Ba Gua - Martial Edge

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Ba Gua

By Ian Hales, on 15-12-2007 04:21

Ba Gua Zhang, Baguazhang, Ba gua, and Pa Kwa Chang all refer to the same thing - a Chinese Health promoting martial art that can be learned and practiced my most anyone. Specifically, Baguazhang is one of the "internal" styles of Chinese martial art (the others being Tai Ji Quan, commonly known as Tai Chi, Xing Yi Quan or Hsing I, and Liu He Ba Fa). Allen Pittman explores Ba Gua...

Ba Gua Zhang, Baguazhang, Ba gua, and Pa Kwa Chang all refer to the same thing - a Chinese Health promoting Martial art that can be learned and practiced my most anyone. Specifically, Baguazhang is one of the "internal" styles of Chinese martial art (the others being Tai Ji Quan, commonly known as Tai Chi, Xing Yi Quan or Hsing I, and Liu He Ba Fa).

Ba Gua is a "circular" art, emphasizing the importance of Change, and "full body movement." This not only aids in its health benefits, but also as a martial art, avoiding the use of force against force or brute strength in overcoming a situation. Characterized by its spinning movements and extremely evasive footwork, Ba Gua is often used as a means to protect others, much like a good mother holding her childs hand as they cross a busy street.

Ba Gua Zhang has about five methods. Allen Pittman teaches the "Gao" method of Ba Gua Zhang as a foundation - later other methods are taught.

"Allen is the number one disciple of Hung I-mien and according to Hung is in the sixth generation of teachers from Tung Hai-chuan. He was given teaching papers by Mr. Hung as the inheritor of the Gao system and he teaches the whole system unadulterated by miscellaneous techniques from other arts and tournament fighting. It is a complete tactical hands-on system which is taught both through form and hands-on applications at every stage. There are teachers who have learned the forms of this system without the applications. They only know half the system which is actually no system at all. Imagine learning half an alphabet and you will get the idea. The system is very much like a language. The applications are passed to the student the same way the forms are. It is very very rare to have tactical training in Chinese Boxing. Most modern teachers prolong the teaching process by an over emphasis on form work.

Allen began with seven years of training with Robert Smith practicing an hour a day on his own with form. After seven years he went to Taiwan and through Marnix Wells, found Hung. For one year Allen studied six mornings a week with Hung with a class of three or four people. Classes lasted about an hour. Lessons were intense and as part of his study Allen drew pictures and studies of every single movement in the system. The first year was spent entirely on the 64 Gao tactics and applications. After returning to the U.S. for a year Allen was invited back by Hung to study-(this was triggered by a visit by Robert Smith that summer*). Allen returned to Taiwan and began the most intense training of his life. He trained 2 to 4 hours a day and sometimes more. He was the sole student of Hung I-mien at this time and the last student of Hung. Hung said he was the only student to learn "Chren Bu" or the "whole ball" of teaching. During this second year Allen also drew every single movement and endured every application showed by Hung.

The emphasis was completely on fighting applications for the street. Hung never hit him in the head but always pulled, locked, bumped and pinched his body. It was painful work. On some days Allen was so covered with blue and black marks Hung would say, "Just do form today." At the end of the second year Hung walked Allen to the old family house and copied the two scrolls on martial arts which hung there. These scrolls had the names of the Ba-gua movements and a poem of strategy. A third scroll had Hung's personal totem which said "Tiger". Allen has these hand written notes in his possession as proof of his graduation. When Allen returned to the U.S. under the guidance of Robert Smith he taught the forms to Smith's students but at the insistence of Smith did not show applications. This went on for 18 years. When Allen broke his relation with Robert Smith in 2000 he began teaching applications in full as Hung had taught him. He has five students who requested the opportunity to learn the "old way" applications and all. These students trained for about two years and Allen not only trained them he trained WITH themt.These five are Dave Jones, Dave Aalfs, Dr. Richard Hunter Jr, Scott Cathey and Michael Moreland. Al Carroll was worked specifically with Hsing -I functions privately. These six people are remarkable in their own right for many other reasons. They teach Allen's classes in the U.S. since he has moved to France.

( Hung, twenty years earlier had taught Robert Smith and of him said, "He worked very hard". He also said, "He tried to use Judo on me and I was forced to break his arm." At any rate to Allen's knowledge, Robert Smith learned about half the Gao Ba-gua as he has Smiths notes on his studies at that time. Most of Smith's learning was from Hung I-shang, I-mien's younger brother who specialized in his own self created system of Southern Shaolin and Hsing-I called "Tang Shou-tao".

I -shang, a big heavy man was known for his ability to bully people around including his own students of whom it seems, none were his size. For some years he experimented with teaching students to fight in tournaments with gloves on. This practice is antithetical to traditional Chinese boxing as grabbing and clutching are so important to control an opponent in order to hit them..

It is very difficult to bully someone larger than yourself and it is a shame to see a teacher "play the master" by bullying smaller and weaker students. Allen's point is that this seems to be the precedent established by Hung I-shang and his students-many of whom now claim "Master Status". Obviously the same dynamic sometimes unfortunately exists in other martial arts as well. If you have to be abused (by this I mean hurt and wounded badly, hit in the head, repeatedly slapped in the face, arm broken etc) to learn it (---as opposed to "hurt" or kindly jossled or yanked with full knowledge of what is happening)---why bother?