mean-ing. The insight did not come from a Ba Gua master, but from one of my California students who had experience handling horses. To him these exercises, part of which involved leaning your back against an opponent, immediately made sense. It appears that every equestrian knows that if a horse isn't being cooperative, and doesn't want to move, push him as hard as you like and the animal will only resist. However, common to horse trainers is the principle of resting your back on the side of the ani-mal and applying lateral pressure from your weight. With this method the animal can be moved easily. Thus, the concept must have come from those familiar with horses, a standard means of vehicular movement in turn of the century China. The principle works well for close quarter combat, where you may suddenly find the necessity of moving and con-trolling an opponent with your back in contact with the adversary, par-ticularly in crowded, multiple opponent situations.
70. Intercostal vs. trapezius. Instead of isolated muscle groups (ie. pivoting
from waist, torquing and throwing the shoulder) internal arts instead rely
on total body unity, where subtle extension of the entire body is essen-tial. Hence intercostal expansion replaces trapezius (upper shoulder) rising.
71. Tswan or "drilling" has also been called the "Canton corkscrew." See
Gilby,John, Secret Fighting Arts of the World, p. 63.72. Special thanks to Dr. Vince Black for his suggestions and sharing his real-life research findings in this area.
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E. P. Dutton & Co., 1973.
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Dobbs, Betty Jo Teeter. The Janus Face of Genius: The Role of Alchemy in New-tons Thought. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
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Eisenberg David, M.D., Energy Medicine in China: Defining a Research Strategy which Embraces the Criticism of Skeptical Colleagues. From a talk presented at the Fetzer Foundation Conference: "Energy Fields, Meridians, Chi and Device Technology," May 11-14; Noetic Sciences Review, Spring 1990.
Feng Gia-Fu and English, Jane (translators), Lao Tzu. Tao Te Ching: Anew trans-lation. New York: Vintage Books, 1974.
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Pacific Grove, Calif.: Highview Publications, Mar/Apr 1992.
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2, no. 2.Jan/Febl992.
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Miller, Dan. "The Circle Walk Practice of Ba Gua Zhang" Pa Kua Chang Jour-nal, vol 4, no. 6 Pacific Grove, Calif.: Highview Publications, Sep/Oct 1994.
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Yale University Press, 1981.
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Needham, Joseph (translator). "Yuan Chi Lun" (author unknown). Quoted in Science and Civilization in China, Vol 5. Cambridge University Press, 1983.
Smith, Robert W. Hsing-i Chinese Mind-Body Boxing. Tokyo: Kodansha Inter-national, 1974.
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The Nei P'ien of Ko Hung. M.I.T. Press, 1966.
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Columbia University Press, 1968.
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Film
The Mystery of Chi, PBS: Bill Moyers' Healing and the Mind, 1993.
Acupuncture/acupressure, 23-25, 59, 124 Alchemy, 10-15, 17, 37-38, 62-63, 125 An jing (hidden power), 6, 18, 23 An mo, 127
"Armbar" takedown, 119 Athletic qi gong, 61-62 Autotelic activities, 45
"Back of the arms" strategy, 49-50, 107 BaGua
in Beijing, xviii-xix
Chinese philosophy and, 37-38 development of, xvi-xvii, 1-3, 37 essentials of, 64
/ Ching and, xv, 38-39, 48 as ideal exercise, 41
"North City" and "South City," xviii qi gong, 63-77
as Taoist yogic practice, 31-37 three theories, 3, 4
as transformational art, 34—35 36 turns and 72 legs, 4 yin-yang and, 40
Ba Gua Zhang Research Association, 37 Boo, 94
Basins, 68 Becker, Robert, 24
Beijing, xvi-xvii, xviii-xix, 21. See also Temple of Heaven
Beyond Boredom and Anxiety (Ciskszentmiha-lyi), 45-46
Biofeedback, 8, 71 Blofeldjohn, 35, 36 Book of Changes. See I Ching Boxer Rebellion, 18, 26, 37, 62
Breaking demonstrations (boards, bricks), Cheng ch'i. See Zheng qi Cheng Guo-Hua, 50, 79 Cheng Man-Ching, 26, 125 Cheng style, xvii, 116, 118
Cheng Ting-Hwa, xvii, xix, 3,5,116 Ch'en Hsin, 33, 127
Chen ren (true man), 34 Ch'i. See Qi
China. See also Beijing; Boxer Rebellion;
Cultural Revolution fa qi doctors in, 59
history of martial arts in, 16-20, 62 opening of, to West, 23-24, 123 qi training in the 20th century in, 21-23,
25
Chinese Boxing (Smith), 13, 26 Chinese medicine, 13, 23, 24, 72, 75 Chinese wrestling, 3,27
Ching-ch'i-shen model, 13-15 Ching (essence), 13-14
Chuan Chen (Complete Truth) sect, 2 Chuang Tzu, 9,17, 34,47 Cultural Revolution, xix, 22, 37, 123
"Cutting the roots" principle, 52
135
"Disciple prays to Buddha" posture, 74 Dong Hai-Chuan, xvi-xvii, xix, xx, 2, 5, 33,
35,36,39,121,123,124 Dragon Gate sect, 2, 33 Drills, two-man, 79-99
Dzwo ma (walking the horse), 79, 84-85, 129 Ego-disidentification, 34, 45, 46-47
"Eight trigram palm," 2 Eisenberg, David, 25, 27
"Embrace post" posture, 72 Emptiness, secret of, 52
Encounters with Qi (Eisenberg), 25 Energy, internal. See Qi
"Five Methods, Eight Gates," 63-77 Flow experience, 44-48
"Flying over the sea" method, 53
"Following the sea" method, 53-54
"Four Precious Methods," 48-55 Gang rou shen gi, 40
Gao shou (high-level mastery), 36 Gao Zi-Ymg, 37 Heart, in Chinese medicine, 75
"Heaven and mind" method, 48-50 Herrigel, Eugene, 47
"Hollowness versus solid" principle, 51-52 Hong Kong, 23
Hook, defending, 116-19 Ho Shen-Ting, xxi, 7 Hsing Chen Martial Art, xix
Hsing I: Mind Form Boxing (Smith), 13 Huajing (mysterious power), 6, 7, 19, 23 Huan Tsung-Hsi, 16
as storage basin of qi, 74 yin and yang, 68
Knife attack, defending, 112-15 Ko hu (close step) position, 91 Ko Hung, 10, 11, 12, 14,60
Liu Bin, xii, xvii-xviii, xix, 33, 34, 44, 47, 63 Liu Fu-Sheng, 49
Liu Men-Gen, 42 Li Zhong-Quan, xx
Lost T'ai Chi Classics of the Ching Dynasty (Wile), 19
"Lotus palm," 40, 73
Lung Men. See Dragon Gate sect Lyang Ke-Quan, xx, 15, 49
Martial arts. See also individual martial arts Ching-ch'i-shen model and, 13-15 during Cultural Revolution, 22 health of body and mind and, 16 history of, 16-20, 21-23, 33, 37 internal, development of, 16-20 obstacles to, 25
qi gong practices and, 62-63 Taoist terms in, 42-44, 45
Taoist yoga and, 12, 18-19, 21, 32-37, 62-63,112
tradition of secrecy in, 25-27 types of internal power in, 6 yin-yang in, 40
Meditation, 14-16 Meridians, 15,59, 124-25 Mien ch'uan (cotton palm), 40 Mind-body unity, 41-42 Mingjing (obvious force), 6-7
"Monkey offers fruit fingers" strike, 103 Nei chia (internalists), 34
Nei chia ch'uan, xv, 16 Nei gong, 32
Nei kuan, 32
Nei kung (inner power skill), 12 Nei Pien (Kung Ho), 11 Nei qi (internal qi), 12 Nei san he, 44 Neishih, 32
Nei tan (inner alchemists), 11-12, 13, 17, 35, 37-38
Nei yao (inner medicine), 11 Neo-Confucianism, 9, 10
"Observing the sea" method, 53 Openings, 51
Overcompetitiveness, 80
Pa Kua (Smith), 64
Pao Pu Tzu (Ko Hung), 14, 60 Partner training, 79-99 Phelps, Dave, xix, 40, 42, 62 Physiotherapy, 32
Posture. See Qi gong; Tao yin Pressure points, 59
Qi. See also Ching; Shen biofeedback ability, 8, 71 concentrating, in tan tien, 66 discovery of, by Taoists, 5 disturbed, 49
evaluating demonstrations of, 28-29 externalizing/projecting (fa qi), 27-28, 59
"holding the ball of," 72 importance of, 20 internal (nei qi), 11, 12 medical, 59
meridian, 15
methods for manipulating, 32 mind-body-spirit development and, 9 models of qi gong and, 58-63
nourished by Ba Gua, 3, 42
originating from mind and emotions, 44 primordial (yuan qi), 32, 37
rarity of mastery of, 21 -2 3, 2 5 regarded as superstitious, 23 righteous (zheng qi), 41—42 sensing, 8, 71, 76
stored in kidneys, 74
studied in the West, 23-25, 59 Qigong
athletic, 61-62
Ba Gua circle-walking, 63-77 hwajing developed through, 7 martial, 62-63
models of qi and, 58-63
popularity of, 57-58
"Rolling the back." See Dzwo ma
Ru men di, xviii, 123 'il
Secret and Sublime (Blofeld), 3 5 Self-defense, 101-19
from knife attack, 112-15 from left cross body hook, 116-19 from left jab, 104-7
from rear push, 102-3 from roundhouse kick, 108-11
"Sensor," 84
Sexual practices, Taoist, 14, 60-61
Shang hu (lead advancing) step, 105, 113, 114, 116
"Sky and heart" method, 48-50 Smith, Robert, 13, 26, 64
"Solid spirit surfing in the sky" principle, 51
"Spirit closure and spirit movement" method, 50-51
Stepping, 55
Students, unconscious participation by, 28-29 Suai Qiao (Chinese wrestling), 3,27
Subtlety, employment of, 79 Sung (coiling), 40, 127
Sun Lu-Tang, xviii, 5-6, 18-19, 33, 127
"Swallowing the sea" method, 52-53
"Swimming" style. See "Coiling" style
T'ai chi (philosophical principle), 19, 43, 45 Tat chi ch'uan, xiii, xv, 17, 18, 19, 33, 45, 80,
127
Taiwan, 22-23, 24 Ta Mo, 16, 62 Tan, 10, 11, 12,66
Tan tien (field of the elixir), 11, 15, 66, 67 Tao, 124
137
Tao Chia, 10 Taoism
applied (religious), 9-10, 125 Chuan Chen (Complete Truth) sect, 2 ego-disidentification in, 34, 45, 46-47 Lung Men (Dragon Gate) sect, 2, 33 philosophical, 9-10
terms from, in martial arts, 42-44, 45 Taoists
discovery of qi by, 5
inner alchemical, 11-12, 13, 17 mind-body balance and, 41-42 martial arts and, 12, 18-19, 21, 32-37,
62-63,112 mingjing and, 7
paradoxical merging of activity and still-ness in, 41
taoyin in, 32
transformation of practitioners of, 34—35 world view in, 37-38
Temple of Heaven, xi, xiii, xviii, xix, 40, 79 Te (power), 44-45, 128
Thought, 44 Tiao, 81
Tiao da (neutralizing a strike), 79 Tien shin fa method, 48-50 Tien tao, 12
Tien Yuan Fu Yao Ching (Mirror of the Heav-enly Essence Medicine Classic), 11 Trigrams, 38, 43,44, 45
Tswan ch'uan (drilling punch), 104—5
Wai san he, 50, 128
Wai tan (outer alchemists), 11, 12 Waley, Arthur, 63
"Walking the circle," 33, 63-77
"Walking the horse" (dzwo ma), 79, 84-85, 129
Wang Rong-Tang, xx, 3 7 Wang Su-Qin, 26 Wang Wen-Kuei, 31,37 Warmers, 72
West
opening of China to, 23-24 qi studied in, 23-25 Taiwanese emulation of, 23 Wile, Douglas, 19, 33, 127
"Womb breathing," 63 World War II, 22 Wuji (void), 43,45 Wu wei (nonaction), 45
Xin (mind), 4
Xing Yi, xv, 15,18,45, 105, 127 Xu Sheng-Li, 49, 120,121
Yang. See Yin and yang Yang Chang-Fu, 21 Yang Kun, 37 Yang style, 33, 127
Yang Yong-Li, 40, 50, 79, 120, 121 Yi (intent), 4, 8
Yin and yang, xv, 3
applied (religious) Taoism and, 9, 10 in Ba Gua practice, 44
Chinese cosmology and, 37-41 Yo Sen. See "Coiling" style Yuan (primal forces), 37 Yuan qi (primordial qi), 32,37 Zen in the An of Archery (Herrigel), 47 Zheng qi, 42
L
iu Xing-Han, of Beijing, China, at eighty-nine years may be the oldest living master of the art of Ba Gua. Last of the fourth-generation Ba Gua disciples, he began his martial art study in 1917.In 1996 he was the subject of a China National Television doc-umentary commemorating his life's work, and has been written about in Chinese magazines, martial art journals, and newspapers. In the United States several issues of Pa Kua Journal, including its debut edition covered his work. He is the author of three books on Ba Gua in China.
He continues to teach the internal tradition. In the early morn-ing dedicated students from all over China come to study with the master at Temple of Heaven Park in south central Beijing.
Liu Xing-Han
J
ohn Bracy became a fifth-generation lineaged disciple of Ba Gua Zhang in 1988. He founded the Hsing Chen School of Internal Martial Arts in Costa Mesa, California in 1976 and has continued as director since it incorporated in 1990. He has studied at advanced levels in the United States, Taiwan, and mainland China and has attained advanced rankings and honors in several styles of traditional kung fu. His credentials include Licensed Instructor and Counselor rank and eighth-degree instructor level from the Taiwan Pa Kua Gate Association. Additionally, he is a licensed coach of the Beijing Full Contact Fighting Association.As a graduate exchange student in Taiwan, he researched psy-chotherapeutic applications of acupuncture. He writes widely on Ba Gua and Taoist alchemy, and he teaches Ba Gua, Xing Yi, and T'ai Chi, as well as Taoist healing exercises and meditation in Costa Mesa, California.
John Bracy can be reached by e-mail at [email protected]; the Hsing Chen Web site is www.chi-arts.com.
John Bracy