Baguazhang’s palm turning is a high-level dynamic stance, which contains the most superior internal Qigong and is the supreme secret of Taoism. In the three years of minor success, the main focus is on practicing palm turning and understanding the thirty-six rhymes. In the seven years of major success, the main focus is on studying the forty-eight methods. The primary stage of Baguazhang focuses on practicing body techniques, the intermediate stage focuses on studying usage, and the advanced stage focuses on practicing the inner strength of the mind. In the advanced stage, you still need to walk and turn constantly, but the requirements for your mind are completely different. In the primary and intermediate stages, you mainly practice the outside, and practice and understand how to walk in circles and how to apply them under the guidance of the thirty-six rhymes and forty-eight methods. It is mainly based on practicing the tangible (quality, speed, skills, techniques, and body techniques) with the combination of inside and outside, which is a stage of following the rules. The advanced stage is mainly about practicing the invisible, practicing both inside and outside, and focusing on the changes of mind, which is a stage of breaking the rules. Use the eight palms directly to move my sword.
The basic method of practicing internal strength in Baguazhang is the internal power static stance and dynamic stance. Through the static stance of sinking shoulders and dropping elbows, holding the chest and pulling the back, twisting the waist and sitting on the hips, bending the legs and wading in the mud, relaxing and regulating the breath, and being soft and calm, the internal strength is generated, and then through the dynamic stance and turning the palms, the internal strength is used in boxing. The focus is on sitting in meditation to cultivate the Tao and refine the Qi, and then the internal Qi is transformed into active strength through turning the palms. It is necessary to have profound internal strength to practice Baguazhang. The power of breathing must be coordinated with the turning and walking. When practicing the moves, pay attention to the use of Qi, and Qigong will naturally form. This is natural and flexible Qigong. When walking, turning and boxing, pay attention to the fingertips, and the finger strength will naturally become strong over time. Use the fingertips more often instead of the base of the palm to exert force, and seek to penetrate the force instead of trying to hit the opponent from a distance. Inch force hitting someone can easily cause internal injuries. Pressing on the ribs may not be obvious on the outside, but it can injure the internal organs. Relax the shoulders and drop the elbows, empty the neck and top strength, connect each joint, coordinate the whole body, hit the opponent with the front hand, and exert force with the back hand, and the intention must be deep. Find a small tree of moderate size, press the tree with your fingers first, then suddenly hit it with the base of your palm, making sure your whole body is in unison. The moment your palm touches the tree, your whole body tenses up, intending to knock the tree down. Then, return your center of gravity, and resume your usual relaxed state. Leave the base of your palm and press the tree with only the tips of your fingers. Start with the Shunbu style, with your right palm hitting your left palm and then supporting it. Baguazhang teaches people to send. Baguazhang is like pushing a mill. Anyone who has pushed a mill knows that if you want to grind grains finely, it is definitely not possible to push straight. The strength in your hands must send the mill rod out, and send it “flat, round, long, and far”. You must also “send” a downward grinding force, which is called retention. Baguazhang is about sending and retaining, which cannot be achieved by standing still. Therefore, Bagua disciples do not stand still, but seek “sending and retaining” in movement. Bagua is like pushing a millstone. In addition to pushing forward, you also need to push downward. Baguazhang needs two forces to transform at any time when taking a step. If you understand the principles of these two forces, you can understand why Baguazhang’s moves are ever-changing. Baguazhang and Taoist Kung Fu are both external and internal, and they are based on objects. The mind is inside, and the principles are all around the objects. The objects are outside, and the principles are in the mind. Take things from the body near and from far, change the strange and the regular, and use them endlessly, while combining hardness and softness, and both emptiness and reality. It is empty but not empty, and not empty but empty. This is the wonderful use of Baguazhang.
After a few years of pure Baguagong, changes will inevitably occur inside and outside the body, and the strength will gradually become different. When I started practicing, I didn’t know what relaxation was, and I didn’t understand why relaxation could hit people. As my skills grew, I released my own clumsy strength and generated the strength of internal boxing. The initial rigid force is hard force, which cannot be said to be true rigid force. It hurts and injures people, but it can be regarded as a gradual entry. Then the hard force is loosened and a soft force is generated, which can be used to send people away. With the level of skill, it can reach the level of sending people several feet away without hurting them. It is divided into foot force and inch force, and gradually you have understood the force, so-called turning rigidity into softness. With further skill, real rigid force will appear again, which is incomparable to the previous hard force, so-called turning softness into rigidity. As for whether you can achieve the combination of rigidity and softness, and move purely with the spirit, it depends on your understanding. The generation of these forces is based on the overall force.
Baguazhang double-holding palms with fingers separated and concave, like holding a balloon with a diameter of 50 to 60 cm, imagine walking in the mud in shoulder-deep water, neither letting the ball run away nor squeezing the ball. Imagine that the water waves impact the ball to float up and down, move to the chest and other directions, no matter where it moves, it must be stopped, so that the ball moves with the person. The other six forms of fixed palm are similar to these two forms. Don’t think too much, otherwise you will feel dizzy. As your skills deepen, your thoughts gradually fade, and you can feel that they are there and not there. Ignore all kinds of feelings that appear, and let everything go naturally.
Baguazhang requires you to focus on the end of your fists and concentrate. You must not slip in the form when practicing and sparring. You must feel that there is a real opponent in front of you. The hands move with the body and do not move automatically. They only move when changing forms. Because the hands do not move, there are no gaps around the hands. In the absence of obvious movements in the appearance, it hurts the enemy with its unique structure while walking. You must pay attention to training your waist. Only when the waist is strong and flexible can the body be flexible and powerful. The waist is loose, active, and flexible. The waist changes into virtuality and reality, and the virtuality and reality produce changes in momentum. Only then can you achieve the waist leading the steps, the body turning with the steps, the palm changing with the body, the steps turning with the palm, and the upper and lower parts are connected, and the whole body is one. When the palm moves, the body moves first, and when the body moves, the waist moves first. Use the waist to drive everything. If you can practice until your hips are not moving forward, your waist can move freely like a millstone turning to the center of the circle, or even beyond the center of the circle, and your hands can turn around behind your back, it means that your waist and hips have been completely loosened and your waist strength has been trained. The waist is like an axis, and it turns when you push it, so that I can follow the back of the person and reach the point where my hands are like wheels. Walking in circles is one of the effective ways to practice waist skills.
When practicing Bagua steps, start with walking, which is a straight line forward. After you become proficient, you can start practicing walking in circles, with the inner foot straight out and the outer foot buckled inward, the head straight and the body relaxed, the shoulders and elbows dropped, the abdomen full and the chest open, and the legs wrapped around the crotch. Press your hands down on the dantian, like pressing floating wood. The body should be like sitting in a sedan chair, not leaning up and down, not falling forward or backward, rubbing the knees and shins, the soles of the feet are empty, the palms are not exposed in front, and the hooves are not exposed in the back. When landing, the five fingers grasp the ground, the feet are empty in front and solid in the back, the walking is like flowing water, the steps are like wading in mud, the mind is focused, the qi enters the dantian, the eight sides are supported, the body is like a twisted rope, and it is stable and accurate before seeking speed. Turn the palm and step forward with the front leg, move the center of gravity to this leg, follow the back leg, and lift the back leg with the hip. At this time, the back leg must be relaxed, and the legs must be clamped when walking to achieve the effect. There are two types of buckle swing: three steps and four steps. Stop after one step, count the breaths, and then step again. After stopping, step again. Baguazhang requires stability and change. The mud step is to exercise this. Therefore, when walking in the mud step, you need to be steady and low-key, and slowly experience the use of hips to walk and turn. When practicing, the speed is slow and the footwork is low. The front foot walks in the mud like twisting a hemp rope, and walks with the hips clamped. If you walk and turn correctly, you will feel a warm feeling in the back of the waist. Walking in circles is a unique, simple, efficient and important skill of Bagua.
Traditional Baguazhang is to walk eight steps first, and then walk smaller when the skill is deep. The old eight steps are equivalent to the current sixteen steps. One step walks one hexagram position, which is now two steps walk one hexagram position. The circle is five feet in diameter, and walks and turns in eight steps. Lower the frame when turning in circles, the slower the better. When walking in a circle, the outer foot can be turned inward at any time, and the inner foot can be turned outward at any time to deal with enemies outside the circle. When practicing, you must sit instead of squatting. Squatting will cause the waist to stagnate, while sitting will make the waist active. Use bricks to surround a circle with a diameter of 2 meters. The bricks should be placed flat on the ground. There should be no space in the middle. The top of the head and shoulders should be loose, the back should be tight, and the chest should be empty. Both hands can be clasped in front of the chest. The body should be turned 90 degrees inward to face the center of the circle. First, the body should be squatted, and the feet should be raised and placed flat. The hooves should not be turned over and the palms should not be exposed. Second, it should be like a boat pole, with the front foot like a boat and the back foot like a pole moving forward alternately. Third, the scissor-leg mud-wading step should be used to grind the knees and shins. When the legs alternate, they should be shaped like scissors, and the inner thighs should be rubbed against each other. The inner knees and inner ankles should all be rubbed against each other. The feet should not be raised, and the lifted foot should not be higher than the ankle of the standing foot. Fourth, it should be slow, it must be slow, start and end slowly, move forward slowly, and the whole body should be relaxed and heavy without any tension.
You need to practice turning palms for at least an hour and a half each time. Only by persisting can you achieve success. When walking, pull your hips and you will have everything. Be as steady as sitting in a sedan chair without moving, walk like a floating log in the water, and be as steady as a mountain when you pull your body and change postures. Practicing postures when changing directions can help you develop special Baguazhang skills. If you practice single circles for a long time and then practice postures and basic eight palms, you can practice Bagua strength and improve your skills quickly. The combination of routines and turning circles can complement each other. When turning 360 degrees with big bends and big buckles, the standing foot cannot step on the ground with you. Only after the swinging foot touches the ground can the standing foot move. The purpose of grinding the tibia is to experience walking in the mud and experience resistance, not to really walk on the ground. The lower body training method is at the level of the thigh. If you can reach the lower body, you will experience the charm of Baguazhang. The Bagua drum step uses the drumming of the waist and abdomen to enhance the power of the lower limb movement and hide the sweeping power.
The secret of Baguazhang lies in the palm rotation (single palm change). If you master one form, you can master hundreds of forms. The ever-changing forms are in your mind. You don’t have to practice all eight palms. Just practice the single palm change, and the principle of change will come naturally. It is enough to work hard on the single palm change or palm rotation. Beginners only practice the standing practice and single palm change. At the beginning, they must understand the requirements thoroughly and think about every word. If there is one thing that cannot be done, the practice is in vain, and the qi will float up easily. You should be calm and slow down to practice one move at a time. Baguazhang is a slow practice. After three to five years of single palm change, and the requirements from head to toe, from inside to outside must be met (if there is one thing that cannot be done, it is equivalent to practicing in vain), internal strength will naturally be generated, and the body will feel whole strength, and it will be easy to practice other routines. Single and double shun is the basic palm method. The form is simple, but the body method is difficult to practice. If you practice single and double shun well, you will get the true meaning of Bagua.
All the changes of Baguazhang are based on single palm change and double palm change. The essence of the different single palm changes is correct, and the appearance is very casual, so there are many ways to use the single palm change. The single palm change is simple in form and profound in meaning, and it is very practical, and it contains all the skills of Baguazhang. The other seven palms are mostly variations, but the basic skills are in the single palm change. Among the basic skills, as long as the footwork and single palm change are correct, Baguazhang has been mastered more than half, and more practice will be needed in the future to increase the skills. Otherwise, no matter how many palm methods you master, they may only have empty forms, so you should practice more walking, turning and single palm change. The action of single palm change is definitely not entirely because of fast action and strong power. It doesn’t matter whether you are really strong or fast. As long as your opponent thinks you are fast and strong, it’s fine. Maybe you are not fast and strong, and this is the real strength and speed that you have cultivated. Most of it comes from cleverness. The use of single palm change should be combined with the requirements of hidden legs, starting with swinging, following the steps, swinging to the position, and buckling to the place, so that the fight can be crisp; taking the diagonal position is the specialty of Baguazhang, which can immediately form an advantageous situation of two hands against one hand and two feet against one foot. Pay attention to the use of hidden legs, and don’t let the opponent raise his legs or knees.
Baguazhang’s Xiantian palm slowly dances in order to nourish the internal energy, while the Houtian palm emphasizes actual combat. The fixed-position eight palms are mainly for cultivating the essence and practicing the qi, the dragon-shaped palm is mainly for practicing the body method, the eight-sided palm is mainly for practicing fighting against multiple people, the old eight palms are for the dynamic shaping of hitting people, and the 64-style free-hand is for fighting. Single palm change exercises qi and strength (internal image); double palm change exercises qi and skills (external image); the snake-shaped palm is used for extension and contraction (taking its form); the clasp palm is used for flat support (force penetrates ten fingers); the palm method of the upper body of the palm is mostly yang-yang; the palm method of the palm close to the body is close to yang-yin; the palm method of the palm turning over is close to yang-yin; the palm method of the palm of the palm following the trend is close to yin-yin. Single change is mainly based on pushing palms, which changes in the invisible, while the other palm styles have tangible changes. Although their shapes are different, their principles are the same. The Bagua twisting shoulders and lifting arms can get the power of the back, just like the bear’s chopping palm can break the lion’s head, which is the secret of the bear’s arm. The chopping palm is to move the crotch and hips in the middle of walking and turning, and exert force in a horizontal spiral; the tuck palm is to compress and exert force from the bottom; the collapsed palm is to twist the waist to the opponent’s chest and abdomen while twisting the body.
The Bagua Palm “Chest Hanging Seal Leg” is to suddenly turn around and raise the knees while walking and turning, and use the hips to push the feet out, while the body leans back accordingly to form a struggle with the front leg to maintain the stability of one foot support. After the internal strength has been slightly improved (the body movements are basically neat and unified, the eyes and hands can keep up, the weaknesses can be basically protected, and the opponent’s three points can be identified at a glance, and the basic beats can be known), the three-piercing palm is like the left and right straight punches in boxing, but faster, more flexible, with guards (steps) and hidden kicks, the piercing hands and footwork are continuous, and the opponent’s left and right backs are always behind and try to control one hand with both hands. The three-piercing palm basically does not require the unity of the original energy, does not require force, and does not talk about the front and back hands. It only requires the body movements to keep up, the basic beats and the quick moves.
Baguazhang Xiantian Palm takes oneself as the center point, waits for action in stillness, and imagines that the enemy attacks oneself from different directions. Facing south and back north, the two feet do not move, and only need to turn left and right and twist the body to practice palm techniques, and the feet can move freely in all directions. The post-natal palm is to turn the palm, take walking as the basis, control stillness with movement, take the enemy as the center point, and attack the opponent by changing the palm left and right. There is only one single change palm and stepping palm, and there are no eight palms. It is based on walking and controls stillness with movement, and takes the enemy as the center point. It attacks the opponent by changing the palm left and right. Focus on exerting force while walking, but the connection between any palm styles must be an arc change of the basic palm style. It also emphasizes that the torso must be kept in the middle at any angle, and the arc twisting and rolling of the palms are all driven by the high, low and side-to-side movement of the body.
The principle of Baguazhang movement makes full use of the characteristic that joints are the power hub. The changes in palm styles and the movement of footwork are all obtained by the 360-degree rotation of the four major joints, shoulders and hips. Cooperate with the spiral twisting of the arms to ensure that the force reaches the fingertips directly, and the uniform state is achieved wherever it touches.
Bagua Zhuang is a wooden pole. You can practice one to four of them. More is not necessary. If you practice all kinds of exercises, three are enough. The distance between the poles should be different to fully develop your skills. You can practice the eight palms one by one on the pole. First practice the correction movements alone, then try them on the pole to strengthen the muscles and internal energy, and develop the habit of one palm with the whole arm, and then one palm with the whole body. Bagua does not advocate keeping the center, but takes the opponent’s center as your center. In the process of walking, hide your own center, and avoid walking straight and walking diagonally. The purpose of walking diagonally is to hit the opponent’s center.
Baguazhang’s circle is nothing more than constantly circling and turning, while still being able to relax the body, quiet the mind and feel comfortable, and then seek movement in stillness to achieve concentration without chaos. Circle is a more special training method. When you go deep into the high level of Baguazhang, you will find that you have to turn, which is to twist all parts of the body, so when the Baguaquan posture comes out, it will drive a movement. When performing single palm change, you must grasp the momentum and the body must follow the momentum. The Baguaquan stance forms a forward momentum and a twisting momentum, which is actually the force moving. At first, the body generates momentum, and later, the whole momentum drives the body. The characteristic of Baguazhang is extreme twisting, and the center should be shrunk as small as possible. Baguazhang seeks change. To produce change, you must shrink your center. The smaller the center, the faster the change and the larger the range of change. Once the momentum is spread out, it is like a net. Baguazhang advocates first seeking inner strength and physical and mental balance, especially emphasizing that external courage is purely internal, and self-confidence and martial arts are generated through internal cultivation. The seemingly simple circle can generate a vortex that allows the practitioner to amplify, mix, and control natural energy through himself and the world. This twisting effect generates spiral energy waves according to the practitioner’s mind. At the same time, this energy can also drive his form and qi in turn. In the advanced stage of Baguazhang, this vortex can soar into the sky and sink to the ground at the same time, and produce amazing killing and destructive effects. Rotation is the best way to exert power. No matter if it is as hard as steel or as soft as water, once it rotates, it will generate infinite power. The rotation of steel is certainly not easy to approach, the whirlwind caused by the rotation of air is also extremely powerful, and the whirlpool caused by the rotation of water is even more terrifying. The body is like a flowing circle, while blocking the moves, it attacks. The spherical or arc shape can withstand stronger pressure, and can also actively convert or deflect energy through the spiral. To master this technique, each movement should be completed with intention rather than force.
There are fast and slow ways to turn in Baguazhang. Fast turns can train body skills, footwork, and eye skills. Long turns can make the feet active and the body skills very flexible. What is being trained is the body skills of the legs and feet. Slow practice is also called fine practice. The effect is to develop internal strength. What is being trained is internal energy. Emphasis is placed on training energy, and gradually experiencing the transformation of yin and yang (hip). The slower the better, and the slower the better. In coordination with breathing, it should be slower than Tai Chi. Baguazhang emphasizes walking in a pile. Slow practice always uses one foot to support the body weight, and finds the horizontal of Baguazhang. Large circles train strength, small circles train kung fu, and Bagua walking in a circle is to be led by the dantian. All power is generated by the soles of the feet, so every step is a solid foot, the two legs are light and heavy, and the body is extremely relaxed. With the rotation of the hips, the two legs become air pumps, and the energy is generated very quickly. Turning in circles unifies basic skills and the highest level of kung fu into a very simple, rich and profound training method to increase kung fu. Although practicing routines can increase kung fu, it can never replace turning in circles.
The characteristics of Baguazhang can be achieved through the practice of turning circles. First of all, the body frame must be in accordance with the rules. The strength of the hands and feet comes from the waist, and the vitality of the waist is released. If you want the waist to be active, you must collapse your waist and sit on the hips. If you want to collapse your waist and sit on the hips, you must sink your shoulders and elbows, and slide your hips along your neck. If you slide your hips, you must suck in your hips and wrap your crotch. If you wrap your crotch, you must bend your knees. If you bend your knees, you must relax your toes and put your center of gravity on your feet. Only when the above joints are coordinated and connected can the force reach the limbs. This is “strictly observing the four drops”. The core of turning circles is that the twisting degree of the body turning and walking must meet the requirements of the essentials. It is just circling a large circle, and the body frame itself does not twist and rotate in place in unison with the body and steps. The large circle movement is called revolution, and the twisting of the body frame itself is called rotation. The twisting degree of the body frame during revolution must meet the requirements. Long-term circle practice of several single palms can train the power of walking and fighting.
When practicing single palm change, the palm faces the front, and continue to work hard, the palm faces the center of the circle. After that, continue to practice hard to make the palm pass the center of the circle and the chest face the center of the circle. Although you have a certain level of skill at this time, your body frame is still not twisted in place. Without going beyond this level, your skill cannot produce a fundamental breakthrough. On this basis of single palm change, when the chest and waist pass the center of the circle, turn your head to the shoulder socket of the inner circle shoulder, put your chin on the shoulder well point, and put the palm and fingers of the back palm under the elbow tip of the front palm. The elbow tip of the back palm faces the navel, and the front palm faces the back heel, that is, the palm root of the front palm and the heel of the back foot are on a vertical line. Only in this way can the body frame be twisted in place. In this way, the body frame of single palm change can move freely, like flowing clouds and water, and the palm can be changed and changed suddenly. It shows that the limbs, waist and hips and the joints of the whole body have been unlocked and connected, and the force naturally reaches the four ends. The whole body must be full of strength. According to the body frame of the downward, upward and reverse circle, practice until the whole body is twisted into a rope, and the whole strength obtained is also called Hunyuan strength and spiral strength. Walking depends on the foundation of the lower joint, the legs and feet.
Learning Qigong to increase strength in technique, you also need to practice alone. When walking and turning in Baguazhang, you need to pay attention to the balance between left and right, especially the internal power palm. The number of circles of left and right should be basically the same, otherwise it will lead to imbalance of blood circulation in the left and right halves of the body, and the left and right halves will be cold on one side and hot on the other. It is called Yin-Yang Palm, which is abnormal. Baguazhang relies on turning in circles to develop balance and sensitivity. Basic walking in circles is also the basis for developing speed and strength.
Walking is like a blind man without a cane, looking inward to reflect on the nature, lifting your feet low and slowly, and only by being steady can you make more progress. Every step is like this, and you should always avoid rushing. In the world, mistakes are made in a hurry, and slow walking ensures safety.