"The exercising of weapons putteth away aches, griefs, and diseases, it increaseth strength and sharpeneth the wits, it giveth a perfect judgment, it expelleth melancholy, choleric, and evil conceits, it keepeth a man in breath, in perfect healthe, and long life." – George Silver (1599)

From BlackTaoist.com

The characteristics of Yin’s bagua are its use of the ‘ox-tongue palm’ (niu she zhang); in terms of power, it emphasises Gan (dry), Leng (cold) and Zhi (direct). Externally, it emphasises Leng (cold), Tan (springy), Ying (hard), Cui (crisp), and Kuai (fast). Internally, it emphasises Suo (contracting), Xiao (small), Mian (continuous), Ruan (soft), Qiao (skill). After He entered the door of bagua, he often heard stories and even personally witnessed the feats which the older generation of bagua practitioners were capable of. In his words, “To look at, no-one would think that Cao Zhongsheng was a martial artist: he was thin, bookish, he looked more like a scholar than anything else. His Jingang Rouqiu Zhang (Buddha’s warrior attendant rolls a ball), Shuang Zhuang Zhang (Double crashing palm) and wrist strikes were all fearsome, really explosive. When he practiced Jingang Rouqiu Zhang his hands looked like they were just rolling around, but the moment you touched him you were thrown back. In applying Shuang Zhuang Zhang, he would first pull you in towards him and then shove out with both hands, often sending people tumbling out several yards.

I really identify with the penetrating palm/throat strike mentality of this.



Circling offline and closing. Actually makes alot of sense. Very interesting.

Look at this elder master move.

“The solo aspect of its circular solo practice is beautiful, yet exotic, full of graceful twisting movement, sudden stops and changes of direction, swooping and lifting actions as well as explosive hand movements. The functional aspect is harshly effective, without sporting elements as its martial effectiveness was refined by the many practitioners at the turn of the century who earned their living as personal bodyguards and merchant convoy escorts. Like the other internal arts, pa-kua emphasizes balance, natural breathing and relaxation, stability of stance, the development of twisting strength and internal power both for healing and martial purposes as well as the use of the mind to create intent and lead chi flow. Most defensive and offensive movements are done with the open hand; the horizontal energy of the twisting torso is emphasized; the weight of the body stays on the back foot when walking in a circle (though not necessarily when doing postures within each “change”; the steps are rather tight, the knees staying in close proximity one-to-the-other; and, kicks are normally aimed low, to the ankles, shins and knees. The essence of the art is learning to be upright, stable and comfortable in your posture and body mechanics while cultivating the ability to change quickly to deal with the tactics of an opponent. The smaller student learns to evade strikes while counter-attacking and the larger learns to batter his/her way through the attacker’s arms as a prelude to counter-attacking.”
- Michael Babin, Studying Pa Kua Chang

Gao style Bagua in Taiwan. Check the footwork, timing, and strategy. Usually planning a couple of moves ahead.

This guy has a whole series on Youtube (aka Shaolin Temple v.3030)

Chinese martial arts getting much love in the Heartland and Harlem.

Sifu Rudy has disabled embedding so you’ll have to go to http://www.youtube.com/user/sifurudycurryj
But these are particularly good:
Sifu Rudy Push Hands
Sifu Rudy Bagua (the end is the best)