Baguazhang
| Baguazhang | |||||||||
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| Chinese | 八卦掌 | ||||||||
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| Bagua Quan | |||||||||
| Chinese | 八卦拳 | ||||||||
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| Chinese martial arts (Wushu) |
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Bāguàzhǎng is, along with tai chi chuan 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.
History
The creation of Baguazhang, 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 Ting-hua, 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.
Modern Styles
Styles List
Common Aspects
The practice of circle walking, or 'Turning the Circle', as it is sometimes called, is baguazhang's characteristic method of stance and movement training. Practitioners walk around the edge of a circle in various stances, facing the center, and periodically change 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 baguazhang 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 practicing with extremely large weapons, such as the Bāguàdāo (八卦刀), or 'Bagua Broadsword.'
In some schools, students study both xingyi and bagua. These may be used together in fighting, as they are often complementary. Baguazhang contains an extremely wide variety of techniques, including various strikes, low kicks, joint techniques, throws, and distinctively circular footwork.
Cheng Style
A 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.
Other Styles
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 Shu-chin (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. Wang Shu-chin also taught in Taiwan. Wang's friend and practice partner was Tchoung Ta-tchen in Taiwan. Tchoung also taught Wang's method in Canada and the USA to complement his Old form of Yang style system.
General geographical distribution of Baguazhang styles in China
Beijing is the home of many 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]
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
External links
- The Yin and Yang of Ba Gua Zhang: The Legends of Thin Yin and Spectacles Cheng by Frank Allen & Clarence Lu
- European Yin Style Bagua Zhang Association
- ATS Yin Style Bagua
- Shen Qi Andrew Dale
- Emptyflower Bagua Links
- NWTCCA
- New England Jiulong Baguazhang Wu Guan
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