Baguazhang

[Immortal4life]

Baguazhang, bodyguard art made famous in the 1800s and early 1900s

 

Bodyguard fighting system made famous in the 1800s in Beijing. Bagua fighters were appointed as the top body guards in Beijing, and the Emperor and Prince themselves employed the founders of the system as their personal bodyguards. To protect yourself against multiple attackers in the 1800s in Beijing, or if you wanted to work as a bodyguard, this was the best style to have. Weapons are also used like spear, sword, hooked knives, and special concealed needles. It's a hybrid master style that can incorporate many different styles, and most fighters who learned Bagua would have had a background in other martial arts prior to learning Baguazhang. Two styles I think that are known to be incorporated in Bagua are Shaolin Lohan fist and Shuai Chiao. It's most unique feature is the Circle walking practice that is also found in very ancient Taoist cultivation and chi kung energy practices.

 

Dong Hai Chuan-

Dong Hai Chuan(1797-1882) brought Baguazhang into Beijing in the 19th century. He is regarded as a skilful martial artist and is believed to be the founder of Baguazhang[1].

 

The exact story of Dong Hai Chuan is hard to establish. In most accounts he is reported as coming to Beijing in 1852, where he began to teach Baguazhang. The style soon becoming popular in Beijing and the surrounding areas

 

The beginnings of Pa-Kua Chang are as obscure as the origin of the I Ching itself. Most modern day records indicate that the developer of modern day Pa-Kua Chang was Tung Hai Chuan (Dong Hai Quan, 1797-1882 A.D.). Many colorful legends surround the great Tung who supposedly first displayed his art to the Emperor while serving as a eunuch in the emperor's palace.

 

The following are a few of the stories told by or about Dong, Hai-Chuan and the founding of his system of Baguazhang. Historians still argue over which if any of these stories is true.

 

One story claims that Dong, Hai-Chuan created Baguazhang from his life experiences. He trained extensively in martial arts for much of his youth in his home, Wen An in Hebei province. At the age of 40 he was attacked and almost killed on a road. Monks reputedly of the Daoist Long-Men sect (Dragon door Daoists) found him and he was said to have been instructed in a healing method of exercise used by these Daoist monks who practiced a meditative method of walking in circles and chanting mantras. After he recovered he traveled to Beijing where he became a servant in the Emperor's kitchen. As a waiter he had to balance great dishes on each hand and in so doing he was inspired to create evasive maneuvers that may have influenced future Baguazhang movements. It is most likely that he combined various elements - his years of training in Wen An, the circle walking of the Daoists, the footwork and palm changes in the kitchen - to create his own Baguazhang forms.

 

Dong supposedly became a monk in a Taoist temple, because he was on the run from authorities. Later he was expelled from the temple, and went to Beijing where he posed as a eunuch by sneaking into the Emperor's palace.

 

Dong was employed in the house of Prince Shan Qi's during the reign of the Emperor Guang Xu . One legend described how Prince Shan Qi became aware of the remarkable abilities of Dong. In this story, Shan Qi was a great lover of wushu. The prince was famous for holding parties where he invited the greatest martial arts in the country to demonstrate their skills. During one of those events, a servant with a large tray of tea couldn't get through to the prince because of the large crowd. In order to help, Dong took the tray with the tea and got to the prince. Prince Shan Qi asked his bodyguard Sha Huihui to demonstrate his martial arts skills. Sha was a strong man and his breath taking performance drew prolonged applause from the audience. During the heat of the moment, he issued an open challenge to those present. No one dared to accept the challenge. At that moment it happened that Dong Haichuan was serving food and drinks to the guests. He heard the challenger but hesitated over whether he should answer it. When he saw no one come forward, he volunteered to take on Sha Huihui. After a few bouts, he made a sweeping, forceful movement with his palms and flung Sha to the ground a dozen feet away. Everyone was struck dumb by his prowess.

 

Dong, Hai-Chuan rarely discussed the origin of the art with his pupils. When pressed he told different stories about how he came to learn Baguazhang.

 

Dong became one of the prominent martial artists in the court and from that time on he began to teach baguazhang in Beijing and the surrounding areas. He taught many students in Beijing and all his students were known for their quality and skills. Dong Haichuan died in 1882 at the age of 84. He was buried beside the Red Bridge outside Beijing's Dongzhi Gate. On his graph was an epitaph written by his followers and a list of his students. This tomb was damaged during the cultural revolution. In 1980, the tomb was renovated and moved to Wan'an Cemetery.

 

On Dong Hai Chuans tomb is a list of his disciples. The first is Yin Fu. Yin Fu was the first disciple of Dong Hai Chuan, and studied with Dong the longest. He trained constantly with Dong, day and night, for at least 10 years. He got the most skills.

 

The second listed disiplce is Ma Weiqi. Not a lot is known about Ma Weiqi because he died at only 30 years old. He was said to have had a bad temperment. It is a shame he ended up being killed. I dont know if anyone really got his fulll transmission or got his art.

 

The third listed disciple is Shi Dejong, the cousin of Yin Fu. Shi Dejong lived with Dong in Dongs later years, and got a lot of Dongs skills.

 

The 4th listed disciple is Cheng Ting Hua, Cheng was already very skilled in Schuai Chiao and Chinese wrestling before learning from Dong, he only learned from Dong for 4 years.

 

 

Yin Fu

 

Yin Fu was the greatest of Dong Hai Chuans disciples in the art of Bagua. The Yin style is very combat oriented and effective. It doesnt mess around. Some of its strongest traits are the Ox toungue palm which originally derives from Shaolin and can be used to strike the opponents eyes, throat, or body, as well as sitting down heavy on the opponent and sticking. Another strength is the Yin Fu wrist grip. It is extremely hard to break. Yin Fu's grip was so powerful it was said to be almost like handcuffs, and could put a man to their knees simply by grabbig the wrist. Since it derives from Shaolin it also has powerful kicking methods. One of the most underated aspects of Yin style is it's wrestling, Schuai Chiao, and Qinna methods.

 

Yin Fu, and most likely Dong Hai Chuan for that matter, were both Shaolin masters. What Bagua did, and what makes it so great, is that it softened the Shaolin.

 

Here is a site I found with a pretty comprehensive lineage chart for the branches of Yin style-

http://www.8gua.info...tml#Liu Zhenlin

 

Yin Fu-

Yin Fu (1840-1909) was Dong Hai Chuan's most senior Ba Kua Zhang student. He was with Dong the longest and had the most personal contact with Dong. Yin Fu did not teach many people his Ba Kua Zhang and of those he did teach, only a few received his complete system. Yin Fu was born in Hebei province, Ji County, Zhang Huai Village in 1841. Since he was tall and slim, people called him "thin" Yin. Before he studied Ba Kua Zhang, he was experienced in Shaolin Lohan Chuan and Tan Tui (springing legs) and this background was reflected naturally in his Ba Kua style. In addition to teaching Ba Kua Zhang in the palace and to private students, Yin also worked as a resident guard and bodyguard protecting the rich people and their homes in Beijing. During the Boxer Rebellion in 1900, Yin Fu was hired as the head bodyguard for the Empress Dowager and the Guang Xu emperor when they were taken out of the Forbidden City. Yin Fu was famous for his use of footwork in evasion and in applying short powerful kicks. His hand work, characterized by the so-called "ox-tongue" palm, was best applied in adhering, deflecting, and striking. His delivery of power (or fajing) was quick, springy, and explosive. His attacks were very fierce and in lightening speed; once an attack was initiated, there was no letting up.

 

 

Yin started studying with Dong in the mid 1860’s. Dong first taught Yin Fu Luo Han Quan because this was the style being taught at the palace before training in Bagua. He spent twenty years with Dong. For ten years, he was collecting taxes for the Court in Inner Mongolia. History records that the teacher and student practiced morning, noon, and night, and it was during that time that Yin learned the entire system. He popularized the Tornado Palm and Ox Tongue Palm techniques of the Bagua system. He was Dong’s first and by far his longest serving student.

 

A story as told by Xie Pei Qi, states when Yin Fu came to Beijing he was already skilled at "Snake's Tongue" Boxing (She Xin Quan), which he had practiced since childhood. Shortly after he arrived in Beijing he heard of Tung Hai Chuan's reputation and went to the palace to challenge him. When Yin met Tung and initiated the challenge, Tung was holding a tobacco pouch in his left hand. Tung stretched out his right hand with the palm facing up (yang palm) and said, "You start first." Yin squared off with Tung and extended his hand in attack. As soon as Yin's hand met Tung's arm, Tung turned his palm over and pressed on Yin's arm. Yin Fu moved to block up and when he did Tung speared straight in and struck him in the mouth with his fingertips, knocking out his two front teeth. Tung never dropped the tobacco pouch. Realizing that he had been outclassed, Yin knelt and asked Tung to be his teacher. Tung refused. Yin said, "If you do not take me as your student, I will kneel here and die in front of you." Prince Su was passing by and observed what was happening. He noticed that Yin was very thin and had a "unique look." The prince told Tung to please accept this young man as his disciple. He said, "I will be the one to make the introduction between teacher and student." At this, Tung accepted as his disciple.

 

When Yin Fu became proficient in Bagua, he started a protection and bodyguard agency. His students worked for him, guarding the homes and bodies of the well-to-do and the elite of Beijing. The success of the agency was due to the fact that each and every guard was backed by the reputation of Yin Fu. Each of these guard/students learned Lohan Shaolin, Pao Chui and Kung Li before learning Pa Kua Chang, making each of them effective fighters in their own right. As he became wealthy from his two businesses, Yin Fu began to send food and clothing back to his home village every month. [1]

 

In 1900, during the evacuation of the capital due to the Boxer's Rebellion, he was appointed the head bodyguard of the Empress Dowager and the Guang Xu emperor. After government returned to Beijing, Yin continued in the employ as head of the royal guard. When he retired, he was succeeded in his position by Gong Baotian, one of his more accomplished disciples. He died when he was 70 years old. His two sons later moved to Shandong province.

 

Yin Fu could grab an opponent's wrist with great tenacity - his index finger and thumb were so strong that the opponent could not break free. Using this technique, Yin Fu could easily crush an opponent's wrist.

 

The style and flavour of Bagua that Yin Fu began to teach became known as Yin Style Bagua.

 

Yin style Lohan sets in the system, and the 8 basic Yin style palms-

 

More Yin style-

 

 

 

Ma Wei Qi-

Ma Weiqi (1851-1880) was Dong Haichuan's second best student next to Yin Fu. He was young, wild and very arrogant. Ma liked to fight, was overly ruthless, and was known to have killed some men. He was nicknamed "Ten-Day Ma" because most of the people he fought never lived past ten days after the fight. Dong admitted he was a great student and fighter but wanted to quench his arrogance.

 

Ma Weiqi was a Beijing man. As a young man he liked to fight. When Dong Haiquan became famous, Ma visited him in order to compare skills. Dong used his Bagua to defeat Ma. Ma then threw himself down in front of Dong's school and begged to be taught. Among the students of the Bagua Zhang school, Ma was known as a person of outstanding talent. He had a fiery temper and was arrogant. He liked to make men fight. Except for teacher Dong, he regarded men as nothing. During the Qing Dynasty, Ma ran a coal shop in the capitol. Business was brisk and he earned the appelation " Big Coal King Ma". Ma was an expert in Baguazhang, Baguadao, and Bagua Turning Spear. He was famous for his spear technique. According to rumor, one year the Su Wang Palace advertised for martial arts teachers. Ma was the first to go. Su Wang ordered him to demonstrate his martial skills. Ma picked up a Big Spear and moved into the prince's practice hall to begin. In the hall were many antiques and precious wall hangings. If Ma was not careful he could damage some pieces and loose a fortune. They were so valuable that Ma would never be able to pay for them. But Ma took his spear in hand. Using the Eight Gate Eight Spear, the silk tassel was never random. He used the 12 character song. He came like a flying phoenix and went like a comet. The spear strikes were straight. He was the acme of perfection and caused Su Wang to be profuse with praise. Su Wang wanted to give him the appointment, only he felt that if this man were to get angry and violent, he couldn't be controlled. He awarded Ma 1000 double silvers, and ordered him to return home. Also at that time, in the NE was a famous caravan escort named Zhao Keli. Out of admiration for Ma's fame he paid him a visit. Ma only heaped insults on Zhao and as Zhao was young and had a fierce nature the two men fought. Eventually because Zhao was not an enemy, Ma used a heavy hand to wound Zhao but did not kill him.

 

Ma died when he was only 29 years old. In one story, Ma died because of injuries, or was poisoned, after a competition or fight. He went to Dong for healing, but the poison from the wounds had entered his bones. He couldn't be cured with accupuncture or herbs.

Edited January 13, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

Shi De Jong

A very rare, but very cool style of Bagua is the Shi style of Bagua. As far as I know, this is the only style which can directly trace some aspects of the system, and some forms in the system, directly to Dong Hai Chuan. Shi Dejong lived with Dong in the later years, got a lot of skills, and this was also the time that Dong was hanging out with Yang the master of Yang style Taiji, and Guo the famous Xingyi master.

 

“M Shi Jidong (1837-1909), styled Shi Zhenbang, was from Xiaozhai village in Ji county in Hebei. Because he was the sixth child in his family, people called him Shi Liu (six). He was honest and upright and a fine speaker. By nature he was a peacemaker; whenever there was some internal dispute, he would intervene and make peace. He ran a sawmill in the east of Beijing. Whenever there were labour disputes in the timber industry, he would be regularly called in to act as a mediator.

In his youth, he studied tantui with the famous master, ‘Iron legs’ Qin Fengyi. He was painstaking in his training – he would kick the 10 li (5km) to and from M Qin’s house. In just a few years, he learnt the whole art from M Qin. Later on, Yin Fu started studying under M Qin, which is how Shi and Yin became friends. After M Qin’s death, Yin became Dong Haichuan’s disciple. When Shi found out, he also bowed to Dong as his master. Because Yin had entered the door earlier, he was Dong’s senior disciple, with Ma Weiqi second and Shi Jidong third. His ‘bagua name’ was Shi Liqing. At that time, Dong’s martial prowess was already well-known in the capital. His art, baguazhang, became particularly known for its agile footwork and rapid changes. Martial arts experts from all over the country came to challenge Dong, but none managed to best him. Prince Su once inscribed a plaque in his honour, writing ‘First among the Qing empire’ (da qing yi ren).

Shi was dedicated and painstaking in his training, training year-round whatever the weather, and habitually walked the circle with his knees bent so that his buttocks were lower than his knees. He often trained until beads of sweat poured off him. He was a skilled fighter, especially his leg attacks, which were almost impossible to anticipate. Other martial artists gave him the nickname ‘zei tui Shi liu’ (sneaky legs Shi Six) and his kungfu brothers all admired his skill. M Dong was fond of Shi too, and took Shi’s wife as his adopted daughter. In Dong’s old age, Shi took Dong into his home and looked after him personally. M Dong treated him like his own son-in-law. M Dong was moved by Shi’s devotion and passed on his art unreservedly. After M Dong’s passing, Shi organised his funeral and erected a stele to commemorate him.

Every morning, M Shi would practice at the foot of the eastern city walls. In his house, he hid a slingshot in the rafters. He was extremely accurate in its use, never missing his shot. A band of robbers hidden in the hills near Beijing were plundering the caravans that passed by. Local officials were unable to capture the robbers and invited M Shi to assist. M Shi captured 11 of the leaders and razed the robbers’ camp. The Qing government awarded Shi with ‘liu pin ding dai’(honorary rank of the 6th grade), causing his fame to spread. One day, a master of ‘iron-sand palm’ came to visit. Shi and his disciples greeted him at the door and led him into the house. The iron-sand master, intending to show off his skills, brushed his hands against a stele next to the door. The students behind him gawked at the stele: the master’s touch had crushed all its bricks. Afterwards, the two masters introduced themselves, and the visitor asked to cross hands. M Shi ordered his student Yang Rongben to accept the challenge. Yang assented, saluted his opponent and took up a ready position. The visitor attacked with a straight punch, only for Yang to spin round with a baibu and sweep the man’s leg’s out from under him, felling him. M Shi bade his students to help the man up. The man went on his way, ashamed. Afterwards, the eyewitnesses told M Shi about the incident with the stele. M Shi said ‘These methods [like iron-sand palm] to increase striking power and toughen up the skin have their place.It is difficult to win against such an opponent unless we rely on skill [rather than power].’

M Shi was involved in many such contests, there were too many to mention. In 1909, M Shi fell severely ill and decided to return to his hometown. His students accompanied him to the rail station. Back then, medicine wasn’t as advanced as it is now, M Shi was unable to be saved. M Shi had no sons, but took his nephew as his inheritor. Thousands of mourners came to M Shi’s funeral. Prior to his illness, M Shi was one of the organisers of Tianjin’s Wushu Hui, whose purpose was to strengthen the physique of the chinese people, and urged his friends and disciples to join. Although in the end, for various reasons the Wushu Hui never got founded, M Shi’s patriotism was admirable.

In his teaching, M Shi emphasised martial morality (Wu De) and was very strict. The material that M Shi passed down included bagua 64 palms, as well as various kicking methods and weapons. Amongst his Beijing disciples, the more well-known were Han Fushun, Zhang Dexiu (aka Zhang Shanting), Yu Qingjin, Yang Rongben, Shou Shan, etc. M Shi’s bagua was called ‘East City bagua’ because he lived in the east of Beijing.

In terms of palm shape, the characteristic palm shape of Shi style bagua is the ‘sickle’ palm, with the index and middle fingers held together, the ‘tiger’s mouth’ [the gap between the thumb and index finger] held open and the other two fingers are slightly twisted inwards. The stepping consists of ‘tang ni bu’ [mud-wading step] and the ‘chicken step’. Shi style lays stress on the ’5 shapes and 5 postures’ [wu xing wu shi] and the ’8 characters and 8 methods’ [ba zi ba fa]. Shi style excels at the use of the legs, making its footwork and kicking particularly speedy and agile.

Video, Shi style

Cheng Ting Hua-

 

 

Cheng Ting-Hua (also known as Cheng Ying-Fang) was born in 1848 in the Cheng family village, Shen County, Hebei Province. The third of four brothers, Cheng had pock marks on his face when he was young and thus he was kno=wn as “third son with pock marks” Cheng. Cheng T'ing-Hua was fond of martial arts and in his youth he gained skill at wielding a 90 kg broadsword and a large heavy staff. When Cheng was still fairly young, he left his hometown and went to Beijing to apprentice with a gentleman who made eyeglasses. Intent on improving his martial arts skill, Cheng also began to study Chinese wrestling (Shuai Chiao) when he arrived in Beijing.

In the late 1800s, two wrestling styles were popular in Beijing, Manchurian/Mongolian wrestling and Pao Ting “fast style” wrestling. The Pao Ting style was quicker than the Manchurian style. As soon as the opponent came in contact with the wrestler, he would be thrown. There was not any grappling, struggling, or tussling as we see in western wrestling. This wrestling also combined punching, kicking, joint locking and point striking with its throwing techniques. Cheng T'ing-Hua was a avid wrestler and studied both of the popular wrestling styles when he was a young man in Beijing. He practiced hard and made a name for himself as a wrestler. He was not a big name in the martial arts world yet, however, most martial artists in Beijing knew of him and knew he was skilled at shuai chiao.

By 1870, Tung Hai-Chuan had become very well known in Beijing (research indicates that Tung first arrived in Beijing around 1865). When Cheng was approximately 28 years old (1876), he sought out Tung in order to improve his skill. Some say that Cheng had become friends with Yin Fu and Shih Chi-Tung (two of Tung Hai-Chuans first Pa Kua students) and that they had encouraged him to go and meet Tung. When the two first met, Tung asked Cheng to use his shuai chiao against him. Cheng made several attempts at attacking Tung but was never able to even lay a hand on him. Cheng knelt down and asked Tung if he could become a student. At this point in time, Tung had not accepted many Pa Kua Chang students. Although Tung had taught many people martial arts in the Prince of Su's palace, it is said that he had only taught Pa Kua to three people prior to teaching Cheng Ting-Hua. The large majority of his students in the palace were said to have learned something other than Pa Kua from Tung.

If those who say Tung's original tombstone had his students listed in the order in which he taught them are correct, then Cheng was indeed Tung's fourth disciple, as his name appears fourth on the list. The first name listed on this stele is Yin Fu, followed by Ma Wei-Chi, Shih Chi-Tung, and then Cheng Ting-Hua. The year Cheng met Tung was approximately 1876. Tung died in 1882, so at best Cheng studied with Tung for 5 or 6 years.

Tung Hai-Chuan was known to have only accepted Pa Kua Chang students who were already skilled in another style of martial art. It is said that after laying a Pa Kua foundation with the circle walk practice, single palm change, double palm change, and smooth changing palm, Tung would teach the student Pa Kua Chang based on what the student already knew. Taking this information to be true, we can assume that Tung would have taught Cheng using Chengs knowledge of shuai chiao as a base.


The Pa Kua styles which most notably display a Hsing-I flavor are the styles which were taught by Cheng and his friends Li Tsun-I, Liu Te-Kuan, and Chang Chao-Tung. Although all three of these Hsing-I masters are recorded as being Pa Kua Chang students of Tung Hai-Chuan, there is evidence that suggests Li, Liu, and Chang learned their Pa Kua from Cheng Ting-Hua, not Tung Hai-Chuan.

The link between Hsing-I and Pa Kua was most likely forged when Cheng Ting-Hua and his friends Li Tsun-I, Chang Chao-Tung, Liu Te-Kuan, and Liu Wai-Hsiang got together to compare styles and learn from each other (Li Tsun-I, Liu Te-Kuan, and Chang Chao-Tung were all Hsing-I boxing brothers under the same teacher, Liu Chi-Lan. Liu Wai-Hsiang was a Hsing-I student of Chang Chao-Tung). Cheng Ting-Hua was a very open martial artist who would teach his Pa Kua to anyone who cared to learn it. He enjoyed meeting other martial artist to compare styles and share the techniques and theories of martial arts. He also enjoyed sharing his Pa Kua Chang skill with other martial artists. Cheng is said to have been the person responsible for teaching Liu Te-Kuan, Li Tsun-I, and Chang Chao-Tung their Pa Kua Chang, however, since they were very skilled in Hsing-I and thus were Cheng's peers, he did not feel right calling them his “students.” Therefore, Cheng said that they should say they learned their Pa Kua from his teacher, Tung Hai-Chuan

Cheng was killed by German Soldiers in 1900 during the boxer rebellion. Cheng was being work press ganged into a work detail so he pulled a short knife and was shot In July 1900, foreign troops entered Beijing. Legends has it that Cheng took the responsiblity for defending the people from the invasion. He tried to defend himself agaisnt a dozen soldiers armed with only two daggers. His pupils tried to stop him, but to no avail. It was later found that Cheng single-handedly killed ten or more soldiers, but he died of multiple bullet wounds. He was 52 years old.

Cheng style Bagua video

Blacktaoist 8 trigrams-

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUTqhq2i_tQ

More demonstrations of various bagua masters-

9 palace training to maneuver around and fight many people at once-

Weapons

Bagua Sabre

YouTube - ????1984????

Deer horn

Fighting applications
Bagua fighter Blacktaoist teaching Bagua on BET's Iron Ring MMA show-
BLACKTAOIST TEACHES DIPSET RECRUITS (IRON RING BET MMA REALITY SHOW)

Introduction to Blacktaoists Baguazhang Rap Video-
BLACKTAOIST BAGUA HSING YI RAP VIDEO

Black Taoist-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=CX8BKQFvp8c

Blacktaoist Yin Fu style Baguazhang peircing palm-
YIN STYLE BAGUAZHANG 2 PIERCES ATTACK

Novell Bell shows kicking methods of his branch of Yin style-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-iCxVE1bDk

Blacktaoists Yin Fu style Baguazhang
Urban Dragons Premiere: BT on the Big Screen

Xu Shi Xi doing Yin style fighting applications-

YouTube - Master Xu Shi Xi global lecture tour
??????????????? - ?? - ???? - ???? - ?? ?? ?? ??
????????????????? - ?? - ???? - ???? - ?? ?? ??
??????????????? - ?? - ???? - ???? - ?? ??

More Bagua fighting applications-
yin bagua snake qinna strikes | Kung Fu | Veoh

More Novell Bell-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_Q_xO55fP8

Video demonstrating internal power, claiming to be of the Ma Weiqi line of Bagua-
www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkRv9_bLRG

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nktzYeyG6M

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPc5UEgFBIo




Sweeping application
YouTube - tai chi applications 6

Applications

Franztis doing bagua

Ba Gua Combat Applications-Ko and Stepping (Part 1)
Ba Gua Fundamentals-Changing Angles for Combat in Ba Gua

94 years old

more fighting applications demonstrated here-
Baguazhang applications.html Edited March 4, 2013 by Immortal4life

[Immortal4life]

awwe...

 

no one liked my Bagua thread....

 

i thought you guys would be into bagua....

 

 

[VCraigP]

awwe...

 

no one liked my Bagua thread....

 

i thought you guys would be into bagua....

 

 

 

Hi

 

Nice threads. Good information.

What about you? What do you practice?

 

I practice mostly Zhaobao Taiji, and have learned some basics of Dai Xinyi.

 

Your posts have been very thorough, good resources for people to begin an investigation into various arts.

 

These posts do seem to stand alone so I wouldn't be too surprised that no one has commented further.

 

Craig

[mYTHmAKER]

awwe...

 

no one liked my Bagua thread....

 

i thought you guys would be into bagua....

 

 

 

I liked it - A LOT

I posted for a good easy to understand baqua book and got very few responses.

None from you - I'm waiting:)

Edited November 19, 2010 by mYTHmAKER

[rex]

I like this thread too and all your other recent ones as well. The Association of Traditional Studies is well worth checking out:

 

Yin Style Bagua Animal Systems

 

There's even a few hours worth of streaming videos of Yin Bagua internal cultivation methods - now that's generous and I tip my hat to them!

 

Yin Style Bagua Internal Cultivation

[Immortal4life]

I liked it - A LOT

I posted for a good easy to understand baqua book and got very few responses.

None from you - I'm waiting:)

 

Ok, I'm happy now with the replies

 

I simply don't have any recomendations for good bagua books, I dont know if I would be interested in any Bagua books that are in english.

[Immortal4life]

Another Bagua Schaui Chiao throw-

[Gerard]

.

Edited November 10, 2014 by Gerard

[Immortal4life]

Bagua is a great art.

 

I already did Schuai Chiao, Xinyi, and Taiji... Bagua seemed to naturally be the next thing to post about

[rex]

May I ask: why all this sudden interest in Bagua?

 

Baguazhang is a long held interest of mine though previous posts have drawn a blank:

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/54-resources-books-links-articles-movies-etc/page__view__findpost__p__45707

 

 

http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?/topic/13835-the-gompa/page__view__findpost__p__178611

Edited November 22, 2010 by rex

[Immortal4life]

lol

[spiraltao]

WOW! I am so happy I found this thread. If I were to have to recommend one baguazhang book, it would certainly be BAGUAZHANG-Theory and Application by Dr. Yang Jwing Ming and Master Liang Shou Yu. It has the dragon form, swimming body and deer knife forms. I have yet to get that far into the book though, I have concentrated on the songs. What I like is that the authors offer translations of the translations of the songs. It is like a textbook. It is rather expensive, but worth it.

 

Can you elaborate on the Gao, Liang and Fu styles? I suppose my favorite is Liang being that I know a few of the applications and doing the form is like a big shot of speed!

 

I have learned the first six changes from Wang Shujin's linked palms book by Kent Howard, which is a very affordable book.

[Cat Pillar]

I can't wait until my transportation situation is settled and I can finally start learning Bagua. It looks like SOOOO much fun.

 

And there's something very attractive about the idea of circle walking.

[PurpleHeaven]

I really liked these two books:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Ba-Gua-Knowledge-Internal-Martial/dp/1556432763/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347546300&sr=8-1-fkmr1&keywords=secret+in+taoist+internal+arts

 

http://www.amazon.com/Gua-Circle-Walking-Nei-Gong/dp/1432796895/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347546405&sr=1-3&keywords=tom+bisio

 

A demonstration of Liang Style that I enjoyed very much is this:

 

...and some of the stuff that Sifu C. L. Matsuo has produced.

[spiraltao]

Can't go wrong with Lao Xie Matsuo, in my opinion. He makes some very difficult concepts perfectly understandable. Golden stuff!

 

Looks like I will be getting the Tom Bisio book, lol.

[PurpleHeaven]

I especially like Lao Xie Matsuos DVD on Internal Bagua Palm and the Vibrating Palm Set.

 

Tom Bisios books has a lot of connections to chinese medicine and explains very well how the different channel and axes are connected to bagua circle walking and how they are opened and stimulated through Ding Shi Bagua. This makes the basics seem ever more important. And rewarding.

[johndoe2012]

.

Edited August 18, 2013 by chris d

[skydog]

nice did circle walking today very energising

[zerostao]

nice did circle walking today very energising

stick with it. if you can find a tree to circle, alot can be discovered

[Gerard]

.

Edited September 13, 2013 by Gerard

[Gongbaoshaun]

Just be careful to avoid the Wushu versions of Bagua(I know Wushu means martial art, I'm talking about the sport version)

There are many forms of Bagua that are more for the Chinese Opera and are very flashy but the martial viability is questionable.

[zerostao]

awwe...

 

no one liked my Bagua thread....

 

i thought you guys would be into bagua....

 

 

i am into my 4th year of playing. i have also noticed how much more baguazhang gets discussed here on ttb now as opposed to when i first joined ttb. talking about tai chi is still cool tho. just wondering why all the talk about fajin here seems to be in the taichi threads and the baguazhangers stay hushed about it. hehehehe

[Antares]

I also am starting to play Bagua. I have got Chris Matsuo's DVD on basic circle walking chikung (8 energy set). Looks great. But there in no info on the mind set and how to move feet exactly (i mean neikung). Is it crucial for this set, does anybody know?

 

I have seen good reviews on Tom Bisio's bagua neikung book. But video is not so good for self learning.

And also I have bagua mastery program DVDs by BKF. Thinking to get his book Opening Energy Gates... and Water Path Med. and try to learn at home. And then to visit class of an instructor who learned bagua from him. Nice plan I think

Edited March 4, 2013 by Eugene

[zerostao]

hot off the press