Hi, I've just started ba gua

Discussion in 'Internal Martial Arts' started by Sandy, May 13, 2004.

  1. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    Hello everyone,

    Well, I had my first ba gua lesson last week, so I'm interested in how others found the start of their internal training and what I should expect. (I come from a Thai/kick boxing background. As you can imagine, I'm finding ba gua utterly different!)

    Unlike others here, the format for my training is one (extremely full!) day's training every six weeks, with daily self-practice in between. So far, I'm practising Walking the Circle with one change of direction. To boost my motivation to practice, I'm reading B K Frantzis' internal martial arts book, which is fascinating if hard to believe. Though I'm finding that whichever palm faces the centre of the circle gets quite hot during walking. Apart from the Frantzis book, at what else should I look? It would be good to get some ba gua on video, so that I can watch someone doing it properly.

    My kickboxing club has a very informal culture. Of what ba gua etiquette ought I to be aware?

    I've been told that I should also do a few chi kung lessons to learn ba gua properly. Is this true? Would half a dozen lessons be enough for me to practice chi kung myself?

    I'd love to read others experiences of starting ba gua. Plus all advice would be extremely welcome!
     
  2. bob01

    bob01 New Member

    I found 'Ba Gua: Hidden Knowledge in the Taoist Internal Martial Art' by John Bracy very informative, it has some instructional bits too. I personally don't practice the art (wish I did though!) but can attest to its effectiveness as I had an encounter with a ba gua guy once in a park & it changed my whole perspective on martial arts.
    hope I was of some assistance.
    Bob :D
     
  3. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    How did ba gua change your perspective ... ?

    Hi Bob - Many thanks for the book recommendation. How did your encounter change your whole perspective on the martial arts?
     
  4. timmeh!

    timmeh! New Member

    Hi Sandy,

    I did it in Glasgow for about 9 months a few years back and absolutley loved it. Due to life constraints I couldn't make it anymore.... There was a total eclectic mix of people there from a 70 year old ex wrestler that you couldn't shift an inch, to an ex street fighter with knuckles like 50 pences ;)
    I still use the warm up exercises and walk the circle when the urge takes me. Apart from the benefits physically and mentally the history was very interesting. Stick at it and the benefits sneak up on you without you knowing.
    I thought the Ba Gua version of the Tai Chi - chi kung exercises were taught during the warm ups? - they were in our class at least (A Tai chi guy with 10 years experience told me... ;) )
     
  5. bob01

    bob01 New Member

    Sandy
    My encounter with aforementioned ba gua practitioner sparked off my whole interest in IMA's. I have studied Aikido for 3yrs and Jujitsu for 4 and (without sounding arrogant) believe I can handle myself in most situations. A friend and I were sparring in a park near where I live, when a gangly looking chinese fellow of about 50 asked if either of us would care to have a friendly spar with him, now I had seen this fellow once or twice in the park performing a peculiar exercise(which I now know as circle walking) and was quite curious as to his abilities. Myself and my friend were promptly thrown around like rag dolls without landing a single blow on him.The fact that he was able, with a single fairly liesurely strike with his open palm to knock me several feet through the air, caused me some amazement as looking as his size and wieght compared to mine I would have been prepared to bet a large sum of money that this was not possible. Afterwards he told me he practiced ba gua and expained a couple of the principles of IMA's , I have been fascinated by them ever since.
    Bob :D
     
  6. wingchunner

    wingchunner Valued Member

    bagua

    Do some pole standing exercises and lots of circle walking. Though what you are training is probably different that this style, some good videos to get are Master Victor Fu's videos at www.fustyle.com Start with the Yang, Yin, then dragon palm. This is usually the recommended sequence to learning them. There are also some good books produced by smiling tiger which are translated by Joseph Crandall. I've been doing bagua for about 10 years now. I only did the first two guas for 5 years dues to the MA path I was on. My focus wasn't on bagua, but wing chun at the time. Ba gua is one of the more complicated MA to learn. You'll need to practice a lot.

    Good luck
    Marty
     
  7. BaGuaMaster X

    BaGuaMaster X New Member

    Bagua

    Ok i'm gonna try and adress this one thing at a time.

    1. It is important for you to keep a constant training in Chi Gung while you train Bagua. This is because if you don't get internal space and learn how to get rooted then you are just some mad person walking in a circle. You should be doing more standing practice than walking and should try to do it either early morning or evening (11pm - 1am).

    2. If you start to feel any powerful emotion while training, don't worry as Bagua tends to bring up a lot of stuff people don't want to deal with, just let it wash over you.

    3. Relax

    4. Relax

    5. Don't try and do a few weeks chi gung lessons and teach it to yourself (unless you just can't afford to keep it up!) as bad chi gung practice can be really auful for your sanity (literally). Oh and don't try and learn chi gung from a book without a teacher...

    6. I wouldn't bother with Videos as you won't be able to see the important stuff but if you're curious then go for it.

    7. Trust me Bruce doesn't exagerate the stuff in his book!

    Just don't force anything, do regular standing practice (this is vital), and remember that even if you feel like you are not progressing you are. Sorry if this sounds like some sorta lecture! It's just a collection of the things that i have found helpful.

    Have fun and it's great to have another Bagua person!
     
  8. Wanderer

    Wanderer Valued Member

    The standing practice (Zhuang Gong) is to assume a fixed posture/stance. such as "Big Eagle Spreads his wings" (Da Peng Zang Tzi), or Bear etc. You have to do your posture right and assume for 3-6 min and then 25 min or more.

    I had to practice "Muddy Walk" (Tang Nih Bu) in a straight line first and turn around. And then in figure 8, or "S" and randomly. Finally in a Ba Gua circle.

    When walk with assuming a Dragon palm facing the center, you are still practicing Zhuang Gong. It is a walking Zhuang. I had to walk 30 min or 45 min. Clockwise 2 or 4 times and then counterclockwise, on an on.

    For over 25 years, I still practice these before I practice anything else.

    These are your roots or foundations (Zhuang).

    Best of luck! :cool:
     
    Last edited: May 15, 2004
  9. Sandy

    Sandy Valued Member

    Hello again everyone,

    Thank you for all the very helpful info, insights and encouragement. I have been dutifully practicing walking the circle and also picked up a video - which is a handy reminder, as my lessons have such long breaks between them. It seems like I've taken the first step down a very, very long road. Some stuff seems hard to believe, but I keep an open mind. I certainly feel extremely lucky to get the chance to study such a rare art.

    Bob, your encounter seems amazing! Fascinating to read it here.

    Next week I start my first chi kung lesson, so we'll see what that brings ... Internal work reminds me very much of yoga (which I've been practising for the last couple of years). I don't know if anyone else has found similarities.
     
  10. BaGuaMaster X

    BaGuaMaster X New Member

    Yoga

    It is similar in a stange way. There is one difference though.
    In yoga you stretch to relax but in chi gung you relax to stretch!
     

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