Ba Gua in Mass.

[n0rmann]

I was interested in checking out a Ba Gua class in Massachusetts. Does anyone know of a good instructor within reasonable driving distance from Central Mass. I've heard of Buddy Tripp, but unfortunately, that's about 1 1/2 hours from where I live. I want to observe a class or two to see if its something I'm interested in. Thank you in advance.

[BAI HE]

Search by Mass on this forum. This came up a few weeks ago and
there are some Ba Gua men in central Mass.

You can also search by the word Northhampton as I recall that
was in one of the posts.

Peace, Peter.

[TaoBoxer]

Dan Crescenzo (sp) has a group of Yin Fu cats out there.....

Bill

[BAI HE]

Hey Taoboxer, how are the classes going?
Is Buddy now teaching Hsing-I as part
of the regular cirriculum?
I'll be by to visit the weekend of the 21st.
I wanted to come by earlier but the Wife
got us into some obligations that I can't
weasel out of.

Regards, Peter.

[TaoBoxer]

I think I heard him mention a Hsing I class, but I have had a hell of a time getting back to see him. Things just keep popping up.

I really need to get my sorry dembu back down there and get to work. I think I'll give the Silat a try as well.

Hope to see you guys down there.....

Bill

[TaoBoxer]

Norman.....Did you look up Dan? Do you need his contact info?

Bill

[SSgungfu]

southshoreinternalarts.com

[n0rmann]

TaoBoxer,

Thanks for the info. I haven't had a chance to look him up. Unfortunately, North Hampton is about 1 1/2 hours from where I live. A little too far because of my schedule. I work closer to Boston, and my other classes are near Worcester.

[Buddy Tripp]

Hi all,
First its weird to read my name on these boards as I have kept
out of the limelight (what is a limelight, anyway). As some of you may know I was a senior instructor at Brookline Tai Chi before
getting fed up with that. I have kept my own private students down here in Plymouth and have been satisfied with that. Recently I have been contacted by some of my former Brookline students to teach up in Boston. I am intrigued by the idea but frankly would have to quit my job (which I would love to do) in order to make the jump. So those of you that live up there, do you think there is any interest? I'd like to teach everything I know (which isn't much but I am fortunate to have GREAT teachers- Luo Dexiu and Pak Vic deThouars and formerly BK Frantzis.)
Anyway this has been on my mind.
Cheers,
Buddy

[BAI HE]

Just keep teacing Saturdays in Plymouth!
I just got out here!
I will come for a visit 7/20 and am looking forward to meeting
you.

Regards, Peter.

[phil]

just wanted to say that I just attended a seminar by Bagua/Hsing-Yi instructor Liu Dexiu of Taiwan yesterday at Charles River School of Shiatsu in Arlington, MA. The man was amazing! Very powerful, very fast, but at the same time very controlled. The seminar was on the Hsing Yi 2 person fighting form An Shen Pao. Liu broke it down on so many levels that even though we worked our butts off for nearly 4 hrs, we had a great time doing it. Very detailed instruction. The man will be holding seminars until July 15th. I strongly recommend checking him out.


Phil

[RAF]

Phil:

That sounds great. I had my teacher look at one Liu Dexiu's bagua tapes and he felt the man really has power. It comes across very clear in his stances and movements.

I've looked at a number of bagua tapes and indeed he has got to be one of the best.

[TaoBoxer]

He like....doesn't suck.....and stuff.......

[jun_erh]

**** i was going to go to that. he has tapes for sale?

[RAF]

Jun_erh:

I wouldn't buy the tapes with the expectation of learning from them unless you have attended the seminars. However, they are very good if you want to compare and contrast your style with his. Again, I found this body mechanics and alignment very informative and his movements often reminded me of the guen (rolling), zuan (drilling), zheng (piercing), and guo (wrapping) moving exercises [they also have a very definitive application of a leg lock and throw] I learned and employ in many of my movements (its kinda like the tea cup exercises found in some systems only with closed and open T stepping).

The applications were worth watching and one can only wonder what he teaches if you were following him on a full-time basis.

[phil]

so far, at the 2 days I went to his seminars, there were no tapes available at the site. There are still 2 days left (this mon and tues), so you never know. But I still recommend checking out a seminar before he's gone. His format is very hands on, giving some nei gung exercises, followed by the seminar topic, with lots of 2 person drills in between. Luo appears to be very adamant about even if you are not learning martial arts to fight, you still have to know and drill the applications so that when you do the form, the movements are very clear.

RAF, I will try to find out today for you if Luo's circle walking material can also be done on a straight line, but I know that the post heaven sets he's doing today is on a straight line.

phil

[RAF]

Phil:

I ordered his tapes from Qi magazine and they are about 1993/94.

The one tape's sound was bad so I returned it for a replacement. I thought I read on another site that new tapes might be out next year.

I hope you can post a bit more on your experiences of the seminar. It sounds as though you guys are really getting the basics which is great (I am convinced most if not all of the gold is found in the basics. Everything else is refinement. If you have nothing solid to refine then what good do advanced forms serve?).

[phil]

hey RAF,

I just finished the last of the Luo's Boston seminars yesterday. The comments that follow are based on my limited knowledge of bagua, so if anyone's reading this, don't chop my head off if I say something erroneous. Luo definitely keeps his circle walking forms separate from his linear bagua forms, ie, you don't then play the linear forms on the circle. The circle walking forms are for development of the body, reinforcement of body mechanincs and positioning, while the linear forms are pretty much just for fighting. Luo did say that you can see the principles and circles developed from the circle walking forms within the linear forms.

Luo's bagua in application is a very direct and efficient method. For example, even if the form has you turning 360, you are never turning 360 around opponent. The forms are not applied directly how they look. The reason being is that some of the movements are for direct usage but some movements are teaching you how to bind/lock up your opponent by you entering a seemingly bound up position yourself. When teaching applications, Luo's approach was kinda mutli-tiered, as 1st, we would just practice the basic principle (note principle and not technique) of the form. Then we'd move on the the correct angle to practice the principle. Next would be the set up for the technique that demonstrates the priciple. And finally, we'd put it all together, set-up, enter correct angle, apply principle thru technique.

Proper angle was a big thing with Luo. He felt that having the proper angle allowed you to miss a grab, not connect properly with a strike, etc, b'se your opponent is still in a relatively bad position to counterattack.

Also, I'd like to add that watching Luo was really watching the philosophy of bagua in action (the principle of change). No matter what you presented to him as an attack or defense, all his mind would see are possibilities. As he said with a devilish smile, "In bagua, we say, Please defend. Please catch me." It's as if you did, you made it 10 times worse for yourself. If your opponent somehow grabbed you, or latched on to you, your mentality is like you just caught him. Very interesting stuff.

alright gotta run. Sorry I couldn't say anything about specific training methods. Constructive comments welcome.

Phil

[RAF]

Phil:

That's great and thanks!!! I watched his tape a couple of more times and can only imagine.

I don't think there is a contradiction of circular and linear. Circle walking and our xiao kai men, 64 internal palm form, and 8 mother palm form seem to be used for developing various energies and conditioning. The linear forms are not completely walked as circles (except xiao kai men). They will move in a linear fashion and then add a circular piece from 64 internal palm or 8 mother palm and then return to a linear segment. Let me qualify it by saying that I am at a very elementary understanding of our bagua system so this is subject to correction or padding.

Thanks again Phil and I will look forward to reading your posts on the training.

[Buddy Tripp]

Thanks to Phil and Bill for comments about my teacher,
For me, Luo really started teaching on a more principle based structure than in years past. I am pleased Phil and Bill L. could be a party to that. I have been fortunate to have had some personal contact with this fine gentleman and wish anyone with a good heart (and wude, please) to experience my teachers work.

Cheers,
Buddy

BTW If it matters, I am my teachers rep here in NE. Period. I won't say more.

[TaoBoxer]

There is a quote that I am about to butcher horribly that says "fools talk about events, the mediocre talk about words, and genius's talk about ideas..."

I think the same can be said of martial arts. Those who teach in terms of concepts are truly practicing high art. I have had the pleasure of knowing a few and working with them.

It was great to meet Lo Dexiu and feel what he has to offer.

[Walter Joyce]

Thanks to Buddy for sponsoring Luo's seminar this year again. the third year running. Through Buddy's efforts in organizing his teacher's yearly seminar, we are all given the opportunity to study real ba gua with one of the finest teachers available anywhere.

Thanks to Luo for the amazing seminar (although I was only able to attend 3 of the six days, it was GREAT). His energy, dedication to his art and direct user friendly teaching of such a complex and subtle art make for a rare and astounding experience.

Nice to have met you TB and phil.

Good training,
Walter

[Ford Prefect]

Park Bok-Nam http://www.pa-kua.com has a student group in Boston (watertown right off the pike) that meets Saturday mornings. I was a student there for some time and continue to practice what I learned there. Park stops by the group 4-5 times a year. His skill is quite amazing. Be prepared to work your arse off on very basic things for months before you even get to learn the circle walk. The teaching style is very traditional there. Check out the site for more detail.

For the record, I boxed in college, am a blue belt in BJJ, dabbled in wrestling, judo, and thai boxing, and I still think that this training has a lot of merit. I plan on focussing on Ba Gua with BJJ as a fun supplement for the rest of my time in the arts.