Zhan zhuang standing

1. Introduction

Version followed: zhan zhuang (站桩, "standing like a post", also "pile standing" or "standing qigong") as described for the yiquan (意拳) lineage of Wang Xiangzhai (王芗斋, 1885–1963), including its health-oriented (养生桩, yangsheng zhuang) and combat-oriented (技击桩, jiji zhuang) standing. Wider qigong and tai chi use is noted where sources describe it. This guide is written for the psychotherapist working alongside a zhan zhuang teacher. It is not a protocol for the therapist to teach standing.

What it is. Zhan zhuang is a still-standing practice. The practitioner holds a posture, often the rounded "tree-hugging" posture, and attends to relaxation, alignment and inner sensation. Internal martial arts (yiquan, xingyiquan, baguazhang, tai chi) use it as a foundation, and many qigong and health schools now teach it mainly for health [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. Wang Xiangzhai, originally a xingyiquan student, coined the modern term. He built yiquan ("intent boxing", also called dachengquan, 大成拳) around standing practice. He judged that xingyiquan had come to over-emphasise outer form [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. Li, Green and Zhang (2023) describe Wang as treating standing as a fundamental internal exercise [source: Li et al. 2023].

How change is said to happen (attributed). In the yiquan account, intent (意, yi) rather than muscular effort organises the body. Standing uses only enough strength to hold the shape, and the practitioner learns to "listen to the body". The aim is to develop a whole-body "natural" force (hunyuan li, 浑圆力) that is later carried into movement [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan]. Many qigong and TCM-oriented schools explain the benefit instead in terms of qi (气) and meridians, for example that standing "removes blockages in qi flow" or "clears the meridians". These are claims of those traditions, not established physiology [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang; HK01 2026]. Wikipedia's Yiquan article says Wang's own system left out qi, meridian and dantian concepts. Other zhan zhuang schools keep them [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. Both framings are reported here; neither is presented as fact.

Evidence status. The research base specific to zhan zhuang is thin. Available items include a trial protocol in college students (Guo et al. 2018, no results in the item seen) and a qualitative interview study of eight practitioners reporting calm, reduced anxiety and a sense of "qi flow" (Li et al. 2023). Li et al. also cite a trial of acupuncture combined with yiquan "health pile" for chronic low back pain (Wu et al. 2021) [uncertain: not verified]. No systematic review of zhan zhuang itself is cited here [uncertain: not verified]. Popular Chinese media present standing as cancer-preventive (HK01, 2026). No controlled evidence supports this. Zhan zhuang should not be presented as a treatment for cancer or any other physical disease [source: HK01 2026; Guo et al. 2018; Li et al. 2023].

2. Framework

2a. The practice as yiquan sources describe it [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; Homa Books, Bo Jiacong DVD listing]:

Standing (站桩, zhan zhuang). This is the base. It starts with a posture likened to hugging a tree. Later stages work on the sensation of forces in six directions: up/down, forward/back, out/in.
Testing force (试力, shi li). Slow movements carry the standing sensations into motion, for example imagining pushing and pulling a log in water. A DVD listing gives the teaching "slowness is better than quickness".
Friction step (摩擦步, mocabu). Stepping practice.
Issuing force (发力, fa li) and push hands (推手, tui shou). These are partner and martial stages. Wikipedia reports that Wang, after moving to Beijing, taught mainly the "holding" (抱, bao) standing and dropped push hands and fa li. It also reports that students had misunderstood fa li as fast movement.
Historical standing sequence. In Shanghai, with Han Xingqiao, Wang is reported to have organised standing into a seven-stage system of basic postures (named in transliteration as ju, bao, peng, tui, an, hua, ti) [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan] [uncertain: Chinese characters and stage content not verified in a primary text].
Health versus combat standing. Yiquan distinguishes health postures from martial ones [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. In one published yiquan teaching DVD, the health stance uses a parallel step and the combat stance an oblique T-step [source: Homa Books, Bo Jiacong DVD listing].

2b. Format and session count. Zhan zhuang is taught in ongoing classes and personal practice within a lineage. No fixed course length or session count is published by the yiquan sources seen [uncertain]. Research formats exist: Guo et al. (2018) protocol a 10-week supervised group intervention of "Three-Circle Post Standing" qigong. That is a study design, not a recommendation. Practice durations reported across sources vary enormously. None is given here as an instruction. Agreeing on practice amounts is a matter for the teacher and, where health conditions exist, the client's physician [source: Guo et al. 2018; Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang].

2c. Movement between stages. In the tradition, the teacher decides when a student moves from standing to testing force, stepping and partner work [synthesis: inferred from the lineage structure; no published criteria seen].

2d. The psychotherapist's parallel framework [synthesis]:

Assess and screen. Medical and psychiatric screening before the client starts (section 4, interventions 1–2).
Refer and choose a teacher. Health-oriented or martial class; lineage; teaching style; touch practices (interventions 3–4).
Prepare. Expectations, possible sensations and emotional reactions, consent to touch, a plan for stopping (intervention 5).
Accompany and integrate. Debrief experiences in therapy, monitor for adverse reactions, maintain collaboration with the teacher where the client consents (interventions 6–9).
Review. Decide to continue, modify (for example moving to a gentler or seated practice in the class), pause, or stop. Move on to the next phase when its tasks are done and screening findings are addressed.

3. Guiding principles

Principles of the practice (as the tradition states them; attributed)

Intent over force. The mind's intention leads; muscle effort is kept to what holding the shape requires [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan]. Practical meaning: clients may hear "don't try hard"; strain, breath-holding and gritted endurance are departures from the method, not commitment to it.
Relaxation with structure. Standing aims at relaxing the body while keeping alignment. The Bo Jiacong DVD listing summarises the key points as focusing attention, relaxing the body and breathing naturally [source: Homa Books listing]. Practical meaning: natural breathing, never held breath, is the reference point.
Imagery (假借, jiajie, "borrowing"). Images such as hugging a tree or moving a log through water guide sensation [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan]. Practical meaning: imagery is a teaching device; therapists should know clients will be using imaginative absorption, which matters for clients prone to dissociation.
Present-moment action (shunjian) and formlessness. Yiquan prefers natural perception and responsiveness over fixed technique sets [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan]. Practical meaning: there is no form to memorise; the practice is attention-heavy.
Gradualness and a teacher's guidance. Chinese clinical writing on qigong deviation lists hurrying, overpractice, practising alone without a master and posture errors as risk factors in the traditional view [source: Shan 2000]. Practical meaning: support a teacher-guided, unhurried approach.
Qi and dantian (school-dependent). Many schools frame standing in terms of qi, meridians, dantian, yin-yang and the five phases [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang; Purple Culture listing, Sun Lei et al. 2022]. Practical meaning: use the client's or teacher's language respectfully but attribute it ("in this tradition…").

Principles for the psychotherapist [synthesis unless cited]

Stay in your lane. Do not teach the postures or correct them yourself unless you hold training within a recognised lineage and your professional code permits it. Professional codes require practice within competence, for example APA Standard 2.01 [source: APA Ethics Code]. Practical meaning: your role is screening, referral, preparation, integration and safety monitoring.
Medical safety first. Sustained static holding raises blood pressure more than rhythmic exercise does. Excessive exertion and breath-holding are to be avoided in people with hypertensive or other cardiovascular disease [source: Kam et al. 2020 and Xia & Huang 2021, via Taylor & Francis Knowledge]. Practical meaning: get medical clearance for clients with cardiovascular conditions before they start.
Consent around touch. Teachers may adjust posture by hand, and partner practices (push hands) involve contact. Consent is needed before and during contact, with the right to refuse or stop at any time; never any sexual touch [source: USABP Code VIII; APA Ethics Code 10.05]. Practical meaning: rehearse with the client how to decline or stop an adjustment.
Respect the tradition's authority. Teaching authority is held by lineage teachers, not by a state register (section 4, intervention 4). Practical meaning: do not reinterpret the practice as a therapy technique.
Attribute, don't endorse. Report claims about qi, immunity or cancer as claims, with their evidence status. Practical meaning: correct misconceptions gently, for example that standing replaces medical treatment.
Window of tolerance. Stillness and inward attention can bring up strong affect or dissociation [synthesis; compare Shan 2000 on dissociative reactions after qigong]. Practical meaning: agree in advance on eyes-open, shorter, grounded options and on stopping freely.

4. Intervention inventory

Zhan zhuang is taught by lineage teachers. Part A describes what clients will meet in a class so the therapist can prepare and debrief them. It is a description, not an instruction set: no durations, counts or progressions are given. Part B covers the psychotherapist's own interventions, which are [synthesis] unless cited.

Part A. The practices as published

A1. Health standing: hunyuan / chengbao posture (浑圆桩 / 撑抱桩, "completely round" / "tree-hugging")

Purpose: The main training posture in all branches of yiquan, now common in tai chi and qigong schools. Used for relaxation, alignment and body awareness; schools attribute health effects to it [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang].
Steps (what the class involves, descriptive only): The client stands still with feet parallel, knees softly bent, and arms rounded in front of the body as if holding a large ball or hugging a tree. The head is held as if lifted from the crown, with shoulders and elbows dropped and breathing natural. The teacher guides attention to relaxation and inner sensation, sometimes with imagery. Practice ends with a slow return to ordinary standing [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang; Wikipedia, Yiquan; HK01 2026 for the posture description; Homa Books listing for "parallel step" health stance]. Schools vary in many posture variations [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang].
Example language (therapist preparing the client, illustrative): "In the class you'll probably stand quite still with your arms rounded, as if holding a big ball. Your teacher will guide you. If anything feels too much, physically or emotionally, you can lower your arms, open your eyes, move, or sit down. That's allowed."
Watch for: Muscle fatigue and trembling are common in beginners [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. Dizziness, light-headedness or fainting can come from prolonged motionless standing or locked knees, and may also reflect orthostatic or blood-pressure problems [synthesis; on dizziness on standing as possibly orthostatic hypotension: The Paper 2020]. Knee, hip, shoulder or low-back pain should prompt a check with the teacher and, if it persists, a medical review [synthesis]. Signs it is working, as practitioners report them: feeling calmer, less anxious, more comfortable in the body [source: Li et al. 2023; these are subjective reports, not trial outcomes].

A2. Combat-oriented standing (技击桩) and related martial stances

Purpose: Builds martial structure and "whole-body" force in yiquan; xingyiquan's San Ti Shi (三体势, "three-body posture") is a long-standing root practice of that art [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang; Wikipedia, Yiquan].
Steps (descriptive): Yiquan distinguishes these from health postures. One teaching DVD presents the combat stance on an oblique T-step rather than a parallel stance. Later stages train the felt sense of opposing forces in several directions [source: Homa Books listing; Wikipedia, Yiquan].
Example language (illustrative): "Is the class you're joining mainly health standing, or does it go on to the martial side? The martial stances are more demanding on the legs and lead towards partner work, so let's check that fits what you want."
Watch for: Greater load on knees and hips. Strain and breath-holding, which matter in cardiovascular disease [source: Xia & Huang 2021 via Taylor & Francis Knowledge]. Clients who seek the martial path to rehearse aggression or revenge fantasies; explore this in therapy [synthesis].

A3. Testing force (试力, shi li) and friction step (摩擦步, mocabu)

Purpose: Carry the sensations found in standing into slow movement and stepping [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan].
Steps (descriptive): Slow, even movements guided by imagery, such as pushing and pulling a log in water, and slow stepping. The teaching "slowness is better than quickness" is cited for shi li [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; Homa Books listing].
Example language (illustrative): "When the class moves on to slow movement, notice whether moving feels easier or harder for you than standing still. That's useful for us to talk about."
Watch for: Balance and fall risk in older or unsteady clients [synthesis]. Movement often relieves the intensity of stillness; for some clients it is the safer entry point [synthesis].

A4. Partner work and hands-on correction (push hands, fa li, posture adjustment)

Purpose: Push hands (推手, tui shou) and issuing force (发力, fa li) are partner and martial stages of yiquan. Teachers may also adjust posture by touch [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; touch adjustment: synthesis].
Steps (descriptive): Partners maintain arm contact and test balance and structure. Fa li involves sudden release of force. Wang Xiangzhai reportedly set push hands and fa li aside in his later Beijing teaching [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan].
Example language (illustrative): "Some teachers adjust your posture by hand, and partner exercises involve contact. You can ask the teacher to tell you rather than touch you, and you can say no or stop at any point, before or during. Would it help to practise saying that here?"
Watch for: Consent must be sought before and during any touch, with the right to refuse or end it at any time; genital or other sexual touch is always inappropriate [source: USABP Code VIII]. Being pushed off balance can trigger startle or trauma responses; there is also a risk of contact injury [synthesis]. Any report of sexualised touch or coercive dynamics by a teacher calls for safety planning and, where appropriate, reporting (see 5).

Part B. The psychotherapist's interventions [synthesis unless cited]

B1. Physical safety screening and medical clearance

Purpose: Identify conditions in which sustained static standing needs medical clearance or adaptation.
Steps: (1) Ask about blood pressure (high or low), heart disease, previous fainting or dizziness on standing, stroke or TIA, pregnancy, and recent surgery. Also ask about knee, hip, ankle, back or shoulder problems, balance problems or falls, and medications that affect blood pressure or cause dizziness. (2) Explain why: static holding raises blood pressure more than rhythmic exercise, and exertion with breath-holding is to be avoided in hypertensive or other cardiovascular disease [source: Kam et al. 2020; Xia & Huang 2021, both via Taylor & Francis Knowledge]. (3) For any positive answer, ask the client to discuss the class with their physician before starting. (4) Ask the client to tell the teacher about relevant conditions. (5) Record the screening.
Example language (illustrative): "Standing still in these postures sounds gentle, but holding a position works the muscles continuously and can push blood pressure up. Because you're on blood-pressure medication, could you check with your GP before you start, and tell the teacher too?"
Watch for: Dizziness, palpitations, chest discomfort, headache, visual changes, fainting or near-fainting. Any of these means stop and seek medical review; chest pain or collapse means emergency care. Persistent joint pain also needs attention.

B2. Psychiatric and trauma screening

Purpose: Identify clients at higher risk of adverse psychological reactions to inward-focused qigong-type practice.
Steps: (1) Ask about past or current psychosis, mania or bipolar disorder, dissociative symptoms, and trauma, especially bodily or interpersonal trauma. Ask about panic, and about previous bad reactions to meditation, qigong or breathwork. (2) Know the clinical literature: Chinese psychiatry recognised a "qigong deviation" syndrome (CCMD-2). DSM-IV's glossary of culture-bound syndromes describes an acute, time-limited episode with dissociative, paranoid or other psychotic or non-psychotic symptoms after qigong. Reported presentations include acute psychotic reactions, affective and dissociative states, and anxiety with sensations of qi rising to the head, headache and dizziness [source: Shan 2000]. (3) Know the risk factors from the traditional view as reported: hurrying, overpractice or being unable to stop, practising alone without a teacher, and posture or breathing errors. Pre-existing vulnerability is also noted [source: Shan 2000]. (4) For clients with psychosis, mania or marked dissociation, consult their psychiatrist before they start, consider deferring, or agree on a gentler, eyes-open, teacher-supervised format.
Example language (illustrative): "For most people standing practice is calming. For a few, especially people who've had experiences like the ones you had in 2019, long periods of inward focus can stir up unusual experiences. Can we agree on some early warning signs and what you'll do if they show up?"
Watch for: Sleep loss, elation, preoccupation with energy or special powers, perceptual changes, feeling unreal, or being unable to stop practising. In the published series, dissociative features appeared after weeks of practice and psychotic symptoms within days of a practice episode [source: Shan 2000].

B3. Choosing a class and a teacher (teaching authority)

Purpose: Help the client find competent, lineage-based, safety-aware teaching.
Steps: (1) Explain how authority works. Zhan zhuang has no state licensing or single credential that was found. Authority rests with lineage teachers descended from Wang Xiangzhai's students [uncertain: no regulatory or certifying body verified]. Lines named in reliable summaries include Yao Zongxun (1917–1985), whose son Yao Chengguang continues teaching, and Han Xingqiao and Han Xingyuan, who took yiquan to Hong Kong. Kenichi Sawai's Japanese derivative is Taikiken. Yu Yongnian taught Wang's standing practice in Beijing [source: Wikipedia, Yiquan; Sina 2021 on Yu Yongnian]. Many qigong and tai chi teachers also teach standing outside yiquan [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang]. (2) Help the client decide on health-oriented standing or martial yiquan (A1 versus A2–A4). (3) Suggest questions for the teacher: their lineage and training; whether they screen for health conditions; how they handle dizziness, pain or emotional reactions; whether and how they use touch and ask consent; whether students may sit, move or stop freely; whether practice times are individualised. (4) Treat these as red flags: pressure to endure pain or dizziness, claims that standing cures serious illness or replaces medical care, discouraging medical treatment, touch without consent, and demands for secrecy or exclusive loyalty.
Example language (illustrative): "A good teacher won't mind you asking what happens if you feel faint or upset during practice. How they answer tells you a lot."
Watch for: Over-idealisation of a teacher, and dependency. Use of the class to avoid needed medical or psychological treatment.

B4. Preparing the client

Purpose: Set realistic expectations and a stopping plan before the first class.
Steps: (1) Describe likely experiences: muscle fatigue and trembling [source: Wikipedia, Zhan zhuang], warmth, tingling, restlessness, boredom, and sensations the tradition may describe as qi. Practitioners also report calm and reduced anxiety [source: Li et al. 2023]. (2) Name possible emotional reactions, such as tearfulness, irritability, memories, or feeling spacey or unreal. Some teachers frame these as "release" [uncertain: teachers' accounts of emotional release not verified in a cited source]. (3) Agree a stopping plan: lower the arms, open the eyes, look around, shift weight or walk, sit down, tell the teacher. (4) Agree that the client keeps natural breathing and does not hold the breath [source: Homa Books listing on natural breathing; Xia & Huang 2021 on breath-holding]. (5) Rehearse consent and refusal for touch (A4). (6) Ask the client to set practice amounts with the teacher, not from internet or media sources, which often give fixed timings [synthesis].
Example language (illustrative): "Trembling legs are normal. Feeling faint isn't something to push through. If you feel faint, sit down straight away and tell the teacher."
Watch for: Perfectionism or "more is better" beliefs. Clients who plan to self-teach intensively from books or videos; self-teaching was common among reported qigong deviation cases [source: Shan 2000].

B5. Debriefing and integrating standing experiences in therapy

Purpose: Use what the client notices in standing (tension, effort, impatience, emotion, calm) as material for therapy, without turning the session into a class.
Steps: (1) Open with curiosity: what did you notice in your body, mind and mood? (2) Distinguish sensation, image and interpretation, for example "warmth in the hands" versus "qi flowing". Accept the client's framework without endorsing it as fact. (3) Link patterns to therapy themes: effortful holding, difficulty tolerating stillness, self-criticism when trembling. (4) Note helpful effects and when they happen. (5) Check for adverse signs (B6).
Example language (illustrative): "You said the hardest part was not doing anything. Where else in your life does stillness feel risky?" "Your teacher calls that sensation qi. What was it like for you, in plain body terms?"
Watch for: Intellectualising, or spiritual bypassing of painful material. Signs it is working: the client reports more ease, better body awareness and calmer arousal, and practises flexibly rather than compulsively.

B6. Monitoring for adverse reactions and responding

Purpose: Catch physical and psychological adverse effects early.
Steps: (1) At each session during the early months, briefly ask about dizziness, fainting, pain, sleep, mood and unusual experiences [synthesis]. (2) Physical red flags (fainting, chest pain, palpitations, severe headache, neurological symptoms): stop practice and arrange medical review, or emergency care if acute. (3) Psychological red flags (perceptual disturbance, paranoia, elation, marked dissociation, compulsive practice): ask the client to pause, assess risk, and involve psychiatry. The reported presentations of qigong deviation were acute and often time-limited, but they could relapse and some needed hospital care [source: Shan 2000]. (4) Moderate emotional reactions: titrate. Agree eyes-open practice, shorter holding as the teacher advises, movement-based practice, and processing in therapy. (5) Document, and with consent inform the teacher.
Example language (illustrative): "What you're describing, the buzzing in your head and not sleeping, is something I'd like us to take seriously. Can we pause the standing practice this week and talk with your psychiatrist?"
Watch for: The client hiding symptoms for fear of being told to stop. Interpreting symptoms as "progress" or "energy opening".

B7. Collaboration with the teacher and the physician

Purpose: Coordinate safety without breaching confidentiality or role boundaries.
Steps: (1) Get the client's written consent for any contact. (2) Share only what the teacher needs, for example "has a heart condition; may need to sit" or "can become overwhelmed; please allow stopping". (3) Keep the roles clear: the teacher teaches the practice, the physician handles medical clearance, the therapist handles psychological care. Professional codes support cooperating with other professionals when appropriate and practising within competence [source: APA Ethics Code, Standards 2.01, 3.09].
Example language (illustrative, to a teacher, with consent): "[Client] has asked me to let you know they can feel light-headed on standing. Please let them sit or move whenever they need to."
Watch for: The teacher discouraging medical or psychological care; confidentiality creep.

B8. Trauma- and dissociation-sensitive adaptations to request

Purpose: Make class participation tolerable for clients with trauma histories.
Steps: (1) Ask the client what helps them stay present: eyes open, a place near the door or wall, facing the room, visual anchors. (2) Invite the client to ask the teacher for verbal rather than hands-on correction. (3) Encourage choice language ("you might…") and freedom to move or sit. (4) Plan grounding after practice: looking around, naming objects, walking.
Example language (illustrative): "You don't have to close your eyes to do this practice. Keeping them open and resting on something steady is a fine choice."
Watch for: Freeze responses that look like "good stillness" from outside. Glazed eyes or delayed responses after practice.

5. Handling problems

The sources on zhan zhuang say little about therapy-room problems. Guidance below is [synthesis] unless cited.

Dizziness, light-headedness or fainting in class. Sit or lie down at once and do not resume that day. Arrange a medical review for blood pressure, orthostatic symptoms and medication effects before the client returns. Dizziness on standing may reflect orthostatic hypotension rather than high blood pressure [source: The Paper 2020]. In hypertensive or cardiovascular disease, static effort and breath-holding raise cardiovascular load [source: Kam et al. 2020; Xia & Huang 2021]. Encourage the client to ask the teacher about movement-based or seated options.
Joint pain (knees, hips, low back, shoulders). Pain is not a sign of progress. The client should tell the teacher, who may adjust the posture, and seek physiotherapy or medical advice if pain persists. Do not suggest posture changes yourself.
Strong emotion during or after standing (tears, anger, grief, old memories). Normalise it without promoting it as "release", and use the stopping plan (B4). Process the material in therapy, titrate exposure (eyes open, movement, more grounding), and slow down if it recurs. Teachers' accounts of emotional release in standing [uncertain: not verified].
Dissociation, depersonalisation, or a sense of "energy" in the head. Pause practice and use grounding. Assess, and refer to psychiatry if it persists or has psychotic features. These overlap with presentations reported as qigong deviation [source: Shan 2000].
Psychotic or manic features (hallucinations, persecutory beliefs, elation, sleeplessness, belief in special powers). Treat as urgent. Stop practice, assess risk, involve psychiatry or crisis services, and inform family with consent where appropriate. The published series describes mostly acute, time-limited episodes, with possible relapse and some hospital admissions [source: Shan 2000].
Compulsive or excessive practice ("I can't stop", ever-longer sessions, endurance pride). Being unable to stop and over-practising are listed as traditional risk factors [source: Shan 2000]. Explore what the endurance does for the client, for example control or self-punishment. Ask them to agree practice amounts with the teacher, and with a physician where health conditions exist.
Non-adherence or boredom. Explore what stillness evokes. Consider whether a moving practice (tai chi, shi li-type slow movement in class) fits better. Do not press the client to continue; the practice is optional to therapy.
Health claims replacing care (for example a belief that standing prevents or treats cancer, or stopping medication). Respectfully separate the tradition's claims from evidence, noting that cancer-prevention claims in media lack trial support [source: HK01 2026], and support continued medical treatment.
Touch problems or teacher misconduct (adjustments without consent, sexualised touch, humiliation, cultic pressure). Validate, safety-plan, and support the client to leave. Inform them of complaint routes. For a teacher who is also a licensed health professional, use that professional's regulator; otherwise use the school or association. Use the police where an offence may have occurred. Sexual touch by any helper is never acceptable [source: USABP Code VIII; APA Ethics Code 10.05 for psychologists].
Rupture with the therapist (the client feels the therapist is sceptical of their tradition, or is over-cautious). Acknowledge the client's experience and value it. Explain that safety questions are routine and not a judgement on the practice. Use the client's own language, attributed ("in your teacher's understanding…").
The therapist wants to teach standing in session. Do so only with substantial training within a recognised lineage, explicit consent, screening as in B1–B2, and a professional code that permits movement-based work. Otherwise refer [source: APA Ethics Code 2.01 on competence; the rest is synthesis].

Sources

Pages:

Books and texts referred to [uncertain: not verified]:

Wang Xiangzhai, 《意拳正轨》 (Yiquan Zhenggui) and 《拳道中枢》 (Quandao Zhongshu) [uncertain: dates and editions not verified].
Lam Kam Chuen (1991). Chi Kung: The Way of Energy. Gaia Books [listed in Wikipedia's references].
Tang, C. S. (2015). The Complete Book of Yiquan. Singing Dragon [listed in Wikipedia's references].

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