Testing Your Martial Art Under Pressure
Would your Bagua applications work against an opponent who was 35 years younger, stronger and 120 pounds heavier?
If he decided to shoot in and grab your legs, how would you deal with it?
We had a great practice yesterday, recording self-defense applications using some of the principles and energies from the Bagua 8 Basic Palms form.
The last time I recorded applications for this form was in 2008, with Sean Ledig, who is a member of the website. I didn't go into a lot of depth in the video, so after 10 years, I am shooting it again and adding more information and applications.
Downward energy is an important internal concept, and the first section of the form, "Fierce Tiger Emerges from Mountain," depends on downward energy.
Theoretically, it should work on a shooter, so we put it into action. Two of my students, Justin Snow and Chris Andrews, are big, strong guys who outweigh me by 120 pounds each. They put the pressure on me.
All martial arts require practice. Even boxers will ...
Two Effective Ways of Critiquing Your Own Form in Any Martial Art
I am putting together my 8th Kindle ebook this week on the Cheng style Bagua 8 Main Palms Form. In working with more than 300 photos for the ebook, a couple of effective techniques have become very obvious for giving myself feedback on my own movement and posture.
Videotaping yourself is one of the best ways of seeing yourself as you are actually performing the movements. We all think we look like Chen Xiaowang or Jet Li when we are doing our forms and techniques. More often than not, we more closely resemble Jim Carrey.
I recommend shooting video as you are performing a form at fast speed, then perform it at a slower pace. Both times, be as specific as you can on precision, power, and body mechanics. Then watch the video. Run it normally and then in slo-mo if you can. Ask yourself if your structure is sound, if your stances and stepping is right, if the timing of your hand movements is right -- there are a dozen things you cou...
A Bagua and Taiji Way to Unbalance - the Hook Step
One of the effective techniques used in Bagua and Taiji to unbalance an opponent occurs when the opponent steps toward you, or you step toward them.
In Bagua, this is called by some the "bagua foot." It's a hooking step that sets you up to apply pressure on your opponent's calf and cause them to lose their balance.
In the first photo, Kim Kruse (on the left) takes aĀ step toward Colin Frye. She's stepping with her right foot. He hooks his left foot behind her right ankle.
In the second photo, Colin presses forward with his shin, applying pressure against Kim's calf. This causes her left shoulder to move backward and to the side.
In photo 3, Colin has taken advantage of the turning of the shoulder -- he pulls on the shoulder and Kim falls backward.
This is a great internal technique. Remember, the idea of internalĀ kung-fu is to unbalance your opponent and take advantage of the window of opportunity that becomes available when they lose their balance.
You remain centered --...
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 (th...
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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