Yin Style Bagua, Austria

31/01/2020

A new picture has emerged which shows Yin Fu Front row fifth from the left, Gong Bao Tian Back row third from the left and Finaly Men Baozhen Sixth from the left,
Interesting to say the least🤙💪🖖

16/01/2020

Second one

洪家拳(Hung Gar Kuen) 俠家挙(Hop Gar Kuen) 蔡李佛拳(Choi Lei Fut Kuen) 太極拳(Tai ji Chuan) 猴拳(Monkey style) 酔拳(Drunken style) 鶴拳(Crane style) 鴨拳(Duck style) 拦截拳 (Lan Jie...

16/01/2020

Some of that footage I have seen before but i guess these two videos are an extended version of the known one.
Interesting to see all these different Masters from the past and Styles which might not exist any more.

洪家拳(Hung Gar Kuen) 俠家挙(Hop Gar Kuen) 蔡李佛拳(Choi Lei Fut Kuen) 太極拳(Tai ji Chuan) 猴拳(Monkey style) 酔拳(Drunken style) 鶴拳(Crane style) 鴨拳(Duck style) 拦截拳 (Lan Jie...

06/11/2019

Zhan Zhuang technique refined, check👌😃

17/10/2019

Those who are interested in the Tendo-Meridian Channels an Excercise from the Tai Chi Tradition.
Interestingly to see not always Forms being practiced but here each Posture is shown with its own preliminary Exercise. These preliminary Exercises are all too often forgotten and not practiced at all.
In my opinion to have a solid foundation in the Tai Chi or any other Internal Martial Art you need to have each Posture first correct to move to the next and only at the End you combine them fluently into a Form.

As within our Yin Style Bagua Tradition we do exactly that, building a solid Foundation bit by bit and also learn how to use them effectively in Combat or against Disease.
A Yin Yang, complete approach should be the aim to reach the full potential of any practitioner in the Chinese Internal Martail Arts.

弓身前後 Gongshen Qian Hou
Bow (Bend) Body Forward and Backward
During the early 1980s while visiting friends in Taipei, Taiwan, I took the opportunity to show up early mornings at parks hoping to see and meet martial artists during their practice sessions. On one occasion I sat and watched a large class of over fifty people being led by an accomplished teacher. After the class the teacher sent one of his students over to speak with me. The teacher was somewhat impressed that I sat there for nearly two hours, patiently observing. I was introduced to the teacher who turned out to be Master Yu Hsien-Wen, former chairman of The Research Committee for the Tai-Chi Chuan Association of Taiwan and who sat on the Board for the Association for years to come. He knew all of the Tai-Chi teachers in Taiwan quite well, and studied under several of them, including Professor Cheng Man-Ch’ing. To show the level of importance that Master Yu held in the Tai-Chi community he was also credited by Prof. Cheng for his help in the following book:
Tai-Chi Ch’uan A Simplified Method of Callisthenic for Health & Self Defense by Cheng Man-Ch’ing. Copyright © 1981 by Juliana T. Cheng.
Professor Cheng wrote the following in this book under the heading Acknowledgements: The sketches of the book with explanatory notes and the chapter on Pushing Hand Practice were rendered by Mr. Liang Tung-tsai and revised by Mr. R. W. Smith, Rev. Miss Ellen M. Studley, and Mr. Yu Hsien-wen. All the pictures in the book were taken by Mr. Kuo Ching-fang and Mr. Li Lee.
Master Yu, who spoke some English, welcomed me to attend his class, which I did when the opportunity arose. He was a scholar who loved researching old documents and books on internal Chinese boxing, particularly regarding Tai-Chi (taijiquan). Master Yu had mentioned that in the mid-1970s he had written an in-depth article on traditional Tai-Chi preliminary exercises taught within the Yang family lineage, of which he was part. Besides writing the article, complete with instructions, he also posed for the follow-along methods. The article was translated into English and published in several Taiwan magazines. Master Yu gave me a copy of the article, taught me further details on each method that were edited out of the magazine due to space restrictions, and asked that I someday present this to people abroad so that they can understand traditional Tai-Chi methods in the manner that he had been taught. I am delighted to fulfill his wish and my promise.
Repetitions: 10 times on each side is sufficient.
Essentials: Developing single leg balance, withdrawing abdominal muscles to aid in specialized taijiquan breathing, and to compress and open up the intestinal tract which aids in digestion, lung and heart health according to Chinese medical treatment.
Correlation to Taijiquan Practice: This exercise specifically prepares the student for attaining the correct methods to practice lowering, bending and leaning one’s body in the following taijiquan postures: 海底針式 Hai Di Zhen Shi (Needle at the Bottom of the Ocean), and 扇通背 San Tong Bei (Fan Through the Back).
弓身前後 Gongshen Qian Hou (Bow [Bend] Body Forward and Backward) Movement 1: Assume the Preparation Posture; lift the right leg and take a single step to the front right, placing the leg firmly onto the ground. Let the arms fall forward as the body bends to the front. Bend the knees until the fingers touch the toes. Then straighten the body and lean backward. Shift your weight gradually into the left foot. Lift the arms as the body leans [bends] to the rear, and stretch them backward over the head. Repeat 10 times, and then resume the Preparation Posture.
Movement 2:
Standing in the Preparation Posture, lift the left foot and take a single step to the front left. The sequence of actions is the same as with the right foot forward.
Special Points to Observe:
1. The entire body must be relaxed while bending as far back as possible without straining.
2. The weight is placed on the front leg when the body bends to the front and on the rear leg when leaning back.
3. Exhale when bending forward, and inhaling when leaning back.
4. When practicing you must consciously 鬆腰 song yao (loosen/relax the waist) so that it becomes pliable and melts into the stretch.
5. One’s mind must concentrate the 氣 qi within the 下丹田 Xia Tan-t’ien (Lower Cinnabar/Elixir Field) so that the body can harmonize breathing with 氣 qi when bending and straightening.
6. In time one should be able to bend parallel to the ground.
7. The body must 不斜 bu xie (not slant), that is, you must not let the body become crooked or diverge from moving along its correct path of leaning straight back or bending straight forward.
Purpose of this Exercise:
This exercise is designed to strengthen the legs, to contract and develop lower abdominal muscles used in taijiquan breathing, and to compress and release the intestines (explained in the previous exercise).
Health Benefits of this Exercise:
This exercise can be seen as a balancing method to Exercise 2 because now we are not only working the 太陽 Taiyang and 少陰 Shaoyin pathways vessels/channels mentioned above, but with the addition of bending back we begin to engage the 陽明 Yangming (Yang Clarity/Brightness) and 太陰 Taiyin (Great Yin) pathways. The 陽明 Yangming pathways correlate to the Large Intestine and Stomach, while the 太陰 Taiyin correlate to the Spleen and Lung pathways. The Stomach pathway of the 陽明 Yangming is the only Yang pathway on the Yin aspect of the body (that being the front of the body).
Therefore, we can see how the Stomach channel can be activated to move and motivate yin. In TCM the 陽明 Yangming is said to have “More qi and blood” the only channel pair to have equal amounts of both qi and blood (most others have either more qi less and blood, or more blood, less qi). With the addition of leaning back we are now addressing the importance of the 陽明 Yangming and the reservoirs of qi and blood.
By raising the arms back and lowering them again we are stretching the 陽明 Yangming’s 陰 yin pathway paired with the 太陰 Taiyin (Great Yin). The 太陰 Taiyin is associated with the Spleen and Lung and combined with the Stomach and Large intestine we get the elements of Metal (Lung/Large Intestine) and Earth (Spleen/ Stomach). Metal generates Water, thereby assisting with the Bow (Bend) the Waist Posture (Exercise 2) of nourishing the Water essence and Fire generates Earth, allowing the Bow (Bend) the Waist Posture to lead into and build Bow (Bend) Body Forward and Backward Posture.
All the best to each of you,
Bradford Tyrey

02/07/2019

Back in the days before UBER😃

Early Taxi Services in China
During past centuries in China one of the most used methods of travel was the two-wheeled cart generally pulled by a horse. One of my Baguazhang teachers in Beijing, Liu Xing-Han, said that when he was a young child he and his father would sometimes ride in such a cart during special occasions. He told us that it was not uncommon to see several thousand of these two-person passenger carts cutting through parts of Beijing each day. He remarked that those thoroughfares were full of horse manure scattered everywhere and the smell on hot days was nearly unbearable. Flies swarmed in and had to be swatted away and your mouth had to be covered while talking, otherwise you would have dozens entering your mouth during your short trip. There were also many feeding and watering stations along these routes for both horses and pack camels. These stations also sold quick meals for passengers and became, as he said, centers for hearing local and domestic news. Master Liu had said that although these carts were not comfortable, the ride quite bumpy, and the horses often smelling terrible, he still preferred such travel when compared to later traffic congestion and pollution during modern times in Beijing.
Bradford Tyrey www.neijiabooks.com

14/05/2019

Something about Xie Peiqi💪

When I began training in bagua and xingyi in Beijing in 1984 I was likely the very worst student they had ever seen. Teachers became somewhat annoyed at my complete lack of understanding the basics of stepping in these arts. The concepts were as difficult for me to comprehend as was learning Mandarin. Madam Sun Jian-Yun, the daughter of Sun Lu-T’ang, was the one who showed me the most kindness and understanding, though she did assign a couple of my unfortunate classmates to tutor me each week until I acquired better competency in practice. Sadly their tutoring job was never going to finish. Tody I want to explain a bit about hand methods as paired with specific stepping methods that enable the body to produce wave-like power issuance that is akin to flowing motion found in Snake techniques. There are a number of stepping methods paired with Snake though two that were most taught by old boxing masters in past generations were: 陰陽魚進步 Yin-Yang Yue Jinbu (Yin-Yang Fish Advancing Step) and 蛇行進步 She Xing Jinbu (Snake Weaving Advancing Step). Often these two methods are taught as the same movement, though in traditional boxing clans these stepping routines have different emphasis so that different, specific skills can be attained. 陰陽魚進步 Yin-Yang Yue Jinbu (Yin-Yang Fish Advancing Step) mimics the interplay of the two fish-like shapes found within the Yin-Yang symbol. That is, body movement and stepping draws inward upon itself as if one fish chasing the other beneath the water. When observed it appears to take on a zigging and zagging pattern that some snakes will use to maneuver. This method is considered more Yang in intent as it very active and like two fish chasing one another, hence symbolizing vigorous, energetic movement. 蛇行進步 She Xing Jinbu (Snake Weaving Advancing Step) is taught as a Yin method of stepping, that is, slightly more passive, not actively competing with the movement of another creature, and taking its own time to move as it will. The characters 蛇行 She Xing can be translated as Snake Movement, but it is the character 行 Xing that is most important here. Master Xie Peiqi, an old Yin style bagua master who lived in Beijing, taught us at a bagua gathering that 行 Xing referred to the body weaving to and fro while in forward movement, though not as defined as the zig-zag pattern in that of 陰陽魚進步 Yin-Yang Yue Jinbu (Yin-Yang Fish Advancing Step). Xie said that it is the subtle differences that refine hidden, rather obscured methods into becoming great useable skills. It was such subtle methods and differences, if correctly followed, that Xie said could enable a general practitioner to become a highly proficient and renowned Chinese boxing master.
The accompanying drawing, from Cheng Style: Gao Yi-Sheng Branch, shows an abbreviated form of the circular set 蛇形順式掌 Shixing Shun Shi Zhang (Snake Form Following Pattern/Style Palm).
Though there is so much more to discuss on this topic this is a good place for us to reflect upon this information into our own practices. I look forward to presenting another related aspect of such training from past years in China that was shared with me, now is my opportunity to share with others.
Bradford Tyrey www.neijiabooks.com