228. 📗 Baguazhang art of war - The essence of the House of Baguazhang

The Way through Baguazhang - 八卦掌道

To understand the essence of what makes the House of Baguazhang ‘baguazhang’, it cannot be found in just on style of baguazhang. No matter how much we want to believe that the style or form we have signed up to, is the right one. And our martial ancestor Master Dong Hai Chuan knew this. So rather than instruct his disciples in the one true way, he instead taught them the Pre- and Post-Heaven Changing Palms. And then infused them with what they already had mastered from other Chinese martial art styles. Thereby ensuring that there would be, not one baguazhang style but many versions that allowed the student to find the right one that matched them. Each style would have things in common to keep them under the same house, the House of Baguazhang. But would also allow for a certain degree of independence in their own affairs, so that when it came to striking out into new territories, they were able to do so. And while in China Proper, there are the five orthodox styles of Yin, Cheng, Ma, Liang and Fu, plus some stripped out simplified wushu versions, there is still a strong ongoing tradition of new versions being created all the time. Sadly though, over on the Western side, because of the strong Chinese disporia’s rejection of the current climate in China that goes way beyond martial arts, there has developed over time the idea that baguazhang is a dying art (which is false), and that we must preserve an unchanging art against corruption (which is also false). For the nature of baguazhang is change. And more importantly its essence is to transcend what’s out there and be what it is: A higher form of martial art that bridges the gap between the earthly forms and the heavenly forms. Now, just to be clear, this has nothing to do with being better than others. So if you are thinking such thoughts then you still have a long way to go along the Tao. So there is no need or prerequisite to abandon one’s art to embrace baguazhang. Rather, in keeping with the traditions set up by Master Dong Hai Chuan, a disciple of, say, karate can come and learn baguazhang and then use it to create a new karate kata that walks the circle and uses palms instead of fist strikes. Or they could create a new baguazhang form that incorporates karate techniques. This example is true for all martial art styles, especially for those that lack a higher dimension beyond the physical plane of just being able to fight. For the essence of baguazhang is not just about fighting. Fighting on its own just leads to more conflict and more fighting. Baguazhang allows those who see the world through the eyes of conflict to find a way out of that spiritual shithole, and rise up the martial mountain so that they can see the whole picture through physical action and physical non-action.