Xing Yi and Bagua Forms and fighting techniques

[Tekarius]

Hi all,
I want to know how many forms does bagua and xing Yi have?
Also how are the fighting techniques different from each other?

Tekarius

[kboggess]

That question has no simple answer.

Both xingyi and bagua are not standardized with a lot of variations. They are truly still folk arts (despite recent attempts to standardize forms for competitions). Each regional variation has its own curriculum, and even within each variation, different teachers will teach different things.

Xing Yi is divided traditionally into three sub-styles based on the geographical region within which that art became popular--Shanxi, Hebei, and Henan. Shanxi and Hebei both are based on Five Element boxing. The core curriculum consists of the Five Element shapes and then the 12 animal shapes. After that, there are some longer forms and two-man forms. Again, much variation exists at all levels of the art. In my opinion, this is a strength of Xing Yi. The Henan school teaches as its core 10 animal forms. I'm not as familiar with that art, so I don't know if there are any other materials within it.

Ba Gua has even more variation. Most people divide the variations not on geographical location as in Xing Yi but on the person who popularized the art. For example, Cheng style Ba Gua is based on what Cheng Ting Hua interpreted and evolved. The arts usually consist of one or more circular forms where palm changes are performed and some include linear forms as well. Again it all depends.

Check on a another similar post on the different characteristics of the art.

Keith