Ba Gua

Ba Gua Zhang is the treasure of the Cheng Ming System. This unique fighting style is based on evasive strategies, fluid movement, and direction changes. It contains various medium-close range fighting techniques, most of which are performed with an open hand, and also combines the use of different traditional weapons.

The name "Ba Gua" consists of two words, the word 'Ba' which means 'eight' and the word 'Gua' which means 'trigram'. The reference is to the eight trigrams that make up the I Ching circle, one of the well-known symbols in Chinese philosophy. This circle is a kind of diagram that tries to explain in a visual, associative way an ancient Chinese concept that sees reality as a movement of constant change. The meaning of the suffix 'Zhang' is 'palm', since the use of Ba Gua is mainly with an open palm.

Ba Gua is the richest martial art of all internal martial arts, and training emphasizes loose body, correct posture, balance, and harmonious movement of the whole body.

Ba Gua – The Younger Sister Of Tai Chi and Xing Yi

The history of Ba Gua is seasoned with countless myths and theories, so it is very difficult to determine exactly how and when the system was created. Although there are claims that this is an ancient fighting style, the first reliable references to this martial art exist only from the end of the eighteenth century, which indicates that it is a relatively new system.

If to still stick to Chinese folklore for a moment, it is accepted that it was Tung Hai Chuan who brought Be Gua to the world. According to legend, Tung Hai Chuan learned the art of Be Gua from two hermit monks who rescued him while he was staying on Mount Omei in Sichuan province.

Many stories have been woven around the famous Ba Gua teachers, each more miraculous than the other. Tung Hai Chuan became a legend during his lifetime, and many stories describe his amazing skills.

His students said that once during a rest they turned to the table while Tung himself was sitting near the opposite wall, lost in thoughts. Suddenly the wall collapsed on him. His students, who rushed to him shocked, looked for him in the ruins until suddenly he was revealed to their astonished eyes dozing on a chair next to the table they were sitting at before.

Another story tells of Tung falling asleep on the couch on a cold winter's evening. One of his students approached him to put a blanket over him, but it landed on an empty couch. When the wondering student looked up, Tung was already sitting at the other end of the room, joking at his expense.

Today, many styles of Ba Gua can be found around the world, but apparently only about a dozen of them can be directly linked to the teacher lineage attributed to Tung Hai Chuan. One of these styles was developed by Ma Wei Chi who studied directly with Tung Hai Chuan. Ma Wei Chi's most famous student was Chang Chao Tung, the teacher of Grand Master Wong Shu Jin, the founder of the Cheng Ming System.

Walk The Circle – The Most Known Feature of Ba Gua

The most known feature of Ba Gua training is walking the circle. The practitioner walks on the circle and performs the various movements while changing direction, crossing, and turning many times. The movements include deceptions, evasions, defenses, and attacks.

The main principle expressed in this form of training is neutralizing an attack by bypassing or changing the direction of movement, which makes it possible to avoid a direct confrontation and to reach an advantageous position from which a counterattack can be made while taking advantage of the opponent's imbalance. A similar principle can be found in many martial arts, even modern ones such as boxing or wrestling. This way it is possible for even a fighter with a physical disadvantage to gain an advantage and neutralize a stronger opponent, without suffering a dangerous injury.

Ba Goa is very rich in katas and sequences, and the different positions practiced in training make it easy to easily adapt to different attack situations and to react naturally and efficiently. As you progress in training, the skills are perfected, the movement becomes multi-dimensional, sophisticated, and stealthy, and the techniques are fixed in the body's movement memory.

Like other martial arts originated in China, Ba Goa also includes training in various traditional weapons such as sticks and swords. These katas are also performed while walking the circle and include many complex and sophisticated maneuvers.

One of the most unique weapons of Ba Gua is the multi-edged knife also called the yin yang blade (also known as deer horns or bull horns knives). A metallic weapon with a horizontal grip handle with a spike at each end, and a pair of additional spikes that diverge in an upward arc, which enables effective use in different directions. This weapon is found in different forms in different Ba Gua styles and is effective for relatively close-range combat. As a training tool, it is a challenging weapon that develops strength in the shoulder girdle and arms as it must be controlled at different reach ranges. In addition, the Yin Yang blade requires good coordination since it is used with both hands simultaneously.

Boundless Learning – The Perfect Workout For Mind And Body

The Cheng Ming System Ba Gua curriculum is very broad and contains a richness of movement that very few martial arts can offer. Every training and every kata teaches the body new abilities, complex movements, and changing sequences, and even after many years of training, you can still improve.

Learning Be Gua begins with practicing circle walk, followed by first katas that impart important basic movement skills. Further, more complex katas, weapon katas, and Ba Gua fighting techniques are learned.

The richness and complexity of Ba Gua create a constant cognitive-intellectual challenge for the practitioner. Each new movement, each new kata, is another opportunity for learning and additional training that stimulates the brain to surpass itself in a process of renewed learning and memorization.

Ba Gua training develops stability and balance, flexibility, strength, loose body, and natural and harmonious movement. The stretching and squeezing movements while training produces a natural massage of the internal organs, stimulate blood circulation and strengthen the various body systems such as the nervous system, the hormonal system, and the immune system.

The Ability To Change – A Flexible Approach To Life 

The emphasis in Ba Gua on creating internal harmony and balance, self-cultivation of the mind and body, and adaptation to change, can help the practitioner to conduct himself better in negotiation situations, and in interactions with other people. The fighting tactic inherent in Ba Gua of change with changing circumstances, or "go with the flow", helps to understand and adapt to reality and its expression within us. The ability to adapt to change helps to cultivate a healthy relationship with ourselves and with others so that we can adapt to different situations and cultures.

Although Ba Gua is a martial art, for many practitioners its most important aspect is the tools it provides for daily use. A flexible approach to practice, as well as to life, improves the ability to solve complex problems in the best possible way. In work, among family or community, and in fact, in almost any situation – mental flexibility is the most important key to creative and healthy solutions.

And above all, training Ba Gua is a unique and extraordinary experience of non-stop and fascinating experience, which has a positive effect on the body and mind.