Re: Bagua Form and Applications

Whiteape Mon Aug 04, 2008 2:09 pm

Eryn wrote:I prefer the older man's method of Baji as well; its similar to Xu's Baji and a little less like Wang's. He seems to have the most efficient and subtle use of power generation of the three, and you can hear him doing the Baji exhalation which is pretty neat. You can tell this practicioner has internal training and power because he seems to possess a greater gravitational force in his movements.

I've never seen Baji done as externally as the guy in the last vid. Reminds me of how I used to perform the Baji movements because of the Longfist background - had to break that habit. Kind of neat to see Baji externalised, though it really isn't Baji other than the pattern as Blake said.

I would actually say that the form the old man is doing looks more like Wang's Baji than anything I've seen as far as the pattern and postion of individual moves, but his delivery as far as pace and simplicity in delivering power is more akin to Xu's. Also the wushu judge guy doing the standard form slowly has an intersting blend in pattern and position that is somewhere in between Wang and Xu.

wuxia_warrior Mon Sep 15, 2008 2:50 pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5QIYvE2OH8

It's another (Wudang) flavor of the same baji form (I believe). I didn't know Wudang did baji. I know they didn't originate it.

Eryn Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:16 pm

Thats pretty cool, its interesting to see a Wudang practitioner doing Baji. I think that nowadays because of economic growth, technology etc. even some traditionalists mix up the family styles a bit. You'll see Taiji traditionalists doing Bagua and Xingyi or vice-versa, and generally a mish-mash of stylistic influences. I think its good to see a unifying movement regarding styles and flavors in traditional martial arts: helps add to one's understanding of martial arts. Good vid.

wuxia_warrior Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:16 pm

In case you're interested, the guy in that video has a website and lists all the moves (all in Chinese, some with English) that he does in the baji form.

http://www.wudangdao.com/KUNGFU/bajiquan.htm

I couldn't believe there weren't some lines that just said, "The Lenny" or "The Roger." I really like Wudang, especially their jian, but they've really dropped the ball on the baji terminology...

Whiteape Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:17 pm

wuxia_warrior wrote:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5QIYvE2OH8

It's another (Wudang) flavor of the same baji form (I believe). I didn't know Wudang did baji. I know they didn't originate it.

If I had to guess, this is just what happened to the competition form when it was taught to wudang in recent years. From what I understand, most of shaolin and wudang are just goverment appointed monks and alot of what they do is just general wushu. Still I have seen some good traditional stuff performed by some of these people at times. There is an unrelated wudang lineage that focuses on baji, pigua, and mantis, but I've never seen them dressed in taoist robes or anything. I don't know if they are affiliated with any temples or if that is just the region they are from. I'll try to find some clips. It's much less flashy.

Whiteape Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:32 pm

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