Baguazhang - 8 Trigrams Palm

This video is full of Bagua from very basic to very advanced. It is a response to the modern attitude of I want, what I want, when I want it. The nice thing about this video is that it has distinct sections for various levels of ability. Please see the print screen images of the menu at the top of this page.Basics include individual palms, stances, stepping.Advanced qigong development, pole training (pushing / hitting a post) and partner exercises and forms.Forms demonstration consists of the Basic eight palms and applications, Swimming body palms and applications, Dear Hook Swords and applications. 1st option of watching the forms is one section at a time (8 sections per form) playing twice at slow speed and then switching to normal speed then to applications. 2nd option is the Complete form slow. 3rd option is the Complete form normal speed.Recommendations for using this video most effectively.1st Watch everything on the video.2nd Decide your level of Bagua (Basic, Intermediate, Advanced).3rd Chose a section appropriate to your level in the slow option and follow along.4th Form training, 1 section at a time slow until comfortable.5th Form training Complete Sequence slow.Development time. Please keep in mind our bodies require time and regular exercise to develop. As we are working out with these videos our bodies are gradually becoming stronger, more flexible, and more coordinated.Example: I purchased this video because I wanted to learn the Swimming Body Palm form (form 2 on the video). Some of these moves are very new to me, so I had to watch the form slow 3 times just to figure out what was going on. We're talking 360 or more degree spins with the palms sometimes turning horizontally while he is stepping to keep up with the linear traversing movement, and other times the palms are swinging in a vertical circle while spinning on one foot in the same spot and the palms are so coordinated that they all are striking downward onto the same spot in rapid succession.Realizing the potential benefit of this kind of training I am just going slow, watching how he steps, spins, and how he moves his palms. I was quite awkward at first. Now I can almost follow along with the complete sequence in slow mode.Compromise: I must admit I have to make some compromises in the following ways. First my training area is much smaller than the one in the video so my sliding step is much shorter. Second, my legs are not as limber, so I do not yet crouch as low as this instructor. Third, my mid section is not quite as dragon-ish as this instructor so it may be awhile before I can lean to one side and turn simultaneously. Having said that, I am still safely determined to learn this form.Book Baguazhang -Theory and Application: I had this fascinating companion book awhile back and gave it to a friend. So I re-ordered it mainly because it has the secret songs or poems of Bagua. Ancients passed on knowledge by creating short songs or poems to be used as keys for remembering and understanding the art. The video is a stand-alone instructional tool, so you do not need the book to learn the forms and improve your body.However, at a later date you may consider purchasing the book to improve your mind and understanding of the art. It seems that when one writes a book, there is a lot of thinking and analyzing the topic from different perspectives that gets put into the book. Here is an excerpt from the book. Secret Songs of Attacking. Page 123. Hands: Grabbing, striking, seizing, and controlling, use both hands. It is real (Gongfu) when the feet and the hands both arrive together. The fist is like the cannon shape, the body bends like a dragon. The hand like chopping the mountain and rush forward.

This DVD along with the book  Baguazhang: Theory and Applications  offers the most comprehensive background and coverage of Bagua Zhang.In the DVD there are several demonstrations to match book.And the DVD has rare demonstrations of 2 person form, and deer horn knives form.And even rarer demonstrations of applications with deer knives against swords and staffs.You will want to make sure that you buy the book with this to explain the forms.The demonstrations in the book are done in the classical Chinese style of teaching.The technique is performed at normal speed, and then performed again twice at a slower speed.During the performance there are not any instructions either vocally or with sub text.However, there is nice oriental type flute music playing.And I would guess that this method would work well if you had a teacher present to correct your mistakes.Or if you were or had learned this particular style and wanted something as a refresher or a prompt for your memory this would be great.In any case it does have several good examples of Bagua Zhang forms and applications.Bagua emphasizes circular movement, employs both defensive and offensive strategies, and trains mainly in the near and middle ranges of distance.The DVD is separated into 3 parts:* Section 1 contains basic training and body conditioning, teaches Bagua Qigong, and demonstrates the foundation basic Eight Palms sequence with martial applications.* Section 2 instructs the intermediate level Bagua Swimming Body sequence, named for the swift and agile movements of a swimming dragon, with martial applications.* Section 3 presents the unusual Bagua Deer Hook knife. Covered are hooking, seizing, controlling and cutting techniques, and the complete sequence, with applications against the long staff and sword.I personally found the forms difficult to learn from this DVD, however I really liked it as a resource and as a great reference. (I did learn a Bagua form from Ted Mancuso's DVD  Bagua: The Art of Change  )From my experience I recommend this as a reference and as a way to expose one's self to a variety of Bagua Zhang forms.And as a way to broaden one's exposure to different Bagua styles and techniques.And I absolutely recommend getting the book of the same title to go along with this as the book has a lot of explanations and more detail. The two are closely tied together.  Baguazhang: Theory and Applications The quality of the DVD its self is very good. You can tell that it was made by a professional crew.

This is a good introduction to the Emei style of Baguazhang. Everyone who studies bagua should have it. Master Liang and Master Yang are great martial artists. But keep in mind it is elementary, the applications of each move are of the most basic type, there is so much more depth to the art, as in healing , multiple opponent application, and how Daoist meditation interacts on the mind and nervous system in turning palms, Tsuan Zhang. But the video does accomplish its purpose; that of familiarizing the public with the the flavor of the art.The video came on time, and plays well, no problems there.Steven Allen

Definetely presents a lot of material with excellent application footage. A bit misleading, however, in that the majority of forms are presented by people other than Master Liang Shou-yu. Master Liang, whose skill is clearly very high, is shown demonstrating applications and single movements of the form but it's difficult to piece together the energy of his movements into a connected whole as the flavor is quite different from the young lady demonstrating the continuous sequence. The DVD, is however, definetely worth the price provided you are willing to watch it in slow motion several hundred times as the movements are quite complex. I would recommend it to anyone with a background in internal martial arts or access to a teacher of this particular style. I would not recommend it to someone without experience in any of the internal styles or at least some basic Qi Gong under a qualified teacher as unfamiliarity with relaxation and correct joint alignment could lead to some serious discomfort and possible injury in attempting these forms.

It's a very good dvd to learn the form and applications but I have a far better and realistic one from James Rolph!

Altro materiale utilissimo dal Maestro Yang Dwing Ming. Libro e dvd insieme sono perfetti.

good