Baguazhang (Bagua) Introduction and its Key Issues (Founder, History, Principles)

[@leonardofabiangarciarincon9013]

Thank you Master Yang for your teachings. I will try to practice the three principle.

[@sophiarenx7032]

I became interested in different Chinese martial arts because of the inspiration they have on Avatar: The Last Airbender. Incredible how diverse and complex they are, learning about them is quickly becoming one of my new favorite pastimes :)

[@HaiYangChannel]

Interesting. Started from avata. I hope you will keep practicing. Thanks.

[@T_axn_]

Same

[@KlausBeckEwerhardy]

I certainly would be sad to miss any of your videos. Practising Wudang Xingyi Baguazhan myself for eleven years now, I always like to get input from practioners of other styles too.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your comments. I will talk about the history of Wudang practice, one day..,.

[@KlausBeckEwerhardy]

@@HaiYangChannel Looking forward to it.

[@scottstoll-dn2yx]

Thank you so much for this! You are only the second person I have seen who teaches these things in great depth. Our Great Master/Grandfather passed away a couple of years ago, and he was trying to teach us deep things as fast as he could before he died. Our nei gong covered many things, including spirals of the spine. This was the level of information he was trying to preserve. We have many notes and a few custom routines he created, and I was hoping to contact you to see if you could try them and help us understand the open and close flow of energy, and the timing of the movements since he is no longer here to show us. Master Yang, if you would be interested in looking at my notes, including the ones I have on his Taiji-Bagua hybrid, please let me know. I would hate for his knowledge to only be left in the hands of people like me, who do not have the skills to fully understand them and help his teachings to live on.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello Mr. Stoll, thank you for your comments and your trust. It would be my honor to help you understand the materials left by your teacher. Even though I do not know his name yet, but based on your description about him, I believe that he was a great martial artist. There is Taiji-Bagua hybrid style in Tianjin, and I know it a bit. Maybe I can provide some help for you. When you are ready, please let me know. Thanks.

[@timdarmetko4039]

thanks again for your time ... you are appreciated

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are welcome. It gives me a chance to organize my knowledge as well.

[@shodashingo0896]

Great.... Please continued whit your awesome work.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks. This community helps me keep going!

[@lsarokin]

Your knowledge and teaching skill are the best I’ve seen on the internet. 👏👏👏

[@HaiYangChannel]

Happy to hear that! But no one is the best, actually. And each teacher has their own way of knowledge transferring process. Thanks.

[@SI-ln6tc]

In think he is also a very good speaker. 😃

[@BaguaSpirit]

Those principles are gold.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks. Principles are important because it can guild our practice.

[@LightningCayo]

I became interested in martial arts thanks to fighting games, and I’m surprised none of them really represent Bagua very much. Also considering current times, it’s important to stay healthy. Thank you for sharing the knowledge, Hai Yang!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is important to stay health especially at this moment. Take good care.

[@lluviasuperacida]

Excellent explanation Master. I will gladly await the next videos on baguazhang. A cordial greeting from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

[@Gurkh77]

Hello master Yang. With great pleasure I watched the available videos about Bapan Zhang. Was impressed. First, an interesting zhang zhuang. Mabu with clenched knees and hands in front of the face. I stood in this stance, it is strongly reminiscent of the effect created by Guo Weihan from White Monkey Tongbei and Donghou shi Xinyi Dai, a pillar specially for Li Loneng. What Wang Yufan talked about in an interview. Shenfa and fajin were also impressed. I got to the stories about the Hawk of Li Zhenqing and his teacher Dong Menglin. I was especially impressed by the training program. separate powerful gunas, like bricks of the system. And the Earth Cup method strongly resembles jibu, which I myself am now focusing on. Very interesting, thanks!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Good to know. And thank you for sharing your understandings.

[@Gurkh77]

@@HaiYangChannel Thank you for your generous and systematic coverage of the martial arts tradition.

[@IThinkSoBrain]

The introduction is fascinating. I had never heard of Ren Zhichong's line before. The teacher I was fortunate enough to study with was a Cheng shi Baguazhang practitioner who translated many of the classics to English. Thank you.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks for your comments. One of my reasons to introduce this kind of information is that I'd like to let people to think about the technique development track. By doing so, it can help us understand what we are doing now better.

[@IThinkSoBrain]

@@HaiYangChannel that's all I want. To separate the fact from fiction and end up with practical, teachable martial arts.

[@HaiYangChannel]

@@IThinkSoBrain Yes, I think that is what I am doing. Thank you for your support.

[@samdijulio2481]

Watching the camera shake while you send out the force through your palms was amazing. Thank you for this.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ZiranmenBerlin]

The content is very interesting! Thank you for sharing, I will be looking out for the next videos.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure, I will add more .

[@geekyman4868]

Your content is pretty dense, however, your channel is one of the most informative and complete I've found. Thank you so much for such a great and hard work, which allows people like me to understand better a so distant universe (historically and socialy) as the taoist wu shu and qi gong is.

[@HaiYangChannel]

You're very welcome!

[@meridythrancourt8824]

Thank you again, Sifu, for doing these videos. I very much appreciate you explaining your research. It allows me to understand my own practice at a much deeper level. I’m grateful to you for your teachings.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your comments. I think it's the time for me to share this kind of information with others... Take good care in Boston.

[@meridythrancourt8824]

Hai Yang Take care, Sifu.❤️

[@mushintao9486]

I have just taken a look at Yin Yang Bapanzhang book. So it says: "The arms have seven kinds of movements: yin and yang, large and small sides, chu (wrist), ru (elbow), and tui (shoulder). The waist has four kinds of movement: left, right, front, and back. The legs have four kinds of movements: yin, yang, large, and small sides." Would like someone explain these concepts?

[@nataschabenni2001]

5 minutes in, and my take away is that baguazhang's martial arts focus is basically a yin and yang pattern, alternating between neutralization and destabilization.

[@Azzataky]

I wish I would live in the place where this man lives so I could train under him. We have some chinese internal art schools here, but none good bagua afaik.

[@HaiYangChannel]

I will put more materials in the future. Thanks,

[@thomastarry2055]

Zp9 our Ichvt On

[@maduroholdings]

That is serious teaching thank you

[@HaiYangChannel]

sure:)

[@laurentmorin1923]

Thank you for the time and energy you spend sharing this very useful knowledge.

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are very welcome. You encourage me to do so as well.

[@pgskills]

First of all, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge so freely. I've admired many of your application and forms videos for several years now, but this is, in some ways, even more impressive to me. This lecture was so informative on so many different levels. For one, I don't think I've ever heard the philosophical underpinnings of the style presented in such a clear and succinct manner. The discussion on the connection with ba pan zhang and the likely components of the 'original' system as taught by Tung Hai Chuan was truly interesting and completely new to me. Your thoughts on the "newness" of ba gua zhang and the resulting disparity in the sophistication of its practice systems as opposed to its theoretical systems are absolutely fascinating and not really something I'd ever considered. It almost gives me the feeling that the art of pa kua chang is in fact still very much in development and that there are still valid new contributions to be made to our understanding of the style. Most traditional martial arts are never discussed in such a light, in my experience. Quite the opposite; it often feels like studying traditional systems is almost always primarily a process of rediscovering knowledge or details that have been lost or were not clearly passed down through the ages. It's truly inspirational to hear a practitioner of your level speak about the art's current state as a period of further necessary research, vital growth and development. Thank you again. This is true gold. I can think of no other way to describe it.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your comments. For a very long time, I had been preoccupied by other obligations. Now, I have more time, so I will be keeping posting more materials. I totally agree with you that when we practice traditional styles, we can benefit us by many aspects. Yes, Bagua is still in the developing stage, or at least for its theory... again, Thanks.

[@pgskills]

@@HaiYangChannel Thank you for the reply. I look forward to seeing more of your vids now that you have more time. I truly found this lecture of yours to be one of the most valuable MA-related materials I've come across in a very long time. Thanks again.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thank you for your kind words.

[@GFD472]

Thank you Master Yang for making these detailed and informative videos! Information of this quality and clarity is so very hard to come by! At 13:14 you mentioned aspects of the Chinese martial arts that are dear to me. Body strengthening, equipment training and weapons training. I would like to ask you to consider making some videos covering these important topics. There are so many methods that the older generations developed and trained which are no longer practiced by the current generations. The loss or neglect of these training methods produces much weaker people in my experience. I hope you will consider my request.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure I will make some videos about this topic. I will sort out what materials are more important and then gradually introduce them to the community. I had been preoccupied by other obligations and now I have more time. Thanks for your inputs!

[@GFD472]

@@HaiYangChannel Thank you very much!!

[@HaiYangChannel]

@@GFD472 You are very welcome.

[@maddbaer]

Thank you for this . Self practitioner here: learning to use the staff with this work and this helps a lot

[@HaiYangChannel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@eliasguerrero9576]

Thank you for sharing the depth of your experience! Hoping that you will teach a whole method of practice. Don't know how to support you? Will you be selling down loads or DVD's in the future??? Will you be publishing in the future???

[@illiJomusic]

Thank you for the informative content

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are very welcome.

[@fightingdancer6576]

i am very grateful and hope to study with you some day

[@HaiYangChannel]

You are welcome.

[@elpmettsol]

Master Yang, good morning! I recall speaking with you several years ago, to inquire about your online training via your website. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition. Perhaps this video provides a beginning? Thus, I liked and subscribed! Good to see you are well!🙏

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks.:)

[@houmongousdingo]

Thank you!

[@HaiYangChannel]

You're welcome!

[@spiritualphysics]

👊🏾😎👍🏼 🙏🏼😇🙏🏾

[@bredmond812]

I hope some day i can learn your 64 palms that you have been developing for 20 years.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure, that will be good.

[@fluffoo7693]

Holla from gatineau hope your foing well down in Montreal brother!!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sure.

[@maduroholdings]

I really like this a lot.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks,

[@NoverMaC]

very interesting discussion. I have a copy of the 易经 which is annotated in 白话文, need to read that at some point. I've never heard of 阴阳八盘掌 before, so that's kinda cool.interested on how similar the systems are. When I heard 'zigzag step' I immediately thought of Xingyi's 'Sawtooth Step' my contact with Baguazhang is with the Yin style as I met the Yin style Bagua guys at London. Wonder how different/similar the different system are. in the end when you demonstrated force generation is it got to do with fajin through compress and expand?

[@Purwapada]

. Oh, i'm also part of YSB london :)

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks for your inputs. The Bagua walking is bit different from Xingyi's. The Fajin exercise I demonstrated is the opposite as you described: expand and compress:)

[@buddha_hand8827]

Excellent , thank you for sharing

[@HaiYangChannel]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@samiibrahim5356]

The book mentioning "Yin Yang Bapanzhang" is actually a name change of Baguazhang, an impressive and detailed investigation was conducted that proved the author actually learned Baguazhang from a student of Dong Haichuan, before he had one of his own students write that book for him. The investigation was by the highly esteemed Kang Gewu.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Kang Gewu was wrong. There were even lawsuit against his research...

[@samiibrahim5356]

@@HaiYangChannel I was unaware of the lawsuit, what was the result, what was the charge and what did the court conclude? I read a description of Kang Gewu's investigation into the origin of Baguazhang and it seemed so impressive and well done, was this intentional deception from Kang Gewu?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Of course he made that "investigation" for his degree paper. I do not want to go further about it. Thank you.

[@samiibrahim5356]

@@HaiYangChannel Well thank you for informing me about it, I'm disappointed, I thought he did such a good job on researching the origin of Baguazhang.

[@BJ-db6nl]

老师好！您的Channel找到了我很高兴。我在Monash大学学习学了一年中文了。都您的Videos非常有趣。谢谢您！

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, I hope you will enjoy this channel. Thank you.

[@wiseowl7336]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight in baguazhang. I do have a question. Didn't the scholar Kang Gewu dispel the theory that Baguazhang came from Bapanzhang in the 80's? He visited the taoist temples and witnessed the circle walking meditative exercises. He essentially concluded after years of research that Dong Haichuan added the arts he studied in his youth to the taoist circle walking and created what he called zhuan zhang. His disciples came up with the name baguazhang later in his life.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, thank you for your comment. Your comment gives me an opportunity to talk more about this topic. What Kang Gewu, one of the people who got a Master' Degree from university in Martial Art education. I have never read his article before. I only heard a brief version about the lawsuit between him and Tian Keyan and Huang Xin. Also, his conclusion about Daoist circle walking may not have any relationship with Baguazhang walking at all. We can find this kind of circle walking in many cultures, but not necessary related to Bagua system creation. I heard that he also recognized the YinyangBapanzhang too.

[@wiseowl7336]

@@HaiYangChannel Thank you for responding Sifu. I have admired your skill for years. I started training in yin style baguazhang two years ago after many years of training in classical jujutsu and northern praying mantis. It has been a difficult but satisfying change. Your videos have been helpful in trying to understand the art. While different both yin and cheng styles operate on the same core principles. Anyway, I just subscribed and I look forward to viewing your other videos.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Again, thank you for your comments. Please come to this channel more often and share your knowledge with others as well.

[@baguapalm]

Hello Sifu can you please expand on mud stepping and when it started to be used in the Cheng school? There is a lot of controversy between schools promoting the rolling step aka Lion step (Sun style for example) and the mud stepping schools aka Snake step. Thanks for your support!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Yes, I think it is excellent idea to talk about this in the next series. Thanks for raising a good question.

[@baguapalm]

Sifu Hai Yang there is a huge gap of infos in that topic. I'm sure you will help us to fill the gap 😀

[@curtis8559]

This is exceptional!

[@HaiYangChannel]

Thanks!

[@JM-br5og]

Thank you for uploading this video, I have a question: In your opinion do you think that Bagua can defend against an MMA practitioner? I think so if Bagua would have more low to the ground techniques, I have seen one or two movements that are low, the reason why I ask is because MMA practice (wrestling, akido and jujitsu). Can you make a video of ground techniques from the three internal styles that you teach?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, I will talk about this question in the future. Basically, I think it is not only depending on a style, it should depends on individual's adaptation of the practice to different situations. thanks.

[@BeifengDaoren]

Master Yang,is there are starting date for your online course ?

[@HaiYangChannel]

I am waiting to shoot the video part at my studio after we are allowed to go back to work. Right now, Quebec is the province that has the highest cases in Canada right now...I hope things will be settled down in a couple of months.

[@HiddenPalm]

Can you review the book "Ba Gua Zhang A Historical Analysis" by Ben Hill Bey?

[@HaiYangChannel]

I do not know this book...and it is not that easy for me to read martial art books written in English. Thanks,

[@Gieszkanne]

I once read a book of a guy about Qi Gong and Wudang etc. He is also a Martial Artist. He speak Chinese and was in China and Wudang. He also wrote just offhand that he had the possibility to see some Bagua that was very different simple to learn and effective. It was a system of the triads. I thought this was bs but after seeing your video and you oppinion that bagua originaly was more simple and powerful I thought maybe the triad did keep a more simple combat orientated Bagua that is older. Maybe? I also think that Bagua is the one with best healt benefits of the 3 internal arts.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, thank you for your information. I have never heard about that Bagua was practiced by triad. But anything is possible. Thanks again.

[@rnmultimedia7162]

Hello Shifu - Thank You for taking the time to make these videos and for sharing this important information. Is there any physical activity or training exercises i can do so that I can be better prepared for Bagua Training? I have wanted to train this style for a long time but have been busy with family…

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, actually, you don't need to make any preparation before practicing Bagua. You can just start working on it. Thanks,

[@googlerfan7325]

希望楊大師 能在新的視頻 講解 [姜容樵式八卦掌] Jiang Rong Qiao style BaguaZhang 先謝了

[@HaiYangChannel]

是個好主意。 將來弄一個

[@nematpak9478]

Hi master the link of your latest clip you mentioned

[@nematpak9478]

Hi master i want to know if breathing has rule in ba gua or not thanks .

[@HaiYangChannel]

Please watch tomorrow's video that will focus on this topic.

[@victorvelez8664]

Were is located the school of yin yang eight fighting palm nowadays?!?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Some people practice it.

[@victorvelez8664]

@@HaiYangChannel who practice it. I am interested. Please give me direction on this 🙏

[@nematpak9478]

Hi master does breathing have any rule in ba gua thanks

[@HaiYangChannel]

I will talk about it in the coming video.

[@nematpak9478]

Hi master please send the link thank you very much

[@HaiYangChannel]

Sorry, I am confused. Which link? Thanks,

[@xingmenneigong]

thank you very much. Will you be making an online course for bagua and xingyi?

[@HaiYangChannel]

Yes, I am working on it. I will shoot the video after the Covid19 issue settles down.

[@tomculhane6648]

Hai Yang Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge!

[@radioface3306]

Sifu, what do you think would be the easiest for someone new to internal arts to learn? Bagua, Xing I, or Tai ji?

[@HaiYangChannel]

I have a video in the Internal Style Contrast series, and one of them talks about this topic. Please check around and have a look. Thanks

[@radioface3306]

I found it Sifu- thank you. It is “Which Style to Choose: Contrasting Xing Yi, Bagua,, & Tai Chi (9).”

[@pouyanahmad3740]

hi master how long does it take to get power if i start now ba gua thanks a lot master

[@HaiYangChannel]

Hello, sorry for not being able to answer this question. Basically, I think it depends on each individual...

[@HiddenPalm]

From now on, everyone demonstrating BaGua on video has to display FaJing power via video shake. 19:40

[@HaiYangChannel]

haha, not necessary.

[@bredmond812]

Though some say Ba Pan Zhang was the system prior to bagua, im not so sure. I have seen videos of bapan zhang, and i dont feel it really fits. The 8 different palm changes look the same, but executed with a different manner. In other bagua systems, each palm is particular and there is often a distinct body method. For example, the 摩身掌 and the 翻身掌 practice bending forward and bending backward. Altogether it feels fairly structured. Bapan looked like somebody mixed cheng bagua with 华查拳. In fact, ive read that Dong never had 8 palms and only ever compared his method to the philosophy of change like in the 易经. I think the 8 palms structure was an invention of Cheng, and Yin style teachers adapted that idea. Bapan shouldnt have it.

[@HaiYangChannel]

It is not necessary to judge the relation between two systems based on some unique movements of each style. IT should be based on historical documents and essence of practice. Thanks,

[@bredmond812]

@Hai Yang What documents are there on this point besides Ren's book? And what do you mean by "essence of practice"? And as far as historical documents go, that is not an absolute guarantee of correct information. For example, some documents claim that 岳飞 was the founder of xingyi.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Do you have any questions about Ren's book? Or does one have to provide more documents besides Ren's book? No body will guarantee of correctness of information, but one has to his/her best to provide necessary evidence. I do not support the claim that Yue Fei is the founder of Xing Yi, or do you before this claim? Essence of practice is the fundamental of a style.

[@bredmond812]

@@HaiYangChannel I dont have any particular questions about his book. Or do you mean doubts? I do have doubts about his book. I have never read it, so i dont know all of what it says, but I cant accept a claim that bapanzhang is the source of baguazhang. I am not saying its not true, but its just not something that i can yet agree with. Furthermore, when you suggested that whatever came before bagua used zig-zag or triangular stepping, and not circle stepping. That illustrated that bapan is even less likely to be the source of bagua. I'm still not clear what you mean when you say essence of practice. Just to be clear, I mean how does it differ from what is shown on a video like i watched. As far as Yue Fei goes, I definately do not believe he had anything to do with Xingyi. That is why i mentioned him. It illustrates that books are not intrinsically reliable either. The only thing reliable is cross referencing, rational thought and observation, as well as experience. Anyway, I guess the focus of my statement gets down to "disbelieve" vs. "dont believe". Let's assume "disbelieve" means that you feel sure that its not true, and "don't believe" means neither believe nor disbelieve. My stance is that i dont believe that bapanzhang is the source of baguazhang. I'm not saying i disbelieve it.

[@HaiYangChannel]

@@bredmond812 So, if I were you, I would read his book first.

[@terciary]

If there is no written sources before 1930th, (half a century after Tung Haichuan death) there is no point in “researches” its sheer speculations.

[@HaiYangChannel]

Did I use the word "research"???

[@terciary]

Hai Yang sure. For ex 6:34 "according to many scholar researches". By the way I really appreciate your structured style of explanations. Even if I (upon a 30-year practice) attained a distinctly different perception of Bagua Zhang

[@trangho5317]

@@HaiYangChannel how many disciple donghaichuan treated baguazhang in his live can your answer that question form me