Synopses & Reviews
Ba gua zhang, founded in the 1800s by Dong Hai Quan, ranks with xing yi quan and tai ji quan as one of the three orthodox “ internal” styles of Chinese martial art. Whirling Circles of Ba Gua Zhang offers a detailed practical guide to this increasingly popular discipline and how it relates to Daoist ideology, along with inspiring historical accounts and legends of the ba gua masters.
The training sections give a complete warm-up, followed by a step-by-step program for learning the essentials of the practice. The classical Cheng Style Basic Eight Palm changes are presented in their entirety. The theory of ba gua fighting techniques and combat strategies are explored, along with a complete account of the unique weapons of ba gua zhang. The Cheng Style Deer Horn Knife set of Grandmaster Liu Jing Ru is shown in complete detail. The final section explains how to use mindfulness, breathing techniques, and meditation to recognize and combine the essential eight trigrams of the Yi Jing, the “ Book of the Change.” A new, full translation of Dong Hai Quan’ s 36 poems and 48 methods is included, along with expert commentary on their meaning.
Synopsis
This is the most complete book on the art of Ba Gua Zhang ever presented in English. It tells the story of the history and legends of the art and its most famous masters as well as presenting the basic training, forms, fighting and weapons of Ba Gua Zhang. The text also includes a new translation of the classic Ba Gua 36 songs and 48 Methods as well as the Daoist meditation roots of the art and the method in which Ba Gua becomes at its ultimate level a physical and energetic manifestation of the Chinese Classic of Change, the Yi Jing. This book will be of interest not only to practitioners and enthusiasts of Ba Gua Zhang, but also to everyone who is interested in the history, philosophy and methods of Chinese Internal Martial Arts.
About the Author
Frank Allen was an early student of BP Chan and the first person ever certified to teach the Beijing Lineage Ba Gua of B. K. Frantzis. Tina Chunna Zhang is an award-winning instructor of tai ji quan and ba gua zhang. They both train with Grandmaster Liu Jing Ru in Beijing every year. Frank and Tina teach weekly classes and monthly workshops and retreats around the USA and Europe. They live in the Lower East Side of New York City.