also known as Bagua, Bagua Zhang, Ba Gua Zhang, Pa Kua, Pa Kua Zhang, Pakuazhang, Bagua Chang, Bagua Chuan,
Bagua Cha'uan, Bagua Quan, Ba Gwa Zhang
Excepting Taijiquan, Bagua Zhang is probably the most famous and widely practiced of the Chinese internal martial
arts. As an internal martial art the power of Bagua is derived from the subtle internal energies rather than brute muscular
strength; in Bagua the explosive power of Jing is used often. Bagua practitioners are also famous for their advanced footwork
techniques giving them lightning speed and the ability to get behind an advancing opponent without them noticing that was
the intention. There are two dominant features of Bagua which differentiates it from other internal martial arts; the first
of these is the intimate connection between Bagua and the venerable philosophy of the I Ching (or Yi King). The I Ching,
or book of changes, is one of the most famous and highly regarded philosophical exports of China. Although written ostensibly
as a system of divination the I ching's 64 hexagrams are generally considered to contain a map to understanding the nature
of the whole universe; it is held in very high regard in Chinese culture as well as by many people in the West. If you would
like to find out more about the I Ching and get a free reading then go to our page of Fun Stuff and Free Stuff. The second distinguishing characteristic of Bagua is the extensive stance training in which practitioners will stand stone
still in the same stance for extended periods of time. Although it is perplexing to someone looking in from the outside this
stance training is, perhaps perversely, one of the main components in developing the agile footwork of Bagua as well as an
important aspect of Bagua power training.
We will soon be adding a Bagua animal forms section. In the mean time check out the Bagua Zhang San Shou / Applications section, our Bagua Store and the Bagua Zhang demonstration videos listed below
