What do you look for in a baguazhang school

[Kittan Bachika]

A friend of mine is interested in learning baguazhang and has been asking me for advice.
Other than what I have read and seen online, I know very little.

What do you all look for?

Is the training as intense as a full contact karate dojo?

 

[clfsean]

Circles...hehehe....

Honestly I've never studied straight up bagua so I can't really answer. But the bagua I've seen practiced, the one thing they were big on was contact. Lots & lots of contact.

 

[oaktree]

I practice Baguazhang and here is what I look for. First thing I look for is what type of Bagua. Is it Liang, Yin, Fu and so on. Once I know that I can see if it really is what is being claimed or Karate with someone walking a circle.
Second thing I look for is circle walking. Are they following a good circle walk body erect upper body turned arm relaxed not tense is the foot work smooth or looks uneven and rough. You can really tell how good someone is by their circle walking.
Third thing I look for is the teacher. Does he present things clear is he abusive does his teachings contradict Baguazhang classics some teachers say do not walk a circle walk a square to me if that is the case we would not call it circle walking we would call it square walking.
Fourth application is the teacher just teaching forms or are you learning the "why" you do this. Some people think circle walking is pointless drill but it helps learn angles, how to enter and exit someone's space for example.

Is Baguazhang training intense? Walking correctly rooted in Baguazhang and walking circle for 5 minutes is harder to due then running for an hour.
Many times after Baguazhang circle walking I would have to sit down. As far as hard contact yes some go pretty hard and full out. Baguazhang in my opinion is very martial, deceptive, evasive to me I think of it as a ghost or wind one minute there the next minute the baguazhang person enters your space.

If your friend wants to learn more try reading the 36 and 48 baguazhang sayings they are similar to the Taijiquan classics. Also try to watch some Youtube videos to see the different Bagua flavors, Learn this history and distinctions that make each Bagua unique. Also try doing Ma bu, Zhan zhuang to help strengthen the legs,
walk around a tree will help you familarize you with the basic concept of circle walking and look for a good teacher of course!

 

[ilhe4e12345]

i always wanted to look into this style myself. Beautiful style, very very affective and just....sigh....i really want to learn it lol. One of the other teachers under my Sifu has studied it for about 8 years and whenever we spar he tends to use Bagua as his "main style" and elt me tell you.....its brutal.

He told me that contact is a big one, and that most good teachers will use contact tactics during training, but not abuse their students. Circle walking is a big key, and the correct way of circle walking is harder then most cardio workouts....which at first i didnt believe it but after reading up on it and seeing videos and talking to a few people, it is very intense....

Just be ready for a very intense workout/style if your friend goes through with it. research the teacher to make sure he or she is reputable and make sure its something he really wants to do before he gets into it....

i wish him the best of luck, as i have not yet been able to study the style myself but hopefully one day i can learn . I currently have a lot on my plate atm so under taking another style would be a baddddd choice for me lol.

 

[DaleDugas]

I teach Baguazhang in Boston's Chinatown.

Every workout follows this outline: First 15 minutes Quiet Sitting then we progress to our Kai Men Dao Yin to open the gates of the body, we then do Power Standing for 10-15 minutes and then we start to practice more movement.

The secrets of any system are in the basics, learn them, dissect them and you will understand much.

Let me know how I can be of service to you.

 

[hillmatic2]

Just be ready for a very intense workout/style if your friend goes through with it. research the teacher to make sure he or she is reputable and make sure its something he really wants to do before he gets into it.....

Hello all. I have recently moved to Wyoming and have found an instructor in my area. I thank oaktree for the advice on finding an instructor but wonder if anyone has trained with or knows anything about his lineage. His name is Dr. Tim Sheehan and his site is: http://cwarnis.com/

Thank you.

 

[oaktree]

I didn't see anything listed as far as his lineage goes on the link.
I only saw one picture that look like circle walking, it was OK it was student level
Maybe 1-2 years. The xingyiquan looks recognizable looks better
Than the taijiquan and baguazhang pictures.
You could try a class ask which line of bagua they do.