Sun Lu Tang Bagua

[TheBigToad]

I was wondering if anyone knew of good sources in the way of indepth study of each animal palm shape in Sun Lu Tang's method of Baguazhang. Sort of like Dr. XeiPei has with the Yin Fu style.

Thanks
-Kevin

[Esteban]

Hi Kevin,

you probably have SLT's bagua book and, understandably, have found it relatively useless. Well, there's not a book that I know of that explains what you want. IMHO, you need oral transmission from someone who understands SLT's rationale. I can't really say, because I obviously haven't seen all of them, but, in general, the animals are similar --though names may differ slightly. Several of them are based on weapons technques (like holding a staff or spear). Anywaym ut;s necessary to have someone show you, and usually that takes a little while. At first, all they'll usually ask you to do is walk the circle. Of course, it's a lot easier to learn Sun's version of xingyi first. Then, it's just a matter of using the applications in the bagua manner. It also provides the student with a language to express the concepts. Maoshan, in another thread, mentioned "Rise, fall, drill, overturn." Add walking the circle and constant change and there you have it.

Best,
Esteban