Baji Quan

[Hakko-Ryu]

Does anyone know of this style? I've recently moved to the San Francisco area and was looking up Adam Hsu's School, maybe some of you are familiar with him. Do you guys have any opinions/ comments about this guy? I know he teaches bajiquan but i looked up his curriculum and it says northern Shaolin. Oh and I was also wondering if maybe anyone knows of a Bajiquan/piqua quan school around the northern California area other than Adam Hsu's.

[totality]

wow, i was amazed to see this thread on the map homepage today....

bajiquan is a very interesting art, and a lot of the training and principles are very effective, although i wouldn't attribute it all to the "internal" aspects of the art, so much as simple science. sifu hsu is an exceptional trainer, although i must admit i've only had the privilege of meeting him on one occasion. I do not know of other schools in the area (bajiquan seems to be VERY rare outside of china, where it is VERY popular), but i would recommend the aforementioned teacher whole-heartedly.

[Hakko-Ryu]

thanks totality! i've given Adam Hsu's school a call in regards to what he teaches specifically so I'm just waiting for his reply. There was an interesting story mentioned on another forum about Bajiquan and how far the effectiveness of the style goes. A group of MA-ist (some traditional, some MMA-ist) got together for a good clean exhibition tournament match. And there was supposedly this one small asian guy who had primarily had Baji background who actually wiped the floor with the other guys. And these people weren't exactly small either, most probably outweighed him by 10 - 20 lbs. But the guy was said to have mainly focused on his Baji skills the first couple of matches and then moved on to try on his other skills on the ground and such. But still, at first I didn't believe that such a small guy could take on these MMA, jujitsu style fighters, but reading testomonials and accounts from those who actually fought him made me believe. They are suppose to post a video of some of the matches that took place.
I've always been interested in Bajiquan since as long as I can remember. But like you said, it's hard to find a Baji school, especially outside of China. Oh and with whom do you train Baji with?

[totality]

one of my friends is from china, he got to train with sifu yang, i believe. basically i have a video of adam hsu, and then peter helps me with my technique.

my theory on bajiquan is that the reason why it is soooo powerful is because of the low stances. physics! stronger foundation, more power.

[Hakko-Ryu]

agreed! but you don't think "internal" has nothing to do with it also??? i know in Baji they train breathing in everything they do right? ugh but those stances are killer though...the bear walks too...oh and about how long do you think it will take to be proficient in Baji. I know that in a lot of Kung-fu styles it takes years and years before someone actually becomes somewhat proficient. Is Baji the same way?

[totality]

yeah, i suppose internal probably has something to do with it.

in some schools, you're supposed to do at least 3 years of just the basic bear walk and whatnot, before even learning any techniques! but yes, i believe it does take years for the skill exhibited by most practicioners, although you do start getting results within a short period of time. it does take some getting used to though, as far as being comfortable with using the techniques in actual combat. at least it has been for me, with my boxing/muay thai background :(

[Hakko-Ryu]

Thanks totality for your feedback! I have received e-mail from one of Adam Hsu's student teacher. I will be visiting their class next saturday and hopefully will also be a part of it!

[totality]

good luck! argh, i wish i was also able to train with adam hsu...oh well.