Retreat Description

Ken Wright offers the Bandon Retreat as a place to for students and teachers to refine technique, share forms, and learn new skills.

Instructors from Taiji, Shaolin, Aikido, and energetic arts meet and play in a loosely-formatted series of day and afternoon sessions. This retreat is a gathering of peers who learn with each other and enjoy one of Oregon’s most beautiful beach environments.

Whether you’re new to Taiji or a seasoned student, the experience of learning at the retreat is fun, memorable and a complete change from the life many of us lead in sunny Seattle! Practice Usually begins at 8am with an hour of warm up and qigong, followed by morning classes, a long lunch break, and afternoon classes.

Bandon’s famous beach provides exceptionally picturesque surroundings to learn and practice Taiji.

All classes will occur on the beach, rain or shine, so be sure to bring a range of clothing. There’s ample opportunity for cross-training, private or group practice with your teacher(s) of choice and casual colloquy around the martial arts and other issues.

You can work on qigong, forms, pushing hands and explore the relationship between the Chinese internal arts and other martial arts, both internal and external.

The physical beauty of Bandon alone makes this trip worthwhile. Although the town of Bandon is small and quaint, it offers shops and quality restaurants not to be missed.The town of  Bandon is a fishing port,so if you like crab, clams, halibut or fish & chips, you’ll enjoy dining out. There’s Thai and mexican as well, and classic american dining abounds. Many of us have returned year after year to soak in the generosity of the place and this gathering. Dogs and children are welcome as the spacious beach allows room for all.

Please note: Classes are $10/class (1 hr each). The exchange of money is directly with the instructor, so please bring a stash of $10 bills!