Baguazhang or the palm of eight trigrams is one of the three internal traditional Chinese martial arts styles. It is a unique style that stands out from many others. It cannot be confused with any other style. The visible distinguishing feature of baguazhang is the specific movement of the fighter. He moves in a circle, is constantly in motion and uses the so-called “mud slip” or simply “sliding step”. The history of the style is very interesting and it is associated with the greatest names of the Masters of Chinese martial arts.
By the way, to learn this technique many Masters of other styles specially come to baguazhang. The technique of walking in bagua is not only the basis of fighting, it is a very serious health practice. Specific load on legs, on knee and ankle joints allows you to gradually strengthen and improve the health of the lower limbs. Not for nothing Baguazhang is called the style of longevity. There is a saying in China – “to live long you need to have strong healthy feet”. That’s why many Masters of other styles study the practice of Baguazhang.
Also the technique of moving in a circle, special complexes of movements are meditation in movement. Whereas in Tai Chi meditation is the performance of certain forms, in Baguazhang meditation is also the movement in a circle with a certain hand position and specifically directed attention. In addition to technique, adepts of Baguazhang work with the mind from the very first training sessions. But it has to be said that training in this internal style is not easy. Of course, the load is determined by individual physical capabilities of each student, but gradually they increase, according to how our capabilities increase. Therefore, age is not a problem for practicing this unique style.
If we already touched on age, it should be said that the study of this style can begin at 14, 50 and 70 years.
After all, learning baguazhan is a very multifaceted process. Everyone can find their own niche here.
Those who are interested in martial techniques will find a lot of interesting and effective. It was not for nothing that this style was used by the Chinese emperor’s guards, and its creator, Dong Hai Chuan, taught it at the imperial palace. His students were well known in China. And the current generation of Baguchzhan masters is known far beyond China. For example, in Japan, the motherland of many famous martial arts systems, there are serious schools of Baguazhang which keep Chinese traditions and value this style for its high efficiency.
For those who want to improve their health, there are a huge number of opportunities in Baguazhang. The main thing is to practice.
And there are no age restrictions. Practices baguazhzhan allow both young and more mature people to improve health and make the spirit strong and pure. Who is looking for philosophical content – you’ll find it, because baguazhzhan closely linked to the philosophy of the eight trigrams and the Book of Changes.
This style is also called the most mystical, because all the movements of the style are based on the book of changes. Also in baguazhang there are techniques of wielding traditional weapons, such as Dao sword, Jian sword, spear and, of course, the unique weapons of baguazhang – paired swords “deer horns knives”.
Whoever is looking for beauty will not be able to resist the sight of performing bagua, because the movements of this style are full of beauty and sophistication. However, it is only necessary to try it once to understand how difficult it is to repeat and how much effort and training of the body is worth this real beauty. But the gift that this style gives us is health and strength, a trained whole body and a beauty that fills every movement.
