r/Baguazhang

I fancied taking up Bagua a long time ago but never did. I used to get fit other ways and have enjoyed a variety of forms of exercise over the years.

Fast forward I'm now early fifties, very overweight, and arthritic. I'd like to start a super simple standing movement practice, and wondered if Bagua now, might be worthwhile to aid with improving posture, mobility, pain reduction in joints, and balance?

If so, where should I begin. I can't get to a class from here right now. I just wondered what baby steps I could take to get going by myself?

I moved here about 3 years ago and have been searching for a dojo or kwoon to join and continue my practice.

I started training Shorin Ryu Karate in 2017 and Yin Style Baguazhang in 2021.

I was hoping to join a place that practiced one of these styles, a Google search didn’t help me much.

Does anyone know of areas I can continue my training in these?

Thanks in advance!

I don't know much about this branch of Gao but I really appreciate Luo's emphasis in this video on takedowns, especially since this is supposed to be Cheng derivative and he presumably used it with shuai jiao

Hello from the Midwest US. Unfortunately I live in a bit of an Internal Arts desert, and have been fascinated with Baguazhang for too long. I’m at the point where I feel like if I am going to be able to learn this, it’ll have to be online. I was wondering if anyone here has experience with this style of learning process? Is it possible to acquire real skill without a consistent training partner? I am not new to martial arts, but I would be newish to Bagua. I did some of He Jinbao’s yin style years ago when it was available free online, but I don’t really count that as it was less the 6 months, and I did 10 years of kempo for context.

Ive noticed lately there has been someone very active on this feed putting others down and claiming to have the only real knowledge of Baguazhang, but I haven't yet seen any kind of demonstration of his ability...

I'm sure everyone here would love to be enlightened and see a demonstration of your movement. These days true masters aren't afraid to show their movement online for others to see.

To the others who have been bravely putting themselves out there, keep it up! Baguazhang is an extremely difficult style to learn and there is a lot of misinformation out there. The best way to get better is to ask for help, learn from others ahead of you on the path, and to keep a positive attitude.

Most people think explosive power comes from bigger muscles. In reality, true power comes from how well your entire body works together.

In this video, I explain the body mechanics behind powerful elbow strikes using principles from Qigong and Internal Martial Arts. You’ll learn how to connect the shoulders, Kua (hip joints), legs, and body weight into one coordinated movement that produces efficient short-range power.

These same principles not only improve martial arts power but also develop mobility, coordination, joint integration, and whole-body movement.

In this lesson you’ll learn:
• Why using only arm strength limits power
• How the shoulder supports both striking and protection
• How to engage the Kua for whole-body connection
• Creating opposing forces to generate explosive power
• Using body weight instead of muscular effort
• Applying these principles in close-range offense and defense
• Improving mobility, coordination, and joint health through integrated movement

#InternalMartialArts #BodyMechanics #ElbowStrike #CloseRangeCombat #KungFu #TaiChi #Neigong #Mobility #JointHealth #WholeBodyPower #MartialArts #ChiBody