Systems have personalities, just like people. And sometimes there’s a “chemistry”, sometimes a deafening disappointment. In my case, I’m a practitioner who gravitates toward Ba Gua Zhang (Eight Trigrams Palm). I realize, of course, that some of the “good points” I see in Ba Gua are actually shared with other systems. But still it’s nice to make note of those attributes which attracts me to it.

The reasons for liking and enjoying Ba Gua can be completely personal or highly informed. Anyone who has been around martial arts for a time knows that initially the attractions of particular arts manifest arbitrarily. Some people like Monkey Style because they want to be veterinarians, some drift toward Xing Yi because a friend suggested it to them, some are enamored of Long Fist for its beauty. In the case of Ba Gua it was a later development so it enjoys the accumulated martial wisdom of its antecedents. From a martial instructor’s standpoint, this is a great system. As teachers we may benefit by considering some of these points

TWM

Nowadays, there is a lot written about martial arts; probably more than at any time in human history. But very little of this is at the instructor level dealing with the problems, goals and strategies of imparting the arts. This series, written by martial instructors, will be a frank and directed discussion of such topics. If you are a beginner and new to the martial arts, you may find some of these subjects a little distressing. Indeed, this may be premature for you. The only thing we guarantee is a sincere handling of informed viewpoints.