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Hey there everyone! I have taken extreme intrest in Baguazhang and I have been searching for schools, but in my area, there are none that I can find. So what should I do? Give up? I mean, I've read that the real way to learn is through an actual teacher, not a book or video...any advice? I live in Florida BTW. Thanks in advance!
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what city in fl?Originally Posted by Laz
from http://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=509
Name: Andrew Chung
School: Chung's Luk Hop Kung Fu & Tai Chi
Address: 3300 SW 46th Avenue, Bay 3, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314
Phone: 954.224.9940
E-mail: chungtaiqi@aol.com
Website: http://www.chungskungfu.com
Styles: Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, Hebei Hsing-I Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, Hakka Kuen, Wing Chun
Teacher Name : Benjamin Sanchez
School : Heaven Man Earth International (Miami)
Address : 1 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL, USA
Phone : 305 360 9198
Email : benjamin@heavenmanearth.com
Website : www.heavenmanearth.com
Styles : Taiji
Lineage : Huang Sheng Shyan
Name Nick Scrima
School Chinese Martial Arts Center
Address 1370 Main St., Dunedin, FL
Phone 727.734.8222
E-mail kungfu@usa.com
Styles Mizong Luohan; Fan Tzi Eagle Claw; Yang Taijiquan; Xingyiquan;
Baguazhang; Shuai Jiao
Misc International CMA Tournament, every summer, in central Florida
Name Shifu Elio Tarrago
School Essence of Evolution
E-mail infocmia@chinesemartialinternalarts.com
Website Essence of Evolution
best,
bruce
Happy indeed we live,
friendly amidst the hostile.
Amidst hostile men
we dwell free from hatred.
http://youtube.com/profile?user=brucereiter
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hi Laz.
welcome aboard.
may i ask what interests you in Baguazhang? and what are your goals for learning it?
if you can figure that out, it will help u find what u are looking for.
baguazhang is a woderfully complicated art compared to a basic kick and punch approach. i mean that it is heavily layered.
i agree with my grandteacher Hung that learning xingyi first is best way to go, since you would learn how to utilize the structure of the "internal" arts faster as well as create a strong base of fighting techs and strategies faster. of course u can learn bagua without previous experience. but the general fighting flavor, if one wants to call it that, would be a heck of a lot easier if u already have some kind of base and experience.
honestly, finding the best and most capable teacher in your area is what i most recommend - regardless of style. if you have an ok bagua guy but an excellent yi quan guy near you, learn that!
just never try to learn from a book or video!!!! those are really only truly used as references for students.
looking at the names provided, i would go and check them all out, and see which one feels like it fits you the best.
btw, glad to see and EoE school around! su dong chen has a great method of breaking things down!
har har har
the foundation of bagua is walking the circle... even without a school you can simply train the foundations as long as you like until you do find a school, at which point you will have a solid foundation to begin taking external lessons if and when the time comes.
personally, the best teacher is yourself... think about it, when someone shows you something, they don't do it for you, they just show you and in order to be shown something, you must watch and imitate - osmosis, it truly is freely available for anyone to use at any time.
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There's also post heaven (linear) bagua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22PM_Rz20k
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Well thanks for all the replies guys, it is much appreciated!
har har har
i was amazed in the similarity of movements between this video and my own form.
is it safe to assume that is you demonstrating??
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Very unsafe. I do not practice Bagua. Although, I am currently investigating the History, Peoples, and subgroups of Bagua.
har har har
the beauty is found in the circles. thanks for the video...
O R’LYEH? IA, R’LYEH!
Well thanks for all the replies guys, it is much appreciated!
Laz,
Some advice for ya, maybe you will find it useful. While the movements you see in youtube clips are amazing the "real deal" comes in doing alot of circle walking, just basic focused circle walking. If you've done a sufficient amount of that.. the rest of it is a much less difficult proposition.
Here is the thing though.. if you only practice in class.. and especially if you only walk the circle in class.. you will always suck at bagua. Period. (well unless you have 4 hours of class per day or something weird). You can get good at fighting alot easier than you can get good at bagua!
You have to learn how to practice on your own and do it very well and regularly. Most bagua people will tell you, if they are honest, that this is always a challenge.
So while you need to find the best teacher you can, with the best method.. you only need to learn a few things from them in the first few years.. specifically the circle walking method.
Learn that, and how to stand the bagua way.. and go train it till it's a living thing you have dreams and nightmares about. And almost all of that training will be just you "in the yard".. grinding it out. That's what it takes, and if you don't give it that.. you will always suck at bagua.
And the messed up thing is.. even if you succeed at doing the circle walking hard enough for long enough (years worth) it will mean very little to most people (even so-called bagua people).
It has to be worth it to you.. and only to you. Good luck!
"The first stage is to get the Gang( hard, solid power). every movement should be done with full power and in hard way, also need to get the twisting and wrapping power, whole body's tendon and bones need to be stretched to get the Gang( hard) power. "
-Bi Tianzou -
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How many minutes/hours per day do you recommend someone to practice? This could be beginners-experts.
Not being a Bagua practitioner, it seems like people describe Bagua as requiring more time for practice than other styles.
O R’LYEH? IA, R’LYEH!
I can't say from my own experience because I'm not living up to the standards I've chosen to follow myself.
My teachers (past and present) have advised as follows..
Sifu Glenn always said that one hour of circle walking per day for a year was the absolute minimum to BEGIN to understand the circle walking practice. This was a heel-toe "natural step" style of circle walking practice (similar to how He Jinbao walks the circle only not quite so macho looking).
Yang Laoshi my present teacher says that he wants us to go through lots of shoes walking the circle. The style of circle walking he teaches uses a "grinding" kinda step with the heel down and the toe elevated, preferably on rough surfaced tile, asphalt or concrete, to get the good friction.
I'm figuring that amounts to at least an hour a day of circle walking (and a method of walking that is tough enough you have to stop for breath every 10-15 minutes or so).
So most serious bagua teachers in the lineage preach a similar gospel.
An hour a day is the minimum they want to see to know you are serious as a casual student.
Three hours a day for 10 years is the traditional prescription for "inheritors".
Please note I am stating OUTRIGHT I am not at this level of dedication (neither the 1 hour nor the 3). I get maybe 3 hours a week in dedicated circle walking (static upper body or single palm change).
Last edited by dimethylsea; 01-06-2010 at 04:10 PM.
"The first stage is to get the Gang( hard, solid power). every movement should be done with full power and in hard way, also need to get the twisting and wrapping power, whole body's tendon and bones need to be stretched to get the Gang( hard) power. "
-Bi Tianzou -
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More awesome replies thanks guys
Last edited by Laz; 01-06-2010 at 06:58 PM.
Registered User
Aha, this is a thread I planned to start. What shoes do you use? Do you use different shoes for different styles?More awesome replies thanks guys
I prefer thinner sole shoes so there is less likelihood for collapsing an ankle. I have used Converse Chuck Taylor, but they don't fit me at my big toe. Presently I'm using Adidas Rod Laver tennis shoes and Adidas Samba indoor soccer shoes.
har har har
i wear leather keens... waterproof, non-slip... i also been wearing leather snow boots alot this year so far when training.
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