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With Sifu's permission and his blessings, I have been attending Baguazhang classes, and would like to share some of my experiences.
I went to learn more about the basic training and applications of Baguazhang so I could have an idea how to deal with practitioners of this art, but instead, I came away having been vindicated in all that i have learnt from Sifu.
It is often the case that when a carpenter opens a toolbox, the only tool he sees is the hammer/screwdriver. Many practitioners (whether in the commercial world or martial arts society) tend to look at things coloured by their own training, knowledge and experience. With that in mind, i was careful to go to the class with an open mind, and not pre-judge it through my Shaolin background.
Stances
It is a popular idea, perpetuated in many books and magazines that Baguazhang is "different" from other martial arts in that it does not rely on constant rooting to the ground to fa-jing. It is said that Baguazhang experts can issue tremendous power while on the move, while others have to stay in a solid stance while doing so. Well, another myth shattered. Both through my personal experience during the practical sessions and verbal confirmation from the Grandmaster, I now know that a firm root and waist power is also required in Baguazhang for fa-jing (it is just that it is not necessary for both feet to be on the ground).
During the practice sessions, I found that my solid stances gave me a distinct advantage over all the other students. I effortlessly held down all my practice partners while few of them could even get a grip on me. I was however effectively trapped by the Dai Siheng of the class, who had good skills and lots of tournament experience (in free-style fighting and other arts). I learnt a lot from being caught in his qin-na grip.
There was an illuminating example of how important stances are. I was helping a partner to get the technique right by adjusting his stance. He was struggling to counter my "Lohan Tames Tiger" (yes, there is an identical move in BGZ!) with no success. I simply told him to relax into his stance and then move from his waist. To my surprise, I was almost thrown off my feet when he did just as I said. If even an untrained person can fell an opponent with a stance and waist rotation, can you imagine the power we can unleash if we use our patiently-trained advantages?
Picture-perfect form
Baguazhang has some of the most beautiful patterns I have ever seen, and with some hindsight, they are so perfectly designed for combat that they can be used as they are without modifications (unlike Taijiquan which tend to morph the patterns in the formal sets). When the master showed the application the most common pattern in a counter-qinna move, a lightbulb went off in my head, and several other patterns began to make sense.
A few years ago, when I was attending my intensive Taijiquan course with Sifu, he kept repeating a crucial point. "Just do the form". He explained that the form was crystallised by masters who have used the pattern in real combat and all we had to do was to use it. This came alive for me during this session as I noted how the placement of the hands and legs were exactly as in the Circle-Walking postures. Applying the posture any other way would have meant discarding the advantages that the posture had. (This does not mean that the form is dead. By my use of the words “exact”, I meant that they are instantly recognizable as that Baguazhang posture, even if the height of the hands / arms are different from the usual form practice)
One thing that quite surprised me was how easily I could counter my practice partners' moves, while I had considerably more difficulty doing so with my training partners during Sifu's courses. Sometimes, I think we take for granted Sifu's amazing success with his teaching methodology. Because my training partners at the intensive courses have all been well-trained by Sifu, it is not easy for me to find a weakness in their attack or defence. Against less well-trained opponents, i had a distinct advantage. To be fair, most of my classmates were relatively inexperienced, and it was obvious that they had never trained zhan zhuang at all. Nonetheless, I was once again fortified in my belief that if we practice diligently as we have been taught in our intensive kungfu / Taijiquan courses, we can handle black-belts in free sparring from other arts, just as Sifu often tells us.
Using qi flow
Long ago, when Jeffrey wrote his very helpful series of posts on Breathing methods, I was already trying to pin down exactly what is meant by platinum card kungfu. I know the meaning, having experienced the power of our Shaolin Cosmos Qigong, but the definition I was seeking or even concrete examples eluded me. But I now have a perfect illustration of platinum card kungfu in practice.
During a class, we were shown us a difficult palm change which no one had learnt yet. I had seen this before in video clips but was totally lost then. When the master demonstrated it, I consciously relaxed and focused on the movements. The second time the movement was shown, I had it imprinted. So, while the other students were gaping in bewilderment, I closed my eyes, and "asked" my qi to just do it. I then proceeded to execute the movement as the teacher had done (but not as picture-perfect - so I have some way to go in learning to use my card ).
When I first learnt qi flow, I thought it was primarily for cleansing blockages and promoting energy flow. Little did I know it can be so wondrous, acting as an organic camera and self-teaching tool.
Sifu's generosity and teaching
The fact I could pick up so much so quickly has little to do with my own ability (I am, in my own honest assessment, quite the klutz). My progress can be directly attributed to Sifu, who from Day 1, transmitted the highest skills to me and other students. All that was necessary was to practice, practice and practice.
I must of course caveat that I am not an advanced practitioner of Baguazhang, but I think my preliminary experiences can provide an idea of the common core in all genuine internal martial arts. True, training methods and even philosophy may differ from art to art, but practising an art like Shaolin Cosmos Qigong with platinum card benefits can really accelerate anything we learn.
Incidentally, you may wish to check out this issue of Sifu's Q&A regarding Baguazhang.
I went to learn more about the basic training and applications of Baguazhang so I could have an idea how to deal with practitioners of this art, but instead, I came away having been vindicated in all that i have learnt from Sifu.
It is often the case that when a carpenter opens a toolbox, the only tool he sees is the hammer/screwdriver. Many practitioners (whether in the commercial world or martial arts society) tend to look at things coloured by their own training, knowledge and experience. With that in mind, i was careful to go to the class with an open mind, and not pre-judge it through my Shaolin background.
Stances
It is a popular idea, perpetuated in many books and magazines that Baguazhang is "different" from other martial arts in that it does not rely on constant rooting to the ground to fa-jing. It is said that Baguazhang experts can issue tremendous power while on the move, while others have to stay in a solid stance while doing so. Well, another myth shattered. Both through my personal experience during the practical sessions and verbal confirmation from the Grandmaster, I now know that a firm root and waist power is also required in Baguazhang for fa-jing (it is just that it is not necessary for both feet to be on the ground).
During the practice sessions, I found that my solid stances gave me a distinct advantage over all the other students. I effortlessly held down all my practice partners while few of them could even get a grip on me. I was however effectively trapped by the Dai Siheng of the class, who had good skills and lots of tournament experience (in free-style fighting and other arts). I learnt a lot from being caught in his qin-na grip.
There was an illuminating example of how important stances are. I was helping a partner to get the technique right by adjusting his stance. He was struggling to counter my "Lohan Tames Tiger" (yes, there is an identical move in BGZ!) with no success. I simply told him to relax into his stance and then move from his waist. To my surprise, I was almost thrown off my feet when he did just as I said. If even an untrained person can fell an opponent with a stance and waist rotation, can you imagine the power we can unleash if we use our patiently-trained advantages?
Picture-perfect form
Baguazhang has some of the most beautiful patterns I have ever seen, and with some hindsight, they are so perfectly designed for combat that they can be used as they are without modifications (unlike Taijiquan which tend to morph the patterns in the formal sets). When the master showed the application the most common pattern in a counter-qinna move, a lightbulb went off in my head, and several other patterns began to make sense.
A few years ago, when I was attending my intensive Taijiquan course with Sifu, he kept repeating a crucial point. "Just do the form". He explained that the form was crystallised by masters who have used the pattern in real combat and all we had to do was to use it. This came alive for me during this session as I noted how the placement of the hands and legs were exactly as in the Circle-Walking postures. Applying the posture any other way would have meant discarding the advantages that the posture had. (This does not mean that the form is dead. By my use of the words “exact”, I meant that they are instantly recognizable as that Baguazhang posture, even if the height of the hands / arms are different from the usual form practice)
One thing that quite surprised me was how easily I could counter my practice partners' moves, while I had considerably more difficulty doing so with my training partners during Sifu's courses. Sometimes, I think we take for granted Sifu's amazing success with his teaching methodology. Because my training partners at the intensive courses have all been well-trained by Sifu, it is not easy for me to find a weakness in their attack or defence. Against less well-trained opponents, i had a distinct advantage. To be fair, most of my classmates were relatively inexperienced, and it was obvious that they had never trained zhan zhuang at all. Nonetheless, I was once again fortified in my belief that if we practice diligently as we have been taught in our intensive kungfu / Taijiquan courses, we can handle black-belts in free sparring from other arts, just as Sifu often tells us.
Using qi flow
Long ago, when Jeffrey wrote his very helpful series of posts on Breathing methods, I was already trying to pin down exactly what is meant by platinum card kungfu. I know the meaning, having experienced the power of our Shaolin Cosmos Qigong, but the definition I was seeking or even concrete examples eluded me. But I now have a perfect illustration of platinum card kungfu in practice.
During a class, we were shown us a difficult palm change which no one had learnt yet. I had seen this before in video clips but was totally lost then. When the master demonstrated it, I consciously relaxed and focused on the movements. The second time the movement was shown, I had it imprinted. So, while the other students were gaping in bewilderment, I closed my eyes, and "asked" my qi to just do it. I then proceeded to execute the movement as the teacher had done (but not as picture-perfect - so I have some way to go in learning to use my card ).
When I first learnt qi flow, I thought it was primarily for cleansing blockages and promoting energy flow. Little did I know it can be so wondrous, acting as an organic camera and self-teaching tool.
Sifu's generosity and teaching
The fact I could pick up so much so quickly has little to do with my own ability (I am, in my own honest assessment, quite the klutz). My progress can be directly attributed to Sifu, who from Day 1, transmitted the highest skills to me and other students. All that was necessary was to practice, practice and practice.
I must of course caveat that I am not an advanced practitioner of Baguazhang, but I think my preliminary experiences can provide an idea of the common core in all genuine internal martial arts. True, training methods and even philosophy may differ from art to art, but practising an art like Shaolin Cosmos Qigong with platinum card benefits can really accelerate anything we learn.
Incidentally, you may wish to check out this issue of Sifu's Q&A regarding Baguazhang.
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