Baguazhang
| Baguazhang | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 八卦掌 | ||||||||
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| Bagua Quan | |||||||||
| Chinese | 八卦拳 | ||||||||
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| Part of a series on |
| Chinese martial arts (Wushu) |
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Bāguàzhǎng is, along with T'ai Chi Ch'üan and Xíngyìquán , one of the three major "internal" (a.k.a. Nèijiā) Chinese martial arts.
Bāguà zhǎng literally means "eight trigram palm," referring to the trigrams of the I Ching (Yijing), one of the canons of Taoism. In some styles of Baguazhang these trigrams can refer to eight animals, upon which movements in those fighting systems are based.
The trigrams and their corresponding animals in martial arts are:
| Trigram | Animal | Chinese | Title | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese | Pinyin | ||||
| ☰ | 乾 | Qián | Lion | 獅 | Interlocking |
| ☱ | 兌 | Dui | Monkey | 猴 | Enfolding |
| ☲ | 離 | Lí | Rooster | 鷂 | Lying step |
| ☳ | 震 | Zhèn | Dragon | 龍 | Lifting and holding |
| ☴ | 巽 | Xùn | Phoenix | 鳳 | Windmill |
| ☵ | 坎 | Kǎn | Snake | 蛇 | Moving with the force |
| ☶ | 艮 | Gèn | Bear | 熊 | Turning the back |
| ☷ | 坤 | Kūn | Unicorn | 麟 | Reversing the body |
The practice of circle walking is bagua's characteristic method of stance and movement training. Practitioners walk around the edge of a circle in a low stance, facing the center and periodically changing direction as they execute forms. Students first learn flexibility through such exercises, then move on to more complex forms and internal power mechanics. The internal aspects of bagua are very similar to those of xingyi and tai chi. Eventually, many distinctive styles of weapons training are practiced, sometimes including the uniquely crescent-shaped deerhorn knives, and the easily concealed "scholar's pen." Baguazhang is also known for sometimes practicing with extremely large weapons, such as the Bāguàdāo (八卦刀), or 'Bagua Broadsword.' In many schools, students study both xingyi and bagua. These may be used together in fighting, as they are often complementary. Bagua contains an extremely wide variety of techniques, including various strikes, low kicks, joint techniques, throws, and distinctively circular footwork.
The creation of Ba Gua Zhang, as a formalised martial art, is attributed to Dong Haichuan (董海川) in the early 19th century, who apparently learned from Taoist, and possibly Buddhist, masters in the mountains of rural China. There is evidence to suggest a synthesis of several pre-existing martial arts taught and practiced in the region he lived in, combined with Taoist circle walking. Dong Haichuan taught for many years in Beijing, eventually earning patronage by the Imperial court. Famous disciples of Dong to become teachers were Yin Fu (尹福), Cheng Tinghua (程廷華), Song Changrong (宋長榮), Liu Fengchun (劉鳳春) and Ma Weiqi (馬維棋). Although they were all students of the same teacher, their methods of training and expressions of palm techniques differed. The Cheng and Liu styles are said to specialize in "Pushing" the palms, Yin style is known for "Threading" the palms, Song's followers practice "Plum Flower" (梅花 Mei Hua) palm technique and Ma style palms are known as "Hammers." Some of Dong Haichuan's students, including Cheng Tinghua, participated in the Boxer Rebellion. In general, most Bagua practitioners practice either the Yin (尹), Cheng (程), or Liang (梁) styles of Bagua, although Fan (樊), Shi (史), Liu (劉), and other styles also exist. (The Liu style is a special case, in that it is never practiced alone, but as a complement to other styles.)
Of all of Dong Haichuan's students, Yin Fu studied with him the longest. Yin Fu had multiple students, of them Men Baozhen taught Xie Peiqi. In An Interview with Xie Peiqi, dated to 1999, Xie stated that his teacher, Men Baozhen, was considered to be the third best pupil of Yin Fu, after "Wan Tong" Li and Ma Gui (Yin's oldest disciple). Dr. Xie died in 2003 and his top student, He Jinbao, is now teaching the system.
Another famous Bagua practitioner of the 20th century was Sun Lutang (孫録堂), who studied Baguazhang under Cheng Tinghua. Sun was also a Xingyiquan disciple of Guo Yunshen (郭雲深) and learned Wu/Hao style Taijiquan from Hao Wei-chen. Sun Lutang was reputed among the Taijiquan professionals of his day to have excelled in his studies and subsequently became well known as the founder of Sun style Taijiquan.
Few good teachers of Baguazhang are available in the United States, and many do not advertise.[citation needed] Many are conservative and in line with Confucian didactic tradition will only reveal internal practices to dedicated students. Known forms (routines) of Bagua Zhang include Fixed Form Eight Palms (定式八掌), and the Old Eight Palms (老八掌) form, as well as many others.
General geographical distribution of Baguazhang styles in China
Beijing has the most Baguazhang practitioners, including students of the Cheng, Fan, Liang, Liu, Song, and Yin lineages. Baguazhang practitioners can be found all over China, however; for example, Shanghai includes practitioners of the Jiang Rongqiao (Cheng), Gong Baotian (Yin), and Shi lineages. In Taiwan, most practitioners are of either Gao Yisheng (Cheng), Gong Baotian (Yin), Sun Xikun (Cheng), or Sun Lutang (Cheng) lineages. In Hong Kong, almost all practitioners are of the Fu Zhensong (Fu Chen Sung) [1], [2] or Gao Yisheng (through He Kecai) lineages.[citation needed]
A disciple of Gao Yisheng - He Kecai (Cantonese: Ho Ho Choy) taught Baguazhang in Hong Kong. His students still teach today. However the name is now called "Ho Ho Choy Baguazhang" as to differentiate from other branches spread from Gao Yisheng. As Ho Ho Choy was one of the last disciples of Gao, and after Gao's death he compared his art with those of Gao's earlier students and found that although the name and movement of most techniques are the same, the inner dynamics vary considerably; and so Ho's student called the Baguazhang they teach "Ho Ho Choy Baguazhang" to differentiate.
Also, it is known that Shoto Tanemura became a 5th generation disciple of both Sato Kinbei and Li Ziming. Tanemura was taught Bagua (Hakkesho) from Sato Kinbei, one of his teachers. Sato Kinbei learned while on his travels in China, and had to convince the art's masters that he was sincere and endured many tests. After returning to Japan, he maintained contact and even brought his 'Chugoku Kenpo' masters to Japan on several occasions. Li Ziming and Wang Shujin were both brought over to teach in Japan. Master Wang stayed for several years. Due to his dedication, Sato Kinbei Sensei was awarded discipleship and was the first non-Chinese person to do so.
Baguazhang in pop culture
• Jet Li, in his movie The One, the protagonist uses Baguazhang, while the villain character uses Xingyiquan, possibly reflecting the tale of a sparring match between Dong Haichuan and Guo Yunshen.
• In the anime and manga Naruto, the character Neji Hyuga uses a style similar to Baguazhang and has techniques containing "Eight Trigrams Palm" in their names.
• In the video game series Tekken, the character Ling Xiaoyu uses Baguazhang mixed with Piguaquan and other styles.
• The art of Airbending in Avatar the Last Airbender is based on Baguazhang.
• In the manga and anime Negima!, student #12 [Fei] uses Baguazhang, as well as Xingyiquan and other styles.
See also
References
- Robert W. Smith, Chinese Boxing, ISBN 1-55643-085-X
- Bok Nam, Park & Dan Miller, The Fundamentals of Pa Kua Chang: The Methods of Lu Shui-T'ien As Taught by Park Bok Nam., ISBN 0-86568-173-2
- Shou-Yu, Liang, Baguazhang : Emei Baguazhang Theory and Applications, ISBN 0-940871-30-0
- O'Brien, Jess, Nei Jia Quan: Internal Martial Arts Teachers of Tai Ji Quan, Xing Yi Quan, and Ba Gua Zhang ISBN 1-55643-506-1
- Frantzis, Bruce Kumar, The Power of Internal Martial Arts: Combat Secrets of Ba Gua, Tai Chi, and Hsing-I ISBN 1-55643-253-4