Bagua Circle Walking Pdf Download
The Circle Walk Practice of Ba Gua Zhang Circle Walking Variations As discussed above, there are many benefits the Ba Gua Zhang practitioner can gain from the circle walk practice. The circle walking method employed will depend upon the result desired. Below I will discuss several of the most common circle walking methods employed by Ba Gua practitioners. I have divided this section into stepping methods, body methods, and mental methods (use of intention). Daft punk discovery download. The Step While there are literally dozens of different stepping methods Ba Gua practitioners will employ while walking the circle, there are three main methods which are practiced by most all schools. Each school may have their own special names for these steps, however, these three methods are most commonly known as the mud walking step (or snake step), rolling step (or lion step), and the crane step.
Below I will outline the characteristics of these steps as practiced by several different schools of Ba Gua. The Mud Walking Step: The 'mud walking' step ( - tang ni bu), also commonly known as the 'dragon step,' the 'gliding step,' or the 'snake step,' is one of the most common Ba Gua stepping techniques.
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This step is not a method that is used very often in combat, however, it is an excellent training step and thus it is practiced by beginners in many schools. This step trains balance and stability in motion, thrusting or shoveling power in the legs and encourages an increased energy flow to the legs and feet. The Mud Walking Step (Foot Remaining Flat) Although there are numerous variations of this step being practiced by the various schools of Ba Gua, the basic step consists of the stepping foot sliding out along the ground, or hovering just over the ground, as the foot steps forward. As it is one of the most commonly practiced stepping methods in Ba Gua, a wide variety of variations have subsequently developed. In order to explore some of the mud walking step variations that are practiced today by various Ba Gua schools I will divide the mechanics of the step into three sections: picking up the rear foot, the actual step forward, and placing the stepping foot down. 1) Picking up the rear foot: While executing the mud walking step some practitioners never allow any part of the foot to raise up off the ground more than and inch or so.
In other words, the entire sole of the foot always remains flat and parallel to the ground. This means that when the rear foot begins to step forward the heel does not lift off the ground, the entire foot remains flat. Practitioners of this method have several reasons for executing their steps in this manner. The first is that they are concerned with maintaining the entire foot close to the ground while stepping so that if an outside force hits them at anytime during the step, both feet will quickly be in a stable position on the ground. Li Zi Ming style Ba Gua practitioners walk in this manner and Li gives this reason in his book, 'When either foot steps forward it is necessary to lift the foot flat and step on the ground flat so that neither heel shows nor the anterior of part of the sole shows.
If either the heel or sole is visible, it would be impossible to stand stable at that point in time and would provide the opponent an opportunity to attack.' Sun Zhi Jun of Beijing, China demonstrates the extended mud walking step. Another reason for practicing this step is to train the psoas muscle and inner thigh muscles to engage more completely while walking.
If the entire foot remains flat while the rear foot is coming off the ground it requires that these muscles be used to lift the leg. When the practitioner learns to walk using the psoas and inner thigh muscles in a more complete manner when stepping the steps become very powerful and stable. After practicing this method the student will notice that the legs are better conditioned even when executing normal walking steps or any of the other Ba Gua stepping methods. The second method of picking up the rear foot utilized by Ba Gua practitioners while executing the mud walking step is to allow the heel to come off the ground as in normal walking. The heel lifts slightly and then as the foot is brought forward it flattens out parallel to the ground.