Archive for October, 2008
Changing in a Spinning World
Published Thursday, October 23rd, 2008 by Jason
Staring At The Hand
We gaze at one hand during circular Bagua forms. There are exceptions, but generally the hand is our focus. This seems like a fitting place for our gaze and intent, seeing as how Baguazhang translates to Eight Trigram Palms. Our palms are our weapons as well as an extension of our center.
Focusing our intent and gaze on our hands we direct our Qi to our palms. Our intent is realized through the palms. The relationship is somewhat indirect. Physically, our intent moves our waist which moves our palms. In the same way, our intent moves the qi from the dan tien to the palms. Why move the qi to the hands? Moving qi to the hands along with the way we hold the palms will help us develop Iron Palm. Iron palm is beyond the scope of this article, but the basic concept is that the hands have the appearance of cotton while on the inside they are like iron.
We only look at the palm in the circular form and any time we’re walking the circle. This is to bring energy to the palm…[for] Iron Palm…but we do not smash our palms into bricks etc. to make our hand hard and senseless like most do. It’s also an eagle vision training method, by looking at the palm we can’t look at what we’re meant to be hitting. —Eli Montaigue
In walking the circle, I hold the leading palm in the circle’s center so that I end up walking around it while it turns on the center point. This leads to moments of exhilaration and laughter in midst of a spinning world. While the world outside is seemingly spinning out of control, I maintain my center and focus. I reside in the peaceful eye of the storm.
Spinning Around Palms and Revolutionary Changes
During partner work, a funny thing happens. When the world starts spinning for both partners—there is simultaneous laughter and attacking. Sometimes it sucks when my partner attacks while the world is spinning, because I was enjoying the ride. Once the attack comes, I change, and it takes some work to get the world spinning again. Another option is to attack my partner and deliberately disrupt the equilibrium.
Air Avatars Know Nothing About Mud Stepping
Published Friday, October 17th, 2008 by Steven Smith
Many Baguazhang Styles Avoid Mud-stepping—It’s Difficult
Mud-stepping is a peculiar method of gaining….[doh! the why and what-for of mud-stepping is for a different article].
How-To-Mud-Step seems simple—
- Slide your weightless front-foot forward,
- Quickly step onto it,
- Swishing the old back-foot past the new back foot,
- Never pick up your back-heel before your back-toes.
It’s not a sequential order because it all happens so fast!
It’s tough at first. There’s a nnnrrghhing sense of lifting the foot without lifting the heel first. How do I do it? You’ll wonder. Doesn’t it seem natural to push from the toes?! Then you’ll fake it, pretending to not-lift the heel before the toes, gently pressing from the toes.
Many (I bet most) Baguazhang styles and even more Baguazhang instructors never bother with mud-stepping. That’s fine; many versions of Dong Hai-Chuan’s Baguazhang exist, thrive, and produce martial artists. Tension, difficulty, and lack of understanding drive folks to avoid mud-stepping.
Baguazhang History — Dong Haichuan
Published Tuesday, October 14th, 2008 by Steven Smith
Baguazhang emerges from circles of mysterious fog. The reputed founder, Dong Hai-Chuan appears in the foundation of many (most or all) Eight Trigram Palm Schools.
Behind him, he leaves mists of wonder—histories devoid of clarity, brimming with speculation, mixed with semblances of truth. Dong Hai-Chuan deliberately cultivated the shroud, and, as a result mastered the marketing of Baguazhang. It’s popularity is potent and vast.
Various histories claim Dong Hai-Chuan as the inventor or creator; others report that he inherited it. Most histories weave a plot of an adventurous man wrapping Gung-fu of his local villages into the magic of shaman rituals to create the whole, the circular: Baguazhang!
Whatever happened, each bit of his story lurks in shadow…
Dong Ming Kui—Origins of Dong Hai-Chuan
Born in 1797 (or 1813), he begins with the name Dong Ming Kui, the second son of Dong Bo Xuan. His family relied on farming for a living, and Dong Han-Chuan reputedly despised working in the fields, seeking instead Kung-fu lessons. He trained extensively with teachers of the martial arts in and around the local Zhu village, in Ju Jia Wu Township, Wen An County, Hebei Province, China. In 1853, Dong Ming Kui leaves home, for some reason…
- family financial hardship
- drought and resultant difficulties
- strained relations with his parents
- the quest for fame and fortune from Gung-fu
Whatever the reasons, Dong Ming Kui leaves his home around 1853, seeking fame as a martial artist in Beijing. Despite years of previous training, Dong Ming Kui is easily defeated and, to avoid defaming his family (or to try again), Dong Ming Kui changed his name to Dong Hai-Chuan, a name suggesting an image of a hundred rivers.
And indeed, if you choose to stick to Baguazhang’s main principle—Change!—then a changed name is simply a step around the circle.
Forming Baguazhang
Accounts vary about Dong Hai-Chuan’s years of wandering in the mountains of He Bei, Jiang Su, Zhe Jiang, An Hui, and Jiang Xi Provinces. Some of my favorites include….
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