Spiral Body Ba Gua Zhang

The essence of Ba Gua Zhang is spiral motion.  Spiral motion is the result of the following evolutionary process: linear motion > wave motion > spiral motion. Spiral movement, which turns inward (centripetal) and outward (centrifugal), as do Chinese “Gua” or trigram plates, has the potentiality or capability for object manipulation when used by the human body. The structure of one's hand or a palm (“zhang” in Mandarin) contains three important geometrical concepts that pertain to spirals and object manipulation.  These concepts are point, line, and surface, consisting of fingertips (point), palm side (line), and palm face (surface) respectively.

Ba Gua Zhang
Ba Gua Zhang is a type of Chinese Internal Martial Art. The internal martial arts demonstrate movement principles based on an ancient Chinese philosophy called the Yi jing or I-Ching, also called the Book of Changes in English.  The Yi jing, and other Chinese theories, such as Qi theory, (i.e. meridians as in Eastern medicine,) and concepts like three joints, four treetops, six harmonies, serve as a foundation of principles for which the traditional Chinese internal martial arts rely on. The use of terms prevalent in the Yi jing are used extensively in the Chinese Internal Martial Arts for combative laws, such as Taiji, Yin/Yang, Five Elements, Bagua, etc.

The origin of Ba Gua Zhang is not clear. The art as it is practiced today descends from Dong Hai Chuan’s (the designated founder of Ba Gua Zhang in tradition) system, and is divided into many genealogical lines, such as Cheng style, Yin style, Shi style, Liu style, and Kao style. Ba Gua Zhang is a palm method, with a basic method of walking the perimeter of a circle, and turning while walking/stepping to change directions. Despite the genealogical differences of the styles, all of them share this element, as well as the practice of Eight Basic Palms.

Regardless of the particular genealogy, all styles Ba Gua should be considered as only the entrance to Ba Gua Zhang. Should one be satisfied with the level of style & school (high school graduate-level) alone, or aspire to the level beyond basics (university graduate-level) in martial arts? This choice depends entirely on the intention of the individual practitioner.  As an example a musician may prefer to play contemporary music and limit his training to one school to teach him this style of music, choosing to only play contemporary music.  Another musician may prefer to play contemporary music, however he may study and learn aspects of Jazz, Classical, Blues, etc. as well.  The first musician will be limited due to an environment that does not stretch and challenge his abilities as well as his thinking thereby limiting and arguably stunting his growth.  The second musician by researching other styles is stretching his abilities and his thinking, and is forced to develop a deeper understanding of music as a whole. Through this process he is able to understand at a much deeper level the music he prefers (his core interest) and as well improves his ability to play that music he is most passionate about at a higher level.  This is true for all types of arts, sciences and occupations one might aspire to.

Entrance into Ba Gua Zhang through a style or genealogy begins with the learning of the basic fundamentals of the style through the study of  “form” which is particular to that style or genealogy. Form is learned through the copying of choreographed and sequenced movements and shapes.  Forms (Japanese Martial arts call them Katas) by themselves do not develop mastery of a martial art, and for purposes of simplicity this level of understanding we will call "Shape Understanding" because one at this level is essentially copying shapes or choreographed movements.  A deeper understanding of martial arts is the result of research, comparison, and selection. It is understanding the possibilities that the human body, postures and movement represent at a deeper level. This depth of recognition enables graduation and evolution beyond the level of school & style.  For purposes of simplicity we will use the term "Depth Understanding" for this type of intellectual and physical developmental level.

"A school is the entrance of a martial art."

It is impossible to know the essence of a school if one stops at the level of genealogical form. One must exceed the framework of a school in order to climb the mountain of a martial art.

Ba Gua Zhang is performed in a circular walk, and contains the spiral movement of spinning/encircling, drilling/overturning, etc. It is not difficult to learn the palm methods (forms) of Ba Gua Zhang. If one is however,  accustomed to everyday linear movement, the study of wave dynamics and spiral dynamics, (which result from the evolution of linear movement) can be difficult.

Study of a martial art differs fundamentally from the repetitive, fixed practice seen in such arts as tea ceremony, flower arranging, and “traditional” martial arts. If the training of Army recruits can be completed in three months, why must the palm forms of Ba Gua Zhang be repeated for many years in order to truly grasp them and learn them?? This trend in the practice of Ba Gua Zhang is unreasonable.

Whether speaking of Ba Gua Zhang or any other martial art, it is important to have a target of study, or a level of learning to achieve. For example, learning the palm forms of a Ba Gua Zhang style is the most fundamental, representing the elementary-school level of the art. "Single" training" methods, "Pair" training methods, and "Strike" training methods are of the junior high school level. The researching of different genealogical lines of Ba Gua Zhang would then be the high school level and sparring and competition is vocational school level. The target is graduation, becoming a “member of society” by reaching the level beyond that of the undergraduate/bachelors level in martial arts.

One’s target is the level to aim at. Is it set up with purposeful intention on your own? Or is it set up by others? Do you intend to be a soldier or a General? The results of study differ depending on the target. 

ESSENCE Of EVOLUTION:
ESSENCE = Elucidation of Principle, Of = Practice of Law, EVOLUTION = Inevitable Deployment

EOE Spiral Body Ba Gua Zhang
“Spiral” refers to the spiral movement method. “Ba” (八)is the Chinese number for “eight,” representing four surfaces and four corners. “Gua” (卦) is a trigram plate which rotates right and left. “Zhang” (掌) is “palm,” which includes the point of the fingertip, the line on the side of the palm, and the surface of the open palm face or surface.  “Ba Gua” refers to the spinning/turning movement of the trigram plates with four sides and four corners.

　 　　

(1) Essence of Ba Gua Zhang: The beginning of Ba Gua Zhang is the Turning Palm and the Changing Palm. Every genealogical line of Ba Gua Zhang begins with a circular walk, which is the Turning Palm. The Changing Palm arises naturally in order to change direction while walking a circumference. Walking is a foundational element of Ba Gua Zhang. Upright walking is a primary feature of human beings. As such, the Total Movement present in walking or running is a kind of movement energy which must be present in a martial art. However, in observing the contemporary state of martial arts, it is clear that “form” and “technique” almost always involve stopping and fixed feet. ?There are few schools or styles in which walking or running is present in form and technique; the use of any stepping method is limited. In basic Ba Gua Zhang, the majority of people stop their movement while walking, turning, and changing direction, disregarding centrifugal force. With these ideas in mind, EOE changes the names of the basic methods to reflect a condition of motion. Turning Palm becomes Walking Turning Palm, and Changing Palm becomes Turning Changing Palm.

These Opening Palm Methods are indispensable to the walking/turning and directional conversion of Ba Gua Zhang, and are therefore collectively known as the Ba Gua Origin Palms.

＊Form and Technique performed with stopping or fixed stepping inevitably results in the practitioner staying in the front of the opponent, which is the danger zone. Through practice of centrifugal force in walking/turning, it is possible to manifest consistent technique, proceeding from the front > side > back of the opponent.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

　Rght/Left Turning Changing Palm Single Front/Back Changing Palm Up/Down Double Changing Palm

(3) EOE Center Axis Six Palms: The Center Axis is the spine The spine is composed of about thirty vertebrae 7 cervical vertebrae, 12 thoracic vertebrae, 5 lumbar vertebrae, 5 sacral vertebrae, and 3-5 tail vertebrae. These are combined with 31 pairs of spinal nerves, which extend throughout the body.
The EOE Center Axis Six Palms are Fluid Body Palm (wind flow,) Back Body Palm (back spin,) Over Body Palm (drill/overturn,) Brush Body Palm (open/close,) Detour Body Palm (centrifugal,) and Spin Body Palm (centripetal.) The Center Axis Six Palms are based the Three Joints of the arm (shoulder elbow wrist) and the leg (hip knee ankle), combined with spiral movement based on the twisting and spinning of the spinal axis.?

Spiral movement is a universal principle with a physical basis, which transcends the framework of style or school. Research of this principle enables evolution from X-style of Ba Gua Zhang, a Chinese Internal Martial art, to the practice of throwing & joint-locking; this is object manipulation based on spiral movement.