 and which will be housed at the new center, has produced a number of state, national, and international champions in Tai Ji, Wu Shu and Judo/Jujitsu. Dr. Feng, who holds a doctorate in Oriental Medicine from SAMRA University, has lectured nationally and internationally on Taoism, Chinese Medicine and martial arts. For Dr. Feng, who was mentored by his father Dr. Wei Ren Feng, a noted scholar and philosopher from China, Zhi Dao Guan is the culmination of a lifetime of teaching and activism in the Taoist arts. By combining Chinese Medicine, martial arts and Taoist practices under a single roof, Dr. Feng will be establishing a center very much in the Taoist tradition, in which monk-soldiers were trained in self-defense and spiritual insight. In the last one hundred years, however, once highly secretive texts and practices of the Taoist masters, have slowly been revealed to the general public and made available to interested seekers in the West. Zhi Dao Guan follows within this still developing renaissance of interest in Taoist arts. The opening ceremonies Aug. 4th featured martial arts demonstrations in tai ji, judo, broad sword and aikido, as well as dance, music and food from around the world. Among the honored guests were Sensei Keiko Fukuda, the highest ranking woman judo practitioner in the world, and Professor Pei-Kun Wang, named one of China’s top ten martial arts teachers by the Chinese government.