Favorite Bagua resources? (books, teachers, videos, etc)

[baiqi]

那么[骑马步]要怎么站才能稳当？

 

So, how to obtain stability by practicing the horse stance? 

 

要怎么站才能作为行动的根基？要怎么站才能产生招式的力量？要怎么站才能不会成为身体的累赘？

各门各派有大马、小马、高马、低马、死马、活马等等的战法，表面乍看不同，要领其实类似，本文蒐集了陈家太极拳陈子明前辈，陈发科前辈，杨家太极拳 楊澄甫前辈, 形意、八卦、太极名家孙禄堂前辈，八卦拳尹玉章前辈, 宮宝田 前辈, 少林、武当名家郭粹亚，自然们大师万籁声前辈、南拳大师林世荣前辈，摔跤大王场东升，八步螳螂名家微笑堂，名不见经传，但是弓架产谨的山东宁津八极拳架，这些人物时空派别差距很大，但是他们的骑马步却显示出共通的原则，或者可以说呈现出骑马步的真理。

 

How to practice so as standing becomes the basis for movement? How to practice so as it brings strength to your movements? How to practice so as your body doesn't become a burden? 

Every school has large, small high, low, dead and living horse (etc.) stances in their fighting techniques. Even if they look different, their characteristics are the same. This article collects Chen Ziming and Chen Fake from the Chen family taijiquan, Yang Chengfu from the Yang family taijiquan, the famous master of xingyi, bagua and taiji, Sun Lutang, Yin Yuzhang and Gong Baotian from the Yin style baguaquan, Guo Cuiya, a master of both Wudang and Shaolin arts, Wan Laisheng from the Natural Boxing school, the great Southern boxer Lin Shirong, Yang Dongsheng, the king of shuaijiao (Chinese wrestling), Wei Xiaotang from the eight step praying mantis boxing, as well as people unknown, practicing bajiquan in the Ningjing area... all these men lived in different places and times, yet, there horse stance showed the same principles. Or we could say that they could show the truth behind the horse stance.  

 

[Gerard]

Let's merge the Baguaquan Gong Baotian/Gong Baozhai discussion at old Emptyflower Internal Martial Arts forum because of its relevance due to the deep level attained by practitioners belonging to this traditional Bagua lineage and those who adopted this particular training methodology in their own practice:

 

http://gaobagua.net/ef-public/index1bc0.html?showtopic=8282&st=0

 

Hope you find it useful.

[Gerard]

Two informative videos featuring He Jinghan:

 

Flying Monk Talk Show 21- Master He Jing Han, wisdom of Baguaquan

 

Flying Monk Talk Show 22 - Master He Jing Han, wisdom of Baguaquan

 

I hope you find it useful to your personal practice.

 

Happy training!

Edited June 19, 2017 by Gerard

[Sudhamma]

Thank you for this thread and the many invaluable videos. There are two important aspects in baquazhang training, 1. 'lian gong', training in 'gong', effort, labour; e.g. walking the circle with static 8-Mother Palm pose and 2. 'lian chuan', training in the form, e.g. Wuloong-chuan or 64-lian-wan zhang. Lian gong should not be given up even when one has progressed towards learning the form. As is commonly said, 'lian chuan bu lian gong, dow lau yi sheng kung', roughly it meant, if one do not put in effort (to accomplish 'gong'), all becomes empty when old (all the time is wasted in training when one becomes old). My lineage is "Yin p'ai gong m'en". If for health reasons that one trains in baquazhang, walking the circle or even linear walking maybe good enough subject to knowing the details of walking, literally 'how to walk' especially in my lineage should be properly learned. And to learn this aspect properly, it is necessary to learn under a master or teacher unless the DVD has important details disclosed. Normally, DVDs are for those who already has the basic knowledge.

[Gerard]

On 6/19/2017 at 9:56 AM, Gerard said:

Flying Monk Talk Show 22 - Master He Jing Han, wisdom of Baguaquan

 

 

He Jinghan --> listen to him from 19:00. Spot on!

 

What is Bagua?

 

Hahaha. Good luck if you know what this art really is.

 

Like building a pyramid. Piece by piece from the bottom to the top. From the widest to the narrowest point which is the tip. That's what the progression is like in Bagua.

 

Thank you Mr He for sharing your wisdom (and also to Alex Kozma for making this two-part video available to the public).

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2017 by Gerard

[windwalker]

 

Met Adam Hsu, long ago when he was teaching out in golden gate park, an area called the pan handle.
He mentions that "everyone should have their own bagua zhang" found this quite interesting as 
my teacher in teaching me taiji said the same thing...

Edited June 24, 2017 by windwalker

[Gerard]

Quick tutorial/show on Ma Bu (Horse Stance).

 

Bread and butter (foundation work) of any Bagua program.

 

 

[zerostao]

 

[Marblehead]

Oh, Oh.  First part fail.  Didn't hug the tree when the exercise was finished.

 

[Dainin]

This sounds like it should be an interesting read:

 

Major New Bagua Book

 

"This volume of “poems” and essays are supposedly written—recorded is a better word—directly from the teachings of Dong Hai Chuan, the founder of Bagua Zhang, by a follower named Zeng Zengqi. Falk expertly translates the text from the Chinese (included), but also adds her own enlightened English commentary. She preserves the poetic structure where the principles of Bagua are laid out in small, memorable Chinese verses. In former days these “songs” were studied and memorized, allowing even illiterate students to analyze their rich content."

[Gerard]

The Songs of Bagua:

 

1. In simplicity I must rely on.

2. With the Eight Mother Palms, I will gain.

3. Circle Walking, correct stepping, a well-rooted and relaxed posture I will fully focus my practice on.

4. Form training is not necessary; in fact it will slow down my progress.

5. Low stance training and foundation work will develop the root of my practice.

6. I will train with the main goal of purifying my mind and developing character (morality). Any other considerations are a hindrance to the understanding of this deep and complex Taoist art.

7. I will walk the circle fully focused on what I am doing while leaving worldly issues behind and controlling the degree of internal chatter.

 

 

[GreytoWhite]

 

[Gerard]

5:30 am this morning. Summer heat is slowly picking up. I felt it yesterday so I knew it is going to be a hot day today, in fact when that happens it’s just textbook knowledge one of these forest dwellers will show up to enjoy the Yang conditions.  

 

 

It was watching me very closely 10 m away from me, very curious about the circle walking activity. The movement of the snake is so stealthy that I didn’t feel it at all but I knew right away when it was observing my practice. Very strong yet smooth Yin energy, which I really like.

 

I have seen this particular snake 4 years ago while meditating at night in the same area of the park. Wonderful and highly intelligent being.

 

It was only a juvenile, 2.5 m long and they can be very grumpy but this one isn’t, we already know each other.

 

I only hope it comes for another visit soon. 

 

The joys of Bagua training in the rainforest. Every day is always a new day, expect the unexpected!

 

 

[Gerard]

Seattle185 (and others),

 

Here are some useful videos for your Bagua foundation work:

 

Squatting stretches

 

Squat better with ankle flexibility

 

Kettlebell work is great to work on proper squat depth, drop weights progressively over time, eg. 14-12-8-6-2Kg until you are able to squat all the way down in deep horse stance with only your bodyweight. Your Bagua will improve and you'll be working lower and lower each time ----> low basin.

 

Hope this proves useful to your lifelong Bagua practice.

 

 

 

 

[Trunk]

 

[zerostao]

Be among the first to watch this video on You Tube

GAO-STYLE BAGUAZHANG ( CHENG SCHOOL)

PRE- HEAVEN BGUAZHANG LECTURE 1/2

 

Then after that finished it auto played to Adam Hsu

Secret Code of Bagua

 

Then if you want to go beyond your imagination ( yes! Yes!)

Check out the short

Wudang BAGUAZHANG " Five Dragons Heavenly Dipper"

 

Edited July 16, 2020 by zerostao

[Vajra Fist]

18 hours ago, zerostao said:

Then if you want to go beyond your imagination ( yes! Yes!)

Check out the short

Wudang BAGUAZHANG " Five Dragons Heavenly Dipper"

 

 

Five Immortals Temple is legit. Lindsey Wei was offering an introductory online course on this form recently, but unfortunately she doesn't teach the full form. Apparently the sect doesn't allow the final four palm changes to be taught outside of the temple itself. Fascinating system though, they describe bagua as more of a ceremony than a martial art. Seems like it's more in tune with the art's shamanic roots than I've ever seen before. 

[zerostao]

13 minutes ago, Vajra Fist said:

 

Five Immortals Temple is legit. Lindsey Wei was offering an introductory online course on this form recently, but unfortunately she doesn't teach the full form. Apparently the sect doesn't allow the final four palm changes to be taught outside of the temple itself. Fascinating system though, they describe bagua as more of a ceremony than a martial art. Seems like it's more in tune with the art's shamanic roots than I've ever seen before. 

Fiveimmortals.com

Fascinating indeed.

 

 

[Gerard]

On 17/07/2020 at 4:34 AM, Vajra Fist said:

 

Five Immortals Temple is legit. Lindsey Wei was offering an introductory online course on this form recently, but unfortunately she doesn't teach the full form. Apparently the sect doesn't allow the final four palm changes to be taught outside of the temple itself. Fascinating system though, they describe bagua as more of a ceremony than a martial art. Seems like it's more in tune with the art's shamanic roots than I've ever seen before. 

Ceremony?

 

Clearly you'd benefit from something that emphasises the following aspects:

 

1. Own Effort

2. Concentration/Mindfulness

3. Understanding and applying correct Body Mechanics

4. Simplicity. The less complex the form and the less you change limb positioning, the better; eg. holding one palm for many circles at a time will yield more benefit than doing 64 Palms in one go.

5. Understanding and accepting Change.

6. Understanding and accepting the Law of Yin & Yang plus it's Five main Forces. 
7. The underlying role of the Mind which controls Everything.

 

Wudang = New Age & Communist controlled tourist honeypot. Easy to deceive Westerners with spiritual mumbo jumbo.

 

HARD WORK + DEDICATION plus learning from a legitimate lineage is the way to go:

 

https://pdfslide.net/documents/bagua-lineage-chart.html

 

[zerostao]

All circle walking is ritual dating back to the ancients.

Is Ge Hong's Baopuzi new age?

Is Nine Palace Stepping new age?

Is Gao Yisheng new age?

Understanding Yin & Yang, Five Elements, well, Eight Trigrams too.

 

[waterdrop]

Dmo mitchell will soon open an online course in his "internal arts academy"   - here is a video he made about bagua : 
 

 

[Vajra Fist]

3 hours ago, waterdrop said:

Dmo mitchell will soon open an online course in his "internal arts academy"   - here is a video he made about bagua : 
 

 

 

Interesting points he made here about how the 8 mother palms contain the essential neigong of the style, with each palm corresponding to the energies of each of the eight trigrams. Hate to admit it, but Gerard is probably right over how it's the more simple movements in bagua where the essence of the system lies. 

[Gerard]

On 23/07/2020 at 10:35 PM, Vajra Fist said:

the more simple movements in bagua

The simpler the better because it contains more ESSENCE and essence in turn is the root of LIFE. It's like a seed ready to sprout when the conditions are right. Cultivating like an empty shell (focusing on performance and fancy moves like a ballerina) might have a lot of appeal and look pretty to the senses but it won't last and will not yield a crop.
 

Essence is the foundation of any art form. I have quoted Ma GUI's philosophy several times in this thread. Let's repeat it again as a daily mantra. More is not better either. Less is better. It's part of foundation work. 

Ma Gui had a reputation for being an extremely conservative teacher who demanded the very best of his students. As a busy lumber merchant he did not have to teach professionally and he was therefore able to maintain extremely high standards in training. Fiercely dedicated to the traditional way he had been taught Bagua by Yin Fu and Dong Haichuan, he refused to modify his teachings to make them easier and felt that "anyone who felt the skill was too difficult to learn should not be taught in the first place.
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Gui_(martial_artist)

 

Btw,

 

Happy he who far from business, like the primitive are of mortals, cultivates with his own oxen the fields of his fathers, free from all anxieties of gain.

Patience and discipline!
 

 

[RobB]

I've done bits and pieces of Tai Chi and Bagua over the years and have recently come back to Bagua practice for just this reason - TC is too bloody complicated. With Bagua I can focus on being terrible at a small number of motions. This means that once I have the external choreography down I can practice and practice on the internal details - round and round and round ...:-) 

[Cleansox]

On 2020-07-23 at 4:54 AM, zerostao said:

 

 

Understanding /... .../, Eight Trigrams too.

 

By any chance, do you have a good link or reference to anyone explaining what they mean with the trigrams in the context of bagwazhang?

I understand the wuxing concept in arts similar to Xing Yi, but the descriptions of the trigrams in relation to bagwazhang tend to end with correlations with body parts.