The Ba Gua talisman and symbol of the art

Ba Gua Lesson 1: A Choice and a Plan

There are two reasons to study ba gua. One is for health, healing, and internal energy development. The other is to learn effective self-defense / close combat.

The value of ba gua for health, healing, and internal energy development consists of “moving the qi/ ch’i ” internal energy deep into the bones and tissues. In this presentation, the practice represents the moving expression of Taoist yoga. In the future a link will be provided here so that you can read about this approach in more detail.

However, now we introduce the most challenging aspect of ba gua: how to use the art effectively in close combat.

Keep in mind that today, even in China, very few instructors are able to realistically demonstrate effective close combat of the art.

 If you are a martial artist, you can determine this for yourself by watching the many YouTube presentations that are available. After viewing, you will notice that only a small percentage of instructors present a believable ability to defend themselves with ba gua. The purpose of these pages is to assist YOU in the DEVELOPMENT of YOUR realistic ba gua skill.

Below are a few of our recommended videos on ba gua combat application. It is suggested that the potentially serious student of ba gua watch and think about these before going on to Ba Gua lesson 2.

This video introduces some self-defense / close combat applications of the art

This video demonstrations some ba gua fight applications in a light and fun way

This video includes clips of Shrfu John Bracy's teachers Liu Xinghan and Ho Shen-ting.
Be sure to watch the combat application of the art presented at 1 min 30 seconds.