A Key Goal of Baguazhang - Use the Body to Uproot the Opponent
Besides capturing and controlling your opponent's center, one of the key goals of Baguazhang is to get close to the opponent and use your body to uproot them -- unbalance them -- and put them down.
As in each of the internal arts (and kung-fu in general), there are many ways of doing this that are hidden inside techniques.
The circular and flowing forms that you see provide you with a way of practicing the body mechanics you need to practice these techniques with a partner and later, use them in a self-defense situation.
Photo 1 shows the end of the opening movement to the Cheng-style "Eight Main Palms" form. It's similar in energy to the opening of a Tai Chi or Hsing-I form -- downward energy. One obvious application is a downward block/deflection of an incoming punch.
Photo 2 shows the next move, a step-out with the left foot as both hands shoot out along the centerline with palms up. Some people may see this as simply a way to begin walking the circle in the dragon posture...
Which is Better for Self-Defense -- Xingyi or Taiji?
Gary Liu asked this question:
"I have been learning Chen Taiji for just over 2 years. One of the things that frustrates me is the seemingly unrealistic techniques and chin-na that would be unrealistic for self-defence. Felt like a waste of time covering and learning them. I have always looked for simple techniques and doing them well for self-defence purposes.
After reading your post here about practicing the concepts behind them, things fall into perspective a lot more. Instead of a chore, chin-na becomes an opportunity to learn to send force into the opponent to control his body (as opposed to control of a local joint).
The Cannon Fist routine was a lot more direct and aligns more with what I am looking for (I have learned short yilu and erlu forms - now learning a long yilu form). Though looking at your Hsing-I instructions, I wonder if I should be giving Hsing-I a go due to more direct and simple movements.
If you have time, I would be very interested in hearing your view on Hs...
A Good Point About Self-Defense
My good friend and loyal visitor Evan Yeung wrote this in an email:
"I'm thoroughly enjoying your latest DVD release. I'm halfway through the Beng Chuan section. The applications you've presented are straightforward and applicable to real life situations and some tournament sparring as well. I suppose the magic of Hsing-I is that the base moves are simple (relatively speaking, of course), but are remarkably versatile. John Painter, in his book on Combat Baguazhang, says that in a true fighting situation the complex moves rarely work... when the adrenaline is pumping, tunnel vision is occuring, and tactile sensitivity is going to hell, it's the simple moves that have been drilled that rely on larger muscle groups that take over. I think Hsing-I fits that bill."
I agree with Painter -- in a real-life self-defense situation, you won't have time for a lot of the complex movements. I've thrown out some chin-na movements because they were so impractical in a fighting situation that ...
Internalizing Fighting Applications for Tai Chi, Xingyi, and Bagua
Working on forms is one of the foundations of a good martial art. Forms teach many things, including proper body mechanics, posture, balance and precision.
I once read a tai chi article by a guy who said if you practice the slow Yang form for 20 years, you'll be able to fight when a self defense situation arises.
No you won't. You'll be seriously injured or killed. That's what will happen.
If your practice is only on form, you're missing the heart of any internal art, which is self-defense. You must practice fighting applications in a way that helps you internalize them so that you can react without thinking.
Sparring is one way to do it, but let's face it. Sparring the tournament way limits your techniques. And you can't really use all the techniques of these arts against classmates because you can't drive your palm through their faces, break their elbows and wrists, dislocate their shoulders, twist their necks until they snap, throw them to the ground to smash their head, etc.
H...
One-Step Drills versus Reality
I was reading a bagua book the other day, and there were photographs of a sequence showing one application against a jab. The person throwing the jab put his fist out there and held it while the defender went through a couple of techniques including a strike.
If you've ever fought someone who uses a jab, you know that they don't just hold it there for you. It flicks out quickly and then returns out of your range. It's very difficult to do very much in that short amount of time.
Too often in class, we do "one steps" in which the attacker does a punch or kick and lets us have our way with him (or her). And that's okay to learn concepts, but it isn't going to work in a real fight.
I was watching a video clip of a real "Bagua" fighting match in a Chinese tournament. There was very little Bagua happening. It was mostly using muscle to throw someone or using fists to hit their chests and stomachs.
There's a reason for that. Bagua is extremely difficult to use against a moving opponent wh...
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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