pa qua chang

[ranger]

anybody studying pa qua chang? what style? and what palm you usually practice? and the most interesting question! why?

by the way, i practice yin style paqua chang usually practice willow leaf palm. why? becoz my teacher says so he introduced me to willow leaf palm becoz he emphisizes striking in our practice. and i think it works for me. prior to my practice in pa qua he taught me hebei hsing-i chuan which i find very useful in my karate training. you should try it sometime. :)

Good day! :)

[wingchunner]

I practice the yin, yang bagua forms and also do bagua push hands.

Marty Yoder

[nzric]

Dragon style bagua, also bagua push hands and qigong. I'm working on the linear bagua form this year.

[ranger]

why? what's your reasons in practicing pa qua? :)

[nzric]

Well, I started with tai chi, but to tell you the truth I'm young and impatient, so I wanted my internal training to have a bit of cardio/strenuous activity. Bagua is a great workout.

Also, I'm fascinated by the body mechanics of it - all the interlacing spirals and change in force in your body - it's the best way to get to know your own balance and coordination. Especially since it's one of the only arts that is truly ambidextrous.

Also, bagua is rooted in Chinese culture and history. You can't get far in bagua training without knowing at least the basics of the I Ching, and the fact that it is such a young art means it's been influenced heavily by recent history (and the masters' words are still fresh). For a westerner who's had no previous experience of Chinese culture apart from the odd takeaway meal, it's an awe-inspiring experience to see such a rich culture.

I also believe it's one of the most effective fighting systems. As someone told me last week, bagua is a young art so "it has seen all the other arts". It has borrowed freely the best of many different fighting systems and blended it into itself.

[ranger]

what do you mean by pa qua being a young art?


:)

[nzric]

Well, the foundations of the art go back for thousands of years, like all IMA's, but the routines and forms that I practice were only developed less than 150 years ago.

Yeah, it comes from a long line of styles, but IMHO, the golden age was in the 1800s and early 1900's when it was put to serious use and refined (Tung Hai Chuan). I've just been to some workshops held by Grandmaster Ma Chuan Xu, who said because bagua is such a young art, it has "seen" most of the other martial arts so it has blended the best into the system.

[ranger]

thanx for the clarification :)

[Eero]

I'm very interested in Pa Kua Chang. Unfortunately I have no possibility to train it. Do you Pa Kua practioners find it useful for self defense or are there some other reasons for you to do it?

[BaGuaMaster X]

I train for the fighting aspect as well as the health benefits! Also it's just really good fun!!!

[nzric]

Do you Pa Kua practioners find it useful for self defense

I'll tell you next time I get into a life&death situation.

The art is definitely good for self-defence, but it's way too complicated for any except the most dedicated to actually rely on. The main reason I like it is that it gives a whole-body workout (like swimming in air) and it teaches amazing new methods of using body mechanics.

[bcullen]

Dragon style bagua, also bagua push hands and qigong. I'm working on the linear bagua form this year.

Dragon here too! Have you seen swimming dragon?

[Eero]

I'll tell you next time I get into a life&death situation.

I hope that never happens.


The art is definitely good for self-defence, but it's way too complicated for any except the most dedicated to actually rely on. The main reason I like it is that it gives a whole-body workout (like swimming in air) and it teaches amazing new methods of using body mechanics.

The art sounds really interesting. I will definitely try it if I ever have a chance. Swimming in air sounds too good to be missed. :)

[ranger]

seems to me there's a lot who practice/study Pa qua. anyone who still wants to check in there style, description of the style and reasons for practicing such?

good day! :)

[ranger]

really? nobody else? :D

[Wanderer]

Zhen's Ba Gua.

Dragon palm.

Tien's Ba Gua.

Bear and Lion.

[pseudo999]

Let's see... first of all, I'm a beginner at bagua. Currently, I'm in a school learning Gao Style Bagua Zhang. I began it because it is a complimentary internal style to my taiji chuan. My favorite thing to do is walking in circles with one of three hand positions (Heaven, Earth, guard), then turning around and walking the other way, for extended periods of time. hah! My favorite palm is single palm... perhaps because it's the only palm change I know. From what my instructor has told me, much of the essentials of bagua is encapsulated within these relatively simple activities, so I'm quite happy to work on them.

Also, the instructor teaches Yang taiji and Northern Shaolin kung fu. From asking around, the students who take all three styles basically say that the taiji teaches soft, the Shaolin teaches hard, and the bagua shows you how to use both. I've already studied (and continue to study) taiji, and I already have external experience, so I figured bagua would be an excellent bridge.

Finally, I got the smack beat out of me sparring students who have trained in all three for only 3-4 years. I've been in martial arts over 10 years.