Bajiquan

[BaldMonk]

Count,

Training is going really good. At the school we're training Jing Gao Ba Shr intensively and The four basic Piqua lines. At work I'm running an informal workout where I get a lotta good martial artists from other styles to cross hands with. Then there's the usual getting ready for Chinese new year thing.

It's interesting you listed that link. I was just there. The flavor is similar to my cousin's in Boston.

I'm gonna give you a call either today or tommorow so we can chat about your bruises

Peace
BaldMonk

PS have you check out Paolo's website?

[count]

LOL, my bruises are healing fine, but the circle and name is a reminder of the revenge to come. bwahahhahha.

I believe most of those clips are third generation Wu Tang. Quite a banging in the 10th one.

I'll check out Paolo's site. I haven't seen it for a couple of months.

Talk to you later.

[omarthefish]

Thanks SPJ, Bald Monk, TAO YIN and others.

It was particularly nice to get the positive comments from the couple of you who don't know me and didn't know that it was me. I would have enjoyed it if Count and/or Bald Monk hadn't blown my cover so quickly. I put it up on emptyflower where everyone knows me and my username is my Chiense name so anyone who understands Chinese would here my name being announced at the beggining of the clip, but I don't post a lot here so I thought it might be fun to get some "unbiased" reviews.

Either way, I really like all the discussion it started and more than that the flurry of Baji clips that other people have put up in the past week has been very cool.

[BaldMonk]

Omar,

Sorry for busting you out. We didn't really though.

Hey Count,

Where were those clips from? I mean I know they were from John Wang but I didn't realize those guys were my kung fu cousins.

Peace
BaldMonk

[count]

baldMonk,

Check your PM.

The Baji families are all cousins.

[blackmantis]

Is Bajiquan considered to be an internal martial art? I've always thought of it as an internal system but some people (B.K.Frantzis) describe it as an internal/external system. If this is the case then so is Xingyiquan surely?

I've also heard that originally Baji and Bagua were the same art and that they separated. I don't know how true this is as I believe the "ba" relates to different things. Does anyone have any comments about this?

Any information anyone?

Many thanks,

S

[Mortal1]

My Sifu said it is internal/external too.

[gfx]

There's no such thing as internal/external styles.

Bajiquan is a style with sophesticated power generation method that is similar to XingYi. Baji has nothing to do with BaGua, although some say that XingYI and Baji has the same root.

Baji ( Eight extreme ) was originally called "Bazi" ( rack ), it later changed it's written characters over to "Baji", which is pronounced the samed in HeiBei dialect. This is probably done to make the style sound more intelligent. i.e "Rack Fist" vs "Eight Extreme Fist". It's just a name, don't read too deeply into it.

[Mortal1]

There's no such thing as internal/external styles.

lol Why because you say so?

I respect your response but a little condescending. no?

Thanks for enlightening us.

[count]

There's no such thing as internal/external styles.

lol Why because you say so?

I respect your response but a little condescending. no?

Thanks for enlightening us.

No, because there are only internal and external training methods. Not styles. Baji has internal and external training methods depending on the teachers level of experience.

[blackmantis]

So how are Xingyi and Baji different?

[Three Harmonies]

"Internal / External" were terms coined by Sun Lu Tang at the begginning of the century. Prior to that no one used these terms, and even today the overwhleming majority of Chinese (or those who have trained in China) do not use this nomenclature (unless they have been conditioned by the western BS attitude of qi balls from outer space and what not). So no, not because he says so.....because there is not "internal/external"! Principles are principles. Once you are relaxed, and have proper body mechanics and structure power is generated without interruption.
As for Bagua and Baji being the same.....I think you are confusing Piqua and Baji. They were originally the same art, and had a split somewhere down the line. Bagua is totally different in falvor than Baji.
Baji / Xing Yi being the same...... I still train Baji on my own, but do not teach it, nor focus much on it anymore because I have found the same (if not more) apps, power, etc. in my Xing Yi training. They are certainly identical, but unique none the less. Many argue that one or the other were the root of the opposite, but I was not alive hundreds of years ago, so I cannot comment on such a thing.
Hope this helps.
Jake

[Brad]

was originally called "Bazi" ( rack )

"rake" not "rack"

[SPJ]

Yes. as if you rake the leaves or some dirts etc.

I truly enjoy Ba Ji over all. Everything is so apparent.

Tong Bei/Pi Gua are also very cool. Altho, part of aging, my flexibility is waning.

Ba Ji was the most popular style in Kuo Shu Guan era in the 1930's.

Tong Bei 24 hands were part of the condensed forms in Kuo Shu Guan era, too.

Tong Bei plus Shuai Jiao is most interesting.

[RAF]

Jake, just as a side note, Sun Lu Tang also learned baji in his youth. Its in Tim Cartmell's translation of his Xing Yi.

Baji also also has a strong affinity with Chen's pao chui or cannonfist.

The training methods seem to overlap, in my experience, among baji, xing yi and Chen's taiiji's pao chui.

However they all have their unique way of delivering power---baji seems to also have a lot of elbow work and kao which tends to blend well with the other two.

As far as bagua goes, it not only marches to the beat of a different drummer, it has its own orchestra and musical scale.