Featured Baguazhang Article 7-3-2008

Art of the Chinese sword

by Philip Tom

The medieval Chinese dynasties saw great advances in metallurgy. Some, like the ability to produce cast iron, were far ahead of such technology in the Europe. Others, like the mastery of efficient, large-scale steel production, enabled the Tang and Song dynasties to become major military powers in east Asia.

Featured Baguazhang Article 6-17-2008

The Martial Arts Master Who Has Lived in Three Centuries

The Epoch Times

Sep 09, 2007

An elderly Chinese Tai Chi exponent shows off his moves. (Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images)

He is a legendary man whose life has crossed three centuries. Born in the 19th year of Emperor Guangxu's Reign of the Qing Dynasty (1893), he is 114 years old. His name is Lu Zijian and he lives in Chongqing City, Sichuan Province, China. Despite his age, he is healthy and lithe. Once considered one of the top three gong fu masters, Lu is adept at martial arts and can still move a young man of around 150 pounds 15 feet away with just one push.

Featured Baguazhang Article 5-17-2008

San Ti Shi: "Three-Harmony" Standing Exercise


from : International Sun Tai Chi Assocation
site http://www.suntaichi.com/

San Ti Shi practice is critical to all neijia practices Bagua zhang, Xingi quan and Taiji quan (Tai Chi Chuan), This article is an excellent primer

excerpt:
The San Ti Shi is based on the stances used in the Xing Yi exercise which is said to have originated by General Yue Fei (1103-1142) of the Jin Dynasty or, according to authentic historical records, by Dai Longbang during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), who passed it on to Li Luoneng, a wushu master in Heibei Province. Using internal strength cultivated through this Xing Yi exercise, Li managed to conquer every single one of his adversaries in fighting contests and earned the nickname of Holy Fighter.

Click above for more...

Featured Baguazhang Article 1-21-2008

He Jinbao Interview on Ying Style Bagua zhang

By Richard Miller
from : Great Lakes Wushu site http://greatlakeswushu.com/

A compelling interview with He Jinbao one of the leading practioners of Ying Style Bagua Zhang.

Click above for more...

Featured Baguazhang Article 1-11-2008

http://www.yinbagua.com/web/EightTrigrams.htm

By /www.yinbagua.com/

The three lines in the trigrams are used in many ways to represent the joints and areas of the body. All the trigrams are read from the bottom upward and if you picture a person standing with their arms straight up in the air and starting at the bottom you can relate the lines in trigrams to the major joints and areas of the body. The top line of the trigram represents the wrists, head, and hips. The middle line represents the elbows, torso, and knees. The bottom line represents the shoulders, legs, and ankles.

Click above for more...

Featured Baguazhang Article 11-21-2007

Chinese Boxing Classics in Translation: Problems and Perils

By Brian Kennedy
Copyright © EJMAS 2002. All rights reserved

"Translation is like a woman: if she is faithful, she is not beautiful; if she is beautiful, she is not faithful." -- Russian proverb

That Russian proverb encapsulates the core problem facing any translator. When attempting to translate Chinese boxing classics or training manuals (quan pu) (see my "Introductory History of Xing Yi Training Manuals," http://ejmas.com/jalt/jaltart_kennedy_1001.htm) from their original Chinese into English, that core problem is exacerbated by a number of other factors. Those factors are the topic of this article. Even if one never intends to do any translations, these factors are worth understanding. That way, as one reads English language translations of Chinese boxing classics or training manuals, one has a better understanding of why the translation may seem odd or disjointed, or was not quite what the reader had hoped for.

Click above for more...

Featured Baguazhang Article 11-7-2007

Bio of Fu Chen Sung
http://fu.style.wushu.googlepages.com

Fu Chen Sung (also known as Fu Qiankun, also written Fu Zhen Song) was born in MaPo village, Henan province, China. When he was eight years old, the village set up a martial arts school. They hired Chia Feng Ming (a top student of the founder of ba gua zhang, Grandmaster Dong Haichuan) and from the nearby Chen village, Chen Yanxi (an 8th generation disciple of tai chi). They would teach in a local field. After nine years Fu reached the stage "hands grasp the lively sparrow", which meant he could leap and capture a bird without hurting it. After this, he learnt the tai chi ball and then moved to Beijing, where he studied more ba gua with Ma Gui and Cheng Ting Hua, both first generation disciples of Dong Haichuan.

Click above for more...