Introduction to Baguazhang: From Circle Walking to Advanced Practices 9781623171056, 2020052901, 2020052902, 9781623171049

Citation preview

CONTENTS Title Page Copyright Introduction Just the Fundamentals, Ma’am! A Defining Moment Part 1: The Basics 1: Walking the Circle The First Circle Walkers Methods of Walking Directional Changes: T-, L-, and V-Steps Basic Palm Positions 2: Body Actions Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn: The Basic Actions of Internal Martial Arts Vertical Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn Horizontal Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn The Guard Stance: Shifting Focus to the Center Hand Shapes: The Eight Palm Forms and Actions Part 2: Body Mechanics 3: Principles of Posture and Alignment 4: Post Standing 5: Principles of Fluid Motion 6: Generating Power from the Root Li Xin Li: Centrifugal Force Xiang Xin Li: Centripetal Force Guan Xing: Inertia Wu Ji Bi Fan: When an Object Reaches Its Extremity, It Must Return Di Xin Li: Gravity or “Rootedness” Xin Xin Xiang Ying: A Complete Rapport, Body and Mind Part 3: Essential Baguazhang Forms 7: The Mother Palms

8: Essential Palm Changes The Single Palm Change The Double Palm Change 9: Single Movement Practice Part 4: Applications 10: Absorbing and Redirecting Energy 11: Evade, Encircle, and Entrap 12: Principles of Combat Application Baguazhang in Action: Applying Basic Skills to Self-defense Inverted-U Hypothesis The Effects of Stress Arousal on Response Time Part 5: Moving Beyond Form 13: The Five Levels of Advanced Practice Level 1: Becoming the Form Level 2: The Form Becomes You Level 3: Spontaneous Change Level 4: Destroying the Form Level 5: Recreating the Form Works Cited Glossary of Chinese Terms About the Author About North Atlantic Books

Introduction to Baguazhang From Circle Walking to Advanced Practices Kent Howard

Copyright © 2021 by Kent Howard. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without written permission of the publisher. For information contact Blue Snake Books c/o North Atlantic Books. Published by Blue Snake Books, an imprint of North Atlantic Books Berkeley, California Cover photo by Scott Hamm Interior photos by Jeff Silverman Book design by Happenstance Type-O-Rama Excerpts from Bagua Swimming Body Palms by Wang Shujin, translated and with commentary by Kent Howard and Chen Hsiao-Yen, published by North Atlantic Books, copyright © 2011 by Kent Howard. Reprinted by permission of North Atlantic Books. Introduction to Baguazhang: From Circle Walking to Advanced Practices is sponsored and published by North Atlantic Books, an educational nonprofit based in Berkeley, California, that collaborates with partners to develop cross-cultural perspectives, nurture holistic views of art, science, the humanities, and healing, and seed personal and global transformation by publishing work on the relationship of body, spirit, and nature. North Atlantic Books’ publications are distributed to the US trade and internationally by Penguin Random House Publishers Services. For further information, visit our website at www.northatlanticbooks.com. PLEASE NOTE: The creators and publishers of this book disclaim any liabilities for loss in connection with following any of the practices, exercises, and advice contained herein. To reduce the chance of injury or any other harm, the reader should consult a professional before undertaking this or any other martial arts, movement, meditative arts, health, or exercise program. The instructions and advice printed in this book are not in any way intended as a substitute for medical, mental, or emotional counseling with a licensed physician or healthcare provider. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Howard, Kent, 1950– author. Title: Introduction to baguazhang : from circle walking to advanced practices / Kent Howard. Other titles: Introduction to bagua zhang Description: Berkeley, California : Blue Snake Books, [2021] | Includes bibliographical references. | Summary: “Lays out the principles, practices, and underlying philosophy of the Chinese internal martial art, Bagua Zhang. Presents the basics of the art in a way that is accessible to beginners, yet allows more advanced students to gain new insights as well”— Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2020052901 (print) | LCCN 2020052902 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623171049 (paperback) | ISBN 9781623171056 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Martial arts—China. | Hand-to-hand fighting, Oriental. | Self-defense. Classification: LCC GV1100.7.A2 H69 2021 (print) | LCC GV1100.7.A2 (ebook) | DDC 796.80951—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052901 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020052902

Introduction

T

aijiquan, or Tai Chi, as it is called, has found a nice niche in the cultural milieu of America and the world. When you mention Tai Chi, most people have some idea of what it is, no matter how wrongheaded that may be. Although it hasn’t reached the same level of familiarity and acceptance as yoga, Tai Chi is on its way to becoming a standard exercise modality taught in health clubs, community centers, and specialty schools around the country. Baguazhang (“bah-GWAH-jong,” or simply Bagua), rendered in English as “eight diagrams style” or “eight trigrams style,” is still somewhat of an unknown quantity in the Western world, and the United States in particular. The only people who have an inkling of what Bagua is are those who have taken the time to study it, or perhaps some of those ubiquitous Tai Chi practitioners. That is a good and bad thing. The good thing is that Baguazhang has not been as misunderstood, as misrepresented, or as mispronounced as Tai Chi (“TIE-gee” to be correct). For nothing is worse than telling someone that you practice a certain discipline only to have them say, “Oh, yeah! Taichee. I’ve heard about that. It’s like a new age meditation thing, right?” The bad part is that you need to explain what you practice to almost everyone: “Well, it’s a sister style of Tai Chi, but, of course, it’s very different …” Also, placing a short ad for Baguazhang classes on the internet becomes an exercise in frustration—even the name stretches the bounds of brevity. Since you are reading this, however, I will assume that you (1) are curious about what Baguazhang is, (2) have an interest in learning, or (3) are already a practitioner. In that case, you are in luck on all three counts. This book will not only explain what Bagua is, and isn’t, but it will also elaborate in great detail on the basic elements of practice. Even if you already practice the art, and have a thorough grounding in its principles, you will find a great deal of meat within, and not just the bare bones.

Just the Fundamentals, Ma’am! Any book whose title contains the word introduction would appear, by definition, to be a text for beginners. However, this is hardly the case with the volume you hold in your hands. This is an introduction to the fundamentals of Baguazhang. Fundamentals, in the very essence of the word, are all the basic principles that must be understood, practiced, and eventually mastered to become proficient in a discipline. Does that mean advanced practitioners should be warned away? On the contrary, should you be a complete novice or a seasoned adept, the fundamental principles taught herein should both inform and illuminate—although at differing levels, depending on your understanding and skills. Baguazhang has sometimes been called the graduate school of Chinese martial arts. One old Chinese instructor of my acquaintance once described the three major internal martial arts in this manner: “Xingyiquan (“shing-ee-chwan”) is like high school; you learn the basics and prepare for advancement. Taijiquan (“tie-gee-chwan”) is like college; you reach for a higher degree of knowledge and subtlety. Baguazhang, however, is like graduate school, where all of your previous knowledge and study must be brought to bear in sorting out the complexities and demands that await you.” This is a somewhat prosaic and protracted simile, to be sure, but it aptly expresses the feelings that many people have toward Baguazhang’s level of complexity and difficulty as a martial art.

So, if Baguazhang is that hard to learn, relegating other martial systems, by default, to mere prerequisites, why suggest novices learn it at all? The truth is, high-minded notions aside, Bagua isn’t all that difficult as a martial art, if you have average physical dexterity and the proper mind-set. In that case, you may say, why warn students off in the very beginning? For one simple reason: the study of Baugua requires, at the outset, a level of dedication and passion that will keep you coming back to practice when all your senses tell you to quit. Let’s look at it from another angle. Attend any college Mandarin Chinese level-one class and you will find about forty students enrolled on the first day (as I did in college in the 1980s). On the last day of the semester, however, there will be around fifteen students left. Of those who pass the course, ten may enroll in Chinese II. Out of those students, five might be found in attendance for the now seminar class (due to lack of enrollment) for Chinese III. Indeed, the students remaining in the end are the die-hards: those who grow more interested as the subject becomes more difficult and demanding. Bagua classes have a similar attrition rate. The merely curious are gone by the second week, the mildly interested by the third meeting, and so on. By the end of the second month, it’s just a handful of Bagua crazies walking in endless circles wearing Mona Lisa smiles. So, Bagua nuts, read on! Because the merely curious have already closed the book (not enough photographs for them).

A Defining Moment What is Baguazhang, and why does its practice so easily dissuade the casual martial arts tourist? Let’s begin at the beginning—and you don’t have to look that far back in time to find Bagua’s origins. Unlike other martial arts that claim an ancient heritage, Bagua began in the not-too-distant past in the Ching Dynasty capital, Beijing. During the mid-1800s, a man named Dong Haiquan (“dong high chwan”) began to publicly teach a martial art no one had ever seen before. It moved in a most peculiar way. Practitioners walked in circles performing intricate routines that transitioned into smaller circles that eventually spiraled in upon themselves. The spinning and stepping maneuvers looked, at times, a bit like the dervish dancing of the Mahdi; however, its martial character and utility were evident in the flowing power of its techniques. Everyone wondered where this man had learned his marvelous art, but Master Dong was quite closed-mouthed about his training. He sometimes remarked that he had learned it from “a man in the mountains.” But then, Chinese practitioners often shrouded the origin myths of their martial arts in the mists of antiquity. It lent them an air of mystery and historicity that often helped to disguise more pedestrian origins. In truth, most people today believe Dong synthesized the discipline himself, by borrowing techniques from martial arts he learned in his youth and blending them with a type of Daoist (Taoist) circle-walking meditation he was exposed to later in life. Whatever the origin of his art, it proved to be quite impressive, and soon Master Dong had attracted some of the best young martial artists in the city. It was said that Dong only accepted students who had already advanced to a high level of skill in their martial studies. Furthermore, these students also came from many differing disciplines, from wrestling to fencing, and Dong taught each student somewhat differently to enhance and compliment their martial skills. That could be the reason for the plethora of Baguazhang styles taught today. Well, either that or human nature. Some of these “styles” took on the names of their second-generation teachers, such as the Yin, Cheng, and Gao systems that are still practiced in modern times. But what does that mean for those

learning Baguazhang today? Has the original martial stew that Dong Haiquan served up been watered down or changed to the point it no longer retains its original flavor? The answer is a resounding no. A survey of the major Bagua styles attests to the fact that all those systems adhere to the same basic concepts, principles of movement, and underlying body mechanics. It is these overarching precepts and constructs that identify a martial art as Baguazhang, no matter how disparate the outward manifestations may appear in practice. So, what are these unifying principles and practices that make Bagua, well, Bagua? First is the practice of circle walking. Every orthodox system of Bagua has, at its core, circle walking routines. Although some styles accentuate linear movements in the beginning stages, all return to circle walking as a fundamental training regimen. Without circling walking, it just isn’t Bagua, period. The second universal practice of Baguazhang is the distinctive stepping maneuvers that allow the practitioner to move rapidly about the circle, make sudden directional changes, and spiral smoothly through a choreographed martial routine, called a gua, or diagram. It is these unique stepping patterns that initiate all movement in the practice of Bagua. But the stepping is driven and directed by the impetus arising from the center. This leads us to the third universal practice of Baguazhang, the general underlying principle of internal power: the unifying force binding all internal or so-called “soft” martial arts, which dictates that all strength or power be manifested from within and not without—that is, relying on a superbly connected whole-body strength rather than an isolated or disjointed muscular response. This concept of internal power does not predispose reliance on some ill-defined illusive “life force” such as chi, but rather a strictly defined set of movement principles relating to sound body mechanics. Beyond these three universal practices, there are physical forms, which can take on a bewildering variety of movements. But whatever outward manifestations these forms may take on, it is technique, derived from and through the overarching precepts noted above, that make Baguazhang the art that it is. This book is presented in a manner that takes you from the basic fundamentals of Bagua practice to the most advanced concepts in a logical, step-by-step fashion. Resist the temptation to skip over the beginning rudimentary practices on the assumption that you have already mastered those: there is much depth and complexity in even the simplest-appearing basic technique. As we have said before, the fundamentals of Bagua practice are the heart of the art itself. So, come to your training with a child’s mind and spirit, as we learn to walk all over again, so that someday we may glide, nay, fly, like dragons. For information on the companion DVD for this book, Introduction to Baguazhang by Kent Howard, please inquire with the author at: [email protected]

PART 1 THE BASICS

1 Walking the Circle I feel we’re moving in circles, Of which we have no understanding. Weaving spirals but leaving no trace. I can’t get used to the strange eerie feeling Of moving in circles I can’t wipe the smile off my face. —CITY BOY

W

ithout circle walking, and all the fundamental philosophical and martial concepts that have emanated from that practice, Baguazhang would be just another martial art. It would be an interesting and quite functional set of forms and techniques, without doubt, but there would be little to set it apart from the many other Chinese martial systems. So, let us take a moment to further define the art and how it became integrated with this very essential, and somewhat unusual, construct of walking in circles. Baguazhang is first and foremost a Chinese self-defense art. It is classed as one of the “internal” schools, like Taijiquan (or Tai Chi Ch’uan) and Xingyiquan (or Hsing Yi Ch’uan). These systems are also referred to as “soft” martial arts due to their reliance on body mechanics and “internal strength” or “internal energy“ instead of overt muscular strength, such as is often the case with Shaolin Boxing or Karate. Baguazhang takes its name from the I-Ching (Book of Changes) and refers to the eight core diagrams (or trigrams) that make up what is one of the oldest and most influential texts in classical Chinese literature. Baguazhang is known for its circular and spiraling movements and for its use of the open palm instead of a fist. The central unifying training technique used in Bagua is circle walking. This means, quite literally, that Bagua practitioners spend a lot of time walking in circles, often circumnavigating a pole, a tree, or another person. Of course, there is a great deal more to Bagua than just circling endlessly. If there weren’t, this would be a very short book indeed.

The First Circle Walkers Training martial arts ceaselessly is inferior to walking the circle. In Baguazhang circle-walk practice is the font of all training. —DONG HAIQUAN It is said the originator of Baguazhang, Dong Haiquan, learned a great many martial arts in his youth. They were all, no doubt, traditional styles indigenous to the area of Hebei Province that he called home, including Fanziquan, Bafanquan, and Hungquan, three styles still taught in the region today. At some point in time, Dong was said to have left his home and traveled “south,” where he took up residence in the mountains bordering Sichuan Province. It was there, it is reported, that he became a member of a Daoist (Taoist) sect called Quan Zhen (Complete Truth). One of the main spiritual practices of Quan

Zhen Daoism was a type of walking meditation, where practitioners would traverse a circle reciting a mantra, called Zhuan Tian Zun (Rotating in Worship of Heaven). Zhuan Tian Zun meditation was performed in the mornings and evenings. The walking was slow and deliberate, and the practitioner was taught to recite mantras (in this case, short verses from the Daoist cannon) once during each revolution of the circle: Morning Mantra: “When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the sound of thunder is everywhere and transforms everything.” Evening Mantra: “When Rotating in Worship of Heaven, the great void saves us from the hardship of existence” (Schipper, Taoist Body, 111). The idea was to replace the myriad of thoughts found in the mind with just one. Today, that would easily be identified as a form of concentration meditation, similar to a moving Transcendental Meditation. It could also be construed as a mindfulness-based technique employed to help the practitioner remain in the moment with fully absorbed attention. After a certain period of time, the adept would perform a stepping maneuver and reverse direction on the circle (see the diagrams below). The general practice was meant to focus and calm the mind, and to create a feeling of “stillness in motion.” Dong Haiquan, no doubt, spent many an hour practicing Zhuan Tian Zun during those years, and it appears to have greatly affected his understanding and interpretation of martial movement as well (Miller, “Circle Walk Practice,” 3–5). There are several characteristics of Bagua circle-walking technique that appear to have been derived from Daoist meditative practices: (1) walking slowly in a circular pattern; (2) focusing attention on the recitation of a spiritual verse (or using visualization); (3) utilizing special stepping techniques to make directional changes; and (4) trying to achieve an overall body-mind unity and integration.

Indeed, if you take the open-palm work and foot maneuvers of Northern Shaolin forms, like Fanziquan, and add walking and the stepping maneuvers of Zhuan Tian Zun meditation, you would have something very close in movement, if not spirit, to the modern practices of Baguazhang. The practitioner walks around the circle, pausing each revolution to perform a short martial routine, and then continues walking in the opposite direction. Owing to the nature of moving around a small circle and having to make numerous directional changes, the martial forms became more rounded and compact— becoming spirals within circles. So, the marriage of form (circle walking) and function (martial technique) created a unique style of martial art hitherto unseen in China, or perhaps anywhere else. The amalgamation of Daoist circle-walking meditation, existing martial techniques, and a bit of genius on Dong Haiquan’s part produced an entirely new set of movement principles. The three aspects of Baguazhang practice that derive benefit from the practice of circle-walking are: Martial: evasive footwork, mobility, fluid stepping, strong supple leg maneuvers, and the ability to strike while in motion. Meditative: calm mind, focused attention, a feeling of being a still point within motion (the eye of a hurricane). Health: increased stamina, improved coordination and balance, and strengthened cardiovascular function (Miller, “Circle Walk Practice,” 8–10). She moved in circles, and those circles moved. —“I KNEW A WOMAN” BY THEODORE ROETHKE

Methods of Walking The Chinese have a saying: A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Indeed, walking could be called a step-by-step process (pun intended). It is difficult to talk about circle walking in Bagua without breaking down the stepping and walking patterns—and there are a bewildering number of ways to pick your foot up and place it down in front of you (or behind you, for that matter). For the sake of simplicity, we are going to keep to just three different walking techniques, and three basic stepping

patterns. (Note that “walking” means just that; “stepping” refers to foot placement for making directional changes.) But first, we need to define that circle upon which you will be treading around and around. The size of the circle for individual practice may be measured by standing at a center point and taking a giant step sideways, to establish the length of the radius. Standing with both feet straddling the imaginary circumference of the circle, you should be able to take approximately eight normal strides around the ring to return to your starting point (this is kind of cool, because it is Eight Diagrams Boxing, and it takes eight steps to traverse its most basic practice circle). You can define the area more clearly by drawing the circle on the ground, driveway, or floor with a marker, chalk, tape, paint … well, you get the point. If you are practicing in a confined area, limited by room-size and furniture placement, for example, you may be more concerned with space available than the demands of circular dimension. Just remember: you may walk the circle in a small bathroom or circumnavigate a wheat field. Now that you have established your circle size and placement, you should take a few turns around it using a normal walking step. Bend your knees slightly and hold your hands either at your sides or just in front of your abdomen with palms facing downward and fingers pointing inward. This structural alignment should help you remain better balanced. Be careful not to wobble side to side or bob up and down. Walk in a manner that would not dislodge a basket if you were carrying one on your head. Try to maintain a normal stride while keeping the upper body as still as possible. Voilà! By performing your first navigation of the circle, you have also just stumbled upon (well, hopefully not literally) two of the most essential Bagua stepping patterns: the swinging step (bai bu) and the hooking step (kou bu). Notice that the foot nearest the center of the circle turns its toes outward (a “toe-out”) as you step around the circle, thus opening the legs and separating the knees slightly. The foot traversing the outside of the line of the circle turns its toes inward (a “toe-in”), closing the legs and knees. Of course, if the feet didn’t turn in this fashion, you couldn’t stay on the circle, so this is not something you have to learn. We will come back to these two turning steps later, as they will play a pivotal role in executing directional changes in Bagua circle walking.

Lion Walking The Lion Step, or Rolling Step, is the most easily learned and recognized method of walking in Bagua. That is because the Lion Step is just plain old regular walking that you learned at around one or two years of age and have been doing ever since. Of course, like a golf stroke (but hopefully not as complex), the Lion Step wouldn’t be much of a technique if we couldn’t break it down into its constituent parts. The Lion Step is basically heel-to-toe walking, or the normal human gait. The major difference is that the foot is kept as close to the ground as possible. This is accomplished by bending the knees to lower the center of gravity, so you are closer to the ground, and the foot glides easily forward, with the heel sliding forward an inch or two as it comes in contact with the floor. It should feel a bit like you are sneaking around trying to make as little noise as possible (think about coming home at 2 a.m. from that party you weren’t supposed to attend). Preparation: As with all techniques and practices in this book, it is best to begin moving in slow motion. Stand with your feet together, straddling the line of the circle, prepared to walk in a counterclockwise manner. Bend your knees to your preferred walking height for this session (the lower, the more difficult; the higher, the more unstable). Place your hands in front of your abdomen, fingers

pointing inward, palms downward, keeping your arms rounded. Your torso remains upright as you gaze forward (see the photos below). 1. Now move your right foot one step forward, touching the heel down first but keeping the ball of the foot close to the floor. 2. Push off the left foot, keeping the heel on the ground, transferring weight to the forward right foot. As your weight and balance shift to the right foot, be sure not to let the right knee extend beyond the toes. 3. Slide your left foot forward on the ball, keeping your heel as close to the ground as possible. Hesitate for a moment as you “brush” ankles (wearing long pants, you may hear or feel the swoosh as one ankle passes the other). Keep well balanced with no wobbling. 4. Finally, step forward with the left foot, coming down heel to toe, but keeping the foot close to the ground as to glide rather than step forward. Now you are ready to repeat the process. Note: As you step forward with the right foot, traveling counterclockwise, you will “toe in,” performing a hooking step. As the left foot is placed down and forward, you will “toe out,” performing a swinging step. You don’t have to think about these actions. As long as you keep the right foot just outside the line of the circle, and the left just inside, you will always perform the toe-in and toe-out steps. The larger the circle, the smaller the angle of these steps; the smaller the circle, the more pronounced the angle.

Directional Changes: T-, L-, and V-Steps Now that you are walking the circle, it is time to introduce some maneuvers that will help you change direction; otherwise, you are going to get very dizzy. These three turning steps are literally the only ones you will need to practice Bagua forms from beginning to advanced. They are absolutely easy to learn because you know them already. (How’s that for a tickler?)

T-Step Unlike transitional turning steps, such as the L and V, which we will cover next, the T-Step is a “stop” step that allows you to slow or halt forward momentum and change direction. It is called a T-step because as you make the step, the two feet form a letter T. Here is how it works: 1. As you walk the circle moving counterclockwise, step forward with the right heel touching

down slightly ahead of the left foot. Turn the toes of the right foot inward toward the center of the circle by pivoting on the heel (hooking step). The turn should be done with the entire body twisting about 45 degrees counterclockwise, bringing the knees closer together. 2. Complete the step with the sole of the right foot contacting the floor directly in front of the left. The left toes will be pointing toward the right instep, with the right foot forming the top bar of the letter T. The distance between the feet may vary from two to six inches, or whatever is comfortable. The separation of the feet will change depending on the intent of the maneuver and the speed of movement. 3. Shift most of your weight to the right foot, raising the heel of the left foot slightly off the floor. Pivot counterclockwise on the ball of the left foot, twisting the entire body to look to the rear. Step forward with the left foot, placing it down just outside the line of the circle. Simultaneously pivot the right foot counterclockwise and slide it up beside the left, placing a small amount of weight on the ball of the right foot. You should now have completed a 180-degree turn counterclockwise and be facing the opposite direction on the circle, ready to walk in a clockwise direction. 4. After a slight hesitation with the feet in a parallel position, step forward with the right foot and begin walking the circle clockwise.

So, as you can see, the T-Step facilitates slowing forward momentum so you can make a tight U-turn and proceed in the other direction. It is a natural movement we perform hundreds of times a day, so don’t turn it into a golf swing! Remember the last time you were walking out the door and suddenly remembered you had forgotten your car keys? That abrupt about-face you made began with a T-Step. The next time you are pottering about the kitchen preparing a meal, count how many T-Steps you make —the number will be dizzying.

L- and V-Steps As mentioned above, in the explanation of Lion Walking, every time you place your foot down on the line of the circle, you are doing either a toe-out (swinging step) or toe-in (hooking step) maneuver. As the circle gets smaller, and the angle of foot placement becomes more radical, these two steps take on more pronounced L and V shapes. If you shrink the circumference of your circle to a point where you need only four steps to turn 360 degrees, you will be taking two L-steps and two V-steps (or vice versa).

This is sometimes referred to as “walking the square.” In fact, the tiniest circle you can make requires only three steps and is called “walking the triangle.” (Warning: If you persist in walking the triangle for any length of time, you will have trouble keeping your balance. It is akin to placing your forehead on a baseball bat that is standing upright on the ground and spinning in a circle.) As you walk the square or triangle, it is easy to spot the heel-to-toe foot shapes of L (knees separated) and V (knees touching). Again, these are natural movements you have been making since you were a small child. So, there is nothing to see here, folks. Let’s move along!

Walking the Spiral A great way of practicing circle walking is to spiral in and out of the center, thus expanding and contracting the radius of your circle. Be sure to practice walking a fixed circle, reversing direction now and again with the T-step and becoming stabler and stabler, before you attempt this exercise. Remember, baby steps! We are learning to walk for the first time once again. When you are ready for some variation, walking the spiral is an easy and fun practice. Start by walking a circle of any size (let’s say, going counterclockwise), with your hands held close together in front of your stomach, palms facing downward. Start gradually spiraling inward, making the circumference of your circle smaller and smaller. Do this slowly over several turns around the circle, keeping your gait steady and balanced. When you have made your circle so small that you need only four steps to get around the center (walking the square), you may reverse direction by performing an Lstep (knees apart) or V-step (knees touching). Do this maneuver slowly and smoothly, changing

direction with your entire body and not just the feet (remember: hips direct the feet). Once you have reversed direction, begin slowly spiraling outward, making your circle larger and larger, until you have again reached your starting position.

Basic Palm Positions While performing Walking the Spiral, you may hold your hands in any posture that feels comfortable and helps to maintain balance. Three hand positions that work well in the beginning are: 1. Natural Posture: hands held beside the hips, palms facing slightly downward 2. Floating Palms: hands held in front of the abdomen, palms facing downward, with fingers pointing inward and elbows outward 3. Lion Holds Ball: palms held in front of the chest, elbows relaxed, as if you were holding a large beach ball against your chest Experiment with these variations. You will feel a different “energy” (sensations or feelings) with each one. You may start with number 1 and transition through 2 and 3 during your circle-walking practice session. Later, we will be adding another five static palm positions, similar to the three above. Together these postures are referred to as the mother palms. But first we are going to introduce a few more fundamental Bagua practices that will enhance and expand your understanding of circle walking.

2 Body Actions Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn: The Basic Actions of Internal Martial Arts The maneuvers of rise, drill, fall, and overturn refer to actions of parrying, penetrating, and controlling found in various fundamental movements of Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, and even styles of Shaolinquan (Shaolin Temple Boxing). The hands move like a wheel either on a horizontal or vertical axis: rise: penetrating and intercepting drill: a pushing, parrying, or deflecting off-line fall: gaining superior position from above or the side overturn: pressing downward or away while grabbing, pushing, or striking These maneuvers may be performed using a single hand or both hands working in tandem. Rise, drill, fall, and overturn can penetrate from inside or outside the opponent’s arms or legs (see the photos below). The movements are performed in an unbroken arc that begins in the center of the body, or dantian, and emanates outward through the shoulders and into the arms and hands. Although the action appears to be isolated in the upper body, especially the hands, it is actually produced through a unified body structure, or composite movement, which generates a circular force that is combined with “silk-reeling energy” (chan si jin). This silk-reeling energy refers to generating two countervailing forces in the body that combine to create power through a twisting tension. In this case, it is similar to the action of wringing water from a towel or sponge by turning the arms in opposite directions. The hands follow the circumference of an imaginary wheel while the arms twist from the shoulders to the wrists, creating a wringing motion. This motion allows for intercepting the opponent’s movement, redirecting it slightly, and penetrating into his or her “circle” or defense perimeter. Begin by practicing rise, drill, fall, overturn on a horizontal axis with the hands rotating vertically and forward, moving like a wheel.

Vertical Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn

Rise, drill, fall, and overturn is more often used in Bagua as a wheel spinning horizontally on a vertical axis. This action is repeated at the end of each of the set forms, such as the single palm change.

Horizontal Rise, Drill, Fall, and Overturn

A partner routine is often practiced using a parry-touch with the leading hand and penetrating vertically or horizontally with the following hand. These are the actions of intercepting, deflecting, and gaining superior position by penetrating and controlling.

The Guard Stance: Shifting Focus to the Center Now that you are beginning to get the feel of walking the circle, we need to change orientation, so your stance addresses the inner part of the circle, where your opponent is, and not just the line of the circle that your feet are treading on. To do that, we need to twist the waist inward so the upper body is oriented at a midpoint between the center of the circle and the line of the circumference. The hands will also change positions, so the inner hand is held high and the outer hand low. This ready defensive position is called the guard stance. Most Bagua forms begin and end with the hands held in this position (see the photos below).

Getting used to this twisted orientation will take some practice. The upper body addresses the imagined partner or opponent at the center of the circle while the lower body continues to walk the circle. It is a bit like walking down the street and suddenly turning your head and shoulders to one side to look at something that has caught your eye. This works fine for a second or two, but if you continue in that fashion, your balance will be disturbed and you may walk into a passerby, or worse yet, a lamppost. Each time you assume or reassume the guard stance while practicing a Bagua form, you must first perform rise, drill, fall, and overturn, or a variation thereof.

Hand Shapes: The Eight Palm Forms and Actions

Vertical Palm (Li Zhang): The thumb is held horizontally, the index finger is straight, the middle and ring fingers are slightly curved, and the little finger is level. The center of the palm is made empty. When the elbow is dropped, the hand forms the shape of a lotus leaf. The palm, wrist, and elbow exhibit an outwardly stretched, inwardly wrapped type of strength.

Piercing Palm (Chuan Zhang): The palm faces upward, and the fingers project outward. The piercing movement implies a twisting strength.

Carrying Palm (Tuo Zhang): The palm faces forward with the fingers pointing downward as if pushing something.

Splitting Palm (Pi Zhang): The palm is held vertically with the fingertips pointing forward and the palm edge downward. The action is chopping downward.

Scooping Palm (Liao Zhang): The palm may face inward or outward. From a lower position, it scoops upward and away; from a higher position, it scoops downward and away.

Cow’s Tongue Palm (Niushi Zhang): Fingertips and thumb press together forming a shape like a cow’s tongue or a crane’s beak.

Lifting Palm (Tiao Zhang): The palm lifts upward and forward as the fingers point upward and away.

Slicing Palm (Qie Zhang): The palm faces downward as you perform a cutting or shaving movement. There is also a feeling of splitting or cleaving.

All Parts of the hand may be used in attack: The fingertips may poke. The knuckles may strike. The backs of the hands may strike. The palms may slap or pound. The palm edges may chop or push. The base of the palm may press or pound. The wrists and elbows may hit or smash.

PART 2 BODY MECHANICS

3 Principles of Posture and Alignment The Eight Character Secrets of Baguazhang FROM BAGUA SWIMMING BODY PALMS BY WANG SHUJIN 1. Three ding (highest, outermost point): the head floats upward; the palms press outward; the tongue ascends. Flatten the back of the head, and push the crown upward like power rushing toward the sky. The head is the master of the body when it is pointing heavenward, allowing the three major acupuncture points on the spine to flow freely: the yuzhen point, behind the head; the lulu point, between the shoulder blades; and the weilu point, near the base of the spine. Then the kidney Qi will reach to the niwan point between the eyebrows to cultivate and nurture your character. Palms press outward with an expression of power, like pushing a mountain. Then Qi will flow through the entire body, and strength will expand to the four limbs. The tongue pressing upward to the roof of the mouth will guide rising kidney Qi back downward to the dantian to solidify the life force. 2. Three kou (clamp, compress): shoulders clamp inward; backs of the hands and tops of the feet compress; teeth set. When the shoulders clamp inward, the chest will hollow, and power will extend to the elbows. When the hands and feet are compressed, power will extend to the arms, and your step will be steady and powerful. When you set the teeth, your tendons and bones will compress. 3. Three yuan (round): round the back and spine; round the chest; round the tiger’s mouth (the shape made by the angle between the thumb and forefinger when forming the Vertical Palm). Round the back and spine, and power will fill the body; the coccyx will be straight, and your spirit will rise to the crown. Round the chest inward, and the power in the elbows will be complete; the upper abdomen contracts slightly and the breath flows easily. Round the tiger’s mouth, and a great power will flow outward; your hands will have an outwardly stretched and inwardly wrapping strength. 4. Three min (alert, sensitive, quick): the mind is alert, the eyes sensitive, the hands quick. When the mind is alert, you can adapt to change. When the eyes remain sensitive, you can anticipate openings. When the hands are quick, you can take the initiative before the opponent can enter. 5. Three bao (embrace, hold): the dantian embraces; the heart holds; the ribs encompass. The dantian embraces Qi to keep it from scattering, allowing you to attack the enemy precisely. The heartbeat holds steady, so you will retain the upper hand when meeting your foe and not panic when encountering change. The rib cage protects the internal organs, so you face the adversary without danger. 6. Three chui (descend, drop): Qi descends; shoulders drop; elbows drop. When Qi descends to the dantian, your body will be as steady as a mountain. Drop the shoulders; the arms will elongate and become agile, and the shoulders will lead the elbows. Drop the elbows, and the forearms

will round naturally, strengthening the muscles of the chest. 7. Three qu (bend, curve): arms curve; knees bend; wrists bow. When your arms curve like a halfmoon, your strength will be abundant. When your knees bend like a half-moon, your power will be substantial. When your wrists bow like a half-moon, your power will be concentrated. This natural stretch and contraction of the joints produces a bouncy, unbroken power. 8. Three ting (straighten, pull up): pull up the neck and flatten the head, allowing Qi to rise to the crown. Lengthen the spine and flatten the lower back; power will reach to the tips of the four limbs, and Qi will fill your entire body. Pull up the kneecaps, and your Qi will be tranquil and your spirit harmonious, like a tree growing roots.

4 Post Standing FROM DARIUS EDLER’S COMMENTARY ON POST STANDING IN BAGUA SWIMMING BODY PALMS

T

o speak in greater detail on the practice of post standing, I am including a commentary here by Darius Edler, which first appeared in my translation of Wang Shujin’s Bagua Swimming Body Palms. Darius was a student of Lai Tianzao, who was Wang Shujin’s senior student and successor. Lai, like Wang Shujin, placed much emphasis on building a martial body and mind through the post standing method. Darius, who spent several years in Taiwan, is from Sweden and was a PhD candidate at Oxford University in England when I knew him. I think he speaks as eloquently as anyone on this fundamental practice of internal martial arts.

Commentary by Darius Edler: Wang Shujin’s Post-Standing Method In the internal systems of Chinese martial arts, integrated body power and the close coordination of mind and body are developed slowly and systematically from the ground up through years of “eating bitter” (chi ku) both mentally and physically. Taijiquan’s dictum—power originates in the feet, develops in the legs, is directed through the movement of the waist, and is expressed onto the opponent’s body through the hands and fingers—applies to all three internal systems. Post standing, or Zhan Zhuang, as it is known in Mandarin, is one of the most commonly used and effective ways of developing basic body and mind rootedness and integration, in particular the leg strength and stability needed for fluid footwork and powerful technique. As Master Chen Panling once remarked, “Footwork is foundational: speed depends on footwork; balance and stability also depend on footwork; successful bridging depends on footwork; skill depends on footwork.” Without a strong lower body foundation, high skill levels are simply unattainable. Considering it a foundation for all martial skill, Wang Shujin was an unwavering practitioner and proponent of Zhan Zhuang. This dedication was rooted in having studied with several of the greatest teachers of his time, one of whom was Wang Xiangzhai, the renowned Xing-yiquan master who founded an entire martial art around Zhan Zhuang. Swinging his bird cages, Wang would arrive in Zhongshan Park in the early hours of the morning, hang his singing birds in a tree, and then practice standing and single movements until dawn, when his students began trickling in. For Wang, standing was not an optional or auxiliary exercise; rather, together with Single Movement Practice and mobility exercises, it was at the heart of his system and something that all students were required to practice diligently. Zhan Zhuang is more than standing meditation. While it does aim to focus the mind and achieve a state of mental stillness and focus, practicing Zhan Zhuang is also a way of “molding” the body to adhere to core principles of posture and movement (for details on these principles, see the sections on the “Eight Character Secrets of Baguazhang” and “Nine Palaces Return to One”1). Wang Shujin’s basic

postures aim to achieve correct alignment and body mechanics, limb and torso endurance, deep abdominal breathing, and a natural equilibrium between relaxation (song) and tension (jin). With time and determination, an integrated “Gong Fu body and mind set” will emerge—one that is relaxed but not limp, firmly rooted but not immobile, structurally strong but not rigid, and with a mind (yi) that is at once calm, focused, alert, and adaptable. 1 “Nine Palaces Return to One” appears in Wang Shujin’s Bagua Swimming Body Palms book. “Eight Character Secrets of Baguazhang,” also appears above, in chapter 3.

Zhan Zhuang is deceptively simple: standing still for extended periods of time in what appear to be simple, easy-to-do postures. Yet anyone who has practiced standing will know that it is a physically and mentally taxing exercise that requires precise instruction and ongoing correction from a proficient teacher in order to reap its benefits. The paradox of this process being profoundly difficult yet apparently quite simple has led many to underestimate the importance of post standing. While the external form may seem easy to learn, daily experiential practice is needed to achieve outer stillness and inner movement. Similar to Single Movement Practice (Danlian), any posture from the forms may be extracted and practiced as Zhan Zhuang. Indeed, to practice forms with pauses, stopping for a number of breaths in one posture, before moving on to the next, is both a long-standing tradition and an effective method for building power and correct alignments. In addition to that practice, Wang Shujin taught a set of general parallel stance postures, as well as additional postures that were tailored to each of his three arts. While the art of Baguazhang traditionally emphasizes walking over standing, the basic upper body postures, such as the Vertical, Horizontal, and Single Supporting Palms are practiced both as Zhan Zhuang in a back-weighted stance as well as statically while walking the circle at a slow pace. Following the principle that integrated body power originates in the feet, Wang’s general postures are practiced in a sequence that progresses from the ground up, using specific arm postures to increase blood and energy circulation, sink breathing into the abdomen, and gradually reduce tension in order to create rootedness and a solid structure throughout the body. Accordingly, the basic sequence of arm postures begins at the level of the lower dantian (qihai), then rises through the middle dantian (shanzhong), up to the level of the upper dantian (yintang), then back down again through the middle and finally to the lower dantian. If practicing all eight general postures, a reasonable goal would be to hold each one for a minimum of five minutes. This should not be rushed and requires frequent, regular practice. Quality should be prioritized over quantity; if time is scarce, it is preferable to practice one or two postures for a longer period rather than to speed through all of them. Just as transitions are integral to all form and application work, so should special attention be given to the transitions between the different Zhan Zhuang postures as a place to gather Qi (xu qi) and relax further before moving on to the next posture. An example of this would be the transition from the Double Ward-Off Stance to the Joyful Stance. Rather than simply changing the direction of the palms, the practitioner sinks the whole body down farther, inhaling into the lower dantian, simultaneously retracting the palms toward the chest, then rotating the palms outward and upward, gradually extending them into the next posture, and exhaling without raising the body beyond the initial height of the stance. In Zhan Zhuang, as in other Neijia movements, all parts of the body move together as one—when one part moves, all parts move. The mind guides the Qi, and Qi guides the body. When Qi arrives, power arrives. Master Wang was an embodiment of these principles (Edler, “Commentary: Wang Shujin’s Post-Standing Method,” 12–14).

5 Principles of Fluid Motion

I

n the practice of Baguazhang, there is a need to produce seamlessly connected movement. As a beginner, you are taught choreographed sets of movements (herein referred to as a “set”) that are somewhat short and generally comprising only four or five individual actions. These actions may be practiced singly (called “Single Movement Practice”) or linked together with other actions to produce a continuous, unbroken set of movements—just as notes on a music staff may be played individually in practice but must be rendered as a melodic phrase in performance.

The Teacup Exercise There are many exercises in Baguazhang that help to internalize this mind-set of seamless connection. One of the best drills for both beginning and advanced students is the teacup exercise. Put quite simply, the teacup exercise is an exploration of balance and cohesion. You begin by holding one upturned palm in front of the chest and placing an object on it. Then you begin circling and spiraling the palm around in simple preset patterns, being careful not to allow the object to fall from your hand. The first exercise uses a flat stone for stability. The movement starts with the stone placed on an upturned palm held in front of the body. You then circle the palm clockwise toward the body, brushing past the ribs and making a 360-degree clockwise arc before returning to the starting position. See the photos below.

The second exercise begins with the palm held in the same forward position. However, this time the palm circles counterclockwise, away from the body, performing a 360-degree circle (to a position near the head) and completing a 180-degree arc that brushes past the ribs from the rear before returning to the starting posture See the photos below.

In the beginning, a flat stone or other small object is used. As you improve your skills, other less stable (and perhaps heavier) objects may be utilized. For example, a tennis ball is devilishly difficult to keep centered in your slightly cupped palm, especially as the pattern drills become more intricate. On the other hand, a 2.5-pound plate from a dumbbell set is stabler because of its heft, but it is also more taxing on joints, muscles, and tendons that may be challenged by the novel movements.

Bring on the Teacups! Of course, these coordination drills are referred to as “teacup” exercises for good reason. You begin a more advanced level of practice by placing a small Chinese or Japanese-style teacup (the kind with no handles) in the center of your open palm and proceed by practicing a few of the more basic movements shown above. It is wise to do this out on your lawn or with a soft rug under you—that is, unless you have a near endless supply cheap teacups at your disposal. Once you become proficient at performing even the most difficult drills with an empty cup, then you may move on to a cup that is half-full (or half-empty, depending on your outlook on life). After that exercise becomes mere child’s play for you, it is time to move on to slaying the “boss” dragon by filling the cup all the way to the top with tea (or water, if you have used up your stash of tea getting to this level). Once you pass through this level, you should feel a modest sense of accomplishment, but don’t get too smug: higher levels of the exercise-torture routine require mastering two teacups. But that,

perhaps, is another book. In the meantime, try the next exercise, below.

Advanced Teacup Exercise Once you have become proficient at moving the cups (stones) around in a stationary posture, you can try to do a Bagua teacup form. In the photos below, pay attention to both the palm movements and the stepping. You need to perform a T-step followed by an L-step and then a V-step to return to the forward position. Try this form with an empty palm in the beginning. Once you are comfortable with the stepping and turning, use a small stable object in the palm. Be careful not to drop it on your head or toes!

6 Generating Power from the Root

T

he circular and spiraling movements of Bagua utilize other means of discharging maximal force other than just direct muscular contractions. Centripetal force draws energy toward the practitioner as if he or she were the center of a whirlpool. Centrifugal force discharges energy away from the practitioner—it is the same energy used in throwing the hammer or discus.

Li Xin Li: Centrifugal Force Centrifugal force is an inertial force that is directed radially or outwardly away from the axis of its rotation. The force is applied practically in devices such as centrifuges, and in much larger concepts such as banked curves on a roadway or planetary orbits. Centrifugal force may be viewed as an equal and opposite reaction to centripetal force. In Bagua the centrifugal force can be seen in most of the palm changes, from the single palm change forward; also referred to as an “unwinding” energy.

Xiang Xin Li: Centripetal Force Centripetal force makes a body follow a curved path inward. Its direction always moves toward the fixed point of the center of an inwardly curving rotation. Objects moving inward toward the center have a tendency to speed up. This is similar to watching an ice skater spinning faster and faster in one place, as he or she brings her arms inward toward the center of the body. Conversely, the centrifugal force is applied as she opens her arms and extends them away from the body, thus causing a deceleration in the speed of the spin. Elements of centripetal force, like centrifugal force, may be observed and felt in nearly every Bagua form, especially those emanating from the center of a circle. This force is also referred to as a winding energy.

Guan Xing: Inertia The principle of inertia, as it is viewed in Bagua movements, speaks to the resistance of any object to a change in its velocity. Of course, in reference to the movements of earthbound humans, this refers mostly to the drag of gravity and the effects of friction and air and water resistance. The Bagua practitioner takes advantage of gravity’s effect on body mechanics, especially downwardly moving techniques that increase momentum. But the principle of fluid, continuous motion also plays into the tendency for objects in motion to remain in motion. A Bagua player’s actions are similar to the cars of a roller coaster—using inertia, gravity, and centripetal force in changing velocity, angle, and trajectory while remaining in continuous motion. So, what goes around comes around.

Wu Ji Bi Fan: When an Object Reaches Its Extremity, It Must Return This concept can be seen most readily in the orbits of the planets around the sun. The orbits are

elliptical due to the pull of gravity on planetary motion. This comes, of course, from Kepler’s laws of planetary motion. Now, the movement of a Bagua practitioner abides by this principle too, but not in the way planets do, because hands and feet (planets) are attached physically to our rotating bodies. So, we can’t stretch the metaphor (literally) any farther than that, except to say that a Bagua player must be careful not to let movements extend too far beyond the center of the body. Beyond that point, muscular control and extension of power become limited. Remember that strength and control are incrementally lost with each inch you extend beyond your circle of power. Once joints are flexed to the point of being straight, muscular power is dissipated and must return to the center to “reload.” Another way of looking at it is this: an arrow’s power diminishes with distance as its motion decelerates, until it finally falls to the ground.

Di Xin Li: Gravity or “Rootedness” The concept of gravity in Bagua speaks to the connection with the earth, or what is called being “grounded.” The ground path refers to the connection that arises from the feet pushing against the earth (or the ground or the floor) and transferring that energy to other parts of the body. People often speak of this as being rooted. It is the root that is the wellspring of power in the internal martial arts. To get an idea of how lost you would be without the root, try pushing or wrestling with someone on a frozen pond. You can still have very fast hand movements, but there will be no power behind them.

Xin Xin Xiang Ying: A Complete Rapport, Body and Mind This principle goes beyond the basic physical connection needed to transfer power and energy. It speaks to the integration of mind and body as the catalyst for instantaneous response and fluid movement. For this you need focused awareness and attention. Also, there is intention that precipitates movement and promotes mind-body integration in action. Ways of achieving better focused awareness and integration of body actions is to practice the mother palms and the post standing postures. There is movement within stillness and stillness within movement (Howard, “Pa Kua Chang,” 1–7).

PART 3 ESSENTIAL BAGUAZHANG FORMS

7 The Mother Palms

I

t is difficult to discuss the eight mother palms as one immutable practice that is coherent across all styles of Bagua, as it is not. Each lineage2 of Bagua has its own version of the eight mother palms, and in some lineages, it is not a dominant practice at all. Does this go back to that pesky Dong Haiquan and his propensity toward teaching different techniques to different students? Perhaps. Although it is more likely that various teachers down through time have come to use their own favorite postures instead of what may have been originally taught to them. 2 I refer to “lineages” as differing sets of practices and forms passed down by various teachers who all learned from one source. There is only one “style” that is Baguazhang, just as there is only one “style” called Shaolin Temple Boxing. All differences are like musical variations on a central theme.

In Mandarin Chinese we say ba mu zhang (“bah moo jong”) or “eight mother palms.” So, we can view these eight hand and body positions as elemental practices in the art of Bagua. However, there doesn’t appear to be a standard or “orthodox” set of the eight mother palms. Nonetheless, the practice of holding these palm forms has been described as one of the four pillars of Bagua, along with circle walking practice, the single palm change, and the double palm change. In practice, the eight mother palms actually refer to eight different upper body, arm, and hand positions that are held in a static posture as the practitioner walks the circle. Some of the positions are very similar to the post standing forms presented earlier. The idea behind this practice is to train outward muscular strength and internal connections, and to coordinate mind-body integration through training muscle groups not usually under conscious control. As in all basic practice, the postures are designed to build the physical and energetic foundations needed for higher-level training. Initially, the mother palms should be taught by standing in place and holding the various upper-body postures, like the practice of post standing. Once you are comfortable holding the static positions, you may start walking the circle. After several revolutions around the circle, you perform a T-Step and turn and walk in the other direction holding the same form. After another directional change, you transition to the next palm form. This is repeated until you have held each of the eight mother palms while walking in both directions on the circle (Fish, “W. C. Wong’s Eight Mother Palms,” 25–28; Miller, “Bagua’s Eight Mother Palms,” 1–27).

8 Essential Palm Changes The Single Palm Change The single palm change (SPC) is the first form found in every Baguazhang set. The main purpose of the SPC is to facilitate making directional changes while walking the circle. For example, if you are walking the circle counterclockwise with the left shoulder and left hand projecting toward the center (left guard stance), the SPC allows you to smoothly transition to walking clockwise in the other direction with the right shoulder and right hand oriented toward the center of the circle. Of course, this choreography is done in a martial manner that allows you to change not only body position but your power, strength, awareness, and intention from one side of the body to the other. In making this transition, you must also protect yourself by remaining aware of your opponent’s position and intention while covering (protecting) yourself at all times. There are many ways of performing the SPC, as can be readily seen by perusing YouTube. Each lineage seems to have a slightly different way of moving and changing. However, Bagua is based on principles of movement and not an exacting set choreography. In all presentations of the SPC, regardless of lineage, the intention is one of changing body position from, for example, the left guard stance to the right guard stance. This can be done linearly or circularly, as long as you switch the lead hand and the lead foot during the maneuver. The sequence of movement is generally performed in reaction to a shift in body position, or a telegraphing of intent, by the opponent. However, you may also initiate the SPC to achieve an advantage or provide yourself more protection. See the photos below.

There are three basic principles of movement in the SPC: directional change, winding, and unwinding. The change of direction is achieved by footwork, such as the T-Step. You must turn fluidly while maintaining stability and balance. The torso rotates around the body’s center axis. The key element in this maneuver is maintaining stability while moving continuously. If the whole body isn’t connected, or if there is a break in the fluidity of motion, the action of the SPC will be clumsy and inefficient. The winding is a centripetal action similar to wringing a sponge. This expands the back, collapses the chest, and twists the waist inward. Winding teaches how to rotate the body around its own center while maintaining balance and stability. The practitioner is also learning how to generate power on a horizontal plane. The Chinese word guo (“to bind” or “to wrap”) means to stay internally wrapped in your intention and energy. Stretching the back, twisting the waist, and penetrating with the extended palms precipitates a relaxed compression of the abdominal area. This feeling is not brought about by any conscious contracting or filling of the area around the dantian but more as a natural outgrowth of

practice in holding the postures while walking the circle. Both winding and unwinding can be felt by a beginner while walking the circle in the guard stance. See the winding photos below.

The unwinding is dictated by centrifugal forces that open the chest, close the back, and twist the waist outward. It is during the execution of the unwinding that the change of palms is performed. As with the winding, the unwinding trains the practitioner in developing rotational power around the center axis of the torso, legs, and arms. However, where the winding trained mostly horizontal power, the unwinding movements project elements of vertical and oblique power as well. Within this winding and unwinding can be found rise, drill, fall, and overturn movements, which were introduced previously (Sun, “Pa Kua Stepping,” 21–23; Miller, “Ba Gua Zhang’s Single Palm Change,” 1–6). Stay outwardly stretched in intention and energy as you drop the shoulders and elbows while extending the palms. This action stretches the back and the outside of the arms in a way that creates a heightened surface tension from the center of the spine to the tip of the little finger. See the unwinding photos below.

The Double Palm Change The double palm change (DPC) really only adds one new directional movement to the SPC, and that is spinning 360 degrees in the middle of the single palm change. During this spin, there are various hand movements that are performed, depending on the lineage of Bagua you are practicing. Another aspect introduced by the DPC, beyond simple choreography, is the introduction of the concept of engaging multiple opponents. Whereas the SPC addressed one opponent (possibly two), the DPC engages with two. Other more advanced forms may be seen as responding to three or more incursions into your protective circle. The DPC also allows you to practice the T-, L-, and V-steps in a single form. The set opens with the T-step and transitions through the L- and V-steps to facilitate a 360-degree spin in the middle of the form. The DPC also features three winding and unwinding movements: at the beginning, in the middle

section, and at the end of the form. In the SPC, the palm change was from a vertical palm to the Slicing Palm. In the DPC, the Slicing Palm is also performed and then followed by a Spear Palm to open the 360-degree spin. To pave the way for the Spear Palm, the Slicing Palm becomes a downward parry. It is at this point that the DPC is theoretically engaging a second opponent within the same form. The third opponent is theoretically engaged as you close the form with the familiar rise, drill, fall, and overturn sequence back to the guard stance. See the DPC photos below.

Once you have become familiar with the SPC and DPC, and can perform them smoothly without hesitation, you may practice this extended version of the SPC that comes from the swimming body form of Xun Xikun. This form provides a chance to work on both flexibility and stability while remaining rooted in motion. It is also a good warm-up drill, starting with a high stance and working slowly into the lowest position, to stretch and tone muscles while cementing that muscle memory. See the photos below.

9 Single Movement Practice FROM DARIUS EDLER’S COMMENTARY ON POST STANDING IN BAGUA SWIMMING BODY PALMS

D

anlian, or single (technique) practice, is found in nearly every style of Baguazhang. It involves isolating a single movement or technique taken from a circling form and drilling it over and over. This practice is usually done in a linear fashion, left side and right. This training looks and feels a great deal like the drills found in the martial art of Xingyiquan. One particular style of Bagua has sixtyfour of these short forms that students must master before they may move on to higher-level techniques, and they are considered prerequisites to learning circling forms. Wang Shujin and his student Huang Jinsheng, my teacher, believed the only way to develop power and speed when expressing the circling and spiraling techniques of Bagua was to practice them as Danlian. Below, I have included a commentary on this practice written by Swedish pugilist Darius Edler, a student of Wang Shujin’s disciple Lai Tianzao. Darius is a strong proponent of Danlian, and he explains the practice of this fundamental drilling technique as well as I ever could.

Commentary by Darius Edler: Single Palm Practice In Wang Shujin’s system, forms are templates that teach the principles and characteristics of continuous movement, power generation, and technique. They are not the only component of daily practice, nor are they definitive expressions of the art; rather, they provide practitioners with tradition-derived insight into the possibilities and potential of the art. Traditional masters cautioned their students that practicing boxing forms but neglecting the basics could only lead to lack of skill. Taking that maxim to heart, Wang Shujin drilled his disciples extensively in the basics, through an array of mobility, endurance, and power-building exercises. While Wang only provides us with a few photographs and no written instruction, Single Movement Practice, or Danlian in Chinese, was a key component of his teaching and one that students at all levels practiced regularly. Danlian is common to most schools of martial arts. It consists of repetitive drilling of individual palms, fists, and kicks, or the repetitive drilling of short sequences of movements considered particularly important to the style practiced. In principle, any part of a form may be taken out and practiced in this manner, but Wang Shujin’s curriculum includes sets of Danlian exercises aimed at training specific power (jin) common to all three internal arts as well as additional drills for each individual style. Through repetition of these basic movements, thousands (or even tens of thousands) of times, the practitioner gradually comes to embody effortlessly the correct body principles in all their movements, as well as the ability to express coordinated body power (zhengjin) and to focus power following the principles of Nine Palaces Returning to One. Once these basics have become second nature, it is easier for the practitioner to grasp and further develop the principles of combination and application revealed in the forms. Danlian practice can be done standing either in a fixed stance (for example, parallel or back-

weighted) or with moving steps in a way similar to the linear methods of Xingyiquan. These are done at full speed and repeated left and right, usually with a minimum of thirty repetitions on each side. For practitioners with more endurance, the repetitions can be increased further. While these should be practiced at full speed with expression of power, at the beginning slow repetition under skilled supervision is recommended to ensure that the correct body methods are firmly imprinted (Edler, “Commentary: Single Palm Practice,” 10).

PART 4 APPLICATIONS

10 Absorbing and Redirecting Energy

A

n idea that is essential in understanding Baguazhang is the concept of the “center” (zhong xin). Although the ideas of “being centered” and “centering” often arise in discussions about the internal martial arts, the exact nature, use of, or even location of this center has proven to be somewhat illusory in nature. The Chinese believe there are three physical and spiritual centers in the body: the middle of the head, the dantian (located just below the navel), and a third one near the spine at the third vertebra up from the sacral area (the L3 vertebra). These three points in the body form a triangle. The center is said to be the master of the upper and lower points and regulates and controls them. One of the key elements to understanding how to use the center is the concept of luo kong. The phrase luo kong, as with many Chinese terms dealing with internal martial arts, expresses a meaning that cannot be found in any dictionary. The definition normally given is “to fail in an attempt.” Although this is the general outcome for an attacker who meets with luo kong, the definition itself does little to explain the feeling one has when applying it. To explain the practitioner’s feelings, we need to look at the meaning of the phrase in English: luo means “to fall” or “to drop,” and kong means “empty” or “emptiness.” A pragmatic translation in English might be to “fall into emptiness” or “drop into a hole.” In Bagua, luo kong refers to falling back on the center. It may be explained, in more practical terms, as the ability to absorb the opponent’s attack by making a “hole” for him or her to fall into; or as some martial artists say, letting him “hit air.” As the opponent strikes, the defender will luo kong, allowing the attack to penetrate harmlessly. This is similar to absorbing the energy of a shove in a Taijiquan pushinghands exercise, or perhaps “slipping” a punch in boxing. The secret to using luo kong in Bagua, however, is being able to absorb energy while you are moving in and encircling an opponent. This “letting go” while countering is a very difficult feeling to get because you are literally trying to absorb an oncoming blow, stick to it, and penetrate all at the same time. To use luo kong properly, it is important to develop a very sensitive touch that has to be directly connected to your center. When an incoming movement is felt on the fingers, hand, or arm it must be directly translated to the center, which will initiate a sympathetic counter movement. This might be akin to the “listening energy” spoken of in Taijiquan. Bagua has many exercises aimed toward developing this center. Sitting meditation, standing postures, static circle walking postures, and the Bagua form itself all teach different aspects of this centering. But more important than these are two-person sets and improvised drills, which develop listening energy, or sensitive touch. In the single palm change, there are two instances where the practitioner must luo kong: when turning inward to meet an attack, and when performing the rise, drill, fall, and overturn form to move back onto the circle. Both of these instances of letting go and dissipating the incoming tension on your body set up a counter movement which effectively negates the attack while opening up an avenue for penetrating or encircling the opponent’s defenses. Luo kong may be found in every major step, turn, or general change of “energy” in Baguazhang forms (Howard, “Wang Shu Jin’s Bagua,” 17–26).

11 Evade, Encircle, and Entrap

A

lthough evade, encircle, and entrap are three separate terms, the movements they imply follow one upon the other as to become inseparable to the eye. You evade an opponent’s attack as you encircle and entrap him or her, which then sets up an evasion of his counter. Evade does not mean to dodge or sidestep, which would create too much space between you and the opponent, but to move in and past the attack while you let the blow brush by as closely as possible. This sets up the encircling movement where you stick to the opponent’s body while you penetrate to his side or rear. The feeling is one of melding with the opponent’s movements as if ballroom dancing— that is to say, you follow along in synchronized movements without grabbing too tightly or bumping into your “partner” while trying to stay as close as possible. You entrap the opponent not so much by applying a lock or a hold, but by moving into a position to do either, or even following with a throw or a takedown. Dong Haiquan, the originator of Bagua, enumerated three ways to engage an enemy attack: 1. When someone attacks, I can neutralize it and then strike back at the same time. This is called the Mutual Advance Method. 2. When someone attacks, I intercept it and strike back at the same time. This is called the Stop and Intercept Method, to break the attack and to attack back simultaneously. 3. When someone attacks, I evade and redirect it with footwork. This is called escaping and “melting away,” or melting away like a shadow. In his conclusion Dong wrote: “Of the three ways, the first is better than the second, while the third way is the most complicated and profound and can only be used when the technique has been developed to a level of mastery” (Li, Liang Zhen Pu Eight Diagram Palm, 35). This is clearly what Master Huang Jinsheng meant when he said, “The highest level of Bagua practice is not being there when the attack arrives.” Or, as Dong Haiquan said, “melting away like a shadow.” Surely this must go beyond even the highly developed skills of evade, encircle, and entrap. This is evade, encircle, and evaporate (Howard, “Wang Shu Jin’s Bagua,” 20).

12 Principles of Combat Application

I

n the practice of Baguazhang for self-defense, there are several engagement principles that must be followed: First, Bagua has no offensive movements, per se. Any offensive response is always a defensive reaction; in other words, there are only counter moves that are initiated by an unwanted incursion into your center. Second, you should provide no opposition to force. Directly opposing the force of a stronger opponent would lead to them prevailing nearly every time. Third, establish a threat perimeter, or zone of safety—the distance depending on the speed and agility of the opponent. Allow yourself enough space for reaction time. Fourth, intercept an incoming attack by moving in early, or avoid if your response is too late. Intercepting is what we earlier classed as encircling and entrapping. Evading is found in both intercepting and avoiding. Fifth, whether moving in (intercepting) or away (avoiding), move off-line first, by angling obliquely from the path of power. Never move directly into or directly away from the opponent’s center of power and momentum. Sixth, connect and join centers by matching your speed and angle of movement to the opponent’s torso or upper body. This is generally the movement of the axial skeleton (upper body) first and the arms and legs second. After matching speed, direction, and angle of movement, you blend your movements with the opponent and join with him or her as if ballroom dancing. Connect without disturbing the momentum of the opponent and thus warning him of your intention. Seventh, apply force to the point of least resistance. Find structural weaknesses in posture and exploit them by always moving the opponent into his “empty corner,” or the angle where his structure is most likely to collapse (Cartmel, “Principles of Internal Arts Combat,” 25–30).

Baguazhang in Action: Applying Basic Skills to Self-defense In the beginning stages of training in Bagua, much emphasis is placed on drilling, or the repetition of fundamental techniques, such as walking, stepping, and palm forms. All of these can be classed as learned motor skills—the precise movements of muscles with the intent of performing a specific act. Muscle memory (long-term procedural memory) is associated with physical movement and activity. For example, learning to swim is initially difficult, because you must call upon certain muscles to work in unison that may not have combined in a synchronous way before. However, once an efficient stroke is learned, through repeated practice and correction, little conscious effort is required after that. We develop a muscle memory of physical skills such as “swimming” or “riding a bicycle” that become more or less permanent. To learn a motor skill, you must call on innate motor movements built into the central nervous system:

Gross motor skills involve the actions of major muscle groups and are classed as strength events. Examples: walking, running, swimming, lifting, or pushing. Fine motor skills are actions performed by small muscle groups, especially the digits of the hand. Examples: typing, playing an instrument, giving an injection. Fine motor skills require precision eye-hand coordination. The skills require an attentional focus not needed for many gross motor skills. Thus you can walk on a treadmill and watch TV or text someone at the same time without getting totally discombobulated and falling down. Complex motor skills generally involving eye-hand coordination, timing, and tracking. They require a series of small and large muscle group actions working in concert to form a single event. Example: dribbling a basketball while trying to outmaneuver a defender. All three of these skills are required in learning and executing Bagua forms, from finger and hand movements to complicated movements in a series. Motor skills can also be affected by heart rate. Your performance, whether in routine practice or under the stress of sparring, elevates heart rate and may even produce an acute stress reaction, called the fight-or-flight response. The effects of accelerated heart rate and the fight-or-flight stress reaction, affecting performance and memory, have been the subject of much research. Below is one model on the interaction of heart rate and the execution of motor skills (LeDoux, “Coming to Terms with Fear”):

Condition White 60–80 beats per minute (bpm): normal heat rate, at ease and relaxed, fine motor skills optimal

Condition Yellow 80–115 bpm: fine motor skills begin to deteriorate, increased alertness, awareness of environment

Condition Red 115–145 bpm: complex motor skills at prime, high perceptual load and heightened cognitive aspects, “in the zone” Note: 145 bpm is thought to be the “ideal” combat heart rate—you derive the most benefits from physiologic arousal but still “keep your wits about you” and retain mental clarity.

Condition Gray 146–175 bpm: complex motor skills begin to deteriorate, tunnel vision and loss of depth perception develop, moving into “survival mode” (Grossman, On Combat, 37–40) Research indicates that with proper training and stress inoculation, you can properly and safely “push the envelope” of Condition Red into the elevated heart rates of Condition Gray without experiencing the debilitating aspects of extreme elevated heart rate. One goal of Bagua sparring drills is to see how far you can push stamina and motor response while remaining “in the zone.”

Condition Black 175+ bpm: best for gross motor skills (sprinting, charging, lifting heavy objects); “irrational zone,” where cognitive abilities shut down, instincts take over; danger of freezing up, voiding bowels, and attacking friend as well as foe. It is important to understand that the scale of measurement above applies to psychologically induced

increases in heart rate—that is, the effects of the fight-or-flight stress reaction. If you were to run wind sprints to get your heart rate up to 175 bpm, for example, you wouldn’t have nearly as much trouble typing a text message on your cell phone as you would if your heart hit 175 due to hyperalert.

Inverted-U Hypothesis Study after study has shown that arousal driven by the stress reaction increases our cognitive processing, visual and auditory acuity, and motor performance. However, these heightened effects reach a plateau as arousal increases, and then fall off precipitously as a heart-rate threshold is reached. For example, fine motor skills are optimal at around 100 bpm but crash at 125 bpm. Complex motor skills begin to degrade at 145 bpm and sunset at around 175 bpm. Gross motor skills, on the other hand, continue to improve as heart-rate increases (Siddle, Sharpening the Warriors Edge, 95–107; Howard, “Crisis De-escalation”). Practicing Bagua induces various levels of heart rate, depending on the amount of muscular effort put forth (speed and intensity), combined with the demands of endurance. Most teachers of Daoist arts, like Baguazhang, instruct students to breathe through the nose with the mouth closed. If, during practice, you reach a level of exertion where you need to open your mouth to receive more oxygen, it is suggested you slow down or sit down until you lower your resting heart rate. When you add the stress of working a set drill with a partner, you also must contend with a psychological response that may increase heart rate. If you move that partner drill to a more demanding, but controlled, three-step sparring drill, heart rate continues to increase with the demands placed on the body, and the dispersion of various stress hormones that are responding to physiological and psychological stress. Should you move on to free sparring with a partner, especially one who may be much more skilled, you may begin to feel the more acute effects of a full-blown fight-or-flight response.

The Effects of Stress Arousal on Response Time Skills such as visual and cognitive processing and motor performance all tend to deteriorate in higharousal situations accompanied by elevated heart rate. The deterioration of these processes has a direct effect on how quickly and correctly you react.

Response Time Successful performance in the martial arts depends on responding to situations in ways that ensure optimal outcomes. In Bagua, physical self-defense response time is defined as the length of time between threat recognition and response selection. Most people confuse reaction time and response time. Reaction time is a part of response time, as in the formula below. reaction time + movement time = response time Reaction time is how quickly you size up a situation and decide what to do. It comprises three parts: perception, evaluation, and plan formulation. Movement time is defined by how quickly you initiate and complete the movement. The key to responding correctly and efficiently is to react quickly and move decisively. The point of training a muscle memory with Bagua basic techniques, forms, and drills is bringing a near-automatic response to the stimulus. A process hampering swift response times is what is known as Hick’s law, formulated by American psychologist William Hick. Hick’s law states that increasing the number of possible reactionmovements present in a stimuli-response loop decreases response time (Hick, “On the Rate of Gain of Information,” 11–26). This means that the simpler and more immediate the reaction-movement to a given stimulus, the faster and more effective the response. For example, research studies have been conducted on the speed of the average untrained person responding to a punch toward the face. Outcome: An untrained person swatting away the incoming punch had a response time of 0.183 milliseconds. After being taught two different “correct” methods of blocking a punch, the subjects’ response time slowed to 0.481 milliseconds—due to cognitive processing speed (reaction time) of the response (movement time). This hammers home the point that Bagua skills must be practiced to the level of swimming or riding a bicycle. Once basic skills become muscle memory, you can whittle down the cognitive processing time and improve the speed of your overall response (Hyman, “Stimulus Information,” 188–96; Jamieson and Mewhort, “Applying an Exemplar Model,” 1757–83).

PART 5 MOVING BEYOND FORM One of the musicians I recently interviewed expressed his views on learning to play music improvisationally, and I found that his ideas reflected my experience in the study of Baguazhang. He said that he felt like the path to being an improvisational player was circular: when one first picks up an instrument, they feel inspired to create something fresh and unique, but they do not possess the technical skill on the instrument that is required to be able to express themselves freely. First, they have to study the fundamentals of the instrument. They practice with a metronome to improve their timing; they practice scales, arpeggios, and chord forms to familiarize themselves with their instrument; and they develop left-hand and right-hand techniques that help them improve their tone, timbre, note clarity, and dynamics. They also repetitively practice arrangements of tunes that others have created in order to develop a sense of style and work within the parameters of melody and genre. After all this work has been completed the musician then has the fundamental skills needed in order to begin free expression within the context of the art form. —Dan Miller, former editor, Pa Kua Chang Journal (Miller, “Letter from the Editor,” 7).

13 The Five Levels of Advanced Practice Level 1: Becoming the Form Initially your practice of the form begins altering the way you move: your awareness, balance, center of gravity, and so on. You change your mode of movement and thinking to adapt to the form—you become the form. When first learning any new body discipline, whether it be yoga, Tai Chi, dance, sport, etcetera, you begin by adapting your body to the new regimen to assimilate the movements. In the beginning, one learns by observing and copying, as a child would. Many actions feel awkward, uncomfortable, or even painful. You have to remake your postural alignment and mode of motion to bring yourself into harmony with the new choreography. Your attempts to adapt to these new methods of moving and thinking creates a sort of cognitive dissonance, where new learning bumps up against old ingrained habits. The mind struggles to absorb unfamiliar input and develops a short-term working memory of the details and process, while the body resists performing unfamiliar routines that test muscles and joints. This learning process is greatly enhanced by a body-mind connection called muscle memory, also referred to as motor learning. Muscle memory is actually a form of procedural memory that helps you recall a series of movements in a certain sequence, consolidating a given motor task into memory by repetition. To initiate the process, we concentrate on performing sequential actions over and over, such as elementary walking or stepping maneuvers. As you perform these repetitive movements, you activate sensors (proprioceptors) in the muscles, tendons, and joints that create constant feedback in certain motor networks of your central nervous system, so you know which muscles to engage in the proper succession. Through repetition you create a continuous feedback loop from the central nervous system to the muscles and back again. In doing so, you forge new pathways through the synapses of your brain, and movements become automatic. The more regularly you use these newly formed pathways, the more your muscle memory solidifies, thus allowing you to remake your body, in part, into a Bagua body. At this stage, some fundamentally important body principles begin to be consolidated as long-term procedural memories: for example, postural alignment, stepping and walking methods, flow of energy, and sequential movement. You have given your body over to a new way of moving and thus have “become the form.” So now there is a bit of Bagua integrated into your physiology; therefore you now walk a little differently—snake stepping to and from the fridge—and hopefully exhibit better posture, balance, and flow of movement.

Level 2: The Form Becomes You By the time you reach the intermediate stages of training, you will have learned all the fundamentals of

Baguazhang and, hopefully, acquired at least two sets of forms (in my system, for example, the Linked Palms and Swimming Body Palms sets). Your familiarity with the set choreography, through hundreds of hours of practice, should allow you to move about smoothly and easily without being distracted by faulty recall or struggling to perform more difficult movements. At this point, you will start making subtle changes in the form to conform to your body, cognitive abilities, and personality; this is natural. That is not to say you will be changing what you learned, but rather that the movements you have acquired will be settling in and becoming a part of you. As you become more and more habituated, your body and mind absorb the movements of the form more deeply, making them an extension of your will and an expression of your larger self. One way you internalized the form is by gravitating toward certain techniques you perform more smoothly than others, or that just feel better. You may prefer the lifting and thrusting movements over techniques that require wrapping or splitting. Snakelike coiling techniques may be more comfortable to perform than more open and floating routines attributed to birdlike movements. Whichever direction you gravitate toward, those techniques will tend to influence your entire routine; therefore, for example, expansive movements (birdlike), such as unwinding, are performed with a bit more of a spiraling feel (snakelike), such as winding. You will not physically change the techniques so much as changing the feel with which they are performed. Many instructors encourage students to go through the choreographed set “in the spirit of” a snake, bird, bear, etcetera. Movements are often altered slightly to stay within the mode or feeling of each animal. Another way of interpreting a Bagua set might be to perform it in a more offensive or defensive manner: an offensive manner might accentuate penetrating or striking movements, while a defensive interpretation may cleave to more encircling or power-absorbing techniques. Of course, everyone executes learned movements, or motor skills, differently than their teacher. This phenomenon may be attributed to differing levels of athletic ability and inherent talent at mimicking the movements of others. In the end, what you learn, and are capable of performing, will not be exactly like your teacher’s form—just as their form was not precisely the same as their teacher’s. Thus, over time, the choreography of Bagua forms change due to natural adaptations in an incremental fashion. What Dong Haiquan taught in Beijing in 1880 was not what your teacher learned in San Francisco in 1980. It was the same style, to be sure, backed by the same principles of movement, yet it differed in expression due to subtle influences in transmission. If someday you decide to teach Bagua, having advanced through the higher levels of the art, what you pass on to your students, no matter how much you try to keep your teaching “traditional” and unchanged, will be an expression of your experience and understanding of the curriculum. Your art will become a manifestation and articulation of everything you have absorbed though twenty-odd years of gentle osmosis, and your teaching will be an expression of that art filtered through the lens of your being (of course, all of this speaks to the very nature of artistic expression and cognition itself). So, do not worry that you could never perform the routines in exactly the same manner as your teacher, because what they taught you, in the end, was their Bagua and not that of their teacher. So, in time, and without conscious adaptation, the form becomes you.

Level 3: Spontaneous Change Once the form is absorbed, you begin to make it your own by tearing it down and rebuilding it according to your mood or purpose. This opens the door to the highest level of Baguazhang, which is

changing spontaneously and creating your own mini forms by resequencing, blending, and reinterpreting movements. From the very beginning stages of form practice, we learn to take individual movements out of the routines, and off the circle, to practice them individually. Without this repetitious single movement practice, it is difficult to develop the speed and power needed for practical application in defense. This early training in tearing the form apart to facilitate application is good preparation for higher stages of development in expressing spontaneous change. This is one reason some practitioners postulate that Bagua systems that begin training by teaching linear forms simply delay the essential familiarity of circling, spiraling, spinning, and its associated footwork that form the very basis of Bagua movement. As we have learned previously, it is better to teach circling forms (single palm and double palm changes, for example) and break out single movement techniques from the context of continuous movement. In essence, spontaneous change means being able to respond to outer stimuli in an instinctive, unrehearsed fashion without being bound by sequence-driven form. Of course, without having a cache of movements available in procedural memory, your spontaneous movements would be random and ineffective. A good beginning training method for this elemental skill of stimulus-driven change is practicing circle walking and having someone call out random names of forms (or form numbers), at which point you make a smooth but rapid transition the that form. This can also be facilitated by having symbols or numbers placed on, or drawn into, the practice circle. As students walk the circle, the instructor calls out “change” and everyone performs the form corresponding to the number or name they are stepping on. This is aimed at the form level of practice, of course, but it can also be broken down to single techniques.

Level 4: Destroying the Form At some point you have to move beyond form. The form becomes, in a way, your enemy; it is what keeps you from attaining mastery. As practitioners of Zen often say: If you meet the Buddha on the road, kill him! Learning any physical discipline requires long hours of practice in absorbing the basics. In dance, for example, one learns all the basic foot positions, developmental movements, and body actions before learning choreography. Bagua is much the same. We learn stepping, walking methods, principles of posture, and fundamental body actions before acquiring our first form. Over time, and deep mastery of the building blocks of choreography, we acquire a “grammar” of Bagua that can later be used to articulate inner and outer expressions of its principles through form and function. The choreography of Bagua is as essential as the building blocks that make up its fundamentals. It teaches us to move in a Bagua manner; just as the first, second, and third sets of Bagua build on movements coming before them. By adding new techniques to previously learned patterns, we can recombine these building blocks extemporaneously to create our own artless choreography. These forms arise unprompted from the mind and are expressed through the will as unconstrained variations that may only arise from deep study and tireless practice.

Level 5: Recreating the Form

This does not imply that you should throw out the form, or that you need to create your own style. It simply means once you permit your mind to “let go” of the form, you are now ready to allow the internal to manifest externally. Your movements should spontaneously arise from a state of “no mind” (Chinese: wu xin) to react to outer stimuli and respond with inner will. At this point, the Bagua you learned from your teacher truly becomes yours as an expression of your own inner being. Of course, that doesn’t mean you should teach students what you have assimilated at this level of practice—that would be robbing them of their eventual opportunity of self-expression and opportunity to walk their own path to mastery—but rather use your acquired intuition and organic understanding to point them toward their own direction of discovery. Reaching this point of understanding, you will have come, literally, full circle in your journey.

Works Cited Cartmel, Tim. “The Principles of Internal Arts Combat.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 6:6 (September– October 1996), 25–30. Edler, Darius. “Commentary: Single Palm Practice.” In Bagua Swimming Body Palms, by Wang Shujin. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2011. Edler, Darius. “Commentary: Wang Shujin’s Post-Standing Method.” In Bagua Swimming Body Palms, by Wang Shujin. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2011. Fish, Ken. “W. C. Wong’s Eight Mother Palms.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 2:2 (November–December 1992), 27–30. Grossman, D., and L. Christensen. On Combat: The Psychology and Physiology of Deadly Conflict in War and in Peace, 3rd edition. Millstadt, IL: Warrior Science Publications, 2008. Hick, W. E. “On the Rate of Gain of Information.” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 4 (1952), 11–26. doi:10.1080/17470215208416600. Howard, Kent. “Crisis De-escalation: Responding to Bullying Threats and Aggression.” Institute for Natural Resources, Concord, CA. December 12, 2020. https://tinyurl.com/y655tjj5. Howard, Kent. “The Pa Kua Chang of Wang Shu-Chin: An Interview with Huang Chin-Sheng.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 2:2 (January–February 1992), 1–7. Howard, Kent. “Wang Shu Jin’s Bagua: Principles and Practice.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 5:6 (September–October 1995), 17–35. Hyman, R. “Stimulus Information as a Determinant of Reaction Time.” Journal of Experimental Psychology 45 (March 1953), 188–96. doi:10.1037/h0056940. Jamieson, R., and K. Mewhort. “Applying an Exemplar Model to the Serial Reaction-Time Task: Anticipating from Experience.” Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology 62:9 (2009), 1757– 83. doi:10.1080/17470210802557637. Kang Ge Wu. “Studying the Origins of Pa Kua Chang.” Master’s thesis, Beijing University, 1984. English translation. Li Zi Ming. Liang Zhen Pu Eight Diagram Palm. Translated by Huang Guo Qi. Compiled and Edited by Vincent Black. Pulaski, VA: High View Publications, 1993. LeDoux, Joseph. “Coming to Terms with Fear.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Impact Factor 9.67). 111:8 (February 2014). doi:10.1073/pnas.1400335111. Lee, D. T., and A. R. Schmidt. Motor Control and Learning: A Behavioural Emphasis, 5th edition. Windsor, Canada: Human Kinetics, 2011. Miller, Dan. “Bagua’s Eight Mother Palms.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 6:1 (November–December 1995), 1–27.

Miller, Dan. “Ba Gua Zhang’s Single Palm Change.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 5:5 (July–August 1995), 1–6. Miller, Dan. “The Circle Walk Practice of Ba Gua Zhang.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 4:6 (September– October 1994), 3–22. Miller, Dan. “A Letter from the Editor.” Pa Kua Chang Journal on CD-ROM. Pulaski, VA: High View Publications, 1997. Schipper, Kristofer. The Taoist Body. Translated by Karen C. Duval. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 1993. Siddle, Bruce. Sharpening the Warriors Edge: The Psychology & Science of Training. Milstadt, IL: PPCT Research Publications, 1995. Sun, Pao-Kung. “Pa Kua Stepping and Single Palm Change.” Pa Kua Chang Journal 2:6 (September– October 1992), 21–23. Wang Shujin. Bagua Swimming Body Palms. Translated by Kent Howard and Chen Hsiao-Yen. Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 2011. Westcott, Wayne. Strength Building and Stamina. 2nd edition. Windsor, Canada: Human Kinetics, 2003.

Glossary of Chinese Terms bagua (八卦): Eight trigrams, the basic building blocks of the sixty-four hexagrams of the Yi Jing Baguazhang (八卦掌): Eight Trigrams Boxing bai bu (擺步): Opening or Swinging Step, a step that opens outward away from the body ban (搬): To move around (in a large area) Chen Panling (陳泮嶺): 1892–1967; a mentor and collaborator of Wang Shujin chi ku (吃苦): Literally “eating bitter”; tough it out dai (摕): To carry >Danlian (單練): Single Movement Practice dantian (丹田): The “field of elixir” located just below the navel Dong Haiquan (董海川): 1796–1880; developer of the martial art Baguazhang jin (進): To enter jin (緊): Tension kou (扣): To hook or to button kou bu (扣步): Hooking Step or Button Step, a step that turns toes and knees inward Liao Zhang (撩掌): Scooping Palm Li Zhang (立掌): Vertical Palm lulu guan (轆轤關): An acupuncture point located between the shoulder blades Niushi Zhang (牛舌掌): Cow’s Tongue Palm niwan (泥丸): An acupuncture point located between the eyebrows Pi Zhang (劈掌): Splitting Palm Qie Zhang (切掌): Slicing Palm qihai (氣海): The lower dantian shanzhong (膻中): The middle dantian Taijiquan (太極拳): Great Ultimate Boxing three bao (三抱): Embrace, hold three chui (三垂): Hang down, drop three ding (三頂): Highest, outermost point three kou (三扣): Clamp, compress three min (三敏): Alert, sensitive, quick three qu (三曲): Bend, curve

three ting (三挺): Straighten, pull up three yuan (三圓): Round, wrap Tiao Zhang (挑掌): Lifting Palm Tuo Zhang (托掌): Carrying Palm Wang Xiangzhai (王薌齋): 1885–1963; credited with founding Yiquan and Dachengquan Xingyiquan (形意拳): Form-Mind Boxing yi (義): Will, intent, mind Zhan Zhuang (站樁): Standing on posts, a style of standing meditation Zuan Zhang (穿掌): Piercing Palm

About the Author KENT HOWARD is an internationally known writer, lecturer, and instructor of traditional Asian health maintenance practices including Baguazhang, Taijiquan, Qigong, Taoist yoga, meditation, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. He has taught at three universities and was an instructor and board member at the National College of Oriental Medicine. Kent is the author of several books, courses, and videos on Baguazhang, mindfulness, and stress reduction, and he has taught internal martial arts and meditation on a cable network. He spent fourteen years living in Taiwan, where he researched Chinese traditional medicine, Taoist and Buddhist studies, martial arts, and contemplative practices. He currently lectures for the Institute for Natural Resources, teaches Baguazhang workshops by arrangement, and conducts training programs in Nonviolent Self-Defense. You may reach him by email: [email protected].

About North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books (NAB) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit publisher committed to a bold exploration of the relationships between mind, body, spirit, culture, and nature. Founded in 1974, NAB aims to nurture a holistic view of the arts, sciences, humanities, and healing. To make a donation or to learn more about our books, authors, events, and newsletter, please visit www.northatlanticbooks.com.