Jade Dragon School of Kung Fu and Qigong in Reading, Berkshire

Jade Dragon School of Kung Fu and Qigong

Bagua

Bagua (sometimes spelled Pakua) is one of the most well known and sophisticated of all Chinese martial arts. It is one of the three noble internal arts alongside Hsing I and the better known Tai Chi Chuan (Taijiquan). Bagua is based on the 8 trigrams of the I Ching (book of changes) and continuous circular movements.

Bagua was developed by Dong Hai-Ch'uan who was an imperial bodyguard and had spent many years studying from different martial artists. He had also studied walking circle meditation from Taoists of the 'Complete Reality Sect' and incorporated these circular stepping patterns into his martial arts. The result was a virtually unbeatable martial art that was designed to defend against up to 8 attackers simultaneously. To face a Bagua stylist is unnerving as they twist and coil around you, avoiding attacks and can counter-attack from seemingly impossible angles using throws, pressure points, a variety of kicks and their famous palm strikes.

These days bagua is known as much for its health and fitness benefits as much as its martial arts skills. The twisting movements stretch and tone the muscles and joints and realign the vertebrae. Balance, stability and coordination are enhanced and the pratitioner learns the secrets of how to develop true power without the need for weight training or fighting from fixed stances. The circle walking brings in large amounts of energy and is a powerful form of moving meditation.

In the Jade Dragon school bagua training is recognised to be an advanced skill and so the training begins from level 3. It usually takes 2-3 years for beginners to reach this level. However, those years are spent learning a wide variety of other skills that then become incorporated into the bagua training regimens and philosophies.