Ba Gua Stepping: Demystifying Mud-Wading Walking Method

[@jonatho85]

Going through some of your older videos about stepping. I love these videos. You’re doing fantastic work. I truly appreciate you posting these videos. I study Tai chi, Bagua, and Xingyi and I like to watch your videos along with the school training. I truly enjoy your work.

[@lifeishealinghealthwellnes1979]

This video confirmed that I was already on the right track with correct Bagua Stepping.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Great. Thanks.

[@wiseowl7336]

Great video. Very informative. I had no idea that master Cheng continued to teach wrestling after he mastered baguazhang. It makes sense as he was able to keep his skills at a high level.

[@HaiYangChannel]

I think the reason is wrestling is a great art and he kept teaching it after he mastered Bagua. I practiced a bit wrestling too and it's a great practce.

[@thunderflower7998]

When does one need martial art? When does one need wrestling? Kung Fu ,does it mean hard work?if yes...then is not wrestling also hard work..Kung full? Thank you for the great series you offer to us. GREETINGS from Shila (Greece/Hellas)

[@shawn6669]

I've really enjoyed this series of yours. Thanks for sharing. Best, S.

[@Purwapada]

. yeah its great!

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are very welcome and thank you too.

[@pgskills]

Great details that truly help distinguish between functional mud stepping and the way it is performed in wushu style bagua. I've primarily practiced walking the circle with regular stepping (lion step?) but have noticed that over time it became much more a matter of keeping the bottom of the foot parallel to the ground and placing it down all at once with very little heel-to-toe rolling motion because that helps to make the steps flow much more smoothly into kou bu or bai bu in the changes. The extra pushing mechanic at the end of this step is very interesting now that I know more of the reasons behind practicing it in this fashion. Thank you again for sharing your knowledge, Sifu. I hope you and yours are doing well.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for sharing your experience too!

[@neilellison3356]

Thankyou so much. This helps explain to me the significant differences in stepping between eg Yin and Cheng styles. This series of videos is superb.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your comment. We can understand a style better when understand the history of a style.

[@ChengManChing]

Wow, what a wonderful teacher! I’d saved a link years ago to 5 fists and linking form because the demo was so good, but never checked out the channel itself. Incredible amount of content that will take quite some time to absorb. Also really like the saying “one year of wrestling equals 3 years of Kung fu.” I’ll mention that to one of my Kung fu friends next time I see him.😀

[@HaiYangChannel]

thank you for your comment and I am happy to know that you still remember my old video:).

[@gnzen]

🙏 obrigado pela aula!

[@XingYiQuanArgentina]

Sorprendido! Excelente explicación y gran aporte para los practicantes Baguazhang! Gracias!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks,

[@laurentmorin1923]

Excellent video as always. Thank you for sharing all this knowledge. I hope the clarification on wrestling and martial arts will settle the debates on this issue.

[@HaiYangChannel]

I hope so too.

[@kcorsnosbig]

Thank you so much sir for sharing your expertise in Ancestral Chinese Arts... Your a True scholar... and Gentleman... God bless you and your endevers...

[@HaiYangChannel]

So nice of you

[@MikeNewWest]

Many thanks for the depth of information. I appreciated to the comments about adding an improvisational element to the Ba Gua practice and am wondering if that is a similar practice/concept as the Jian Wu (health dance) I've seen from yichuan practitioners. I don't believe I've ever seen an example of that kind of improvisational approach in Ba Gua and it does seem like a missing element in most curriculums that helps to make things "second nature" (although maybe it's more true to call it "first nature!) Again, thanks for the in depth lesson. I look forward to watching many more.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your input.

[@houseofkungfu2543]

21:36 you're a cool dude Mr. Hai Yang

[@mdubb4855]

20:49 the master demonstrates the step. It’s quite nice in the slow version.

[@robbiekazandjian8004]

Great video, thanks.

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are welcome!

[@larrylitrakis9400]

thanks master for sharing all your knowledge

[@HaiYangChannel]

My pleasure and thank you.

[@evilbrave5379]

Great explanation !

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you!

[@ZalMoxis]

Excellent

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks.

[@DaiAndrews]

I found this video to be especially enjoyable. As a practitioner of Sun style Bagua, we have much in common with the Cheng style, but we do not use this stepping, it was very interesting to learn more about it.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Yes. Most sun uses zinran bu

[@baguapalm]

@@HaiYangChannel Yes. I always find it strange actually that most Sun people were mostly focusing on Ziran Bu (whit a few exceptions) knowing Sun Lu tang has learned from Cheng himself. Any clue on this subject?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Well, I prefer not to talk about this. It is their choice...Some Sun style people claimed that Sun did not die, instead, he was "being taken away by God to heaven, while divine music were playing in the sky when it happened.... " So, if one believes this, then, they can walk whatever they want.

[@baguapalm]

Hai Yang thanks again for your time. I understand 👌🏽

[@drprick7432]

Nice lecture and details. Thanks!

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are welcome and thanks, too.

[@GodinFrederic]

Hi Master Yang, great video again!! Some quick questions. Just to be sure I understand (sorry I feel this is a very beginner question), when you mention the thigh you mean the back leg pushing? I just wanted to make sure I didn't misunderstand (and that's it's not related to putting some tension/pressure on the front leg moving). Also I thought I heard you mention once xing yi bagua mostly relies on regular walking rather than mud wading, is this information correct? I'm asking because I was reviewing some judge pens routine today and I wasn't fully sure about the stepping part at the beginning. Thanks again! Your video made my day more enjoyable ;) Fred

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, the movement is pushed by the thigh of the back leg. but the front leg's thigh pushed the front knee as well )the thigh of the back leg adds more strength. Xingyi-Bagua palm does not apply the typical Tang Ni Bu, you can use the Cheng style Zi Ran Bu to practice it. Thanks,

[@GodinFrederic]

@@HaiYangChannel Thanks a lot for the clarification!!

[@baguapalm]

Incredible talk! I's pure gold, thank you Sifu Yang. There is two points you didn't mention: 1- the grasping of the ground on landing (chicken power step) and the pulling force that you can use from the grasping to move the body forward with less momentum from the back leg power. 2 - and the inner foot going straight while the outer foot is curving in. Would you mind expanding on this topics please?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Those two points are very basic. And there are so many points need to be explained but none of them is as important as the misperception as tang ni bu. I will make other videos to explain more. Thank you for your suggestion.

[@baguapalm]

@@HaiYangChannel Yes absolutely. Every detail is a key on is own in Tang Ni Bu :) Thanks again for this talk. it clarifies & put the fondations for more informations on this subject.

[@Purwapada]

. that is great thanx! I've always wondered the reason for it, people have given me many reasons; like so your weight is on the back foot, or it is to train bagua step kicking? is there an actual application for it, maybe I missed it if you mentioned it?)

[@HaiYangChannel]

It is mainly for weighting transfer and power development. Of course you can apply it to martial application but it is not the main purposes here. Thanks.

[@Purwapada]

. @@HaiYangChannel ohhh I see

[@jacopolopez2280]

Great Video Master! A question...qinna like shuai jiao is not considered martial art?is teached in parallel or is a part of all martial style?Thanks from Italy for your time

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, I would like to answer your question. 1, Qinna is a term to describe techniques, techniques is part of martial art but not sufficient to be a style of martial art. 2, it is part of most of martial art styles. Of course can be taught when learning forms or other contents. 3, some styles do not emphasize on qinna. Thanks,.

[@jacopolopez2280]

@@HaiYangChannel Thanks for your Answer Master Hai Yang..i wait for your next Video👍🏻

[@ghostdude45]

A realization: In my training of baguazhang, I have noticed the movements lend themselves well to grappling/wrestling. I actually feel quite accomplished and confident in my skills when I think of it as kind of a grappling art in the context of striking (like how judo or aikido address strikes with invading the opponents space to throw or joint lock and so on) A question: Would it be beneficial to my practice to continue this line of thought for my future progress?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure, it is a good approach.

[@ghostdude45]

@@HaiYangChannel Thank you for such a quick reply. While I have been away from my teachers, your channel has been an excellent supplemental source of study for my training. Thank you for your knowledge and wisdom.

[@enmanuelespinal4081]

Thanks for your help.

[@HaiYangChannel]

You're welcome!

[@wengchunwingchun398]

Does anyone have the pdf of the 36 poems of bagua quan kuinting??

[@KlausBeckEwerhardy]

Funny, at the moment we do free participation training in the park with a lot of concentration of demonstrating and teaching tang ni bu. This is a nice coincidence.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Great to know.

[@arturotorras9069]

In your opinion, Is it possible to reach enlightenment doing Tai Chi or Ba Gua?

[@HaiYangChannel]

I'd like to know in your opinion, what is enlightenment?

[@arturotorras9069]

The way I think of enlightenment, is the end of fear leading to the beginning of compassion, peace and fulfilment

[@IThinkSoBrain]

I'm thinking a lot about when you open up for online students. I'm think very seriously about Baguazhang. I'm 51 years old, and while I started martial arts when I was 16, I've spent too much time sitting at a desk the last several years. I'm looking to earn back some of the suppleness I used to have, and I'm thinking Baguazhang would be the best for that, as much as xingyiquan appeals to me. And since I spent 3 years learning Chen style from someone who did it modern wushu style, I worry that I may have picked up bad habits when it comes to Chen style. I would love your thoughts on the matter.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, thank you for your comment and I would like to answer your question. In my opinion, any training experiences are good. When the online program ready, please give it a try and then you may like it.

[@IThinkSoBrain]

I will. I'm looking forward to it. I live as close to nowhere as you can, and nothing that I'm interested in is around here. Thank you.

[@isaaceng3363]

In Determining, as to 'Whatever'' or Not,' Dong Haichuan taught the "Mudsliding Step" to Cheng Ting Hua and other of Master Dong's Top students, we are confronted with the Difficulty that, it seems, Master Dong never told over the same story twice. For instance, when asked by some of his Students as to 'where' and When and under 'Whom' Dong Haichuan had learnt his Baguazhang, Master Dong's answer was hardly believable: One Day while walking in the Mountains near Beijing, he met a Dwarf( a short man often found in stories that involve Magic), and the Dwarf led him to an Old Daoist Monk by the name of Bi, Deng-Xia( 'Man without a Shadow under the Lamp). According to the story told by Master Dong, Bi, Deng-Xia was the top Student of the Founder of Baguazhang and it was from this Old Taoist Mountain Monk that Master Dong had learnt his unique style of 8 Turning Palms. However this story is obviously a romanticized version of Dong Haichuan's real life story. What is more probable, is that Dong Haichuan actually created his Baguazhang by combining his training in several martial Arts belonging to the N. Shaolin family with the Circle walking methods of the Taoist Monks. In Fact, Professor Kang Ge Wu of Beijing wrote that he was able to Determine with Certainty that Master Dong had at one point in his career become a Member of the "Complete Truth" Taoist Sect, Belonging to the "Long Men" School of Taoism--What is interesting is that the "Complete Truth" Taoists used a Circle Walking Method known as "Rotating in Worship of Heaven," in order to Harmonize themselves with the Natural Forces found in the Cosmos. Therefore, we can say for certain that Taoist Practices such as Circle Walking served, at the very least, as a model and influence on Dong Haichuan's Baguazhang. Next, it is debatable whether Cheng Ting Hua received the most complete version of Dong Haichuan's art( seeing that he never studied Martial Arts before Studying with Dong, so that all of Cheng's Martial training came from Dong). Liang Zhenpu--the Founder of the Liang Style--according to some, can definitely compete with this idea of receiving the "purest version of Dong's original Baguazhang, since Liang Zhenpu, the Youngest and Last of Dong's direct students was only about 14 years old when he started to study with Dong Haichuan, and( because he was the Youngest) with Dong's Haichuan's Second generation Bagua students. I'm digressing: My main point here is that I do "agree" with Master Yang that the Mud Sliding Step was adopted by Cheng Ting Hua from "Wrestling" into Cheng Style Baguazhang( and from there it passed into other Bagua Styles). But In my opinion: Chinese Wrestling was not the only 'Single source" for MudSliding Step, used in both the Cheng and Liang Styles of Baguazhang: The other Major Source for the Mudsliding Step was the Daoist Stepping Methods used by Taoist Priests While performing the Taoist Circle walking Ceremony, "Rotating in Worship of Heaven:' In Fact we have 2 Taoist terms: "Bugang," which translates as Walking the Stars of the Great Dipper, a Shaman Like Taoist Walking Ceremony: But the Second term: "YuBu," which translates as the "Paces or Steps of Yu," is the term most closely related to the Mudsliding Step used in Baguazhang. The "Paces of Yu," utilize a dragging Motion, similar to Mudsliding, which in the case of the Taoist Mystical Walking ceremony, promotes an altered state of Consciousness that allows the Taoist practitioner to walk among and benefit from the Stars in the Constellations--To conclude: Whether 'Dong Haichuan' taught the Mudsliding Step to his Students or "Not," is irrelevant Seeing that, In my opinion, the "Paces of Yubu," of the Taoists are directly related to the 'Mudsliding Steps' in Baguazhang. An example of Taoist Walking Steps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lZXIq6J-gpmYZ7c

[@HaiYangChannel]

wow, I will read it when I have more spare time.

[@anarchistenationaliste6795]

Hello, thank you for the video but too bad I speak no English no way to translate under this video. Excellent day.

[@HaiYangChannel]

I see. Sorry to know that.

[@anarchistenationaliste6795]

@@HaiYangChannel, No big deal, thank you for your feedback.

[@anarchistenationaliste6795]

:-)

[@laurentmorin1923]

@@anarchistenationaliste6795 Aimerais-tu un résumé en français?

[@anarchistenationaliste6795]

@@laurentmorin1923 salut,oui si ça serais possible avec grand plaisir,merci à toi et bonne nuit :-)

[@bredmond812]

My bagua teacher said of tang ni bu, "I don't let people see what brand of shoe I'm wearing" because the bottom of the sole says the brand of the shoe and he world only bring the heel up by a millimeter ideally.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure, he is right about the walking.

[@jimstretch6109]

It's not mud walking, it's a low kick practice. The mainland regime killed all the traditional boxers so now they are trying to re-create the arts from books and they don't know the applications

[@ramqi6239]

How do you know it s a low kick ? Do you really think low kick will be effective in a battlefield mud stepping is well know in Chinese wrestler who work by the way for Qing government and they didn't killed by anybody

[@toms1197]

@@ramqi6239 bagua is a bodyguard art. Hsing-i is for battlefield. Low kicks to the toenails or ankle. Remember they often wore heavy boots with sharpened coins jammed into the seam at the sole. This is covered by Robert W Smith in his bagua book. He learned from Chen pan-ling, Wang Shu-chin, Paul Kuo, Hung I-shiang and others of several legit lineages like Gao I-sheng. Details in his books.

[@ramqi6239]

@@toms1197 i m not saying there is no kick in bagua but those kicks are more useful to take a person down like a sweep if you want battlefield or bodyguard is the same in that time it s not like in modern time as for the book that you mentioned i red it and i m not convinced at all

[@ericpotter42069]

yo Jimbo, that's quite a .. Stretch😎

[@jimstretch6109]

Expressing thoughts in English that don't accurately convey the meaning in the original chinese.

[@ericpotter42069]

you talking about your own 💩teachers? 🤣

[@stillnessinmovement]

You mention that chinese martial arts have a different definition than in the west, can you be specific? as a sport scientist, I sort of have to laugh, because in the west, it has been proven that wrestling is an effective martial art. I also recognize the real wrestling and also the show wrestling, both of which exist in west and east, but both of them clearly use martial arts techiques. so I thank you for pointing this out, but perhaps in the interest of reality, perhaps a functional definition might be more useful. what is the utility of making this martial art/not martial art distinction? It seems important to you to point out, im curious? is there more to this than prejudice against a popular art form that was used both for self-defense and entertainment? it's not as if kung fu was never used as a form of entertainmnent. if im being critical of cma im not trying to, but my interest is not history, but modern use.

[@wiseowl7336]

If could have something to do with the absence of weapons training. Martial meaning the art/style was used on ancient battlefields. So styles like Baji and Xing Yi would be considered true martial arts as the practice of weapons like the spear and broadsword are a part of the training. The martial arts historian Donn Draeger supported this theory near the end of his life.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Since you claimed that you are a sport scientist, please do not have to laugh. But still, I would like to make a brief explanation again for you. 1. I respect the tradition in China that wrestling is not considered as martial art even though as I mentioned and emphasized in my video that it is a great practice in self-defense. This is the tradition based answer. 2. Wrestling system is missing many elements as a traditional marital art system, such as weapon training, internal cultivation training, and others. This is tradition based answer as well. 3, It is not a prejudice as you mentioned at all. I am just respecting a tradition applied in China. And I am telling the truth. I am not sure why did you use that word. So, please relax. I am presenting what I believe in training and history. And if you do not agree with me, it is fine. But please mind your words. Thank you.

[@stillnessinmovement]

@@wiseowl7336 good point. that would leave arts like boxing outside of martial arts as well. UFC? it's a new era.

[@stillnessinmovement]

​@@HaiYangChannel plese do not misunderstand. I am not chinese, and sometimes I find things really weird. im sure you find the same of western culture. im just being honest. I would put wrestling as a martial art. and boxing. and MMA. im just going to go ahead and say martial practice to mean the wider definition, and chinese martial culture traditions to mean what you are calling martial arts? this seems more precise and functional. in any event, thanks for posting.

[@drprick7432]

I think I can explain his meaning, but correct me if I’m wrong. In the west we think of any training system that we can use to physically fight somebody (punching, throwing) as a martial art. In the Chinese systems is much more than just fighting, it is a ultimately personal cultivation system that includes fighting techniques, weapons, meditation, history, etc. (sport vs. art).