Baguazhang

Daoist Martial Arts.
Internal Development.

The circle walking practices of Daoism stretch right back into antiquity. These energetic exercises were designed to fully awaken the practitioners energy body and elevate their consciousness. Recognising the internal potential of circle walking, the originator of Baguazhang (whoever that may have been) began to add short martial sequences into the practice creating an internal martial art that seamlessly integrated spiritual cultivation with effective combat techniques. The spiralling energies originally utilised for spiritual cultivation where directed out towards the extremities enabling controlled bursts of internal force to be projected into an opponent. The key form of Baguazhang is based around eight short martial sequences performed whilst walking the circle. each of these sequences is known as  a ‘palm change’ and each of these is in turn based upon one of the eight generative Gua (Trigrams) of the classical Daoist text known as the Yi Jing (I Ching).