Who is Lindsey Wei?

I was invited to attend the 3rd Universal Consciousness Festival at the Dao House, in Estes Park, CO last year. As I was preparing for the event, Sifu Tim Bruewer of St. Louis, MO told me that Lindsey Wei was awesome. I saw a back-shot photo of Lindsey and was impressed by the handsome post. I was really surprised to see how gorgeous she was in person and equally mesmerized by her exquisite Wudang single sword performance during the master showcase at the Festival. At 5’1”, she is petite, yet her Kung Fu demonstrates enormous power. It would be a total mistake to underestimate her strength.

Born to a Chinese father and an Irish mother, Lindsey has taken a journey rarely traveled. Growing up in the States, she did not learn how to speak Chinese. At 15, she took her first trip to China with a youth group. While she got lost in the complicated Beijing streets, she accidentally felt a spiritual calling but could not name what it was. After Lindsey graduated from high school, she was eager to find out who she really was and what her path should be. Her soul searching brought her back to Beijing. Even though she never learned any martial arts, she spent two years at Beijing Capital Sports University and studied different Wushu forms and techniques. She also went to Deng Feng, Henan, which is one of the most renowned spiritual centers in China and the home of the famous Daoist (or Taoist) Zhongyue Temple, the Buddhist Shaolin Temple, and Confucian Songyang Academy. She spent two months there and studied Shaolin Kung Fu. Nevertheless, she was still wandering and searching from outside as well as within for her destiny. A friend from the U.K. invited her to join him to explore White Horse at Wudang Mountains. There was no white horse on the mountain; but it was there that Lindsey’s life changed for ever.

Li Song Feng or Li Shifu is a 30^th generation Wudang Long Men Daoist and 23^rd generation of Chun Yang Daoist priest, and the abbot of the Five Immortals Temple at the White Horse Mountain. Li Shifu is a religious leader, a high priest of Daoist Ceremony, healer, and Kung Fu master. Even though the Five Immortals Temple has a long history, it is not as well known as other Wudang temples. The physical conditions of the temple are rather humble or primitive. However, nothing scared then 20-year-old Lindsey. She decided to relinquish the comfort of modern amenities. She trained with Li Shifu full-time for six years. She was immersed in the culture and theory of Daoism as well as trained hard on Wudang Kung Fu, Tai Chi (or Taiji), Qigong, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) healing modalities, e.g. Tui Na Massage, Moxibustion, Gua Sha, Cupping, and Huo Liao Fire Healing. Eventually, she was accepted as a 24^th generation Chun Yang Sect of Wudang Daoism and 31^st generation Wudang Long Men Dragon Gate. In 2008, she started to organize groups of students from the West to train 1 to 4 months with her master even up to the current date. She became a senior instructor as well as an interpreter at the Five Immortals Temple. Wei wrote The Valley Spirit – A Female Story of Daoist Cultivation and published by Singing Dragon in 2012. The book received 4.4 stars out of 5 on Amazon rating with excellent reviews.

In 2010, she came back to the U.S. and is now located in Sonoma, CA. She has been busy teaching adults and children of Chinese martial arts at various venues. She also founded Wudang White Horse Academy, which offers classes in meditation, Qigong, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, cross-training program of Capoeira, Burmese Bando, Russian Systema, and Parkour (free running), Daoism as well as TCM healing methods. Additionally, she hosts workshops and is invited to teach at different national events. While she is busy spreading the teaching of Daoism and martial arts, she and her husband Luke, a Capoeira instructor, are busying raising their 4-year-old daughter. Lindsey takes her little girl with her to China during her annual trip to Five Immortals Temple.

Later this month, Wei will join 19 other outstanding female scholars, martial/Tai Chi masters, and holistic healers at Immortal Sister Conference, held at Catskill, NY. She will panel with Dr. Livia Kohn and Wendy Lang to discuss “The Power of Spirit and Women’s Spirituality” and also teach “Bagua Stepping Patterns and Daoist Principles”. The topic of women’s spirituality is near and dear to Lindsey’s heart. In the below video Lindsey is reading from her book “The Valley Spirit”. You can sense how she focuses on women’s spirituality in her journey of self-discovery. During my interview with her, she stated that martial arts is very spiritual. For example, Wudang Bagua Stepping Patterns is a form of meditation that embodies the Daoist principles. The study and practice of martial arts helps to prepare Lindsey’s physical body for spiritual enlightenment.

(Edited by Doc Luecke.)

Related Articles: 

• Interview with Letha Hadady
• Conversation with Professor Livia Kohn on the Yin energy
• Women Only: Immortal Sisters Conference

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