Benefits Of Pa Kua?

I am currently taking Wing Chun(Just Started). I have been doing alot of reading on Pa Kua (Ba gua) and really like the principles of it as well as internal developement. I am however wondering what are some of its strong points and benefits that you all have find by studying this great art Are there any similarities to Wing Chun that you know of Also does anybody know of any Instructors here in Nashville, TN

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Glenn Wright ........... 615-876-1491

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principles don't change - only our understanding of them does

Thanks for the info venom, I'll give him a call.

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The main benefit of baguazhang is to longevity. The constant twisting and bowing of the spine strengthen the spine and increase mobility. It is the compression of the spine that causes aging. Bagua adds years to your life. The second benefit would be superior fighting ability.

As far as similarities with Wing Chun, I think they are very different. I am know expert about wing chun but I know that centerline is a key concept of it and bagua has NO centerline. More correctly, bagua centerline is a full 360 degrees.

As far as teachers in your area, sorry I don't know any.

Count, that theory of the back is something I have never heard before. How did you come to know about it. Could the same effect be done by stretching and bending the back in some non Bagua related excercises that you know of

As for as Wing Chun Centerline goes(and what I have so far understood about it) is that Wing Chuns Centerline to be accessible from 360 degrees around the opponent. If I divert his energy and step to the side then I am at the side of him but still facing his centerline. If I step behind him I am still facing his center line. Is this what you were talking about when you said 360 degree Centerline

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I think I know what Count is meaning about centerline, and that is that the Ba Gua man is always moving, twisting, and turning his entire body and position so there is really no centerline.

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principles don't change - only our understanding of them does

Haven't you noticed older people shrinking No, seriously, it's true the shrinking is caused by the natural compression of the spine. That combined with arthritis or other degenerative and painful conditions can make you feel older. Yes, there are lots of exercises you can do to prevent this that are not related to bagua. Tai Chi Chuan comes to mind. But bagua's emphasis on constantly twisting and un-twisting the spine is the best. One of the reasons I wanted to learn bagua was that the average lifespan of the early masters is 88.

I would caution you about stretching the back improperly. Most people think you should stretch the back by bending forward and touching the ground. In reality, what you are doing may be stretching one side of the spine but you are also compressing the other side. The spine is somewhat round. A better way is to twist and stretch straight up. This will open each vertebrae individually and allow energy to flow. A good, basic way to do this is the standard wu chi posture from Tai Chi Chuan. You need to press your head to the sky and roll your hips and pelvis under. If you are doing this correctly, you will gradually and at various intervals hear a slight popping similar to joints cracking but not the same.

As far as centerline, venerable HandsOfVenom is correct except to say that the centerline is constantly changing. That combined with the fact that in bagua, since the palm you are changing is the whole body, you hit with any part of the body from front to back and from top to bottom. I personally go for back hits with my own back or with elbows.

Count,
I tried that excercise with pushing my head and tucking in my tail. It took a minute for me to get it right, but it felt good afterwards, thanx. That concept of hitting with anypart of the bodythe way you was talking about sound really neat. I seen some pics of some of the tactics of bagua and they really impressed me. I know however that there is alot more happening with the bagua person than those pics show.

Venom I called that guy and left a message about 2 weeks ago and he never called me back. Do you know this guy I will probably try again later.

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Count is so right about any part of the body being used as a weapon I should call myself BodyOfVenom instead.
I don't know Glen Wright personally. I used to train under Bok Nam Park and know that Glen is his senior student and in TN. Sorry he didn't call you back. That reminds me of a story that was in Park's first book. He went to his teacher's door everyday and asked to be taken as a student. His teacher shut the door in his face for 6 months before taking him in. Maybe Glen is doing the same, testing your constitution!

I did think about that after he didn't call back for a while. I'll keep trying though. I like my Wing Chun, but It just seems to me that Bagua has more to offer than just great fighting abilities; like developing good mobility and good life long health benefits. I am wanting to learn something that I can pass down to my children and them to theirs that gives them good health and self protection throughout their lives. Something they would enjoy doing. That Circle Walking looks fun and productive also.

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i'm surprised you think circle walking looks fun. maybe if and when you learn ba gua and are told that you have to circle walk at least a half hour a day and you have to get as low as possible, you just may feel a bit different about it. all jokes aside, circle walking is mad WORK.
ba gua definitly will give you the life long benefits and like you, i look forward to passing on my ba gua to my children. hopefully my wife will be practicing ba gua as well. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Hey Venom I by no means meant for(Circle walking looks fun) to be interpreted as I think its easy. I know there is alot more going on there than it looks.

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I feel funny rezzing a topic from 8 years ago, but I was on google and stumbled into the topic...if you feel like going back and looking at the original post, I am pretty much in the same boat...studied Wingchun in San Diego and am in the process of moving back to Nashville...handling some family business in AZ atm and will be back next week...ANYWAY... I watched Jet Li's The One last weekend and was taken by Bagua. Since then I purchased a book just to learn more about the history of the style and have been watching some vids on youtube to get more of a feel for it.

I have seen Glenn Wright's name tossed around over the net, but not sure if he is still teaching. I contacted another teacher in the area, but he only teaches students/faculty/staff at Vanderbilt University. Haven't had much luck locating any other teachers or schools in Nashville, so just wondering if I can get some help. Thanks!

Let me add a bit, the main purpose of pakua, what it really introduced into traditional Chinese martial arts is nothing to do with chi gong or any of that nonsense. What pakua brought to the table and what made it spread across China in the late 1800s like Brazilian Jiu jitsu did in the 1990s was the focus in pakua on turning rapidly around the back of the opponent. Very close quarters turning (you around opponent, opponent around you) which allows you to take the opponents back are what pakua did to so impress Chinese martial artists of the late Qing and Republican period.

The comparisons between the explosive spread of pakua and BJJ are quite interesting from a historical standpoint. Pakua is not about the I-Ching, wonderbar "chi powers" or shrinking people.

take care,
Brian
p.s. pakua carries with it considerable risk of jacking up your knees. So use you head, study a bit about how your knees work (in modern anatomy books) and don't allow someone to get you to do something that obviously harms the knees just because they tell you "oh this is traditional practice'. For example extended periods of circle walking is ****ing pointless. Walking around a circle looking at your hands does not do anything except kill time and wreck your knees.

Well - as long as you do it correctly, you won't wreck your knees (unless you have had previous problems with them already); for many baguazhang practitioners, walking the circle is their primary practice method, with many resulting benefits.

(Let me add that it is also one of the only ways to reduce the symptoms of hayfever for me - that and eating plain yogurt )