Today I just had to get out my soapbox.
There are any number of things that could be slightly off with a Bagua video. Most aren’t worth commenting on but this one is a particular pet peeve.
That is folks trying to pass off kickboxing as Bagua.
There are growing number of Bagua videos out there where the Bagua player squares off against an opponent and proceeds to kickbox with them.
…and this is supposed to somehow show their Bagua skill.
Thing is, Kickboxing ain’t Bagua.
Especially when it’s bad kickboxing with poor movement.
…but even good kickboxing is not Bagua.
You know all that that circle walking practice Bagua does?
…you’re supposed to fight with that.
When Baguazhang fights it’s either walking or running a circle. Often more than one.
This is essential against multiple opponents. As soon as you square off against one opponent you become a sitting duck for all the others.
Of course there are many different ways to do Bagua but they all walk circles and deal with multiple attackers.
Why Kickboxing?
I don’t know why Bagua folks feel the need to switch to kickboxing when they spar.
Especially after they put in all that time walking in circles.
You can find the error in different Bagua systems from different lineages. So there’s no single source to point to.
My best guess is that because boxing & kickboxing methods are so common they’re much easier for people to understand. Because good Bagua info is much harder to find, and Bagua is so weird and complex, it’s much easier for folks to fall back on what they’re comfortable with instead of pushing themselves to advance their skills.
I’m all for people using good things to make their personal methods better.
…but using a few Bagua techniques to make your kickboxing better doesn’t make it Bagua.
This wouldn’t be a problem except that Bagua is not very well known. So when people go look it up on Youtube and see a bunch of mislabeled Kickboxing videos Bagua becomes known as Kickboxing with a few weird training methods.
We created the Free Fundamentals of Baguazhang course to help combat this by providing a solid introduction to how Bagua fights.
The goal is to put out enough quality information that anyone digging around online for 10 minutes can get a rough idea of what Bagua is really about.
But we can’t do it alone. There are 3 things you can do to help:
- Study the program. Practice and build the skills taught in the program so that you can become an example of what Bagua can do.
- Share it with others. Bagua needs people. You can’t fully train the proper spatial understandings without several people to practice with. The more people training Bagua (of any kind) the more training partners we have and the better we all get.
- The Fighting Fundamentals is a good start but it only scratches the surface. If you find you really enjoy the art of Bagua take it to the next level.
Sign up for the Baguazhang Intensive while it’s still open and get an in depth education in Bagua.
This course is packed with step by step instruction. For long list of what you’ll learn in this course go here:
https://www.clearmartialarts.com/bagua-online/
Enrollment closes on July 31st and won’t re-open for another year. So don’t miss it.
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