CHARACTER:

Dragon is always the first of the animals.  The dragon has to do with spiritual things.  Qualities that a dragon has are:  The dragon follows fire and goes inside. Dragons make clouds and clouds follow dragons. The sleepy dragon soars to heaven. With nine appearances among the clouds, you see the head, yet you don't see the tail.  Its hidden appearance is unfathomable. The spiritual dragon changes. It is able to go high or low. It is good at contracting and letting go.  The dragon has the awesome power of shaking and trembling, the method of searching out bones, the skill of swimming in the air, reaching its claws and winding its bones; the hibernating dragon overturns waves.

BODY METHOD:

     The dragon form has twisting  the waist and folding the body, it needs young strength. It is active and quick. Of the 12 forms, the dragon has a left and a right leaping up, like a fierce dragon rising to heaven. The body hangs in mid air then comes down splitting, falling like a thunderbolt striking the ground.  In the front leaping kick and right zuan quan, the wrist is like a dragon spitting out a pearl.  With the zuan, kick, seize, and  grab, spread the four limbs like the shape of a dragon's claw. In the
left and right falling to the ground, both hands are like dragons' wiskers. In practicing the dragon form there is rising and falling. Rise straight and wind as you come down. In leaping, both feet must be high; in falling, the feet coil into a sitting position.  Twist the waist and fold the body, the upper body presses close to the ground. The body method must be strong and quick.  Rising and falling must be quick, not sluggish. The hand method is rise, drill, fall, and overturn. Everything must twist inward and not be slack. In the dragon form practice, the quality of the motion is very big. When the body is low the strength is in the legs and both knees must be strong.  Rising comes from the waist and the waist must be strong to be able to wind and straighten. The body method has the appearance of waist
energy.  The body method uses the waist to dominate.  The waist creates looseness, looseness leads to being empty, empty and yet has spirit.  The waist needs softness, it needs to be  soft and yet strong.  It is important to avoid obstructing the chest. Drumming the stomach is used to transmit the waist strength to make a hard body. You must also use the strength of the whole body.
 

INTERNAL ALCHEMY:
 
Dragon, in Baguazhang, corresponds to the zhen gua.  In the body it is yang, but in martial arts it is yin.

     In the body it makes Li gua. It corresponds to the heart, and the heart corresponds to fire.  In fighting, the outside is hard and fierce, the inside is soft and flowing. If you    practice the dragon form for a long time, the effects of this form control victory and the whole body, tendons and bones, will profit.  If the postures are done correctly, then the mind empties and the heart's fire descends, the xinqiao (heart key) is open and wisdom created. Instantly the daojia is  refined inside the dantian.  If the form is not done correctly, then the main and collateral channels won't flow freely, the fighting will be wrong and the tendons and luo channels become hard to stretch, you won't appear lively and the the body's yin fire is burned.  If this form is pure then the spirit has authority.  The spirit and will are expressed through the eyes, and awesome power is created in the claws.  It is complimentary with the Tiger form.  In the two forms, one rises and one descends.  The body rises and falls, the hands bend and reach, the stepping has leaping and jumping, turning and changing.
 
     Dragon form practice is not only outer but also inner. The whole body uses strength, and  brings qi to the dantian. Everywhere is lively and vivacious, both arms calm, the five centers coordinated,  up and down harmonized, all connected by one qi.