Bagua Paris

Gao style Baguazhang is a martial with a comprehensi ve syllabus that is designed to develop a strong, intelligent and agile body. Summarised simply the Gao style syllabus includes:

Circular, Xiantien or 'pre heaven' Bagua - body control, meditation, strategy, and power, integration of techniques

The xiantien Gao style Bagua contains circle walking with hands in fixed positions, single palm change, the eight palm changes and a number of supplementary forms called wulong bai hwei (black dragon waves its tail). Xiantien Bagua contains the fundamentals of strategy and body movement of Gao style Bagua. The movements tend to be practised in a way that allows the smooth development of power in all directions.

The xiantien Bagua contains  broad flowing movements that have many applications, particularly to throwing techniques. However the movements are at a level of abstraction that is more concerned with possibilities of movement rather than specific techniques.

Each of the eight palm changes has a function related to health within the thinking of Chinese medicine. Circle walking is innately meditative, and certain foci of attention can enhance this quality, while others link it more directly to the health building or martial sides of Bagua.

Linear Hotien or 'post heaven' Bagua - tactics, body conditioning, power development for application, techniques

The hotien contains the tactics and application of Gao Style Bagua. It consists of eight sets of eight short sequences of movement that are repeated on the left and right sides, or sometimes linked to make short forms. The aim of each form is to develop smoothness of movement and power for a specific range of applications.

In this branch of Gao Style Bagua the hotien are often practised in long extended postures with the aim of strengthening the body, improving balance while making the intention of the movements and the body mechanics clearer to the practitioner.

While the number of sets (8x8=64) is the same as the number of Hexagrams in the Chinese classic of change the Yijing, it is an unnecessary conceptual stretch to attempt to link each set to a hexagram. The most important idea is that 64 is that it is a big enough number to cover most eventualities, and that it is derived from different combinations of simple elements.

Jiben Soufa or basic hand methods

The jiben soufa are a set of 8 simple exercises that develop coordination, rhythm and unity within the body as applied to hand techniques that are found throughout GSB. Examination of the jiben soufa shows them to be components of xian tien and ho tien palm changes.

Tiengan or heavenly stems

Tiengan are a set of exercises to strengthen the body and develop quality of movement that are rarely found outside of this branch of Gao style Bagua. They consist of 10 exercises that are divided into pairs with the exception of the last exercise which is divided into 6 variations. The tiengan are typically also practised in long extended postures. While it is possible to derive applications from them directly they are primarily concerned with developing power through different planes of motion.

Qigong and Neigong or breathing and internal exercises

Various qigong exercises are used within Gao style Bagua to calm the mind, coordinate the body and develop health. There is also a set of Neigong exercises which is more closely related to developing subtle coordination and connection within the body. This is another component of the system that has a significantly meditative quality.

Partner drills

A variety of partner exercises are used to develop martial skill. These include formalised paired forms, free flowing drills, the practise of hand techniques, elbow, knee, foot, head, throwing, locking techniques, and various sparring drills as well as free sparring.

In Practise

The principles of change and flow are drilled into the body through specific techniques, until they become internalised, spontaneous and creative. Like a Jazz musician learning a repertoire of pieces to master their instrument as a step towards jamming freely.

Just as Jazz musicians gravitate towards styles and pick instruments that suit their moods, interests and personality Bagua has a rich range of martial application for the practitioner to choose from. Bagua includes hand techniques, locks, throws, kicks and trips so that the practitioner can develop in a way that matches their physique, emotions and mentality.

Bagua is best known for its circle walking practise demonstrated by my teacher Luo De Xiu below. While this aspect of training is beautiful, and dance like it develops balance and body control, it contains patterns of flowing of movement which originate in combat, and have their expression there.