Bagua and hsing-i

[lowsweep]

How would a skilled practitioner of each differ in their philosophy and strategies? What are some of their greatest strengths and weaknesses? Which, if any, is considered to be faster to become good at? (I know it's a bad question, but basically is it easier and faster to become a fairly decent fighter with xingi or bagua?) I have also heard that xingi is the art that's closest to external of the three internal arts. Is this true? What parts of it compare to external styles? I know these are some very general questions, and i am just looking for very general answers. I do not know much about the internal arts and am trying to learn more. Thanks,
adam

[Wu-Xing]

their going to be different opinions on this but here is a general,very general, one from me

philosophy and strategies;try think of it like this. hsing-i is like a solid mountain with agile footwork.bagua is like a tornado.its also been said that the types of body develped differ.hsing-i is like an iron pole, bagua is like flexible steel.It is generally thought that its easier to become good at hsing-i

sorry i cant go into more detail but im pressed for time.

[iron thread]

As Wu-Xing's goal was to give a general statement, I can't really argue with that. Hsing-I is just as internal as Bagua, and Tai Chi, it's just less aparrent to people who has not had an in depth experience with it. (I haven't either, but this is what I have been hearing from people who have)

[NafAnal]

xingyi's external apperance sort of resembles karate. I'm speaking very generally here of course.

Xingyi's 5 elements sort of resemble the stepping and punching training techniques employed by many karate schools. However xingyi has the "keys" that karate lacks or is unwilling to give beginners. i.e. focus on correct structure, alignment, intent etc.

However stance-wise the karate front stance - the most common training stance in many karate schools resembles the bow stance much more than the rear weighted xingyi stance. I find the stepping in xingyi to be very similar in external apperance to wing chun...