Cheng Style Baguazhang

[Xue Sheng]

I'm bored with many of the posts (non-MA posts) on MT so I decided to read more about Cheng Baguazhang since it was he style I studied most recently and make a post out of some of it. And if I am wrong please correct me.

So I will start with Cheng Tinghua (1848-1900) and see how far I get before I lose interest

Cheng Style Baguazhang is the style of Baguazhang descended from Cheng Tinghua, one of the disciples of Dong Haichuan. Due to Cheng Tinghua's extensive background in shuaijiao throwing techniques before learning baguazhang, Cheng style tends to emphasize throwing techniques

Cheng Tinghua was killed during the boxer Rebellion (July 1900) and there are a few stories as to waht happend but both say he fought several forign soldiers and defeated them but he was shot several times as he walked away.

1) Cheng swore to defend his country from the enemy. One day, around the government buildings near the Yong Ding Gate, Cheng met ten of the enemy and subdued them all and none dared to advance. The officers were furious, and ordered a large patrol with rifles to surround Cheng. Cheng calmly used piercing palm to evade them. Then he turned around, leaped up on top of a wall and walked away. They did not have pity on him when he was on the wall and he perished in a hail of bullets.

2) Cheng took the responsiblity for defending the people from the invasion. He tried to defend himself agaisnt a dozen soldiers armed with only two daggers. His pupils tried to stop him, but to no avail. It was later found that Cheng single-handedly killed ten or more soldiers, but he died of multiple bullet wounds.

And there are other versions of the story as well.

 

[Xue Sheng]

Ma Lincheng

Sun Zhijun

Liu Jungru

 

[Xue Sheng]

From an interview with Liu Jingru on China from the Inside

Interview with Mr. Liu Jingru, Cheng Style Baguazhang expert from Beijing

Originally there were only three techniques to be found in all Cheng Tinghua's Baguazhang branches - Single Change Palm (Danhuan Zhang), Double Change Palm (Shuanghuan Zhang) and Smooth Posture Palm (Shunshi Zhang). They were called Three Old Palms (Lao San Zhang), and this is what Cheng passed to all his disciples before his tragic death in 1900.

Only Cheng Tinghua's Bagua has all these three Palms and if they can be found within other branches, this means these branches exchanged techniques with Cheng's branch exponents. Neither Yin Fu's nor Shi Jidong's branches have Lao San Zhang.

 

[Xue Sheng]

The 36 Songs of Ba Gua Zhang and the The 48 Methods of Ba Gua Zhang.

First, for beginners there are the 36 Songs of Baguazhang from Dong Haichuan and per Liang Shouyu's Baguazhang book, and it take 3 years of serious study to understand and apply them

And after that you get to the 48 songs of Baguazhang which is for the more advanced, and again per the Baguazhang book of Liang Shouyu, it takes 10 years of serious study to understand and apply them

36 Songs of Ba Gua Zhang

The 48 Methods of Ba Gua Zhang


But in an interview with Liu Jingru on China From the Inside you find this

The most popular Baguazhang classics known nowadays, e.g. 36 Songs and 48 Methods, that were revealed by Li Ziming of Liang Zhenpu's line, were not originally from Dong Haichuan. They were compiled and written by Zeng Xingsan, Yin Fu's Bagua practitioner

Liu Jinagru has Ten Important Points and Eight Methods of Baguazhang

Ten Important Points (Shi Yao)

And

The 8 methods (Ba Fa)

 

[oaktree]

I practice some gao recently. The foot work is like slipping on a
Banana peel. I believe it is called plow step as how a plow
Goes into the earth heel first the leg is straight and the body arched back
Slightly. I think if some one walks this way the leg can easily be broken
Or you can slip very easy as it puts the body in an off balance
Position. By all means try sliding the heel in front of you like a split
Without bending the leg. Also in gao style it seems to torque
As extremely as possible that has been my limited exposure so far to it.

 

[Xue Sheng]

I don't know much about Gao style, hell I don't know much about Cheng, But I know more about Cheng than Gao.

I know it comes from Gao Yisheng who was a student of Cheng Tinghua. Beyond that I think Tom Bisio in NYC teaches Gao style and that there used to be a Gao style school somewhere near Plymouth Mass...ok that is pretty much all my knowledge of Gao style

Now more about Cheng style

I am under the impression that Cheng likes to stay in close because its use of Shuaijiao as opposed to say Yin that like to stay a bit further away due to its use of striking

 

[Xue Sheng]

Master Han Yanwu- Baguazhang

Baguazhang- Shifu Han Yanwu

Cheng Shi Ba Gua Zhang Spear Foundation

 

[blindsage]

 

[Xue Sheng]

Master Han Yan Wu is Cheng Style Ba Gua Zhang Grandmaster Liu Jing Ru's best student and top disciple. Han began his studies with Liu at the age of 13 and has dedicated his entire life to the martial arts. During the 1980's Han won many championships in forms competitions and San Da kickboxing. He now teaches students from around the world as well as the instructors at the National Sports Institute.

Han Yan Wu professional martial arts Masters of Baguazhang, XingyiQuan, and TanglangQuan. Beijing, is where he lives and seriously teaches, you are all welcome to take lessons with him when you are in Beijing.

Bagua Zhang Applications: Master Han Yanwu