One of Plum’s longtime favorite and recommended books is Tom Bisio’s “Essentials of Bagua Zhang.” Below is an excerpt dealing with his view of the Dragon’s influence on one of China’s greatest masterworks in the world of martial arts. You get an actual ‘two-for-the-price-of-one’ in the passage below, in that Bisio himself quotes Francois Jullien […]
Dec
18
2018
18
2018
Aug
30
2018
30
2018
Help Us Help You
We got an email from a kind customer, who wanted to alert us to the fact that a link he was clicking did not bring up the intended information. After a few minutes’ investigation, I would say he was putting it mildly: we had provided clips—many clips!—for each of the DVDs in China’s Living Treasures […]
Jul
11
2018
11
2018
Celebrating Skill and Friendship
Last week, we wrote about Sifu Donald Hamby’s Gathering of the Masters kung fu exhibition, showcasing some of the best traditional kung fu teachers and performers. This week, we have some video footage that we shot while there. These three videos feature a smapling of the rare and unique forms we saw there—many of which […]
Jun
27
2018
27
2018
A Gathering Indeed
Friday, we drove south, over 350 miles to Monterey Park, in Los Angeles, in answer to Sifu Don Hamby’s invitation to attend his 3rd Annual Kung Fu Gathering of the Masters. Despite expectations based on decades of tournaments and events, we could not have anticipated what we encountered once the drumming started. Sifu Hamby, widely […]
Apr
15
2018
15
2018
Jan
25
2018
25
2018
Tony Yang & Bajiquan: A Repeat Appearance
Just a quick note to say we are now stocked, once again, on Sifu Tony Yang’s elusive 2 part DVD on Bajiquan. Yang Sifu studied Bajiquan in the Wutan tradition with Grandmaster Liu Yun Chiao, in Taiwan, and has been teaching this for many years. If you’ve been waiting, get them while they are here! […]
Dec
29
2017
29
2017
Aug
13
2017
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2017
Jul
14
2017
14
2017
Major New Bagua book
I’ll be honest with you: I have not yet finished Andrea Falk’s new book, “A Shadow on Fallen Blossoms: The 36 and 48 Traditional Verses of Baguazhang,” but we were so excited about the book we wanted to announce it as soon as we received copies. I can’t imagine anyone interested in Bagua not wanting […]
Nov
8
2016
8
2016
Oct
7
2016
7
2016
This Is How Bagua Is Done
There are two ways to make a DVD, irrespective of a particular style. The first way is to follow your style’s structure: warm ups, basics, form and sampled applications. The second way, less common, is to offer, derived from your style, skills that might be universally helpful to appropriate seekers. Imagine a Long Fist practice […]
Jul
1
2016
1
2016
Thinking in Circles? Try Bagua!
Already wondering what you are going to do with those lazy days of summer? For those in our area (Santa Cruz, California) how about joining us for 4 classes on Bagua Zhang (Saturday, July 9 – 30, 11:00 – 12:30)? This course will focus on the core movements, routines, and principles of this great and […]
Sep
7
2015
7
2015
George Xu on Power and such
Three more DVDs from the latest workshop with George Xu, who seems an almost endless source of new ways to invigorate your study while nudging you gently toward higher skills. In this case the intriguing thing is that we have three levels of practice and George Xu is able to distinguish their complexity and […]
Jun
25
2015
25
2015
A couple of classics return: Taijiquan and Baguazhang
It’s ALWAYS good news when we are able to announce the restocking of important texts. The Chinese books, especially, can be very difficult to keep and often it can be months or even years between having them available. So to get two at once is a real joy. The first is Wei ShuRen’s “True Description […]
Oct
31
2014
31
2014
Face-to-face translations
What are “en face” editions?
Oct
27
2014
27
2014
Two Bagua Classics in new translation
Dedicated Bagua teacher, Andrea Falk, offers up her translation of Jiang RongQiao’s Bagua Zhang Eight Palms form AND Yan Dehua’s Bagua Applications. Not only are these clear, accessible translations, but the Jiang text has additional posture photos from teacher Cai YuHua. Falk herself learned the Jiang style from sifu Huan Dahai, an apprentice of Jiang’s. […]
Jul
15
2014
15
2014
QA: Bagua’s Gaze
Hi Debbie, WOW….Ted’s DVD’s are excellent. Thanks so much for such a great product. Can I ask a few questions? ~I have studied with a guy who said we should always have our gaze on the hand facing the center of the circle, etc. I did not hear Ted mention this, though he may have […]
Mar
27
2014
27
2014
QA: Bagua Zhang Variations
I really enjoyed the article about bagua. Thanks. I’d appreciate it if you could explain to me why there are so many forms/palms. What is the goal of variations? Thanks in advance, M Dear M, You are right there are a lot of variations in Bagua, especially for a style that is less than 200 […]
Mar
10
2014
10
2014
Mar
10
2014
10
2014
The Mystery of Bagua
Ba Pan Zhang Walking the Circle Takes a Different Turn Bagua is one of the youngest Kung Fu styles, becoming popular as recently as the turn of the century. But in spite of its youth it has one thing in common with almost all other Kung Fu styles: its history is a mystery. The Chinese […]
