Bruce Kumar Frantzis (born April 1949) is a Taoist educator who studied Taoism in China.

Biography

Beginning as a young

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

champion, he engaged in a multi-decade journey leading him throughout Asia and the Eastern energetic traditions. Choosing to forgo an

ivy league The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

education in favor of pursuing Japanese martial arts at their original source, he moved to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

to attend

Sophia University Sophia University (Japanese: 上智大学, ''Jōchi Daigaku''; Latin: ''Universitas Sedis Sapientiae'') is a private research university in Japan. Sophia is one of the three ''Sōkeijōchi'' (早慶上智) private universities, a group of the to ...

at the age of eighteen. There, he obtained multiple black belts and trained with

Aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a modern Japanese martial art that is split into many different styles, including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practiced in around 1 ...

’s founder

Morihei Ueshiba was a Japanese martial artist and founder of the martial art of aikido. He is often referred to as "the founder" or , "Great Teacher/Old Teacher (old as opposed to ''waka (young) sensei'')". The son of a landowner from Tanabe, Ueshiba st ...

. He soon branched out to

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

and studied in increasing depth under internal martial arts masters. In 1973, attempting to locate the original source of meditation, Bruce traveled to India where he underwent rigorous daily training in

Pranayama Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, '' prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the '' prana'' ''sha ...

Hatha yoga Haṭha yoga is a branch of yoga which uses physical techniques to try to preserve and channel the vital force or energy. The Sanskrit word हठ ''haṭha'' literally means "force", alluding to a system of physical techniques. Some haṭha ...

Raja yoga ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...

and

Tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

with many Gurus, experiencing what in the east is known as “

Kundalini In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...

Shakti”. Returning to China in the mid 1970s, he became the first Westerner to be given insider access to the closely guarded Taoist Fire tradition (unverified tradition) and its priesthood. After completing seven years of training he became priest in the Fire tradition. Then by a fortunate set of events Bruce was accepted as the direct disciple of one of the few remaining stewards of the Water tradition (unverified tradition), the Taoist Immortal (Fully Realized Person) Liu Hung-Chieh. Through Liu Hung-Chieh he was introduced to Jiang Jia Hua the Vice President of the All-China Scientific Qigong Association. This connection gave Bruce access to Chinese cancer clinics where he completed his training as Medical

Qigong ''Qigong'' (), ''qi gong'', ''chi kung'', ''chi 'ung'', or ''chi gung'' () is a system of coordinated body-posture and movement, breathing, and meditation used for the purposes of health, spirituality, and martial-arts training. With roots in ...

doctor. Bruce inherited the Taoist Water tradition lineages shortly before Liu-Hung Chieh’s passing in 1986. On his teacher’s wishes he has spent the last 25 years imparting the healing, meditative and martial aspects of Taoism to the West. He primarily teaches the Energy Arts

System, Wu-style t'ai chi,

Bagua The bagua or pakua (八卦) are a set of eight symbols that originated in China, used in Taoist cosmology to represent the fundamental principles of reality, seen as a range of eight interrelated concepts. Each consists of three lines, each lin ...

, Taoist Yoga and Taoist

Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...

. He has authored numerous works (including ''The Power of the Internal Martial Arts and Chi'', ''Tao of Letting Go'', ''Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong'', and ''Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body'') on Taoist energetic practices and taught over 20,000 students many of whom have gone on to become active certified instructors.

Authored Books

* ''Opening the Energy Gates of Your Body: Chi Gung for Lifelong Health'' * ''The Power of Internal Martial Arts and Chi: Combat and Energy Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi and Hsing-I'' * ''Relaxing into Your Being: The Taoist Meditation Tradition of Lao Tse, Volume 1'' * ''The Great Stillness: The Water Method of Taoist Meditation Series, Volume 2'' * ''Tai Chi: Health for Life'' * ''The CHI Revolution: Harnessing the Healing Power of Your Life Force'' * ''TAO of Letting Go: Meditation for Modern Living'' * ''Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong, Volume 1: Develop Health and Energy in 7 Simple Movements'' * ''Dragon and Tiger Medical Qigong, Volume 2: Qi Cultivation Principles and Exercises'' * ''Bagua and Tai Chi: Exploring the Potential of Chi, Martial Arts, Meditation and the I Ching'' * ''Taoist Sexual Meditation: Connecting Love, Energy and Spirit''

Personal life

Additionally, he is a regular participant in the

Tibetan Buddhist Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

community, a process that began with his training under

Dudjom Rinpoche Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

in 1976. He is an active student of

Dzogchen Dzogchen (, "Great Perfection" or "Great Completion"), also known as ''atiyoga'' ( utmost yoga), is a tradition of teachings in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and Yungdrung Bon aimed at discovering and continuing in the ultimate ground of existence. ...

, an advanced tradition he considers to share a common origin with the Taoist water tradition. Currently Bruce’s teaching focus has shifted towards healing and meditation in accordance with his late teacher’s final wishes.

References

External links

Energyarts.com
- Bruce Frantzis
Taichimaster.com
- The Blog of Bruce Frantzis {{DEFAULTSORT:Frantzis, Bruce Kumar 1949 births Living people American tai chi practitioners American baguazhang practitioners American exercise and fitness writers American martial arts writers American Taoists