Xiantian Bagua Zhang: Gao Style Bagua Zhang - Circle Form 9781848192256, 9780857011725, 9781848191402, 9780857011152, 9781787750432, 9781787750449, 9781848194106, 9780857013729

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XIANTIAN BAGUA ZHANG Gao Style Bagua Zhang—Circle Form

Master C S Tang Foreword by Sifu Sebastian González of Barcelona

CONTENTS Caveat and Disclaimer Foreword by Sifu Sebastian González of Barcelona 1.

Introduction Introduction to the Author: Tang Cheong Shing (鄧昌成) The Way of My Bagua Zhang (我之八卦掌成長之路) Other Bagua Zhang Styles My Training Adventures My Teaching

2.

The Origin and Development of Bagua Zhang Creation of the Name: The Eight Trigrams The Foundation Thinking of Bagua Zhang is Rooted in Philosophy The Changes of Bagua Zhang The History of Dong Hai Chuan The Branches of Bagua Zhang The True Features of Bagua Zhang Gao’s Branches The Legend of Master Gao Yi Sheng The Legend of Master Wu Meng Xia—Bagua Zhang Research Expert The Legend of Master Han Mu Xia—The Strange Hero of the Martial Arts World The Legend of Master Ho Ho Choy and Dragon Style Bagua Zhang The Legend of Master Zhang Zhun Feng—Gao Bagua Zhang in Taiwan

3.

Basic Exercises and System Three Basins and Palm Definitions Explanation and Application Bagua Zhang Five Elements Steps Exercise (五行步) Bagua Zhang Kicking Pole Exercise (踢樁) Bagua Zhang Walking Steps Exercises Bagua Zhang Leg-Stretch Exercises Bagua Zhang Spin Circle Exercises Bagua Zhang Five Elements Power Exercises Ten Heavenly Stems Exercises (八卦掌 十天干) The Names of the Ten Heavenly Stems: Tian Gan or Ten Individual Exercises Bagua Zhang Conditioning

Bagua Zhang Static Stance 4.

Eight Mother Palms Theory of Gao Style Bagua Zhang Requirements: Eight Guiding Principles Bagua Zhang Xian Tien Eight Mother Palms Wuji Palm: Beginning Xian Tien Eight Mother Palms (先天八母掌) Variations of the Eight Mother Palms Bagua Zhang Eight Mother Palm Linking Form Eight Mother Palm Application Applied Bagua Zhang (八卦掌用法): Eight Mother Palm Two-Men Exercises (先天八母掌 對練 法) Fundamental Concepts of Training in Bagua Zhang Chin Na Chin Na in Bagua Zhang Sequence Speed and Flexibility in Chin Na Bagua Zhang Drilling Chin Na form (八卦掌擒拿 對練兩路) Disclaimer Bagua Zhang Chin Na Routines (八卦掌 八母掌 擒拿套路) Practicing Bagua Zhang Walking (八卦掌走步練法提要) The Health Benefits of Bagua Stepping (八卦掌走步與健康) The Health Aspect of the Eight Mother Palms Health is Accumulated

5.

Eight Big Palms Single Palm Change Bagua Zhang Xian Tien Eight Big Palms Bagua Zhang Five Dragons Palm Linking Form Penetrating Change Palm (穿化掌) Eight Big Palm Linking Form 1 Dragon Style Palm (龍形掌) Eight Big Palm Linking Form 2 Application of the Eight Big Palm Linking Form Application of Xian Tien Zhang: Eight Big Palm (先天八大掌) Circle Method Xian Tien Zhang Eight Big Palm Practicing Method (先天八大掌 練法) Applied Bagua Zhang Application of Double Palm Change Eight Big Palm Linking Drill Form (鄧昌成。霍東成演式)

6.

Bagua Nei Gong Bagua Nei Gong Turn Waist Palm (八卦轉掌內功) Secret Manuscript—The Heart Transmission of How to Reach Dao: The Secret Way to Nei Gong Teaching Mother Palms and Big Palms in Taiwan in 2018 Acknowledgements

CAVEAT AND DISCLAIMER Please note that the author and the publisher of this book are not to be held liable in any manner whatsoever for any injuries that may result to any person from his or her reading or following the instructions contained herein. Since the physical activities described may at times be strenuous and challenging for some individuals, it is essential that before following any of the activities, physically or otherwise herein described, the reader should consult his or her physician for advice on whether to embark on such activity.

FOREWORD Sifu Sebastian González of Barcelona

I have been involved in both learning and teaching Chinese martial arts since the 1970s. Nowadays I direct my school in Barcelona, Centre Jing, and I preside over the Catalan Association of Cai Li Fo, Taiji Quan, Qigong. The first time I met Master CS Tang, I knew he was a person with great knowledge of internal martial arts, but his humble and unpretentious attitude confused me in the world of martial arts, in which it is common to find “egoistical, pretentious, and vain” attitudes. Over the years that I have been learning the internal arts with CS Tang, I have been able to discover a humble person with a very deep knowledge of these arts of traditional Chinese culture, such as martial arts, calligraphy, and seal engraving; these last aspects are exquisite and deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture. Later on, when we had a close relationship, I invited CS Tang to visit Barcelona, Spain, several times, so that my students could met him and he could share his knowledge with them. His sincere attitude and deep knowledge of the internal arts gave them an enriching experience: from a health perspective through the teaching exercises, from a martial arts aspect through the strength fighting techniques, and from a spiritual point of view through the cultural knowledge. His personable and sincere attitude has always made people come to him and get to know him as a person, as well as his style of martial arts; this is a characteristic that I have always valued. The book is about an internal martial art called Bagua Zhang or “the Palm of the Eight Trigrams,” a system that CS Tang knows very deeply because he learned it from a master directly connected to the lineage of the Gao system, Master Ho Ho Choy, and also through other traditional masters of Bagua Zhang who he has met on his journey towards the origins of Bagua Zhang. This internal martial art, which I have had the good fortune to learn directly from him, was in the past transmitted secretly and in a hermetic way that was only accessible to a few who were introduced to the master and accepted by him. Today, these values have changed for the benefit of all of us, allowing us to access it through classes, videos, conferences, and also this book, which will show you a part of the system that will be a useful tool in your learning. Bagua Zhang as an internal martial art is inspired by the principles of Taoist philosophy and the famous classic book of I-Ching (The Book of Changes), from which it takes its fundamental principles to structure the system. It contains exercises to strengthen health called Nei Gong, martial arts techniques of locks and control called Chin Na, kicks, fist and palm hits, weapons, exercises with partners that develop combat, animal techniques, and philosophical concepts, which make it a complete and deep system. My experience as a student in this style has been very rewarding and enriching. Aspects of it are great for health and can improve mental attitude and body strength, and the martial arts aspect of learning exercises that work the body in a very different way to classic Kung Fu systems improves

coordination and flexibility, and uses the whole body to fight. I recommend that all martial artists study Bagua Zhang through this book, which will open a door of wisdom to the east.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION TO THE AUTHOR: TANG CHEONG SHING (鄧昌成)

Friends and colleagues simply call him CS, though his full name is Tang Cheong Shing, which is usually abbreviated as CS Tang following the conventional western style.

CS was born in 1949 in Hong Kong, China. He looks young compared with many other martial arts masters in China. That’s probably because he is not very big in stature. At first glance you would not take him for a martial arts master. He is more than just that; he is a well-rounded person. An accountant by profession, CS obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. He is also known for his Chinese calligraphy and Chinese seal engraving. Above all, he is well known among his circle as a martial arts master specializing in Bagua Zhang, having practiced it under Mr. He Ke Cai (何可才), a master of the fourth generation in the direct lineage of the founder of Bagua Zhang. CS does not just know Bagua Zhang; he knows it profoundly. As one reads about his career, one becomes aware of the recognition he has received in this field throughout the years. Indeed, his fame goes beyond Hong Kong. CS has contacts with other well-known masters in Mainland China and abroad, and he is recognized by them as a peer. His profound understanding of his own school of martial art goes beyond the mere practice of it; he is also a scholar on the subject of its historical development and is knowledgeable on the history of many other schools of martial arts. CS’s talent does not end with having mastered Bagua Zhang, the art of Chinese calligraphy, or even the art of Chinese seal engraving. He is equally interested in embracing and going deeper into other schools of martial arts. To achieve this, he has mastered a few of them. The name he gave to his newly established specialty shop in Hong Kong, “The Art and Arts Shop,” reveals his inner self. Martial arts seem to have been innate in CS and have been an integral part of his life. He would readily and humbly submit himself to a famous master and learn from him the innermost tactics and expressions of the various postures and maneuvering of that particular school in order to deepen his own knowledge of that martial art. As a master, CS has his own ways of teaching. His students range from young children of four years old to grownups aged over 70, including Chinese, European, American, and Japanese people. He has his own gifted way of interpreting each movement and posture and making it understood by students of each age group. He enables students to practice and remember each movement easily, according to their respective levels of understanding and comprehension.

CS TANG WINNING THE FIRST CLASS PRIZE AT TRADITIONAL FORM WUSHU COMPETITION, 1992

THE WAY OF MY BAGUA ZHANG (我之⼋卦掌成⻑之路)

CS TANG IN A SPEAR PERFORMANCE WHEN HE WAS YOUNG

Fine art and Bagua Zhang and Xing Yi Quan1 My strong interest in the martial arts originated from my father, who was a student of the Jing Wu Association and had also studied Dong Ying Jie’s Taiji Quan. The martial arts manuals he left me, and his scholarly character, have very much influenced and benefited me, and as a child I learned the Shaolin Yijijin (Tendon Change Formula) from him. At a young age I loved comic books, and I collected and imitated the drawings of Dong Pei Shen. My grandfather saw this, and being deeply moved, gave me some words of advice: Learning to draw requires knowledge of Yin and Yang; having 70 percent of the face will bring out a solid figure effect. Yin and Yang are the heart of theory in China; when a person stands and sunlight shines from behind his body, his back is Yang and his body is Yin.

My father used to draw a painting of a small boat floating on the river. He added his calligraphy, which said, “The boat turns around when there is nobody crossing the river.” It was full of imagination.

MY GRANDFATHER

MY FATHER

There was a famous opera writer, “Thirteen gent of southern sea” (南海十三郎), also called The Mad Phoenix, who once went crazy and became a beggar. He came to our shop and requested brushes and paper. He would draw a painting in exchange for a bowl of rice. He used a big and a small brush to paint, holding both in the same palm. He changed the brushes in the same hand to draw. These techniques were so interesting that I started to copy him.

THE MAD PHOENIX

I loved to put martial arts stories into drawing form at an early age. I once put the story of Kwan Gung dragging his big broadsword to kill a general (關公拖刀斬蔡陽) into a drawing and submitted it as homework. This got a high mark and was stuck on the wall. But the artwork was not returned to me, and one day I went to the office and found it on the teacher’s desk; the teacher loved it so much that he’d kept it. That incident started a habit for me, and later, when I learned martial arts, I would not only write notes but also make drawings. I also began dabbling in painting, calligraphy, and seal carving, and reading the classics and essays, to further my inner cultivation.

The start of my Bagua Zhang journey My first martial arts teacher was Dr. Chan Yuet Sun (or Chan Yik Sam), who taught me Yi Quan, Yang style Taiji Quan, and Liu He Ba Fa. Dr. Chan learned his Kung Fu from Master Liang Zi Pang and Lee Ying Ang. Master Liang Zi Pang is a very good and kind teacher. He never asked for fees from students because he had a high rank in a famous factory, and was therefore very well paid. He taught students, and the students of students, and their students. When I first learned from him, he said, “Today you are young and may not understand all I have taught and spoken, but remember it and write it down and one day you will understand.” Master Liang learned Eagle Claw from Chen Tze Ching (陳子正), Bagua Zhang from Master Jiang Xin Shan (蔣馨山), and Yi Quan from Yau Pang Xi (尤彭熙).

MASTER LIANG ZI PANG

MASTER LIANG ZI PANG TEACHING IN GUANGZHOU BEFORE 1950

MASTER LIANG ZI PANG TEACHING IN HONG KONG

Master Liang learned Bagua Zhang in Shanghai, under Master Jiang Xin Shan. His footwork is very flexible and he brought his Bagua Zhang experience into his Liu He Ba Fa and Taiji Quan.

MASTER JIANG XIN SHAN, WHO TAUGHT LIANG ZI PANG BAGUA ZHANG

YAU PANG XI, WHO TAUGHT LIANG ZI PANG YI QUAN

YAU PANG XI BEFORE GOING TO THE UNITED STATES

YAU PANG XI AND HIS WIFE IN THE UNITED STATES

Master Liang said he put aside all other martial arts practice when he learned from Yau. He had a very high regard for Yau and always said that if Yau just took a roll of newspaper and struck you, you would be thrown through the air. If you tried to grasp his dress, you would be thrown at the wall. Yau’s wife, Au Yang Min, helped to teach the group Push Hands. Master Lee Ying Ang himself was from Hebei and had studied Xing Yi with Bu Xue Kuan (布學寬) and learned Bagua Zhang from Chang Xi Kun (蔣錫堃). Dr. Chan was a Chinese Medicine practitioner. He was very hard working and this led to him being very tired; he would often fall asleep during work and when traveling. When I accompanied him to Master Liang’s place to study martial arts theory, we would take the cross-harbor bus. Dr. Chan could sleep when seated or when standing, and would wake up immediately when we arrived. Dr. Chan treated me like a son. His two sons were very young then, so often when he would go out he would take me along. He felt close to the mainland, and loved to watch mainland movies. One time he took me to Lai Dao cinema to watch Wu Song. He said the actor, Koi Jiao Tin, had the spirit and flavor of Yi Quan in his movements. However, once we got into the cinema and the movie had officially started, he fell asleep! When China tested its first nuclear bomb explosion, Dr. Chan was excited and took me to Kwok Tai cinema to watch a film of the tests. When it reached the “explosion,” I turned around and saw that Dr. Chan was, again, asleep. Whenever a new martial arts practitioner arrived, Dr. Chan would soon go to watch, investigate, and learn. When the WWF wrestlers Mario Milano and Mark Lewin came to do a demonstration, tickets were $100 each, very expensive at the time. But Dr. Chan still bought tickets and took me to watch the demonstration. He was very frugal, but generous to others. He bought me expensive tickets to see a Japanese sumo performance in Hong Kong. When Muhammad Ali’s fights were shown live on TV, he would take me to his mother’s house to watch them.

DOCTOR CHAN YUET SUN AND MASTER LIANG ZI PENG

Dr. Chan was very hard working when it came to training in martial arts. Day and night, he would do Zhan Zhuang and practice the routines. Every Sunday he would meet me and Lao Ng Jai at the Wan Chai Gap road. We would practice Pi Quan, Beng Quan, and Lia Shut Au Bu on Second Road up the mountain, take a rest and drink tea at the tea stall, and then go up the Third Road. As we walked, he would shout the Dragon Sound of Yi Quan. He was very good friends with Sin Man Ho, Lo Wai Keung, and Miss Ha Kim Ping. Dr. Chan loved to collect martial arts manuals; he himself also wrote down a lot of Yi Quan notes. Whenever he took photographs and collated them, he would also make a copy for me, hoping that I would preserve his materials well. He gave me some very useful advice: “When you hear Master Liang’s boxing theory, at the moment you may not understand, but you must write notes and later frequently reread and practice —this will lead to understanding!”

DOCTOR CHAN YUET SUN’S HANDWRITING

In Dr. Chan’s school, training would start with Ba Duan Jin, then Zhan Zhuang with three Zhaungs (Fu An, Tsan Po, and San Ti), and next Liu He Ba Fa, Yang Taiji Quan, prostration, Push Hands, and Emit of Power. The rest of the night would be spent on continuous repetitions of the Xing Yi Five Elements fists. After the session, we would go to the “Dai Pai Don” at Fleming Road for night congee.

Dr. Chan wanted his children to have an overseas education, so he closed his business and moved to Portland in the United States. He continued to practice medicine and teach martial arts, though his talents were not recognized and appreciated there. Not long afterwards, he had a stroke and eventually died.

DOCTOR CHAN YUET SUN’S CLINICS IN WAN CHAI AND CENTRAL, HONG KONG

MY FOUR TEACHERS: (FROM LEFT) DOCTOR CHAN YUET SUN, WONG LOI OF SOUTHERN MANTIS, NGAI WAH, AND CHU KAI MING, SOUTHERN MANTIS

Bagua Zhang and Xing Yi Mixed Form by Sun Dit Mr. Ngai Wah taught me Yang style Taiji Quan and Yi Quan stands. He learned from Li Bai, Sun Dit, Lee Ying Ang, and Master Liang Zi Peng. Master Liang’s method had a special characteristic: he would not accept any fees and there was no ranking in his school. He said that everyone had a proper job and it was not necessary to use martial arts to earn a living. If you were introduced to him, it didn’t matter whether you were a senior student or a younger student, you were welcome to study and learn. You did not address anyone as “teacher” or “sifu,” but said Dr. Chan, Master Liang, and so forth. Sun Dit learned Bagua Zhang and Xing Yi Mixed Form from Lee Ying Ang and taught Mr. Ngai Wah. Ngai said there was no need for secrecy, and immediately taught me Sun’s Bagua and Xing Yi Mixed Form. I practiced it diligently.

I met Sun Dit many years afterward at a Yi Quan dinner with Dr. Yu Yong Nian and Wang Yu Fong. He recognized me and insisted that I came to practice Yi Quan with him. He taught me his Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang, and Xing Yi. His style is very free and flexible.

SUN DIT AND CS TANG

SUN DIT

SUN DIT AND MASTER LEUNG

MR. NGAI WAH

SUN DIT, TAIJI MASTER CAI SONG FANG (蔡松芳), IAN FOK, CS TANG, AND MEMBERS OF THE YI QUAN ASSOCIATION AT MR. FOK’S OFFICE

MASTER LIANG ZI PENG’S DINNER PARTY WITH HIS STUDENTS, 1972

The Bagua Zhang of Lee Ying Ang

LEE YING ANG’S TEACHER, MASTER BU XUE KUAN

My Chu Gar Praying Mantis teacher Chu Kai Ming took me to Lee Ying Ang’s clinic and asked me to demonstrate some Chu Gar Tong Long for Mr. Lee. Mr. Lee felt this southern style had a good frame and explosive power, and he asked me to come back the next day so he could give me some lessons in Xing Yi and sword skills. I was, of course, very happy and willing, and these sessions continued for some time. Mr. Lee asked me to copy the Wu Dang sword and Xing Yi manual. Mr. Ngai Wah and I once visited Mr. Lee when he was working on the book of Liu He Ba Fa and his whole desk was covered by pictures of Wu Yi Hui (吳翼翬). He gave me a photo as a gift. I asked him about some ink writing by Master Wang Xiang Zhai and he made me a copy immediately. Mr. Lee published an English Bagua Zhang book and always practiced Bagua Zhang. Unfortunately, Mr. Lee passed away in Guatemala at a relatively young age.

LEE YING ANG’S XING YI QUAN

LEE YING ANG VISITING MARTIAL ARTISTS IN JAPAN, 1970

LEE YING ANG OPENLY DEMONSTRATING THE SECRET WU DANG SWORD IN HONG KONG, 1971

LEE YING ANG DEMONSTRATING THE APPLIED HAND TECHNIQUES OF BAGUA ZHANG

Hong Kong Gao style Bagua Zhang of Ho Ho Choy Many teachers were like us when they were young: curious and hungry for new and varied materials and learning many different styles before settling on one to teach and pass on formally. Noted examples include: Kan Tak Hoi, who knew Xing Yi, Bagua, and Taiji, and Wong Hong Fun, who, as well as knowing Seven Star Praying Mantis, also learned Ying Jow from Lo Kwang Yu and Choy Lee Fut from his elder brother. After Dr. Chan left Hong Kong, I learned three forms of Hung Gar, Wing Chun, old Hung Kuen, Choy Lee Fut, Dai Shing Pek Kwa, Lung Ying, and Bak Mei, etc., from teachers and friends. Later I learned formally from various teachers: from Chu Kai Ming I learned Chu Gar Tong Long; from Tse Man I learned Fong Gar Tong Long; from Yang Shou Chung I learned Yang style Taiji Quan; from Wong Yit I learned Yang and Fu family fists, Ching Wu forms, and Crane Flying stance. In 1966 I entered the school of Master Ho Ho Choy to study Gao style Bagua Zhang. Master Ho was a very low-profile and private person, and didn’t attend dinners and celebrations (except those of his good friend Wong Dong Choi). He did not enjoy self-promotion, so his skill was famous solely because of its effectiveness, and he had a lot of students. He had a quick temper that was directed towards those who did not grasp the key points and those who created trouble outside the class, and he was quick to kick them out. The first night I attended class he publicly asked one student to leave. When asked about the characteristics of his style of Bagua Zhang, he would answer that he taught Guang Hua Shan Bagua Zhang; it has 64 Palms with attack, evasion, and continuous movements. He taught one palm every evening, and taught the applications as he taught the palm. After finishing the whole 64-palms form, he would do “sparring” (Chu Shou:「出手」): he would explain the detailed

applications, one attack, one defense, and one linked counterattack set, and would act as a punching bag for his students to practice upon. This also involved the techniques for grappling and releases, of which he was most proud. He was exceptionally skilled in the use of Bagua weapons. Master Ho taught on the rooftop of his student Lam Bo’s furniture shop at Wan Chai, where the lighting came from surrounding buildings. The pole was the only weapon taught at night, because of fear of injury. I and three Kung Fu brothers, Lui, Chui, and Ng, invited Master Ho to teach weapons on Saturday afternoons, so he started to organize and teach Tao, Jian, pole, and spear. There were only the few of us at the Saturday afternoon class, so we had opportunities to discuss any topic. This is where I wrote most of my notes recording Master Ho’s background, learning, teaching, etc. I asked Master Ho what styles he learned, what he remembered, and what he could still teach. He said that he’d forgotten the Hung Kuen Dao. Gung Ji Fook Fu Kuen is the first form he learned, so he remembered that, but he decided against teaching Hung Kuen after an argument with Mok Gwai Lan. His Taiji Quan was from the Yang family, with a definite Taiji flavor. He also knew Xing Yi Quan and Wu Dang sword, which he learned from his training brothers in Tianjin. One Saturday he demonstrated the Xing Yi Five Elements fist for us. The following week I arrived early and invited him to teach me the essential points of Xing Yi. He was very willing to pass Xing Yi Quan on to me, so I came early every week and learned Xing Yi and then Bagua weapons. In my opinion, my teacher was most powerful in his middle age. When performing the Pre-Heaven Palms, he was as soft as if he had no bones; when moving in the Post-Heaven linked sets, he was like a dragon roaming the earth, rapid, strong, and vigorous. I always waited in anticipation of him performing. He also enjoyed the demonstrations, saying that the body method should involve movement like a dragon, hence “Dragon style Bagua Zhang.” Master Ho studied his art in Tianjin under Gao Yi Sheng. He originally learned for his own health, and, as he had a full-time job, did not consider teaching. When he left his teacher to return to the south, he practiced alone. Master Ho shared the following information with me: •

Master Gao had a secret manual that he kept under his pillow, which he showed to his students from time to time.

•

Master Ho himself relied on his memory of the moves, as they had not been written down.

•

Master Ho had learned most of the techniques (more than the other students), but he did not study the Gong Fa.

•

Master Ho had studied the Monkey and the Tiger animal forms; he watched but he did not like the forms.

•

Master Ho was only missing the Bagua cane for the weapon forms.

In Hong Kong, Master Ho met his fellow disciple Wu Meng Xia, who was very generous in sharing his teachings. Master Ho had the greatest respect for Master Wu.

MASTER HO HO CHOY PERFORMING THE BENG QUAN DRILL OF BAGUA ZHANG

STUDIO AT HENNESSY ROAD, WAN CHAI

SENIOR STUDENTS WITH MASTER HO HO CHOY, 1970

THE ROOFTOP ON WHICH MASTER HO HO CHOY TAUGHT

Taiwan Gao Bagua Zhang with Master Zhang Zhun Feng When I went to Taiwan I visited Master Zhang Zhun Feng. He asked me whether I practiced Xing Yi Quan. I said yes, that I had learned it from teachers and also that Master Ho had taught me. He was very happy and said his Xing Yi Quan came from Li Cun Yi. He gave me a book on Xin Yi, and commented that Xing Yi was very powerful and depended very much on Gong Li to achieve victory, but must have the true transmission. He taught me five Xing Yi Tiger Forms that are not very well known. Later his wife, Mistress Chu, showed me their Xing Yi Quan and Hau Tin Bagua Zhang. They gave me a manuscript of Bagua Zhang (周天術) on the poems of key principles of Hunyuan, the Wuzi Zhenjing, and Zhou Tian Shu, as well as a manual on Xing Yi Quan. He also taught me the Five Elements Steps and the Ten Heavenly Stems, Tian Gan. I recently contacted Wu Guo Zheng in Taipei, whose grandfather was a student in Shangtung. He shows the original style of Gao Yi Sheng and is very good and smooth. I also managed to get a hand-copied manuscript by Gao Feng Ming in Beijing, which I showed to Master Ho.

MASTER ZHANG ZHUN FENG AND CS TANG IN TAIWAN

I met Zhang’s students and followers later in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and I contacted students of the same lineage and different styles of Bagua Zhang masters.

BAGUA ZHANG PRACTITIONERS OF HONG KONG MEETING ZHANG YONG LIANG IN TAIPEI

MEETING WU GUO ZHENG IN TAIPEI, 2013

MEETING LUO DE XIU IN HONG KONG, 2002

MEETING DAN MILLER, TIM CARMEL, AND EDWARD HINES IN HONG KONG

MEETING HE JING HAN IN TAIPEI WITH YANG TAIJI MASTER MA WEI HUAN

American Gao Bagua Zhang In 1990 I phoned Dr. Fred Wu in the United States. He told me many stories of his teacher, who is the student of Wu Meng Xia. He taught Iron Palms to Bagua Zhang students.

DR. WU’S SINGLE PALM CHANGE POSTURE

DR. WU (RIGHT), MASTER WANG YIN LIN OF TAIWAN, AND ERIC POLING

MASTER CHU GUI TING

Master Yu Yi Yin and KC Wong

Master KC Wong is a famous Hung Gar master who practiced under Lim Zu. He and his brother practiced Gao style Bagua Zhang from Ho Ho Choy when they were young. We went to Master Ho’s house together to express our respect and thanks for his teaching. A student of Gao Yi Sheng’s, Yu Yi Yin, lived in Taiwan and visited the United States. He taught KC Wong the circle palm and series of straight-line palms.

MASTER CHAN YIT YAN AND MASTER LIANG ZI PENG

ZHANG SIU DONG

YIN TIEN XIONG

JIANG RONG QIAO

OTHER BAGUA ZHANG STYLES Gao style Bagua Zhang in Tianjin I like Gao style Bagua Zhang because it includes circle palms, straight-line palms, basic exercises, and two-men drills. It also has the basic requirements of four weapons. I was quite satisfied with Ho Ho Choy’s teaching in Hong Kong, but when I met Tom Camway, who practiced Taiwan style, I discovered the differences between Gao styles. So I visited Tianjin and met Wu Meng Xia’s and Liu Feng Cai’s students. Then I went back to Taiwan to visit Zhang Jun Feng’s and Wu Jing Shan’s students. Wu was the earliest student of Gao Yi Sheng’s in Shangtung, and his grandson, Master Wu Kwok Ching, teaches this style. I also discovered that most Gao students have their own secret manuscripts. Students vary in how much they concentrate on power or technique. A good practitioner requires both.

WANG JIN XING (SECOND FROM RIGHT) IN TIANJIN

MASTER HO HO CHOY, CS TANG, MASTER LIU FROM TIANJIN, AND MASTER HO’S WIFE

Zhang Siu Dong style Bagua Zhang Grandmaster Wu Shi Ying (吳世英) taught internal martial arts in Hong Kong and came from mainland China. He taught different forms from famous masters, like Chen style Taiji Quan, named Taiji Red Fist. He created a new form called Taiji Nei Gong Quan, which combined Chen, Wang, Yang, and Wu styles. He taught Lung Men Qigong and Heibei Xing Yi Quan. He learned Yang style Taiji Quan from Yang Shao Hau and Yang Cheng Fu. He also taught Bagua Zhang, and claimed he learned from Master Zhang Siu Dong. However, his movement and syllabus name list were the same as those in Jiang Rong Qiao’s book. He had a big group of private students.

GRANDMASTER WU SHI YING

MR. HANS-KURT SCHAFER (徐濠功), A GERMAN WHO LEARNED FROM SAR GUO ZHANG’S SON, TAUGHT BAGUA ZHANG IN KOWLOON PARK, AND HAS NOW MOVED TO TAIWAN

Fu style Bagua Zhang in Guangzhou

MASTER FU ZHEN SONG AND HIS FAMOUS BAGUA SABER

When I was young, there were only two styles of Bagua Zhang being taught in Hong Kong. One was Ho Ho Choy’s Gao style Bagua Zhang; the other was Sun Bao Gang’s (孫寶剛) Fu style Bagua Zhang. Master Sun taught in the Ching Wu Association; I was interested in this style but had not had a chance to try it.

SUN BAO GANG’S SINGLE PALM CHANGE

When I heard that Fu Zhen Song’s eldest grandson was in Hong Kong, I contacted him and learned from him.

Master Fu Tie Long (傅鐵⿓)

FU TIE LONG

FU TIE LONG (LEFT) AND HIS BROTHER FU MAN LONG (RIGHT)

Fu Tie Long was taught by his grandfather and practiced with his father, Fu Yong Hui. The main form is the famous Dragon Form Bagua Zhang. There are so many hand forms and weapon forms in Fu style that it seems you can never finish them. There is Yang Bagua, Yin Bagua, Bagua orthodox, Dragon Form, Tiger Fist, Leopard Fist, linking kicks, and then other styles, like Yang Taiji, Sun Taiji, three levels of Fu Taiji, Liang Yi Palm, Si Xiang Palm, etc. I practiced form by form and did not feel any power from this style. I was quite disappointed because there were no drill exercises or power building exercises. This was until I met my master of Fu, Master Zhai Yung Ji (翟榮基), in Guangzhou.

Master Zhai Yung Ji

ZHAI YUNG JI IN GUANGZHOU, 2001

Zhai Yung Ji is an old man, slim and quiet. He was the last student of Fu Zhen Song. When I humbly asked him to show me the Dragon style Bagua Zhang, he said no. I thought he was trying to keep it a secret, but I asked again and he said that he was too old: his body did not have the power he needed. He saw I was puzzled and showed me half of the form. It was autumn, leaves were on the ground, and he

started to walk the circle. The leaves followed his footwork and spin! Every penetrating palm and striking palm used the power of his whole body. This was the real Fu style. He was willing to teach people who were really interested and would practice hard. He said people no longer practiced hard because they did not like martial arts. He also taught me some exercises that Fu Zhen Song had taught that were seldom practiced. I realized that, to practice Chinese arts, you must learn from the top man—from a close inherited lineage. A student of a student may have lost and added things, or have learned from video. You will end up walking in the wrong direction—far from your intended destination. There were many students who learned from Fu Zhen Song. Yang Taiji Quan Master Liang Jing Yu (梁勁予) learned Fu style Bagua Zhang in Guangzhou. He used to demonstrate Dragon Form Bagua Zhang at his annual dinner. A Shaolin Master, Cheng Xiang (鄭祥), also practiced under Fu. An existing student of Fu, Tao Yu (陶羽), lives in Hong Kong.

TAO YU AT HIS 98TH BIRTHDAY PARTY, 2018

Fu Zhen Song’s son, Fu Yong Hui, also taught many students, including Mai Bao Chan (麥寶嬋), the mother of Donny Yan. The first person to come to Hong Kong to teach was Guo Yun Ping (郭運平), who also teaches Chinese wrestling and Guangzhou Wing Chun.

MASTER FU ZHEN SONG

MASTER FU YONG HUI

FU YONG HUI DEMONSTRATING BAGUA ZHANG

FU YONG HUI AND MAI BAO CHAN IN GUANGZHOU PRACTICING WU DANG SWORD

Nowadays, Fu’s family members still teach in Guangzhou. They include Fu Mei Lan, Fu Mei Qin, and Fu Man Long. Fu style Bagua Zhang is still widely practiced in Hong Kong.

YANG XIN STUDIO GROUP MEETING FU’S FAMILY IN GUANGZHOU, 2013

FU YONG HUI’S TOP STUDENT GUO YUN PING (CENTER) AND MASTER LI YUE KWONG OF YANG TAIJI QUAN (RIGHT)

GUO YUN PING AND FU’S SISTERS IN HONG KONG, 2018

MASTER LIU KWOK CHUEN TAUGHT FU STYLE

MASTER LEE HOU CHUEN TAUGHT FU STYLE IN ITALY

Lim Zhao Zhen

LIM ZHAO ZHEN

Lim Zhao Zhen, a student of Fu Zhen Zong, came to Hong Kong and then moved to the United States. He published many videos and books of Fu style martial arts. He gave me manuscripts, notes, books, and videos of Fu style, which gave me a deep understanding of that family’s martial arts.

Peng Zhao Kuang of Si style Bagua Zhang

PENG ZHAO KUANG, 1950

PENG ZHAO KUANG, 1980

PENG ZHAO KUANG’S HOBBIES

Peng Zhao Kuang (彭昭曠) arrived in Hong Kong in the 1950s. He practiced Si style Bagua Zhang from a monk called Fuk Yuen Monk (福緣和尚) and traveled to China’s mountains. He wrote articles about Bagua Zhang in an old Hong Kong martial arts magazine called Wu Xia Novels Emperor, which attracted many people who practiced internal martial arts. At the funeral of Wu Dang sword master Guo Qi Fung (郭岐鳳), Peng met Ho Ho Choy. He invited Ho to write about his style of Bagua Zhang for the magazine; the magazine’s owner, Xu Kai Ru (許凱如), took photos, Peng wrote the text, and Ho demonstrated. This was the first time that Ho published information about his Gao style Bagua Zhang, and it attracted many students. Peng concentrated on his Chinese painting and stopped teaching martial arts. He became a very famous painter in Hong Kong, and used the name Pang Xi Ming (彭襲明) for his painting. In old age, his leg was not good and he seldom walked. He wrote the famous The Essence of Eight Palms (八掌綱 要), a long series of publications.

GRANDMASTER SHI JI DONG (史繼棟)

PENG’S TEACHER, YANG RONG BEN (楊榮本)

PENG’S CLASSMATE, DI ZHAO LONG (狄兆龍)

Sun style (孫式) Bagua Zhang Another master, Wu Bo Xiang (吳寶祥), the direct student of Sun Lu Tang, came to Hong Kong during the 1960s and taught Sun style Bagua Zhang and Taiji in Hong Kong. However, he moved away from Hong Kong, and we lost a good teacher.

SUN LU TANG, 1929

SUN LU TANG, 1929

WU BO XIANG IN HONG KONG, 1965

SUN JIANG YUEN IN HONG KONG, 2009

MR. HUI (許凱如), THE EDITOR OF A MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE, WU BO XIANG (吳寶祥), AND MANTIS MASTER HUANG HAN FANG (黃漢 勛)

I have practiced Sun style Bagua Zhang and Seven Style Pole taught by Mr. Guan Shi Xun (關世勳), who learned from his teacher, Liang Jing Yu (梁勁予), who is a student of Chen Mui Ming (陳微明). Mr. Guan was the Taiji Quan teacher of previous Hong Kong Chief Executive Dong Jian Wah. He taught Taiji Quan in Victoria Park and at the Dharmasthiti College of Cultural Studies until he passed away.

MR. GUAN’S TAIJI CEREMONY (FOURTH FROM LEFT OF THOSE SEATED: CS TANG; FIFTH FROM LEFT: CAO SHU WEI (曹樹偉); SIXTH FROM LEFT: MR. GUAN SHI XUN (關世勳))

MR. GUAN SHI XUN AND CS TANG, 2009

MASTER LIANG JING YU PRACTICING BAGUA ZHANG WITH HIS TEACHER CHEN MUI MING

Geng style (耿式) Bagua Zhang I have also practiced Geng De Hai (耿德海) style Bagua Zhang. Its style came from Nanking Guang Zhu Guan, China. Geng De Hai is a famous Grandmaster of Dai Sing Pei Gua style, which combines Northern Pei Gua with Monkey style Kung Fu. Master Geng is also famous for the Five Tigers. He came to Hong Kong and taught his style, and also taught internal martial arts like Taiji Quan, Xing Yi Quan, and Bagua Zhang.

MASTER GENG DE HAI

MASTER GENG DE HAI (BACK LEFT) WITH TAIJI AND SHAOLIN MASTERS FROM SHANGDAO, 1954, HONG KONG

SHAO HAN SHENG (BRUCE LEE’S TEACHER) OPENING A MARTIAL ARTS SCHOOL (FRONT: DENG ZHI GANG, YE YU TING, AND GENG DE HAI; BACK: MASTER SIN MAN HO AND SHAO HAN SHENG)

FRONT: YIP YU TING (葉雨亭) AND GENG DE HAI; BACK: WU DAI CHAI (吳大揆)

GENG DE HAI’S STUDENT, MR. POON SI WUN, TEACHING BAGUA ZHANG

LEE FEI PUI TEACHING GENG DE HAI’S SYSTEM IN HONG KONG

Gong style Bagua Zhang I met Master Wang Han Zhi at Xian calligraphy conference in 1986. He also came to Hong Kong, and we met again in Singapore in 1991. We had a great discussion about his Bagua Zhang. His smooth movement and quick attacking gave me many hints and widened my view on Yin and Gong style Bagua Zhang.

MASTER WANG HAN ZHI (THIRD FROM RIGHT)

WANG HAN ZHI (THIRD FROM RIGHT) IN XIAN, 1986; WANG HAN ZHI OPENING A CALLIGRAPHY SHOP IN SINGAPORE, 1991

Hung Gwun’s (孔軍) Anti-Eight Palms (反⼋卦) It was widely rumored that there was a form called Anti-Eight Palms that counterattacked the original Eight Big Palms. Hung Gwun showed me the old Xing Yi, a manual which explained the practice of Anti-Eight Palms and 12 animals Dui Da. It did exist, but was difficult to pass on. We practiced these in Hong Kong and Shang Tung, and they enhanced my art.

HUNG GWUN (FOURTH FROM LEFT) AT A CONFERENCE IN HONG KONG

Iv Zi Jiang’s Bagua Zhang (呂紫劍)

I met Master Iv Zi Jiang in Hong Kong in 2001. We had a long talk about his adventures and his style of Bagua Zhang, which mainly comes from the Ching style. He also practiced different weapon forms.

MASTER IV ZI JIANG

The richness of Liu Jing Ru’s treasures—Cheng and Yin style Bagua Zhang in Beijing Bagua Zhang in northern China developed into Beijing Bagua and Tianjin Bagua. I had heard of the famous Cheng style Bagua Zhang of Liu Jing Ru in Beijing. The Hong Kong Wushu Union held an exhibition and invited many masters from China to perform. I performed in the same event as Liu Jing Ru and had the opportunity to go to Beijing to study his competition Bagua Zhang and Cheng style Bagua Zhang. I later realized that his Xing Yi Quan knowledge was very deep, especially his knowledge of Shanxi Xing Yi Quan’s 12 animals, so I pursued it with him further. I learned that he was skilled in Six Harmonies Praying Mantis, so I sought to learn it from him. Master Liu is a brilliant teacher with very broad knowledge of the martial arts. He expresses theory clearly and highlights the important points. His hands-on teaching allowed me to understand and absorb the information. His analysis of the Xing Yi knowledge is thorough, for example how to see the Five Elements fists in the Xing Yi 12 animals, how to adapt based on circumstances, and how to understand the essential points, intent, and applications of the 12 animals. He has strong Gung Li knowledge: when he demonstrated Snake Form and advanced, he was able to knock the opponent airborne and flip. Master Liu’s Bagua Zhang came from several good teachers: he practiced Cheng style from Luo Xing Wu, a lineage of Li Wen Biao (李文彪) from the founder of Cheng style Bagua Zhang, Cheng Ting Hua, and his son, Cheng Yau Sin. He practiced Yin Fu style from Master He Zhong Qi (何忠祺). He also learned 36 series of Fan Sun Zhang from Master Zhang Yue Lin and Wu Biao Ji of Gao style Bagua Zhang. In Beijing, I visited Chu Bo Zhen (朱寶珍) who practiced eight styles of Bagua Zhang and also had deep knowledge of Kung Fu.

MASTER LIU JING RU AND CS TANG, BEIJING

MASTER LIU JING RU’S BAGUA ZHANG POSTURE AT NANNING (南寧) WHEN PARTICIPATING IN A COMPETITION AT A YOUNG AGE

MASTER LIU JING RU’S SINGLE PALM CHANGE POSTURE

MASTER LIU JING RU TEACHING IN HONG KONG

MASTER LIU TEACHING A SEMINAR TO YANG XIN GROUP AT SHEUNG WAN SPORTS CENTER (FROM LEFT: JEFF, SAMUEL, CS TANG, HO PUI LAM, MASTER LIU JING RU, CS LUK, HO HIN KUI)

DRAGON STRETCHES ITS CLAWS, THE BOOK CO-WRITTEN BY CS TANG AND MASTER LIU JING RU

The castle of Niu Sheng Xian (⽜勝先)

I had the chance to meet Li De Run (李德印) and Niu Sheng Xian (牛勝先) at some Long Fei Association activities in Macau. Niu Sheng Xian’s deep knowledge and skill in martial arts has inspired me on my own path. He said his master, Li Tianji, had one day said he would teach him top-level Kung Fu, the Bagua Zhang. Li selected 11 students and taught them Bagua walking and Single Palm Change. Li asked them to practice daily and come back to him after a year. When the year was up, Li tested their practice, and said that only Niu Sheng Xian had passed. He could see that Niu had really worked hard and practiced Bagua Zhang continually. Niu’s Bagua Zhang is very serious, and involves walking very slowly, using full power and twisting as much as possible for the changing movements. When turning over, a quick and explosive force is needed and before stopping entirely. He requires the body to be very straight with careful movements. Regarding Xing Yi Quan, he said: •

the Santi Shi is a strong-framed castle

•

the Beng Quan rear hand should feel like ten thousand men cannot hold you back

•

one should stamp the front foot and should not stamp the rear foot

•

balance and steadiness come first

•

there is no need to learn many fists

•

single techniques need to be repeated and practiced.

Two words—hard work—encompass it all. Listening to his words is more beneficial than ten years of study! Li said: “Ten years as if one day, when the work has been done the achievement will be fulfilled.”

MASTER NIU SHENG XIAN AND CS TANG AT MACAU

Tianjin Gao Bagua Zhang At Tianjin I met Liu Shu Hang and his group, whose practice is similar to Ho’s system. I had the good fortune to learn the Gao style moon knife (Yuanyang Yue) (鴛鴦鉞) and the Chest Height Crutch (齊心 枴). At that time, I believed that I had learned the complete system of Gao Bagua Zhang. On one cold winter’s day, I came to Tianjin to meet my Kung Fu brother, Wang Jun Xing, with whom I had been in touch for a long time. He, along with a group of disciples, performed a true

transmission of Bagua Zhang and I was shocked. The power and ferocity was like the thunder and lightning arriving before you could cover your ears. I came to truly appreciate the Twisting Rope Jin, the Scissors posture, and the Rocking and Embracing throw, and I saw the secret ten exercises, Tian Gan, that were not taught outside of our school, all leaving me in a daze. The true Bagua Zhang that I had been searching for, which had been as far away as the horizon, was now in front of my eyes. The next year, along with Tsui Kwok Leung, Lei Yu Lam invited Wang to come to Hong Kong to teach.

SITTING FROM LEFT: ALLEN LUI, WANG JUN XING, CS TANG; STANDING AT BACK: WANG’S STUDENTS IN TIANJIN

SITTING FROM LEFT: WANG JUN XING, CS TANG; STANDING AT BACK: WANG’S STUDENTS

SITTING FROM LEFT: WANG JUN XING AND HIS WIFE; STANDING AT BACK FROM LEFT: CS TANG, YANG XIN WAH, TSUI KWOK LIANG, ALLEN LUI IN HONG KONG

The name Bao Zhen Bagua Zhang was coined by Wu Meng Xia, and was only passed on to “closeddoor disciples,” who were only allowed to practice indoors and were forbidden to demonstrate in the park. The demonstrator was only allowed to show the first four palms, the Piercing Linking Palm, but he had never even heard of the 12 animals from outsiders before. Dong Hai Chuan’s manual was never allowed to be shown to outsiders. When Master Wu escaped during the war, the manual was tied to his waist so he would not lose it. The manual contained the key principles of offense, and was a trusted legacy of our order, so it was of the greatest importance.

WANG JUN XING PRACTICING SINGLE PALM CHANGE IN THE PARK IN TIANJIN

The manual was called The Golden Box of Oral Principles, because it was wrapped in a yellow silk cloth (used by the previous emperor). It was the true transmission of the founder Dong Hai Chuan. It contained 108 principles, and was also called Zhou Tian Shu (Method of Universe) (周天術), which was the original name of Bagua Zhang. The words were considered to be as precious as pearls, and the content was different to that in other boxing manuals. Brother Wang Jun Xing believed that as we lived in more civilized times, we should no longer be so conservative, so he put together a section on the forms and techniques of the Pre- and Post-Heaven sets

and published it so these secret principles could benefit all. Many Gao practitioners were unhappy about this disclosure. However, those not trained in the closed-door system would not understand the content and the meaning of the poems. We hope that one day we can share the whole book so Bagua Zhang practitioners can benefit from it. Bao Zhen Bagua Zhang is a complete system. According to Zhou Tian Shu, one began with the Five Elements Step, training in a straight line with the rushing, embracing, and treading steps, followed by training the twisting body Wuji circle walking and training the Pre-Heaven four forms and four bodies —kneading the body to be vigorous and nimble, with waist and arms twisted to their maximum. Once one has trained the body, one learns to attack using the Post-Heaven 64 Palms. One bravely enters without covering or blocking, and achieves a preternatural demeanor and explosiveness of movement. This is supplemented by the ten individual exercises of the Tian Gan or Heavenly Stems, which increase power, the four roads of standing postures to nurture the Qi and compose the heart, and the 12 animal forms to increase the number of variations. There is a saying: “Once one has mastered the eight large palms, one can concentrate only on the Five Dragons Palm. After one has mastered the 64 Palms, it is enough that one only trains Tian Gan.”

MY TRAINING ADVENTURES

AT WU DANG MOUNTAIN

AT CHEN’S VILLAGE AND SHAOLIN TEMPLE

MY TEACHING Students become teachers I have practiced many Chinese martial arts styles from good heritage. I started teaching Bagua Zhang in the late 1970s, when I taught students from Hong Kong and foreign students in Victoria Park. Students came to me to learn proper Yang style and Chen style Taiji, and many came to me for my deeper knowledge of Bagua Zhang.

Kasao in Tokyo, Japan Kyoji Kasao (竺尾恭二), also called Yoryu Kasao, is a famous Japanese martial artist who has practiced Xing Yi, Bagua, and Ching Woo Shaolin in Taiwan and Hong Kong. He came to Hong Kong in 1970 and learned Gao style Bagua Zhang from me. He has published many martial arts books in Japan.

MEETING KYOJI KASAO IN TOKYO, 2018

PRACTICING BAGUA ZHANG IN VICTORIA PARK WITH KYOJI KASAO, 1980

Sebastian González of Barcelona I moved to Wan Chai in 2006 and Sebastian González of Barcelona came to Hong Kong to learn my system of Kung Fu. He is a very clever and hardworking student, with a deep passion for Chinese martial arts. He learned many styles from me and passed these to his students, who are all respectful of the culture. Sebastian has a large studio called Centre Jing and invites me to Barcelona every year to teach his students. He has also helped me to publish many martial arts books. I have accepted several disciples: Samuel Cheng, Bernard Kwan, and Osmond Lam have been practicing with me for over ten years and now teach as well.

1

Tang, CS (2013) The Mysterious Power of Xingyi Quan. London: Singing Dragon, pp.13–14.

CHAPTER 2

THE ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF BAGUA ZHANG

FOUNDER OF BAGUA ZHANG, DONG HAI CHUAN

When people study internal martial arts, they generally start with Yang Taiji Quan, and then move on to Chen Taiji Quan. If they are eager to fight, they will practice Xing Yi Quan. Eventually, when they want

to train in an advanced system, they start Bagua Zhang. To most people, Bagua Zhang is full of mysteries and difficult theories linking with I-Ching. Turning and twisting will confuse most people. Bagua Zhang is seen as a high-level internal martial arts. Teachers will teach very slowly during the foundation and practice the Single Palm Change for one year before starting other palms. Teachers are very careful about accepting students, keep the requirements secret, and teach students alone. This private teaching makes Bagua Zhang more mysterious; it is not easy to find a good teacher. Bagua Zhang is famous for its powerful application. Gao style Bagua Zhang is known for its distinctive performing style, power built up over exercises, unpredictable palm changes, fully stretched limbs, and graceful movement of the body parts. It is also well known for its straight-line 64 Palms that have very clear application techniques.

CREATION OF THE NAME: THE EIGHT TRIGRAMS The “Eight Trigrams,” which first appeared in the I-Ching, are each composed of three horizontal lines that are either whole or broken in the middle and imposed one upon another, as symbols of the eight natural phenomena: heaven, earth, thunder, wind, rivers, fire, mountains, and lakes. They are often placed around a circle halved by an S-shaped line with a dot inside the two curves, as a symbol of “Taiji” or the universe. The whole picture embodies the main ideas of Taoist philosophy, which regards heaven and earth as the chief sources of all natural and social phenomena.

THE EIGHT TRIGRAMS

THE FOUNDATION THINKING OF BAGUA ZHANG IS ROOTED IN PHILOSOPHY Bagua Zhang is purportedly derived from the metaphysical diagrams generated from the I-Ching. The oldest parts date from 800 BC, and the more recent parts 200 AD. The I-Ching was originally a collection of linear signs, perhaps best seen as code. Below are typical examples arranged in a hexagram set.

HEXAGRAM 12

The broken Yin lines represented “no,” and the unbroken Yang lines “yes.” This served as a code complex enough to be used as oracle “cards,” which portrayed a vision of the Taoist Way, where one is aware and becomes in harmony with the process of change. The key codes of Yang lines balanced with Yin lines were arranged in trigrams. These trigrams were arranged into the Bagua or eight correspondences that sought to describe the basis of change developing from one, to two, to three, to all things. The Taoist vision schematically demonstrated a multiplicity of Yin–Yang possibilities and interrelations through the Bagua and other diagrams. Such diagrams served to classically illustrate an interwoven selection of key ideas relevant to Taoist visions of change and internal martial arts.

PRE-HEAVEN AND POST-HEAVEN DIAGRAMS

Two of the most well-known diagrams describe the Taiji. The principles of Taiji Quan and the Eight Correspondences are frequently used as a root expression of the three sister arts. The other Taiji concentrated on the circle of Yang and Yin, with a white hole in the black portion of Yin and a black hole in the other portion of white Yang. Martial artists use the eight diagrams as eight directions and four hand and four body techniques. Bagua Zhang employs all the philosophies from I-Ching and emphasizes how the element changes according to the different circumstances and environment.

THE CHANGES OF BAGUA ZHANG Three Old Palms 1.

Single Palm Change

2.

Double Palm Change

3.

Follow Body Palm

The most basic change form is the Single Palm Change from which the Double Palm Change and all evolving changes can be considered to be formed. In keeping with Taoist principles, Yin and Yang movements constantly change and naturally direct every action. The third palm, the Follow Body Palm, together with the first two palms, are called Three Old Palms. These various formal sets of circling movements provide the basis for the combative antics classically related to the movements of the snake, lion, dragon, monkey, hawk, and bear. These developed into the 64 forms practiced in a straight line.

THE HISTORY OF DONG HAI CHUAN1 Developed by Dong Hai Chuan (董海川) in the late Qing Dynasty (1851–1862), the Bagua Zhang tradition has been maintained by his many disciples. Chief among these disciples were Yin Fu (尹福) and Cheng Ting Hua (程廷華). Although rooted in the same principles and methods, Bagua Zhang, under these two disciples, gradually developed into two different styles and schools, now known as the Yin style and Cheng style respectively. Bagua Zhang began to be widely known when Dong Hai Chuan started to teach it in Beijing. Before coming to Beijing, Dong had learned a lot of martial arts in his home village in the city of Wenang. In order to widen his experience, he decided to travel around. One day, while walking in the mountains, he came upon two Taoist monks, Ying Man Tian (應文天) and Song Yi Ren (宋益仁), practicing martial arts. He asked if he could learn, and the Taoist monks took him to their master, Bi Cheng Xia (畢澄霞). Dong stayed on and practiced under Bi for many years.

DRAWING OF DONG MEETING TWO TAOISTS IN THE MOUNTAINS

While Dong was learning the martial art, his master would frequently encourage him to become a Taoist monk. Dong always declined the invitation. When he had at last finished with his learning and was about to leave the mountain, his master said to him, “You may not become a monk now, but one day when a difficult situation arises, you will then be a monk.” At that time Dong did not understand the significance of these words. At a much later time, when he got into some serious trouble, and to “purify himself”—to avoid paying the penalty for his guilt—he had to renounce his family and had himself castrated to be a eunuch. As his master foresaw, he had now “become a monk.” Bi had a daughter, who visited Dong in the palace one night. Dong tried to go back to the mountain but could not find it.

DONG HAI CHUAN JUMPING TOWARDS THE PRINCE TO PRESENT THE TEA

Dong was then employed to work in the palace of a Manchu prince, Su Wang. At first he was assigned to do ordinary housework. One day, Su Wang sought to employ a martial arts master. A famous master, Sha Hui Hui, offered himself and his wife for the position. The prince tested Sha’s skills and was pleased enough to appoint him. A day was chosen for Sha to demonstrate his skills to Su’s friends. On that day Sha Hui Hui performed his skills in the courtyard with a crowd gathered there to watch. The crowd so blocked the walkways to the courtyard that when the prince ordered to have tea brought in to serve the guests none of the servants could get through the crowd into the courtyard. With little ado, Dong Hai Chuan leapt over the roof into the courtyard with the tea in his hands and began to serve the prince and the guests.

DRAWING OF DONG SHOWING HIS SKILL BY PRESENTING THE TEA DURING THE GATHERING OF PRINCES

The prince was amazed by Dong’s nimbleness and ordered him to show his martial art. Dong then proceeded to demonstrate, spinning left and whirling right, overturning up and down as if he were flying. His performance was unfathomable. The prince was astonished and asked what his school of martial art was called. Although Dong had studied with his teacher for many years, he had never cared to know its name, and he replied by coining a name spontaneously and answering, “Eight Trigrams Palm.” The prince then assigned him the chief post in the palace, but later Dong had to leave the palace when some people, envious of his success, brought false accusations against him. From there, he was welcomed into the homes of the Imperial Family.

Dong’s further ventures Dong taught everyone but did not teach everything to anybody. One day a certain couple was sitting in a room on the upper floor of the house. Suddenly they heard a child laughing on the other side of the roof. They opened the window and saw Dong carrying a child on his back. He had just leapt up onto the roof with the child. Dong asked the child, “Shall I help you ride with the clouds to make you happy?” This made the child laugh even more. The next day this couple pleaded with Dong to teach them to “ride with the clouds,” but Dong refused. On another occasion, Dong was with a large number of young students discussing martial arts. Dong became annoyed with a group of birds singing on the rooftop. He leapt up onto the roof and grabbed three of them. Astounded, the students begged for instruction in the art of leaping. Laughing, Dong said, “Why do you want to learn this art? Are you planning to become thieves?” In the end none was instructed in this leaping routine. Another Dong story goes like this. Once, while collecting taxes for the overlord, he was surrounded by ten bandits heavily armed with sharp weapons. Agile as a whirlwind, he broke through them and fought and subdued them. The bandits knelt before him in awe and begged for pardon and instruction. Dong’s fame began to spread beyond the Great Walls. At one time, Dong’s talk enraged a Wushu teacher and he challenged Dong to a duel. Dong brought out a spear and asked that the teacher stab him with it. The man thrust the spear at Dong but Dong blocked it with his palm and evaded more thrusts by

stepping around. The Wushu teacher could not touch him. For the last trial, the teacher suddenly thrust his spear with great strength towards Dong. The spear penetrated three inches into the wall, but then he found that Dong had again evaded his thrust and was sitting on top of the wall. Dong laughed at him and said, “How strong you are! I should say that your martial art is just flamboyant and useless. Don’t you agree?” The Wushu teacher felt defeated and left without a word. In his old age, Dong Hai Chuan became the epitome of his art, an extraordinary man of incomparable ability. He could perform his palm movement changes with amazing speed. He was able to know and sense what was happening nearby, even if he was being blindfolded and had his ears plugged. While he was lying on his deathbed, some of his students attempted to adjust his clothes to comfort him. He leapt up suddenly and took a knife from the wall and put himself in a posture to fight. Then, seeing that it was no enemy but just his students, he said, “Did I send for anyone? You must wait.” Discarding the knife, he lay down in bed again. As he was lying on his bed, and knowing that he was close to death, he practiced his changing palm forms. His power was so strong that his sleeves were torn into pieces. His last instructions to his students were to uphold the honor of Bagua Zhang, to publicize it always, to support the school, and to show “worn shirtsleeves,” i.e. to be diligent. Dong’s commitment to Bagua Zhang was sincere to his death. Notable students include Yin Fu, Cheng Ting Hua, Ma Wei Qi, Liu Feng Chun, and Shi Liu.

The discovery of Dong’s tomb and drawing of him We did not know what Dong looked like until December 8, 1980 when a newspaper published an image of him, and described the discovery and moving of his tomb. The newspaper claimed the image was a drawing of Dong by his students in the Imperial Court. We can see that Dong was a strong man, with long arms and big hands.

THE MING PAO NEWSPAPER ON DECEMBER 8, 1980 PUBLISHED THE FIRST IMAGE OF DONG HAI CHUAN

During the Cultural Revolution, people buried Dong’s gravestone and the tomb underground. Once China had an open-door policy, practitioners of Bagua Zhang in Beijing dug out his gravestone. In the tomb they found Dong’s hair and teeth. They moved these to a new graveyard called Wan On Public Cemetery. The gravestone is made of four pieces and each one provides important evidence about Dong’s history and students.

THE OLD TOMB OF DONG HAI CHUAN

MOVING THE TOMB, 1980

THE FOUR PIECES OF DONG HAI CHUAN’S GRAVESTONE

NOTE BY PROFESSOR KANG GEWU, DESCRIBING THE MOVING OF THE GRAVE

A COLOR PICTURE OF DONG FROM MASTER CHU BO ZHEN OF BEIJING

THE NEW TOMB OF DONG HAI CHUAN

THE BRANCHES OF BAGUA ZHANG The Bagua Zhang that was taught by Dong Hai Chuan’s disciples lasted over one hundred years, with many Bagua Zhang successors promoting it around the world. Bagua Zhang is popular, and Bagua Zhang students can be found everywhere. Dong Hai Chuan taught the art according to the capabilities of the individual, did not emphasize given techniques, and only required an adherence to the principle of Bagua Zhang, so it is not fixed and there are many different schools.

Five large and seven small schools Bagua Zhang has five large schools: Yin Fu school, Cheng Ting Hua school, Liang Zhen Fu school, Zhang Zhan Kui school, and Sun Lu Tang school. Bagua Zhang also has seven small schools: Ma Wei Qi school, Song Chang Rong school, Shi Ji Dong school, Liu Feng Chun school, Fan Zhi Yong school, Gao Yi Sheng school, and Fu Chen Sung school.

1 Yin Fu teaches the Yin style Bagua Zhang

MASTER YIN FU AND HIS STUDENT, GONG BAO TIAN

Yin Fu (尹福), also known as Di On (字德安) with the courtesy name Shou Peng (號壽鵬), was born in 1840 and died in 1909, aged 69. Yin Fu was born in Hebei Province. He left for Beijing to make a living when he was young. During his childhood he loved martial arts, learning the original Luo Han Quan (Arhat Fist) and Tan Tui. Later he came to study as a disciple under the personal instruction of Dong Hai Chuan and developed his own style. Yin was proud of his skill of Shaolin form and came to challenge Dong Hai Chuan. Dong sat on a chair; Yin rushed to Dong and kicked him. Dong moved to the side and punched with an Open Palm; Yin was hit and flew away, his face on the ground, his front teeth knocked out, and bleeding. He immediately knelt down and asked to be a disciple of Dong, willing to follow his instruction for his whole life. When Dong retired, he inherited a chief bodyguard in the Forbidden Palace, and the palace maids and eunuchs called him teacher. Many of the Imperial family learned Bagua Zhang from him, and he also taught the Guangxu Emperor. When the Eight-Nation Alliance attacked the palace in 1900, he was instructed to protect the king and help Empress Dowager Cixi to escape. Yin had extraordinary skill. He was fine-featured, tall, thin, and gentle, and was known as “Lean Yin.” Yin Fu had a lot of disciples in Beijing, mainly Yang Junfeng, Ma Gui, Ju Qingyuan, Li Yongqing, Ma Shiqing, Men Bao Zhen, Zhong Sheng, Jin Zeng Qi, Gong Bao Tian, his sons in law He Jinkui and Yin Cheng Zhang, and Yin Yuzhang. The style he taught was called “Yin style Bagua,” famous for its Ox Tongue Palm (牛舌掌), four fingers close together, thumb gently hooked inwards, and eight palms techniques for each section, for a total of 64 Palms. This style is low posture, short attack, and purely for attack, with sharp and fast movements. Yin style Bagua Zhang spread mainly in Beijing.

2 Cheng Ting Hua teaches Cheng style Bagua Zhang

CHENG TING HUA (THIRD FROM LEFT) AND HIS SON (FAR RIGHT)

Cheng Ting Hua (程廷華), courtesy name Ying Fang, was born in 1848, and died in 1900, aged 52. Cheng Ting Hua was from the Cheng Village in Shen County in Hebei, and left to apprentice himself as a child in Beijing. He lived by the Chongwen Gate outside the flower market next to the Fire God Temple. Outside the Chongwen Gate, he worked in an optical shop and he was called “Glasses Cheng.” Cheng learned Chinese wrestling in his childhood, and he had an excellent technique. He studied Dong Hai Chuan’s Bagua Zhang for many years, received the true transmission, and achieved a lot. In 1900, allied forces invaded Beijing, burning, looting, and committing many crimes. Cheng was furious and fought the foreign forces, killing many soldiers. No one dared approach him. On August 14 in Beijing, Cheng fought with and killed several German invaders in East Pearl Market before being shot dead by German soldiers. Of all Dong Hai Chuan’s disciples, Cheng had movements that were closest to Dong’s Bagua Zhang style. After Sun Lu Tang graduated from Xing Yi Master Guo Yunshen, it was recommended he study Bagua Zhang under Cheng. Those who studied Bagua Zhang under Cheng included: his sons Cheng You Long and Cheng You Xin, Liu Bin, Liu Zhenzong, Ji Feng Xiang, Wang Danlin, Zhang Yu Kui, Zhang Yongde, Guo Fengde, Cui Zhen Xi, Feng Jun Yi, Liwen Biao, Zhang Cheng Fa, Yang Ming Shan, Zhou Xiang, Li Hao Ting, Li Tie Zong, Chen Mao, Lee Han Zhang, Guan Ling Feng, Gao Yi Sheng, He Jinkui, Limeng Rui, Xin Jiang Shan, Guo Shou Shan, Cheng Yousheng, and Hu Fengyang. Cheng taught the Dong Hai Chuan frame (full name Bagua Swimming Body Linking Palm), also known as Cheng style Bagua Zhang and Southern Wall Bagua. It features the full range of stances; not only static stances, but also Zhan Zhuang, the moving stances. The system has eight shapes, for each of the upper, middle, and lower basins, and heaven, earth, man form. Eight shapes imitate the lion, snake, bear, dragon, phoenix, chicken, kirin, and monkey. The typical palm shape is called the Talon of the Dragon Palm (龍爪掌): the tiger mouth stays rounded, the thumb points out, and the four fingers grasp a ball with the index finger on top. The step emphasizes bent knees and a Mud Walking step; when turning, it uses the Bai Kau step: the limbs are extended and the body is firm. A palm-style operation emphasizes curved, rounded movements and cork-screw twisting, with the eight shapes throughout. The movements are hard but supported by softness. When the sequence ends it returns to the beginning; the palms are thrusting and piercing. When the opponent comes close and attacks, he passes the opponent, turns around his back, and attacks.

There are many weapon sets in Cheng Bagua. Cheng’s more influential successors included Sun Lu Tang, Liu Bin, Yang Ming Shan, Liwen Biao, Chengyou Long, Zhang Yongde, Ji Feng Xiang, Liu Zhenzong, Wang Dan Lin, Feng Jun Yi, Yukui, and Guo Fengde.

3 Shi Kai Dong style Bagua Zhang

SHI KAI DONG

Shi Kai Dong (史繼東), also called Shi Liu (史六), was born in 1836 and died in 1909 aged 73. He was born in Hebei Jixian Dong, a hamlet, and was a timber merchant who was very good at fighting, especially kicks. He was the sixth child in his family, so they called him “Slippery Leg Shi Six” (神腿 史六). Shi’s leg was broken by Dong Hai Chuan’s Tiger’s Mouth Palm, so he admitted defeat and studied under Dong. He worked hard for many years, and later became a famous martial artist. His wife was Dong’s adopted daughter, and Dong lived with them when he was old. Shi opened a timber mill in the east side of Beijing, and the style was called the Beijing Dong Cheng style Bagua (東城區八卦), which, along with Cheng Ting Hua’s southern school Bagua, was famous across the capital. The main successors of the Shi style are Han Fushun, Yang Rong (the monk Fu Yuan) and Han Dong Fu. Han Dong Fu came from the same county as Shi and hailed from Peng Village to the south of the capital. He was also known as “Han Six”; a blacksmith, he was skilled at the Bagua saber, and was also known as “Single Saber Han.” He was illiterate, so it was difficult for him to read about the principles of boxing. He did not separate his boxing into sets nor give the techniques individual names, but only focused on what was of practical use. His style of Bagua Zhang comprised practical individual techniques, that could be linked or used individually and were very useful in a real fight; this was the essence of the Dong Cheng style.

4 Liang Zhen Po Bagua Zhang

LIANG ZHEN PO

Liang Zhen Po (梁振圃) was born in the north of Hebei in Ji Xian Hao mound village in 1863 and died in 1932, aged 69. He moved to Beijing when he was 16 to sell secondhand clothing, and people called him “Old Clothes Liang.” He learned Tan Tui during his childhood and started learning Bagua Zhang under Dong Hai Chuan in Beijing. Liang was forthright, intelligent, and eager to learn, and, as the youngest disciple, he was especially favored by his teacher. Many of the highest-level techniques and innovations of Dong’s twilight years were taught to Liang, and he gained the deepest understanding of the Seven Star Staff. In 1899 he caused a fight at Majiabao, killed six of the Golden Escort Agency’s men, and was thrown into jail. In 1900 during the Boxer Rebellion when the allied forces attacked Beijing, and the Qing government escaped into the countryside, Liang escaped with other convicts and hid in the countryside. He later opened the Desheng Armed Escort Agency, servicing the Beijing, Baoding, and Dezhou areas. When the agency closed, he taught martial arts for a living, working in Tianjin and Hebei at the various Guoshu Academies, and teaching colleges and high schools. He had many students, including: Guo Guming, Li Ziming, Tian Jin Feng, Li Tongtai, and Fu Zhenlun. Li Ziming was involved in many Bagua Zhang activities in Beijing and published books.

5 Zhang Zhan Kui Bagua Zhang as Xing Yi Bagua Zhang

ZHANG ZHAN KUI

Zhang Zhan Kui (張占魁), with the courtesy name Jiao Dong and also known as “Lightning Hands,” was born in Hebei Hejian County in 1858 and died in 1938, aged 80. Zhang Zhan Kui served as the leader of the Tianjin military camp martial arts class, the president of the first Tianjin Guoshu Academy, a Tianjin Huang Nian Association martial arts coach, martial honorary president of the Hejian Wushu Association, and a chief examiner. Zhang loved fighting from a young age. He studied Huaquan under a teacher from his village, and later became a disciple and studied Xing Yi Quan under the famous master Liu Qi Lan, where he studied hard for many years and had superb techniques. Once he became a master of Xing Yi, he was able to study Bagua Zhang under Dong Hai Chuan through his Kung Fu brother Li Cun Yi’s recommendation. He was taught most of his Bagua Zhang skills by Cheng Ting Hua. After mastering Xing Yi and Bagua Zhang, he was able to create a new branch of Xing Yi Bagua Zhang. This style is quite well known in the Beijing-Tianjin area, as he lived in Tianjin during his later years and taught a large number of disciples, the most famous of whom were Han Mu Xia, Han Jin Yong, Jiang Rong Qiao, Zhao Cao Xin, and Sha Guozheng, who is well known in China and abroad for his Xing Yi and Bagua Zhang. Han Mu Xia, the head disciple of Zhang Zhan Kui, was from Tianjin, and received the true transmission from him. In 1919 the pair went to Beijing, and Han Mu Xia became famous for his Bagua across the country. Jiang Rong Qiao, from Cangzian in Hebei, had learned the Mizong arts, studied under Zhang, and was very good at Xing Yi Bagua Zhang. In the 1920s he created the “Promote Martial Arts Advance Ethics Association” in Shanghai, and he later served in the Nanjing Central Guoshu Academy. Jiang Rong Qiao’s book on Bagua Zhang, with a print run of nearly a million copies, helped promote Bagua Zhang boxing skills, and his became the most well-known and widely practiced style.

THE TRUE FEATURES OF BAGUA ZHANG

DRAWING OF MASTER BI CHENG XIA

Bagua Zhang is a popular martial art in parts of northern China. Together, Bagua Zhang, Taiji Quan, and Xing Yi Quan are known as the “Three Styles of Nei Jia Quan.” Anyone who has some basic knowledge of martial arts will know that Bagua Zhang is well known for its fast body movement and unusual footwork. However, most people misunderstand these aspects of Bagua Zhang, thinking that Bagua Zhang is just “circle walking” from which they can develop the grid of footwork. In fact, Bagua Zhang is a complete system of martial arts training. The whole body should synchronize with every step and every move. If one part is out of place, the whole body is affected. The most obvious example of this is Bagua Zhang’s three bent-knee postures, technically known as Three Basins self-training and application (三盤體用法), which reveal that the human body has three important parts. Outsiders think these important parts are the upper, middle, and lower positions. However, these positions only signify the differences in the sudden rising and falling of the body, and application of the three positions divides the body, hand, and foot movements by horizontal, vertical, and diagonal. Within the three positions, the Five Elements are used as forms and Eight Trigrams as applications. There are also 24 important points that are correlated to train the whole body in sensitivity and to mobilize the Qi in reaching the four extremities. This demonstrates Bagua Zhang is not simply about learning footwork alone. The Swinging step and Hooking step make up the basic training method of Bagua Zhang. Circle walking is the training method of Pre-Heaven Palm (先天), and its main purpose is to train escape (「走卸」). But within the Post-Heaven (天) 64 Palms, every palm technique (掌訣) has its own distinctive footwork, created by the positioning and the gait of the legs and hand and foot movements. The agile footwork of Bagua Palm is mainly developed through training in the 64 Post-Heaven Palm applications. Bagua Zhang has 12 forms of training, which are the 12 forms of the duodecimal cycle or the Earthly Branches (地支). The student’s own build will indicate the most suitable training style for them. Bagua Zhang’s founding master Dong Hai Chuan began the tradition of teaching students according to their characteristics. He would observe their specific features and instruct them to train in an appropriate style. Thus, there were some students who specialized in a particular style and some who

trained in a number of styles but did not specialize in any. As a result, the students developed their own styles and, despite being trained by the same master, had different training methods. It is common to see the Dragon and Tiger styles, particularly Tiger style, since northerners tend to have a strong build and immense strength. It is easy to win by using 80 percent technique and 20 percent power of Tiger style. Earlier practitioners of Tiger style included Han Mu Xia (韓慕俠) and Zhou Yu Xiang (周玉祥); modern practitioners include Wu Meng Xia (吳孟俠), Zhang Zhun Feng (張 俊峰), and Robert Smith, the author of the English publication Bagua Zhang. Dragon style is harder to train in than Tiger style. Most students of this style were thin and small, and could not directly withstand and confront people of immense strength. They would have to train exceptionally hard in Kung Fu skills. In combat, they use side attack and avoid movements (偏鋒及卸 勢) to demonstrate the meaning of “small power can move thousand catty” (四兩撥千斤). Those who specialized in Dragon style include the author of Dragon Style Bagua Zhang (龍形八卦掌), Wang Bo Lien (黃柏年), and Gao Yi Sheng (高義盛), who taught in the Tianjin area. Of Gao Yi Sheng’s students, only Ho Ho Choy could represent the Dragon style, but some specialized in other styles, for instance Sun Lu Tang specialized in Monkey style.

The origins of Bagua Zhang Bagua Zhang is world-renowned for its agile footwork, and is especially popular around the areas of Beijing and Tianjin, where many students learned it. However, very few of these students understood its true theory and became masters, and many did not even know of Bagua Zhang’s real origins. The most important promoter of Bagua Zhang was certainly Grandmaster Dong Hai Chuan. Grandmaster Dong started learning martial arts when he was young. Later, he met a man in South Anhwei (皖南), who taught him Bagua Zhang. He then taught Bagua Zhang in Beijing where he had many students, becoming a Grandmaster of all time. Grandmaster Dong did not mention the origins of Bagua Zhang when he taught, so there was a dearth of information about this. It was only known that Grandmaster Dong told his student Si Ji Dong (史繼東): “In a snow flower mountain, there were two young Taoists who were students of the head Taoist.” There has been much speculation about what he was referring to, such as the Yue Hua Mountain or Snow Flower Mountain (瑜花, 雪花) in between Gangxi and Anhui, or a Taoist temple at Jiu Hua Shan (九華山). There was a rumor that Grandmaster Dong’s teacher had a name similar to Fang Tian Jue (方天覺), Dong Meng Lin (董夢麟), or an escapee, but none of these stories were true. So who were these two masters? And when Grandmaster Dong came down from the mountain, where did they go? Han Mu Xia, a student of Zhang Zhan Kui, once met and learned from Grandmaster Dong’s fellow Kung Fu brothers in south Anhwei. He even reached the very place where Grandmaster Dong had learned his skills and took photographs, which he published in newspapers so others could learn of Bagua Zhang’s true origins. A talented and industrious Tianjin student, Wu Meng Xia, learned all the external and internal martial arts and received in-depth instructions in Bagua Zhang from Han. He later became Gao Yi Sheng’s student in Tianjin. He realized that Han’s master, Ying Man Tian, and Gao’s master, Song Yi Ren, both had the same skills and must have learned their skills from the same person. This proved that they were the two masters mentioned by Grandmaster Dong. Thus, we can point to the two Taoist masters being followers of Bi Cheng Xia. Bi came from Nanhai of Guangdong Province. In his later years, he became a Taoist practitioner and lived at Guang Hua Mountain, Gangxi. He left a collection of poems and a manuscript with Gao.

When Dong Hai Chuan became a student, the two Taoists had already followed Master Bi for many years. When Grandmaster Dong was learning his skills, he was taught mainly by the two Taoists. Although Grandmaster Dong had studied the skills for some time, he did not receive the complete training and had to leave the mountain. He became a eunuch for the Ching royalty, and later was recognized by officials for his Kung Fu skills. He then taught in the capital, where he had many students. After studying with Bi Cheng Xia, Ying Man Tian lived in South Anhwei and taught Han Mu Xia. Under Han, only Wu Meng Xia could be said to have continued Han’s ambitions. Song Yi Ren came to Shandong Province and taught Gao Yi Sheng. Gao had learned Bagua Zhang from Grandmaster Dong’s students Song Shang Rong (宋長榮) and Cheng Ting Hua (程廷華) in the past. He also taught Bagua Zhang in the Shandong Province. One day an old Taoist priest saw Gao teaching Bagua and told him he was doing “blind-fisting,” which he must have learned from the followers of Dong Hai Chuan. Gao knew that this priest must be an expert. He and his son Gao Qi Zhan (高歧山) prostrated themselves before the priest and asked to be his pupils. Bagua Zhang training is divided into Pre- and Post-Heaven (先後天): Pre-Heaven has eight Basic Mother Palm “circle walks” at the outside of the circle; 64 Post-Heaven Palm is divided into eight sessions and runs in a straight line. When someone is familiar with the skills, the straight line can be run around the outside of or into the circle to correlate with the natural “square and circle theory.” Its training method is also divided into eight types: wading, attack, escape, linking, changes, trapped, sticky, and separate (即: 一行, 二攻, 三卸, 四連環, 五変, 六困, 七黐, and 八離). Step-by-step training ensures that it has practical applications. Bagua weaponry includes the knife, staff, sword, and spear. It is also divided into a set form and points, but the training in weaponry cannot be separate from palm training’s important points. Weapons are seen merely as extensions of the hands. After Gao had mastered all the skills, Song Yi Ren decided he had a follower, and he left Gao with a manuscript and carried on his wandering. After this, he disappeared and his whereabouts were never known again. Gao taught Bagua Zhang on a soccer pitch at a Tianjin British Demarcation session. He promoted 64 Palms, which led to him becoming embroiled in a misunderstanding with a Kung Fu brother he had known for 15 years, Zhou Yu Xiang. At a banquet, Zhou and Gao had a fight. All of Zhou’s attacks were nullified by Gao, yet when Gao attacked with his palms, Zhou couldn’t deal with it. Luckily Sun Lu Tang was also present and mediated between the pair to clear up the misunderstanding, caused by the fact that Grandmaster Dong didn’t teach 64 Palms. Han Mu Xia’s student Wu Meng Xia thought that Han’s original name was Jia Yung (金鏞). But he changed his name to Mu Xie (慕俠) in order to commemorate his teacher Ying Xie (應俠天), who himself changed his name to Meng Xi in order to assimilate Mengzi, the saint. Wu had learned all the skills from Han, but there were only 50 Old Palm applications. When he heard that Gao was teaching 64 Palms applications, he started to learn from Gao too. In the morning he learned from Gao, and at night he cross-referenced these skills with those of Han. He proved that the teaching methods and palm applications of both masters must have come from the same place. As a result, the lost techniques of Bagua Zhang became united and the whole system of Bagua Zhang was kept. Master Wu Meng Xia then realized that, despite learning Bagua Zhang for many years and receiving instructions from ten masters, he had not received the true teachings—not because his teachers were dishonest, but because few held the genuine traditions. Bagua Zhang had been famous for a long time, but many teachers had learned only a small part of the art and thought they knew it all. They simply scratched the surface but then added their own ideas and changed the original form, passing this off as

the original art. After a few generations the original form had been diluted and changed so much that Bagua Zhang had lost its true nature and meaning. Students did not understand its true origin and their martial arts skills were far removed from the traditional teachings of Bagua Zhang.

GAO’S BRANCHES Gao style Bagua Zhang now has several branches.

1 Tianjin: Master Liu Feng Cai’s branch Liu Feng Cai is a senior student who learned from Master Gao Yi Sheng in his home village. Master Liu Feng Cai’s student, Wang Shu Sheng (王書聲), passed the six copies of Master Gao’s manuscript to his student, Liu Shu Heng (劉樹行). Wang’s students Ge Guo Liang (戈國良) and Li Xue Yi (李學義) taught many students in Tianjin.

LIU SHU HENG WITH CS TANG

LI XUE YI, LIU SHU HENG, UNNAMED, CS TANG, GE GUO LIANG, AND ALLEN LUI

LIU SHU HENG’S VISIT TO HONG KONG

2 Tianjin: Wu Meng Xia branches Wu Meng Xia branches still teaching Tianjin and Lang Fang include Wang Jun Xing, Wang Jin Zhong, and Qi De Ju.

WANG JUN XING (王俊興) AND WANG JIN ZHONG (王進忠) IN TIANJIN

QI DE JU (齊德居) IN LANG FANG OF HEBEI

3 Hong Kong: Ho Ho Choy Ho Ho Choy is the only person who taught Gao style Bagua Zhang in Hong Kong. He started the school after World War II and taught until he died.

HO HO CHOY AND CS TANG, 1972

HO HO CHOY WITH STUDENTS, 1983

HO HO CHOY WITH STUDENTS, 1989

HO HO CHOY WITH STUDENTS, 1990

4 Taiwan: two branches Zhang Zhun Feng has a lot of students in Taiwan. Wu Jin Yuan also taught in another province. I have met his son, Wu Guo Ching (吳國正).

PAN YUE (潘岳) OF YI ZONG AND TIANJIN STYLE

CS TANG, WU GUO CHING, AND STUDENTS

THE LEGEND OF MASTER GAO YI SHENG

MASTER GAO YI SHENG (高義盛) (1866–1951)

Learning Bagua Zhang

Gao Yi Sheng, also named Tak Yuen, was born in 1866 in Shandong. He learned Da Hong Quan when he was young and practiced Xing Yi Quan under Li Cun Yi. At 26, he studied Bagua Zhang from Master Song Chang Rong, the student of Dong Hai Chuan. After three years he had learned only the Single Palm Change. He was disappointed when Song said that he was not ready for more instruction, and he left to find another teacher. At 30, he practiced with his relative Zhou Yu Xiang, a student of Cheng Ting Hua. They compared what they knew, and took part in combat to test each other’s skills. After Gao was defeated three times in three attempts, he asked to be Zhou’s student. Zhou took Gao to meet his teacher in Beijing. Cheng accepted him and it was arranged that Zhou would teach Gao.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: HE JIN AND FENG JUN YI (CHENG’S STUDENTS), CHENG TING HUA, AND CHENG YAU LUNG (CHENG’S SON)

Gao trained with Zhou in Shandong and traveled to Beijing to study with Cheng. In 1900, Cheng was shot, aged 52, by German soldiers when attempting to escape during the Boxer Rebellion. Zhou Yu Xiang’s student Yan De Hua (閻德華) published a book called Application of Bagua Zhang, which was later renamed Manuscript from Broken Wall at Shaolin.

MASTER ZHOU YU XIANG

APPLICATION OF BAGUA ZHANG

YAN DE HUA

Gao continued studying under Yin Fu, an earlier student of Dong Hai Chuan. A relative who worked in the palace gave him one of Dong Hai Chuan’s manuscripts, The Golden Box of Oral Principles, wrapped in yellow silk. It contained 108 poems, which Gao studied and memorized. At 45, he returned to Shandong and began to teach and sell accessories. One day a Taoist priest came to watch Gao’s class. He didn’t look very happy with what he saw. Noticing his expression, Gao asked him what was wrong. The Taoist told him, “Even though you have been scraping the surface of this art for many years, you are still boxing blindly.” The Taoist revealed himself as Song Yi Ren, a student of Bi Cheng Xia, the teacher of Dong Hai Chuan. He claimed that Dong had studied Pre-Heaven but had not completed Post-Heaven. Gao begged the Taoist to stay and teach him, which he did for three years, teaching both Gao and his son.

Teaching Bagua Zhang When he was 53, Gao left Shandong and returned to Hebei, where he taught in Yang Cun village, Tianjin. During Chinese New Year, Zhou visited Gao’s home to bring greetings to his mother. Zhou held a teacup and pushed it towards Gao, but could not move him, so he tried to attack Gao under his arm. Gao pressed down and threw Zhou far away. Zhou attempted to attack twice and was deflected. Zhou was surprised, but Gao explained that he had met Song and completed the system of 64 Palms. His first student in Tianjin was Wu Meng Xia. Wu had heard from Mr. Guan Shi Xun, a classmate and school principal, that a powerful Bagua Zhang master had come to Tianjin. They drove to the hostel where Gao was staying. Wu told Gao he wanted to see real Bagua Zhang and attacked him. Gao used an Open Palm and threw him twice. Wu kneeled down immediately and asked Gao to accept him as a disciple. Gao started to teach Wu and his Kung Fu brother, Zhang Zhun Feng, privately in Zhang’s store. He mainly taught them basic and power conditioning. In 1936, Gao started teaching at the soccer ground of the British concession in Tianjin every morning. He had a large crowd of students. He used Dong’s manuscript to write his own Bagua Zhang book and edited several versions of it. One day a Taiji Quan master, Hei Xin Du, came to the ground and challenged him to a fight. Gao used Tan Palm and stroked his bladder. Hei crashed to the ground and ran home, where he died. The police came to the ground to look for Gao, who fled to Yang Cun village. He never returned to the park. Later he moved back to Shandong, and died in 1951. His Cantonese student He Ke Cai taught in Hong Kong, and another student, Yu I Xien, taught in San Francisco. Zhang Zhun Feng immigrated to Taiwan to teach, and other students, such as Wu Men Xia and Liu Feng Cai (劉鳳彩), taught in Tianjin.

LIU FENG CAI

GROUP PHOTO OF GAO YI SHENG’S 76TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

The characteristics of Gao Bagua Zhang In Gao Bagua Zhang, the Xian Tien can be divided into Single Palm Change, Eight Palm Changes, and a final form called Wu Long Bai Wei, or Black Dragon Swings Tail. These ten elements form a dragon: Single Palm Change is the head and all the other movements are derived from and follow it; the eight changes make up the body; Wu Long Bai Wei is the tail. The Hou Tien are derived from the Xian Tien, and are divided into eight sets of eight palms. The different sets themselves have different emphases. For instance, one set contains the simplest and most important principles of application, another has kicking methods, and another elbows. It is a comprehensive system of fighting techniques. Gao said: “Without Pre-Heaven the art of Bagua Zhang has no root; without Post-Heaven the art is incomplete. Pre-Heaven is for strengthening the body, Post-Heaven is for protection.” He also said:

“After you practice Post-Heaven, you can leave Pre-Heaven behind; if you practice Tian Gan, you can forget the 64 Palms.”

THE PARK IN WHICH GAO YI SHENG TAUGHT BAGUA ZHANG

GAO YI SHENG’S HOUSE

THE LEGEND OF MASTER WU MENG XIA—BAGUA ZHANG RESEARCH EXPERT

MASTER WU MENG XIA (吳孟俠) (1906–1977)

Dong Hai Chuan, the founder of Bagua Zhang, had the deepest understanding of the art, and he popularized and shared Bagua Zhang in Beijing. That there are practitioners both in China and abroad is a testament to his hard work. Dong Hai Chuan taught Bagua Zhang according to the individual, using only techniques and forms that were appropriate to each student’s body type and natural talents. As a result, the total number of techniques that he taught made up only around half of what he knew. Those of the generation of Yin Fu, Cheng Ting Hua, and Shi Ji Dong, who received the most teaching from Dong, only learned about 20 palms and these were not clearly separated into Pre- and Post-Heaven Palms. Most of them combined Post-Heaven methods with the circle walking of Pre-Heaven Palms, and we can only imagine what the rest were like. There are few practitioners who have preserved the separation of the circle walking of the Pre-Heaven Palms and the straight-line attacks of the Post-Heaven Palms. Dong Hai Chuan taught in the Beile Palace in Beijing, where he passed away without illness at the age of 84, in the sixth year of Emperor Guangxu’s rule. He was buried outside the Eastern Gate of Beijing, with hazel trees to the northeast and next to a rainbow-shaped bridge. His followers erected many steles to record events in Dong’s life and the names of his disciples, which are a rich source of information about his life. After his death, others worked together to spread Dong’s teachings: his eldest disciples Yin Fu and Shi Liu taught outside Zhaihua Gate in the Eastern Wall area of Beijing; Cheng Ting Hua taught outside Chongwen Gate in the southern part of the city; Liu De Kuan taught in the Western Wall area; and Sung Yong Nian taught in the north.

Han Jin Yong Han Jin Yong (韓金鏞) from Tianjin had studied Xing Yi Quan and Bagua Zhang with Dong’s disciple Zhang Zhan Kui and was a contemporary of Li Cun Fu, Liu Jin Yin, and Wang Jun Cheng. However, Han felt unsatisfied and traveled aimlessly until he reached Wan Nan (part of Anhui, north of the Yangtze river) and met Ying Wen Tian (應文天), who came from another branch of Bagua Zhang and taught him in great detail. Ying brought Han to Guang Hua Mountain, where he was studying the Tao. Han learned from Ying that Dong Hai Chuan and Sung Yi Ren (宋益仁) were of the same lineage, and their teacher was Bi Cheng Xia (畢澄霞). Dong had learned only half of the art, but even with that had managed to reach a sublime state. After Han completed his studies, he compared the techniques that he had learned from Master Ying and Zhang Zhan Kui, and decided that what Ying had taught him was more complete. In 1918, a Russian strongman Kang Tai Er convened an international fighting competition in Beiping’s2 Central Park and styled himself as the strongest man in the world. He looked down on Chinese martial arts. Han Mu Xia, along with his teacher Zhang Zhan Kui and Li Cun Yi, made a trip to Beiping and, using the Tiger style, Han knocked Kang Tai Er down in the Liuguo Hotel and took away a gold medal. The next day, Kang Tai Er took to the stage again and, seeing Han in the crowd, ran away to hide. Most of the gold medals went to Han, who presented them to the Jinmen Wushu Society. After Han returned to Tianjin he was feted by the people.

Wu Meng Xia

Around this time, Wu Meng Xia sought out Han as a teacher because of his fame. Wu was born in 1906 in Fujian and had been studying Shaolin Kung Fu and weapons since he was seven. He had learned over 30 different styles and forms and understood the common teachings of Shaolin Kung Fu. At 18, he began to study Xing Yi Quan, and at 22, he began to study Taiji Quan and Bagua Zhang. At 26, he had a revelation that Taiji, Xing Yi, and Bagua Zhang could not be compared to other arts and gave up Shaolin Kung Fu to concentrate on learning the finer points of the three arts. He studied Taiji Quan with many teachers, finally ending up with Niu Lian Yuan (牛連元). Niu was good friends with Yang Ban Hou, the second son of the founder of Yang style Taiji Quan, Yang Lu Chen, and received his individual instruction. Wu also studied Xing Yi Quan with many teachers, latterly with Han Mu Xia. He studied Bagua Zhang with 11 teachers and became a disciple of Gao Yi Sheng. Wu had a burning passion for martial arts and always sought out its true transmission. As a result, he had studied with nine Bagua Zhang teachers, but was still unhappy. He returned to study with Han Mu Xia for seven years. Han’s original name was Han Jin Yong; since he had received his teaching from Ying Wen Tian, who was also called Ying Xia (應俠), he thus took the name Mu Xia3 (慕俠) in order to show respect and admiration and demonstrate that he would never forget his teaching. Wu knew this and, as Mencius or Mengzi (孟子) was also known as the Second Sage and had an admiration for Confucius (孔子), he took the name Meng Xia (孟俠) to show his ambition to follow in Han’s footsteps. Wu heard of Gao Yi Sheng’s fame and sought him out as a teacher. He completed his studies in five years and became good friends with many of his fellow students, including Qiu Feng Pei.

The story of Cheng Ting Hua Cheng came from Shanxian in Hebei Province, and, in terms of style, was Dong’s most straightforward student. He opened a glasses shop outside of the Southern Gate in Beijing, and most people called him “Eyeglass Cheng.” He often stood for the whole day at work, so his lower basin was very strong. Every day he would carry wine with his arms stretched out and the wine bottles in his palms, without spilling a single drop. When training, he set up a wooden barrel and concealed himself inside, turning without stopping. He was the student of whom Dong was most proud. He taught marital arts outside of the Zhongwen Gate, and his sons Youlong and Youxin also received the true transmission from him. His other students included Zhou Yu Xiang, Zhang Yu Kui, Han Qi Ying, Cou Cheng, Li Han Zhang, Sun Lu Tang, Feng Jun Yi, Que Ling Feng, Dumpling Guo, and Li Wen Biao. Gao Yi Sheng also studied with him for two years, but only learned eight palms. In 1901, during the Boxer Rebellion, the Eight Nation Alliance invaded China, and martial artists such as Tan Ci Tong and the strongman Wu Deng Jun were killed. Cheng’s disciples pleaded with him to leave Beijing to avoid confrontation, but integrity was the most important thing for him, and putting on a large overcoat and tying a short sword to each arm, he went out and fought with ten German soldiers, and was killed. His students buried him.

The story of Gao Yi Sheng Although Gao lost a good teacher, he practiced for 20 years without stopping and he was teaching Bagua Zhang in Shandong by the time he was 45. After his encounter with Sung Yi Ren, Gao and his son learned from Sung, who taught them everything that he had learned. When their studies were complete, Sung went away, leaving behind a boxing manual written by Bi Deng Xia.

Sung had advised Gao that if he taught martial arts, he should teach all 64 Palms, otherwise the art would be lost, so Gao returned to Tianjin and taught the 64 Palms. Wu Meng Xia had become very familiar with the basics of Bagua Zhang from his teachers, but he was looking for the true transmission. As Wu had received tutelage from Han, Gao had to teach Wu the true art in order to prove that his teaching was authentic. Wu knew that Han had only learned 50 palms from Ying. Wu had never dreamed that Gao, who taught the 64 Palms, would be in Tianjin. When Wu was studying under Gao, he realized that he was learning similar skills to those of Han. Gao and Han had never met, but this proved that they had learned their art from the same lineage and had the same teacher. Wu wanted to arrange for them to meet; however, Han was far more famous than Gao after defeating the Russian Kang Tai Er. The teachers had different temperaments: Han was arrogant and loved to fight, while Gao were more even tempered but also loved to fight. If they met, it was likely that they would duel. Wu had learned that Han never showed any mercy and that he would draw blood once he came to blows, so he felt he would be at a disadvantage in a duel. As Han always said, hard (strong power) came before the soft (flexibility). As they were students of the same style, if either of them lost the duel, Wu would lose a good teacher. So Wu only mentioned to Han that Gao had learned his skills, and Han was very pleased and full of praise, saying that Gao was a true disciple of their style. Han asked Wu to pass on his calling card to Gao, to pay his respects. Gao sent his own name card and in return Wu practiced under Gao and told Han what he had learned from him, to check his teaching was in line with Han's. This ensured that Gao had taught him true Bagua Zhang techniques. Wu and his martial arts brother, Zhang Jiao Feng, studied under Gao for five years before graduating and went on to duel with many people. In 1940, after meeting with fellow student Wu Jun Shan (吳峻 山) in Kunming, Wu Meng Xia studied with Single Saber Han Fu Yi, who was a student of Dong’s pupil Liang Zhen Jin. Wu Meng Xia and Wu Jun Shan were sparring and Wu Jun admitted defeat and begged for instruction. Wu Meng Xia agreed to teach in his teacher’s name, and for Wu Jun Shan it was like waking from a dream: “I am now 69, and have been studying Bagua for 40 years, and only now have I received the true transmission. It is truly like having achieved enlightenment in the morning, I am happy to die in the evening.” Wu Jun Shan’s book Bagua Zhang was in circulation at the time, and he freely admitted that he had been forced to write the book by his teacher Zhang Zi Chiang, and it contained nothing but some street fighting and training techniques. One of Gao’s students, Du Shao Tang (杜少棠), published a book called The Swimming Body Motion Linking Palm but this also failed to include the important principles. At this point, Wu thought that most people who published books on Bagua Zhang not only included hundreds of errors but also lacked information about the true value of the art. During the war of resistance against Japan, Wu left Tianjin. He once sparred with Wu Tu Nan in Nanjing. In 1937, he took the post of instructor under Wang Ching Wei, and later moved with the Chinese Government to Chongqing to be section head of the communications section in the Military Works Department. Wu used his free time to set up the Chinese Kuoshu Study Association in the Lihe Machinery Factory on Chung Yi Road. Many people who had been on the run studied with him, such as Wang Zi Ren, Liu Zi Cheng, Tong Deng Xuan, Li Zhuang Fei, Chen Ming Shan, and Chen Ming Guang. Wang Zi Tong, a martial arts instructor from Sichuan, challenged Wu and lost badly. Tong Deng Xuan, also from Sichuan, was a student at Jiaotung University, and came to study with Wu because of his fame. Li Zhuang Fei (李壯飛) was employed in the technology office, and he introduced his good friend Chen Ming Shan (陳明善), a graduate of the Chinese University who had applied to enter the Military Works Vocational School. Later, Wu had an argument with Wan Qiu Sheng, who had published in the Wushu

Encyclopedia about whether Dong Hai Chuan and the Bagua School had lost its treasure. As a result of the argument, he also fell out with Li Zhuang Fei. After that, the only practitioners at the Chinese Kuoshu Study Association were Liu Zi Cheng and the Chen brothers (Li Zhuang Fei went to Shanxi when the government moved), and the Association did not develop any further. The Chen brothers later taught the Gao style, and Chen Ming Shan started a business to support Wu, which supplemented his meager salary at the Works Department. Chen Ming Shan was the only student to receive Wu’s whole teaching. After the war, Wu went to Hong Kong to search for his brother Wu Zhao Fung (吳兆峰), but when he did not find him he returned to Tianjin, where he made ends meet by practicing acupuncture. It wasn’t long before his brother arrived in Tianjin from Chicago, and they set up the Guang Hua Tradition Association and later the Bao Zhen Bagua Zhang Society together.

DR. FRED WU, LI ZHUANG FEI, AND JIANG WEN YU

Once the Chinese Government returned to Nanjing, Wu was detained for being an officer under the Wang Government (汪精衛政府). Wu Zhao Fung tried to go to Hong Kong but was also detained for once being a secretary to Wang. However, when China started being run by a communist government, there was a focus on promoting Chinese Wu Shu and publishing books and the art. Wu Meng Xia wrote a book called 81 Step Taiji Quan and Commentary on the 9 Principles which was published in Tianjin. The book exposed many secret principles written by Yang’s family. In Hong Kong, Ho Ho Choy, Gao Yi Sheng’s “inner-door disciple” (a disciple who has been admitted as a senior student), read the book and started a correspondence with Wu. Wu realized that there was a fellow disciple in Hong Kong and was happy to share his heartfelt thoughts. He explained that only Gao Yi Sheng had received the complete transmission of Bagua Zhang; others had learned a technique here or half a move there and mixed up the teachings. He encouraged Ho to take on responsibility for teaching the 64 Palms in Hong Kong and passed on many valuable boxing tips, observations, and theories. Unfortunately during the Cultural Revolution, Wu lost contact with the outside world. His brother, Wu Zhao Fung, was sent to Xinjiang and was killed by local workers in 1966. Wu Meng Xia was accused of being a member of an unlawful religion and jailed for eight years. After he was released, he was ill and weak and could not teach. He died in 1977 and was buried in northeast China. He had a son, movie director Wu Guang Pu (吳光普), and a daughter, who both lived

in the northeast. His son once wrote a Bagua Zhang manuscript but this was never published. Wu’s student Qi De Ju (齊德居) published three books about his teaching. Wu’s main students were: •

Meng Yu Zhang (蒙玉璋)

•

Qi De Ju (齊德居)

•

Wang Jun Xing (王俊興)

•

Wang Jin Zhong (王進忠)

•

Shang Yong Fa (張永發)

•

Yu Cheng Yong (喻承鏞).

QI DE JU’S BOOKS

TAIJI QUAN (HONG KONG VERSION)

TAIJI QUAN (CHINESE VERSION)

BAGUA ZHANG

XINGYI QUAN

WU MENG XIA PERFORMING YANG BAN HAU TAIJI QUAN

WU MENG XIA, GAO YI SHENG, AND WU ZHAO FUNG

Wu Meng Xia’s students still teach his art

WU MENG XIA (CENTER), QI DE JU (SECOND FROM LEFT), AND OTHER STUDENTS

CS TANG AND WANG JUN XING IN TIANJIN

SHANG YONG FA (BACK ROW, LEFT), WANG JIN ZHONG (FRONT ROW, CENTER), AND OTHERS

THE LEGEND OF MASTER HAN MU XIA—THE STRANGE HERO OF THE MARTIAL ARTS WORLD

HAN MU XIA (1877–1947) (SECOND FROM LEFT) WITH MASTERS OF INTERNAL MARTIAL ARTS

The legend of Han Mu Xia is closely related to Gao style Bagua Zhang, because he proved the lineage of the Guang Hua Mountain system Bagua Zhang. Chinese martial arts have a long history. During the late Qing Dynasty when the country was invaded by foreign powers and the strong were bullying the weak, traditional martial arts were tested. Huo Yuan Jia (霍元甲), Han Mu Xia (韓慕俠), and Wang Zi Ping (王子平) courageously stepped forward to fight for righteousness and defeated strong men from Russia, Germany, and England, winning back pride for their country and demonstrating the value of Chinese martial arts. Han Mu Xia was a famous martial artist at the time. His original name was Han Jin Yong (金鏞) and he was born in Jinghai in Tianjin. He started studying the arts as a child, and in his teens he was accepted as a disciple of “Lightning Hands” Zhang Zhan Kui, one of the eight major disciples of Dong Hai Chuan. He later became a disciple of the head instructor of the Yihe Group, the Xing Yi master “Single Saber Li”—Li Cun Yi. After he had learned his art he worked for the Tianjin police force for over ten years. He often solved complicated cases, and was well known for keeping the peace and his prominent contributions to policing. However, he was unsatisfied with himself and made several trips to the south to visit famous masters, meeting Li Guang Ting (李廣亭), Song Yue Zhai (宋約齋), Che Yi Zhai (車毅齋), and other famous Xing Yi masters. Han sincerely respected and delighted in the techniques of Bagua Zhang, and pursued his studies to the point of intoxication. Dong Hai Chuan always remained tight lipped regarding where he had learned the art, but did mention that he received his instruction from a Taoist on Snow Flower Mountain (雪花 山) in Wan Nan in Anhui Province. Han searched hard and finally found the young Taoist Ying Wen Tian on Guang Hua Mountain. Ying appreciated his efforts and passed on the true principles of Bagua Zhang to him, including the Pre-Heaven Palms and the Dragon Form piercing method, and the Snake

Form continuous entrapping 64 Post-Heaven Palms. After Han had received the teaching from the southern system, he changed his name to “Mu Xia,” “appreciating chivalry,” so that he would never forget his teacher. He combined both the southern and northern streams of Bagua Zhang, plus the principles of Xing Yi Quan, into one system. He returned to Tianjin to share the teachings, and in 1912 set up the Chinese Martial Artists Association and a training hall for the Han Mu Xia style, so he could teach his students with integrity. He worked with others to set up a martial arts preparatory school and actively promoted the use of martial arts in army training. In 1916, he was hired to teach at the Tianjin Datong girls’ school and the Nankai school. Zhou En Lai (周恩來) came to study under him because of his fame. Han was influenced by the idea of openness in his teaching and built the Han Nine Teacher Hall to commemorate his nine teachers. In the 1920s, he served as the Marital Arts Instructor to the Northeast Army under Zhang Xue Lang. He set up a large saber unit instructed in the use of the Xing Yi spear, which had remarkable success during the war of resistance against the Japanese at the Great Wall. In 1918 in Beijing during the Contest of Ten Thousand Nations, Han defeated a Russian strongman, Kang Tai Er, who called himself the strongest man in the world. Kang Tai Er organized a martial arts convention in the central park in Beijing and prepared 11 gold medals for the various competitions. Han, Zhang Zhan Kui, and Li Cun Yi rushed to the Grand Hotel de Wagon-Lits in Beijing to fight with Kang Tai Er. In the fight Han used the advancing thrusting and crashing motion and the Five Dragon Waist Entrapping Palm to knock Kang Tai Er over. Kang Tai Er wrote a letter to Li Cun Yi indicating defeat and presented all the gold medals to Han. This event rocked the martial arts world. Han started a martial arts school and taught Zhou En Lai (周思來). Yuan Shi Kai (袁世凱), the false King of the Republic of China had invited Han to teach but he turned him down. He broke his arm and resisted the Warlords to teach. He also challenged the famous Wu Dang sword master, Li Jin Lin (李景 林). Finally, he died in 1947 in a poor situation.

HAN MU XIA AND HIS SON, HAN QI

HAN MU XIA’S SON, HAN QI, DOING BAGUA MOON KNIFE

HAN QI

HAN’S DAUGHTER, HAN SHAO XIA, HOLDING THE SWORD FROM HER FATHER

HAN MU XIA WHEN HE WAS YOUNG

HAN MU XIA’S TWO SWORD POSTURES

HAN MU XIA IN MIDDLE AGE

HAN MU XIA’S WIFE

HAN MU XIA’S SWORD POSTURE AFTER BREAKING HIS LEFT ARM

A DRILLING POSTURE WITH HIS STUDENT

HAN MU XIA’S BAGUA ZHANG TEACHER, ZHANG ZHAN KUI

HAN MU XIA’S XING YI QUAN TEACHER, LI CUN YI

HAN MU XIA’S BAGUA ZHANG CLASSMATES

HAN MU XIA’S MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO IN TIANJIN

HAN MU XIA’S MARTIAL ARTS STUDIO IN TIANJIN IN 1920 (FRONT ROW, HAN IS THIRD FROM LEFT AND ZHOU EN LAI IS FOURTH)

HAN MU XIA TEACHING AT TIANJIN DATONG GIRLS’ SCHOOL (BACK ROW FOURTH FROM LEFT IS HAN MU XIA)

THE RUSSIAN FIGHTER KANG TAI ER (IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GROUP)

THE GOLD MEDAL

GRAND HOTEL DE WAGON-LITS, WHERE HAN MU XIA DEFEATED KANG TAI ER

HAN MU XIA AND STUDENTS INSIDE THE STUDIO AFTER WINNING THE GOLD MEDAL

THE LEGEND OF MASTER HO HO CHOY AND DRAGON STYLE BAGUA ZHANG

HO HO CHOY (何可才老師) (1911–1995)

HO HO CHOY AT THE BOTANIC GARDEN, 1960

Although Bagua Zhang had been popular in Northern China for some time, its transmission in Hong Kong has only happened in the last 40 years. Ho Ho Choy has devoted more than anyone else to teaching the Bagua Zhang 64 Palm style in Hong Kong and has had the most disciples. Ho Ho Choy was born in Canton Province, in the Xizhu village of the Shishan (Lion Mountain) area in Nanhai County. He was also called He Ze Neng and used the name Dacai in Tianjin. As he was completely devoted to teaching Bagua Zhang, martial artists called him “Bagua Ho.” The origin of the name of Xizhu village is believed to have come from when Huineng, the Sixth Patriarch of Zen Buddhism, was teaching the dharma in the village (the character for Zhu is another word for India or Buddhism). The Sixth Patriarch had composed a poem describing the beauty of the Shishan area:

The people are prosperous and harvest bountiful in the luxuriant plains Xizhu’s spirit and dignity demonstrates the Buddha’s blessing The lion’s many mountain peaks devoid of the sound of birds The white vines and vast forests resonate with the Oriole The view of Tian Hu Lake lifts men’s spirits The wheat full, the fields fertile, and the warehouses overflow with a hundred grains The water of Xiao Niang Keng is crystal clear

The Beginning

DENG FANG (1877–1955)

DENG FANG AND HIS WIFE DEMONSTRATING THE SPEAR

Xizhu village is very near the Sanshui area, and Ho Ho Choy’s uncles Deng Yi and Deng Fang both lived in Sanshui in Dongpu village. They learned Hung Quan from Master Lam Sai Wing (or Li Shi Rong in Mandarin). When they were both accomplices to Master Lam in a major incident at the Leshan Theatre, Deng Yi hid in his hometown and Deng Fang escaped by boat to the South Pacific. After the fall of the Qing Dynasty, Deng Yi opened the Renhe Paper Store on Lungjin Middle Road in Xiguan. Deng Fang opened the Guangan Paper Store on Changshou West Road. At the time, the Grandmaster of

Hung Quan, Wang Fei Hung, was seeing patients at a clinic in Xin Dou Lan, Po Chi Lam. The brothers became disciples under Wang Fei Hung in an official ceremony. Deng Fang established Yi Yong Hall (a martial arts society dedicated to overthrowing the Qing Dynasty) in Daiheji and later transferred his operations to the warlord Zhang Fei’s eldest son Zhang Rui. When Ho Ho Choy was young, he loved martial arts, and spent his time immersed in both old and contemporary martial arts novels. He left his hometown at 18 and moved to the Sansheng Society in Yuqing Lane in Guangzhou. His father worked at a gold store in Shiqipu, so Ho Ho Choy often visited his uncles, and he started studying under Deng Fang. For the first three months he learned to stand in Horse Stance, and he also became proficient at the Gongzi Crouching Tiger Fist and the double broadsword. He soon moved to Hong Kong and worked at Kam Wing Lung Co. on 35 Wing Kut Street.

MASTER HO (SECOND FROM LEFT OF THOSE SEATED) AT DENG FANG’S STUDIO

DENG FANG’S STUDENT HE LAP TIN’S BOOK

MASTER HO AT DENG FANG’S FUNERAL

Gao style Bagua Zhang

A DRAWING OF GAO YI SHENG

When Ho Ho Choy was 26, he went north to Tianjin and lived in Fu An Lane in the British concession. The following year he started working for an American sporting goods company in the French Concession. However, not a day went by where Ho Ho Choy did not think about martial arts. He was always reading martial arts materials, but regretted that he did not have a teacher. He could practice the forms, but did not yet have an understanding of the applications. The Marco Polo Bridge Incident, a battle that marked the beginning of the Sino-Japanese War, happened on July 7, 1937. Due to Tianjin’s status as a Treaty Port, it was relatively unaffected. Ho Ho Choy often went to the British soccer field at the intersection of Tang Shan Road and Guangdong Road and became friends with the Swedish soccer player, Johansson, and the famous Chinese tennis player Lin Bin Hua, as well as Uncle Wang, the caretaker of the grounds. Uncle Wang asked him why he did not study martial arts there and Ho replied that, although there were many teachers there, he did not know which ones had real skills and which ones were charlatans. Uncle Wang

replied: “As for martial arts, I am not an expert and I do not know which style is good, but there is a Gao Yi Sheng who teaches at the soccer grounds and only teaches Bagua Zhang and he has a lot of students. There are those who have studied many different styles of martial arts yet have come to study with Gao. If you are interested I can make an introduction.” In 1938 Uncle Wang introduced Ho to Gao Yi Sheng. Gao was not tall and he had deeply tanned and ruddy skin giving him the appearance of a “country bumpkin.” However, when Ho saw how he taught students and moved like a swimming dragon, he resolved to study with him. Gao asked Ho if his motive for studying martial arts was to rescue people. Ho replied that he was studying martial arts for its own sake. Gao then drew a circle in the sand with his cane and taught Ho how to walk the circle. This was the first day of Ho’s Bagua Zhang studies.

Bagua Zhang Master Gao Yi Sheng Gao Yi Sheng was born as Gao De Yuan and was also called Gao Shou San. He was born in Yangcun township in Tianjin County in Hebei Province. His family was originally very wealthy and had a lot of land. When he was young he did not have to work, and at 26 he went to Beijing and studied Bagua Zhang under Song Chang Rong in the Northern Wall area. In the first three years he only managed to learn the Single Palm Change. He begged to be taught more but his teacher told him that the time was not right. Gao was deeply disappointed and went to study under Cheng Ting Hua in the Southern Wall area. Of all the disciples of Dong Hai Chuan, the creator of Bagua Zhang, Cheng had the most students. Gao studied with Cheng for two years and learned eight palms. Unfortunately, Cheng was killed by rioting soldiers during the Boxer Rebellion, and Gao lost a great teacher. He felt that the only thing he could do was to study with his fellow disciple Zhou Yu Xiang, and they practiced together for 15 years, during which time Gao’s skills improved greatly. Gao later taught Bagua Zhang in Shandong, and one day an old Taoist priest watched him teach and sighed incessantly. After Gao finished, he asked the priest why he was sighing. The priest said that although Gao had immersed himself in his art for many years, he was still fighting blindly. The priest said, “I also study Bagua Zhang and was a fellow disciple of Dong Hai Chuan under Bi Deng Xia of Guang Hua Mountain in Shanxi Province. Dong Hai Chuan left the mountain and I have not seen him since.” Gao begged the priest to accept him as his disciple. Gao ended his teaching duties, and he and his son, Gao Qi Zhan, followed the priest to his home and started learning Bagua Zhang from the beginning. The priest was called Sung Yi Ren and studied alongside Ying Wen Tian and Dong Hai Chuan from the alchemist Bi Deng Xia. Once Sung had transmitted his art, he made to leave, and despite repeated entreaties to stay he refused. He left a parting gift of the boxing manual by Bi Deng Xia as proof of his lineage. Gao and his son spread the true Bagua Zhang transmission to several provinces. At 60, he taught the 64 Palms at a soccer field in the British concession in Tianjin. When Bagua practitioners heard of this, they all came to study under him. Gao taught Bagua in the early morning and separated his students into four classes. First there was the normal class, which cost two dollars a month, in which he only taught the forms for the 64 PostHeaven Palms and the Eight Pre-Heaven Palms. Next was the intermediate class, which cost five dollars a month, in which he only taught applications. The third class was the special class, which cost an additional one dollar per palm, and in this he taught one attack, one defense, and one linked form. Finally, the private class cost 20 dollars a month, and in this he taught his inner-door disciples. The specialty of the Gao style was in the one attack, one defense, and one linked form, so there were three ways to practice each palm.

Ho Ho Choy was using the name Dacai in Tianjin at that time, so many of his fellow disciples only knew him as a Cantonese man called He Dacai. Three days after starting to study with Gao, Ho began to research the techniques with his fellow students, leading Gao to suspect that Ho planned to use the techniques to take revenge or was part of the criminal underworld, so he tried to find out more about Ho’s background. It was only after Uncle Wang, the caretaker of the grounds, vouched for Ho’s character and enthusiasm to learn that Gao formally began to teach Ho the art. Gao taught the beginners’ class. The process was to learn the form first, with Eight Post-Heaven Palms for each Pre-Heaven Palm. After students had learned each individual Pre- and Post-Heaven Palm, they would be taught the single-person Post-Heaven linked straight form and single-person PreHeaven linked circular form. Ho wanted to learn the applications after less than three months. He discovered that a fellow student, Qiu Feng Pei, a painter who originally studied with Han Mu Xia, had offered Gao five dollars a month and was able to learn the applications very rapidly. Ho begged Gao for more teaching, and when Gao saw his perseverance and dedication, he agreed, pleased to have discovered such a promising student from the south. Ho entered the intermediate class, in which Gao began to explain the vicious applications for each of the techniques. However, Ho was still not satisfied; he also asked how to neutralize each application. After he had asked the same questions about four palms, Gao asked him for an additional dollar for each palm that he taught him, so Ho’s expenses included one dollar for each palm plus the five dollars a month. He was taught one attack, one defense, and one linked form, as well as variations in different situational training methods such as sticking hands and separated hands. He was also taught martial arts theory such as the 24 Essential Points, the Three Basins, and the Five Elements form and applications. In Gao’s method, there are Eight Pre-Heaven Palms and 64 Post-Heaven Palms, each of which is separated into six variations, making a total of 384 palms. If one learned one palm a week, including foundational exercises, it would take two years to learn all of them, and it is harder to calculate the time required if including applications and actual fighting. Very few students can learn the attack, defense, and counter-attack moves for each palm. Using Ho’s method of paying one dollar per palm, which included one attack, one defense, and one linked attack, the time required was substantially shortened and he progressed far quicker than the other students, learning all the open-handed techniques within only five years.

FROM LEFT: WU MENG XIA, GAO YI SHENG, AND WU’S BROTHER WU ZHAO FUNG

A long, thin physique focuses on the Dragon Form Ho Ho Choy was Cantonese, and was of average stature for someone from the south. However, he was obviously disadvantaged in terms of his size and his power when compared with his fellow students, who were all from the north. Gao was well aware of this, and emphasized that a small person should focus on defense and detailed technique, and said that through hard training one can generate 120 percent power. Thus Ho focused mainly on defense and the finer requirements of each palm. He used many ways to neutralize his fellow students’ attacks. Even those who did not study under Gao or had left his tutelage knew of the Cantonese man who liked to practice fighting with others and would allow his opponent to attack continuously in order to train his defensive skills and receptivity. There were five other students who trained the hardest and had the greatest impact on Ho. One of these was Qiu Feng Pei, who had a hard, strong body and threw himself into his attacks with extreme force, which Ho learned to avoid. The second was Mr. Zhang from Hubei who liked to use grappling attacks and locks that Ho was often unable to escape. After much study, Ho learned to use his guile to slip away and throw his opponent as soon as he touched his body. There was also a Taoist priest who was skilled with the sword and who often fenced with Ho, teaching him a lot. Another student, Li Kang Zhang, often sparred with Ho, and there was a fellow student from Guangdong, Bao Zhan. Gao said that to achieve success, one needed someone of a similar size to practice attacking, defense, and linked forms with, to avoid obstacles arising because of a difference in size. Ho became good friends with Mr. Bao and they often sparred together, their techniques improving daily. In addition to teaching the 64 Palms, Gao also looked at each student’s strengths and instructed them to practice a certain type of style. Gao said, mockingly, that some people had not received a true transmission and thought that the Dragon style was superior to the Tiger style, hoping to study only the Dragon style. He said some called it “Dragon style Bagua,” but the movements did not look as if they were of the Dragon style. Gao himself had specialized in the Dragon style and there were few after him who reached his level of achievement. The movements of the style extend up high and then twist down low, and only those who are tall and thin with a fluidity of movement can hope to master this style. Gao originally taught Ho the Monkey style, but Ho expressed admiration for the Dragon style. Gao thought Ho’s body type was appropriate, so he agreed to teach Ho the Dragon style.

Leaving the city On December 7, 1941, the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, leading to the outbreak of the Pacific War, and Japan’s involvement in the Second World War. The situation in China became increasingly chaotic and the foreign concessions in Tianjin were blockaded, with people living in fear. Gao was over 70 and did not want to live in a world that was at war. At the suggestion of his son, Gao Qi Zhan, he decided to return to the countryside the following year. By then, many students that had graduated from his tutelage, including Wu Zhao Feng, Wu Meng Xia, Qiu Feng Pei, Zhang Zhun Feng, An Ji Hai, Li Yuan Zhang, Zhao Bai Chuan, Hubei Zhang, and Bao Zhan, were already teaching boxing in the British concession.

The challenges to learning about weapons

After Gao returned to the countryside, Ho could only rely on what he had already learned and continued to spar with Qiu Feng Pei and Bao Zhan. He had completed his empty-hand training, and he regretted that he was still unfamiliar with the Bagua weapons. Of all the other students, Qiu Feng Pei was closest to Ho and, having been with Gao for many years, he was familiar with Gao’s character. He suggested that Ho use Gao’s birthday as an excuse to visit his hometown to pay his respects and beg to continue training. Ho prepared the finest wine, “Wujiapi,” and visited Gao at his home. Gao had retired to Danjiezi in Yangcun township in the suburbs of Tianjin. He lived behind the Laoyude Tang herbalist shop and was no longer teaching. He was deeply moved that Ho came from so far away and agreed to continue teaching him. Yangcun township was very far from the British concession of Tianjin. As Ho had to work during the day, he took the Beijing–Tianjin railway to Yangcun every weekend and walked to the herbalist’s. He would learn with Gao for the day and then stay overnight. Once Gao could see that Ho’s Open Palm learning was complete, he began to teach him the Bagua weapons. He stated that Zhao Bai Chuan had learned the sword in the past, Li Yuan Zhang had learned the staff, and Mr. Li had studied the broadsword, but there were few who had completed the weapons training. Gao committed to teaching Ho in a detailed manner, using his cane as a medium of instruction. Gao style weapons include the Bagua broadsword, sword, cudgel, spear, and cane. Each weapon is divided into individual forms (point) and sets. The individual forms evolved out of the handwork and were divided into single movements and linked sets. This was further divided into 64 Post-Heaven points and eight Pre-Heaven points. The set then combined the Pre- and Post-Heaven points and was divided into eight linked forms. The training method was similar to empty-hand training. When teaching the weapon sets, Gao taught the broadsword first. However, Ho was suspicious and asked how the movements were different from the empty-hand sets. Gao replied that they were in essence the same: one broadsword movement came from the Opening Palm, and Scooping and Lifting (Peng Tuo) came from the Scooping Palm. Gao explained that the weapons were an extension of the hand, so holding a weapon was the same as training with an empty hand (with the exception that anything held in the hand would affect the spacing between the hands). There was a Cultural Garden and Little Garden in Tianjin, and Ho often trained with Bao Zhan in the Little Garden. Mr. Zhang, who taught Luo Han Fist (a style of Shaolin Kung Fu), sometimes trained there too. He wanted to try to spar with Ho, and Ho used his Piercing Palm to force him back towards the wall. Zhang used his strength to escape and struck downwards. Ho again used his Piercing Palm and lifted Zhang onto his back and then gently let him down. After this encounter, Zhang could not stop praising Ho. In the Cultural Garden, Mr. Lan, who taught Wu style Taiji, challenged Ho, who used the Storing (Tun) Palm to throw him to the ground. Lan had previously fought a Hsingyi practitioner and had no reply to the breaking fist of his opponent. The next day the two parties called upon their lackeys to continue the dispute, but luckily Li Yuan Zhang was able to resolve the situation. Lan introduced the Hsingyi practitioner to Ho to spar against. Ho was able to neutralize his breaking fist every time and used the Single Scooping (Peng) Palm to slap his cheeks several times. After two years of Ho spending each weekend visiting Gao and sparring with his son, he had received the complete true transmission for both empty hand and weapons. He also received the heartfelt approval of Gao himself, who considered Ho to be the disciple he was most proud of in his later years. Gao had a cane set, which he used as a walking stick that he carried every day. It could be used to hook and to poke, and each move was always unanticipated by his opponent. Ho was just about to learn this set when Tianjin was heavily affected by the Sino-Japanese War, and most enterprises had

to close down, including the sporting goods company that employed Ho. Japan was also at war with Britain and America and wanted to take over the British concession. Ho suddenly felt homesick and wanted to return home. When Ho bid farewell to Gao, Gao asked him whether he would rely on teaching martial arts for his living in his hometown and Ho replied that it would depend on the circumstances. Gao knew that once they parted they would be unlikely to see each other again, and was reluctant to part. As Ho was about to leave, Gao used the following example to encourage Ho to continue to study, apply his teachings in a practical manner, and not to hold on to fixed rules or only understand the fixed forms without understanding their changes: Each herb in the medicine cabinet in the herbalist’s shop could be very effective against a particular illness, and picking the appropriate herb would treat the disease. This point stressed the importance of both adapting to the situation at hand and variations.

A MEDICINE CABINET IN THE HERBALIST’S SHOP

Back to South China In March 1944, Ho took his wife and daughter and left Tianjin. The son of the owner of Shi Chang Company, who studied Bagua Zhang with Ho occasionally, came to see him off. After passing through Nanjing, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nancheng, Jiangxi, Nan Xiong, and Sanshui, and spending 40 days in a car or on foot, Ho finally arrived home. Because of the closed-door policy of the People’s Republic of China, Ho could not return to China for some time. When he did return to the old city, everything had changed and he could not find his old friends. He visited the train station and the Yang village, but he could not find the herbalist’s shop.

THE LOCATION IN WHICH GAO YI SHENG TAUGHT BAGUA ZHANG

Xizhu village had also been devastated by the Japanese and was a wasteland. Ho and his family were only able to survive by farming. Ho circled the pine trees, changing palms. Although the other villagers knew that this was some form of martial art, they did not understand the intricacies behind the movements, and no one was interested in learning from Ho. A villager called Miu Qi saw that Ho was performing his circle walk in an area that was full of cow manure, so they named it “Cow Dung Fist.” Ho had had a passion for cricket fighting since he was young. In Guangzhou, at the beginning of autumn every year, the arena for dueling crickets opened, called the Sound of Autumn Society. Ho’s uncle still lived in Guangzhou and was interested in cricket fighting, and he knew that Ho was very skilled at catching crickets, so he sent someone to ask him to collect some prime specimens in the countryside and bring them to Guangzhou to sell at a high price. The most common way to catch crickets was to climb the mountain at night and look where the crickets’ chirping could be heard. Ho was very familiar with the nature of crickets and had his own way of catching them. He made tubes from wax paper, and left many of them on the mountain top at night, covered with dried grass or in a crevice between two rocks, so they would not be heated up by the hot sun. As dawn approached, the crickets would look for places to hide, often under piles of grass or in the crevices of the rocks, and many would enter the tubes. The crickets were afraid of the sun, so would not leave the tubes in the daylight, and found it difficult to escape in the dark. After breakfast, Ho would return to the mountain to collect the tubes. He would hold a tube level to see if it contained any crickets, and if there were crickets inside he would turn the tube on its end, cover the other end, and point it into a bamboo basket so the crickets would fall in. Most of the tubes would contain crickets, and he could collect more than a hundred in a few days. He put them in a jar to find the ones with fighting ability. He had soon caught almost all the crickets on the mountain.

DUELING CRICKETS

After Japan surrendered and the war was over, Deng Fang reopened his martial arts school in Guangzhou and asked Ho to come and assist in the teaching. However, Ho had already changed to practicing Bagua Zhang and had neglected his Hung Quan for some time, so he was not interested in doing so; he continued to spend his days farming.

A coincidence: Bagua Ho meets Shandong Li In 1950, Ho took his family to Hong Kong, but he found life there hard without a way to make a living. After a month or so he was at a loss, when he read about a soccer match between Lin Bin Hua and Yeh Guan Hung in the Shing Bao Newspaper at his cousin’s place. Lin was a good friend of Ho’s from Tianjin, and they met at the soccer ground. Lin treated him as though he was meeting a long-lost relative, slapping him on the back and yelling out loud. Lin found him a job at his old landlord’s company—a subsidiary of Jardine Matheson—and Ho started work on April 1, 1951. Whenever Ho was free, he would go to his friend Miu Liu’s jewelry factory to chat. Miu, from his hometown, was skilled at martial arts and tried to persuade Ho to start teaching again. However, Ho felt that in Tianjin most people practiced Taiji, Xing Yi, Bagua Zhang, and Northern Shaolin, whereas what was most common in the south was Hung Quan. Most northerners had never heard of Hung Quan, let alone other forms of southern Kung Fu. After he returned to the south, it was not surprising that no one in the villages knew of Bagua Zhang, but even in Hong Kong, with its innumerable masters of northern and southern styles, no one knew of Bagua Zhang, which had one of the biggest followings in the north and was widely praised by those who practiced other styles. Only Taiji attracted some interest, because of its medical benefits. Others thought that Bagua Zhang only involved circle walking or thought it was the same as Xing Yi. Thus, Ho wondered if his skills were rare and whether there were any other practitioners in a place as large as Hong Kong. Miu mentioned that someone from mainland China practiced circle walking in the Botanic Garden every morning, and it was very similar to what Ho practiced. Ho was very surprised and resolved to go and have a look for himself. The first day of 1952 was a vacation, so Ho arrived at the Botanic Garden in the early morning and saw a short, fat man from mainland China practicing with 35 people watching him. He looked closely and indeed it was Bagua Zhang. The main difference between their practices was that his Single Palm

Change emphasized the attacking aspect whereas Ho’s emphasized the twisting of the body and the defensive aspect. Ho waited until he had finished, and then in Mandarin asked him his name and who his teacher was. The man said he was a student of Liu Qing Fu, was from Yang County in Shandong, and was called Li Xing He (李性和), and he asked about Ho’s lineage. It so happened that Liu Qing Fu was a student of Dong Hai Chuan’s disciple Yin Fu and, although the lineage was different, the principles did not depart from the changes of Bagua Zhang.

HO HO CHOY AND LI XING HE

Li asked Ho to show him a set of forms, and Ho willingly did so to demonstrate his sincerity. After Ho finished, Li also felt that it came from the same source. He said that he had not met any other fellow students in Hong Kong. He’d recently encountered Wang Zhi Yuan, but he had to leave Hong Kong in a hurry. Li said he had been very busy every day and had barely been able to find time to practice himself, let alone teach. He saw that Taiji Quan, which had always been weaker than Bagua Zhang in the north, flourished in Hong Kong and Bagua Zhang had fallen behind. He said the problem was that no one had put themselves forward to teach, and encouraged Ho to start teaching. Ho explained that he had left his teacher over nine years ago, had forgotten much of what he had learned, and did not intend to teach. Li said, “I am from Shandong, and am not fluent in Cantonese, and always find it difficult to express myself. You are from Canton, and should teach your own people, otherwise Bagua will be lost in Hong Kong. And you started from knowing nothing and studied to graduation—will you not find it easy to refresh your memory?” Ho was moved by Li’s sincerity and resolved to start teaching. He went often to the gardens, and taught Xu Jin Po, Yu Lan Ji, Wang Dong Quan, Ren Yong, and others. Ren Yong had once combined their strength to try to twist Li’s arm to no effect. So Ho tried sparring with Li, and it was like two dragons fighting. Li praised Ho’s evasiveness, after deciding on a position he could enter at will, and there was no stopping him. Ho praised Li’s power, and thus there was mutual admiration between the two heroes; people called them Bagua Ho and Shandong Li. A Chinese doctor called He Xing was on very familiar terms with Ho, and he had a nephew called Bang, also known as Shou Chung, who begged to be Ho’s disciple. Ho ordered him to show what he had learned, and felt there were many openings to his technique, so he asked him to attack him with all he knew. Ho used a Piercing Palm to neutralize his attacks and the boy happily admitted defeat. Seeing

his honesty, Ho willingly accepted him as a pupil, and used this as an opportunity to refresh his memory. Shou Chung was extremely clever, and he graduated in two years. Mr. Wang, who worked in the same office building as Ho, could kick a sack of white rice over five feet and had studied Northern Luo Han Palm. He looked down on Ho’s soft Kung Fu, and attacked Ho with a punch. Ho used a Piercing Palm in reply to all his attacks and knocked him to the floor. Wang then recognized the value of Bagua Zhang in actual combat and started to learn with him.

The Interlocking Requirements of the Eight Palms and Peng Shao Kuang (彭 昭曠) After Li and Ho had known each other for a year, another Bagua Zhang practitioner arrived in Hong Kong from Jiangu. He discovered that Bagua Ho and Shandong Li were the only fellow practitioners in Hong Kong. He first introduced himself to Li Xing He, saying that he was Yang Rong Ben’s student. Yang was the student of Dong Hai Chuan’s disciple Shi Ji Dong. Peng was very willing to spend time researching texts about Bagua Zhang and had put together an article called “The Interlocking Requirements of the 8 Palms.” He really wanted to make sure that the information was accurate, so he decided to call upon his fellow practitioners. Li introduced him to Ho, and they began corresponding and also became quite close, meeting each other often. Peng received much material from Ho for his article. After Peng finished his work, he sent it to the foremost martial arts magazine at the time, King of Martial Arts Novels, for printing. Ho often bought the magazine and happened to see in this issue of the magazine an article called “Five Element Fist of Hung Gar” written by his uncle Deng Fang, which was how he found out that his uncle was in Hong Kong. Ho was very happy about this and went to his uncle’s school at Portland Street to meet him. When they saw each other, happiness was mixed with sorrow, and they talked about how Deng taught Ho how to catch crickets, and how both their houses were full of the crickets they had caught, even throughout the war with the Japanese. It turned out that Deng had come to Hong Kong as the communists had come south and liberated Guangzhou.

THE MARTIAL ARTS MAGAZINE KING OF MARTIAL ARTS NOVELS

Liu Chi Dong, who had studied Hung Quan with Zhao Jiao, heard that Deng Fang was a true disciple of Wong Fei Hung and came to visit his apartment on Shanghai Street and later helped him set up his own school on Changsha Street and helped him officiate at the Guoshu Department at the Fish Buyers’ Association, Shau Kei Wan. Now that Liu Chi Dong and Ho had re-established contact, they often visited each other, and Ho discovered that both his uncle Deng Yi and Deng Fang’s son, Deng Zhu Dou, had died from illness, and that Deng Fang’s fellow disciple Che Jiang Yi had also come to Hong Kong. Che was also very skilled at cricket fighting, and often challenged Ho. Ho also became good friends with Deng Fang’s students: Liu Chi Dong, He Li Tian, and Yuan Ling.

PENG SHAO KUANG, 1950

PENG SHAO KUANG, 1960

PENG SHAO KUANG, 1980

PENG SHAO KUANG’S BOOK

Peng rarely taught Bagua Zhang the art; only Hu Siu studied with him for any length of time, and he devoted most of this time to painting. Peng lived in Hung Shiu Kiu in the New Territories. The mainland government spared no effort to promote martial arts, putting together marital arts training sets and encouraging the old masters to publish martial arts materials. Peng sent Ho a copy of Wu Meng Xia’s 81 Step Taiji Quan and Commentary on the 9 Principles published by People’s Sports Publishing House. Ho had heard that Wu was an early disciple of Gao Yi Sheng, so he gathered his courage and wrote to Wu via the publishing house. Wu Meng Xia met up with fellow disciple Qiu Feng Pei and heard that Ho was also his fellow disciple. Wu happily corresponded with Ho, answering all of his questions on martial arts and explaining the key principles, the Three Basins, Five Elements form and applications, the ten large single changes, the 12 animal styles, the four standing stances, the series of sticky palms, 108 steps in total, and the training secrets of the 24 Essential Points, plus many anecdotes of the martial arts world.

PENG HAD WRITTEN ABOUT TAIJI, XING YI, AND CHING PING SWORD

Dr. Fred Wu, also an inner disciple of Wu Meng Xia of Gao Yi Sheng style, lived upstairs from Peng. After hearing Ho was a fellow disciple, he left his address for him, but by the time Ho visited, he had already moved. Around the same time, the chief editor of the martial arts magazine King of Martial Arts Novels, Sheng Bai Guo, passed his responsibility to the Buddhist Hermit Xu Kai Ru, who was very good friends with Ho. Xu asked Ho to demonstrate the Eight Pre-Heaven Palms, for some photos, which were later published in the magazine alongside an explanation written by Peng. The magazine was sold in the United States. Wu Meng Xia had a student he taught on behalf of his teacher (Gao) called Chen Ming Zhao who saw it and started corresponding with Ho. He related his previous studies of the art and his training in Chongqing and hoped that Ho could send diagrams so that he could continue his training in the art. Ho explained that the art could only be explained through physical feedback, and he was unable to transmit the art without teaching in person. As they were divided by the distance of the Pacific Ocean, he had to send his regrets.

Ho Ho Choy begins formal teaching

HO DREW NINE CIRCLES ON THE ROOFTOP AND TAUGHT STUDENTS TO STEP ON THEM AS TRIGRAMS

In 1955, Deng Fang died. Ho still kept in contact with Deng’s students Liu Qi Dong and He Li Tian. Towards the end of March 1956, Lian Bin Company (Ho’s employer’s company) had purchased 12 tons of goods from the mainland, but the buyer claimed they had only ordered four tons, and the company collapsed. Ho gave up his life as a clerk and got ready to offer classes to students. As he had spent five years in the Botanic Garden reviewing his art, he was able to structure his knowledge in a suitable format to teach. On April 1 he started teaching on the rooftop terrace of one of his student’s home at No. 36 Peel Street in Central. His first students included Xu Jin Bo, Huang Dong Quan, Huang Ning, Cobbler Jian, Ren Yong, Li Kun Lian, Zhong Wen, and Li Bo. Ho originally lived in Mid Levels, but because of redevelopment he moved to Chai Wan (Block 18, New Area), and the roof terrace was also destroyed. Ho then taught on the rooftop of the Lin Bo Construction Materials and Furniture Company at No. 372 Hennessy Road in Wan Chai (at the intersection of Tin Lok Lane). Although teaching martial arts was Ho’s only profession, he did not do any self-promotion or advertising and did not take part in any society events that he saw as being boring. He did not put up a sign to advertise his fitness club but only taught his formal disciples. However, his fame was such that many sought him out as a teacher and he had students all over Hong Kong and Kowloon.

THE STUDIO BUILDING, 1970

THE BUILDING’S ROOFTOP

DEMOLISHING THE BUILDING TO WIDEN THE TRAM ROAD

THE BUILDING NOW

Studying with Master Ho After my teacher Dr. Chan Yuet Suen immigrated to the United States, I was eager to learn some other styles. I felt that Shaolin hard fighting was more beneficial to developing the body than internal martial art. I was working as a night shift cashier in Hyatt Hotel. In the very early mornings, I would take the small cross-harbor boat to Hong Kong side, and walk to Hong Kong Botanic Garden to find a teacher to continue my study.

In the 1960s, most of the masters taught here, and I met some teenagers who were studying martial arts at different schools. We were happy to share our knowledge with each other, setting up a small martial arts club on Sundays and publishing a magazine. Three of these 13 young practitioners learned Bagua Zhang from Ho. I saw they practiced solo form and two-men set sparring. I said to myself: “I must learn Bagua.”

The first night

I asked my friends to introduce me to Ho, but none of them dared because of his temper. I knew his address—it was in Wan Chai, just 15 minutes’ walk from my home. At 8pm on December 1, 1969, I walked to the top floor of an old building. There were no lights; I was in darkness. I silently entered the roof, which was surrounded by several tall buildings. There seemed to be no one there. But by the dim light reflected on the windows, I saw a man at the other side of the roof. He soon saw and approached me, asking why I was there. He found two chairs and we sat down and talked. He began to smoke. Ho: Why do you want to learn Bagua? CS: I’m interested. Ho: Here, we teach Bagua Zhang only, nothing else. The monthly fee is 30 dollars; there is teaching from Monday to Saturday. I teach 64 Palms first and then circle form; it can be completed within 100 days. If you continue to study after this, we start the application—one palm has six changes, 64 Palms have 384 changes. We teach one change every night, then you need 64 weeks to finish. For circle palms, we have application, attack, defense, counterattack, go into a straight line, and go into the center of the circle. You need three years to complete the palm system. Then you can start Bagua weapons: we have the sword, saber, stick, and spear. Ho then told me about the history of Bagua Zhang and the stories of how Master Gao Yi Sheng learned from a Taoist. Ho: Don’t try to teach; this cannot support your living. Do call me “Lo See” [meaning teacher; “Se Say” in Japanese]. Don’t call me Sifu. In the northern part of China, we also call my master “Teacher.” We would call the driver and cook “Sifu.” He then took my hand sincerely and taught me to walk a circle with both hands pressing downwards. Once I could manage this, he taught me to raise my hand, point to the center, walk, and then change sides. He said this was “Single Palm Change.” I was so glad that I had learned the famous Single Palm Change on my first night. We practiced on the rooftop until 1975 when the building was demolished. The building belonged to Mr. Lam Bo, one of Ho’s students, who ran a furniture shop downstairs and let Ho use the roof for free.

MASTER HO DREW EIGHT BIG CIRCLES AND ONE LONG STRAIGHT LINE ON THE ROOFTOP

STUDIO ADDRESS

MASTER HO AND CS TANG

MASTER HO DEMONSTRATING THE FIVE DRAGONS PALM

ROOFTOP TRAINING WITH MASTER HO AND CS TANG

TRAINING THE SIX SERIES FOR BAGUA ZHANG KICKS

TRAINING IN BAGUA ZHANG WEAPONS

BAGUA SABER

BAGUA ZHANG STICK TRAINING IN A CIRCLE

BAGUA ZHANG STICK TRAINING IN A STRAIGHT LINE

The stages of Ho’s teaching Ho’s first stage of teaching started in 1952 and involved him recalling his knowledge of Bagua Zhang and practicing in the Botanic Garden. From 1956 he taught at his student’s rooftop in Central district. At that time, most martial arts masters taught on rooftops, because of the space required and, most importantly, the need for secrecy (they did not teach openly because they wanted to keep their knowledge a secret). There would only be a few students in each class. The second stage of Ho’s teaching took place at night times on the rooftop in Wan Chai, and this is where most of his students were trained. Ho was middle age by then, and was very strong and energetic. He would concentrate his teaching at night time only. He acted as a sandbag for his students, letting them practice locking and pushing on him. In order for Ho to teach publicly and legally, we registered the school in the police register and formed the “Pa Kua Physical Training and Health Association” on April 10, 1973.

The third and final stage of Ho’s teaching took place from 1975. He moved to the third floor of a nearby building and had a grand opening of the public school. Ho had to teach full time, and by then most of his students were rich. He ran the school for eight years, until he retired.

THE GRAND OPENING OF THE STUDIO OF PA KUA PHYSICAL TRAINING AND HEALTH ASSOCIATION

VIEW OF THE STUDIO

MASTER HO AND CS TANG WITH OTHERS AT THE SCHOOL

Occasionally, Ho would teach some private students on a hill at the edge of his district. Towards the end of his teaching career, he taught some students in the lift yard at his home. Around 20 students came to the rooftop every night, and there were about 50 active members in the class, which were run on a drop-in basis. Classes normally took place at 7:30–11:30pm. There would be no class if it was raining, but we still came in the hope that the rain would stop; if not, we would sit together and listen to our master’s stories. There was no shelter on the rooftop, so if it rained heavily, we would stop training and go out for dinner. We would not practice weapons at night time, because it was too dark, so we started to practice on Saturday afternoons. Tsui Kwok Leung made some wooden swords and sabers. Weapons training takes a long time, and only four of us attended the weapons class. After the class we would go to a nearby restaurant, where we would hear many stories and theories from Master Ho. What attracted me to the study of Bagua Zhang

1.

There are so many impressive stories of Bagua Zhang.

2.

The philosophy is so linked to Chinese culture.

3.

The system is so complete—from the fundamental level to the top level.

4.

There are fixed movements for sparring and Push Hand that classmates can practice easily.

5.

The application is so practical and simple but the theories are so deep.

The first thing I learned from Master Ho

Ho taught me walking the circle first. He demonstrated the guarding posture to me and then walked around the circle. He asked me to follow once and then demonstrated changing to the other side. He explained that it was the Single Palm Change, held my hands, and led me to change. Ho said that his master, Gao, taught him in exactly the same way. The learning progression of Ho’s Bagua Zhang system

Ho taught in a similar way to Gao. BARE HANDS

1st stage: 1.

2.

Single exercise, single form a.

Pre-Heaven and Head and Tail

b.

Post-Heaven

Single exercise, linking form

2nd stage: Two-men set—sparring and application 1.

Single forms for Post- and Pre-Heaven

2.

Linking forms for both (students A and B, named Yin and Yang; the routine is called Yin and Yang Bagua Linking Zhang)

3.

Push Hands

3rd stage: Changes 1.

2.

3.

64 Palms practice –

In a circle

–

Into and across the center

Eight Big Palms practice –

In a straight line

–

Into and across the center

Pre- and Post-Heaven as a whole –

WEAPONS

One Pre- and eight Post-Heaven Palms and meet at the center; next, eight times as a cycle to complete the Global Form.

1.

Broadsword

2.

Sword

3.

Cudgel

4.

Spear

5.

Stick with hook

All movements have set forms of eight routines in a straight line and the ten Pre- and 64 Post-Heaven single and linking forms. Teaching Bagua Zhang fighting application

Ho taught each student independently and separately. There was no group study or a team that practiced the same forms at the same time. Once a student could exercise and perform the Pre- and Post-Heaven Palms, it would be time for the second stage: application. 1.

How to attack: Ho never employed an assistant and taught by himself. He would hold the student’s wrist and then perform the attack form to them. Then he would ask the student to perform the attack on him. He used his own body to accept the student’s attack so that they could feel the strength and he could adjust their push. We had a long, straight line on the floor. Ho would demonstrate an attack on us along the line, and when we reached the end we acted back at him until we reached the end of the line. Ho would silently bear our pushing. A senior student hung a sandbag for us to push and practice the Five Element energy (this was not for punching). What one feels in the body is of utmost importance. He would ask you to grasp his hand, and would show how easily he could unlock if you acted correctly by keeping the 24 Essential Points.

2.

How to discharge: Ho would teach how to vanish or discharge one’s strong push attack by changing direction using the waist to move and hollowing the stomach muscles.

3.

The link circle: How to attack by using the same form of your enemy after you have discharged his attack. Once you know how to attack effectively and efficiently and discharge safely, it is time for your counterattack. This was a short form of discharge—when the attack reached your guarding area and his action completed two thirds, you discharge immediately and using the same attack form that your enemy had just used.

4.

The change: Ho would show how to apply the form you had just learned (one of the 64 forms) to attack your enemy in six directions (front, back, left, right, top, and bottom) when he is holding a guarding position. These changes relate to the change theories of the I-Ching. This was not learned through talking, but through practicing the changes in a set series during every lesson.

Ho’s contact with Master Zhang Zhun Feng of Taiwan Gao Yi Sheng had a disciple called Zhang Zhun Feng, who was originally the Managing Director of “Autumn in the Han Palace” (Han Gong Qiu) Company in Tianjin and was very good friends with Wu

Meng Xia. In 1947, he and several employees moved to Taiwan. He found it difficult to run his business in a new place and his employees returned home. Zhang stayed in Taiwan to teach Bagua Zhang and Taiji Quan. When Zhang remembered his fellow student Wu, he wrote to Li Ying Ang, an internal arts teacher in Hong Kong, to ask for help to track down Wu’s address. Li asked Ho on Zhang’s behalf. Ho was elated to find out that he had a fellow student in Taiwan and wrote Wu Meng Xia’s address on his own card and mailed it to Zhang. Yin Ke Gang (尹克剛), who was studying in Taiwan, had studied with Zhang for four years, and had learned boxing at school, had studied martial arts, and was well versed in Shaolin and internal Kung Fu. Zhang was employed by the Department of Security to teach Taiji Quan and some Bagua Zhang. Zhang had mentioned to Yin that a Cantonese man called He Dacai had been one of the last students of his teacher. He did not know that the Bagua Zhang teacher Ho Ho Choy was also the fellow student who was then called He Dacai. Yin wanted to refresh his Bagua Zhang knowledge, so he asked Li Ying Ang if there were any Bagua Zhang teachers in Hong Kong. Li said that only Ho taught this style in Hong Kong and introduced them. Yin was worried that he was currently studying with the wrong person, so he wanted to watch Ho to see if their teaching was similar. Ho was teaching a straight-line linked form that night, called Snake style Wrapping Palm. Watching the paired practice convinced Yin that it was one of Master Gao’s 64 Palms. Ten days later, Yin went to Chai Wan to visit Ho and Ho demonstrated the single forms and sparred with him. Yin realized that he had only learned the training forms and did not know how to use them. Yin had originally learned the Tiger style but Ho felt that his body would suit the Dragon style. He thought Yin had potential, so he happily taught him. They would spar every week, and Ho taught Yin the three parts of every palm, including the attack, defense, and linked form, and held nothing back. Ho remembered what Gao had once said in earnest: Even though the teacher may be alive, the student may not be able to follow him for a long time. And even if the student has adequate time, the teacher may not live long enough to teach him the whole art.

YIN KE GANG, ALSO NAMED YIN ZHEN QUAN (尹振強)

Once Yin Ke Gang knew about Wu Meng Xia, he wrote to him and begged to be taken on as a disciple. Wu was happy to have a student in Hong Kong and agreed to treat him like a disciple, and sent him photographs explaining the applications of the Single Palm Change. Wu corresponded with Ho and Yin, and they all benefited a lot from this. Wu had been active in the martial arts world for over 50 years and was clear about the true principles underlying martial arts; his study of its history greatly exceeded the average person. The secrets that he passed on had not been seen by the outside world, as most had been transmitted orally or stemmed from his personal experience, so this was a valuable resource for the Bagua School. He stressed that one must be clear that the founder of Bagua Zhang was Bi Deng Xia, not the alchemist from Snow Flower Mountain nor Fang Tian Jue of Jiu Hua Shan as legend had it. During the Cultural Revolution in the 1960s, all traditional arts and martial arts were banned, so Wu’s correspondence also came to an end. Li Xing He had moved to Taiwan to work, Yin had moved to Canada, and Peng Shao Kuang retired to the New Territories. Ho applied himself wholeheartedly to teaching martial arts and in the following years taught a large group of students like He Can Zhong, Li Rong Sheng, Cao Yao, Wu Bin Quan, Chen Yong He, Liu Ru Lin, CS Tang, Xu Guo Liang, Li Zhi Ming, Ke Sheng, Wang Chang Gen, and others, and they were all very accomplished.

The special adventure Hong Kong had banned fighting crickets, so Ho had started gathering medicinal herbs. He would take three to five students to Lantau Island or the mountain top in Chai Wan to gather fresh herbs. At a little stream beside the bridge to the Ling Yam Monastery at Ngong Ping, Ho discovered a large bunch of Dog’s Track Herb and began furiously harvesting it. A young monk appeared, and Ho and the students tried to avoid him as they were afraid of being scolded. However, the monk announced loudly that the herb was extremely useful. It was clear that the monk was familiar with Chinese herbs and the group initiated a conversation with him, asking his Buddhist name and how he came to be familiar with Chinese herbs. He replied that someone within his order had taught him, and he explained how to prepare a special poultice to treat a snake bite. On April 10, 1971, Ho, along with his students Liu Ru Lin, Wu Bao Quan, CS Tang, and Xu Guo Liang, went to Mui Wo and went up Luo Han Mountain to pick herbs. They spent the night at Bao Lian Monastery and the following day went down to Deer Lake. At Ling Yin Monastery they met the same monk, who had temporarily made the monastery his home. He mentioned that he had seven “Ruler of the Grains Pills” that could stave off hunger for several days. Liu Ru Lin humbly asked him for some and arranged to meet him a month later. The monk led the group to the abbot of the temple. The abbot lay on the bed, smoking opium, and he had a long talk with the group. This was the first time I saw someone smoking opium, which smelled very special. The next day the group tried to go back down the mountain but heard that a Signal 8 typhoon was forecast. They rushed down to the pier and saw the last ferry leaving. It was raining heavily, and there were no hotels or houses near the pier. They found a temple called King of Hou Temple (侯王廟) and asked the abbot for shelter. Four of the group slept on the floor that night. They returned to their concerned families in Hong Kong on the ferry the next day. I have very good memories of that trip.

APPROACHING THE LING YIN MONASTERY

CHINESE TEA BREAKFAST AFTER THE TYPHOON

LING YIN MONASTERY’S SIGN

A MONK SMOKING OPIUM INSIDE THE TEMPLE

At that time, Ho’s inner-door disciple Ren Yong was interested in Taoism and was studying with “the Drunken Taoist,” He Chi Zhong—the head priest of the Chinese monastery Po Do Tong in North Point. Ho had heard that the Drunken Taoist had once read an anthology of Bi Deng Xia’s poems in Guangzhou, and Ho asked a student, He De Biao, what he thought about this. Ho held his birthday

celebration at the same place every year: the second floor of the Yan Yan Restaurant in Central. Ho’s students Liu Ru Lin and Meng Ke had arranged with He De Biao to find the anthology on the seventh day of the first month of the lunar year in 1971, but were unable to enter the temple. They tried again on the first day of the second month, but the Drunken Taoist had retired to the mountain for several days. Liu Ru Lin noticed a fortune teller nearby and asked him which Taoist temple Bi Deng Xia studied at and when Bagua Zhang was brought to the world. The fortune teller using the planchette writing stated: Intention strives to be pure and still, thoughts strive to be clear, enlightenment strives to be complete, the way seeks to be bright. Thoughts are detailed like the many threads in the Taoist cloak, the wide dawn and the endless clouds supported by a single tree, seeking to meet the boat at the mouth of the river, with a light breeze on a moonlight night as dawn is about to break. This prophesy aroused Ho’s interest, and he took his student He Can Zhong to the temple to seek an explanation from the spirit of Master Bi. A second prophesy stated: The affair has a happy ending; with a sincere heart everything is appropriate, everything is greatly auspicious, perform the rites, it is indeed an auspicious spirit. It seemed that something would be revealed. Ho then asked about the history of the art again. The spirit replied: The Pure Yang appreciates the sincere heart. Today you have come to inquire; what you seek will be as you desire. Do not hesitate to go forward, it will be meaningful to both parties, and what remains will be forever fragrant. In the midst of the writing there seemed to be an image of giving and receiving, but what was hardest to decipher was “both parties.” Did it mean Ho and Master Bi or Ho and his student? On April 4, the spirit of Lu Dong Bin descended upon the temple to speak through the planchette writing. The writing stated: You who seek have perseverance. Receiving the materials depends on your fortune; you are a lucky man, the opportunity arises anew every day. It seemed to state that Ho was destined to receive a collection of Bagua Zhang’s true teachings. Ho’s student Lei Meng Ke asked when Bagua Zhang would again impact the martial arts world. The writing stated: Wait for the months to pass, guard the clouds, keep your heart happy, forge and strengthen the vital essence for that is the true wholeness. The beautiful jade is carved before it becomes a vessel; to protect you the cloud opens to reveal the new moon. Ho’s student He Can Zhong was also a Taoist, and he asked about Grandmaster Bi but did not receive instructions, so he decided to ask again the next day. The new writing stated: The heat of summer has not come into its element; wait for the excitement of the coming days—the mountains have a person you are destined to meet, to repay a ten-thousand-year favor.

A precious Nei Gong text

On the 28th day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar in 1971, Ho and his students spent the night at the Ling Yam Monastery and went to speak with the monk. There was a lot of discussion on Buddhist teachings and Ho asked if the monk could interpret the words of the prophesy. The monk replied that this was a Zen Koan and could not be interpreted literally; Ho had to wait until the event had happened before he could understand its spirit. Ho also talked about the relationship between Bagua Zhang and the principles of the I-Ching, and the monk remembered that he knew a hermit who guarded a precious Nei Gong text. Ho begged to borrow it but the monk said that the hermit never showed anyone the text —the monk had known the hermit for 20 years, but he had only ever glanced at it. The hermit had said that he would only pass it on to someone whom he was fated to meet and was familiar with the principles of the I-Ching. Ho left his card with the monk in the hope of receiving the text. Two months later, the monk brought the treasured texts to Ho’s house. One was called The Heart Transmission of How to Reach Dao, and the other was a practical step-by-step guide to meditation. The Taoist principles were in accordance with Bagua Zhang and the Five Elements, and when Ho showed the monk his own writings on Bagua Zhang, he was extremely happy and said that it was Ho’s karmic fortune to have received the complete practice. Ho took the monk to Tin Lok Lane to his practice area, pointed to the circle on the ground, and showed how it was similar to the diagrams in the book. Later, they shared a vegetarian meal. Ho explained that he wished to pay his respects to the monk as a disciple, but the monk replied: Although you have been taught by him, you do not need to meet face to face, as long as you are grateful—that is enough. Now that he has transmitted the text to you, you have to make five observances: 1) you may not circulate printed copies; 2) you may not teach it to those who do not understand the fundamental principles; 3) do not teach it to those who seek to profit from it; 4) do not transmit it to young people; 5) it is not that you may not teach this, but you must consider the appropriate person. Having received the valuable text, Ho spent time studying it, and on June 30 the monk came to retrieve the original. Not long after, the monk left Ling Yam Monastery for another monastery in the New Territories. Ho took his students Lei Meng Ke, Wu Bao Quan, CS Tang, and Xu Guo Liang to Fong Wong Shan (Lantan Peak) to pick herbs. At the iron gate of Bao Lian Monastery they found the words “Cessation and Stillness” written, along with the words “Listen, Contemplate, Practice.” And on Luk Wu Path they found a house on which was written “Complete Enlightenment,” and inside there was a pair of hanging scrolls that read, “Five hundred years have come and gone and we have just met and you ask, who is it that has carried the burden on his back for a millennium?” This seemed to correspond to Ho’s quest for the anthology of poems, and the fact that he now had to singlehandedly promote and transmit the art. He also realized that “receiving the materials depends on your fortune” referred to his receiving of the Taoist text. He also remembered that when he met the monk at Ling Yam Monastery, there was a plaque on the Gate of Correct Perception on which was engraved, “The vital Qi, a single bell, one body of water winds around and reaches the opposite shore. Hidden cultivation offers proof of the Tao. A range of mountains encircling protects the true essence.” The words were in complete accordance with the prophesy. In order to confirm this and seek further enlightenment Ho and his students consulted the oracle again; this time it said:

With the utmost effort you have cultivated the fields from the past until now, you have been detailed in every aspect, but you can sleep your whole life without mastering yourself, for the illusions (world) change in an instant as do your thoughts, the beautiful sun will rise from here, from the early shadows the wind and clouds form. This seemed to give a definitive conclusion to the prophesy: the movement and stillness practices are united in one teaching and need to be taught with the greatest attention and effort; the day when the teaching would be widespread and respected was not far off. At the beginning of the eighth month of the lunar calendar of 1972, Ho caught a cold. As he was recuperating at home, he was very bored and sat in the lotus position to start training in accordance with the instructions in The Heart Transmission of How to Reach Dao. Suddenly, he felt his lower Dantian was burning hot and the true Qi shot from his anus up to the Governing Vessel through the Yang Che, Lu Che, and Ta Niu Che acupressure points; the Tai Yang points on both his cheeks started pulsating as though they were electrified, and after sweating for a while, he felt comfortable and at peace. He continued his practice for five days and the feeling remained. When he consulted the manual he immediately understood the writing in the “Heaven’s Root Moon’s Cavity 36 Palace” diagram, which stated: “When inhaling you will hear the sound of the tiger’s whistle and the sound of the wind; when exhaling the dragon’s singing the clouds arising.” It seemed that the “sun at the bottom of the sea” referred to the area of the sexual organs (in the area of the perineum). The last prophesy stated, “The beautiful sun will rise from here; from the early shadows the wind and clouds form.” Was this not referring to the True Qi (Kundalini Energy) rising up the body and the clouds forming when breathing in and out? It seemed that the passage was referring to the True Qi dissolving the blockages in the body. Ho trained according to the manual’s instructions, and as he trained in Bagua Zhang every day, he already had a deep understanding of moving and standing meditations. And as the information in the manual was in complete accordance with the principles of Bagua Zhang, his progress was rapid. He also chose the appropriate students with whom to share the secrets.

A SHAOLIN MONK, HUANG HUNG ZHAN, WHO LIVED TO BE 105

CS TANG VISITING THE TEMPLE WHERE GRANDMASTER BI CHENG XIA LIVED

A GROUP PHOTO TAKEN AFTER MEETING THE MONK

MASTER HO WITH THE MONK

ALLEN LUI AND CS TANG VISITING LING YAM MONASTERY

THE BOOK OF SPECIAL ADVENTURE WRITTEN BY CS TANG

THE HEART TRANSMISSION OF HOW TO REACH DAO

Communication with Zhang Zhun Feng of Taiwan In Taiwan, Zhang Zhun Feng had taught martial arts on the second floor of No. 19 Chunghsiao East Road, Section 2, for 20 years and worked with as many as 20,000 students. In March 1972, Lei Meng Ke’s friend, who had the surname Deng, was going to Taiwan on business. Ho asked him to take a photo of all the students after a banquet as a gift to Zhang. When Zhang received the photo he was beside himself with joy, and wrote to Ho relating all that had happened since they had parted. He sent a photo of his family and also asked Deng to take Ho a hanging scroll of the 64 Palms to show that he was also a student of Gao Yi Sheng. Li Xing He had also moved to Taiwan, but when he returned to Hong Kong for business he went directly to Tin Lok Lane to find Ho, where they caught up on events that had happened after they had left. He also went to Ho’s birthday party and took a photo with Ho and the Buddhist Hermit Xu Kai Ru to commemorate the event.

Students’ expectations Ho taught Bagua Zhang in a set sequence and hoped that each student could learn the whole system so that it would not be lost. However, while many students learned all the forms for the 64 Palms, few of them had the patience to continue their study and learn the applications and how to put them to practice. Only a few people learned the weapons and the “sticking and separating hands,” a kind of sparring.

Some of Ho Ho Choy’s students Huang Dong Quan (黃東泉) was a businessman who sold glass bottles. He had trained in the hard styles when he was young, but changed to Bagua Zhang in middle age and his body changed from being very weak to being strong. After graduating from the art he started teaching in the Hung Hom area.

HUANG DONG QUAN AND STUDENT

Ren Yong (任永), originally a chef in a dim sum restaurant, has a strong body and teaches in Kowloon City Park. Huang Ci Ning opened a school on Dai Nam Street.

REN YONG AND CS TANG

Students who are still in the process of acquiring the art are Hu Shen, Lei Meng Ke, Wu Bao Quan, CS Tang, Xu Guo Liang, Chen Yong He, and Ho’s son, Ho Yu Quan. They are studying diligently and readying themselves for the time when it is their responsibility to transmit and promote the art.

Ho Ho Choy’s performance Ho rarely performed, but he demonstrated in public twice: once at the Southern Playground and once at Wang Dong Chai’s annual dinner. I was lucky to be there to see these performances.

MASTER HO PERFORMED AT THE SOUTHERN PLAYGROUND IN 1968

MASTER HO PERFORMING BAGUA ZHANG AT WANG DONG CHAI’S ANNUAL DINNER, 1972

Important dates in Ho Ho Choy’s life 1911: Ho was born on the 20th day of the 7th month (lunar calendar), in a village in Guangdong Province in China. His birthday is easy to remember, as it is the same day as when Bruce Lee died! 1928: Ho learned Hung Kar southern Shaolin style. 1936: Ho went to Tianjin. 1938: Ho learned Bagua Zhang from Gao Yi Sheng. 1942: Ho learned more Bagua weapons in Gao’s village. 1944: Ho returned to his home village in Guangdong. 1950: Ho went to Hong Kong. 1952: Ho met Li Xing He of the Yin style in Hong Kong. 1955: Ho started teaching Bagua Zhang in Central. 1971: Ho met a monk and received the books of The Heart Transmission of How to Reach Dao. 1995: Ho passed away peacefully at home on November 2.

Ho Ho Choy’s special characteristics •

When new students applied to learn from him, he would never ask them what they had learned before. If you paid, he would teach.

•

However, he hated students who had learned Taiji Quan previously, because they always seemed to practice without energy and they often softened their hand, so others could easily cross their boundaries.

•

He would use vulgar language or hit students on the hands or head if they: –

showed slow responses or were stupid

–

did not understand quickly or follow his demonstration immediately

–

did not remember what he’d taught the day before

–

would not release the lock, even if it made it more difficult to release.

•

He welcomed questions, so he could show that he could answer them easily.

•

He liked to unlock from Chin Na to demonstrate the application of Pre-Heaven methods.

•

He liked to share the theories of the I-Ching and incorporate them into Bagua Zhang.

•

He liked to talk about herbs every night.

•

He hated students teaching outside without telling him.

•

He had asked three students to leave the school.

Respecting the teacher •

On the first day of the Chinese New Year, we would visit Ho’s home, pay our respects, and gave him our red packets.

•

At every mid-Autumn festival, we would give Ho a red packet to show our respect for his teaching.

MASTER HO AND CS TANG, 1980

MASTER HO’S CALLIGRAPHY INSTRUCTING CS TANG TO TEACH BAGUA ZHANG

OPEN PALM AND AN OLD MANUSCRIPT DEMONSTRATING THE SAME THING

The following photos show visitors of the Gao Bagua Zhang lineage from Tianjin.

HUANG JIN XING AND GUESTS VISITING

LIU SHU HENG AND GUESTS VISITING

THE LEGEND OF MASTER ZHANG ZHUN FENG—GAO BAGUA ZHANG IN TAIWAN

CS TANG AND ZHANG ZHUN FENG, 1973

ZHANG ZHUN FENG (1903–1974)

In 1973 I visited Zhang Zhun Feng and made the following notes: Ho Ho Choy, who had single handedly promoted Gao Yi Sheng’s Guang Hua Mountain style of Bagua Zhang in Hong Kong, had always harbored a fondness for his fellow disciples from his time in Tianjin. He only knew of Wu Meng Xia in mainland China, with whom he had lost contact, and Zhang Zhun Feng in Taiwan to whom he occasionally sent letters to share his thoughts. I was touring Taiwan and asked to pay my respects to Zhang. I visited his studio on the second floor of No. 126 Xinyi Road, Section 2, Taipei City, on May 5, 1973. The school offered bone-setting services as well as teaching martial arts. Hanging outside the school was a black sign with gold lettering saying “Shandong Yizong Guoshu Headquarters.” Inside, Zhang taught Xing Yi Quan, Bagua Zhang, and Taiji Quan. There were weapons racks and group photographs of students from various periods. There was a “Han Gong Qui—Autumn in the Han Palace” banner with a plaque dedicated to Yin Fu to the right and one dedicated to Gao Yi Sheng to the left. On both sides were diagrams explaining Tai Chi and Bagua Zhang. There was also a picture of the Bodhidharma, the legendary monk who brought martial arts to China.

STUDIO ENTRANCE

A PHOTO THAT ZHANG ZHUN FENG GAVE ME—IT WAS TAKEN IN TAIPEI, AND HIS CHILDREN ARE IN THE BACKGROUND

As soon as Zhang realized that I was a student of Ho Ho Choy in Hong Kong, it was as though a longlost relative had arrived. He received me with great respect. When I gave him a photo of Ho in his youth performing a Single Palm Change, Zhang was overcome with nostalgia. He sighed that he had been separated from his brethren for many decades, and they were now scattered in so many places. He also spoke of how he trained with Ho at the soccer grounds at the intersection of Guangdong Road and Tang Shan Road in the British concession in Tianjin under the tutelage of Gao Yi Sheng.

ZHANG ZHUN FENG’S FAMILY

Zhang learned Xing Yi Quan as well as Bagua Zhang. He studied Taiji Quan with Wu Meng Xia under the tutelage of Niu Lian Yuan. Master Niu was a friend and student of Yang Ban Hou and learned many of the family secrets of the Yang style. He also placed an emphasis on applications, on the frame and structure, and how his Taiji Quan differed from other styles. Wu Meng Xia’s publication 81 Step Taiji Quan and Commentary on the 9 Principles provides a detailed and extensive explanation. In Taiwan, Zhang taught on a patch of sandy ground in the park. The former Vice President Chen Cheng rode his horse there every morning to watch Zhang teach and eventually invited him to the

Presidential Palace to perform. Zhang then earned the approval and admiration of the martial arts community in Taiwan. Zhang’s disciples reached 20,000 and he taught them in five classes. Zhang lived at his school and his wife was also skilled in martial arts, assisting him in his teaching. I showed a diagram explaining the 64 Post-Heaven Palms and a combined diagram of the PreHeaven and Post-Heaven Palms, to support Zhang’s Yi Zong Bagua Diagram of the 64 Palms. Zhang’s wife and I demonstrated movements and commented on the similarities and differences. It seemed that Zhang had learned the Tiger Form, where the movements were tighter and more powerful, whereas Ho taught the Dragon Form, which was more expansive, smoother, and softer.

SINGLE PALM CHANGE POSTURE OF MRS. ZHANG AND ZHANG

Gao Yi Sheng’s starting movement is Kai Zhang (Open Palm), and the meaning is profound, as it implies both enlightenment and breaking open, and is of the Qian hexagram. It is the most basic and the seed of the 64 Palms and is a special feature of the Gao system. When I started practicing the Dragon style Kai Zhang, my body twisted up and drilled down, hand pierced, brushed aside, then pushed down and burst the step to the middle. However, Mrs. Zhang used contact of the hands before launching into a drilling movement, which is a movement from Kai Zhang’s third step. Both evidenced the first eight Houtian palms. Zhang said that he liked to use the Open Palm, Hidden Palm, and Evading Palm most of all. And he also mentioned that Gao Yi Sheng had liked to use right Kai Zhang most of all, and defeated innumerable martial artists with this move. He once used Kai Zhang to kill the nefarious villain “Poison of the Black Heart.” Gao Yi Sheng used Kai Zhang to crush and break the bladder of “Wicked Heart Guy,” who eventually died after three days. Gao had to flee to a village and did not return to Tianjin city. Mrs. Zhang explained their three basic exercises: Zhan Zhuang or standing meditation; Five Elements Steps; and Zhuan Yao (Smooth Turning Hip). Their fighting principles are: pulling, hitting, timing, exquisite technique, the eight elbows, eight legs, eight shapes, and eight types of step. Ho’s style has a web of eight guiding principles: hard and soft; clockwise and anticlockwise; straight and cross; and form and shape. All this goes to prove Wu Meng Xia’s dictum that “the practice of Bagua Zhang resides in sinking and weight as its structure and fluidity and following in its application.”

POSITION OF THE BLADDER IN THE BODY

FROM LEFT: WU MENG XIA, GAO YI SHENG, AND WU ZHAO FUNG

A POSTER OF ZHANG’S SYSTEM

Zhang had received a message that Wu Meng Xia, the martial arts hero of deep knowledge and ability who was clear about the unadulterated, original theory of Bagua Zhang, had had a stroke and had passed away many years prior. Unfortunately, he only left a book on Tai Chi. But his personal letters have become valued source material for Bagua Zhang. His brilliant life story tells of his hard striving for the true art and will aid those who come after him in their personal development by acting as a mirror to their efforts.

THE DISPLAY IN ZHANG’S STUDIO

LETTERS BETWEEN CS TANG AND ZHANG

A detailed account of my meeting with Zhang Zhun Feng I worked in a travel agent and had the chance to get a discount fare. On May 7, 1973, I visited Taiwan without any preparation or planning. Two days after arriving in Taipei, I went to Taipei Botanic Garden at 6:00am. I saw many Chinese martial arts that I did not know. I saw Master Gao Dao Sheng teaching Mantis form and showing a very high level of the art and we had a long talk. At 8:30am, I took a taxi to Zhang’s studio. I knocked on the door, and Mrs. Zhang let me in. Zhang sat on a chair, where he stayed for my whole visit. Mrs. Zhang explained that Zhang had a problem with his leg. When I said that I had come from the school of Ho Ho Choy in Hong Kong, Mrs. Zhang was so surprised and let me sit down in front of Zhang. Zhang was so eager to inquire about my master and many other things. Zhang’s language still had a Shangtong accent, and wasn’t pure Mandarin, and was difficult for me to understand. Mrs. Zhang asked me whether we practiced the Five Elements Steps, the 64 straight-line palms, etc. She then demonstrated most of the forms, especially static stances, Five Elements walk, and the “move” exercise of the Ten Heavenly Stems. I practiced my style of 64 palms in linking form, which she had never done before.

Comparing our styles Differences: •

Mrs. Zhang used more strength and was more explicit.

•

All movements were in single form with no linking-into-eight routines.

Similarities: •

We all did Pre- and Post-Heaven in a similar format.

After the meeting, Zhang gave me a hanging diagram of all 64 Palms, a photo of his family, and one of himself bearing the long “Moon Teeth Spade.” Zhang’s eyes were open very wide like an eagle, and his palms were large and powerful. He always sat with his back straight. It was easy to feel that he was a master on first sight. Zhang said: •

“We never met with your master in Tianjin.”

•

“Tell your master that I was the boss of a famous fruit distributor ‘Ho Kun Chow,’ he must have heard of that.”

•

“Did your teacher tell you the essential thing of Bagua Zhang? It’s the Cross Tie.”

He then held my right hand and made contact with his right hand, making a cross like an “X” and explained the application. All the way he just sat. His hand was big and strong. When he grasped my wrist, it felt like an eagle claw that I could hardly escape. I asked Zhang, “Which of the 64 Palms do you think are most useful and effective?” He replied, “Well, the Open (Koi), Hide (Chong), and Elude (Sim), etc. Do you know that Master Gao had a combat with a Taiji teacher? He struck at his stomach. It was so strong that the teacher died three days later because of a broken bladder.” Zhang sent me two rhyme manuscripts after I returned to Hong Kong: the Wu Chi Win Yuen Rhyme and Five Word Truth Scripture Rhyme. He mentioned that he kept these manuscripts a secret and would not easily pass them to students, because the content was harmful, treacherous, and murderous. I studied them and asked him questions about them. He answered my questions about the theories and the 12 animal forms in Bagua Zhang. The following year, I engraved a stone seal and sent it to him. He replied that he was in hospital and liked the seal very much. He explained the rhyme to me again. Soon after this, on July 5, 1974, he died.

A SEAL ENGRAVED BY CS TANG FOR ZHANG

Visiting Taiwan again

I returned to Taipei in 1983. I knocked on the door of Zhang’s home but no one answered. However, Mrs. Zhang soon arrived, coming back from the market. I told her who I was. She was so surprised and asked if it was really me. We sat down and talked. I had brought a photo of Zhang’s book that my Japanese student Kasao had found in a sports library in Tokyo and asked whether there were any remaining copies. She said that, when Zhang died, they had burned most of his manuscripts during a ceremony, including Dim Muk Book, Chai Mui Stick, and BaGua Qiqong. She said she would look for them, and asked me to visit again the following day. I arrived the next morning, and there were several students waiting there. Mrs. Zhang said there were no more books left, except for a manuscript of Xing Yi Quan, which she gave me as a souvenir. On that day I also met Zhang Yong Liang. Later, we became very good friends and he gave me some Bagua Zhang manuscripts.

1 2 3

Published in New Martial Arts Hero Magazine, June 1973. Beijing or Peking was renamed Beiping during the Republic of China Era (1911–1949) and the capital was moved south to Nanjing. Literal meaning: in admiration of Xia, the martial arts hero.

CHAPTER 3

BASIC EXERCISES AND SYSTEM THREE BASINS AND PALM DEFINITIONS Gao style Bagua Zhang is divided into three parts, which are called the Three Basins (“basins” is a term used in Chinese martial arts that means “portions”). 1.

2.

3.

The height of the level of practice: –

High-stance walking

–

Middle-stance walking

–

Low-stance walking

The size of the circle: –

Large circle with large steps

–

Medium circle with normal steps

–

Small circle with tight steps

Definition of different parts of the body: –

Horizontal basin—eight directions of stepping

–

Vertical basin—eight parts of the body

–

Diagonal basin—eight positions of the palms

THE THREE BASINS OF BAGUA ZHANG RIGHT COLUMN: THREE BASINS FOR HEIGHT OF STANDS—FIRST ROW, HIGH STAND; SECOND ROW, MIDDLE HIGHT STAND; THIRD ROW, LOW STAND. MIDDLE COLUMN: THREE BASINS FOR SIZE OF CIRCLE—FIRST ROW, BIG CIRCLE FOR SELF TURNING STEPS; SECOND ROW, MIDDLE CIRCLE FOR 8 STEPS; THIRD ROW, SMALL CIRCLE FOR JUST CROSSING CENTER. LEFT COLUMN: THREE BASINS FOR THREE-DIMENSIONAL—HORIZONTAL, VERTICAL, DIAGONAL.

1 HORIZONTAL BASIN—EIGHT DIRECTIONS OF STEPPING CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: RIGHT LEG STEPS FORWARD 45 DEGREES, BACK TO LEFT, SIDEWAYS, BACK LEFT 45 DEGREES; LEFT LEG STEPS BACK, BACK 45 DEGREES, SIDEWAYS, AND HOOK STEP.

2 VERTICAL BASIN—EIGHT PARTS OF THE BODY CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: HEAD, PALM, STOMACH, LEG, THIGH, STEP, CHEST, AND HAND.

3 DIAGONAL BASIN—EIGHT POSITIONS OF THE PALMS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: CENTER OF PALM, FINGERTIP, EDGE, BOTTOM, BACK, SIDE OF THUMB, CLAW, AND FIST.

EXPLANATION AND APPLICATION Horizontal basin—eight directions of stepping

THE EIGHT DIRECTIONS OF STEPPING CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SOUTH 離 LÍ—RIGHT LEG STEPS FORWARD; SOUTH WEST 坤 KUN—TO FRONT 45 DEGREES; WEST 兌 DUÌ—BACK TO LEFT SIDEWAYS; NORTH WEST 乾 QIAN—BACK TO LEFT 45 DEGREES; NORTH 坎 KAN—LEFT LEG STEPS BACK; NORTH EAST 艮 GEN —BACK 45 DEGREES; EAST 震 ZHEN—SIDEWAYS; SOUTH EAST 巽 XUN—AND HOOK STEP.

THE POSITION OF THE EIGHT STEPS The Five Elements of the steps

Vertical basin—eight parts of the body

HEAD, PALM, STOMACH, LEG, THIGH, STEP, CHEST, AND HAND

Diagonal basin—eight positions of the palms Different palm positions correspond to the Eight Trigrams. In the past, knowing the names and positions of the palms was a way of secretly identifying that you were a closed-door disciple.

YANG PALM (陽掌)

YIN PALM (陰掌)

POSITIONS OF THE EIGHT TRIGRAMS IN THE PALM

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: CENTER OF PALM, FINGERTIP, EDGE, ROOT, BACK, SIDE OF THUMB, CLAW, AND FIST

乾 Qian, 坎 Kan, ⾉ Gen, 震 Zhen, 巽 Xun, 離 Lí, 坤 Kun, 兌 Duì

QIAN—CENTER (乾卦掌心-搬掌)

KUN—BACK (坤卦掌背)

GEN—BOTTOM (艮卦掌根)

ZHEN—SIDE (震卦下削)

XU—FINGER (巽卦指插)

LÍ—CLAW (離卦 抓捋)

KAN—EDGE (坎卦掌外緣-砍掌)

DUÌ—FIST (兌卦成拳) The application of the eight positions of the palms

1 QIAN—CENTER (乾卦掌心 - 搬掌)

HEART OF PALM (CENTER OF THE PALM) ATTACK

2 KAN—EDGE (坎卦掌外緣-砍掌) (ALSO CALLED PI ZHANG (劈掌))

3 GEN—BOTTOM (艮卦掌根): THE ROOT OF THE PALM (ALSO CALLED TAR ZHANG (塌掌))

4 ZHEN—SIDE: INNER EDGE (震卦下削)

5 XU—FINGER (巽卦指插)

6 LÍ—CLAW (離卦 抓捋)

7 KUN—BACK (坤卦掌背)

8 DUÌ—FIST (兌卦成拳)

DRAWINGS FROM 1972 SHOWING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE PALMS WITH THE I-CHING FROM LEFT: CENTER OF PALM, FINGERTIP, EDGE, BOTTOM, BACK, SIDE OF THUMB, CLAW, AND FIST. A common palm attack

(Demonstrated by Eric Poling.)

2 KAN—EDGE (坎卦掌外緣-砍掌)

2 KAN—EDGE (坎卦掌外緣-砍掌)

3 GEN—BOTTOM (艮卦掌根): THE ROOT OF THE PALM

BAGUA ZHANG FIVE ELEMENTS STEPS EXERCISE (五⾏步) The Five Elements Steps exercise is a set of walking patterns for beginners, especially those practicing Gao style Bagua Zhang. This is a training exercise. 1.

Move forward in a stable manner.

2.

Lift your back leg with power, as if you were pulling a heavy car tire.

3.

Lift the back leg up in a flat position, without showing the bottom of the foot.

4.

When moving forward, keep the total weight on the front leg.

5.

Move the back leg very slowly to strengthen the muscles.

6.

Pause when the back leg passes the front leg.

7.

Keep the leg flat—do not stand up when stepping.

8.

When the back leg passes the front leg, generate power in the standing leg.

9.

Try to step forward as far as you can, but do not jump.

10. The key here is to bend your body forward, like a wall falling down, or as if you were to crush your opponent by falling down on the ground. 11. Rush forward with a heavy landing and keep your balance. 12. Walk continuously with the left and right leg until you reach the wall; then turn back to walk again. 13. Turn with the T-step (where the steps form a T-shape), keeping a good angle to the step. 14. Remember to walk in a straight line with straight steps and no Bai Bu (擺步), i.e. turning foot outward 45 degrees.

DRAWING OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS RELATIONSHIP BY MASTER HO HO CHOY 1. PEI STEP IS FORWARD 2. BEI BU TO THE BACK 3. JI STEPS TO LEFT 4. DUO STEPS TO RIGHT 5. STAY IS STANDING WITHOUT MOVEMENT. THEY CORRESPOND TO THE FIVE ELEMENTS OF METAL, WOOD, WATER, FIRE AND EARTH.

Walking with the Five Elements Steps

How to turn with the T-step and walk with a straight foot

Front view of walking with Five Elements Steps

BAGUA ZHANG KICKING POLE EXERCISE (踢樁) Bagua Zhang Kicking Pole exercise is an important exercise practiced before circle walking in Tianjin Gao style Bagua Zhang.

This exercise is intended to improve: •

keeping the balance when applying power when moving

•

waist power and speed of throwing

•

the power of kicking the opponent’s leg

•

turning 360 degrees without losing balance.

Bagua Zhang Kicking Pole exercise

This throwing technique helps the practitioner to: • •

stand with low Horse Stance generate power at the waist and back

• •

bind and throw forward with strong power sink and keep the balance.

Practice on the other side and keep practicing continuously until tired.

Kick hard, and rub the ground with the foot while walking forward to create sound.

OLD DRAWINGS SHOWING THE CONTINUOUS KICKING POLE EXERCISES

BAGUA ZHANG WALKING STEPS EXERCISES The Mud Walking step (趟泥步)

Different walking methods of the Mud Walking steps Different walking methods are applied according to the style and requirements. Eight Mother Palm method 1

•

Flat rise and flat landing.

•

This walking method is normally used in Ching style Bagua Zhang and is widely recognized as being standard in competition. It is also called the Beijing style of Mud Walking step (趙泥步).

Eight Mother Palm method 2

•

Kicking stepping (趨踢步).

•

This method is used in Fu style Bagua Zhang.

Eight Mother Palm method 3

•

Kick and rub the ground with the feet, creating a sound (擦踢步).

•

This method is used in Neiking style Bagua Zhang.

Eight Big Palm method 1

•

Horse stepping—lift up the back leg to kick.

•

This method is used in Yim style Bagua Zhang.

•

It is called “Horse Hoof step” (馬蹄步).

Eight Big Palm method 2

•

This method is used in Gao style Bagua Zhang.

•

It is called “Elephant step” (大象獻蹄).

64 Palms stepping method

•

Crane stepping, with a big and upper body, like falling.

•

This method is used in Gao style Bagua Zhang and in straight-line 64 Palms practice.

•

It is also called “Rub and Drag step” (搓拉步).

Turning to the other side of the circle

Three ways of Mud Walking Bai Kou Bu steps 1 The inside leg bends 45 degrees inwards, the outside leg steps on the line

2 Both legs step on the line or circumference

3 The inside leg cuts a tangent to the circumference, the outside steps on the line

Mud Walking on the line of the circle •

The most common style is Mud Walking, where the front leg points straight and the back leg points 45 degrees inside the circle.

•

In the traditional style, the front leg also points 45 degrees; this protects the bottom of the foot.

•

In Tianjin style the feet stay on the line of the circle.

WHEN TURNING AS BAI KOU BU (擺步 TURNING THE FOOT OUTWARD 45 DEGREES AND THEN INWARD 45 DEGREES) MOST STYLES DO IT IN A TRIANGLE SHAPE. IN TIANJIN STYLE THE KOU BO IS DONE IN A T-SHAPE.

(Demonstrated by Grace Poling.)

Application of Bai Kou Bu steps

(The following steps are demonstrated by Florence Lio.) 1 Kou Bu (turn the foot inward 45 degrees) to lock the front leg

2 Bai Bu (turn the foot outward 45 degrees) to lock the front right leg

3 Bai Bu to lock the front left leg

4 Kick Shuttlecock Bu (hold up leg like kicking a shuttlecock) to avoid low kicks

5 Lock leg throw

BAGUA ZHANG LEG-STRETCH EXERCISES Basic exercises Stances (步型)

1.

Horse Stance (馬步)

2.

Bow Stance (弓步)

3.

T-Stance (丁字步)

4.

High Empty Stance (高虛步)

5.

Half Horse Stance (半馬步)

6.

Crouch Leg (仆步)

Press legs (壓腿)

1.

Bow Step Press Leg (弓步壓腿)

2.

Empty Step Press Leg (虛步壓腿)

3.

Crouch Press Leg (仆步壓腿)

4.

Front Press Leg (正壓腿)

5.

Side Press Leg (側壓腿)

6.

Front Split Leg (正劈腿)

7.

Side Split Leg (側劈腿)

In order to kick and walk with power and flexibility, you must do the basic exercises frequently. On the next pages are some of the usual practices performed in my class. (Demonstrated by Annabel Cheng.) Stances (步型)

HORSE STANCE (馬步)

BOW STANCE (弓步)

T-STANCE (丁字步)

HIGH EMPTY STANCE (高虛步)

HALF HORSE STANCE (半馬步)

CROUCH LEG (仆步) Press legs (壓腿)

BOW STEP PRESS LEG (弓步壓腿)

EMPTY STEP PRESS LEG (虛步壓腿)

CROUCH PRESS LEG (仆步壓腿)

FRONT PRESS LEG (正壓腿)

SIDE PRESS LEG (側壓腿)

FRONT SPLIT LEG (正劈腿)

SIDE SPLIT LEG (側劈腿)

The wrong posture for Crouch Leg

(Demonstrated by Benjamin Leung.)

Good postures for Crouch Leg

(Demonstrated by Erica Liu.)

Stances and kicks in the form

HORSE STANCE IN TIGER PALM

CROUCH LEG IN SNAKE PALM

HIGH KICK IN SNAKE FORM

EMPTY STANCE IN SEVENTH EIGHT MOTHER PALM

KICKS IN EIGHT PALM

SINGLE LEG STANCE IN SEVENTH PALM

BAGUA ZHANG SPIN CIRCLE EXERCISES These spin circle exercises are practiced for the flexibility of the body and joints. They can also be used after the warm-up exercises. 1.

Curl Cloud Exercise (捲雲掌): This exercise is practiced before studying the Snake Form of the Eight Big Palm to prepare the shoulders.

2.

Turn Cloud Exercise (盤雲掌): This exercise is practiced before the Dragon Form of the Eight Big Palm, so the body gets used to bending forward and backward and the hands become more flexible at moving in circles.

3.

Penetrate Cloud Palm (穿雲掌): This exercise is practiced before the Tiger Palm of Eight Big Palm and to generate the side power.

Curl Cloud Exercise (捲雲掌) Single side exercise

Both sides exercise

Turn Cloud Exercise (盤雲掌) Single side Turn Cloud Palm

Both sides Turn Cloud Palm

Penetrate Cloud Palm (穿雲掌)

DRAWINGS OF HOW TO PRACTICE THE THREE SPIN CIRCLE EXERCISES

BAGUA ZHANG FIVE ELEMENTS POWER EXERCISES

Five Elements Power exercises teach practitioners how to generate a different level and angles of power: striking downwards, sinking down, throwing upwards, sideways, and the unity, whole body power. These exercises train long and slow power first, then short and fast. Without completing these sets of training, you are not ready to throw your opponent away to the door, window, or ceiling. Five Elements Power: 1.

Downwards power (沉力) (Metal)

2.

Sinking power (暗力) (Water)

3.

Bottom power (底力) (Wood)

4.

Inwards power (內力) (Fire)

5.

Unity power (整力) (Earth)

DRAWING BY MASTER HO ILLUSTRATING THE RIVALRY OF THE FIVE ELEMENTS

Downwards power (沉⼒) (Metal) Strike from top to bottom to strike your opponent so they fall to the ground. (This is also called Dragon Waist.)

Side view

Sinking power (暗⼒) (Water) Retreat and pull your opponent to the ground.

Side view

Bottom power (底⼒) (Wood) Throwing upwards from the lower part of the body.

Side view

Inwards power (內⼒) (Fire) Twist the arm to the left side and then to the right side.

Unity power (整⼒) (Earth) Combine all five powers into one united power and strike.

Side view

Application of the Five Elements Power Downwards power (沉⼒)

Sinking power (暗⼒)

Bottom power (底⼒)

Inwards power (內⼒)

Unity power (整⼒)

(Demonstrated by CS Tang, William Steinberg, and Fok TS.)

TEN HEAVENLY STEMS EXERCISES (⼋卦掌 ⼗天⼲) CS Tang taught these exercises on a Hong Kong TV program in 2011.

The Ten Heavenly Stems (Tian Gan) Historical background

Heavenly Stem, or Celestial Stem, Tian Gan in Chinese, is an ancient Chinese cyclic character numeral system: Jia (甲), Yi (乙), Bing (丙), Ding (丁), Wu (戊), Ji (己), Geng (庚), Xin (辛), Ren (壬), Gui (癸). They were first used to date years in the Shang Dynasty, and are now used with the 12 Earthly Branches in the Sexagenary cycle of years. They are associated with the concepts of Yin and Yang and the Five Elements and are commonly used in Chinese astronomy and Feng Shui. The Shang people had a myth in which there were ten suns, each of which appears in order in a ten-day cycle (旬). The Heavenly Stems were the names of the ten suns and were found in the given names of the kings of the Shang. The Stems are still commonly used nowadays in China in counting systems similar to the way the alphabet is used in English. Bagua Zhang Nei Gong exercises

This set of exercises is part of the Gao Yi Sheng Bagua Zhang syllabus, and is concerned with the rooting of the martial body. The exercises can be practiced at different heights of stance and rates of vigor to train the internal movements (commonly called Jing) inherent in the techniques explored by the

circle forms and the straight-line (Hau Tin) sets. There are also regional variations depending on the lineage of Gao style Bagua—there are differences in the Tian Gan taught by Zhang Zhun Feng in Taiwan with that of those taught in Tianjin. The meaning of Tian Gan as a “heavenly stem” in Mandarin relates in a deep cultural way to the Taoist models of the universe. Initially these theories need not concern the martial development of the body. The movements are well conceived and if practiced properly can be very demanding. The body work produces strong legs and thighs over time and straightens the lower back to help the body’s bowing movements. It is possible to see the body as the “trunk” and the arms as the “branches” of a tree, reflecting a Taoist concept of the universe, where the body is reflective of nature. Tian Gan express the way the body should work in a martial technique. By reducing the amount of variables of movement, the low stances of the Tian Gan focus the body work on the area prescribed by their names—for example: Ban, meaning Parry; Kun, meaning Chop; Tiao, meaning Hook. There are ten exercises in the Gao Yi Sheng syllabus and they can be practiced in intelligent ways. The sets can also be practiced with an emphasis on flexibility or an emphasis on explosive power. Some use them to train as part of a circuit, practicing them in sets. For instance, you could choose to do 20 on either side in between some crane dips and spot pad work. As a warm-up exercise to help stretch the legs and torso, practice them long and low, extending all through the body. This power development can strengthen the heart. These exercises improve the circulatory system, massage the internal organs, and lengthen the spine. The power produced by diligently practicing these well over time is quite substantial. The opening and closing shapes of the body in Tian Gan will focus the training directly into simple and practical martial applications that should later be reflected in the palms.

Ready posture

The function of Back Fist (貼背拳) Before starting, make a fist and put it behind your lower back. This is to:

•

make you concentrate on moving with one hand

•

direct your Qi, through the contact of the back of your fist, to consolidate from your body back to your kidney, so you store your Qi for future use.

Requirements of every movement 1.

Stretch as much as you can.

2.

The hand and leg must reach as far as possible to a position that you cannot reach.

3.

Keep the breathing deep and long.

THE NAMES OF THE TEN HEAVENLY STEMS: TIAN GAN OR TEN INDIVIDUAL EXERCISES 1.

Ban: Parry (Jia (甲)) 搬

Obverse Reverse

2.

Kan: Chop (Yi (乙)) 砍

Obverse Slice

3.

Tiao: Hook (Bing (丙)) 刁

Horse Stance Bow Stance

4.

Zhuang: Crash (Ding (丁)) 撞

Single Double

5.

Kao: Lean (Wu (戊)) 靠

Single Double

6.

Beng: Smash (Ji (己)) 崩

Straight Horizontal

7.

Zhua: Grasp (Geng (庚)) 抓

Entwining Side

8.

Yi: Thrust (Xin (辛)) 掖

Forward and back Piercing

9.

Cuo: Rolling (Ren (壬)) 挫

Downwards Upwards

10. Song: Loosen (Gui (癸)) 鬆

Single Double

1 Ban: Parry (搬: 正、反) Description: Obverse

1.

Start in a sideways stance (Bow Stance) with the front leg and the back leg in a straight line. The front knee (the left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso should be extended, lightly resting on the front thigh, parallel (face down) to the floor. The right arm and fingers should be fully extended forward with the palm also facing the floor. The left hand should be clenched lightly in a fist on the small of the back (opposite the Ming Men acupressure point). The focus should be on the hand.

3.

As the weight shifts from the front to the back leg, draw the right arm straight back, softly without tension, with the palm facing up, at the same time until the weight is on the back foot and the front leg is fully extended. (The arm may be lightly bent when drawing it back.) The arm is then extended fully straight backward with the palm facing upward. The focus should remain forward.

4.

Keeping the body in the same position, raise the arm upwards to form the third corner of a rectangle. The focus moves to the tip of the arm.

5.

Bring the arm and body over and down in a smooth pressing motion, pushing through the back foot to generate power, shifting the weight from the back foot to the front foot back to the original position. Do not let the front knee pass the heel. The arm should be extended at all times. The circular motion should be smooth and not clenched, utilizing the power of the whole body. Do not end with a slapping motion at the end (this would just use the muscular power of the arm).

6.

First train slowly to build flexibility before adding power. The movement of the Kua (hips) should be in a rocking, pendulum-like movement as the body moves back and forth.

Description: Reverse

1.

Start in the same sideways stance with the front leg and the back leg in a straight line. The front knee (left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso is extended in the same position but it is the left hand that is fully extended with the palm down. The right hand is clenched lightly in a fist on the small of the back.

3.

As the weight shifts from the front to the back leg, draw the left arm straight back, softly without tension. This time, internally rotate the hand fully so that the palm and elbow are both facing upwards. Bring the arm back in full extension. Again, make sure the weight is on the back foot and the front leg is fully extended. The focus should remain forward.

4.

This time, the emphasis should be on bringing the left shoulder as far back as possible, twisting the torso so that it is almost facing completely to the left.

5.

Again, bring the arm and body above and over in a smooth pressing motion, as the weight is shifted from the back foot to the front foot. The focus should follow the arm motion. Repeat.

Application

NOTE: FOR SENIOR PRACTITIONERS, TRY TO TOUCH THE GROUND WHEN BENDING (DEMONSTRATED BY CASTO)

This movement is to train a pressing attack using whole body power. If the opponent is grabbing onto the wrist it will take him forward and off balance, releasing the grip. Then the palm can be used to strike the top of the head or the face or to push the opponent over. Ban: Obverse (甲：正搬)

Ban: Reverse (甲：反搬)

2 Kan: Chop (砍: 正、削) Description: Obverse

1.

Start in a sideways stance with the front leg and the back leg in a straight line. The front knee (left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso should be facing forward in an upright position. The left arm should be extended to the left at a 60-degree angle to the body. (Extending too far back will lose the integrity of the connection between the arm and the body.) The palm is facing down. The arm should be slightly curved towards the front, and the wrist should be cocked slightly to the right.

3.

As the weight shifts from the front to the back leg, draw the left arm out to the right and back, softly without tension. The palm should rotate upwards as the torso rotates 90 degrees to form a straight line with the legs. The left hand should rest softly against the right shoulder. Again, make sure the weight is on the back foot and the front leg is fully extended.

4.

As the weight shifts back to the front foot, bring the left hand back to the original position in a smooth slicing movement. Make sure the front knee does not pass the heel. The intention and Peng Jing should be focused on the outside of the arm, as this is where the arm will strike the opponent.

5.

First train slowly to build flexibility before adding power. The movement of the Kua (hip crease) should be in a rocking, pendulum-like movement as the body moves back and forth.

Description: Slice

1.

Start in a sideways stance with the front leg and the back leg in a straight line. The front knee (left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso should be extended, lightly resting on the front thigh parallel (face down) to the floor. The right arm is extended downwards at about a 45-degree angle to the floor with the palm facing upwards. The arm should intersect about halfway down the shin. The focus should be on the palm.

3.

As the weight shifts from the front to the back leg, sweep the left arm around and back along the 45-degree line, softly but firmly until it is pointing upwards towards the sky. The arm should remain fully extended and the palm should remain facing upwards. The focus should follow the hand. Make sure the intention and the Peng Jing are on the right blade of the hand. Again, the wrist should lead and be slightly cocked to the right as the arm comes up. Make sure the weight is on the back foot and the front leg is fully extended.

4.

As the weight shifts back to the front foot, sweep the left hand back to the original position in a smooth slicing movement. Make sure the front knee does not pass the heel. The intention and Peng Jing should be focused on the left side of the arm. (This movement can also be used to pull an opponent down and off balance.) The focus again follows the movement of the hand.

5.

Repeat.

Application

This attack can be used as a backhand strike to the chest with the elbow and forearm (obverse variation) or as a chopped block. It can also be used to slice upwards to the neck and under the chin of the opponent (slice variation). Sliding alongside the attacker, the right arm grabs the left wrist while the left arm can either sweep above the attacker’s right arm to the neck, crushing the windpipe and knocking the opponent down, or it can sweep under the arm to the armpit and unbalance the opponent.

It can also be used to pull an opponent down. Kan: Obverse (⼄：平砍)

Kan: Slice (⼄：斜砍)

3 Tiao: Hook (刁: ⾺、⼸) Description: Horse Stance

1.

Stand in a wide Horse Stance with the left hand pressing directly downwards, with the energy pushing through the wrist to the bottom of the palm, which is parallel to the floor. The right hand is fully extended with the arm sweeping back past the ear as far as it can. The tips of the thumb meet the tips of the fingers as though they were picking something up.

2.

Bend the waist 90 degrees forward, swinging the right arm forward to the same position as the left arm while opening up the palm. The focus is down to the ground.

3.

As soon as the arms are in the same position, the waist straightens and bends backward swinging the left arm up to mirror the original position. One should imagine that one is pulling the opponent’s head by grabbing hold of his hair. During the exchange the arms are fully extended and should exert an opposing force to each other, like stretching an elastic band. This equal and opposing force is what generates the internal power in internal martial arts.

4.

First train slowly to build flexibility before adding power. The movement of the Kua (hip crease) should be in a rocking, figure-of-eight movement as the body moves up and down. However, this is a subtle movement as weight is changed from one side of the body to the other.

Description: Bow Stance

1.

Start in a sideways stance with the front leg and the back leg in a straight line. The front knee (left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso is straight up (or leaning forward slightly) with the left arm extended outwards just above the head, with the fingers cupped and fingertips touching. The right arm is pushing directly downwards with the palm facing downwards.

3.

As the weight shifts backward from the front to the back leg, the torso twists to the back. The left palm opens and turns to the back as the left arm begins to come across to the back. The

right palm flows back and brushes around to the outside of the right knee, which is now at a 90-degree angle. 4.

When the torso turns to completely face the back, the right hands swing down and up respectively to mirror the original position. Again, the arms are fully extended and exert an opposing force, like an elastic band.

5.

Repeat.

Application

This exercise strengthens and improves the flexibility of the back and seeks to cultivate an awareness of internal power. Although the lifting and pulling motion is ostensibly to simulate the pulling of the opponent’s head by grabbing the hair, followed by a palm strike to the chin, the movement can be used as a block or a palm strike. The force is exerted from the leg through the hips and the waist, and as one side is moving forward, the other is pulling back, thus increasing the torque. This is similar to the spiraling energy or silk-reeling energy of Chen style Tai Chi.

Note: The body must be very straight, with both hands stretching using opposing power (demonstrated by Conan Tsang, right). Tiao: Horse Stance (丙：正刁)

Note: Bend very low when pressing down, stretch high, and lean back slightly to stretch your back (demonstrated by William above). Tiao: Bow Stance (丙：側刁)

BENJIMAN’S POSTURE

4 Zhuang: Crash (撞: 單、雙) Description: Single

1.

Stand with the weight on the right foot angled outwards at 45 degrees in a low stance. The left leg should be extended forward in a relaxed manner with the heel resting lightly on the ground with the toes extending up.

2.

The torso should be upright with the right hand lifted and extended forward, at about the same level as the forehead. The fingertips are clasped in a ball and lightly touching. The left hand is touching the waist with the palm completely externally rotated, facing outward to the left with the thumb facing down.

3.

Draw in the abdomen and sink the tailbone; slide the left foot forward, pushing off with the right leg until the right leg is fully extended and the left knee forms a 90-degree angle with the floor. The left foot should be similar to a Mud Walking step and the power should be generated by the spiraling energy from the back foot.

4.

At the same time that the torso is moving forward, the left hand is thrusting forward parallel to the floor until the left arm is fully extended in front of the body to execute a palm strike. The palm strike should be executed in a spiraling movement with the palm ending facing forward and the thumb facing up. The strike area is the bottom fleshy part of the palm. The palm should not begin to rotate until the elbow is past the torso, and the power and acceleration should only be initiated at this point.

5.

The right hand swings forward and down as a counterweight to the left hand thrust and externally rotates to the right until the right hand rests lightly on the waist. The torso ends up resting lightly on the left thigh with the focus on the left palm.

6.

Sink and return to the original position, drawing the left arm back to the waist and extending the right arm outwards and upwards. Remember to keep a low stance throughout the movement. Do not stand up too high in the original position, as the upward and downward movement wastes energy.

Description: Double

1.

Stand with the weight on the right foot angled outwards at 45 degrees in a low stance. The left leg should be extended forward in a relaxed manner with the front of the foot lightly touching the ground.

2.

Both hands should be resting lightly at the waist with the palms completely externally rotated and thumbs pointing down.

3.

Draw in the abdomen and sink the tailbone; slide the left foot forward, pushing off with the right leg until the right leg is fully extended and the left knee forms a 90-degree angle with the floor. The left foot should be similar to a Mud Walking step and the power should be generated by the spiraling energy from the back foot.

4.

At the same time that the torso is moving forward, both hands are thrusting forward parallel to the floor until both arms are fully extended in front of the body to execute a double palm strike. The forearms should be lightly touching in a mirror image as the arms are moving forward. The palm strike should be executed in a spiraling movement with the palm ending facing forward

and the thumbs facing up. The strike area is the bottom fleshy part of the palm. The palms should not begin to rotate and the forearms should not touch until the elbow is past the torso, and the power and acceleration should only be initiated at this point. 5.

As the weight shifts back to the right foot, both arms swing out and back in a large circle, first internally rotating until the arms are fully extended to the side of the body. The weight should be fully on the right foot at this point.

6.

Begin to rotate on the heels of both feet until the torso turns 180 degrees to face the original position while externally rotating the palms until they are brought back to their original position at the waist. The weight should be on the left foot and the stance should be a mirror image of the original position.

7.

Keep a low stance as you are executing the movement to minimize bobbing up and down and as you change direction.

Application

This movement trains the power and flexibility to execute the palm strikes that are characteristic of Bagua Zhang. The full extension of the movement lengthens the back and shoulder muscles and the low stance strengthens the leg muscles. Remember to emphasize the sinking motion so that the full power of the hips and legs and full weight can be brought to bear on the strike. The left arm in the single strike provides a counterweight to the strike, helping to generate the internal power. The rotation or spiral energy is also characteristic of internal martial arts. The function of the left arm is also to grab the opponent’s wrist and to control or pull him off balance. The upward motion simulates a block. In the double strike, the outward sweep of both hands trains them to perform a large, round movement and also allows for grabbing the opponent’s wrist to control or pull him off balance. Zhuang: Single (丁：單撞)

LEFT SIDE (左勢)

Zhuang: Double (丁：雙撞)

5 Kao: Lean (靠: 單、雙 ) Description: Single

1.

Stand with the weight on the right foot angled outwards at 45 degrees in a low stance. The left leg should be extended forward in a relaxed manner with the front of the foot lightly touching the ground.

2.

Place both forearms together at a 90-degree angle to the biceps with the fingers extended to the sky. The forearms should be perpendicular to the ground and in front of the face.

3.

Lift the arms up and over and twist the torso to the left, extend the left palm, and bring the right arm down to guard, ending in a Pre-Heaven stance. Stand for at least five minutes.

4.

To make the practice harder, raise the left leg parallel to the floor and angle the foot straight up, pushing through the heel.

5.

Practice on both sides.

Description: Double

1.

Stand with the weight on the right foot angled outwards at 45 degrees in a low stance. The left leg should be extended forward in a relaxed manner with the front of the foot lightly touching the ground.

2.

Place both forearms together at a 90-degree angle to the biceps with the fingers extended to the sky. The forearms should be perpendicular to the ground and in front of the face. Lift both arms up and hold the palms upward, as if holding a peach, ending in a Pre-Heaven stance. Stand for at least five minutes.

3.

To make the practice harder, raise the left leg parallel to the floor and angle the foot straight up, pushing through the heel.

Application

This technique is the standing stance for the Pre-Heaven Palms. It helps to generate Qi in the body and allows one to focus on alignment, especially the 24 Essential Points, in a fixed position. The objective is to come immediately into the correct alignment when required, without adjustment. The weight on the back leg also strengthens the thigh muscles, allowing a lower stance in circle walking and a stronger thrust. Kao: Single (戊：單靠)

Kao: Double (戊：雙靠)

6 Beng: Smash (崩: 直、橫) Description: Straight

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands in tight fists at the waist. The palms should be facing up.

2.

Punch out the right hand in a relaxed way along the center line. The palm should be facing up until the elbow is in front of the body. At this point, accelerate through the punch while internally rotating the fist until the thumb is at the top at the end of the punch. Aim for the center of the body. Make sure the punch is straight, and do not punch up from below. Make sure the wrist is locked and does not collapse upon the punch.

3.

Punch out with the other hand while drawing the original fist back. The original fist should be rotated back to its original position. However, when the two arms meet in the middle, the left

forearm should be pushing down the right forearm in a forceful rubbing motion to take the center line. 4.

There should be a complementary force between the two arms, with one pulling back as the other punches out, similar to an elastic band, as well as a gentle rocking motion of the hips to power each punch. Keep your elbows down at all times and do not raise your shoulders to telegraph the punch.

5.

Repeat.

Description: Horizontal

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands at the waist. The thumbs should be drawn back, but only the first and second joints of the fingers should be curled tightly. The impact point should be the finger joints, not the knuckles. The palm is facing up.

2.

Punch out the right hand in a relaxed way along the center line. The palm should be facing up until the elbow is in front of the body. At this point, accelerate through the punch while internally rotating the fist until the thumb is at the top at the end of the punch. Aim for the point in between the rib cage at the base of the sternum. Make sure the punch is straight, and do not punch up from below. Make sure the wrist is locked and does not collapse upon the punch. This fist is called “Leopard Fist.”

3.

Punch out with the other hand while drawing the original fist back. The original fist should be rotated back to its original position. The forearms do not touch.

4.

There should be a complementary force between the two arms, with one pulling back as the other punches out, similar to an elastic band, as well as a gentle rocking motion of the hips to power each punch. Keep your elbows down at all times and do not raise your shoulders to telegraph the punch.

5.

Repeat.

Application

This technique emphasizes the correct method of punching in the internal arts, while generating internal power. The single smash also trains the punch to push down the opponent’s block and continue to its target, and should be used to punch the opponent’s vital organs. The second technique is more powerful, as the power is concentrated on a much smaller area and is also meant to strike the acupressure points and other vital points, causing momentary concussion, paralysis, or even death. Beng: Straight (⼰：崩 – 直崩)

Beng: Horizontal (⼰：崩 – 橫崩)

7 Zhua: Grasp (抓: 纏、側) Description: Entwining

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with the left hand fully extended all the way to the fingertips with the fingers together, aiming to pierce the opponent’s throat. The palm should be facing up and the wrist should be locked straight, not bending upon impact. The other hand is at the waist in a claw position, with the elbow back and the palm facing down.

2.

The extended arm should then rotate counterclockwise into a claw position, imagining that the thumb and the first two fingers are grabbing the opponent’s wrist. This movement should be executed crisply and the elbow should carry on sinking down (do not allow it to splay out).

3.

Pull the left hand back to the waist while simultaneously striking out with the right hand with a finger strike to the throat.

4.

There should be a complementary force between the two arms with one pulling back as the other strikes out, similar to an elastic band, as well as a gentle rocking motion of the hips.

5.

Repeat.

Description: Side

1.

Start in a sideways stance with the front leg and the back angle in a straight line. The front knee (left leg) should be at a 90-degree angle, with the knee directly above the heel. The back leg should be fully extended with the weight on the furthest edge of the foot.

2.

The torso is leaning forward with the right arm fully extended to the fingertips and aiming at the throat. The left arm is curled into a fist on the small of the back.

3.

As the weight shifts backward from the front to the back leg, the palm rotates clockwise into a claw and begins to pull downwards.

4.

When the weight has shifted completely to the back foot, the right hand should be in a claw, with the palm facing down behind the knee.

5.

Unwind the claw and shift the weight to the front foot and back to the original position, executing a finger strike.

Application

This technique strengthens the fingers for a throat strike, and in the event that the strike is blocked, a grab is executed to the opponent’s wrist and they are dragged off balance, opening them up for another strike. Zhua: Entwining (庚：穿抓)

Zhua: Side (庚：纏抓)

8 Yi: Thrust (掖: 前後、穿) Description: Forward and back

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands resting at the waist. Both hands should be fully internally rotated with the palms facing outwards and the thumb pointing down.

2.

Thrust both hands forward and pointing downwards at an angle of about 30 degrees, aiming at the lower part of the torso of the opponent or the groin area. The palms should begin to rotate and accelerate once the elbow is past the torso, and end with a palm strike with the bottom of the palms (the thumb should be on the top but should not stick up). Sink the body upon impact.

3.

Slowly bring both hands back to the original position in a relaxed manner, taking care to prevent the elbows from splaying out. At the waist, rotate the hands, keeping the wrists connected to the waist so that the fingers end up pointing behind the body, with the thumb facing upwards.

4.

Thrust the palms backward with a palm strike angled downwards about 30 degrees. Sink the body upon impact. This palm strike should be with the heel of the palm, arching back the hand, with the fingers and thumb pointing directly downwards to the earth.

5.

Rotate and return to the original position. Repeat with a forward strike.

Description: Piercing

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands in a fist at the waist, with the fist facing down (fingers up).

2.

Thrust the right hand forward and pointing downwards at an angle of about 30 degrees, opening up the fist into a palm, aiming at the lower part of the torso of the opponent or the groin area. The palm should begin to rotate and accelerate once the elbow is past the torso, and end with a palm strike with the bottom of the palm (the thumb should be on the top but should not stick up). Sink the body upon impact.

3.

Slowly bring the palm back into a fist at the original position in a relaxed manner, taking care to prevent the elbows from splaying out. At the waist, rotate the fist, keeping the wrists connected to the waist so that the fist ends up pointing backwards.

4.

Open the fist and thrust the palm backward with a palm strike angled downwards at about 30 degrees. Sink the body upon impact. This palm strike should be with the heel of the palm, arching back the hand, with the palm perpendicular to the ground.

5.

Rotate and return to the original position. Repeat with a forward strike.

Application

This technique trains the power of the palm strike to the front and back and, unlike the earlier technique angles, the strike is at the vital points in the lower basin of the body. The curling motion, bringing the palm from the front to the back, minimizes the space required for a change of striking direction and allows one to generate power to strike at someone who is behind or to the side when one is moving. The movement is not clear to the opponent and is difficult to block. Yi: Side and piercing (⾟：掖 – 側掖)

Yi: Forward and back (⾟：掖 – 前後掖)

9 Cuo: Rolling (挫: 滾 、上) Description: Downwards

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands in an upside-down fist at the waist, with the fingers up.

2.

Punch downwards to the center, aiming at the genital area with the right hand at an angle of 45 degrees, rotating the fist until the thumb is facing up by the end of the movement. Initiate the

rotation once the elbow is past the body. Keep the arm extended. 3.

As the right arm pulls back, the left arm punches out along the center line. Midway through the extension, the left forearm should rub strongly against the right forearm, pushing the right arm down and accelerating towards full extension.

4.

Repeat the action with the right arm, pushing down the left forearm as it punches out along the center line.

Description: Upwards

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands in an upside down fist at the waist with the fingers facing up.

2.

Punch upwards, aiming for the face with the right hand, rotating the fist until the fingers are pointing down. Initiate the rotation once the elbow is past the body.

3.

As the right arm pulls back, punch the left arm out towards the face, rotating until the fingers are facing down.

Application

This technique is to train the practitioner to bypass a block by rubbing vigorously and pushing the blocking hand down (in the case of the downward movement) or by pushing the blocking hand outwards to the side (in the case of the upward movement). The vigorous friction generated by the movement will distract the opponent and make it difficult to keep their arm locked in place due to the heat and pain. Cuo: Downwards (壬：挫 –下挫)

Cuo: Upwards (壬：挫 – 上挫)

10 Song: Loosen (鬆: 單、雙) Description: Single

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands facing inwards at the level of the Dantian. The elbows should be soft and out to the sides. The fingers and wrist should be loose.

2.

In a relaxed manner, flick the right arm out and to the right in a whipping motion to the level of the eyes, ending with the fingers extended. The arms should not be tense when executing this motion.

3.

Softly return the arm to the original position, and flick the left hand out and to the left to the level of the eyes using the same motion in a mirror image.

4.

Repeat.

Description: Double

1.

Stand in a Horse Stance with both hands facing inwards at the level of the Dantian. The elbows should be soft and out towards the sides. The fingers and wrists should be loose.

2.

In a relaxed manner, flick both arms out in a whipping motion to the level of the eyes, ending with the fingers extended. The arms should not be tense when executing this motion.

3.

Softly return the arms to the original position.

4.

Repeat.

Application

This technique is used to deliver a strong backhand slap to the face to stun and distract the opponent, to open him up for another technique. The arms and joints should be completely relaxed and should strike like a whip. Song: Single (癸：鬆 – 單鬆)

Song: Double (癸：鬆 – 雙鬆)

Applications Each Tian Gan exercise was originally derived for striking but was later modified into stretching exercises. In Tianjin, there are two sets of Tian Gan: beginners practice the first set to stretch and build up power; the second set is used to increase the power and put the exercises into a real fighting environment. 1 Ban

Strike the forehead of your enemy heavily and try to press him down to the ground by swinging the right hand with full power.

2 Kan

ATTACK THE NECK BY USING THE TRANSVERSE POWER

THE KAN-SLIDE CUTS DOWN, BREAKS THE ELBOW OF THE ARM, AND THEN STRIKES UP TO CHOP HIS TRACHEA

(Demonstrated by Andre Sigwalt and Christopher Liechti.)

Two-men drill exercises Each Tian Gan is also arranged for two-men drill exercises so that you can train in a realistic combat situation. For example, in Zhua: Grasp:

This exercise also trains the duration and strength of your Horse Stance.

BAGUA ZHANG CONDITIONING 1 Hand conditioning The conditioning and strength of the hands is an essential part of the techniques of Chin Na, so this training should be very conscientious.

Exercise 1: “Grab the vase”

In the position of Sei Ping Ma, grab the outer edge of a vase or container filled with water for ten minutes, then switch to the other hand. After a week of daily exercise, add sand to make it heavier and, thus, increase grip strength. Exercise 2: Closing and opening a clamp

Another interesting exercise, using more modern tools, is to use devices such as a clamp to strengthen the hands. This device uses equal pressure when grasping and closing it. Through this exercise you should increase the number of repetitions and sets, for example perform 20 repetitions twice each day and gradually increase the repetitions and sets. This type of apparatus develops the musculature of the forearm and tendons of the hand, but not the mobility of the fingers.

Exercise 3: Rotation and grip of metal balls

Rotate two steel balls in the hands, first from the center of the palm and then on the tips of the fingers. This exercise strengthens all the muscles of the hand equally and improves mobility by using the tendons of the forearm.

Exercise 4: Rub a cane

Another very interesting tool for training the hands is a ruler or short cane, around 30–40cm long and 3– 4cm thick. These are produced in different shapes and sizes—some have engravings and edges to massage or facilitate the grip. Hold the cane with both hands and twist it, as if twisting or wringing a towel or a rope. This can be done horizontally or vertically. If it is done horizontally, one hand is fixed and the other is turned as if trying to break the cane; later reverse the position of the hands. If it is done vertically, each hand rotates at the same time in opposite directions. Another way of rubbing the cane is to rotate it using the arms, with the arms and wrists making circular motions in opposite directions at the same time and keeping the grip strong. It is best to do these exercises in the position of Sei Ping Ma so that the training can strengthen the legs and the body at the same time. The exercise can be done for five minutes each day. As the body strengthens, increase the time to ten minutes.

VERTICAL RUB

HORIZONTAL RUB

RUNNING ROTATION Exercise 5: Iron Palm

This technique is present in many systems of Kung Fu and aims to strengthen the palm so it can cause maximum damage while hitting without being harmed. The Iron Palm uses a small bag filled with green soybean, which, according to Chinese medicine, attracts Qi to the hand and increases blood flow or Yang. Stand in front of a table or chair on which the bag is placed horizontally. In the position of Sei Ping Ma, hit the bag with the palm of the hand, first downwards, then with the back of the hand, then with the side, and finally with the heel of the palm. Perform these four strokes with forcefulness, and then repeat with the other hand. You can start with around 20 times for each of the four hits with each hand and increase the number of repetitions as the hand strengthens. After training, it is necessary to apply Chinese liniments such as the Dit Da Jow, a herbal preparation, root, and alcohol liquor used to restore circulation and prevent bruising and damage to the tissues of the hands.

Once you have reached a certain level of strength and resistance in the palms, you can change the hits and do them with the fingertips in the snake shape or the tiger claw, and with the fist. These are useful for attacking pressure points or hitting.

Training the Diagonal basin: the eight positions of the palms

1.

Qian-center (乾卦掌心)

2.

Kan-edge (坎卦掌外緣)

3.

Gen-bottom (艮卦掌根)

4.

Zhen-side (震卦下削)

5.

Xu-finger (巽卦指插)

6.

Lí-claw (離卦 抓捋)

7.

Kun-back (坤卦掌背)

8.

Duì-fist (兌卦成拳)

2 Strengthening the body It is also important to strengthen your body with exercises that give you flexibility and muscular strength. One of the classic exercises of Kung Fu is “The thrust of the tiger upward,” which is a flexion and rotation of the whole trunk back and forth and involves all the muscles of the arms and the back. Exercise 6: The tiger pushes up

Lie supine on the floor and start pushing up to stretch the arms. Lift the back and take the body back. Then, bend the arms forward to return to the starting position. This exercise describes a forward movement, but it can also be done in reverse, bringing the whole body back, flexing the arms, and then moving forward.

THREE TYPES OF PUSH-UP

Push-ups can be done with the palms, the fingers, and the fists, which strengthen the hands, fingers, and wrists. It is best to start with the palms, then use the fingers, and end your training with the fists.

PUSH-UPS WITH THE PALMS

PUSH-UPS WITH THE FISTS

PUSH-UPS WITH THE FINGERS Exercise 7: Standing meditation

There are different types of standing meditations within martial arts training, as well as other “standing methods” called Zhan Zhuang. Traditionally, standing meditation is way of developing internal strength or Qi. Some standing exercises develop more mental attitude and concentration; one should concentrate on the lower Dantian, which is located three inches below the navel. This exercise, in addition to increasing the Qi energy, forces the body to relax more deeply. When you stand in this position for a while, certain areas of the body feel stress and discomfort, such as the shoulders and legs; relief will only come from a deep physical and mental relaxation in the posture. These postures should be practiced for a short time at first: count to 100 in your head, breathe through the nose, and retain a calm and relaxed attitude. As the body adapts, increase the time, aiming for a maximum time of one hour. For this standing meditation, stand with the feet positioned at shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees as much as possible while still feeling comfortable, keep your back straight, and push up the pelvis. Imagine a straight line between the navel and the nose to align the body. Focus the gaze far on the horizon. Place the hands together in front of the stomach, at the height of the lower Dantian. Mentally count to 100 slowly while breathing through the nose.

BAGUA ZHANG STATIC STANCE There are five basic static stances for beginners, which strengthen the resistance power of your body and back. One should keep the requirements of the 24 Essential Points in mind when practicing this stance. Try to hit the body slowly and lightly to increase the body's resistance to being punched. By feeling the power and adding hitting power increases the resistance power of the whole body.

1 Downward static stance

The posture should be low and stretched as much as possible. The legs are pointed out but the center of the body is pointing to the center, forming a cross shape. This stance strengthens the leg muscles. Pressing the back and shoulders down and stretching and twisting the arms diagonally presses the chest down and makes the Dantian contract.

2 Upward static stance

This stance pushes the palms up as if holding two heavy stones.

3 Inward static stance

Stand in a big Horse Stance, with the thighs at an angle of 90 degrees. Position the arms as if they are holding a big ball, with the palms facing inwards.

4 Outward static stance

Stand in a low stance with the palms pushing outwards.

5 Single Palm Change static stance Single Palm Change is the most important stance to practice; most practitioners practice this stance every day.

GAO STYLE BAGUA ZHANG SYSTEM OF TRAINING The whole system includes: •

Xian Tien (先天)—meaning: former heaven, pre-birth, prenatal; for: strategy, flexibility of the body; used in: circle walking method

•

Hou Tien (後天)—meaning: later heaven, after-birth, postnatal; for: tactics, using attack and defense; used in: straight-line method.

1 Basic exercises 1.

2.

3.

Starting postures –

Static stance

–

Mud Walking

–

Five Elements Steps

–

Bear Walks

Eight Basic Stretches –

Leg stretches

–

Three Spin circle exercises

–

Five Elements Power exercises

–

Body conditioning

–

Iron Palm

Ten Heavenly Stems: Tian Gan or ten individual exercises –

Ban: Parry

–

Kan: Chop

–

Tiao: Hook

–

Zhuang: Crash

–

Kao: Lean

–

Beng: Smash

–

Zhua: Grasp

–

Yi: Thrust

–

Cuo: Rolling

–

Song: Loosen

CIRCLE SERIES 2 Basic forms: turning forms (轉掌) •

Wuji Palm

Eight Mother Palms (⼋⺟掌)

1.

Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill

2.

White Monkey Presents the Peach

3.

Huge Roc Spreads Wings

4.

Lion Opens Mouth

5.

Push Window to Glance at the Moon

6.

Holding the Moon to the Chest

7.

Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground

8.

Black Bear Stretches Arms

Linking form Drill in each palm

Chin Na forms: two series

3 Three main forms: changing forms (換掌) Eight Big Palms (⼋⼤掌)

1.

Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm

2.

Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

3.

Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm

4.

Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

5.

Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm

6.

Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

7.

Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm

8.

Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm

4 Beginning and ending palms 1.

Single Palm Change: Inside change, Outside change

2.

Double Palm Change

3.

Five Dragons Palm

4.

Black Dragon Swings Tail

5.

Green Dragon Stretches Claw

6.

Yellow Dragon Turns Body

7.

White Dragon Splits the Water

8.

Red Dragon Clings to Pole

9.

Black Dragon Swings Tail Through the Forest Set

Drill in each palm

1.

2.

Linking forms –

Sequential form

–

Random form

–

Black Dragon Swings Tail Through the Forest Set

One drill linking form

5 Hou Tien 64 Palms Drill in each palm

1.

Attack

2.

Release

3.

Counterattack

4.

Six variations –

Eight linking forms

–

Eight drill linking forms

–

Combination of whole Xian Tien and Hou Tien forms

6 12 animals (⼗⼆地⽀) 1.

Māo: Cat (猫)

2.

Yào: Hawk (鷂)

3.

Hǔ: Tiger (虎)

4.

Yīng: Eagle (鷹)

5.

Lóng: Dragon (龍)

6.

Shé: Snake (蛇)

7.

Mǎ: Horse (馬)

8.

Fèng: Phoenix (鳳)

9.

Hóu: Monkey (猴)

10. Jī: Chicken (雞) 11. Xióng: Bear (熊) 12. Shī: Lion (獅)

7 Bagua weapons 1.

Saber

2.

Sword

3.

Pole

4.

Spear

5.

Moon knife

6.

Cane

7.

Double cane

8.

Push Hands

9.

Nei Gong

NAMES OF 64 PALMS 1.

乾卦 蛇形：─ 開捧扽探挒挑蓋纏

2.

坎卦 虎形：─ 十藏砍削二虎倒環

3.

艮卦 龍形：─ 穿搬截攔停翻走轉

4.

震卦 燕形：─ 推托帶領沾黏隨連

5.

巽卦 鷹形 擰身：─ 肘頂墜盤橫挫疊擰

6.

離卦 馬形 轉身：─ 趨踹擺掛踢踏掃蹬

7.

坤卦 鷂形 翻身：─ 掖擠刁擄崩撞扣搬

8.

兌卦 獅形 停身：─ 捯狸撕胯搖閃斜竄 Cantonese

Putongua

English

開

Hoi

Kai

open

捧

Pung

Peng

hold up

扽

Deon

Dun

pull down

探

Taam

Tan

reach out

挒

Li

Lie

split

挑

Tiu

Tiao

lift up

蓋

Goi

Gai

cover

纏

Cin

Chan

wrap

１ 乾卦 蛇形

２ 坎卦 虎形 十

Sap

Shi

cross

藏

Cong

Zang

hide

砍

Ham

Kan

chop

削

Soek

Xue

pare

二

Ji

Er

two

虎

Fu

Hu

tiger

倒

Dou

Dao

fall

環

Waan

Huan

ring

穿

Cyun

Chuan

penetrate

搬

Bun

Ban

shift

截

Zit

Jie

intercept

攔

Laan

Lan

block

停

Ting

Ting

stop

翻

Faan

Fan

overturn

走

Zau

Zou

escape

轉

Zyun

Zhuan

turn

推

Teoi

Tui

push

托

Tok

Tuo

uphold

帶

Daai

Dai

carry

領

Leng

Ling

lead

沾

Zim

Zhan

adhere

黏

Nim

Nian

stick

隨

Ceoi

Sui

follow

連

Lin

Lian

join

肘

Zau

Zhou

elbow lock

頂

Ding

Ding

elbow strike

墜

Zeoi

Zhui

drop elbow

盤

Pun

Pan

coil

橫

Waang

Heng

across

挫

Co

Cuo

grind

疊

Dip

Die

fold

擰

Ning

Ning

twist

趨

Ceoi

Qu

forward chasing kick

踹

Caai

Chuai

backward kick

擺

Baai

Bai

swing kick

３ 艮卦 龍形

４ 震卦 燕形

５ 巽卦 鷹形

６ 離卦 馬形

掛

Gwaa

Gua

hang kick

踢

Tek

Ti

upward kick

踏

Daap

Ta

tread kick

掃

Sou

Sao

sweep kick

蹬

Dang

Deng

heel kick

掖

Jik

Ye

tuck

擠

Zai

Ji

squeeze

刁

Diu

Diao

pluck

擄

Lou

Lu

capture

崩

Bang

Beng

smash

撞

Zong

Zhuang

bump

扣

Kau

Kou

hook

攀

Bun

Pan

climb

抖

Dau

Dou

shake

狸

Lei

Li

raccoon dog

撕

Si

Si

tear

胯

Kwaa

Kua

thigh throw

搖

Jiu

Yao

swing

閃

Sim

Shan

avoid

斜

Ce

Xie

slanting

竄

Cyun

Cuan

leap/scurry

７ 坤卦 鷂形

８ 兌卦 獅形

LEVELS IN GAO STYLE BAGUA ZHANG Level 1 Basic exercises 1.

Start posture

2.

Eight basic stretches

3.

Ten Heavenly Stems: Tian Gan

Static stances Mud Walking Five Elements Steps Bear Walk

Basic forms: turning forms (轉掌) Eight Mother Palms (八母掌) 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill White Monkey Presents the Peach Huge Roc Spreads Wings Lion Opens Mouth Push Window to Glance at the Moon Holding the Moon to the Chest

Tian Gan 1. 2. 3. 4.

Ban: Parry Kan: Chop Tiao: Hook Kao: Lean

(A) (B) (A) (B) (A) (B)

7. 8.

Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground Black Bear Stretches Arms

(A) (B)

Linking form: Mother Palms linking form Two-men drill: Chin Na Each palm drill

Series 1 Series 2 1. Static 2. Push 3. Chin Na

Push Hands and attack and defense

Level 2 Main forms: changing forms (換掌) Beginning palms 1. 2.

Single Palm Change Double Palm Change

1. 2.

Xian Tien Eight Big Palms (⼋⼤掌) 1. 2. 3. 4.

Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm 5. Eagle Form: Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm 6. Horse Form: Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm 7. Hawk Form: Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm 8. Lion Form: Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm Ending palm 1. Five Dragons Palm

4. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Zhuang: Crash Beng: Smash Zhua: Grasp Yi: Thrust Cuo: Rolling Song: Relax

Linking forms

1.

Sequential form

2.

Random form

3.

Black Dragon Swings Tail Through the Forest Set

Level 3 Hou Tien 64 Palms (後天六⼗四掌)

•

Solo form of 64 Palms

•

Solo form of eight linking series

•

Two-men drill of eight linking series

(A) (B) (A) (B) (A) (B) (A) (B) (A) (B)

Inside change Outside change

Level 4 Hou Tien 64 Palms (後天六⼗四掌)

•

Two-men drill of eight Hou Tien palms

•

Two-men drill of eight linking series

Level 5 Each palm drill

1.

Attack

2.

Release

3.

Counterattack

4.

six variations

1 Eight Big Palms 2 64 Palms

Level 6 Weapons forms

1.

Saber

2.

Sword

3.

Pole

4.

Spear

Level 7 Weapons points: eight circular and 64 linear

1.

Saber

2.

Sword

3.

Pole

4.

Spear

Level 8 Weapons forms

5.

Moon knife

6.

Cane

7.

Double cane

Level 9 12 animals (⼗⼆地⽀--象形)

•

Cat

•

Hawk

•

Tiger

•

Eagle

•

Dragon

•

Snake

•

Horse

•

Phoenix

•

Monkey

•

Chicken

•

Bear

•

Lion

Level 10 Nei Gong

1.

Iron Back Gong

2.

Small Universe meditation

A DRAWING SHOWING THE PALMS PRACTICED IN GAO STYLE BAGUA ZHANG BY CS TANG, 1971

CHAPTER 4

EIGHT MOTHER PALMS THEORY OF GAO STYLE BAGUA ZHANG The 24 Essential Points There are 24 Essential Points that are required in circle walking and these are basic rules in all guarding and attacking circumstances. Once you start walking the circle, check the three sections of your body—scan the body from top to bottom—to ensure that the eight parts of each section are performed correctly. 24 Essential Points

廿四要

1 Head Head needs to push up Neck needs to be erect Chin needs to be tucked in Eyebrows need to raise Eye needs to concentrate Teeth need to close Tongue needs to touch roof of the mouth

【頭部】 頭要頂 頸要豎 顎要收 眉要揚 目要注 齒要合 舌要舐

2 Arms Shoulder needs to sink Elbows need to fall Wrists need to strike back Palms need to push out Fingers need to lead Thumbs need to open

【手部】 肩要沉 肘要墜 腕要扣 掌要撐 指要領 拇要開

3 Trunk Back needs to round Chest needs to stretch Abdomen needs to be tight Ribs need to sit

【身部】 背要圓 胸要寬 腹要實 腰部

4 Waist Waist needs to turn Buttocks need to wrap Hips need to contract Anus needs to lift

【肋要坐】 腰要擰 臀要兜 胯要夾 肛要提

5 Leg Knees need to contract Groin needs to be tight Toes need to cling

【腿部】 膝要縮 脛要緊 趾要抓

REQUIREMENTS: EIGHT GUIDING PRINCIPLES Hand positions

•

To shut (掩)

•

To push at the side (掖)

•

To penetrate (穿)

•

To crush (軋)

Leg positions •

To kick (蹬)

•

To wade (蹚)

•

To step on (踩)

•

To step at the center (中)

Practitioners must maintain these hand and leg requirements when training in the Single Palm Change. The following images show the shut, push, penetrate, and crush positions.

BAGUA ZHANG XIAN TIEN EIGHT MOTHER PALMS Definition: inside and outside of the circle Draw a circle on the ground. Inside the circle is called “inside” and outside the circle is called “outside.” When one leg steps inside the circle, it is referred to as the inside leg, for example in “Inside Bai Bu” or “Outside Bai Bu.”

圈裡為裡，圈外為外。

Stepping pattern of Xian Tien Palm (先天掌步型)

1 LEFT LEG INSIDE BAI BU (左內擺步)

2 RIGHT LEG INSIDE KAU BU (右內扣步)

3 LEFT LEG OUTSIDE BAI BU (左外擺步)

4 RIGHT LEG OUTSIDE KAU BU (右外扣步)

5 RIGHT LEG INSIDE BAI BU (右外擺步)

6 RIGHT LEG STRAIGHT STEP (左順步)

The names of the Eight Mother Palms

轉掌【先天八母掌】 ◎起式– 無極式 猛虎下山 白猿獻果 大鵬展翅 獅子張口 推窗望月 懷中抱月 指天插地 黑熊探臂 ◎收式 - 歸元掌

1.

Turning Forms (轉掌) Eight Mother Palms Start with Wuji Palm 1. 2.

Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill White Monkey Presents the Peach

3. 4.

Huge Roc Spreads Wings Lion Opens Mouth

5. 6.

Push Window to Glance at the Moon Holding the Moon to the Chest

7. Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground 8. Black Bear Stretches Arms Return to Wuji Palm to end.

This form is trained in three stages and each palm contains three different direction powers. –

Stretch and flexibility for health and to build up balance.

–

Resisting power to build up a solid skeleton.

–

Combat power (Fajing).

2.

Two linking forms of Eight Mother Palms.

3.

Two Chin Na drill forms.

4.

Each palm has drills practice.

The postures of the Eight Mother Palms

1 FIERCE TIGER DESCENDS THE HILL ( 猛虎下山)

2 WHITE MONKEY PRESENTS THE PEACH (白猿獻果)

3 HUGE ROC SPREADS WINGS (大鵬展翅)

4 LION OPENS MOUTH (獅子張口)

5 PUSH WINDOW TO GLANCE AT THE MOON (推窗望月)

6 HOLDING THE MOON TO THE CHEST (懷中抱月)

7 POINT TO HEAVEN AND PIERCE TO GROUND (指天插地)

8 BLACK BEAR STRETCHES ARMS (黑熊探臂)

WUJI PALM: BEGINNING

THE BEGINNING OF WUJI (EMPTY) TO TAIJI (CIRCLE WITH YIN AND YANG) IN CLASSIC BOOKS

Procedure 1.

Start with a standing posture.

2.

Bend the knees.

3.

Raise the arms at the side of the body.

4.

Point the fingers to the ground.

5.

Begin walking anticlockwise, starting with the left leg.

Counting There are eight steps in one circle. Walk eight circles in an anticlockwise direction and then turn back and walk eight circles in a clockwise direction. There will be a total of 64 steps for a section of eight circles. Walk with Mud Walking step. The feet should move forward horizontally; do not show the bottom of your foot.

Wuji Palm (無極掌)

Notes:

•

Hollow the armpits.

•

Stretch the fingers and point them to the ground with strength.

•

Sink down as if you are sitting in a sedan chair.

The requirement of Mud Walking step

WALK LIKE THE COW DRAGGING THE PLOUGH (行如拖犁：拖步上如牛拖犁耕田)

The meaning of walking around the tree The normal way to practice Bagua Zhang is to walk around a tree. The purpose is to treat the tree as your enemy, so you walk with your face looking at your enemy. There is another meaning to the tree in Gao style Bagua Zhang: when you start practicing Bagua Zhang, the tree you walk around is new and small. When you walk around the tree every day, your training becomes more advanced and the tree grows, together with your level of skill.

XIAN TIEN EIGHT MOTHER PALMS (先天⼋⺟掌)

1 Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill (第1掌: 猛虎下⼭)

How to change direction

2 White Monkey Presents the Peach (第2掌: ⽩猿獻果)

3 Huge Roc Spreads Wings (第3掌: ⼤鵬展翅)

4 Lion Opens Mouth (第4掌: 獅⼦張⼝)

5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon (第5掌: 推窗望⽉)

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest (第6掌: 懷中抱⽉)

7 Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground (第7掌: 指天插地)

8 Black Bear Stretches Arms (第8掌: ⿊熊探臂)

Return to Universe: Ending Palm (收式 歸元掌)

VARIATIONS OF THE EIGHT MOTHER PALMS There are several variations of the Eight Mother Palms. Sometimes different teachers have their own variations and some have more complex ways of stepping.

Our system has three stages: 1.

Walk the circle with the face looking forward to train your body to be strong like a mountain moving forwards.

2.

Walk the circle with the face and body facing the center.

3.

Walk the circle in a low stance with the body facing the center.

1 Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill (猛虎下⼭)

1.1 PRESSING DOWN (下塌掌)

1.2 MOVE THE ARMS AWAY FROM THE BODY (平圈掌)

1.3 MOVE THE ARMS VERY FAR FROM THE BODY AND TURN THE BODY TO FACE THE CENTER (分撐掌-(擰身向圈中))

2 White Monkey Presents the Peach (⽩猿獻果)

2 THE BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER TO WALK THE CIRCLE

3 Huge Roc Spreads Wings (⼤鵬展翅)

3.1 THE BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER (平伸，橫掃千軍)

3.2 BEND THE ELBOW TO WALK (曲肘上托走圈 (起如挑檐，落如分磚))

4 Lion Opens Mouth (獅⼦張⼝)

4.1 HOLDING SPEAR PALM (RIGHT HAND TURNS UP) (托槍掌)

4.2 LION PLAYING WITH A BALL (RIGHT HAND TURNS DOWN) (獅子滾球) Improving the eyesight and alertness with the fourth palm

(Demonstrated by Conan Tsang.)

The variation is also affected by different applications, such as locking an opponent’s arm with the upper hand upwards and the other downwards.

There are different palm turns according to application (demonstrated by Philip Clarke above).

5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon (推窗望⽉)

5.1 BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER (身擰向圈中走圈)

5.2 ONE PALM PUSHES UP AND ONE IS AT THE BACK (陰陽掌)

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest (懷中抱⽉)

6.1 BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER (身擰向圈中走圈)

6.2 KEEP THE BODY IN A GOOD POSTURE

7 Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground (指天插地)

7.1 BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER AND THE ARM STRETCHES FULLY UP AND DOWN (身擰向圈中走圈)

7.2 BODY TURNS TO THE CENTER AND THE FRONT HAND ELBOW LOWERS (垂肘走圈)

SIDE VIEW OF THIS PALM (側圖)

THE UPPER ARM SHOULD TRY TO MOVE CLOSER TO YOUR EAR

8 Black Bear Stretches Arms (⿊熊探臂)

8.1 HOLDING UP THE PALM (上托掌 (天馬行空))

8.2 HOLDING HORIZONTALLY (平托掌)

8.3 THE HAND POINTS DOWN (下托掌)

The consciousness

This palm is also called “Kylin emit the Bible” (麒麟吐書). The inner hand should look like it is holding a heavy book and the palm is facing up.

The pressing force

The armpits should contract, as if you are have a book in each armpit and are pressing them to your body; this involves pressing the arms and stretching the hands outwards. The knees should press together as if you are holding a book between them, which will create a twisting force in the whole body.

Two men touch walking the circle Most of the Eight Mother Palms would be practiced with two men touching hands while they walk the circle. This exercise improves resistance power and alertness when walking.

THE THIRD POWER

THE FOURTH PALM

BAGUA ZHANG EIGHT MOTHER PALM LINKING FORM The Eight Mother Palm linking form is also called “Swimming Body Palm.” It is combined with Eight Mother Palms and linked in a sequence. It helps to increase flexibility and awareness of Bagua Zhang. It also includes the application of Chin Na techniques.

Beginning: Wuji Palm

1 Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill

2 White Monkey Presents the Peach

3 Huge Roc Spreads Wings

4 Lion Opens Mouth

5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest

7 Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground

8 Black Bear Stretches Arms

Ending: Return to Wuji Palm

EIGHT MOTHER PALM APPLICATION 1 Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill (猛虎下⼭)

2 White Monkey Presents the Peach (⽩猿獻果)

3 Huge Roc Spreads Wings (⼤鵬展翅)

4 Lion Opens Mouth (獅⼦張⼝)

5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon (推窗望⽉)

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest (懷中抱⽉)

7 Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground (指天插地)

8 Black Bear Stretches Arms (⿊熊探臂)

Skeleton Keeping a strong skeleton is very important. In Eight Mother palms, the practice is intended to build up power in the hands, arms, back, chest, and legs. The purpose is to ensure a very solid and strong

skeleton, so that you can resist an enemy pressing, pulling, or punching you. This is demonstrated by David Leffman and Andre in the photos below. 5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest

APPLIED BAGUA ZHANG (⼋卦掌⽤法): EIGHT MOTHER PALM TWO-MEN EXERCISES (先天⼋⺟掌 對練法) (Demonstrated by CS Tang (left; A) and William (right; B).)

1 Tiger Palm (猛虎下⼭ 對練) Techniques: Arm lock (技法: 臂鎖)

Each Gao style Bagua Zhang technique can be practiced by two people, in a reverse format. When A uses the movement to attack B, B will try to escape and then change angle and use the same movement to attack A. The attack and counterattack with the same palm movement can be repeated in Gao style. It lets trainers familiarize students with the technique, and train more smoothly and wisely. Two palm movements are illustrated here.

1 A STEPS FORWARD

2 A GRASPS B’S ARM

3 A PRESSES B’S LEFT ARM DOWNWARDS

4 A PRESSES B TO THE GROUND

5 B DOES THE REVERSE ATTACK

6 B APPLIES THE SAME PRESSURE

2 Monkey Palm (⽩猿獻果 對練)

Techniques: Palm twist lock

1 A TWISTS B’S LEFT PALM

2 B TWISTS A’S PALM

3 A TWISTS B’S RIGHT PALM

4 A PRACTICING HIS STRENGTH AND STRENGTHENING HIS SKELETON

FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF TRAINING IN BAGUA ZHANG CHIN NA Introduction Being “in good physical shape” is an essential condition for health, but what is considered to be “good shape”? This subjective concept is ruled by the cultural values of each country, for example in western countries the “physical condition” relates to the esthetic aspect or shape, but in the east it relates to aspects that are important for maintaining good health. The body changes its physical capabilities according to age and characteristics. For example, one could not do the same physical activities at 60 that one could have done at 25, but there are some conditions that can be maintained over the years with regular exercise. In relation to Chin Na techniques or self-defense, having a good physical condition is more important than flexibility and strength. If we had to select the most important qualities for Chin Na, these would certainly be: strength to hit or repel, flexibility to escape, and speed to counterattack. Strength means the functional quality of the human being that allows us to overcome the resistance of an opponent through muscular contractions. The muscles have the ability to contract and relax through the nerve fibers, generating muscular tension. When this tension is applied against a resistance, a force is applied and there are two possible responses: surpasses or winning; not being able to overcome it. It is important to understand that there are only two ways to increase muscle strength: •

increase the mass or the resistance being overcome

•

increase the acceleration of the mass by making the movement with more speed.

For Chin Na the first option is more interesting and we can work at it in various exercises, such as lifting sandbags with the hands, lifting water vases using the fingers, or twisting a cane between the hands (as described in Chapter 3). The next quality to develop is flexibility, which is the muscle’s ability to perform a greater joint stretch without damage. The magnitude of the stretch will be given by the maximum range of movement of all the muscles that make up a joint.

Flexibility does not generate movement but it makes it possible, and for this you have to make the muscles, tendons, and joints more flexible through dynamic exercises (with movements or static), which means maintaining a specific position to stretch the muscle. Physical conditions generally improve until a certain age. But the flexibility declines quickly from a very early age without regular training and exercise. The best type of exercises for training in Chin Na are dynamic exercises that involve large muscle groups, because they are similar movements to offensive or defensive actions. In Chin Na, and more specifically in the Gao style of Bagua Zhang, the Ten Heavenly Stems or Tian Gan stretching exercises in the group of Nei Gong exercises develop flexibility, strength, and power in the muscles and tendons. For example: Zhua (抓), or Grasp, in which one person grasps in different ways and uses the whole body while grasping; Ban (搬), or Parry, employs the whole body in circular movements to loosen and strike; Kan (砍), or Chop, uses the horizontal and vertical movement of the arm. Physical speed is the ability to perform a movement in the shortest possible time. Speed can be understood in two ways: how to travel a certain distance in a certain time (speed of movement), or the reaction to a stimulus. It is the latter that is of most importance for self-defense techniques.

Some movements require the whole body to act as a reflection. Speed can be a direct or indirect determining factor in an activity. For example: a direct factor is when the maximum speed is sought, such as in a 100m race; an indirect factor is when you are looking for the optimum speed that allows the use of the maximum possible force, such as in the long jump. In this case, an increase in speed does not necessarily imply an improvement in performance. Direct speed is more interesting than indirect speed in Chin Na, because when one receives aggression, whether through a grasp, push, or hit, our reaction must be fast. A reaction ball is one of the best tools to develop reaction speed and reflexes. This is a small ball that is not spherical, making it difficult to predict where it will bounce. Exercises with the reaction ball will improve your reaction speed, develop your hand–eye coordination, and improve the speed of your hands and feet. An example exercise is to throw a ball against the wall and try to catch it with one or two hands when it rebounds. Increase the pace and strength of the throw when you catch it. Example exercises are given here, which will prepare you for the next chapter where you will find more detailed exercises.

General principles of Chin Na The Gao system of Bagua Zhang is composed of different empty-hand forms, exercises, weapons, and training between two people in which the techniques of attack and defense can be applied.

One of the first techniques taught in Bagua Zhang are the Mother Palms, or “previous sky,” that teach you to strengthen the body, develop body structure, and apply some techniques of dislocation and control. In this system of Bagua Zhang, the term Chin Na comes from the word “Chin,” meaning using the middle, ring finger, and little fingers to grasp, and “Na,” which means using the thumb, index, and middle fingers to grasp.

CHIN ( 擒用後三指)

NA (拿是前三指用力)

Application of Chin Na The Chin Na techniques are divided into four groups (with each group having eight forms of attack and release), plus eight ways of projecting force into Chin Na, making 72 techniques in total. The four groups are: 1.

Splitting tendons

2.

Breaking joints

3.

Attacking vital points

4.

Choking

There are also Chin Na techniques that involve using several techniques at the same time; however, they are grouped in a single group by this main effect or action of rupture of ligament, articulation, vital point, or strangulation. The following illustrations are some examples of techniques classified in these four groups: 1 “Splitting tendons” techniques (分筋)

2 “Breaking joints” techniques (錯⾻)

3 “Attacking vital points” techniques (點⽳)

4 “Choking” techniques (閉氣)

CHIN NA IN BAGUA ZHANG SEQUENCE 1 The Oriole Locks the Neck (鎖 喉) This is a dangerous technique to attack the vital points. In the photos below we can see the attack with the fingers at the throat of the opponent while the other hand controls the opponent’s second hand.

2 Tempting the Tiger (降⿓) If the neck is grabbed in this way, the natural reaction is to release the grip by pulling the opponent’s hand away. In this technique the opponent’s hand is held firmly so that they cannot escape; the

opponent’s elbow is then pressed up with the arm to lock their wrist. If you continue to press down on the elbow, the ligaments of the wrist will break.

3 Turn Heaven Seal Up (翻天印) This technique is another wrist dislocation, which is performed by holding the opponent’s hand with yours and pressing the forearm forward and down to force the flexion of his wrist. You can fracture his wrist by pushing your forearm with the weight of your body on his hand.

4 Claw of Mantis (刁⼿) The next move is a reaction to escape from the opponent’s grasp, followed by a counterattack. Grasp the opponent’s wrist with both hands, press his arm down with your elbow, and grasp his fingers with the other hand, pushing forward and breaking his ligaments and bones.

5 The Golden Silk is Coiled in the Wrist (纏腕) This is an effective action that requires little force, but the precision in the angle of pressure is very important. Hold the opposite hand of your opponent with both hands. Adding the pressure of one hand in a downward direction, there is a rupture of the ligaments of the wrist. With continuous pressure, you can fracture some of the wrist bones.

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest (懷中抱⽉) This is performed by holding the opponent’s arm, with your shoulder and elbow bending upwards to break his elbow.

7 The Golden Chicken Nods His Head (⾦雞點頭) For this technique you have to hold the opponent’s opposite hand with both of your hands and then push forward and down. In this technique it is important to have a strong hold on the opponent’s hand to prevent them from escaping.

8 Bend Bow to Shoot the Tiger (彎⼸射虎) This is a combination of dislocation and imbalance. Turn the opponent’s opposite hand and make a luxation. At the same time, the other hand pushes up and then down towards his neck and overturns him.

These eight techniques are only a part of the Bagua Zhang Chin Na form. They are attack, defense, or counterattack movements that teach the student how to act with aggression and how to escape from locking. The following photos show details of how the hand should be gripped and the rotation of the fingers. Start with the little finger and close all the fingers until the hand is in a fist position.

SPEED AND FLEXIBILITY IN CHIN NA This part of the training is as important as the conditioning of the hands and arms. Once the hands and the body have been trained to be powerful and effective weapons, it is time to focus on flexibility, agility, and speed. These are required in Chin Na because they are based on principles of angles and mobility of the body so as not to use too much useless force. Some people say that these techniques are effective because they are applied by teachers or strong students, but these techniques were designed to be applied against a superior and stronger opponent.

Escape exercises In Chin Na techniques it is important to know different ways to escape a hand grip, using the angles of movement, the flexibility of the arms and the waist, and the power of the hand. These exercises should be practiced regularly so they become natural reactions. When practicing with a partner, it is important to put resistance in the grip to be able to check and feel that the action used is effective and realistic. Exercise 1

When you are gripped at the lower part of the wrist, act as if you want to lift the arm—first open your palm and stretch your fingers, then push down. This opens the opponent’s grip until they cannot follow.

Exercise 2

When your hand is grasped, stretch your fingers and make a circular motion outward and upward. The area between the thumb and forefinger is called the “tiger’s mouth”; directing the tiger’s mouth towards the opponent’s arm forces a release.

Exercise 3

When someone is holding your wrist with their opposite hand, stretch your fingers to fill your hand with energy and perform a circular motion upwards from the bottom of the hand, turning the wrist to release the grip. This movement will mean the opponent can escape, so quickly take his wrist.

Exercise 4

When someone has their opposite hand above your wrist, stretch your fingers to fill your hand with energy and perform a circular motion upwards and outwards. As in the previous exercise, finish the movement by taking the opponent’s hand to prevent them from escaping.

Exercise 5

When someone holds up the same side of your hand, stretch your fingers and perform an upward and circular motion. In this exercise the left hand will help to grasp the other hand by turning and twisting the hand.

Exercise 6

When someone is holding your upper arm with the hand of their same arm (e.g. holding your right arm with their right hand), flex the elbow down, stretch the fingers, and open the hand. Grasp the opponent’s arm from below with the tiger’s mouth. From this position it will be easy to push and release their grip.

Exercise 7

When someone catches your elbow and pushes your arm, stretch the fingers of the hand to fill the arm and the hand with energy. Do not resist his push, and raise the arm up. Use the other hand and place it down, catch his wrist, and pull it away. Once you have hold of his hand, you could counterattack by hitting his face.

Exercise 8

This last exercise shows you how to apply pressure on different vital points.

BAGUA ZHANG DRILLING CHIN NA FORM (⼋卦掌擒拿 對練兩路) First section (對練⼀路)

OPENING SEVEN STARS STANCE

A: FIERCE TIGER DESCENDS THE HILL

B: SNAKE AND PENETRATE

A: WHITE MONKEY PRESENTS THE PEACH

A: HUGE ROC SPREADS WINGS

A: PUSH WINDOW TO GLANCE THE MOON

B: LEFT HAND PUSHES

A: PUSH WINDOW TO GLANCE THE MOON

A: HOLDING THE MOON TO THE CHEST

B: DRAGON FORM: PIERCING HAND PALM

B: HERO OFFERS WINE

POINT TO HEAVEN AND PIERCE TO GROUND

B: PULL AND KICK

BLACK BEAR STRETCHES ARMS

Second section (對練⼆路)

A: THE ORIOLE LOCKED THE NECK

A: TEMPTING THE TIGER

A: TURN HEAVEN SEAL UP

A: CLAW OF MANTIS

A: THE GOLDEN SILK IS COILED IN THE WRIST

A: HOLDING THE MOON TO THE CHEST

A: THE GOLDEN CHICKEN NODS HIS HEAD

A: BEND BOW TO SHOOT THE TIGER

DISCLAIMER These techniques are for demonstration purposes only. The author accepts no responsibility or liability from any injuries resulting from either the proper or improper application of these Bagua Zhang Chin Na techniques. When working with a partner applying these techniques, they should be done slowly and carefully so that the person doing “A” can apply the technique properly and the person doing “B” can feel if the technique has been properly applied from the resulting tinge of pain. “B” should tap to let “A” know to stop. To learn how to apply the techniques correctly, it is recommended that readers contact the author CS Tang for instruction.

BAGUA ZHANG CHIN NA ROUTINES (⼋卦掌 ⼋⺟掌 擒拿套路) (Routine 1 is demonstrated by William Steinberg (A) and Eric Poling (B).) (Routine 2 is demonstrated by CS Tang (A) and Eric Poling (B).)

Routine 1

1 A and B face off. A and B’s left hands touch back to back.

2 A starts. A’s left hand rotates counterclockwise, grabs B’s wrist, and begins to pull it across B’s body and downward in a 90-degree arc.

At the same time A’s right hand comes up and pushes B’s elbow up and over. Result: B is facing the ground with the arm in a 90-degree lock with the palm facing up.

3 B then turns the wrist counterclockwise (palm down now) and turns his body in a circular motion toward A, pushing his shoulder into A’s body while simultaneously bringing his right hand to strike A’s neck.

4 A’s left hand grabs B’s wrist and then the right hand seizes B’s palm and begins to turn it counterclockwise into a wristlock.

5 B’s left hand pushes A’s elbow outward to release the hand from the wrist.

6 A’s left hand arcs under the elbow to grab B’s left hand, continuing A’s right leg steps behind B, and then A’s right arm will arc toward B’s upper chest or throat to throw B backwards.

7 B’s right hand grabs A’s wrist to stop the throw, and B steps the right leg behind A to do the same technique to A.

8 A’s right leg steps back in front of B, A’s left leg circles in front of B, and they are now standing face to face. A’s left hand grabs B’s right elbow and cups behind it. A’s thumb digs into the pressure point at the crux formed by the bend. A’s right hand circles clockwise to escape the grip of B’s right hand and then A’s right hand grabs B’s palm and bends it down to a 90-degree angle. A’s right and left hands push against each other to cause pain to B’s wrist.

9 B’s left hand grabs and removes A’s right hand from the palm to stop the pain.

10 A’s right hand circles clockwise under B’s left wrist with the thumb and index finger forming a “V.” The right hand raises upward and releases B’s grip. A’s right hand grabs B’s wrist, turning it clockwise and pulling it to the chest. A’s left hand also grips B’s left hand and turns it further clockwise for torque. A’s right elbow arcs over the top of B’s arm, pressing down on the elbow to break it.

11 B turns the body toward A, and B’s right hand pushes A’s elbow off B’s elbow to stop the break.

12 Now A and B’s right forearms are parallel, with the palms facing in opposite directions. A’s right hand slides down B’s right forearm, grabs the wrist, and begins to arc the arm up in a counterclockwise direction. A’s left hand grabs B’s right wrist and arcs it higher and turns it more in a counterclockwise direction, adding torque to it. A’s right forearm reaches over B’s tricep behind the elbow and rubs it back to A to begin to create an arm lock.

A bends B’s hand upward and uses his right arm to press B’s upper arm.

13 B must turn toward A, and B’s right hand pushes A’s left arm off B’s left arm.

14 Both A and B’s hands rotate back to the starting position.

15 B starts by pulling A’s left hand down and attacking A’s throat with his right hand.

16 A grabs B’s right hand with his right hand. A uses his right hand and pulls B’s arm to the right. A’s left hand arcs clockwise under B’s left hand; the thumb and index finger form a “V.” A pulls B’s left hand up to a 90-degree angle over B’s right arm and locks it. A then steps at a 45-degree angle with B.

17 B takes a bigger step back with his left leg in order to escape. This must be done to be ahead of A’s momentum. B’s right arm will arc counterclockwise to the right and B’s left hand will simultaneously circle clockwise, escaping A’s right hand. B’s right hand will pull down on A’s right arm and then kick at A’s groin with the right foot.

A will block B’s kick with the left hand, knocking it away.

18 A will then grab B’s right arm with the left hand and pull it downward. A’s right arm will lock around B’s neck. A will then pull forward and circle to the left to throw B.

19 As A’s right hand locks around B’s throat, B’s left hand will grab A’s right arm and pull it out away from the neck to create space.

As A circles, B must turn the body so B’s front faces A’s rear. B turns his head to the left side and pulls A’s arm away so there is space to release the lock.

The routine is finished. Both turn left and apply the “Four Steps Go Through Forest Palm” to meet again with both right hands in contact.

Routine 2

1 A and B face off, right hand to right hand.

2 A hits B’s right elbow out of the way and uses the right hand to attack the throat. It is not a push but a quick, hard strike to move the arm away.

3 A grabs B’s throat.

4 B must grab A’s wrist with the left hand to remove A’s hand and to keep the windpipe from being crushed.

5 A’s left hand covers B’s left hand to pin it in place.

6 A’s right elbow begins to roll over B’s left forearm.

7 A’s right elbow is over B’s left forearm and pushes down to cause pain.

8 B’s right hand must push A’s right elbow away to release the hold and stop the pain.

9 B’s right hand has pushed away A’s elbow.

10 A’s left hand covers B’s right hand and holds it tight against the right elbow. A’s elbow doesn’t sit in the center of B’s palm—it sits against the line that separates the fingers from the top part of the “palm pad.”

11 A straightens the elbow and begins to push straight down against B’s hand. Again, it isn’t the hand itself that is pushed but the fingers (see above).

12 This photo is the result of the action above as B’s fingers are pushed back against themselves from the downward force of A’s elbow.

13 To stop the pain, B’s left hand grabs A’s right arm and pushes it down in a counterclockwise arc.

14 B’s left hand now grabs A’s arm to initiate a wrist lock.

15 A’s left hand grabs B’s left hand. A’s thumb will slide into the space between the arm and palm and begin to “peel away” B’s hand.

16 A has peeled away B’s left hand and now grabbed it and begins to twist it in a counterclockwise direction.

17 A pulls B’s arm downward slightly and A begins to press his right arm, palm up, down against B’s elbow.

18 A now presses down on B’s elbow and “rolls” it across the elbow at a 90-degree angle to break B’s elbow. A’s arm should be perpendicular to B’s. If A’s arm is at a 45-degree angle, that results in A’s arm pointing toward B’s face and makes it easier to escape the lock.

19 B’s right hand grabs A’s right arm and pushes down from the elbow to release the lock.

20 A’s left hand covers B’s right hand to hold it on A’s wrist.

21 A firmly holds B’s right hand on A’s right wrist.

22 A’s right hand stretches out and arcs up to grab B’s right forearm.

23 With B’s wrist secured against his wrist and his right hand now grabbing B’s forearm, A pulls B’s forearm down, creating pain, and to break the wrist.

24 To stop the pain and the break, B’s left hand grabs A’s left hand.

25 B’s left hand pulls A’s left hand up and off B’s wrist.

26 A’s left hand arcs counterclockwise under B’s left hand and grabs it.

27 A pulls B’s left arm across his body. A will circle his body around so he’s standing almost side by side with B. A’s right foot will step in front of B’s left foot. A’s right arm will curve under B’s left arm just behind the elbow.

28 With A’s left hand firmly grasping B’s left arm and his right arm under B’s left elbow, A now has an effective lever and begins to push up against the elbow while pulling down on the arm. A can also grasp his left hand and push up with the right arm to increase pressure.

29 B circles around in front of A, and B’s right hand grabs A’s right arm and pulls it down to release the lock.

30 A’s left hand grabs B’s palm to release it from his right hand.

31 A arcs B’s right arm counterclockwise 45 degrees and A’s right hand will also grab B’s right hand. A’s hands grasp B’s inner palm and A’s thumbs are pressed against B’s outer palm.

32 A will step back and pull B’s hand down while simultaneously turning it counterclockwise at a 45-degree angle.

33 B’s left hand grabs A’s right hand and pulls it away from the wrist. A’s left hand still maintains a hold on B’s right hand and continues to apply pressure at a 45-degree angle.

34 While B maintains a grip on A’s right hand, A’s hand will arc counterclockwise up 90 degrees. At this point, B’s left palm is face up with A’s right hand pressing in towards B’s head and A’s left hand still applying the pressure on B’s right hand and wrist at a 45-degree angle.

35 From this position, A, maintaining his grip in B’s right palm, walks left toward B at a 45-degree angle. Should B move his left hand from A, A can then attack the left side of B’s head.

36 The routine is finished. A and B turn right and apply the “Four Steps Go Through Forest Palm” to then meet again with both left hands in contact.

PRACTICING BAGUA ZHANG WALKING (⼋卦掌⾛步練法提要)

PRE-HEAVEN BAGUA ZHANG DIAGRAM (先天八卦圖)

General information The Pre-Heaven Palms initiate at the Zhen Palace, and the Post-Heaven Palms initiate at the Li Palace. The Pre-Heaven Mother Palms use the circle method, and the Post-Heaven Palms use a straight line. Timing: One-minute circles eight times to the left, and one-minute circles eight times to the right. Positioning: Within the circle for “inner,” and outside the circle for “outer.”

Zhang poem

Changing the Bagua palms is the origin, using the circle as the method the movements are round. Within the circle inner, outside outer, the circle is the Pre-Heaven Bagua basin. Training the inner to cultivate the essence is the instruction, with the years and the days the training must be complete. Adjusting the Yin Yang, unifying the Qi and blood, nourishes the body and is as miraculous as the mountains.

Bagua Stepping Pattern (先天掌步型)

1 INTERNAL BAI BU (左內擺步)

2 INTERNAL KAU BU (右內扣步)

3 OUTSIDE BAI BU (左外擺步)

4 OUTSIDE KAU BU (右外扣步)

5 OUTSIDE BAI BU (右外擺步)

6 FOLLOW BU (左順步)

Starting position: Wuji Palm Starting

1.

Stand at the top spot of the circumference (the Qian trigram).

2.

Take a breath through the nose, stand like a tall tree reaching to the heavens, tuck in the chin, extend the head upwards, send the Qi to the Baihui acupressure point, and press the tongue to the top of the palate behind the teeth.

3.

Using a slow gentle breath through the nose, relax the whole body, sink the chest, hunch the back, drop the shoulders, and lower the elbows.

4.

Keep the knees slightly bent, relax the hips, drop the buttocks, lift up the anus, and fill the stomach; the Qi is collected in the Dantian.

5.

Extend the arms, opening the armpits. Open the five fingers explosively so the center of the palm faces the Huan Tiao acupressure point in the thighs (connect the shoulders to the elbows). The elbows should push the wrists, which should be cocked, the fingers must be extended, and the tips of the fingers should point straight downwards.

6.

The upper body should sink into the Kua, making the abdomen expand outwards. Bend the knees and sit into the buttocks; do not bounce high and low but move as though in a sedan chair and the legs are in the Mud Walking step.

Mud Walking step and requirements

1.

Slightly lift the left foot, and extend it lightly outwards, like treading on thin ice. The foot should extend as though it is a cat’s foot, lightly finding the right position. The body should be

heavy and the foot light. 2.

Use the Mud Walking step to move forward; the foot needs to extend forward while it is flat, it must be flat when it lands, and the heel must not lift to expose the sole. Every step must be very slow. When the back foot is extending forward, it should be like a horse pulling a cart up the mountain with the feet attached to a heavy axle. When the foot lands, it should be like a swallow flying across the plains, landing like a wild goose without raising any dust.

3.

When your back foot passes your front foot, pause the back foot at the position of the front foot and let the lower abdomen collect the Qi. Use all your strength to push forward for half a step and scrape the front foot along the ground for half a step.

Effect of continuous walking

1.

Walk eight circles to the right, turn within the circle, and walk eight circles to the left. Repeat and keep changing directions, until you are tired.

2.

Practice with full requirements: the ten fingers stretch, sweat will run down the back, the body is full of energy (Qi).

3.

This is a bear shape: the body becomes heavy but the step is light; it moves forward and ensures nobody can block you.

Wuji Palm (無極掌)

The strict requirements of Mud Walking step (趟泥步之嚴格要求)

MUD WALKING AS IF THE COW IS DRAGGING A PLOUGH IN A FIELD (行如拖犁)

Mud Walking step is Bagua Zhang’s most basic step, and is unique to Bagua Zhang. Training in Mud Walking step is important for health and for fighting, so it is vital for proficiency in Bagua Zhang. Mud Walking step is used in Pre-Heaven Bagua Zhang; the Eight Big Palms and the Post-Heaven 64 Palms have a different method of practice. Training starts with the Five Elements Steps and the kicking stance, and then moves on to the level rising and falling of Mud Walking step. The inside step is straight and the outside step is hooked—one walks as though pulling a plough. The next stage is to learn the wide step of the Eight Big Palms before finally working on the straight step of the Post-Heaven Palms. Mud Walking step has four requirements: wade, tread, step, center (趟踏踩中)—of which the key is as follows. 1 Raise level and land level

For most people, the heel leaves the floor first when taking a step, and when the foot lands, the heel lands first and is followed by the front of the foot. The Mud Walking step of Bagua Zhang is “walking while sitting,” as though one were on a sedan chair. It requires the foot to be level as soon as it leaves the ground and a tightening of the muscles in the soles of the feet, making the feet move level with the floor. And when landing, the whole foot lands at once. The heel cannot land first and the front of the foot cannot land first. One must not lift the foot and expose the sole. So one has to move slowly, and the steps have to be small. After training in Mud Walking step for a long time, the form naturally takes shape, the foot only leaves the ground a small amount, and when moving along the ground, the whole body moves. The stepping movement becomes faster; use the heel to land first and then the rest of the foot to land. 2 When landing, the front of the foot scrapes the ground

Before the foot lands, keep the back leg about 2cm above the ground; when the foot lands forward, the front foot makes contact and scrapes the floor before planting firmly. As the foot is being planted firmly,

the weight is on the back foot until the front foot is firmly on the ground. This trains the whole body to flow forward—the belly is firm, the chest is wide, and it is as though the body is forged of steel. 3 Push out the knees when the foot lands

After the front foot lands on the ground, one has to push out the knee. Pushing out the knee has the following benefits: maintaining the level of the body and preventing rising and falling; maintaining the speed of the forward momentum, preventing the front foot’s landing from providing resistance; protecting the knee joint (as the legs are moving quickly, the foot fall stops this movement while the body is still moving forward, and the knee joint can be easily damaged); practicing the braking energy and increases the power of Fajin (release power). 4 Push out from the back and front steps down

When training in Mud Walking step, one has to extend the front foot using the back foot. The back foot is the motivating force; the front leg is the spade of the bulldozer. Mud Walking step uses the back leg to power the body, and the body pushes through the front thigh, calves, and foot. When moving correctly, there is an unstoppable force, and the body is unified. Beginners should not rush to achieve Mud Walking step. The steps should not be large, the speed should be slower, the focus should be on sitting lower, the body should not lean back, the body should be level (preventing up-and-down movement), and the head should not lower or lean to the front. 5 Growing roots

Mud Walking step requires the foot to land as though it were a suction cup on the ground, and should be as stable as a tree root. Once both feet are on the ground, they are not allowed to wobble; if you are moving, you are unable to contact the ground and generate power. It is easy to develop the bad habit of the heel or ball of the foot landing first, or the foot landing and then moving or adjusting position. 6 Both legs are like scissors—when extending the feet, they are like piercing needles

The two legs are like scissors and the inner thighs should have a clamping power. When extended, the leg should be like needles piercing all the way to the tips of the feet. The same number or circles should be walked to the left and to the right, as Chinese medicine requires the body to be balanced on both sides: “The fire and water balance each other out”; only then can the body be healthy.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF BAGUA STEPPING (⼋卦掌⾛步與健康) Bagua Zhang walking is a safe and effective aerobic activity and is a good exercise for weight loss. It can be done at any time, and grasping the requirements of walking can strengthen the constitution. Gathering a group of students to walk together can help maintain personal relationships and friendships. When the difficulty of the activity is appropriate and the posture is correct, this is called “Bagua Stepping,” and the required equipment is very simple to obtain.

The legs are the foundation of the human body, the columns supporting the weight of the body. Legs for the human are like the roots of a tree—when the tree withers, the roots are the first to shrivel. “When a man is not yet old, the legs age first.” When one maintains a regular stepping practice, once can train “leg power,” strengthen the pelvis, and increase stamina. Martial artists say, “A hundred repetitions are not as good as one session of walking.” If one accumulates at least 30 minutes of medium aerobic activity a day, and keeps each session to at least 15 minutes, this is of great benefit to health.

The benefits of Bagua stepping 1.

Upper torso: Balances the vertebrae of the spine, rectifies curvature of the spine, extending both upwards and downwards, and stretches and straightens the spinal column; it adjusts the drooping of the arms and, by extending the arms outwards, it lessens the hunching of the back. It strengthens the upper and lower back muscles, and prevents slipped discs. It can prevent neck injuries, as one lifts the head and straightens the back when one is walking, and can rectify long hours of hunching forward in the office.

2.

Lower body: It can strengthen the power of the feet and thighs, regularly lowering the center of gravity. The speed of the reflexes are maintained and one is stable when one walks.

3.

Whole body: The shoulders are stretched open, the frame and structure are solid and strong, the stance is stretched, and the breathing is relaxed, which increases the volume of the lungs.

4.

Breathing: Walking for a long time can increase the lung volume, meaning one can maintain exercise over long periods of time without resting.

5.

Large steps: A long step makes one alert.

6.

Balanced left and right sides: When walking the circle in a Bagua posture, the right and left sides are balanced, so the lungs are not impacted more on one side.

7.

Aids sleep: Walking every day helps to tire the body, which will improve sleep quality.

8.

Helps circulation and increases aerobic capacity.

9.

Maintains a muscular torso and helps increase confidence.

10. Burns calories and helps maintain a healthy weight. 11. Helps maintain blood pressure and blood lipids, lowers cholesterol, maintains blood sugar levels, reduces the chance of blocked arteries, reduces the chance of high blood pressure and

diabetes, and can prevent certain cancers. 12. Can prevent osteoporosis, strengthen the skeletal structure and bones and joints, help maintain the levels of calcium in the bones, and prevent the loss of calcium, keeping the bones strong. 13. Reduces stress, keeps the mind alert, maintains memory, can prevent dementia and senility, and can maintain sharpness of the brain. Walking at least one hour a day can delay the onset of dementia by six to eight years. 14. Encourages the nervous system to increase the production of hormones and increases blood circulation to the brain. 15. Helps older people to exercise their body and increases flexibility and balance. 16. Can improve the health of pregnant and post-partum women. 17. Can hasten the treatment for and recovery from cancer.

The posture, technique, and speed Proper posture

1.

The torso should be as upright as possible when stepping.

2.

Lift the head and tuck in the chin; let the shoulders drop and the eyes look forward.

3.

The hips lead the calves and the heels; usually the movement is termed “hitting someone as though you were walking.”

4.

The hands are relaxed as though floating in the air, and the arms are away from the armpit, moving according to the requirements of the form.

5.

Maintain the structure—expanded but with relaxed muscles.

Correct technique

1.

Relax the muscles; don’t let them tighten up.

2.

As the foot touches the floor, the sequence is for the heel to lead the soles of the foot and the toes. As the two legs alternate, this moves the weight of the body.

3.

The length of the step should be small at first and move to larger steps. A beginner can start with the step size of normal walking: approximately 0.5–0.75m, depending on the size of the individual.

4.

Both hands are relaxed as though floating in the air. The arms stretch away from the armpit and move according to the requirements of the form. Both arms are fixed and should not sway.

5.

The feet need to maintain the Bai/Kou step while moving forward and cannot extend.

Appropriate speed

1.

Walk a smaller number of circles at first, and slowly increase the number.

2.

Increase the rate of breathing and heart rate naturally.

3.

Adjust your breathing according to the difficulty of the exercise. When the speed of the walking is increased, the rate of breathing increases, but one should be able to continue to talk without effort.

4.

To increase the difficulty of the exercise, increase the speed of the stepping and size of the step. This should not impact the posture and breathing, and the movements will need to be adjusted accordingly.

Walking plan Walking is physical exercise that is suitable for all ages and genders. It improves the function of the heart and lungs and improves endurance. A walking plan should first consider the health and physical conditions of the individual. It should include three to five practice sessions a week, with each session being longer than 30 minutes. Beginners should start with 10-minute blocks. •

Frequency of exercise: Three to five times a week, with adequate rest afterwards.

•

Intensity of exercise: Increase the rate of the stepping and the length of the step to increase the intensity of the exercise. The target heart rate and general feeling of hard work can be used to measure the intensity and set the program.

•

Length of exercise: The first practice should be for 30 minutes, which can be separated into different sections; each section should be at least 10 minutes. Sections can be extended to 30 minutes.

•

At first, you should start with a Wuji stance, which should be enough to feel that the tips of the fingers are giving off heat and are swollen, with the palms completely red. As you continue, the Qi will flow through the whole body, leaving you feeling very heavy, with your back giving off heat and the crown of your head covered in sweat.

•

At first, the thighs will feel sore and the knees swollen; this is only due to lack of practice. Rest a while and then continue.

•

Aim for eight steps to a circle. Start by walking eight circles anticlockwise to the left—64 steps in total—and change direction. Then walk to the right in a clockwise direction for eight circles, making 128 steps in total.

•

To practice continuously, increase the requirements: The Eight Mother Palms have eight circles in both directions.

Walking procedure •

Warm-up

•

Light loosening exercises: minimum five minutes

•

Stretching exercise: minimum five minutes –

Increases body temperature

–

Allows the body to transition from resting to an exercise state

–

Increases range of motion for the joints

–

Reduces chance of injury

Training

•

Medium-to-intense stepping exercise, coupled with appropriate resistance training: 30–40 minutes –

Increases heart and lung capacity

–

Increases muscular strength and endurance

–

Promotes bone health

–

Improves balance

•

Adjust/cool down

•

Loosening exercises: minimum five minutes

•

Stretching exercise: minimum five minutes –

Allows the body to transition from an active state to a resting state

–

Reduces the accumulation of metabolic waste

–

Allows increased blood flow to all parts of the body, returning the body to normal

Stretching exercise Stretching exercises can relax tense muscles, improve joint activity, calm the nervous system, and reduce the chance of injury and risk of muscular pain. Basic principles

•

Undergo passive stretching.

•

Avoid overdoing the stretch, or pulling or bouncing when stretching.

•

Once stretched to maximum, hold for 10–30 seconds, while maintaining relaxed breathing.

•

Stretch from head to toe or toe to head.

•

The joints and muscles on both sides of the body need to be stretched equally, with each side done three to four times.

Resistance training Basic principles

•

Wear loose clothes and do stretches and a warm-up first.

•

Do the training step by step in a safe way to improve muscular strength and endurance.

•

Each week, train a different muscle group for two or three days.

•

Each session, work on the muscle group for two to four sections; do each section for 10–15 repetitions.

•

Keep the breathing smooth during practice. Breathe out when you push and pull. Breathe in when movements return to the same position. Do not stop breathing, as it will affect your blood circulation.

•

After practice, do stretching exercises to cool down.

•

During recovery periods, or after injury, joint pain, and pregnancy, please consult expert and reliable sources.

Resistance practice is training for the muscles and is effective for increasing muscular strength and endurance. It makes muscles firm and strengthens the joints. Squatting (Dun Yao)

1.

Stand with the legs shoulder width apart and the hands extended in front of the chest.

2.

Take a full breath and breathe out while slowly squatting down until the thighs are at a 45degree angle to the ground.

3.

Breathe in and push the body up to its original position.

4.

Keep the torso and neck upright. Do not: lean to the front; extend your buttocks; let the heels lift off the ground; and let the feet splay out.

5.

For an intermediate exercise: Squats until the thighs are parallel with the floor.

Important points and safety tips

•

Understand the limits of your body. Ensure there are no chronic illnesses. As each person’s body is different, you should choose a training time and length that is suitable for your own body.

•

Results come with persistence, so only with step-by-step training can you fulfill the requirements and attain the goal of a healthy body. Those who do not usually do physical exercise should choose a low number of repetitions and train slowly; in time they can increase the intensity, repetitions, and duration.

•

If you are not able to fulfill the requirements due to the limitations of your body, do not force yourself. Check with your medical practitioner before training.

•

If you feel ill during or after practice, stop training immediately and seek medical help.

•

Dress in appropriate casual clothing, shoes, and socks.

•

Start with warm-ups and stretching, and cool down after training.

•

Drink enough water before and during training.

•

Do not train when there is an inappropriate temperature and humidity: extreme heat and cold are not suitable for training.

•

Try not to train in an area with strong air conditioning.

•

Train in a safe place.

THE HEALTH ASPECT OF THE EIGHT MOTHER PALMS

1 Fierce Tiger Descends the Hill—Back (Mountain) • Press hands down, hold Dantian, and curve back • •

Qi flows downwards, legs are stable Cures illnesses of the lower basin, gastroptosis

•

Good for knee, joint, neck, back, and waist pain

2 White Monkey Presents the Peach—Lungs (Metal) • Forearms push up, shoulders stretch, and back is rounded

•

Can resist strikes

• •

Cures frozen shoulder and back pain Qi assembles in lungs, improves the immunity of the lungs

3 Huge Roc Spreads Wings—Hips (Wind) • •

Open back, stretched chest, sunken trunk Qi flows from Ren Mai to arms to fingertips

•

Heals pneumonia, pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of the respiratory system, and flu

4 Lion Opens Mouth—Head (Heaven) • Head turns, and hands are up • •

Qi shoots up from Di Mai to front of the hands Cures headaches and frozen shoulder

5 Push Window to Glance at the Moon—Heart (Fire) •

Heals the heart, palpitations and Qi weakness, lack of appetite, nervous breakdown, and heart disease

6 Holding the Moon to the Chest—Liver (Thunder) • Liver is at the right hip, hands rotate and hold •

Strengthens liver, cures diseases of liver and spleen

7 Point to Heaven and Pierce to Ground—Kidneys (Water) • •

Waist moves up and down like snake Stretches kidneys

•

Heals deficiencies of the kidney and dizziness, incontinence, and constipation

8 Black Bear Stretches Arms—Stomach (Earth) • Rotate hands inwards; pushes sick Qi out • •

Dantian turns internally Qi flows from Dantian to the inner hand

•

Heals small intestine, addresses diarrhea and vomiting

HEALTH IS ACCUMULATED

DRAWING OF THE TREE FOR BAGUA ZHANG (八卦掌藝樹圖)

This drawing was passed down by Dong Hai Chuan, the founder of Bagua Zhang. Students are taught to circle around a tree: the tree starts as a young trunk and grows upwards, the student practices changing palms every day, his power increases daily, and his body becomes stronger. The tree is also growing daily and becoming larger, the leaves are abundant, and alongside the tree the student increases in power and knowledge. A hundred years develops the man and prepares the next generation of disciples. This shows us that there are no short cuts and quick methods, and no one-step roads to success. We must have patience, and it is the same for our health. It needs perseverance, hard work, and a plan before one can be strong in body and mind. There are many excuses to be lazy, and these lead to many diseases. If one is to seek health, one must rid oneself of disease before working on health to avoid enduring suffering and a longer road. The drawing has deep meaning. Dong Hai Chuan also passed down a “Health Song”: Exercise rids us of a hundred diseases. If the body is weak, learn to change palms. The Snake Form and the Shun Shen Palm reduce the internal heat. Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm adjusts the triple burner. Returning and Tiger Form ease the liver and lung. Swallow and Gai Palm firm the kidneys and the hips. Turning the body and Fan Bei increase the power. Twisting the body and deep Horse Stance help the spleen and stomach. Shaking the body and Piercing Palm strengthen the ligaments and bones. Stopping the body and Ban Kou remove the hundred illnesses. The five toils and seven injuries are eased by the Black Dragon Swings Tail. A strong body trains the palms to a higher level.

CHAPTER 5

EIGHT BIG PALMS SINGLE PALM CHANGE

SINGLE PALM CHANGE POSTURE, BY CS TANG

Single Palm Change is the most important signature of Bagua Zhang. All branches and styles of Bagua Zhang have this posture—they might differ in some parts but the concept is the same. People would observe a practitioner’s Single Palm Change to find out whether they had a deep knowledge of Bagua Zhang. Practitioners should train in this palm daily, and once you walk the circle, show how you keep all requirements of this palm.

Different palm shapes 1 Ox Tongue Palm

This is mainly practiced by the Yim Fu school. The palm shape mainly comes from Master Yim who trained Shaolin Lohan Quen. When the fingers are closed together, they can easily be used for striking.

2 Dragon Claw Palm

This is practiced by the Cheng Ting Hua school. The palm shape comes from Chinese wrestling. The splitting of the palm is called “explosion stretches.” The function is to grasp and strike. There are pushing out and upward styles and fully stretched styles where the tiger mouth opens like a full moon.

Single Palm Change

WILLIAM FOCUSES ON THE CENTER WHEN WALKING

This palm is trained using weights, small wrist rings, and large weight rings.

(Demonstrated by William Steinberg.)

(Demonstrated by Alex Medana.) Note: The index finger should bend back towards the eyebrow, and the root of the palm should push upward, sink, and press the elbow. The arms stay in a triangle to strengthen the skeleton (二拍勾眉).

Single Palm Change movement sequence

READY POSTURE

TURN THE LEFT PALM UP

RIGHT HAND POINTS BACK

CHANGE THE PALM BY RAISING IT UP AND THEN PRESSING IT DOWN

THE SHOULDER STRETCHES THE ARM FORWARD COMPLETELY AND SINKS THE ELBOW

Two ways to change palms 1 The lower palm passes through the elbow of the other arm.

2 The lower palm passes under and touches the other arm, as if it is going through a sleeve (穿袖掌).

The lower palm acts as protection.

Three different Single Palm Change stretches 1 Full stretches

The left hand fully stretches forwards and the right hand protects the waist.

2 Half stretches

The left hand sinks the elbow and the right hand points to the left elbow.

3 Protecting stretches

The left hand sinks the elbow and pushes up, and the right hand points to the left side of the waist.

Stepping in Single Palm Change

1 INTERNAL BAI BU

2 INTERNAL KAU BU

3 EXTERNAL BAI BU

4 EXTERNAL KAU BU

5 EXTERNAL KAU BU AT T-STEP

6 HORSE STANCE STEP

7 INTERNAL BAI BU The postures of the masters in Single Palm Change

MASTER HO HO CHOY

HOW MASTER HO PERFORMED THE SINGLE PALM CHANGE

MASTER CS TANG

MASTER NIU SHENG XIAN (牛勝先)

MASTER SEBASTIAN GONZÁLEZ AT HIS JING STUDIO IN BARCELONA, SPAIN

BAGUA ZHANG XIAN TIEN EIGHT BIG PALMS 換掌【先天八大掌】 首尾掌 頭勢。換掌 1. 2.

單換掌 －兩儀換掌：內換掌、外換掌 雙換掌 身勢。八大掌

3. 4.

四形 簡名: 1 蛇形順式掌 順身掌

5. 6.

2 回身打虎掌 回身掌 3 龍形穿手掌 鑽身掌

7. 8.

4 燕翻蓋手掌 翻身掌 四身

Main forms: changing forms (換掌) Eight Big Palms (八大掌): 1. 2.

Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

3. 4.

Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

5. 6.

Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

7. Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm 8. Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm Beginning and ending palms:

9. 5 轉身反背掌 轉身掌 10. 6 擰身探馬掌 探身掌

1. 2.

Single Palm Change Double Palm Change

11. 7 翻身背插掌 背身掌 12. 8 停身搬扣掌 擰身掌

3.

Five Dragons Palm a. Black Dragon Swings Tail

13. 尾勢。五龍掌 14. 1：烏龍擺尾掌

b. c.

Green Dragon Stretches Claw Yellow Dragon Turns Body

15. 2：白龍分水掌 16. 3：青龍探爪掌

d. e.

White Dragon Splits the Water Red Dragon Clings to Pole

17. 4：黃龍現身掌

Black Dragon Swings Tail Through the Forest set

18. 5：赤龍纏柱掌 19. 烏龍擺尾穿林掌

MASTER HO HO CHOY’S SINGLE PALM CHANGE AND DOUBLE PALM CHANGE

MASTER HO HO CHOY’S ONE TO FOUR BIG PALMS

MASTER HO HO CHOY’S FIVE TO EIGHT BIG PALMS

Single Palm Change (Internal Change Palm)

Single Palm Change (External Change Palm)

1a Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm (single side)

1b Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm (double side)

2 Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

3 Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm

4 Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

When practicing this form, remember to do a warm-up first; this tells your body to stretch and muscle of the waist to twist.

5 Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm

6 Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

7 Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm

8 Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm

Double Palm Change

Five Dragons Palm

FIVE DRAGONS PALM, ILLUSTRATED BY WANG DONG QUAN, A SENIOR STUDENT OF MASTER HO HO CHOY

BAGUA ZHANG FIVE DRAGONS PALM LINKING FORM

HO HO CHOY DEMONSTRATING FIVE DRAGONS PALM AT HIS ROOFTOP STUDIO, 1971

HO HO CHOY’S WRITING ABOUT THE DEFINITION OF FIVE DRAGONS PALM

Five Dragons Palm is a symbol and signature of Gao style Bagua Zhang. You will not find this in other styles. This palm is composed of five different sets of turning palm movements. It also involves the Five Elements, five directions, and color of the dragon. Five Dragons Palm consists of: 1.

Black Dragon Swings Tail

2.

Green Dragon Stretches Claw

3.

Yellow Dragon Turns Body

4.

White Dragon Splits the Water

5.

Red Dragon Clings to Pole.

It also comes with a linking form and is illustrated below.

Black Dragon Swings Tail Through the Forest Set Only a closed-door student would learn all the palms. Gao Yi Shing, the master, also taught different versions to closed-door disciples. They were told not to show them to the public or even to other students. Because of this, these students thought that they were taught the true palm and that all others were false. Normal students were only taught the first palm: the Black Dragon Swings Tail Palm. This is mentioned in his earlier manuscript: that by applying this palm, you can link up with all other palms and be able to attack enemies in all directions. The following diagrams illustrate the movements of the Five Dragons Palm Linking Form.

This linking form consists of five sections. It begins with the Starting Palm and Five Elements Palm, Black Dragon Swings Tail, Purple Swallow Goes Through the Forest, then Double Dragon Playing in Water, and ends with Brush the Grass to Search for Snake. First section: Starting Palm

Five Elements Palm

Second section: Black Dragon Swings Tail

Then repeat the right side. Third section: Purple Swallow Goes Through the Forest

For the Back Penetrating Palm here, one should turn in four directions and each time pass through the center, then follow with a Turn Back Palm. Fourth section: Double Dragon Playing in Water

A jumping movement before the Horse Stance

Repeat the right side of this section, until we come back to left Single Palm Change. Fifth section: Ending—Brush the Grass to Search for Snake

PENETRATING CHANGE PALM (穿化掌)EIGHT BIG PALM LINKING FORM 1 This form, called Chuan Hua Zhang, or Penetrating Change Palm, is a sequential series of Eight Big Palms. It is a form to train how one palm is followed by the others, performing at the left side only and

with just the left side of the palm. If there is enough time, one can practice it in the same sequence but with both sides of the palm. It is a performing Taolu or set pattern of movements that you would use in competition or demonstration.

The sequence of the Penetrating Change Palm 1.

Beginning

2.

Single Palm Change: Inside change

3.

Five Dragons Palm: a.

Black Dragon Swings Tail

b.

Green Dragon Stretches Claw

c.

Yellow Dragon Turns Body

d.

White Dragon Splits the Water

e.

Red Dragon Clings to Pole

Main forms: changing forms (換掌) Eight Big Palms (⼋⼤掌) 1.

Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm

2.

Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

3.

Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm

4.

Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

5.

Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm

6.

Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

7.

Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm

8.

Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm

9.

Double Palm Change

10. Single Palm Change: Outside change 11. Ending 1 Beginning of the Single Palm Change

Start to walk the circle, gradually stretch the arm, and finish this Five Element Zhang in ten steps or two circles.

Pause at the left Single Palm Change posture, and start to change to the right-side Single Palm Change. 2 Single Palm Change (right side)

Pause at the right Single Palm Change posture. 3 Five Dragons Palm

Pause at the Single Palm Change posture. 4 Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm

5 Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

6 Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm

7 Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

8 Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm

9 Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

10 Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm

11 Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm

Turn right and right Bui Bu, step the left leg forward, and make a Horse Stance.

12 Double Palm Change

13 Single Palm Change: Outside change

14 Ending: Return to Universe

THE NAMES OF THIS FORM IN CHINESE

A MANUSCRIPT BY MASTER HO HO CHOY

DRAGON STYLE PALM (⿓形掌) EIGHT BIG PALM LINKING FORM 2 This form, called Long Xing Zhang or Dragon Style Palm, is a random series of Eight Big Palms plus movements of the animal palms. It is a form to train how one palm links with the other palms. If you know the individual palms well, you can practice the movements of the palms in a different sequence. This may be suggested by the teacher or created by him. This is one of the attractions of Bagua Zhang: it is a creative martial art and you can organize your own form. It would be a performing Taolu or set pattern of movements that you would use in competition or demonstration.

The sequence of the Dragon Style Palm 1.

Beginning

2.

Bear Squats and Tiger Sits

3.

Golden Leopard Rushes to Mountain

4.

Phoenix Pointing to the Sun

5.

Dragon Turns Back

6.

Smart Snake Spits Tongue

7.

Golden Monkey Hangs Seal

8.

Cross Push and Brush

9.

Follow the Water and Push the Boat

10. Chicken Leg Contracts Body 11. Hawk Flies Through Forest 12. Golden Oriole Grasps Bird 13. Swallow Skims Over Water 14. Hold the Horse to Turn Back 15. Amble and Raise Dress 16. Single Palm Change: Right-side outside change 17. Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm 18. Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm 19. Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm 20. Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm 21. Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm 22. Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm 23. Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm 24. Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm 25. Five Dragons Palm 26. Single Palm Change: Outside change 27. Ending 1 Beginning of the Single Palm Change

Start to walk the circle, gradually stretch the arm, and finish this Five Element Zhang in ten steps or two circles.

Pause at the left Single Palm Change posture, and start to turn left for the animal palms. 2 Bear Squats and Tiger Sits

3 Golden Leopard Rushes to Mountain

4 Phoenix Pointing to the Sun

5 Dragon Turns Back

6 Smart Snake Spits Tongue

7 Golden Monkey Hangs Seal

8 Cross Push and Brush

9 Follow the Water and Push the Boat

10 Chicken Leg Contracts Body

11 Hawk Flies Through Forest

12 Golden Oriole Grasps Bird

13 Swallow Skims Over Water

14 Hold the Horse to Turn Back

15 Amble and Raise Dress

16 Single Palm Change: Right-side outside change

17 Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm

18 Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm

19 Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm

20 Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm

21 Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm

22 Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm

23 Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm

24 Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm

25 Five Dragons Palm

26 Single Palm Change: Outside change

27 Ending

APPLICATION OF THE EIGHT BIG PALM LINKING FORM The following shows the application of the first part of the Dragon Style Bagua Zhang Linking Form, which involves the application of animal form movement.

1 Single Palm Change

2 Bear Squats and Tiger Sits

3 Golden Leopard Rushes to Mountain

4 Phoenix Pointing to the Sun

5 Dragon Turns Back

6 Smart Snake Spits Tongue

7 Golden Monkey Hangs Seal

8 Cross Push and Brush

9 Follow the Water and Push the Boat

10 Chicken Leg Contracts Body

11 Hawk Flies Through Forest

12 Golden Oriole Grasps Bird

13 Swallow Skims Over Water

14 Hold the Horse to Turn Back

15 Amble and Raise Dress

16 Single Palm Change

(Demonstrated by Samuel Cheng and Andre Sigwalt; photos by CS Tang.)

APPLICATION OF XIAN TIEN ZHANG: EIGHT BIG PALM (先天⼋⼤掌) CIRCLE METHOD 1 Snake Form: Follow Shape Palm (蛇形順式掌 順⾝掌)

2 Tiger Form: Return and Strike the Tiger Palm (回⾝打虎掌 回⾝掌)

3 Dragon Form: Piercing Hand Palm (⿓形穿⼿掌 鑽⾝掌)

4 Swallow Form: Overturns Covering the Hands Palm (燕翻蓋⼿掌 翻⾝掌)

5 Turn Around Body Over the Back Palm (轉⾝反背掌 轉⾝掌)

6 Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm (擰⾝探⾺掌 探⾝掌)

7 Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm (翻⾝背插掌 背⾝掌)

8 Stop Body, Parry, and Hook Palm (停⾝搬扣掌 擰⾝掌)

More detail on the application of the Eight Big Palms (Demonstrated by CS Tang and Blanca.)

Sixth palm application

Seventh palm application

Eighth palm application

XIAN TIEN ZHANG EIGHT BIG PALM PRACTICING METHOD (先天⼋⼤掌 練 法) Snake Palm, Double side (蛇形順式掌 順⾝掌)

APPLIED BAGUA ZHANG Snake Palm, Double side (Demonstrated by CS Tang (left) and Fred (right).) Techniques: Neck lock throw, arm locks, kick block throws, and hold up legs throw.

Snake Palm Variation 1 (Demonstrated by CS Tang (left) and Eric (right).) Techniques: up strike, kick, elbow, block throws, and hold up legs throw.

Snake Palm Variation 2 (Demonstrated by CS Tang (left) and William Steinberg (right).) Techniques: neck lock, applying Lion Smashes Eyebrow, and high kick to neck. Usual neck lock with Lion Smashes Eyebrow

Right hand also comes over to lock the head and apply choking

Right hand raises at his back and holds his mandible to break his neck

A high kick to the throat or to his groin could be used

Twist the Body and Pat the Horse Palm (擰⾝探⾺掌 探⾝掌)

Turn Over Body and Rear Insert Palm (翻⾝背插掌 背⾝掌)

APPLICATION OF DOUBLE PALM CHANGE

B=man in the black T-shirt, who is attacking, and W=man in the white T-shirt, who is defending. 1 B grasps W’s hand

2 W escapes the grasp and attacks B’s face

3 B pushes W’s elbow, W turns left

4 W attacks B’s lower half

5 W uses Two Root Palm to attack B

6 B attacks W with brush knee

7 W holds his right hand away, and then pushes his right shoulder and kicks his left leg

8 Using a turn and throw technique to fell an enemy to the side that does not have the support of the legs

EIGHT BIG PALM LINKING DRILL FORM (鄧昌成。霍東成演式) (Demonstrated by CS Tang and TS Fok.) This is a two-man form with a fixed and pre-arranged sequence of Eight Big Palms. It is trained inside the circle and should be practiced slowly and carefully to improve training flexibility and awareness. Both participants should be relaxed. The instruction should be followed to avoid hurting the back when turning under pressure.

BOTH HANDS CONTACTED AND READY FOR MOVEMENTS

(1) SNAKE FORM

(2) TIGER FORM

(3) DRAGON FORM

(4) SWALLOW FORM

(5) TURN AROUND BODY OVER THE BACK PALM

(6) TWIST THE BODY AND PAT THE HORSE PALM

(7) TURN OVER BODY AND REAR INSERT PALM

(8) STOP BODY, PARRY, AND HOOK PALM

CHAPTER 6

BAGUA NEI GONG BAGUA NEI GONG TURN WAIST PALM (⼋卦轉掌內功) These exercises are to improve the power of the waist and the twisting of the body. They will ensure you can apply explosive power when turning your waist.

Requirements 1.

Have a closed stance, like riding a horse with the knees kept closed tight.

2.

The feet should stand in a triangle shape.

3.

The head should be straight. The eyes should be open and the gaze straight.

4.

The shoulders and elbows should be sinking.

5.

Round your shoulders and back.

6.

Sink the Qi to the Dantian.

Training procedure 1.

There are ten postures. Each posture starts with standing still. Hold a round posture and sink the body. Keep the knees close together. Use reverse breathing.

2.

Each posture starts with standing still for five minutes, then twisting the body and turning left. Do it very slowly, keep the lower part of the hips stable, and do not turn back.

3.

Hold each posture and turn to the left side first and then turn to the right side. This counts as one time. Do each posture in this way. For each section of these left and right turns, count to ten.

Beginning palm (起式掌)

First palm

Second palm

Third palm

Fourth palm

Fifth palm

Sixth palm

Seventh palm

Eighth palm

Ninth palm: Single palm turning

Tenth palm: Turn and push palm

Static Stance of Eight Mother Palms (定式樁⼋掌)

High Kicks training (點腿)

1.

Keep training the left and right turns of each palm so that the muscle can be used for slow turning and fast movements.

2.

For each palm, keep standing for ten minutes; this gets one used to stretches and keeping the knees tight.

Training to keep the knees tight (夾⾺樁要穩固，不動如⼭) Heavy and tight footwork require training in a tight knee stance.

1 HOLDING A BOOK

2 KNEES PRESSED TOGETHER

3 TIGHT ENOUGH THAT THE BOOK CANNOT BE PULLED OUT

4 TIGHT ENOUGH THAT THE KNEES CANNOT BE TORN APART

5 TIGHT ENOUGH THAT THE KNEES CANNOT BE PUSHED APART

6 TIGHT ENOUGH THAT THE KNEES CANNOT BE SPLIT APART

The body feels as if it has melted, but the bones are holding it strong as if they are steel (⾝如銅鑄，肩架撐抱如鋼)

1 CANNOT PUSH

2 CANNOT LIFT OR PUSH

3 CANNOT PRESS DOWN

4 CANNOT PULL THE NECK

Internal Nei Gong training of the Heart Transmission of How to Reach Dao (⾄道⼼傳之坐功)

1 SINGLE KNEE-CROSSING POSTURE AND HOLDING HANDS IN A TAIJI SYMBOL (單盤手抱太極)

2 SITTING WITH FINGERS PINCHING (捏指坐)

3 HOLD THE QI AND CONCENTRATE (抱元守一)

4 PUSH DOWN (下按)

5 HOLD AT THE MIDDLE (中抱)

6 PUSH UP (托天門)

7 SITTING WITH SINGLE PALM HELD UP (單托)

8 SITTING WITH SINGLE PALM HELD UP AND BODY TWISTED (擰托)

SECRET MANUSCRIPT—THE HEART TRANSMISSION OF HOW TO REACH DAO: THE SECRET WAY TO NEI GONG

If the trainer can follow the procedure and steps to practice the breathing and focusing from this manuscript, the Qi will break through the three gates and strike through the meridian of the Directing Vessel (Ren Mai) (任脈) and Governing Vessel (Du Mai) (督脈). Finally, the body will be kept healthy forever, and the Qi will be very strong and can be applied in martial arts for fighting.

TEACHING MOTHER PALMS AND BIG PALMS IN TAIWAN IN 2018

STATIC STANCE

A GROUP TURNING CIRCLES

OUR YANG XIN STUDIO GROUP ARRANGED A GAO BAGUA ZHANG WORKSHOP AT HONG KONG UNIVERSITY, 2018

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to thank the following friends and fellow instructors who offered their invaluable advice in the writing and publishing of this book. I must give thanks to Sebastian González of Barcelona, who has been studying with me for over ten years and recommended that I teach in Barcelona. He is now teaching my Yang Xin studio system of internal martial arts including Gao style Bagua Zhang. He also helped me to publish several martial arts books in Spanish. Special thanks to Bernard Kwan for his patience in translating, proofreading, and invaluable technical support without which this book could not have been produced. Special thanks are also due to Andre Sigwalt of Brazil for his excellent job on the typing and presenting of the later Heaven forms of this book, and Osmond Lam for his work on translation and advice about history, and many other local and international friends and supporters for their valuable encouragement and suggestions. Performers in the illustrations include: CS Tang, Samuel Cheng, Allan Lui, Fok Tung Shing, Anthony Liu, YP Li, Rita Chow, Erica Liu, Joyce Wong, Nelson Ho, Sebastian González, Eric Poling, Grace Poling, William Steinbery, William Fox, Andre Sigwalt, Alex Costa, Alex Medana, Benjamin Leung, Christopher Liechti, David Liffman, Florence Leo, and Philip Clarke.

First published in 2021 by Singing Dragon an imprint of Jessica Kingsley Publishers 73 Collier Street London N1 9BE, UK www.singingdragon.com Copyright © C S Tang 2021 Foreword copyright © Sebastian González 2021 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying, storing in any medium by electronic means or transmitting) without the written permission of the copyright owner except in accordance with the provisions of the law or under terms of a licence issued in the UK by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd. www.cla.co.uk or in overseas territories by the relevant reproduction rights organisation, for details see www.ifrro.org. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the publisher. Warning: The doing of an unauthorised act in relation to a copyright work may result in both a civil claim for damages and criminal prosecution. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A CIP catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 978 1 84819 359 8 eISBN 978 0 85701 319 4

by the same author The Complete Book of Yiquan Master C S Tang ISBN 978 1 84819 225 6 eISBN 978 0 85701 172 5 The Mysterious Power of Xingyi Quan A Complete Guide to History, Weapons and Fighting Skills C S Tang ISBN 978 1 84819 140 2 eISBN 978 0 85701 115 2 of related interest Taiji As Moving Meditation Fundamental Principles and Practices Paul G. Fendos Jr. ISBN 978 1 78775 043 2 eISBN 978 1 78775 044 9 A Comprehensive Guide to Daoist Nei Gong Damo Mitchell Foreword by Paul Mitchell ISBN 978 1 84819 410 6 eISBN 978 0 85701 372 9 Chinese Shamanic Tiger Qigong Embrace the Power of Emptiness Master Zhongxian Wu ISBN 978 1 84819 384 0 eISBN 978 0 85701 341 5