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Pa Kua Chang

Vol. 5, No. 1

J O U R N A L

$3.9

IN THIS ISSUE:

Li Zi Ming Ba Gua

Tom Bisio

Sha Guo Zheng's Single

Palm Change

Nov/Dec 1994

Li Zi Ming'sBa Gua Zhang

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Pa Kua Chang

J O U R N A L

About the Pa Kua Chang Journal

The Pa Kua Chang Journal is published sixtimes a year. Each issue features an interview

with, or article by, one or more Ba Gua Zhanginstructor(s) from mainland China, Taiwan, the

United States, and/or Canada. The interviewswill report on each instructor's background,current program, training methods and teachingphilosophy. By utilizing this format, the intentionis to give students an opportunity to get to knowprospective teachers and to let teachers possiblygain insights and ideas from learning about theactivities of their colleagues.

Chinese names and terms will be romanizedusing the pinyin system of romanization except

when an instructor prefers his name romanizeddifferently. The title of the Journal appears

in the Wade Giles system of romanization asit was the system we started with and we keptthe original title. Whenever possible, Chinesecharacters will be listed in parentheses followingthe rst appearance of Chinese terms and namesin each article.

The ideas and opinions expressed in thisjourna l are those of the instructors be inginterviewed and not necessarily the views of thepublisher or editor.

We solicit comments and/or suggestions.

All Rights Reserved, High View Publications.

The authors and publisher of this Journalare not responsible for any injury which mayresult from following the instructions containedherein. Before embarking on any of thephysical activities described in this Journal, thereader should consult his or her physician foradvice regarding their individual suitability forperforming such activity.

Published bi-monthly by High View Publications,

P.O. Box 51967, Pacic Grove, CA 93950Phone: (408) 655-2990Fax: (408) 655-4984Editor: Dan MillerISSN: 1065-2264

On the Cover

Ba Gua Zhang instructor Li Zi Ming (1900-1992)executes "piercing palm" in front of Dong HaiChuan's tomb.

New Book

Dragon Door Publications recently sent me a manuscript ofa new title they will be publishing in January. It is the secondin their Chen Kung series as translated by Stuart Olsen and iscalled The Intrinsic Energies of Ta'i Ch'i Ch'uan. I mention ithere because I was very impressed with the manuscript andI predict that this will be one of the most important workson T'ai Ch'i Ch'uan yet to be published in English. Since theenergies of T'ai Ch'i are, in most cases, closely related to thoseof Xing Yi and Ba Gua, the information is also very applicableto practitioners of all the main internal styles. While the textitself is enlightening, the real pearls of knowledge containedin this book are to be found in Stuart's commentary and

footnotes. His insightful analogies and his addition of T'aCh'i stories emphasize and embellish the pertinent points ofthe text and will make the material in this book clear to theWestern reader and additionally make the book easier to readfor the martial arts novice. I was especially happy to see thatStuart was able to masterfully take concepts and ideas whichare typically mystied by most practitioners and present themin a clear, direct manner. Those who have an interest in thisbook can contact Dragon Door by writing to: P.O. Box 4381

St. Paul, MN 55104.

Future Projects

Since readers frequently call to ask what we will be

producing in the future, I will let you know that we havenished lming a new video on Li Zi Ming's Ba Gua by VinceBlack and should have it ready later this year. Next year wewill also be publishing Volume II of The Fundamentals of Pa

Kua Changby Park Bok Nam. Like the rst volume, this newbook will also be accompanied by an instructional video ortwo. This book and video companion will be similar in formato the rst and will show all of the intermediate level exerciseswhich follow those which appear in the rst book. Additionally, we will be publishing a very comprehensivebook on throwing techniques by Tim Cartmell. This bookwill also have a companion video. Tim's knowledge othrowing and his skill at applying throwing technique is quitecomprehensive and he has done a magnicent job explainingthe subtleties of these techniques. We also have translators

working on Sun Lu Tang's Tai Ji book and Wu Meng Xia's TaiJi book. Tim Cartmell, who is translating Sun Lu Tang'sbook, just recently spent several weeks in Beijing learningthe system from Sun Lu Tang's daughter and will be addingextensive footnotes to the translation based on his studywith Sun Jian Yun.

Editor's Corner

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"Once when my parents went back to myhometown, I saw them off at the Tianjin trainstation. We met a group of rufans who tried totake away our luggage on the excuse of checkingthe luggage on the train. I went up to reason withtheir leader. He lifted his leg to kick me. I grabbedhis leg and threw him off his balance. Another guycame up and I beat him black and blue. 'This guyis so troublesome,' they said. An older man came to

negotiate. The rufans had to return the luggage.When we got on board the train, I thought that I waslucky to have practiced martial arts for 20 years.Otherwise I would have been beaten."

Based on his experiences Li Zi Ming alwayadvocated the study of martial arts for both healthand self-defense.

Li's Study of Ba Gua Zhang Li Zi Ming started studying Ba Gua from Liang ZhenPu when he was about 20 years old. In those dayLiang Zhen Pu lived in Hou Zhong Village in Ji CountyHebei Province, which was just over 5 miles from Li'

home. Li frequently walked to Liang's home to practicBa Gua Zhang for a period of approximately four yearsWhen Li was about 24 years old he left his home andwent to Tianjin to learn a trade. Li continued topractice Ba Gua on his own and continued to study

with Liang Zhen Pu when he had a chance to visihis home village.

In 1926, when Liang Zhen Pu was visiting Tianjinhe introduced Li to Yin Fu's ( ) disciple Ju Qin

Yuan ( ). When Liang left Tianjin, Li studied somof the Yin Fu style Ba Gua from Ju (see Pa Kua Chang

Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, page 10). While in Tianjin, LZi Ming also had the opportunity to meet with Zhang

Zhao Dong ( - see Pa Kua Chang Journal, Vol. 3No. 6, page 3) and Shang Yun Xiang ( - see PaKua Chang Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3, page 6). From Tianjin, Li Zi Ming went to work in LiaoNing where he spent approximately 12 years. Duringthe war with Japan, Li engaged in subversive activityagainst the Japanese and continued practicing himartial arts. In 1938, Li moved to Beijing to work ina bookstore. After Li Zi Ming had moved to Beijing hfound out that his senior Ba Gua "brother," Guo GuMin ( - see Pa Kua Chang Journal, Vol. 4, No. 3page 22), was living alone. Li immediately invited Guto live with him at the Ke Da company. After that, theyate at the same table for every meal and were togethefrom morning until night studying martial arts skilland visiting martial arts friends. Li Zi Ming and Guo Gu Min collaborated on severahandwritten works which documented parts of theLiang Zhen Pu system of Ba Gua. Guo Gu Min waa very disciplined martial artist who had researchedand studied Ba Gua from numerous sources after histudy with Liang Zhen Pu. Guo had a great reputationin martial arts circles and was highly skilled. Hshared much of his knowledge with Li Zi Ming and thetime Li spent with Guo greatly enhanced his martiaarts knowledge. Because Li and Guo were so close

I was afraid that I had to wait for death. I wentback to my hometown and started to learn martialarts from Liang Zhen Pu ( ), a Ba Gua Zhangteacher. I got instant results. I almost fullyrecovered after 100 days of practice. After one year, Ifully recovered. So I dare not stop practicing martialarts. My teacher was my great benefactor."

In another biographical article entitled, "MyBiographical Sketch, An Account of Li Zi Ming in HisOwn Words," it says:

Li Zi Ming practices with the "Wind and Fire

Rings," one of the many exotic weapons taught inthe Li style of Ba Gua Zhang

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many other teachers in the Beijing Ba Gua communityassumed that Guo Gu Min had been Li Zi Ming'sonly Ba Gua teacher. Some of the fourth generationinheritors of Ba Gua in Beijing, jealous that Li Zi Ming

was one generation ahead of them, insisted that Li ZiMing never learned from Liang Zhen Pu and thus he

was really a fourth generation inheritor and a studentof Guo Gu Min. Because Li was such a prominentgure in the martial arts community, it was naturalthat these kind of rumors would arise. While in Beijing, Li Zi Ming's thirst for knowledgein martial arts also led him to exchange martial artsexperience with many of the other senior martial artists.One such individual was Yin Fu style practitioner Zeng

Xing San ( - 1862-1951). Zeng Xing San, also known as Zeng Zeng Qi (

), was a well known scholar who had studied Ba

Gua with Yin Fu ( ). While Zeng was studying withYin he was taken to see Dong Hai Chuan ( ) onseveral occasions. Dong watched Zeng practice andapproved of his Ba Gua. Being a scholar as well asa martial artist, Zeng had a deep understanding of

boxing strategy and theory. Zeng Xing San and GuoGu Min had a good relationship. Zeng gave Guo ahandwritten copy of the book Ba Gua Zhuan Zhang HuiLan ( ). This book was perhaps the veryrst book to contain the 36 songs and 48 methods ofBa Gua which Li Zi Ming later annotated and publishedprivately (for an English translation of Li's manuscript,refer to Liang Zhen Pu Eight Diagram Palm published

by High View Publications).During the Cultural Revolution, Li Zi Ming wascriticized and denounced as a "capitalist-roader" andan authority of the feudal culture. Li beneted onceagain from his martial arts background. In order tomake Li admit his guilt, some strong young men (RedGuard) began to beat him. To their surprise, their ownfeet and hands were hurt but Li Zi Ming, who was over60 years old at the time, still stood without showingsigns of injury. The aggressors ew into a rage. Theytied Li up and used a stick and a whip to beat him.Li's esh was wounded, but not his bones or tendons.

Li Zi Ming said later, "If I did not have gong fu( ),would have lost my life." After the fall of the "gang of four," Li Zi Ming'sreputation was restored. He felt strongly that martiaarts could dispel illness, strengthen health, and beused to defend one's self so he decided to devote therest of his life to the promotion of martial arts. Onone hand, he concentrated on teaching students andone the other hand he focused on systematizing the

material and information he collected from his yearsof experience. He also studied the merits of othe

branches of Ba Gua to perfect the Liang Zhen Pu systemHis written work included publication and annotationof the "36 songs" and "48 methods" of Ba Gua Zhangas well as the following books, Understanding Ba GuaZhang, Dong Hai Chuan's Turning Palm, theAnecdoteof Ba Gua Zhang Masters, and Collections of Tidbitof Ba Gua Zhang.

Li Zi Ming's Teaching Method Almost all of the Ba Gua Zhang instruction Li ZMing gave his students was done in private one-on-one

sessions. While he did teach a public class in fronof the Exhibition Center in Beijing for a number o

Yin Fu style Ba Gua Zhang instructor ZengXing San (1862 - 1951) was one of the senior

practitioners Li Zi Ming sought out in order toexchange martial arts ideas

Some of the many handwritten manuscripts on BaGua Zhang written by Li Zi Ming

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years, he only taught simple circle walking and a few

of the basic forms. Li reserved all of the intermediateto advanced level training for the private sessions heconducted with his students at his home.

Li emphasized qin na( ) and throwing techniquesin his style of Ba Gua and thus he felt that it wasimportant for his students to feel him perform thetechnique in order to understand the subtle angles andthe timing of the power application in these techniques.

Vince Black, Li Zi Ming's American disciple, said thateven Li's wife was fond of demonstrating techniques onLi's students when they arrived at his home for theirprivate sessions. Black says that on many occasions

when he arrived at Li's home for his lesson, Li's wife

would shake his hand and try to apply some sort ofthumb lock on him.Even in Li's later years, when he spent most of his

time sitting in a chair while correcting his student'spractice, he still insisted on demonstrating certain locksand throws so that the student could gain experientialknowledge of the technique. Vince Black states thaton one occasion, while Li was still sitting in his chair,he applied a wrist lock with such force that Black wasthrown down on the oor. On another occasion Blacksays that he watched Li apply a lock on a visitor withsuch force that one of the legs of Li's chair collapsed

underneath him and both Li and the other man wen

down onto the oor. Li got up laughing.Teaching private sessions allowed Li the opportunity

to work closely with each of his students so thathey could really feel the correct way to apply thapplications. Vince Black said that Li Zi Ming lovedto have "hands-on" interaction with his students. Arst Vince thought that it was because Li's eyes wergetting bad in his old age. However, after talking withsome of Li's senior students, Black realized that Lhad always taught this way. Additionally, the privatsessions also helped ensure that the government, whfrowned upon martial arts being taught for ghting, didnot nd out that Li was teaching these things.

Li Zi Ming loved his martial arts and taught histudents openly, however, all of his students werecarefully picked. He believed that each student should

be taught according to their skill level and aptitude folearning and thus he taught each student differentlyHis preference for teaching in private sessions allowedhim to teach each student exactly what they neededto learn.

The one drawback that has arisen from Li's privateteaching methods is that Li's students did not have thopportunity to interact with each other very frequentlyGroups of students would work together at times, bu

Even in his later years, when he could not move around so well, Li Zi Ming wanted his studentsto feel the correct applications of techniques. Here he applies a thumb lock on his

American student Vince Black.

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Li Zi Ming at Dong Hai Chuan's Tomb

not all of the students interacted. This has led tojealously among the different groups. Since no onereally knew what the others were learning some of Li'sstudents assume that they know more than the others.Now that Li is gone, some of his students want totry and position themselves as the inheritor of thesystem and will tell people that others didn't get thefull teaching, etc. I have personally met, studied with,or interviewed eight to ten of Li's students and of that

group there are only two or three who I felt were openand honest. I say this only to warn those individuals

who might want to travel to China to study with oneof Li's students that they should not trust anyone whotries to bad mouth Li's other students.

There are too many restrictions

on free hands ghting and the

participants wear too much

protective equipment.

Li Zi Ming's PassingLi Zi Ming died on January 23, 1993 at the age of

92. On January 31, leaders in the martial arts world,scholars, painters and calligraphers, students, andfriends, over 600 people, gathered at the Ba Bao ShanPublic Cemetery to pay their last respects. On thealtar, surrounding Li Zi Ming's portrait, there were

bunches of fresh cut owers near the alter and in themiddle of the hall. Li Zi Ming's remains were laidamong owers and green cypress trees. Li was covered

by a large white sheet which had the Ba Gua symbolon it. Wreaths of owers sent by friends, family, and

fellow martial artists were placed around the hall,along the corridor leading to the hall and out into theroad. On both sides of the altar, the entrance to thehall, and in the shelter in front of the hall were placedcouplets written on scrolls by famous contemporarycalligraphers. These couplets summarized theachievements of Li Zi Ming's life.

The couplets in the shelter said, "Advocating martialarts and its morals, he carried on chivalry, his greatname shaking the world. Having students all overthe world, he was a great master of our times and hisskills will be passed on forever." The couplets at theentrance of the hall said, "Carrying forward the cause

and forge ahead into the future, he is a great martialarts master that people highly praise. Upholdingthe martial arts morals and loyalty, he was a greatteacher that the whole world respects." The coupletsat the altar said, "A man of great talent and honesty,inheriting the treasures of martial arts and advocatingmartial arts, respecting teachers, upholding moralityand justice, teaching students of valuable morals andskills, originating Ba Gua Zhang Research Association,having both happiness and long life, he is a goodexample and his deeds will be passed from generationto generation. A learned martial arts scholar with noble

character, a chivalrous man who united the martiaartists, respecting friends and merits, exercising good

ways of teaching his children, he also wrote books ointernal school boxing and he was a great master andset an example throughout his life."

Li Zi Ming's Legacy For the last 20 years of his life, Li Zi Ming stoodas the pillar of the Ba Gua community in mainland

China. He presided over the Ba Gua Zhang ResearchAssociation and did so magnicently. Unfortunatelybecause he was such a prominent gure, other senioBa Gua practitioners were somewhat jealous of Li andsaid he was "just a political figure." Because Ltaught each of his students privately, others did noknow exactly what Li was teaching. Many of Li's topstudents are conservative and have kept to themselvesUnfortunately, some of Li's students decided to teachmodern wushu and watered down Li's Ba Gua to the modern wushu criteria. Because of this, otherassumed that this was representative of Li's teachingand dismissed his Ba Gua as not being authentic

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However, in an interview with the editor of Taiwan'sleading martial arts magazine Li Yu Mei, conducted in1991, Li had this to say about modern wushu:

"Modern wushu is breaking away from thepracticality of martial arts. The traditional martialarts can possibly be promoted to adapt to themodern sports competition, but it should not bepromoted like it is now being done."

Concerning the sparring competitions that areheld in conjunction with modern wushu events, Lihad this to say:

"There are too many restrictions on freehands ghting and the participants wear too muchprotective equipment. Too many restrictions willlimit a skilled practitioner's technique. They haveto pay too much attention to winning points. If aman cannot protect his eyes and his crotch withoutthe aid of protective equipment, he should not even

be qualied to be in the ring. Today, a practitionerwho is not skilled, one who exposes the weak areasof his body to his opponent, can still enter thecontest because he knows that his opponent will be

breaking the rules to strike him in these vulnerablespots. This does not conform to the principles ofattacking and defending in martial arts."

Unfortunately, with Li Zi Ming's passing a void was

left in the Ba Gua community that cannot easily belled. Even before Li had passed away there was someinghting among his disciples and other representativesof the Ba Gua community as to who was going to lhis position as the president of the association. Someof the individuals seem dedicated to the promotion oBa Gua while others seem more interested in personagain. Unfortunately, the ones who are more interestedin personal gain usually win in such a struggle.

Li Zi Ming had a very complete, systematic methodfor teaching Ba Gua and produced many highly skilledstudents. As I stated previously, I have had theopportunity to meet Li's top eight students and manyof his grandstudents. It has been my observation thathe majority of them are extremely conservative whendealing with outsiders. While they all seem to be very

willing to accept foreign students, all except possiblytwo or three of them are not interested in openly sharinginformation or teaching the true skills. Unfortunatelythe most conservative of the group is the one who haslled Li Zi Ming's position as the president of the BaGua Zhang Association. Letting his newly found powergo to his head, he has told all of Li's disciples that iany of them want to accept new students, they haveto rst clear it with him. He has been known to sendout "hit squads" to intimidate any of Li's students notconforming to his rule. It is an unfortunate situation

Throughout his life Li Zi Ing continued to exchange information on Ba Gua Zhang with otherprominent practitioners. Above Li Zi Ming and Sha Guo Cheng discuss Ba Gua application.

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After having studied in four different Ba Guasystems over a period of fteen years, I nally cameupon Li Zi Ming and his Liang Zhen Pu style of Ba Gua

which, to me, was far more complete in its systematicapproach than any other system I had studied. Thissystem takes the practitioner from a basic foundationto a high level in Ba Gua without leaving gaps inthe forms and movements and introduces all of thesubtleties and nuances which this art contains in a

progressive manner so that they are easily graspedThe reason I feel it is more complete is that the systemis comprised of more clearly different levels of training

and different types of exercises than any of the otherthat I had previously studied.

Fundamental Skills

(Ba Gua Ji Ben Gong- )

The system starts with a set of fundamental trainingexercises. We call them warm-ups, but they are famore than a routine designed to simply stretch andloosen the body. These exercises are a comprehensivseries of movements that condition the hands (striking

various parts of the body with the hand), loosen all othe joints of the body, stretch out all of the muscles

and improve balance, coordination, and overall agilitySome of the body striking serves to loosen differenparts of the body by hitting specic acupuncture pointsthat serve to open that particular part of the body(for example the hip or the shoulder joint). Thensubsequent exercises involve more focused movemenin those specic areas so that in the end the whole bodyis extremely limber and supple. The basic "warm-upsare followed by exercises which are more specic toactual fighting applications of the system. Whilestriking the points, rotating the joints and looseningthe body, we are also developing a tendency of the bodyto generate the force up through the body, starting

in the feet and nally out the hands. This power imanifest in a very loose, natural manner, which ithe way you would have to use it when applying thiparticular style of Ba Gua in a spontaneous defensivsituation.

These exercises provide a deeper

and broader understanding of the Ba

Gua power base and are essential in

achieving a higher level of performancein the shortest possible time.

The "warm-ups" prepare the body by looseninand softening the joints and then further conditionall the parts to work in a concerted sequence as onemovement to direct the force from the feet to the hands

We then proceed to very specic movements which havprecise martial applications and provide insights totechniques that appear later in the forms. Almost all o

Li Zi Ming's Ba Gua Zhang Methodby Vince Black

Li Zi Ming poses in his home in Beijing in front ofthe certicate appointing him as the head Ba GuaZhang advisor to the North American Tang Shou

Tao Association

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The Old Eight Palms(Lao Ba Zhang- )

After opening the body and achieving a stablefoundation through the practice of the warm-upexercises and the nei gong palms practice, we go topractice the old eight palms form. This form startsto integrate the upper body changes. In the nei gongpalms we hold the upper body static in xed posturesto "open it up" while developing stability in the lower

body and power in the waist from the stepping and leg

movement. Execution of the old eight palms adds theupper body movements which then results in whole

body changes. These eight changes are basic in design,however they have sequences and combinations ofghting strategies woven into them that may not beapparent to the casual observer. In the old eightpalms practice, the linear movements of the warm-upexercises tie in with the nei gong palms and start to

become a whole body strategy or whole body techniqueon a circular format. So we rst study the straightline movements of the warm-up exercises and thenexecute the circular movements of the nei gongpalms

and then start to combine all of these things on circular format where the body is beginning to executemore complex martial strategies.

Ba Gua Continuous Linking Palm(Ba Gua Lian Huan Zhang- )

After working with the old eight palms to th

point where the practitioner is somewhat procientwe add some other intermediate forms, such as liahuan(continuously linked) Ba Gua Zhang, which is aparticular series of exercises that combine high and lowattacks, left and right attacks, forward and backwardattacks, moving upward attacks and coming over thtop attacks. We string all of these things togethe

very smoothly so that people can use these linkslike master links in a chain, to break off from onestrategy and smoothly ow into another. Directionapplication, and strategy change according to theopponent's actions. On developing our grappling aspectof which Li was always enthusiastic to demonstrate

we introduce students to the basic premise of lockand throw with a two person drill known as "chain ohands," six links or eight links. This exercise developdirection of stepping, weight shifting, and the finepoints of the locks themselves to build proper responspatterns for inside ghting.

Elbow Training(Ji Ben Zhou Fa- )

After the lian huan ba gua zhangwe then go to formsuch as thirteen elbows which offer some training and

possibilities when applying Ba Gua at an elbow strikingrange. This training uses linear as well as circulamovements to achieve a practical understanding of thinside ghting scenario. Training also includes tacticof moving in to and out of the close range positions

After the student learns how to perform and applythe elbow striking form, we then teach the 64 lineapostures.

The 64 Linear Postures

The 64 postures of the linear system came to u

through Guo Gu Min, who was one of Li Zi Mingssenior brothers in Liang Zhen Pus Ba Gua. Thesattacks are very specic in strategy within the detailof the hand positions, locks, throws, breaks, andpoint attacks. These attacks are sequenced in logicapatterns of progression that predict an opponentmove if he were able to escape the rst move. In othe

words, each move of the sequence is a counter to anopponents escape from the previous move. We learnto stay on the opponent in a very aggressive manner sthat we never give the opponent a chance or an openingafter we initiate our rst attack. The 64 postures ar

Vince Black executes a throwing techniquefrom the "Old Eight Palms" form on his student

Chris Quayle

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in sequences of this manner. They can be practicedagainst each other and recombined in other similartwo-person practice.

The Dragon Palm

(Ba Gua Long Xing Zhang- )

Following the sequence of the 64 postures, we then

go to the complex and comprehensive forms such asLi Zi Mings dragon palm. The dragon palm combineselements of all of the other forms onto the circularformat. It is a quite extensive form which combinesthe greater percentage of the whole system into onecomplete format. While this form has a quality all ofits own, it also takes everything back to the avor rstexperienced in the warm-up exercises. We also have numerous two-person practice setsin Li Zi Ming Ba Gua that one will practice to varyingdegrees of intensity depending on your skill and yourpartners skill and amount of time youve workedtogether. We begin by walking very casually through

movements in a soft style manner where we movethrough different types of locks and positioningourselves for different kinds of throws. It is kind oflike a Ba Gua push hands exercise, but it is morethan push hands because it is more free form. Thereis not a limited list of locks, throws, or techniques.

This exercise is without limit as to what you can bepracticing. It gives one insights into how to developsubtlety and hide your intention as you set people upfor different kinds of tactics.

Ba Gua Weapons

In addition to the solo forms and two-personexercises, we also have weapons sets such as the largeBa Gua broadsword and the large Ba Gua straightsword. While there are very applicable straight swordand broadsword fighting maneuvers one will learnin the execution of these forms, training with theseheavy weapons also conditions strengths and strategiesapplicable to unarmed combat. We use these weaponsto provide something like a resistance training or

weight training type of method to develop greaterstrength and more proper connection as we movethrough the postures.

When compared to the large straight swordmovements, the movements of the large broadswordare typically executed with the weapon extendedfarther away from the body. By having the extended

weight outside our own bodys reach and having toaccommodate that resistance, the grip of the hand gets

very strong and the shoulder connection develops. Buteven beyond that, practice with this weapon gives us amore nite way of focusing on precise foot movements.

When we are moving through a form and we have thekind of resistance that this weapon provides, it cansimulate someone having a hold on our wrist or arm,

or our holding someone else, and we begin to developa "feel" for the limits of our own movement, stability,and balance in terms of our bodys relationship withour foot position and the position of the opponent. Itgives us insight into how to consolidate our whole bodymovement in regards to our footwork. Our sword work for the large double edged swordis similar in design. The movements related to thesword are much more inside as they work close to

your own body and entail more intricate twisting andturning. This set also develops more of a counteringnature. In other words, this sword set developsthe strengths and strategies of breaking free of anopponent who has grabbed you. When they seize you

you can learn to walk out of their movements andget in a position for counterattack. The sequenceof the form dictates that you be conscious ofcorrectly moving clear of the opponents abilityto continuously lock you as you evade. Itdevelops a kind of movement that requires

Li Zi Ming Ba Gua practitioner Chris Quayle workswith the large Ba Gua Broadsword

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you to be mindful of where your body is in relationto the blade because you have to walk in and aroundthe blade as you move throughout the form. Since youalso are required to control this heavy blade in a precise

manner during execution of the form, the form developsyour wrist strength to a great degree. There are many more exotic weapons in Li style BaGua both long and short, double and single. However,the most distinctive and practical are the double knives

we refer to as the "rooster knives" and an adaptationof them called the "chicken claw knives." The roosterknives have an interesting history. These knives were

basically unknown until someone plundered Dong HaiChuan's tomb around 1910 and his original knives

were stolen and sold in a pawn shop at the antique alleyin Beijing. At that time, no one publicly recognized

the weapon or knew how to use them. Later, a mannamed Chang Jie Miao ( ) identied the weaponand while he couldn't use them himself, he broughthem to public notice by writing about them in his book

Yong Zheng Jian Xia Tu ( ), a book about aQing dynasty sword hero. While he didn't mentionDong's name, he referred to his weapon as the Zi Mu

Ji Zhao Yuan Yang Yue( ), or "Mother andSon Rooster Claw Paired Axe." Liang Zhen Pu referedto this weapon as a Rooster Claw Yin Yang Blade

-Ji Zhao Yin Yang Rui). The rooster knifwas a favorite of Liang Zhen Pu and both he and histudent Guo Gu Min had their own variations of thi

weapon (Guo Gu Min's was the "chicken claw knives"which apply the same basic 24 moves as they werenumerated by Dong Hai Chuan and integrate them in

Li Zi Ming Style Ba Gua Speciatly Weapons

The Rooster Knives The Chicken Claw Knives

The Rooster Knives and the Chicken Claw Knives are two of the spcialty weapons used in Li Zi Ming's Ba Gua.Each system of Ba Gua Zhang has small double knives of this nature, the most popular being the cresent moonswords and the deer horn knives. Small doule knives with many cutting edges facing in numberous directions areeffectively employed in combination with Ba Gua's tight circling and turning motions.

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various sequences in the advanced forms. The rooster knives were developed for ghtingand visually one can see that they are very dangerous

weapons to wield. They have little spots that wereintended to be dipped in poison, they have hooks todraw people in, and numerous cutting edges. Beyondtheir practicality as ghting weapons, both the roosterknives and the chicken claw knives also train variousstrengths that are utilized in unarmed combat.

The rooster knives were developed for

ghting and visually one can see that

they are very dangerous weapons to

wield.

The rooster knife is held much like a tonfa, running

up the forearm and behind the elbow, and it has manycutting edges, catching edges, hooks, and spear tipsthat obviously make it a very good inside fighting

weapon, but for training purposes it works the tricepsand forces you, because of all the sharp edges, toget your arm rotations very correct when you movethrough your form. The heavy weight of the weaponitself develops strength in the pronating a supinatingaspect of the forearms. The grip of the wrist andthe ngers and the ipping action executed with the

weapon for stabbing with the rear end of it also worksthe wrist in a back and forth manner and developspunching power because you are extending and ippingaround seven or eight pounds of weight. It works todevelop the characteristic upward cutting motion ofthe upper arm and shoulder that is so prevalent in theLiang Zhen Pu style of Ba Gua. You see it when goingupward from the bottom and circling over the top andcutting down. It is the action of the triceps and theshoulder rotation together that create this kind ofpower. The rooster knife, being very heavy, helps youto synchronize all of those joints and then the factthat there are many cutting edges, stabbing edges, andhooks in the weapon itself forces you to be very precisein your footwork and body work, especially since youare wielding two of these weapons at the same time.If you only pay attention to one of these weapons atonce it would be very easy for you to hook yourself

with the other. The chicken claw knives, which were Guo Gu Minsfavorite weapon, are held more like a regular shortknife with a handguard and a small blade hook to catchthe opponents weapon. You also have a tomahawklike head at the end of the sword blade that extends16 to 18 inches. You have three tips out at the endof the sword so that you can hook, grip, or deect theopponents weapon. The are lots of hooking and stabbingactions. This knife works a lot of circular actions with the

wrist and thus develops the wrist more than the rooster

Some of the Qing Dynasty Era weapons inLi Zi Ming's weapons collection are shown above

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knives, which work more of the triceps muscle andelbow joint. Each of the weapons, while they have very excellentghting applications, are not that practical in the 20thcentury in America and in a civilized society, however,they still serve to develop strengths and movementsthat are characteristic in our style of Ba Gua. While

we also have various other ghting weapons in theLi system, I feel that those mentioned above are theimportant training weapons.

Supplementary Training

In addition to the above mentioned training methods,Li Zi Ming also had some special supplementarytraining that was given to students on a individual

basis. For instance, Li had an iron palm method,however, he did not teach it to many people. This is not

because it was secret or because it was only reservedfor his top students. It was because Li did not stronglyadvocate this practice and therefore only taught itto those he felt needed it to overcome some training

barrier. Li felt, as did many of my other teachers,that iron palm was not a necessary practice for theinternal martial artist. The abilities that one attains

in iron palm training can be developed naturally inthe regular training process. A strong resilient bodyand powerful palm strike can be achieved simply

by executing your internal boxing properly. Li gaveme his iron palm herbal formula and his trainingmethod, letting me copy his personal notebook as hehad copied it from his teacher before him, so thatI could teach students who needed such training.However, like Li Zi Ming and my other teachers, I

do not emphasize this method because that kind oftraining is not necessary in internal boxing. Li Zi Ming also thought that practicing the Ba Guasystem itself was sufcient to developing skills that

supplemental qi gong ( ) practice might develophowever, when we discussed qi gong he did offerseveral different types of seated and standing qi gongthat one might practice. He and his wife practiced afew simple qi gongexercises. He did not feel that it wasimportant to have lots of different qi gongexercises

but rather to practice consistently was absolutelycrucial. He advised to do qi gongin the morning and to

wash the mouth with salty water prior to commencing

the exercise.

Vince Black teaches Li Zi Ming style Ba Gua Zhangat his school in Tucson, Arizona and in seminars atvarious locations throughout the country. For moreinformation about his Ba Gua Zhang program see thelisting on the back page of this issue for his addressand phone number.

Vince Black poses with the Chicken Claw Knives

Vince Black poses with the Rooster Knives

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A Brief Introduction to the Body-StrengtheningFunction of Eight Diagram Palm Qigong

By Li Zi MingTranslated by Huang Guo Qi

In his later years, Li Zi Ming wrote a number of

books and magazine articles in order to help promote

Ba Gua Zhang for health maintenance and self-defense.

In the following article, Li talks about the health benets

of walking the circle. It is interesting to note that in

this article Li calls the circle walking practice "Ba

Gua Zhang Qi Gong." As Vince Black mentioned in

the last article, Li thought that the practice of the Ba

Gua system itself was sufcient to develop the skills that

supplemental qi gong practice might develop. Many

of the older generation Ba Gua practitioners in Chinafelt the same way as Li felt, that the qi gong and nei

gong of Ba Gua was all contained in the circle walk

practice.

Introduction

Preventive Medicine and Sports Therapy haveexisted for a long time in China and have been handeddown continuously and spread widely from ancienttimes. Starting in my childhood, I have practiced thisart for over seventy years and have beneted deeply.

Although I am at the advanced age of over eighty, I amstill vigorous and healthy. For the development of the Ba Gua Zhang, I offerserious instruction and enthusiastic guidance tostudents and practitioners at home and abroad. Forthe purpose of combining the practice method of qi gong

with medical life-preservation therapy and to promotethe coordination of the aspects of the prevention andtreatment of diseases, the cultivation of characterand internal visualization, I offer my instruction.Great achievements have been obtained and deeplyappreciated by practitioners at home and abroad. Formany years, I have been in charge of the Ba Gua

Zhang Association and have traveled at home andabroad to offer this great art in order to propagate theChinese martial arts. Preventive medicine and sports therapy weredeveloped in ancient China. The Nei Jing (Classic ofInternal Medicine) clearly pointed out the preventiveideology, "to treat the disease before the onset" andrecorded the specic theory of cultivation of personalcharacter and the practice method of qi gong for theelimination of diseases and maintenance of health.Over one thousand seven hundred years ago, Hua Tuo,a medical specialist at the end of the Eastern Han

Dynasty in China, created the "ve animal exercises"and became a pioneer of sports therapy. He also told hisstudent, Wu Pu, that, "The human body must exercise

but cannot exceed its limit. The body movement canaid the "grain Qi" to be infused into the blood vessels forcirculation, so that disease cannot occur, like a door-hinge is never worm-eaten. Therefore, the mastersin ancient times took this guidance and moved their

waist, body, and joints for longevity." By imitating themovements of the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and turtle, they

were able to strengthen the body and prevent diseaseRecently in the unearthed Han tombs, there are also

the charts and recordings pertaining to the exhalationand inhalation (breathing) practice of the ancients. It isclear that our ancestors understood that exercise could

As a result of his martial arts practice, Li Zi Mingwas still strong and healthy at 90 years of age

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strengthening the body (exterior). This idea is baseon traditional Daoist principles and the skill method oDong Hai Chuan, the originator of Ba Gua Zhang. In the Nei Jing, the understanding of qi iscomparatively systematical. The chapter "PlainQuestions" states: "The human develops from the qi othe heaven and earth, " and "Life is called the human

being when the qi of heaven and earth is joined." Qi ithe essential substance required for the formation o

the human body and the maintenance of life activitieof the human body. The Nan Jing(Classic of DifcuIssues) says: "Qi is the foundation of the human, andif the root is eradicated, the leaves will decay." Heris the difference between the yuan (primary) qi and thzong (essential) qi. The yuan qiwas seen earliest in theNan Jing, which states: "The gate of life (mingmen) is thhouse of the spirit and essence and the gathering siteof the yuan qias well." The yuan qi is obtained frominnateness, stored in the kidneys, and supplementedand nourished by the zong qi. The zong qiis produced

jointly by the acquired qi of grain and water combinedwith the inhaled clear air of the natural world.

In order to have a healthy and strong bodyconstitution, it is necessary to strengthen the bodyconstitution by exercise so that the yuan qi can bcontinuously supplemented to promote the physiologicafunctions of the zang-fu organs and meridians, topromote water metabolism and blood circulation, andto increase the ability for the prevention of diseasehence to prolong life.

This method is one of tranquility

within motion, motion within tranquility

- tranquility in the upper and motion in

the lower.

That "the motion produces yang and the tranquilityproduces yin" is the viewpoint of the ancients. BuBa Gua Zhang Qi Gong adopts a specic method omovement. This method is one of tranquility withinmotion, motion within tranquility - tranquility in theupper and motion in the lower. I think that in thi

way we are able to practice the internal skill and also

practice the external skill so as to harmonize themIn simply practicing the tranquility skill we can easilycause the physical body to become weak and likewisethe simple practice of motion skill, without payingattention to the inside, can result in an insufciency othe internal qi. Therefore, to practice qi in the interioand practice the four limbs in the exterior, plus thattacking art of the boxing set of Ba Gua Zhang, wcan make a perfect balance. I can recall one thing which happened over twenty

years ago. There was a patient sick with pulmonarytuberculosis in the later stage and the hospital told

prevent disease and strengthen the body constitution.

The Skill Method of Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong

It is necessary to understand that the qi gongof Ba

Gua Zhang belongs to the internal schools of boxingand that one of the key points of practice in the internalschools is that the tongue touches the upper palate tolink the Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel. TheConception Vessel is the "sea of the yinmeridians" anddominates the yin meridians in the body; the Governor

Vessel is the "sea of the yangmeridians" and governsthe yang meridians of the body. Touching the tongueto the upper palate is "to build a bridge" betweenthe Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel and linkthem together. As soon as the Conception Vessel andGovernor Vessel are linked, the "hundred meridians"can be linked. Once the "hundred meridians" are

linked, disease will not occur. The practice method of Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gongemphasizes walking in a circle, the clockwise andcounterclockwise motions of which are the fundamental

basis of the practice method. In Ba Gua Zhang itis said that "walking is the master of one hundredpractice sessions," and "a hundred practice sessions

without circle walking is no better than walking justonce." Motion brings nimbleness, motionlessnesscauses stagnation. During the practice, it is requiredto walk the circle in accordance with the body'scondition. Those with a weak body constitution andsickness are advised to walk slowly in a comparatively

big circle and with the body lowered only a littlebit. It is also required to have both clockwise andcounterclockwise walking, which will be beneficialto the mutual production of yin and yang. Thus,the beginners will not be in fatigue. Generally, it isadvisable to walk naturally and progressively and notto hold the breathing. Do not use awkward force. Ifthe practice is done according to the correct principlesfor a long period of time, it is possible to obtain a

better effect. The view point is one of "cultivating theinterior and exterior," which is mainly to exercise theinterior for the purpose of preventing disease while also

Li Zi Ming watches as some of his studentspractice the Ba Gua Zhang circle walk exercise

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his family to prepare the funeral affairs for him.Afterwards, the patient was introduced to me. On onehand, I persuaded him to take the medicine he wasprescribed by the hospital, and on the other hand,I taught him Ba Gua Zhang circle walking exercise.

After he walked the circle for less than a half year,his disease decreased fty percent. After he practicedfor one year, his body weight was increased and hisdisease disappeared. At present, his is over seventy

and instructs a number of students. The examplefully explains that the Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong canplay a role to arouse the yuan qiof the human bodyand to strengthen the body constitution and expel thepathogenic factors in the treatment of disease thatmedicine alone cannot do.

The ancient medical sages did not

advocate to treat diseases after their

onset, but suggested to prevent disease

before its onset.

The Production of Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong

I think that the motion of the celestial bodies in theuniverse cannot leave rotation and circulation. This has

been conrmed by the modern science. The planetsand stars can never leave the rotation. Therefore,the theory of the ba gua adopted the natural formsand created the walking and rotating skills of Ba GuaZhang. The human body is a small heavenly circle.

To move qi, to guide, to exhale the stale and inhale thefresh, to circulate qiwith the imagination and to movethe body with qi are exactly the mysterious methodsfor life preservation, especially the cultivation of theinterior and exterior - to practice qi internally andto practice the force externally. The qi is the force,and the force is the qi.

I stress that the tongue touches the upper palateto link the Conception Vessel and Governor Vessel

because this connection promotes the circulation ofqi and strengthens the area of the dan tian. In otherkinds of boxing skills in the martial arts, circularmovements are also highly stressed, such as the

ball embracing movement in Tai Ji Quan. The BaGua Zhang Qi Gong is one kind of movement whichconforms to natural principles and, with the rotationalmovements and the clockwise and counterclockwisecircular motions as the fundamental rule there is anobvious effect in the producing and arousing qi insidethe body and a strengthening of the body's constitution.

With painstaking study and practice, it is possible toobtain qi for strengthening the body quickly. Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong exists objectively and has amaterial basis. Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong is not secret.By practice over a long period of time, it is possible to

obtain satisfactory results. The ancient medical sagedid not advocate to treat diseases after their onset, busuggested to prevent disease before its onset. Ba GuZhang is has as its aim the strengthening of the body

by movement of the hands, feet, waist and four limbswhich is important to improve circulation and prevencardiovascular problems. It also effectively improvethe respiratory system and digestive system, as have

been pointed out by modern medicine.

I have a school brother. He was honest and did nospeak much. He did not learn very many boxing setand methods. But he walked the circle his whole life

As a result, his skill was excellent and other martiaarts practitioners could not get close to his body whenghting with him. The reason is that his though

was pure and he mastered the skill of circle walkingand obtained powerful strength. What strength iit? I think it is mainly the arousal of qi which canstrengthen the body and safeguard the body by theunity of qi and force. This kind of unity cannot bdefeated simply by the seizing and grasping skills othe martial arts. This is the commonly mentioned

principle "to practice the qi internally and to practicthe tendon, bone and skin externally." Ba Gua Zhang Qi Gong is identical to the theory olife preservation in Chinese medicine and is practical fohealthcare, and prevention and treatment of disease

At present, the chemical medicines are used widelyand bring about many side effects. The important rolof sports therapy has been understood. Therefore, iis very urgent to popularize the traditional martial artsfor the benet of the people.

By Li Zi Ming1987

Li Zi Ming looks at thePa Kua Chang Newsletter

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In my capacity as the editor and publisher of thePa Kua Chang Journal, I frequently receive phone callsfrom individuals seeking a Ba Gua Zhang instructor.More times than not I will simply direct them to lookat the instructor's directory on the back page of the

Journal, nd someone in their area, and go checkout the instructor to see if that person is teachingsomething they would be interested in learning. Everyteacher has a different personality, different teachingstyle, and different emphasis in their Ba Gua instructionand so it is difficult to make recommendations toindividuals I do not know about teachers I may or maynot know. However, there are three or four teachers inthis country who I will wholeheartedly recommend toanyone who calls from their area. Tom Bisio, of New

York, is one of them.

When I recommend a Ba Gua teacher to a strangerover the phone I will only recommend someone that I

know to be very skilled in all aspects of Ba Gua andteaches a very complete and well balanced system oBa Gua. Furthermore, that individual will be someon

who is skilled at teaching the art, is enthusiastic abouteaching the art, and teaches willingly and openly

without holding back information or making studentgrovel to receive the material. Finally, I will onlrecommend an individual who I think is honest andstraightforward, someone who is easy to get along

with and doesn't play mind games with their studentsThere are far too many teachers out there who play th"I'm the great master and you are the peon studentgame. This might work in a cheap Hong Kong kunfu ick, but only ends up causing problems in the rea

world. Skill in executing all aspects of Ba Gua, skill intransmitting the art to others, and a decent personalityare the three characteristics I look for in a good BaGua teacher. Whenever someone from New York callme for advice about a Ba Gua teacher, Tom Bisio is thname I give them because I know that he lls all of theabove listed requirements.

Early Martial Arts Training Tom Bisio began his martial arts career studyin

Tae Kwon Do at a local YMCA when he was 14 andthen he subsequently started studying Ishin KempoKarate when he was 15 years old. He continued tpractice this art while in High School. When he wento college, Tom began searching for an Arnis instructo

because he had read a magazine article about Arniand the art interested him. He eventually found an ain Inside Kung Fuwhich told of an Arnis class beinggiven at the Filipino Consulate in New York City. H

went to the Consulate to inquire about the class andfound that Leo Gaje was teaching a small group in acourtyard on the roof of the Consulate building. H

began taking this class when he was 19 years old. Shortly after Tom began his study with Gaje at thConsulate, Gaje began also teaching a class in Queenand so Tom increased the intensity of his training. Hstudied with Gaje 4 or 5 days a week in small groupor one-on-one sessions in Queens and also continued

studying with him on Sundays at the Consulate. Tomstudied with Leo Gaje from 1976 through 1988. In 1979, Tom Bisio went to the Philippines to ght intheir national full contact stick ghting championshipEven though he had only three years of Arnis trainingat the time, he was entered in the senior instructor'division (which was reserved for practitioners with aleast ten years of experience). In this tournament Tomdefeated all opponents and was designated co-champion(the nal championship bout was cancelled). Durinthis trip to the Philippines Tom also met and trained

with his Doce Pares Escrima teacher Momoy CaneteTom Bisio practicing Ba Gua Qin Na with

Zhang Hua Sen in Beijing

Li Zi Ming Ba Gua in New York City

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Tom said that while Leo Gaje's style of ghting wasvery close-quarter stick ghting with fast movementsdesigned to quickly defeat the opponent on the inside,Momoy's specialized in blade and dagger techniques

which utilized a larger stick and more powerful outsidestrikes. The techniques in Momoy's system aredesigned to open up the opponent with the powerfulstrike from long range and then move in quickly tostrike with the dagger.

While Tom continued to study with Leo Gaje until1988, he also continued his study with Momoy Canete.

He made a trip to the Philippines to study with Canetein 1984 and stayed there training for three months.In 1986 Tom went back to the Philippines to receivefurther instruction and took some of his students

with him.

Studying Chinese Martial ArtsTom Bisio started studying the Chinese internal

martial arts with Vince Black in 1983. Previous tomeeting Black, Tom had read about Xing Yi and was

very attracted to its internal qualities. From what hehad seen of some of the old masters in books, Tom

thought that the movements of Xing Yi looked like theloose body action of his Filipino styles. He had tried tnd a Xing Yi teacher, however, of those that he metnone could really use their art. He said that they couldall talk about the theory in great detail, but when icame down to actually using it in a realistic situationthey fell far short of his expectations. The Filipino artthat he had studied were very practical and he waslooking for that same degree of practicality in a Xing Y

system. Unable to nd a suitable teacher, Tom beganstudying Xing Yi's standing practice on his own. Tom met Vince Black in 1983 at a stick ghtingseminar that Leo Gaje was giving in Big Springs, Texas

Tom said that he asked Vince to correct the standingpostures he had been practicing. After correcting thmaterial Tom had tried to pick up on his own, Vincespent the rest of the evening tossing Tom around thehotel room in order to demonstrate Xing Yi's ghtingpracticality. Afterwards, it was very evident to Tomthat Vince knew how to apply Xing Yi in a very realistimanner. Vince was the rst Xing Yi instructor tha

Tom had met who could explain the Xing Yi theory in

great detail and could also use it in a realistic mannerShortly after that, Tom traveled to San Diego andstayed for two weeks studying Xing Yi with Vince BlackDuring that visit Tom saw Vince's Kaju Kenbo class

working out and also became interested in studyingthat art. He said that the Kaju Kenbo appealed to him

because, given his background, Kaju Kenbo was a bieasier than Xing Yi to learn how to apply right awayHe also liked the practicality of the art. That visit began

Leo Gaje was Tom's rst Arnis teacher

Tom Bisio in the Phillipines practicing Doce ParesEscrima with Momoy Canete (1984)

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Tom's training with Vince Black in Xing Yi, Ba Gua,and Kaju Kenbo which continues to this day.

After Tom's trip to the Philippines in 1984, hewent to Taiwan to study Xing Yi with Hsu Hong-Chi.Hsu was Vince Black's Xing Yi teacher, and Vincehad written a letter of introduction for Tom. Whiletraining with Hsu, Tom found that Hsu's ability level

was everything Vince had said it to be. He said thatthe degree of power Hsu had was amazing, especiallygiven his size. Tom studied Xing Yi's ve elements,ve element linking form, some of the animal forms,and some of Tang Shou Tao's preliminary sets withHsu while he was in Taiwan. While learning the formsand exercise sets from Hsu was valuable, Tom statesthat Hsu also taught him many lessons about living

life and being a good person. He said that Hsu oftensat and told stories that had a moral and these lessons

were very valuable. While in Taiwan, Tom also had the opportunityto study with some of Hsu Hong Chi's friends andalso met Hsu's brother. He said that the only other

American studying with Hsu at the time was TimCartmell. Tim had moved to Taiwan at the beginningof 1984 and studied with Hsu almost daily until Hsudied in October of that year. Tom said that the twomost valuable things about his time in Taiwan were

watching Hsu Hong Chi move through the forms and

getting to know him personally. During the mid to late 1980's Tom took many tripto San Diego to study Xing Yi and Ba Gua with VinceBlack and he also attended special Tang Shou Taotraining events in Arizona. Additionally, he sponsored

Vince to come to New York and teach on many occasionand in 1986 Tom and Vince both went to the Philippineto train Doce Pares Escrima with Momoy Canete. Tomand Vince have also taken two trips to China togethe

to study the Li Zi Ming system of Ba Gua.

Studying Ba Gua Zhang Tom Bisio started his study of Ba Gua Zhang with

Vince Black in the late 1980's. The rst system he waexposed to was the Jiang Rong Chiao ( ) systemthat Vince was teaching at the time. Tom said that arst he thought that the Ba Gua looked nice and it felgood to practice, but it was difcult to gure out howto really use it. He could recognize the potential for thmovements to be used nicely in application becausthe circular movement had some similarities with somof his movements in Arnis, however, it was hard to

put the movements together with the correct timingand power. He says Xing Yi is a lot more direct inthat sense. When Tom started studying the Li Zi Ming () system of Ba Gua from Vince and later with Vince'selder Ba Gua "brother" in Beijing, Zhang Hua Sen

), he became more comfortable with Ba Gua'usage. He said that because Li Zi Ming's Ba Guaconsists of a very complete system of learning, it waseasier to build the knowledge from the ground up andthus easily discover the proper usage of power, timingand Ba Gua technique application.

When Tom rst started working the Li system in

China with Zhang Hua Sen, Zhang would simply havhim practice a lot of exercises which were designed todevelop proper Ba Gua power and mechanics. Thitraining consisted of exercises practiced while standinin one place as well as the performance of long lines orepetitive exercises and techniques. Power developmentraining and footwork training were also emphasizedZhang had Tom practice these single techniquesrepetitively before he was taught any forms. Tom

was accustomed to practicing in this fashion in hiFilipino arts and thus he was familiar with this trainingprocess.

After Tom had studied the warm-up exercises, singl

movement practice, nei gong palms, old eight palms64 linear forms, continuously linked palms, dragonpalms, and various weapons of the Li Zi Ming systemhe began to grasp the depth of Ba Gua and the Ba Guatraining process. He said that the "old eight palmshelps the practitioner understand the circling andchanging aspects of the art while the 64 linear formsgives the practitioner a fundamental knowledge of thusage. The "dragon palms" puts the linear applicationon a circular format and thus mixes together theimportant components of the "old eight palms" and the64 linear forms. Each of the weapons develop strength

Tom Bisio in Taiwan studying with Hsu Hong Chi

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Tom Bisio and Vince Black in Tianjin, China

qualities in different parts of the body and thus arealso valuable training tools. Another valuable trainingexercise Zhang worked on with Tom was partner practiceto research different ways to apply techniques in themoment. This practice gave him a better understandingof the best angles from which to apply the techniques.

Tom says that the Li Zi Ming style and the way itis trained makes sense as a complete system and,

because of its step-by-step method, students of thisstyle can develop good fighting skill in a relativelyshort period of time. Tom commented that Zhang Hua Sen is one of the

best teachers he has ever had the opportunity to trainwith. He said that all of the impressive teachers hehas met in the martial arts are very willing to get inthere and do the techniques with the student. Theteacher applies the technique on the student and thenthe student applies the technique on the teacher. Inthis way the feeling of the technique is conveyed clearly.

Tom's experience with many of the Chinese martialartists is that they sit on the side and tell the students

what to do instead of doing it with them. Zhang getsvery involved when he is teaching and emphasizes

precision in the placement of the feet and hands. Whenhe was working with Zhang, Zhang would make verysubtle corrections in Tom's technique applications that

would make the difference between a very impressiveresult and no result. Tom said that Zhang had a verykeen eye for that kind of thing.

Studying a Complete System Tom Bisio has been very fortunate in his study ofthe martial arts because the Arnis, Escrima, Xing Yi,and Ba Gua he has studied have all been very completemethods taught by instructors who know how to applythese arts in a realistic situation. Tom states that,

like the Chinese arts, many of the schools teaching theFilipino arts today teach a very incomplete method.

In his training with Leo Gaje there was not onlypractice with the stick techniques, but they spent agreat deal of time with footwork practice. After extensivepractice with stickwork and footwork performedseparately, they then practiced how to properly linkthe footwork with the stickwork. Then they practicedtwo person drills incorporating both the footwork andstickwork and learned the strategic principles of combatincluding how to close the distance, how to cut angles,and how to utilize effective combinations.

Power training was also an integral part of Gaje's

training methods. There were exercises designed todevelop vertical power, horizontal power, torquingpower, opening and closing power and power deliveryat other various angles. This training was balanced

between the use of double sticks, single stick, stick anddagger, and single and double knife ghting. Other

various heavy weapons and training apparatus wasused to learn how to develop power and special ghtingskills. One such method was to lay out halved coconutson the ground and execute footwork drills on top ofthe coconuts. Tom said that in Gaje's school formsequences and linear ghting sets were not taught

until the practitioner had a rm grasp of the basicsas listed above. When Tom studied with Momoy Canete, h

was exposed to some di fferent training methodfor developing skill and power. Canete taught Tomspear techniques which served to develop power andconnection between the two hands which is usefu

when ghting with the stick and dagger. Canete alsotaught Tom how to use a chain weapon in order to

develop a whipping type of power in the body and alsothe use of a bullwhip to develop accurate timing inpower delivery. Additionally Canete had Tom train

with opponents using extra heavy sticks in order todevelop courage.

Because his study of the Filipino arts, in a completeand balanced system, had taught him how to properlymove the body and how to apply power appropriately

Tom already had many of the components necessary tobegin the study of classical Xing Yi Quan when he meVince Black. Vince states, "When I met Tom, he waalready a seasoned martial artist who had mastereda discipline of body mechanics in the Filipino martia

arts and was therefore fairly well connected internallyHe had done some self study of Xing Yi's standingpostures, so he was ready to immediately assimilateanything and everything I showed him. I started himat a more advanced level than other students I havetaught. I had asked Tom specically why he wantedto study Xing Yi, for himself or to teach others, and he

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said that he wanted it for his own training. So I felt that

because of his personal aspirations I could start him ata level more appropriate to his personal ability." The Tang Shou Tao system of Xing Yi taught by

Vince Black is a very complete method consisting ofthree levels of training. The classical Xing Yi forms(ve elements, twelve animals, etc.) are not taught untilthe student reaches the third level. The rst two levelsare designed to develop balance, strength, exibility,coordination, rhythm and timing in applying martialarts applications, and internal body connections andalignments in a step-by-step training curriculum.Black feels that without a very solid foundation builtfrom specic methods designed to build internal body

connections, power, and mechanics from the groundup, it is difcult for inexperienced practitioners toexperientially understand classical Xing Yi posturingand movements.

Vince Black says, "Because Tom had trainedhimself without needing encouragement and was

very meticulous with the Xing Yi method, his Xing Yideveloped quickly. However, after several years oftraining on his own, he decided he wanted to teach

Xing Yi. I gave him permission to teach the XingYi and about 18 months later he called to share anobservation which was that, 'Xing Yi is really difcultto teach.' He asked if there was something else he

needed to understand in order to effectively teach thXing Yi to beginners. I invited him back to my schooin San Diego to stay for several weeks and he sawthe complete breakdown of our training program andlearned the different kinds of conditioning exercises

which we teach in the first two levels of trainingAfter that it was easy for him to begin to develop newstudents in Xing Yi." Tom said that he had become frustrated trying to

teach new students Xing Yi's ve elements because thestudents were having a tough time grasping the subtlemovements and Xing Yi's expression of power. Afte

Tom learned the rst two levels of Tang Shou Tao XingYi training and began teaching it in his school, not onlydid the students begin to improve greatly, but practiceof this material lled in the gaps of his own training

Tom states that if a beginning student comes to Xing Yand begins working with the ve elements right awaythey do not have enough experiential knowledge omartial technique or appropriate martial arts power tounderstand the subtlety of the ve elements and usethem effectively in a ghting situation.

Tom had the same experience when he beganstudying Ba Gua. Even though he was an experiencedmartial artist, by simply studying the Jiang Rong Chiaform he was not able to fully appreciate the subtletiesof Ba Gua's power and application. However, aftestudying the complete Li Zi Ming method, starting fromthe basics and working gradually to the more advancedmaterial, he could then understand and appreciatBa Gua's special avor.

Chinese Medicine When Tom Bisio began studying with Vince Blackin addition to the exposure he was getting to Vince's

ghting arts, he also had the opportunity to watchVince treat patients in his acupuncture clinic. Vince'skill in acupuncture and bone setting impressed TomHe had felt that martial arts instructors were supposedto know this kind of healing methods, however, Vince

was the only one he had met who had a deep knowledgof the subject. In his years of stick ghting, Tom had seen manypeople receive injuries that put them out of commissionSeeing this made him feel that any teacher of martiaarts should know enough about medicine to be able tohelp heal the kind of injuries that are going to naturallyoccur during rigorous martial arts training. If thinjury is taken care of when it rst occurs, the injuredperson has a much better chance of recovery, they wilnot have to quit training, and the chances of permanendamage will be reduced. Tom also said that if a studencomes to practice martial arts and they have a problem

with their body due to an old injury or they have anchronic deciency of some kind, an instructor whoknows Chinese medicine and bone setting can x theproblem and thus the forms and exercises fall righinto place. Tom says that when there is a structuraproblem in the body, it will not always correct itsel

with exercise and thus "try harder" will not cut it fo

Tom Bisio studying Li Zi Ming style Ba Gua withZhang Hua Sen in Beijing

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some people.Vince Black began teaching Tom

about the healing arts soon afterTom started studying Vince's martialarts. Additionally, Tom enrolled inmassage school and then later wentto a formal acupuncture school.

As he gained an understanding ofthe Chinese medicine he also began

doing apprentice work in VinceBlack's acupuncture clinic in SanDiego. During one visit, Tom stayedin San Diego for six weeks and

worked with Vince in the cl in iceveryday. Today Tom Bisio is convincedthat the martial arts and the healingarts go hand in hand. While itmade sense to him before he startedstudying medicine that the martialartists could help themselves bystudying the medicine, after going to

acupuncture school he now realizesthat the Chinese doctors also needthe martial arts training. He saidthat individuals who practice the Chinese internalmartial arts have a sense of internal harmony and havea sense of what the body is supposed to look like andfeel like. Individuals who do not practice martial artsdo not have this sense of a healthy body and thus itis more difcult for them to develop a feeling for theirpatient's health. Tom said that in the acupunctureschool he attended there were many individuals who

were training to be doctors who were not healthythemselves. He feels that if the doctor does not have a

healthy body and does not know what a healthy bodyis supposed to feel like, then they will not have anexperiential knowledge of how to get there. Tom thinksthat teaching the doctors to take care of their ownhealth and take responsibility for their own body should

be taught before giving them a bunch of informationabout how to treat other people. He also commentedthat when he works on students who practice themartial arts, their health improves much faster becausethey take responsibility for their own body.

In Tom's experience, individuals who practice theinternal martial arts and study Chinese medicine pickup the medicine much faster and typically develop ahigher level of skill. Additionally, he says that thosedoctors who want to develop skill in bone setting needto also develop the ability to apply the kind of "shortpower" which is cultivated in internal arts practice.

Without this kind of power development the difcultbone setting techniques cannot be performed.

Teaching Medicine and Martial Arts Tom Bisio began teaching Filipino style martial artsin 1979 at Columbia University in a martial arts club.

After three years of teaching at Columbia, Tom beganteaching elsewhere in New York. Since that time hehas taught the Filipino arts, Kaju Kenbo, Xing Yi, and

Ba Gua as well as the healing arts. Today Tom nlonger teaches the Filipino martial arts or the KajuKenbo. He currently teaches Xing Yi and Ba Gu

Wednesday through Friday in New York City. He alsoteaches Qi Gong to his patients, Kung Fu (injurymedicine Chinese medicine to other health practitionerand martial arts instructors, and Tui Na to a fewindividuals who apprentice with him in his clinic

Those individuals who might be interested in studyinwith Tom can reach him at (212) 226-3140.

When someone from New York calls me and wantto nd a martial arts instructor, I tell them that if they

want to learn a good, solid, complete system of martiaarts taught by someone who is a good teacher andeasy to get along with, they should study with TomBisio. The typical reaction is, "I've never heard of thiguy." To which I reply, "Just because someone has no

written about themselves in martial arts magazinedoes not mean they are not highly skilled. In factmost of the highly skilled martial artists I've met in thicountry rarely appear in the magazines." Tom Bisikeeps a low prole because he is more interested in

practicing and teaching good martial arts skill thanmaking a big name for himself. Tom says, "People artoo concerned about theoretical ideas and lineage. I

you want to study good martial arts, nd someone whhas good skill and is willing to convey it. Who cares ihe is the top guy in his lineage. Feel their skill, don

just talk about it. The theoretical stuff is nice to knowbut the bottom line is 'can they do it.' People have toomany preconceived notions that they got from books

but usually their thoughts and ideas are not based inthe reality of martial arts and the application."

North American Tang Shou Tao President Vince Black (center) withhis two Vice Presidents David Nicoletti (left) and Tom Bisio (right).

All three studied Xing Yi directly from Hsu Hong Chi and havestudied Li Zi Ming's Ba Gua in China

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Since the resurgence of the public practice of

Chinese martial arts in mainland China in the late1970's, there have been two older generation Ba GuaZhang practitioners who stood as icons of the stylein the country of its origin for over a decade, Li ZiMing ( ) and Sha Guo Zheng ( ). Both ofthese distinguished gentleman have now passed away,however, they have both left behind written materialexpressing their ideas and insights concerning thepractice and study of Ba Gua Zhang which we can useto better understand these men and their art.

One of the many written works which Sha GuoZheng presented to the Ba Gua community was a

very comprehensive series of articles detailing his

199 movement Sha style Ba Gua Lian Hua Zhang (- continuous linking Ba Gua). This series

of articles appeared in Wu Shu Jian Shen, a popularmartial arts magazine in mainland China, in 1991.

In this article we will present the opening of Sha'sform which demonstrates his execution and usage ofthe single palm change. While the movements of Sha'ssingle palm change will appear to be quite straightforward to anyone who has studied the single palmchange from most any style of Ba Gua, Sha's writtenexplanations of the details of his change and the special

Sha Guo Zheng's Single Palm Changeby Sha Guo Zheng

Translated by Tim Cartmell

points of practice might lend some new insights topractitioners familiar with this change.

Sha Guo Zheng's Continuous Linking Ba Gua Zhanform was his own combination of various forms he hadlearned from his Ba Gua Zhang instructors. The formis quite long and the movements are not restricted to

a single circle. This form is comprised of movementaround three different size circles combined withlinear movements to eight directions (as shown in thillustration at left).

In the execution of this form the practitioner isrequired to combine circle walking maneuvers anddirectional changes around all three circles with lineafootwork and straight line attacks moving to the eighdirections. In this segment we will show the rst 8 othe 199 postures of this form in order to introduce threader to Sha style Ba Gua and the detailed writingstyle of Sha Guo Zheng. In future issues of the Pa Kua

Sha Guo Cheng demonstrating a Ba Gua Zhangmartial application on his student Kang Ge Wu

Sha Guo Zheng's Continuous Linking Ba Gua Zhangform is executed around three different size cir-

cles and includes straight line movements in eightdirections

North

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Sha Style Single Palm Change

Chang Journal we will show various other segmentsof this form and present Sha Guo Zheng's writtenexplanations.

Opening Movements of Sha StyleContinuous Linking Palm

(Single Palm Change)

Introduction

The Ba Gua Lian Huan Zhang form teaches thepractitioner how to change the palms while circlingand the movements are quite complicated and thedimensions of movement are many. We began toprepare this written material in 1975, first takingphotographs of Sha Guo Zheng performing his form.

We tried to make the instructions very clear and presentthe material in great detail. We feel that the readercan learn from the results of our ten years of work andresearch on this project. The diagram of movement which the student can

use as a reference is shown in the previous page. Thepractice area should be 5 meters in diameter. Thelargest circle should be 4 meters in diameter. Insideof that is a circle of 2 meters in diameter, then insidethat is a small circle of 1.2 meters in diameter. Fourstraight lines divide the circles into eight directions.

The top of the circle faces north. Start the form facingsouth. Beginners are encouraged to draw this diagramon the oor to help follow the directions. In the diagram on the previous page there are smallcircles which are half black and half white. These circleindicate the position of the body while executing theform. The white side of the circle is the direction youare facing in execution of the movement.

The Twin Dragons Appear

Explanation of the Movements:1) Posture and preparation. Stand naturally on thenorth side of the small (innermost) circle facing south.

The heels are together with the toes turned out at an

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angle of about 60 degrees, the knees are slightly pulledinward, the arms hang naturally at the sides, the eyeslook straight ahead (illustration 1).

2) Beginning Form. The upper body does not move,the weight is shifted to the right foot, the left footmoves a half step to the left (until the feet are shoulder

width apart), the body weight is distributed evenlybetween the two feet; the two palms simultaneously

twist outward, the palms now face outward (forward,toward the south - illustration 2).Continuing, move the two palms out to the sides with

the palms facing upward until the arms are stretchedout to the sides at a 90 degree angle to the body, atshoulder height with the arms slightly bent, now turnthe palms over to face downward with the tigers mouthof both hands facing each other (the distance betweenthe index ngers is about 2 centimeters), the palmspush down in front of the chest until they are in frontof the lower stomach; without stopping turn the twopalms outward level with the ground until the ngersare pointing forward, the hands are in front of the

juncture of the torso and thigh (illustration 3).

Important Points:a) While standing naturally in the posture o

preparation, the head must be straight, with the bacof the neck stretched (the head is slightly lifted upward

but one must not use force), the chin is slightly pullein, the lower coccyx is straight, the chest is helnaturally, it must not be pushed out nor sunken inone must not slump the shoulders forward or rounthe back, the shoulders sink with the arms hangin

naturally downward at the sides, not intentionally benor forcefully straightened; the anal sphincter is slightlcontracted and the buttocks are slightly pulled in. Thheart is calm and the qi still, close the mouth witthe teeth together, the tongue is touching the roof othe mouth, the breathing is done through the nosnaturally, the eyes look straight ahead and level, facindirectly south, the entire body is relaxed with thspirit and intent concentrated, the heart is quiet ancomfortable, ones overall posture is natural. b) During the beginning form the spirit must bconcentrated on the movement. c) The movements of the two hand

must be natural, no excessive force may be used

The character eight step is a very important step inSha style Ba Gua Lian Huan Zhang. The stance maybe high, middle, or low and the length of the step mayalso vary. The various foot positions are:

1) Straight Character Eight Step: The toes of both

feet are toed-in, facing each other with the knees bent,the body sinking downward, the hips and buttockspulled in, the energy of the two knees pulls inward, thebody is straight and the weight is evenly distributedbetween the two feet (illustration 1).

2) Reverse Character Eight Step: The toes are turnedoutward (toed-out) and paralell, the knees are slightly

opened and bent, the body sinks downward, thebuttocks are pulled in, the body is straight (illustration2).

3) Mixed Character Eight Step: The toe of one footis toed-in while the other foot toes-out. The kneesare bent, the legs feel a wrapping energy, the body

sinks downward, the hips and buttocks are pulled in,the body is straight, the weight is evenly distributedbetween the two feet. This is the toe-out step and caneither be a left toe-out step (illustration 3) or a righttoe-out step (illustration 4).

4) Partial Character Eight Step: This variation alsoincludes left (illustration 5) and right (illustration6) styles. This stance is the same as Xing Yis San Tistance, only its method of changing to a subsequentstance is different. The two legs are held as a bow,the front leg is straight and the back leg is bent, theheel of the back foot is in line with the center of the

front foot, the distance between the two feet is twofoot-lengths, the feet are held at 45 degree angles,the hips and buttocks are pulled in, the toes gripthe ground, the body weight can either be on thefront foot, the back foot or double weighted (evenlyon both feet) depending on the circumstances.

The Character Eight Step (Ba Zi Bu - )

1

2

3 4

5 6

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the left palm, forming the wild swan leaves the ockform. At this time the chest and face are toward thesouth (illustration 6).

Important Points: a) The two hands move in a smooth arc from theright underarm to upper left, the arms are bent androunded, they must not be completely straightened or

bent too much, the movement is expansive. b) The knees are bent and press together, the bodysinks downward, when turning the waist to the left thecoccyx remains erect, the buttocks are pulled in.

Method of Practical Use: As the left hand arcs upward to the left an outwardpushing energy is created, one should imagine theopponent is to ones left side.

The Green Dragon Turns Its Body

Explanation of the Movements: Continuing from the above form without stopping,the two palms twist inward together, the left arm

presses down forming the dragon palm (see annotationone), the palm is erect and at the level of the nose,the palm faces the center of the circle, the right palmtwists in and presses downward, it is placed in frontof the chest inside the left elbow, at this time turn the

waist to the left as much as possible, the left palmshould be in a line with the right heel, the eyes followthe left index and middle ngers. You are standingon the small circle with the chest facing south andthe face looking southeast, the energy of the left palmpresses downward while the energy of the right palm

wraps inward in front of the chest, the left foot is

toed-in with the knees pressing toward each other, thbody sinks downward, with the waist turned to thleft, one is in the green dragon turns its body form.See illustration 7. The above posture, when xed, is commonly calledthe single palm change pushing the millstone form.

The upper body does not move, the left foot toes-ouin place and then the right foot takes a step up to thleft front and toes-in, the left foot turns outward and

steps forward following the radius of the small circlealternate steps walking around the perimeter of thesmall circle. When you have made a complete circland returned to the starting point, the chest facesthe southwest, the eyes look at the left index nge(illustration 8). While walking the circle, one may usthe mud sliding step. See annotation two.

Important Points: a) The elbow and shoulder of the left handmust sink and remain rounded, the arm must not bestraightened, the right arm must be rounded and heldaway from the chest.

b) While walking and turning, the knees must bbent, the body sinking downward, the waist twistedto the left, the buttocks pulled in, the height of thehead must remain the same, the walk must be leveand the steps as if sliding through mud, smoothand stable.

Method of Practical Use: This is a method of engaging and adjusting to thopponent, the singl