Ten Important Bagua Tips
I'm not sure where these tips came from, but I thought I'd pass them on because they're good ones for the practice of Baguazhang.
1. Keep the head upright and neck straight (but not tense) with spirit and intention.
2. Keep the back rounded, stretched and natural, not stiff.
3. Keep the shoulders relaxed and dropped (so power can reach the hands).
4. Keep the arms closed inward -- front arm bent and extended; rear arm protects the body.
5. Drop the elbows. The role of elbows is to protect within attack.
6. Palms - the thumb is spread outward, fingers extended and fanned as if holding a teacup. The tiger's mouth is round and separated.
7. Waist is like an axle - hardness and softness exist together. There is twisting and turning with strength and agility.
8. Keep the hips under the body - don't let them protrude. Relax the lower back.
9. The front thigh leads the way and the rear thigh supports. Knees are kept together and both thighs protect the crotch.
10. The inner foot (the one closest to the center of the circle) goes along straight lines. The outer foot turns slightly inward as you walk.
These ten tips also depend on other body mechanics, and some of the body mechanics are the most important things to learn early on -- like establishing and maintaining the ground path, using peng jin, silk-reeling energy and rotating the dantien, plus opening/closing the kua and whole-body movement. Those body mechanics give you the foundation to proceed to these tips, and they are also the foundation of what I teach.
--by Ken Gullette
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Author - Instructor
Ken Gullette
I have practiced martial arts since 1973 and began studying the internal arts in 1987. My goal is to cut years off your development time by coaching you in the real skills for high-quality Tai Chi, Xingyi, Bagua. To see more about my bio, click the "About Ken" link on the menu at the top of this page.
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