The Lion system of Yin Style Baguazhang, which is transmitted directly from Dong Hai Chuan, Yin Fu, Men Baozhen, then to Dr. Xie Peipi (who passed away in 2003), and finally to He Jinbao, is the most aggressive and structurally dominant animal system within the broader Eight Animal Shape framework of Yin Style. The Lion system is the foundation of the “combat structure” known as the Interlocking  Palm, representing the principle of strike and advance. The Lion shape embodies direct, unrelenting force, ferocity, integrity, and overwhelming bio-kinetic momentum. The Lion shape builds the practitioner into a living avalanche.  *He Jinbao demonstrating Yin Style Baguazhang. “Strike, strike, and strike again. Anything is a valid target. There is nothing within the human physical condition that the Lion Palm cannot obliterate.”  Let's break down the Lion Shape of Dr. Xie Peiqi’s Yin Fu style Baguazhang from his specific lineage’s perspective: Internal Mechanics and Strategy: Th...

  Suppose there was just one fighting set from Yin Fu Baguazhang that captured the martial strategies, heavy-handed applications, and an array of compound circular blocks and deflections with the appropriate speed, fluidity, and savagery, which would, across the board, benefit people of all physicalities. In that case, the Dragon & Phoenix, without question, that fighting set.  Dragon & Phoenix is a battle of two siblings. First-born son Dragon. First-born daughter Phoenix. Eldest brother and sister, and embodiments of the primordial forces of thunder and wind who forever seek dominance and favor from their father, who is the sky and all of heaven. Dragon and Phoenix fighting set is both a clash and a flow of Yin and Yang energies, with a leaning towards an overall Yang force. Dragon, the source of thunder, is the oldest Son, most like his father, Lion. Phoenix, the wind source, is the Yang of the Yin forces, the oldest daughter and a daddy's girl.  Dragon and Pho...

*Peng /Phoenix (At the time of this piece's initial writing, I was attempting to differentiate between the Phoenix of Chinese culture and the European conception of the Phoenix).  The quality of Wind or Xun trigram is that of sustained pervasive influence, insomuch a degree of omnipresence can be tangibly grasped. Further notable associations with Wind, or Xun trigram, include vastness and expansion, but also a feeling of remote distance and dissociation from attachments. This phenomenon manifests as Peng or King of Birds in the physical dimension and Chinese cultural context. Peng is an elusive but paradoxically continuously present animal, largely beyond emotional expressions. Peng's aloof personality should not be mistaken for an uncaring or selfish nature. Peng is supremely benign and virtuous but is virtuous and kind because that is what Peng is, not to "act" benignly or noblely. Serene, in the face of violence, Peng responds to evil by natural law. Once harmony ...

  On and off, from 2016 to 2019, I regularly (when I was in Idaho) practiced long hours of Bagua circle walking around a specific tree in Settler's Park, Meridian, Idaho. Here we are, four years later, and the circle I walked still shows up.  Looks like a crop circle... - Kevin Wikse Vimana Vajra Baguazhang

Cheng Yu Lung's Yin Energy Dragon Shape Baguazhang is an intermediate-level school of martial Baguazhang that emphasizes the dark, heavy, and sinking qualities of water while teaching a unique variant of the Dragon Shape as expressed through the Thunder Gua or Trigram. Rather than the explosive and athletic nature of the Dragon, who revels in open space, directing force upward, the dragon energy in this school of Baguazhang is that of a giant Sea Serpent.  No less violent or abrupt, but tending toward crushing and pulling downward. The Sea Serpent is thick and sinuous, rising up only to come crashing down. The Yin energy is not of the typical soft and yielding force but that of sinking, submerging, and purposely holding under.  In my teachings of Daoist metaphysics, this set constitutes Water over Thunder in the I-Ching, or Hexagram #3. It denotes difficulties and even mortal danger. The Hexagram (six lines, the top a line split, and the second an intact yang line) illustrates...

I must present some context and a disclaimer to frame this fascinating topic correctly. I first learned the Tall Monkey style (including the Stone Monkey and Lost Monkey styles) of Tai Shing Pek War from a student of Sifu Paulie Zink, my Sifu James Zimmerman, or as I affectionately called him, Mr. Z, in 1993 or 1994. I referred to it as Monkey Kung Fu or Shaolin Monkey Kung Fu; later, I learned that Tai Shing Pek War was its own system, a relatively recent creation, utilizing monkey-themed boxing.  Recently, a Sifu began online instruction in Tai Shing Pek War. I subscribed to his main course. I immediately recognized his high-level skill and power in the applications he demonstrated. After 30 years of practicing what I was most attracted to in the Tall Monkey style (Stone and Lost Monkey, too), I wanted to see what I had possibly forgotten. So far, I am incredibly pleased.  Certain vital elements of the Monkey styles I had previously learned exist that I was never taught or w...