Going on the road again …..

Heading to the airport in a couple of hours to fly to Singapore.

So I will not be inserting anything until I come back early part of next week.

This is an eagerly anticipated trip – besides meeting with key Muay Thai folks to talk about setting up in Malaysia, I am also scheduled to meet some Saolim elders and hopefully obtain details about what training with the late GM Ven. Sek was like…. from the “horses” mouth.

And if time permits, I will be calling on another Fuzhou White Crane veteran, one of the most senior in the family tree and maybe touch hands (and steal his knowledge) a little….

In the meantime, I want to leave you with another slice of Baji Quan from my archives.

Looking at the young exponent in the clip, I think this is one style that is in very good hands……

Baji on youku.

And before I take a short Chinese New Year break, here’s a Wu Lien Zi’s Baji clip found on youku…. 

For some @#$%^ reasons, I still can’t embed youtu clips directly onto wordpress @#$%….

Also I want to wish all of you:- 

A peaceful, prosperous, productive and positive Year of the Golden Rat.

Kheong Hee Huat Chye – “kong xi fa chai” in Fukien/Fuzhou.

Don’t forget; not going back until absolutely drunk !!!

 

More Baji Quan.

Folks, more Baji Quan – 8 extremities boxing; this time brilliantly executed by a mainland high hand – from Wu Lien Zi line if I am not mistaken…

Well, what can I say? I love this style of boxing and if an old dog like me gets to pick another style to take up, Baji would be it!

I love the crisp smooth flow ending with a sudden explosive “piercing” type “jin” that seem to be generated by the entire body working in total co-ordination – looooove it…..

And also you know what? When CKF elders say: – Using circular to overcome linear and using linear to suppress the circular – you’ll find both circular and linear in this one system. 

I got some other older footage with me and I tell you, these folks are adept in kicking, punching, grappling, throwing and some of their techniques/principles are pretty exclusive…

Ooookay, maybe that’s why it’s called “8 extremities”…. 

I need to dig out some of my old books and find out exactly what these “extremities” are referring to….

 

 

 

 

 

 

8 Extremities – ancient Xtreme sports?

And before I start my scanning, here another extract from the NGC documentary talking about a style that I would love to study, if given the opportunity to;Baji Quan.

Popularly translated to “8 extremities”, this is one style that has been shrouded in mystery for many years; only in recent years, details are made public.

Reading the Baji entry in Wikipedia (where else? And “cut and paste” below), this style is associated with both the Nationalists and Communists bodyguards.

If I remember right, even Ku Sifu spoke about Sun Yat Sen’s bodyguards (he had several) being highly skilled in BaJi. 

Maybe it just me but “extremities” sounds kinda “extreme”? 

Peaks, summits, pinnacles, zeniths …… aarrrrrggggghhhhh!

The words keep getting in the way! 

  

八極參劈掛，神鬼都害怕。劈掛參八極，英雄嘆莫及

“When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it.”

 

 

Bājíquán (traditional Chinese: 八極拳; pinyin: Bājíquán; literally “eight extremes fist”; Japanese: 八極拳, Hakkyokuken) is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan.

 

Bajiquan was originally called Baziquan (巴子拳 or 鈀子拳; literally “rake fist”), due to the fact that when not striking, the fist is held loosely and slightly open, resembling a rake, and also the art from involves many downward strike moves, just like a rake’s movement in the field. However, the name was considered to be rather crude sounding in its native tongue, so it was changed to the title Bajiquan. The term baji, which comes from the oldest book in China, the I Ching, signifies “an extension of all directions.” In this case, it means “including everything” or “the universe.”

Made famous in recent times by Li Shuwen (1864-1934), a fighter from Cangzhou, Hebei province whose skill with a spear earned him the nickname “God of Spear Li.” A Peking Opera Wu Shen (Martial Male Character) by training, he was foremost in his Kung Fu Basic trainings. His most famous quote about fighting was, “I do not know what it’s like to hit a man twice.”^[1] Certainly a bit of hyperbole, but it still speaks for the shocking power Baji training develops. Li Shuwen’s most famous students include Huo Diange (bodyguard to Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China), Li Chenwu (bodyguard to Mao Zedong), and Liu Yunqiao (secret agent for the nationalist Kuomintang and instructor of the bodyguards of Chiang Kai Shek). Because of this, Bajiquan has come to be known as “The Bodyguard Style”.

Bajiquan shares roots with another Hebei martial art, Piguazhang. It is said that Wu Zhong, the oldest traceable lineage holder in the Bajiquan lineage, taught both arts together as an integrated fighting system.^[2] They then slowly split apart, only to be remarried by Li Shuwen in the late 18th to early 19th century. As a testament to the complementary nature of these two styles, there is a Chinese martial arts proverb that goes: “When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it.” (八極參劈掛，神鬼都害怕。劈掛參八極，英雄嘆莫及)