Baguazhang · Taiji · Chaquan
Training the body to stay whole when life tries to pull it apart.
Not invented. Inherited.
I teach Kungfu. Specifically, three lineages: Chaquan/Imperial Longfist, Wu-style Taiji, and Baguazhang. Each transmitted intact — no adaptations for modern audiences, no sport modifications, no performance requirements.
These practices didn't begin with me, and they didn't begin in one place. They accumulated — carried, adapted, refined across centuries and cultures. I received them. I transmit them. That is the work.
The difference between knowledge and embodiment defines our path.
Rooted in The Palace Standard.
How We Work
Individual assessment. Your training begins with a personal evaluation, not a template. Everything starts from where your body actually is. The result is immediate progress toward your goals.
Progressive training. Each stage builds on the last, introduced when your body is ready. You absorb the material without strain, and every layer sets up the next.
A complete system. You receive all components — forms, combat, conditioning, regulation. Nothing is skipped. The parts reinforce each other, so the result is greater than any single practice could produce.
In person, adapted to your life. Sessions are face to face when possible. Frequency adjusts to your schedule, not the other way around. The program fits your reality without being diluted.
Compounding results. This is a path of consistent refinement. What you build early continues to deepen — the returns accumulate, not flatten.
What a Session Looks Like
Where we train. Sessions run 60 to 90 minutes, in person in Surrey, BC — Greater Vancouver area. When weather permits, you train outdoors on natural ground. The body learns differently on uneven terrain — balance, adaptivity, and instinct sharpen in ways a flat floor can't produce. Indoors is always an option. Your choice, anytime.
Session structure. Each session builds on the last. You begin with structure and breathing — Qigong. Then move into forms, defence, movement. Perception drills develop your ability to respond before conscious thought catches up. Combat application layers in progressively, as your structure and awareness can support it. You're always working at the edge of what you can absorb, never beyond it.
Nothing rushed, nothing skipped. Every component exists because the system requires it. You receive the full practice — the depth comes from completing it, not selecting from it.
About
I'm 72. No medications. No joint replacements. No devices to help me function. I come and go in health and safety — anywhere I want, with confidence.
This is not an exception. It's the standard this transmission aims for.
The goal. To help you stay healthy, strong, and energized — structurally natural, safe, and self-reliant. Assured in body and mind. That's The Palace Standard. A single discipline, passed on to deliver exactly this.
The lineage. My Sifu, Xu Gongwei (1916–2004), learned from Yu Zhensheng, who trained under Sai Hehong from age 7 and alongside Yang Hongxiu — progenitor of Yang-style Chaquan — for more than 25 years. The Taiji transmission came through Zhou Yifan, a Forbidden City guard. These practitioners were known for superb skills and vitality extending well past a century.
An engineer's eye. I study biomechanics, biosignals, movement science — not for academic credential, but for clarity about what actually works in the body. I'm building on something that lasts. Not just for myself. For whoever is willing to do the work.
What You'll Develop
Perception. Sensory registration before thought intervenes — the raw input the body acts on before the mind catches up. Trainable through methodical practice. It precedes examination, precedes knowledge. This is where the system starts.
Structure. Movement through rotation. Force through tensegrity and internal balance. This follows how the body is actually built. No straight lines, no gym mechanics. Natural body configuration that lets power converge efficiently — the way your body was designed to move.
Combat training. Real combat practice that engages the body-mind under stress, introduced progressively as your structure and awareness can support it. It rewires your stress response in a way nothing else does. Stress is managed, not avoided. You'll probably never need to use it. Peace of mind if you do.
Regulation. Breath as governor for your autonomic nervous system. Panic, freeze, blackout are capacities you can learn to manage under pressure. The result is quiet, easeful confidence — the assurance of a body that knows its capacity.
Centuries of critical practice produced this. Not invention — transmission. Practitioners in this lineage lived past 100 and remained physically capable well into their final years. We don't trade in conceptual knowledge. The work is living knowledge — what the body knows and can do, not what the mind can store. That gap is where the depth lives.
Who This Serves
People committed to health, longevity, structural strength, and cognitive resilience. Serious practitioners. You understand this as a path of consistent practice, not a quick fix.
Understanding combat. Those who respect what combat training offers — stress response under pressure — without conflating it with aggression. This isn't street-fighting. It's neurological training.
For anyone refusing decline. Leaders, parents, professionals, aging adults who want more than fitness or sports performance. All gain from a path where results compound over time.
Training the complete program. Whether your priority is fitness, sports performance, longevity, or self-reliance, you receive the full system. All components work together to deliver the complete result.
Application
If you're interested, fill this out. Short. Just enough to understand why you're reaching out and what you're looking for.
I respond personally. Sometimes with questions back to you. Either way, with a quick and honest response to your inquiry .
The intake isn't open all year. When it's full, it's full. When it opens again, I'll announce it.
Phone: (604) 786-0874 · Email: johnspak@fistsofmysteryandtruth.com