@@inside_fighting The Last Emperor, PuYi's personal bodyguard was Baji practitioner (Huo DianGe) .So are Mao (Mainland China leader) and Chiang Kai-Shek (Taiwan leader). Even today, Taiwanese Secret Services and some military black ops types study Baji. Also made very popular by a Japanese manga called "KENJI"
It’s a great style that the Chinese army still practices as well. And the forms are very linear, the most common lineage in China is the Wu style of Baji and the one that’s commonly taught outside of Taiwan is the Wu-Tan lineage
I was fortunate enough to study Baji Quan back in the late eighties from Grand Master Ker Jen Wu in South Florida. It forever changed my martial arts path. One of the points you didn’t expand upon was the foot work involved in closing the gap. Propelling body mass forward through skip motion movements. Think of powerful linear fencing techniques. By practicing this art form, I developed a natural advantage when I studied other martial arts later in life. Prior to learning Baji Quan, I boxed a little in my youth. After Baji Quan, I studied Senuces Jujitsu from Grand Master Arturo Morera. My Kung Fu background allowed me to bridge the gaps in distance differently than any of my colleagues in Jujitsu. Providing me with an ease of pressure point striking and capturing limb joint locks at close quarters. I am forever grateful to my instructors and their support. Martial arts is a life path that never ends. All arts have something to contribute to one’s growth and should be explored fully.
Speaking of footwork, what would you say drives the movement of the Rhino? My point is that while I can do very fast strikes and kicks, I really struggle with agile footwork. I'm fairly lean, but my legs feel like in a frigging rice field whenever I want to relocate them fast...
I'm crippled, so I just play Tekken 8. The game mechanics are complicated and takes years to master, but since it is a 3D game, it's the next best thing to the real think.
Chinese martial arts has techniques that every other system has, i love pek kwar and hung gar system most street applications can be drawn out of these for heavy set guy like me. I love the precision of the animal styles like leopard snake and mantis but MYGAWD ADHD is a killer, i find my self more distracted practicing these animals vs tiger , crane , white ape and dragon. I trained at greendragon kungfu in OH 🙏🏾
@PaMuShin ain't no choy li fut guys in the MMA. It might be some dudes that practiced wing Chun or sanda and people start calling it choy li fut or Kung fu like they do with every kickboxer who can throw a spin kick
Another point about Baji. It was often practiced alongside Piguaquan, a very "open,long range" striking style,using the arm full extension. It covered well the gaps left by Baji,and was very simple to add. Their main strikes are heavy palm and back strikes. This is why Baji is also famous for their forearm (palm)strikes. Pigua is a substyle of Tongbei ,a style very much focused on shoulders mobility and strenght,using the arms like whips. The two(Baji and Pigua) are said to be perfect together. Pigua was used as the basis for Da Sheng Pi Kua,a style of Monkey Boxing,which in turn was the basis of Mantis Boxing,at least ofthe northern one. There is a family style that teaches Baji,Pigua , and Fanziquan as a single style. But i know almost nothing on how Fanzi is,outside of surface knowledge,like it being paired with ChuoJiao.
Baji and piqua are once 1 style and they are compliment each other strike long range with piqua and close the gap with baji , that's why many baji warrior also learn piqua , the one who combine fanzi with baji and pigua in modern age are grandmaster Ma Xuanda. Fanzi are known for their fast punch
WOW, I have an old VHS tape instructional on Piguaquan by Adam Hsu. You are right that Piguaquan has a lot of similarities with Bajiquan and I only realized this now. Piguaquan has some unique yet powerful long-arm swinging strikes that can be thrown with the palm up or down.
Reading your comment reminds me of the time I read the manga Kenji. The main character had to learn other styles to incorporate into his own to compensate for his posture and stature. 😄
Also to add to this well informed comment is that, Baji is also well known as a "bodyguard" style, something to consider in conjunction with the comments in-fighting and takedown comments.
You really dont understand how Tai Chi functions, by saying Ignorant stuff like that. Furthermore, Tai Chi's internal power methods, were eventually absorbed by all of the top Chinese arts. Tai Chi has one of the most powerful of striking methods, called "Fajin". A Master of Fajin expression, can cause life ending Internal Ruptures, with less than 2 inches of arm travel. There is a lot Hidden, in that Very deep art. Tai Chi also has like +12 different weapons. I dont know about you... but I think going up against a lightning fast, Double Edged, Razor sharp, Chinese Sword... is called "Violence"... dont you?!
@@johndough8115 I apologise if I triggered the inner TaiJi master in you and if I offended your ancestors. I admit I am ignorant because this whole martial arts thing is not my only personality. Anyways, I didn't read through your entire rant but I hope you feel better after typing all that. I wish you the best. 👍🏻
A martial art is only as good as the practitioner and the effort the user put into it and that usually starts with how good the teacher is and their understanding of the art and how to teach it. Tai chi has is a capable martial art but it's usually projected as just an exercise for old people to do in the park or something. Look up tai chi quan for a better idea. The movements are for a fight, just slowed down and over the years its been watered down due to its popularity as a well being exercise.
@@johndough8115 taiji primary form is standing grappling. Joint locks and throws...the striking is mostly for closing distance. And some of the weapons are for close quarters distance...taiji is more brutal, but is not that distant from what baji guys do
Finally ... thanks so much for discussing baji quan. A genuine no nonsense TCMA.. Ive been training baji and xingyi quan since mid 1990s (in taiwan). im a believer lol. Baji has a lot of body conditioning (solo and paired) to build the foundation needed for the very heavy barging techniques from any direction including striking with your back.. One key thing about baji and xingyi is how they overwhelm the opponent with simultaneous attacks with feet hands knees etc etc.. and frustrating them. Getting inside is the only business in town and the elbow is king... I dont think you noticed it but the baji elbow is not inline with the axis of your shoulders its aimed slightly across the body about 30deg inwards. Partly to protect your heart from repeated inline shocks but mostly to attack perpendicular to your opponents stance. Its very effective at breaking their balance let alone the pain.. take another look at the form demo its quite clear to see once you look for it.. The stomping in the forms is a bit of misdirection as every lifted foot for a stomp is training a hooking sweep etc.. only effective at close range when your lead foot is next to or behind their lead foot. I love this stuff. Sadly arthritis (from a childhood injury nothing to do with MA) has stopped me from training nowadays .. but i really get a kick outta your content. Respect... Another obscure TCMA to checkout is chuo jiao . This art focuses on low kicks to the opponents shins. Devastating kicks.. leg breakers..
How do Xingyi and Baji flow together? I would say very smoothly,looking at Xin Yi Ba. Does Xing Yi has shoulder strikes? I have seen Xin Yi Liu He Quan does,but how much do they differ?
@@junichiroyamashita XY has shoulder strikes, but you won't see it in the basic five elements much. If you look at the animal forms, you'll see it a lot more. Snake, sparrow, eagle/bear, and crocodile have a body crashing focus. Sparrow is elbow leading into entering a guard.
@@junichiroyamashita hi sorry for late reply. Im sorry but i have no experience in xin yin liu he quan.. Hebei xingyi quan is very much an inside fighting style so the large movements progressively become shorter and the fun begins at close range.. every element of your body is a striking or leveraging weapon. XY is often stated as linear in its application and Bagua as circular .. this is simply a beginners perspective. XY is very much circular.. but you have to train hard to find it hidden in the straight..
My understanding is that this was the style that was used by the Imperial bodyguards of the last emperor of China (ending in 1912) and later Chinese nationalist leaders. Thats the reason it focuses on closing the gap and takedowns because its about moving into and taking down someone who is attacking your protectee. You see bajiquan alot in Taiwan because it left China with the Chinese nationalist government and some Taiwanese military and law enforcement units still have it as part of their training curriculum. That shoulder blow -- called "Iron Mountain Lean" in Chinese -- is a great thing to add to your in-fighting arsenal. Very useful in lots of scenarios -- especially if your hands are otherwise occupied. Its a good way of showing that compact power generation (called "fa jin" in Chinese or what we'd call "snap" or "pop" in colloquial American) applies to techniques at all ranges. Its also a great example of the principle of simultaneous attack and defense.
U see lots of Baji in taiwan coz the last student of Li Shuwen a legendary Baji warrior that never lose in his entire life are in taiwan and become the official instructor of taiwanese presidential bodyguard , and they still use baji to this day and that student name are Liu Yun Qiao in fact all guards of last emperor and chinese leader are students of Li Shuwen , like Huo Dian ge
I trained Baji for ten years (along shaolin, pigua, and bagua) in Switzerland. A master from Taiwan, Dr Peng, represent of wutan school, visited once or twice a year. As we learnt it, it was used by bodyguards. It‘s quite applicable, however, it‘s about going full in, using your body as a shield and weapon to protect someone else, not necessarily yourself. So we had much less guard up than you talk about. Full in, kill or die. (There are even a hand full of tequniques to break someones neck, but they are more „secret“ and not easily taught to everyone) I love it.
Kung Fu, Tai Chi systems all have great underlying ideas that are super solid. Tai Chi is all about parrying, shielding and takedowns while using elbows, palm strikes, groin shots and all the while protecting yourself from the other person's attacks. People who disregard those systems don't understand them. The problem is that most folks only do the forms and are unable to perform the moves against resistance and in live situations.
As you advance in Taijiquan, you include the punches, kicks, explosive joint locks and breaks, and powerful takedowns. It closely resembles various styles of Silat. Add a blade in your hand, and it may as well be. It is a "complete" system, other than actual ground fighting, but in my opinion, is made more complete with Wing Chun. Both are derived from Snake and Crane, but both have different takes on the lessons learned. Put together, and it's very devastating. I've been doing both combined for 32 years. Good traditional teachers will have you warm up, then practice the forms, then practice applications from the forms, and then have you spar, and tell you to practice the art properly while sparring, whether you get hit or not. Eventually, you learn to trust the art, and quit getting hit so much. I think the problem with most people who study "soft styles" have the mindset of gaining rank without having to prove the ability. "Safety through confidence, and confidence through rank", rather than ability. I think it creates unknowing victims. It's disappointing, to be honest.
Back in the 80’s Adam Hsu was a monthly columnist for BlackBelt magazine and did many many articles for Inside Kung Fu as well. He was known for being very well versed in several Northern Chinese styles (Chen Tai Chi, Xing Yi, Bagua Chang,3 different styles of Preying Mantis, etc) but his main background was in Baji Chuan and it’s sister art Pi Qua Chang. He was a student of Chiang Kai Shek’s chief bodyguard and the old guy used his influence to get other style teachers to flesh out his students’ training. Hsu has since retired back to Taiwan I think, but he may still have some of his Baji students in the Bay Area. I think there’s another student of Hsu’s teacher named Yang teaching in Ohio if I remember right. America’s first big influx of Chinese immigrants came from the south, and they brought southern styles like Choy Lee Fut and Hung Gar with them. It wasn’t until the 1980’s and 90’s that we started to get exposed to the famous northern styles in any regular basis. And Baji is VERY much a Northern style.
I remember Adam Hsu very well. He introduced Baji Chuan to the general public back in the 80’s. I guess I took it for granted that most everyone knew about Baji. Glad to see it’s getting the respect it deserves.
so he was a student of a political reactionary, a remnant of western control of china lmfao You people are so backwards when it comes to understanding reality
Kung fu San sou is southern style and very effective. Brought to the states by Jimmie H. Woo also known as Chin Su Dek. Very violent in an efficient way.
Yes as a baji specialist and teacher this art is very cool. Good forms, good body mechanic, good self defense, good spirituality, good health benefit, good sport combat tech. All in ONE art.
@@notaras1985 if your question is honest and not just trolling here is one answer : GM Long Jin Ju Baji Quan was used and teach by the personnal bodyguard military personnel of Mao. GM Long was the teacher of my teacher in Gong Fu. The style is still used by many bodyguard. It was also used by the last guardian Puyi that is the last emperor of China. Today many baji principles are used in Sanda/Sanshou that is the fullfighting combative sport of China. Wish you all the best and hope my answer has put some light in your life.
Bajiquan is effective, practical and can be learned quite quickly so it was a good style to teach to newly recruited soldiers. Chinese generals would often go on to learn Taiji Chuan which is even more effective and brutal but takes a l-o-o-o-o-o-ong time to learn.
I've been training Bajiquan since 2008. I actually trained with the guy in the first clip, Fabio, under the same master. Nice to see a shoutout here - interesting comments at the end about maintaining a strong "frame" and using that structure to break the opponent's structure, as that is indeed a major concept in Baji. In fact, the first form you learn is called Xiao Jia, which translates to "small frame". I appreciate that you looked at the art with an open mind and didn't immediately dismiss it if you saw something you didn't like - in fact I often find plenty to criticize looking at other Baji videos myself!
Tamotsu Miyahira made videos with Kuro Obi World showcasing Bajiquan,in one he goes to explain how Tackling/Ramming (Zhuang) was a third discipline of striking with Punching(Da) and Kicking( Ti). I made a playlist all about these(now public,my bad) Ever since i started watching your channel i was waiting for this one. I love Baji approach of using every part of the body,and so even the shoulders. Shoulders and body mass become a third main weapon ,and that can shutdown a grappler or clincher closing in,just by knocking him back. They can be chained with punches and elbows for a continuous striking combination,and can be used to block strikes to (your)head or from (his) head in a clinch. They should be considered a main weapon by everybody,not just a gimmick, a fundamental striking element like how we talk about knees and elbows after Muay Thai inception. They could be what is lacking in modern martial arts,bringing an higher focus on stand-up fighting and hand fighting skill. There has been a much too greater focus on kicking in the striking arts in recent times. "There is no technique in charging someone" is a stupid belief. If it can be done,then it can be done right. I am surprised nobody realise how useful checking someone is,when Hockey is so popular in North America. You should see Bajimen doing their body conditioning,slamming into trees.
@@senecaknowsbest8380 i have a video by Moontagu all about the Taiji shoulder strike,they are common among the internal strikes, Baji and Chen Taiji the most. I know that external styles have a shoulder bump version,like Wing Chun and Hung Gar,but they don't have the same emphasis as the internal ones. Do you know any other of them ?
"There is no technique in charging someone" It was apparently so "devoid" of technique that there's an entire school of medieval warfare involving sending 2000lbs of man, beast, and metal into another person with sharp pointy tip.
@@inside_fighting I think the commenter is referring to the way you speculated about sanda influence in baji, not baji influence in sanda. It's the wrong way around. A common mistake. People do that all the time. I figured that's all it was. But since there's a comment about it, might as well clarify.
Bajiquan means 8 extremities fist, it’s known as the hardest physical style of Kungfu. Low horse stance Mabu is crazy hard to maintain correctly. We practice Zhan Zhuang post training. Embracing the tree and other postures breathing techniques Chi Kung everyday to be able to do this style effectively. It’s a Beautiful art very much in common with Tai Chi complete relaxation into total contraction upon impact. It is both an external and internal style of Kungfu. We do hard body tree striking conditioning and sometimes steel as well. 🤜🤛 This style was known for one hit kills back in the day. Xing yi is derived from Bajiquan & Baguazhang really compliments it 👍
@@watamutha The hardest as in the most physical the stomping & ramming technique are hard core. Classic Bajiquan has really low and narrow Mabu / horse stance even it’s empty or cat stance is extremely low, If you just train this style you would never need to do leg weights it just smashes your quads and calves. Couple this Piquazhang or Baguazhang not necessary but excellent complimentary styles also. There are specific walking movements and lunging known as Bear walking which strengthen your ankles and stretch them. The old school training is hardcore along with the body striking tree striking conditioning it’s definitely one of the hardest in the physical sense especially to do it correctly 👍
@@Minerban It originally translated to Rake fist 🤜 Hence the shape of the fist, created when you close the index finger then all off the others only the index is totally closed however the rest are more loosely resting in in the upper palm. Baguazhang means Ba means 8 Gua Zhang Trigram Palm Ba 8 Ji Extremities Quan Fist. Zhang Palm 👍
@@mountainwarrior108 your Kangaroo kungfu and natural trainings are impressive. You can objectify your subjective experience in the official gym! Good luck friend from SF!
There is a Chinese documentary on Bajiquan ( Ba Ji Fist ). Invented during the Qing ( Manchurian ) Dynasty, it was used to protect the royal family. Fast, brutal and hard style ... it uses elbows and shoulders a lot.
This might be my favorite videos of yours Ilan, many thanks. My JKD instructor taught me some of these takedowns on a beach in Thailand--even taught me some uses for Sumo. Never had the chance to really drill, train, and use in sparring. However, I did have a JKD guy who trained in Xing Yi put me on my butt with foot sweeps and similar takedowns in sparring. I don't think many people know that some of the "weird" or flashy or fancy moves in Kung Fu are not "powerless strikes" but part of takedowns and sweeps
It changed me too. Since then, (back in 1996), I've researched and studied it and also discovered some very applicable training in other Chinese internal arts. @@inside_fighting
I once thought the Double Spinning Hammerfist move, looked unrealistic... until a dude that had massive forearm, was stepping towards me, with both of his hammerfist whirling around. It was a LOT faster than I had expected it to me. Less than 1second between each hammer fist fall... and each of them was powered by his full body mass. A single one, could have easily shattered my Shin bone, had I foolishly tried a Toe-Stabbing kick. Luckily, I realized this, and just backed away, as quickly as I could. He also showed me a spinning movement, that drove you downwards in a spiral, like a screw. In the end, you used a handstrike (I think backfist) attack to the legs or groin.. if memory serves correct. The level change was lightning fast... and I believe it was launched as an upper deflection, making it a pretty effective counter. He showed a more Brutal version... but this time, it was for breaking the OPs leg. You allow the OP to round kick your leg, and as it penetrates, you allow your leg to bend at the knee joint, trapping the leg between your thigh and shin muscles.. as you then continue to spin around and downwards into a spiral. As you drop lower, you put more and more pressure on the leg, eventually breaking it. Methods seen in the Drunkin style... such as the extending bent wrist, off of the sudden forwards body movement... creates a full body mass whipping power... that is a lot more powerful than one could imagine. Any time the body is fully relaxed, it has superior acceleration and top speed capability. Coupled with Drunkens trickery to bait you in too close... this explosive snake like movement... can cause severe damage potentials. On the more Simple end of things.. I once watched these two fighters at it... and one of them knew Northern Shaolin methods. He feinted a retreat, partially turning his back to the OP. The OP took the bait.. and rushed in for the attack. I knew what what about to happen... but it was glorious to see. Suddenly, the Shaolin dude, executed a very wide spinning outside crescent kick, landing with a powerful THUD to the side of the dudes head. The thing is... a Lot of the Chinese arts use special movements, designed to TRICK the OP. To bait them in. To make it appear that they are weak... or have a weakness that can be attacked. And certain movements, like that Crescent kick... likely would never be effective, without first baiting the OP into it. I will add, that certain sweeps and takedowns, are also often being modified to be "Friendly". Some of these methods may actually be bone destructive techniques, and or throws that are designed to break your neck / spine. Finally, I will add... that many of the Most powerful Chinese strikes, use Fajin (Explosive Power). A master of fajin, only needs an inch or two, to END you... as they can generate enough power to cause massive internal damages / ruptures... within that small amount of travel distance. This is likely how the legend of "Death-Touch" came into existence. A master used a very quick short range finger strike powered by Fajin... hitting a specific point... causing an internal rupture. A nearby spectator saw this... but it didnt look like a typical "Strike". Instead, it just looked like the master "Touched" him.
baji quan is one of the internal styles such as baguazhang, taiji, xingyi, and yiquan. i realllly recommend a yt channel called triessence martial arts, it delves deeper into the practical aspects of such arts and the body mechanics behind them. sadly one aspect of interal martial arts that is not discussed enough are the power generation methods that generates tremendous amount of power enough to cause serious internal injuries, and also the combat methodology that is very different than external martial arts such as boxing or muaythai.
Bajiquan has been immensely popular in video games for over 20 years. Characters who use Bajiquan are often nerfed in some way by developers (e.g precise inputs for control) because the style delivers a nearly unbreakable defense AND strong forward pressure on attack. This video gives some history of the Bajiquan style and its most famous quote. czcams.com/video/rUxNVEe0PiY/video.html
Great analysis of Baji! I have been practicing for a few years. When you mentioned that they cover their vitals and use a Philly shell type guard I thought it was a great observation. This style originated on the battlefield with armor so focusing on quick takedowns and targeting vital points was crucial. The empty hand techniques are all based on weapon techniques (primarily spear). If you like this style I would encourage you to check out the Wu Tan lineage Baji. It is a bit different from the examples you gathered here which seem to be Wu lineage.
Trained for 35 years in Bajiquan (Mengcun) and happy to see it getting more recognition. It's not widely practiced in China, let alone the United States. Being a style that more people got into after seeing one of the Ip Man films, it seems Bruce Lee has influenced many people once again. I highly recommend searching for a video of a Bajiquan expedition in China from the 90's. You'll see some great forms. There's also a teacher in Taiwan who used to work as a head bodyguard to the Prime Minister of China.
Xiao Jia Yilu (Mengcun style): czcams.com/video/vYNs3A3MF00/video.htmlsi=fwB2rec5HJiPDBUk Exhibition featuring many masters from different lineages: czcams.com/video/UA9a977HzFg/video.htmlsi=AZ-0RaXfHZJRF00G
Sega put out one of my favorite video game serieis of all time called virtua fighter. In it was the main character named akira and he used this style!! The character is so cool because of his style. czcams.com/video/c4dAsRokODw/video.htmlsi=kgVGZ7lxBGNGYmzr Please check it out cause I really believe that character truly does this fighting style justice. I didn't think this style was real. Each move felt like total destruction as if you were getting hit by a car. Underrated game with an Underrated character using a very Underrated fighting style..
This is a good idea or movement. Bajiquan is meant to be straight forward and into your open space; direct movement into what is happening and putting yourself into what's happening next beforehand. Bajiquan is meant to be applied. You've probably already seen this. To stay when you're already there and move in more is something that not a lot of people understand. To jab like Larry Holmes and stay there for a moment. To bend and walk in with your new understanding of their place within your place. To hold and adjust and move. You seem like a good guy. Feel free to say hey. czcams.com/video/ft20j0RuVSI/video.htmlsi=DZAf_AqYEWtGjnMH
Thank you for stating that you don't have to agree with everything to appreciate this style. Way too many people nit-pick and focus on what they don't like. It was refreshing to watch your video. keep up the good work.
Yes!!! Bajiquan is my second love in martial arts and I’m glad you got into talking about this kung fu style. Lots of practitioners know or at least have heard of it. Thanks for this, Ilan!
I wonder how much useful Hip strikes can be,i read that in Rollerderby and Hockey hip checks and blocks are quite integral to the game. Wrestling has the Hip Attack but i have reserves about its practicality.
If this is a bodyguard system it makes perfect sense: shell up - don’t get knocked out - stay in the fight - protect the principal. Close the gap and prevent him from getting past you and getting at the principal.
I met a guy in jail who I found out was a kung fu master, we ended up connecting on martial arts and further we both got in trouble for sharing with each other in the yard. He didnt actually tell me what style he was teaching me, but i now recognize as bajiquan. What's interesting is the fact that the guy was younger than me but looked much much older. He told me that when he was very young his mother had given him to a kung fu master who traveled all over China and taught him, and they spent many years living on top of a mountain. Lookup the twins paradox for an explanation on what I believe accounted for his aging, he looked like 42 at least but he was only 29, and had been locked up after being challenged by some students he had taken on here in America who he kicked the shit out of. If this was not his main style, it was definitely a good part of it.
Dang! A waiver should always be signed when getting challenged by people. Those challengers were dumb to sue him after wanting to fight the guy and lost badly. The Li Shuwen mentality is somehow driven into baji students and that causes injuries to opponent
Now that is a peculiar encounter to make in jail,certainly more pleasant than meeting Big Tyrone. I am very curious,how useful Baji was in a prison setting? On top of the head i would say "A LOT" , since it is built for extreme infighting such as 52 Blocks and Wing Chun are,but i would like to hear your opinion. Not in how much you actually used it,but rather how useful it would have been.
Don't confuse traditional Kung Fu with modern one. Every Traditional school of Kung Fu had been designed for facing real violence, on war and on street. Tai Chi Chuan for exemple is one of the most brutal Kung Fu style you can imagine, not the post Mao version for health and demonstration, but the old school Chen or Yang.
Unfortunately, almost nobody knows the real thing anymore. Most people don't even know the fast forms, let alone the specialized Neigong to generate internal power. That combined with no intense contact sparring is a recipe for disaster and a street fight. Studying Gu Luping/Lisheng lineage online currently. To get the old good stuff from Yang Shaohou as well as Yang Cheng Fu lineages. Where have you found the good stuff?
I love this style. I've never had a chance to practice it but it's super cool. Last century this style was chosen as the primary presidential bodyguard style for both the Nationalist and Communist governments of China (Chiang kai shek and Mao tse dong both had Bajiquan bodyguards in Taiwan and Mainland China). Makes sense given presidents move through crowds sometimes and the close range nature of this style is so direct and immediate.
The tactics & techniques of Bajiquan are commonly found in quite a few Chinese Martial Art systems (for instance, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, & Taijiquan all have these same infighting skills - "hidden" in plain sight; & I've seen Shaolin practitioners use these techniques as well). And BTW: one can still be knocked unconscious while infighting.
Yes someone can be ko in fighting but much harder and requires someone who knows what they are doing. The internal styles seem to all have these movements
@@inside_fighting the international styles share common principles, but not necessarily the same movements. also speaking from experience with both, bagua has less infighting than Baji-Quan, but much better footwork and mobility.
@@inside_fighting I can see why you gravitated towards infighting, because that is another range that a lot of fighters neglect (like strikers used to neglect training in ground fighting). But, fwiw, it's just as easy to get knocked out at any range. Eating an elbow or a headbutt is just about the easiest way to get ko'ed.
Agreed. A lot of what they are doing here is what is called "shouldering" in tai chi and shuai chiao. A pretty common technique. Maybe not usually emphasized to this degree. But the movement occurs over and over in the tai chi form I practice...
@yamiyomizuki just want to say, you might be misinterpreting the mobility aspect here. Bajiquan can be very mobile, it just usually chooses not to be. All of our power comes from contact with the ground, so we prefere to stay rooted to one spot as much as possible. Moving necessitates being in less contact with the ground, which means less power, so we typically don't move except for after a strike, and usually that's to dissipate excess power so we don't lose balance. Or sometimes to harness gravitational energy for a big strike, but thats not going to happen in a casual sparring situation ever. None of the strikes in any of these clips were anywhere close to full power. We don't need to move because we just wait for you to use the energy to come to us, and if you don't, then that is still self-defense to us. If you ever spar with a bajiquan practitioner, you would do well not to assume they aren't mobile.
Baji, famous for bodyguards. XingYi, famous for armed security. Shuaijiao, famous for soldiers. There is a gentleman in Houston, TX who runs a security and personal protection (corporate and executive level) firm based on “Side Gate” Bajiquan and Firearms training. Of the three styles, XingYi and Shuaijiao were both seen among the finalists in Mixed Martial Arts tournaments against other TCMA as well as Muay Thai in the 1920s and 1930s. I believe the first tournament they stopped the whole event, because they were scared someone would die and take their knowledge with them. They had signed waivers saying their body will be sent home to their family if they don’t make it 😅. The second tourney, the finalists were couple Xing Yi guys, Muay Thai guy, Shuai Jiao guy and I think a Western Boxer. Shuaijiao won in the finals after he beat the Muay Thai guy by slamming him and breaking his arm BUT he took so much damage that he went and learned more striking and boxing afterwards 😅 I believe you can find a b/w photo of the guys bruised face posted by David Ross. Many Xing Yi guys learned Western Boxing at that time, as well. Though they had proven their skill, they were open minded to their own weaknesses too. 1928, Huang Bo Nian published Xingyi fist and weapon instruction for the military. Also 1928, Central National Arts Academy opened a national examination which included sparring events in empty hand, long and short weapons, at least three of the first place winners were all Xingy Quan. Of course, ALSO in 1928… the govt banned bare knuckle challenge fights (before then teachers had to take on all challengers). Probably the beginning of the end for TCMA, though out of it we got Sanshou and Shou Bo (both TCMMA long before San Da) 1940s the Govt decided to promote FORMS and separate out KungFu for Forms competition, Tai chi for health and the fighters and wrestlers placed into the “Sport” category. 1950s the govt decided to control MA’s and not to acknowledge any systems or styles but rather to just lump them all into blanket categories - in other words, to water them down 😅
At 13 minutes the old Chinese guy is taking the same pose that Charlie Nelson used to call the Jack Benny lol. Charlie also had something he called the Ed Sullivan where your arms are folded across your chest, ready to defend against a punch or push or grab and to turn it into an arm bar with body rotation. It was a slick move.
八极拳 is one of the strongest and oldest styles practiced today. Made famous and carried through antiquity to modernity by the Hui people. Look at a man that goes by “an wushu”.
@@inside_fighting another one you wanna check out is 心意拳。 Xin yi quan or “intent and likeness” boxing. Another classical style that has its roots in the old battle field tradition of Chinese martial arts. Lots of small, in close techniques intertwined with lots of explosive power. It’s quite unassuming to the untrained eye.
On those first videos, he’s going to get cut to ribbons with that knife defence. Never assume the opponent is just going to stand there while you do four different moves in a sequence.
Exactly. Not a fan of demos where the guy gets disabled by the first strike and allows the fighter to make a movie with credits afterwards. Opponents never just stand there
To provide possible answers for your question about sanda influence on bajiquan the answer is yes but it went both ways. Bajiquan along with other northern arts like Bagua and most importantly Shuai Jiao played a not insignificant role in the formation of sanda back when it was being synthesized. However later on some bajiquan lineage carriers themselves had accomplished sanda careers and used this experience to bring back to and add to the style. And you can see this divergent evolution by looking at how bajiquan lineages in the mainland and wutan bajiquan lineages in Taiwan differ. Wutan bajiquan didn't have so much influence from empty handed fighting/combat sports, instead continuing to be used by the military, bodyguards, etc and so it developed in a different direction as opposed to lineages from the mainland which have had a lot added onto them over the years.
Hi, Taiwanese Bajiquan practitioner here and now doing BJJ. The style is a great complement to wrestling. I'd say the style is one of the best among traditional ones, however it obviously shares the same flaws among them, like really bad physical training. 99% of the coaches are hobbyists who only do Taulu and never do real sparring, thus they do not really know the application of techniques. Most practitioners who want to be truly capable of fighting have no choice but to join in other modern systems like Muay Thai or MMA. Fortunately some gyms are trying to modernize it now .
You want powerful Bajiquan An Jian Qiu old clips of him. He was a Chinese fighter they have there own family Kungfu. He’s Bajiquan, Baguazhang & Xing Yi are next level. 🤜🤛 Also Japanese exponent Tomatsu Miyahira on Kuro Obi World is a Great Bajiquan practitioner especially demonstrating the ramming elbow we do to the Xiphoid process centre of chest. It’s makes the opponent drop to ground and crawl away in agony.
Hi, loved your video. I've been fortunate enough to practice bajiquan for a few years now, at my modest level. Your comments on stickiness are really valid, but it goes much further with bajiquan: once you've punched you follow through with the elbow, then the shoulder,, then the whole body and hips, even the head. It its relentless. The arm sort. of folds in on itself each time you move to another strike - all with the same side of the body. Love it! And as you say, it remains a very traditional martial art
Subscribed to your channel a couple of days ago, and watched something like 50 videos all the way to the beginning. 😂 Great stuff, keep up the great work and cheers from Macedonia!
The internal power of Bajiquan gives them the ability to do fatal damage with a single punch or elbow strike. However, the development of this kind of power is not easy as it is very demanding.
This is very true and it’s tough on the knees, everything in Bajiquan starts from the rear foot to drive the power forwards and sinking ability (according to my teacher)
Please don't make stuff up. And please don't get your information from kung fu movies and reading third hand articles. I see a lot of that in these comments section.
@_BillyMandalay How is it made up, I just made an observation and just watched another video on combat Tai chi which demonstrated the same 💩. Go cry in your pillow.
3:56 If you've ever taken Tai chi yang style and Tai chi chuan not just for physical health but practice the fighting art of the movements within the forms in a practical way, you will find that what this man's doing is the exact same thing. By getting in close and using the other person's weight against them with your strikes and a low firm rooted stance. By using chinna hand locks, joint locks. He is definitely using hidden moves within the Tai chi Chuan, and Tai chi yang style systems. But I would point out having practiced myself, that these moves are not good when facing a mixed martial artist or a boxer because they will not let you get close enough. Especially if they have fast hands. This style relies completely on defense against the other person's movements towards you in an aggressive way. To close that gap so you are under his strikes and movements. It is effective in that manner. It is effective for most street fighters that are not trained in mixed martial arts. It is good against the average person on the street that wants to hurt you. Having used the system in practical application in practice and in real life, It is effective. I believe in what this man's doing. But it must be added to your toolbox with good groundwork and very good counter-striking with punches and elbows. But in this training video I recognize almost all the moves from training in Tai chi for years. As well as Kung Fu. I like the video keep up the good work.
I'd say: Taiji for bouncers (repel the enemy while minimizing the damage), Baji for "more violent" bodyguard work, Xingyi for soldiers, Bagua for assassins, Wing Chun for streetfighters/cops/etc operating in a limited space ...
@tranquil_dude I dunno about minimizing damage. Maybe in Yang style. I study and teach both Yang and Chen. Chen Ziqiang was once asked what the goal of taijiquan is, and he replied, "To crash into my opponents center and kill him." Even in Yang style, there are a lot of joint dislocations going on. But Chen makes a lot of use of elbows and especially shoulders for striking, too.
As a bodyguard's martial art, Baji is about explosively opening up your opponent's gates, and doing maximum damage/eliminating the threat in the shortest amount of time.
Earlier tian jin( 天津) sanda team's instructor was liu sho long 劉壽榮, he comes from ba ji quan lineage The video you showed in the 1988 was his students lee bao qui and liu wan fu having friendly sanda match
the flick of the hands is a place holder, it can go side ways or down, like a slap parry (even multiple parries). a lot of people tend to translate the form work too literally.
This is what I grew up learning! So thrilled to see people talking about it, it gets lost in the background of gungfu variants too often when it's easily the most practical.
Ahhh one of the good styles! :D -The phonetics is "Bah-Gee T'chu-en" -The Phili shell part you mentioned is called Tie Shan Kao. It's a pretty core principle in the style. Others use it too but pretty sure Baji is the one that does it the most. -The frame you mention with the elbow out is not really the same. The elbow position is Liang Yi Ding. The elbow is actually pointing more downwards than forward. THe driving force is the body moving its mass and the elbow usualy drives down into the opponnent as opposed to forward of even up using the tip of the elbow. THe videos at around 9min show this if you look closely. -A lot, if not all of Baji schools, have sparring and do Sanda to try and apply some of their techniques "safely". A lot of the throws in Sanda that aren't from Shuai Jiao come from there (or some similar style), not the other way around. Nowadays they also do a lot of "real scenario" drills with safety equipment. -There's a principle not really shown here that is important in this style at higher levels and other similar styles like Ba Shan fan wich is San Pan Lian Ji which means attack the three heights at the same time (top-mid-low) which is a reason for the hand not being in front during the elbow as u mentions in the Rhino (?). The rear hand usually did something during or right before the strike (block/pull the front hand in guard) while the front one hits and the legs move/crash into the opponent's stance. In it's "complete" application, that move usually cracks the lead leg along with the hit but shhhh. -The dude you show at 14:45 is Wu DaWei, the son of the current Head of the Mengcun Baji style that is pretty much the most famous Baji style in China, having a legit whole village devoted to it. Papi in the corner is his father, mr. Wu LiangZhe. They are pretty damn badass. They have a lot of stuff on youtube now if you wanna look it up. Glad you found out about this, it's not such an obscure style honnestly. There's a HUGE academy in Taiwan that teaches it, they're the ones who gave it the whole "bodyguard style" image with their founder Liu Yun Qiao I believe. You can look up Wutan Baji. They have schools up all over really. There was one in Montreal around the time you lived here I believe and Toronto/Ottawa too. I'm not sure about the whole "retracting" thing though, Most traditional styles teach NOT to retract on linear strikes, outside of kicks really, because that's how you generate "real" power in a strike. For the same reason a Jab most likely never knocks out someone but a cross does, most strikes in traditional styles were meant for maximal damage and not wearing someone out. After that thought you got the idea :D When the hit is done, that means the space you hit is occupied, and unless grappled, can't be used by the opponent to counter attack you. From there, you have to gauge your options fast enough to see what's next. It's like... if you open a door, you don't wanna close it to REopen it to walk through kinda thing. But yes, everything you said after that seems correct :) Keep up the curiosity man! It's how we all get better... or try to anyways :D
the fundamental KEY to this style (seen in their forms) is to SYNCHRONIZE the stepping and STOMPING timed with the strike. this is what gets that devastating power. it is the lesser known "fourth" of the internal kungfu triad (taiji, xingyi, and bagua-quan). it's similarity is in how these "slow" internal styles through their forms teach your muscles to work in synchronization to strike with the whole body. the "western" (muslim) influence of baijiquan is the addition of that stomping technique.
Actually, many Baji and Shuai Zhao takedowns are incorporated in earlier Sanda, but now its more of a cross-pollination deal. Basically, if it involves grabbing the body - its from Shuai Zhao, if it involves grabbing the limbs and winding the opponent around your body, or crashing into the opponent - its from Baji.
Very interesting, thank you for sharing! I was unfamiliar with this style of Kung Fu as well. That old sparring footage from the 80’s sort of reminded me of the beginning of Enter the Dragon with Sammo Hung sparring Bruce Lee. The sparring gear in particular, but also the take downs .
Rear hand during a ram not covering the face to traditionally hold a piercing weapon (the elbowing arm wielding a shield). In modern day application it could be for drawing your sidearm. Would love to see more ramming in modern combat sports but the defender's sprawl might inevitably lead to a headbutt
MMA made rules to keep traditional martial arts out right after they began. Any hint of traditional and you'd never see the pros. They'd just claim the ramming tactic was akin to a headbutt.
Yeah, I thought the same. I think he has made his mind up on Wing Chun. Bad Wing Chun is bad, good Wing Chun is good. Like anything really.@@florisvanlingen
Thanks for the video(s), More like an influence of baji in sanda. Sanda is a modern hybrid, kind of like MMA, but many sandals fighters come from haji backgrounds,. There are other kungfu styles that use some of those entering techniques, including tongue and even bag and chen style taiga, but haji makes it the heart of their system. When you posted about KFM a little while back, i started to remark that it put me in mind of baji.
The other really useful aspect of crashing in with your elbows, hips and shoulders, is that you're at a lot less of a risk of breaking your hand on a hard target compared to throwing punches! Same with those standing hammerfists
@@allwoundup3574 couldn't be a martial arts video comment section without some peanut who has to point out the extremely obvious fact that everything has a counter 😴
guy in the yellow shirt knows his stuff ...he was holding back a lot too... pulling his strikes ... a good display of BajiQuan is in The Grandmaster ... Mr. Straight razor
Bajiquan, in my opinion, is going to be the next martial system that will become popular in MMA. I'm seeing more and more videos of Bajiquan fighters Crosstraining plus sparring with resistance. That right there leads most martial artists to test themselves and their art in combative competitions.
I don’t think so they drop their arms too much leaving their chin exposed, the reason why Muay Thai is better for MMA is because of the high guard defensive stance in Muay Thai
@@BRAINFxck10 Well, Traditional Muay Thai is not too effective in MMA. Like every art represented in MMA, it has to be modified to be effective in MMA. Also, isn't it the Point Karate guys in MMA, who fight with their hands down low yet still have defeated Muay Thai fighters with that stance ??? Check out Michael page vs Jefferson George and Raymond Daniels vs. Wilker Barros.
As a Chen style Taijquan practitioner, I can see a lot of similarities, especially with our Cannon fist repertoire. I suspect there are common early influences between the 2 styles.
@@inside_fightingChen Style is a very healthy blend of Internal/External. It's considered the "oldest" Taiji style, and has a lot of powerful wrestling takedowns, with a deep understanding of "spiral power". It's fascinating stuff. Look up the hardcore Chen Village guys that maintain a high skill standard, like Mr. Chen Zhiqiang and Chen Bing. They often get their students to spar and pressure test vs folk wrestlers, Sambo and Judoka. Mr. Zhiqiang is probably close to 50 years old now but still in excellent condition and very explosive for his size.
@@inside_fighting your use of the term internal here seems strange. internal refers to a set of movement principles as well as breathwork and mental exercise, applying something in a fight doesn't make it external.
Check out the Baji Quan fighting scene in the movie The Grandmaster. It is quite stylized with some kung fu movie magic added but the essential moves and basic concepts shine through.
the second last video you showed ( the old guy in white shirt) is grandmaster Li junyi (李俊义), he's the niece of grandmaster Wu lianzhi (the father of the guy demonstrating the kata in the last video, Wu dawei), and he has recently passed away. He has left a lot of short videos demonstrating the techniques in the kata, many of them are VERY insightful. Though one thing that is not explained very verbally in those videos are the footworks, it is one of the fundamental of the Baji system, to place your "root" down on your opponent (center of gravity), to break their posture, while using the upper body to ram/control/destroy your opponent's body. To those who are interested in baji I would highly recommend looking this master up
As for the taijiquan/baji relationship, there was a friendly exchange in Beijing between Chen Fake and a baji expert (forgot name, sorry) who saw lots of similarities between their respective arts. I'm talking here about Chen family taiji, which favours low postures and takedowns - not the more popular Yang style.
@@Purwapada- A student or a disciple? I've met a lot of disciples that paid a LOT of money to be in the group pictures, yet they had no skills. Chen Xiaowang would be a fool to turn down the easy money that can and does help so many in his community.
Dude, it heavily depends on how much the stylist makes the style his. It could have been any style. Baji is great. You can find the same strategies in Xing Yi, Xin Yi, Tong Bei, etc. These styles were never really commercial, but very effective. Not a superficial move. No waste. Just the business of hurting. Yes, you'll find some delusional people that think they've got it. But, there's folks in these arts that just hurt people for the heck of it.
Yeah I’ve been preaching chow Gar tong long - southern mantis. It’s full on hey, I did security work (bouncer, I hate that word) and at 5’9 and 75kg, I was always confident the mantis was with me.. so to speak. It never let me down
I’ve been practicing Xingyi, Taiji, and Bagua styles of Kung Fu and as I’ve grown as a martial artist I’ve always had an admiration for Bajiquan. To be honest of all the internal martial arts in CMA Baji has the best system of generating power through Fajin into a live application
I see quite a bit of elements in Baji Quan that I learned when studying Wing Chun under Tony Massengill. We looked at Wing Chun from an unchained perspective, a blank canvas so to say, not that we didn't honor the traditional forms. This approach is probably because of his marital arts background. We angle a lot, take the space of the opponent and took advantage of whatever presented itself. It could have ended in Chin na, striking, throws or kicks didn't matter as long as we have the correct angle, opening and proper covering/shielding. The stick and knife fighting were also fun.
@@inside_fighting I knew you would like it, for more info check out youtube.com/@wutan_nj?si=FPa6kGNEUuqzAtXY they got a school in NY and ive learn alot from this channel. Baji olso has some sort of sister style called piguaquan, very similar but this one is more long range while baji is close range, that's why they are typically taught together. Olso characters from video games like akira from virtua fighter or leo from tekken use this style and showed me alot of inspiration for applications. Migth want to check our these 2 games in particular as they are filled with cool moves and they are realistic enough to be viewd in a comative perspective
I wouldnt say they like to spar. Theres a lot of 2 man application forms. Style is famous for 108 standing locking techniques, which is a mix of locks and takedowns.
I'm loving seeing your enthusiasm in discovering this martial art. As a fan of fighting games and that sort of thing, Bajiquan shows up a lot. Leo Kleisen in Tekken is a good example, same with Akira in Virtua Fighter. Li Shuwen (AKA God Spear Li) was a martial arts master of Bajiquan with mythological status, apparently quoted as saying "I do not know what it is like to hit the same man twice.", he was poisoned to death as an old man. There's a manga called Kenji by Ryuchi Matsuda and Yoshihide Fujiwara and it's all about the main character learning Bajiquan and then learning from all sorts of other fighters to incorporate their techniques into his style, and it goes super in-depth into the training, philosophy, history and especially the movements and execution of Bajiquan and other martial arts. It's a great read, and the manga inspired Bajiquan's inclusion in a lot of fighting games and anime since. One thing you'll notice is there's a big emphasis on stepping in with a stomp, pushing the energy of all that momentum through the stomp, back up through the legs and torso and shoulders like a boxer and into the fist or elbow or sweeping arm takedown move, it's very cool. That "wrapping" thing you describe near the end is also a thing in Bajiquan, a lot of the motions near the start like the parrying also work when stepping in and crashing in a way that breaks open the opponent's guard, then stepping not just *into* their space but stepping practically between their legs for huge crashing elbows and sweeping arms that knock them down.
I was first exposed to this art from the fighting game character Akira from Virtua Fighter. It's called Hakkyoku Ken in Japanese but it's definitely Bajiquan. So cool!
Akira was created after Su Yu Chang from PachiTanglang. The guy was a one of a kind. At the age of 20 he was given the name lightning fist SU due to his speed.
This is the advanced level of Tai Chi Quan. You start with Tai Chi, then after a few years, you transition to Pakua Quan, then next is Hsing I Quan, then the last, after you've mastered the previous three, Baji Quan. You actually see how related they all are, the foundation is the same. I've been training kung fu since highschool, and I've combined all three to get close to actual Baji. Combined with Krav Maga principles, it's a well rounded system. Took me 35 yrs to get to this point. 😂
I would disagree with this. Just look at the systems historically and by lineage. All are separate and not really related although all 4 can produce significant power expression. Most people don't understand taijiquan well enough to know taijiquan has the same power expression as the other internal arts but taijiquan tends to focus more on neutralizing. Perhaps only Chen style is known for striking b
Bajiquan is one of the secret fighting arts that is tied to the tongs and is hard to find because they don’t have an open door policy (for the most part). It is in the similar space as a particular style of Hung Gar that uses different animals than the typical 5 animal style of tiger, crane, snake, leopard, and dragon.
Thankyou for sharing a good variety of different applications of this Art form. The side fighting horse stance also provides the enemy with the narrowest target and point of view whilst pro iding you with strength of leg structure and potential Kinetic sprung force in your advance.
I was fortunate to learn Hsing Yi and Baji Quan. These guarded systems are classified as bodyguard internal styles. They have a level of practical simplicity and aggressive muscle memory that becomes second nature.
Baji practioner’s we’re actually used as bodyguards for all the Chinese premiers , it’s known as the bodyguard style
It’s the perfect system for that because of the parts of the body that it uses in close range
@@inside_fighting The Last Emperor, PuYi's personal bodyguard was Baji practitioner (Huo DianGe) .So are Mao (Mainland China leader) and Chiang Kai-Shek (Taiwan leader). Even today, Taiwanese Secret Services and some military black ops types study Baji. Also made very popular by a Japanese manga called "KENJI"
Chinese leadership is generally unaware and oblivious. Chinese like fake things. Baji is trash
It’s also the system of Virtua Fighter character Akira Yuki, heh.
It’s a great style that the Chinese army still practices as well. And the forms are very linear, the most common lineage in China is the Wu style of Baji and the one that’s commonly taught outside of Taiwan is the Wu-Tan lineage
I was fortunate enough to study Baji Quan back in the late eighties from Grand Master Ker Jen Wu in South Florida. It forever changed my martial arts path. One of the points you didn’t expand upon was the foot work involved in closing the gap. Propelling body mass forward through skip motion movements. Think of powerful linear fencing techniques. By practicing this art form, I developed a natural advantage when I studied other martial arts later in life. Prior to learning Baji Quan, I boxed a little in my youth. After Baji Quan, I studied Senuces Jujitsu from Grand Master Arturo Morera. My Kung Fu background allowed me to bridge the gaps in distance differently than any of my colleagues in Jujitsu. Providing me with an ease of pressure point striking and capturing limb joint locks at close quarters. I am forever grateful to my instructors and their support. Martial arts is a life path that never ends. All arts have something to contribute to one’s growth and should be explored fully.
Does Ken Jen Wu still teach? Can't find much info online
Where can I find out more about him?
Speaking of footwork, what would you say drives the movement of the Rhino?
My point is that while I can do very fast strikes and kicks, I really struggle with agile footwork. I'm fairly lean, but my legs feel like in a frigging rice field whenever I want to relocate them fast...
Unfortunately we’re going back quite a number of years now. I heard something about Texas
I'm crippled, so I just play Tekken 8. The game mechanics are complicated and takes years to master, but since it is a 3D game, it's the next best thing to the real think.
Good to see Baji getting the recognition it deserves.
Can’t argue with that
I always said that if I practice a traditional Kung Fu style, it would definitely be Bajiquan.
Chinese martial arts has techniques that every other system has, i love pek kwar and hung gar system most street applications can be drawn out of these for heavy set guy like me. I love the precision of the animal styles like leopard snake and mantis but MYGAWD ADHD is a killer, i find my self more distracted practicing these animals vs tiger , crane , white ape and dragon. I trained at greendragon kungfu in OH 🙏🏾
Is Green Dragon still operating since Seifu Allen’s passing?
@@Duskydog419
#Sifu
@PaMuShin ain't no choy li fut guys in the MMA. It might be some dudes that practiced wing Chun or sanda and people start calling it choy li fut or Kung fu like they do with every kickboxer who can throw a spin kick
Another point about Baji. It was often practiced alongside Piguaquan, a very "open,long range" striking style,using the arm full extension. It covered well the gaps left by Baji,and was very simple to add. Their main strikes are heavy palm and back strikes. This is why Baji is also famous for their forearm (palm)strikes.
Pigua is a substyle of Tongbei ,a style very much focused on shoulders mobility and strenght,using the arms like whips. The two(Baji and Pigua) are said to be perfect together.
Pigua was used as the basis for Da Sheng Pi Kua,a style of Monkey Boxing,which in turn was the basis of Mantis Boxing,at least ofthe northern one.
There is a family style that teaches Baji,Pigua , and Fanziquan as a single style.
But i know almost nothing on how Fanzi is,outside of surface knowledge,like it being paired with ChuoJiao.
Baji and piqua are once 1 style and they are compliment each other strike long range with piqua and close the gap with baji , that's why many baji warrior also learn piqua , the one who combine fanzi with baji and pigua in modern age are grandmaster Ma Xuanda. Fanzi are known for their fast punch
WOW, I have an old VHS tape instructional on Piguaquan by Adam Hsu. You are right that Piguaquan has a lot of similarities with Bajiquan and I only realized this now. Piguaquan has some unique yet powerful long-arm swinging strikes that can be thrown with the palm up or down.
Its called PiguaZhang.Because they use mostly oben hand strikes not fiss. I Piguaquan is maybe another style.
Reading your comment reminds me of the time I read the manga Kenji. The main character had to learn other styles to incorporate into his own to compensate for his posture and stature. 😄
Also to add to this well informed comment is that, Baji is also well known as a "bodyguard" style, something to consider in conjunction with the comments in-fighting and takedown comments.
Subbed! I'm always fascinated by BaJiQuan. It's as if TaiJi woke up one day, threw the gracefulness out the window, and chose VIOLENCE! 😂
You really dont understand how Tai Chi functions, by saying Ignorant stuff like that. Furthermore, Tai Chi's internal power methods, were eventually absorbed by all of the top Chinese arts. Tai Chi has one of the most powerful of striking methods, called "Fajin". A Master of Fajin expression, can cause life ending Internal Ruptures, with less than 2 inches of arm travel. There is a lot Hidden, in that Very deep art. Tai Chi also has like +12 different weapons. I dont know about you... but I think going up against a lightning fast, Double Edged, Razor sharp, Chinese Sword... is called "Violence"... dont you?!
@@johndough8115 I apologise if I triggered the inner TaiJi master in you and if I offended your ancestors. I admit I am ignorant because this whole martial arts thing is not my only personality.
Anyways, I didn't read through your entire rant but I hope you feel better after typing all that. I wish you the best. 👍🏻
A martial art is only as good as the practitioner and the effort the user put into it and that usually starts with how good the teacher is and their understanding of the art and how to teach it.
Tai chi has is a capable martial art but it's usually projected as just an exercise for old people to do in the park or something. Look up tai chi quan for a better idea. The movements are for a fight, just slowed down and over the years its been watered down due to its popularity as a well being exercise.
@@johndough8115 taiji primary form is standing grappling. Joint locks and throws...the striking is mostly for closing distance. And some of the weapons are for close quarters distance...taiji is more brutal, but is not that distant from what baji guys do
There's a saying about that it goes "Bajiquan forms are like xingyiquan but it fights like taijiquan"
Finally ... thanks so much for discussing baji quan. A genuine no nonsense TCMA.. Ive been training baji and xingyi quan since mid 1990s (in taiwan). im a believer lol.
Baji has a lot of body conditioning (solo and paired) to build the foundation needed for the very heavy barging techniques from any direction including striking with your back..
One key thing about baji and xingyi is how they overwhelm the opponent with simultaneous attacks with feet hands knees etc etc.. and frustrating them. Getting inside is the only business in town and the elbow is king...
I dont think you noticed it but the baji elbow is not inline with the axis of your shoulders its aimed slightly across the body about 30deg inwards. Partly to protect your heart from repeated inline shocks but mostly to attack perpendicular to your opponents stance. Its very effective at breaking their balance let alone the pain.. take another look at the form demo its quite clear to see once you look for it..
The stomping in the forms is a bit of misdirection as every lifted foot for a stomp is training a hooking sweep etc.. only effective at close range when your lead foot is next to or behind their lead foot.
I love this stuff. Sadly arthritis (from a childhood injury nothing to do with MA) has stopped me from training nowadays .. but i really get a kick outta your content. Respect...
Another obscure TCMA to checkout is chuo jiao . This art focuses on low kicks to the opponents shins. Devastating kicks.. leg breakers..
How do Xingyi and Baji flow together? I would say very smoothly,looking at Xin Yi Ba.
Does Xing Yi has shoulder strikes? I have seen Xin Yi Liu He Quan does,but how much do they differ?
@@junichiroyamashita XY has shoulder strikes, but you won't see it in the basic five elements much. If you look at the animal forms, you'll see it a lot more. Snake, sparrow, eagle/bear, and crocodile have a body crashing focus. Sparrow is elbow leading into entering a guard.
Hiya where do we find this in Taiwan???........Ta............
@@junichiroyamashita hi sorry for late reply. Im sorry but i have no experience in xin yin liu he quan..
Hebei xingyi quan is very much an inside fighting style so the large movements progressively become shorter and the fun begins at close range.. every element of your body is a striking or leveraging weapon. XY is often stated as linear in its application and Bagua as circular .. this is simply a beginners perspective. XY is very much circular.. but you have to train hard to find it hidden in the straight..
My understanding is that this was the style that was used by the Imperial bodyguards of the last emperor of China (ending in 1912) and later Chinese nationalist leaders. Thats the reason it focuses on closing the gap and takedowns because its about moving into and taking down someone who is attacking your protectee. You see bajiquan alot in Taiwan because it left China with the Chinese nationalist government and some Taiwanese military and law enforcement units still have it as part of their training curriculum.
That shoulder blow -- called "Iron Mountain Lean" in Chinese -- is a great thing to add to your in-fighting arsenal. Very useful in lots of scenarios -- especially if your hands are otherwise occupied. Its a good way of showing that compact power generation (called "fa jin" in Chinese or what we'd call "snap" or "pop" in colloquial American) applies to techniques at all ranges. Its also a great example of the principle of simultaneous attack and defense.
U see lots of Baji in taiwan coz the last student of Li Shuwen a legendary Baji warrior that never lose in his entire life are in taiwan and become the official instructor of taiwanese presidential bodyguard , and they still use baji to this day and that student name are Liu Yun Qiao
in fact all guards of last emperor and chinese leader are students of Li Shuwen , like Huo Dian ge
Mao's bodyguards also uses bajiquan
I trained Baji for ten years (along shaolin, pigua, and bagua) in Switzerland. A master from Taiwan, Dr Peng, represent of wutan school, visited once or twice a year. As we learnt it, it was used by bodyguards. It‘s quite applicable, however, it‘s about going full in, using your body as a shield and weapon to protect someone else, not necessarily yourself. So we had much less guard up than you talk about. Full in, kill or die. (There are even a hand full of tequniques to break someones neck, but they are more „secret“ and not easily taught to everyone) I love it.
Pigua and Bagua is an underrated combination. Rain down long range blows and move quickly to the back.
There’s a reason it’s nicknamed the art of overkill. Bagua goes deeper than what you see on most videos
Kung Fu, Tai Chi systems all have great underlying ideas that are super solid. Tai Chi is all about parrying, shielding and takedowns while using elbows, palm strikes, groin shots and all the while protecting yourself from the other person's attacks.
People who disregard those systems don't understand them.
The problem is that most folks only do the forms and are unable to perform the moves against resistance and in live situations.
As you advance in Taijiquan, you include the punches, kicks, explosive joint locks and breaks, and powerful takedowns. It closely resembles various styles of Silat. Add a blade in your hand, and it may as well be. It is a "complete" system, other than actual ground fighting, but in my opinion, is made more complete with Wing Chun. Both are derived from Snake and Crane, but both have different takes on the lessons learned. Put together, and it's very devastating. I've been doing both combined for 32 years.
Good traditional teachers will have you warm up, then practice the forms, then practice applications from the forms, and then have you spar, and tell you to practice the art properly while sparring, whether you get hit or not. Eventually, you learn to trust the art, and quit getting hit so much.
I think the problem with most people who study "soft styles" have the mindset of gaining rank without having to prove the ability. "Safety through confidence, and confidence through rank", rather than ability. I think it creates unknowing victims. It's disappointing, to be honest.
@jkdguru Great post. Which master did you study from for taijiquan? What lineage?
Im so grateful to learn Baji.
I was able to protect myself and my family from my crazy ass neighbor who kept harassing us.
So damn effective!🙏🔥💯
Back in the 80’s Adam Hsu was a monthly columnist for BlackBelt magazine and did many many articles for Inside Kung Fu as well. He was known for being very well versed in several Northern Chinese styles (Chen Tai Chi, Xing Yi, Bagua Chang,3 different styles of Preying Mantis, etc) but his main background was in Baji Chuan and it’s sister art Pi Qua Chang. He was a student of Chiang Kai Shek’s chief bodyguard and the old guy used his influence to get other style teachers to flesh out his students’ training. Hsu has since retired back to Taiwan I think, but he may still have some of his Baji students in the Bay Area. I think there’s another student of Hsu’s teacher named Yang teaching in Ohio if I remember right. America’s first big influx of Chinese immigrants came from the south, and they brought southern styles like Choy Lee Fut and Hung Gar with them. It wasn’t until the 1980’s and 90’s that we started to get exposed to the famous northern styles in any regular basis. And Baji is VERY much a Northern style.
I remember Adam Hsu very well. He introduced Baji Chuan to the general public back in the 80’s. I guess I took it for granted that most everyone knew about Baji. Glad to see it’s getting the respect it deserves.
so he was a student of a political reactionary, a remnant of western control of china lmfao
You people are so backwards when it comes to understanding reality
Northern styles are the best of the Chinese martial arts IMO
Kung fu San sou is southern style and very effective. Brought to the states by Jimmie H. Woo also known as Chin Su Dek. Very violent in an efficient way.
Adam Hsu, That's a name I haven't heard in years. 😮
Yes as a baji specialist and teacher this art is very cool. Good forms, good body mechanic, good self defense, good spirituality, good health benefit, good sport combat tech. All in ONE art.
Why is it not used by any reputable army/elite force on earth then😂
@@notaras1985 if your question is honest and not just trolling here is one answer : GM Long Jin Ju Baji Quan was used and teach by the personnal bodyguard military personnel of Mao. GM Long was the teacher of my teacher in Gong Fu. The style is still used by many bodyguard. It was also used by the last guardian Puyi that is the last emperor of China. Today many baji principles are used in Sanda/Sanshou that is the fullfighting combative sport of China. Wish you all the best and hope my answer has put some light in your life.
@@alchimievitale so it was made for bodyguards not warriors
Bajiquan is effective, practical and can be learned quite quickly so it was a good style to teach to newly recruited soldiers. Chinese generals would often go on to learn Taiji Chuan which is even more effective and brutal but takes a l-o-o-o-o-o-ong time to learn.
This is a very effective fighting system for the streets.
Agreed
try this goofy shit against someone who's actually game for a fight and not just larping
@@allwoundup3574 lol i did and it worked
I've been training Bajiquan since 2008. I actually trained with the guy in the first clip, Fabio, under the same master. Nice to see a shoutout here - interesting comments at the end about maintaining a strong "frame" and using that structure to break the opponent's structure, as that is indeed a major concept in Baji. In fact, the first form you learn is called Xiao Jia, which translates to "small frame". I appreciate that you looked at the art with an open mind and didn't immediately dismiss it if you saw something you didn't like - in fact I often find plenty to criticize looking at other Baji videos myself!
Are you based in Italy?
@@junichiroyamashita nope, florida
Tamotsu Miyahira made videos with Kuro Obi World showcasing Bajiquan,in one he goes to explain how Tackling/Ramming (Zhuang) was a third discipline of striking with Punching(Da) and Kicking( Ti).
I made a playlist all about these(now public,my bad)
Ever since i started watching your channel i was waiting for this one. I love Baji approach of using every part of the body,and so even the shoulders.
Shoulders and body mass become a third main weapon ,and that can shutdown a grappler or clincher closing in,just by knocking him back. They can be chained with punches and elbows for a continuous striking combination,and can be used to block strikes to (your)head or from (his) head in a clinch.
They should be considered a main weapon by everybody,not just a gimmick, a fundamental striking element like how we talk about knees and elbows after Muay Thai inception. They could be what is lacking in modern martial arts,bringing an higher focus on stand-up fighting and hand fighting skill. There has been a much too greater focus on kicking in the striking arts in recent times.
"There is no technique in charging someone" is a stupid belief. If it can be done,then it can be done right.
I am surprised nobody realise how useful checking someone is,when Hockey is so popular in North America. You should see Bajimen doing their body conditioning,slamming into trees.
Shoulder strikes are part of taiji as well. All traditional complete Chinese boxing systems strike with every major part of the body.
@@senecaknowsbest8380 i have a video by Moontagu all about the Taiji shoulder strike,they are common among the internal strikes, Baji and Chen Taiji the most. I know that external styles have a shoulder bump version,like Wing Chun and Hung Gar,but they don't have the same emphasis as the internal ones. Do you know any other of them ?
"There is no technique in charging someone"
It was apparently so "devoid" of technique that there's an entire school of medieval warfare involving sending 2000lbs of man, beast, and metal into another person with sharp pointy tip.
Dude Sanda is a relatively new art which was introduced in the 1920s while Bajiquan is a few hundred years old
Yes 🧐 but sanda borrowed from baji
@@inside_fighting I think the commenter is referring to the way you speculated about sanda influence in baji, not baji influence in sanda. It's the wrong way around. A common mistake. People do that all the time. I figured that's all it was. But since there's a comment about it, might as well clarify.
Bajiquan means 8 extremities fist, it’s known as the hardest physical style of Kungfu. Low horse stance Mabu is crazy hard to maintain correctly.
We practice Zhan Zhuang post training. Embracing the tree and other postures breathing techniques Chi Kung everyday to be able to do this style effectively.
It’s a Beautiful art very much in common with Tai Chi complete relaxation into total contraction upon impact. It is both an external and internal style of Kungfu.
We do hard body tree striking conditioning and sometimes steel as well. 🤜🤛
This style was known for one hit kills back in the day. Xing yi is derived from Bajiquan & Baguazhang really compliments it 👍
Hardest? As in hardest to train in?
@@watamutha The hardest as in the most physical the stomping & ramming technique are hard core. Classic Bajiquan has really low and narrow Mabu / horse stance even it’s empty or cat stance is extremely low, If you just train this style you would never need to do leg weights it just smashes your quads and calves. Couple this Piquazhang or Baguazhang not necessary but excellent complimentary styles also.
There are specific walking movements and lunging known as Bear walking which strengthen your ankles and stretch them.
The old school training is hardcore along with the body striking tree striking conditioning it’s definitely one of the hardest in the physical sense especially to do it correctly 👍
It means Not fist but palm!
@@Minerban
It originally translated to Rake fist 🤜
Hence the shape of the fist, created when you close the index finger then all off the others only the index is totally closed however the rest are more loosely resting in in the upper palm. Baguazhang means Ba means 8 Gua Zhang Trigram Palm
Ba 8 Ji Extremities Quan Fist.
Zhang Palm 👍
@@mountainwarrior108 your Kangaroo kungfu and natural trainings are impressive. You can objectify your subjective experience in the official gym! Good luck friend from SF!
There is a Chinese documentary on Bajiquan ( Ba Ji Fist ). Invented during the Qing ( Manchurian ) Dynasty, it was used to protect the royal family. Fast, brutal and hard style ... it uses elbows and shoulders a lot.
Is it available in the West?
Is Master Sun da fa in it ?
This might be my favorite videos of yours Ilan, many thanks. My JKD instructor taught me some of these takedowns on a beach in Thailand--even taught me some uses for Sumo. Never had the chance to really drill, train, and use in sparring. However, I did have a JKD guy who trained in Xing Yi put me on my butt with foot sweeps and similar takedowns in sparring. I don't think many people know that some of the "weird" or flashy or fancy moves in Kung Fu are not "powerless strikes" but part of takedowns and sweeps
It changed the entire outlook of a lot of these systems. I want to learn king fu now 😅
hell yeah! @@inside_fighting
It changed me too. Since then, (back in 1996), I've researched and studied it and also discovered some very applicable training in other Chinese internal arts. @@inside_fighting
I once thought the Double Spinning Hammerfist move, looked unrealistic... until a dude that had massive forearm, was stepping towards me, with both of his hammerfist whirling around. It was a LOT faster than I had expected it to me. Less than 1second between each hammer fist fall... and each of them was powered by his full body mass. A single one, could have easily shattered my Shin bone, had I foolishly tried a Toe-Stabbing kick. Luckily, I realized this, and just backed away, as quickly as I could.
He also showed me a spinning movement, that drove you downwards in a spiral, like a screw. In the end, you used a handstrike (I think backfist) attack to the legs or groin.. if memory serves correct. The level change was lightning fast... and I believe it was launched as an upper deflection, making it a pretty effective counter.
He showed a more Brutal version... but this time, it was for breaking the OPs leg. You allow the OP to round kick your leg, and as it penetrates, you allow your leg to bend at the knee joint, trapping the leg between your thigh and shin muscles.. as you then continue to spin around and downwards into a spiral. As you drop lower, you put more and more pressure on the leg, eventually breaking it.
Methods seen in the Drunkin style... such as the extending bent wrist, off of the sudden forwards body movement... creates a full body mass whipping power... that is a lot more powerful than one could imagine. Any time the body is fully relaxed, it has superior acceleration and top speed capability. Coupled with Drunkens trickery to bait you in too close... this explosive snake like movement... can cause severe damage potentials.
On the more Simple end of things.. I once watched these two fighters at it... and one of them knew Northern Shaolin methods. He feinted a retreat, partially turning his back to the OP. The OP took the bait.. and rushed in for the attack. I knew what what about to happen... but it was glorious to see. Suddenly, the Shaolin dude, executed a very wide spinning outside crescent kick, landing with a powerful THUD to the side of the dudes head.
The thing is... a Lot of the Chinese arts use special movements, designed to TRICK the OP. To bait them in. To make it appear that they are weak... or have a weakness that can be attacked. And certain movements, like that Crescent kick... likely would never be effective, without first baiting the OP into it.
I will add, that certain sweeps and takedowns, are also often being modified to be "Friendly". Some of these methods may actually be bone destructive techniques, and or throws that are designed to break your neck / spine.
Finally, I will add... that many of the Most powerful Chinese strikes, use Fajin (Explosive Power). A master of fajin, only needs an inch or two, to END you... as they can generate enough power to cause massive internal damages / ruptures... within that small amount of travel distance. This is likely how the legend of "Death-Touch" came into existence. A master used a very quick short range finger strike powered by Fajin... hitting a specific point... causing an internal rupture. A nearby spectator saw this... but it didnt look like a typical "Strike". Instead, it just looked like the master "Touched" him.
As a sometime bajiquan practitioner, I look forward to your insights!
Let me know if you enjoy it!
@@inside_fighting I know I did.
baji quan is one of the internal styles such as baguazhang, taiji, xingyi, and yiquan. i realllly recommend a yt channel called triessence martial arts, it delves deeper into the practical aspects of such arts and the body mechanics behind them. sadly one aspect of interal martial arts that is not discussed enough are the power generation methods that generates tremendous amount of power enough to cause serious internal injuries, and also the combat methodology that is very different than external martial arts such as boxing or muaythai.
Bajiquan has been immensely popular in video games for over 20 years. Characters who use Bajiquan are often nerfed in some way by developers (e.g precise inputs for control) because the style delivers a nearly unbreakable defense AND strong forward pressure on attack. This video gives some history of the Bajiquan style and its most famous quote. czcams.com/video/rUxNVEe0PiY/video.html
Akira yuki virtua fighter is bajiquan to
Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate has lots of Spear Elbow variations. Forms like Shisochin or Kururunfa have very similar applications to those of Baji Quan.
Great analysis of Baji! I have been practicing for a few years. When you mentioned that they cover their vitals and use a Philly shell type guard I thought it was a great observation. This style originated on the battlefield with armor so focusing on quick takedowns and targeting vital points was crucial. The empty hand techniques are all based on weapon techniques (primarily spear). If you like this style I would encourage you to check out the Wu Tan lineage Baji. It is a bit different from the examples you gathered here which seem to be Wu lineage.
Trained for 35 years in Bajiquan (Mengcun) and happy to see it getting more recognition. It's not widely practiced in China, let alone the United States.
Being a style that more people got into after seeing one of the Ip Man films, it seems Bruce Lee has influenced many people once again. I highly recommend searching for a video of a Bajiquan expedition in China from the 90's. You'll see some great forms. There's also a teacher in Taiwan who used to work as a head bodyguard to the Prime Minister of China.
Xiao Jia Yilu (Mengcun style): czcams.com/video/vYNs3A3MF00/video.htmlsi=fwB2rec5HJiPDBUk
Exhibition featuring many masters from different lineages:
czcams.com/video/UA9a977HzFg/video.htmlsi=AZ-0RaXfHZJRF00G
Sega put out one of my favorite video game serieis of all time called virtua fighter.
In it was the main character named akira and he used this style!!
The character is so cool because of his style.
czcams.com/video/c4dAsRokODw/video.htmlsi=kgVGZ7lxBGNGYmzr
Please check it out cause I really believe that character truly does this fighting style justice.
I didn't think this style was real. Each move felt like total destruction as if you were getting hit by a car.
Underrated game with an Underrated character using a very Underrated fighting style..
This is a good idea or movement.
Bajiquan is meant to be straight forward and into your open space; direct movement into what is happening and putting yourself into what's happening next beforehand. Bajiquan is meant to be applied. You've probably already seen this.
To stay when you're already there and move in more is something that not a lot of people understand. To jab like Larry Holmes and stay there for a moment.
To bend and walk in with your new understanding of their place within your place.
To hold and adjust and move. You seem like a good guy. Feel free to say hey.
czcams.com/video/ft20j0RuVSI/video.htmlsi=DZAf_AqYEWtGjnMH
Thank you for stating that you don't have to agree with everything to appreciate this style. Way too many people nit-pick and focus on what they don't like. It was refreshing to watch your video. keep up the good work.
One of my Bagua teachers also does Bajiquan. Sometimes it comes out in push-hands/sparring. It is scary-effective.
Bagua, pigua and Baji rock
@@yakontwe're talking about the same person, yes
@@yakont those 3 are dangerous combination.
The way they drive in with this style makes it special.
Yes!!! Bajiquan is my second love in martial arts and I’m glad you got into talking about this kung fu style. Lots of practitioners know or at least have heard of it.
Thanks for this, Ilan!
Thanks to everyone for bringing it to my attention
There any schools in america
@@inside_fighting
I believe you were getting that ‘merchant’ accent at the end there. Did your grandma struggle w any high interest debts?
@@johnanon658yes. Theres one in NYC called WuTan
Who knew that Master Ken's Thrust of Freedom would actually be a thing?
I wonder how much useful Hip strikes can be,i read that in Rollerderby and Hockey hip checks and blocks are quite integral to the game. Wrestling has the Hip Attack but i have reserves about its practicality.
If this is a bodyguard system it makes perfect sense: shell up - don’t get knocked out - stay in the fight - protect the principal. Close the gap and prevent him from getting past you and getting at the principal.
Yeah, a lot of Chinese leaders have bajiquan trained guards, including Mao
Dude with that mullet if you learned this style you would be unstoppable 💯😊
I met a guy in jail who I found out was a kung fu master, we ended up connecting on martial arts and further we both got in trouble for sharing with each other in the yard. He didnt actually tell me what style he was teaching me, but i now recognize as bajiquan.
What's interesting is the fact that the guy was younger than me but looked much much older. He told me that when he was very young his mother had given him to a kung fu master who traveled all over China and taught him, and they spent many years living on top of a mountain. Lookup the twins paradox for an explanation on what I believe accounted for his aging, he looked like 42 at least but he was only 29, and had been locked up after being challenged by some students he had taken on here in America who he kicked the shit out of.
If this was not his main style, it was definitely a good part of it.
Dang! A waiver should always be signed when getting challenged by people. Those challengers were dumb to sue him after wanting to fight the guy and lost badly.
The Li Shuwen mentality is somehow driven into baji students and that causes injuries to opponent
Now that is a peculiar encounter to make in jail,certainly more pleasant than meeting Big Tyrone.
I am very curious,how useful Baji was in a prison setting? On top of the head i would say "A LOT" , since it is built for extreme infighting such as 52 Blocks and Wing Chun are,but i would like to hear your opinion.
Not in how much you actually used it,but rather how useful it would have been.
Don't confuse traditional Kung Fu with modern one. Every Traditional school of Kung Fu had been designed for facing real violence, on war and on street. Tai Chi Chuan for exemple is one of the most brutal Kung Fu style you can imagine, not the post Mao version for health and demonstration, but the old school Chen or Yang.
Unfortunately, almost nobody knows the real thing anymore. Most people don't even know the fast forms, let alone the specialized Neigong to generate internal power. That combined with no intense contact sparring is a recipe for disaster and a street fight. Studying Gu Luping/Lisheng lineage online currently. To get the old good stuff from Yang Shaohou as well as Yang Cheng Fu lineages. Where have you found the good stuff?
@@greg6509 You must give a look at Master Yang Jwing Ming's books, they present the Yang school of Tai Chi Chuan in depth. Have a good day.
I love this style. I've never had a chance to practice it but it's super cool. Last century this style was chosen as the primary presidential bodyguard style for both the Nationalist and Communist governments of China (Chiang kai shek and Mao tse dong both had Bajiquan bodyguards in Taiwan and Mainland China). Makes sense given presidents move through crowds sometimes and the close range nature of this style is so direct and immediate.
Thanks for coving this style, it's been on my list for a while.
I’m glad i was introduced to it by people commenting. It’s pretty awesome
Baji has finally been discovered 😂😂😂 about time too. When i used to talk about it people laughed at me and told me im making it up
The tactics & techniques of Bajiquan are commonly found in quite a few Chinese Martial Art systems (for instance, Xingyiquan, Baguazhang, & Taijiquan all have these same infighting skills - "hidden" in plain sight; & I've seen Shaolin practitioners use these techniques as well).
And BTW: one can still be knocked unconscious while infighting.
Yes someone can be ko in fighting but much harder and requires someone who knows what they are doing.
The internal styles seem to all have these movements
@@inside_fighting the international styles share common principles, but not necessarily the same movements. also speaking from experience with both, bagua has less infighting than Baji-Quan, but much better footwork and mobility.
@@inside_fighting I can see why you gravitated towards infighting, because that is another range that a lot of fighters neglect (like strikers used to neglect training in ground fighting). But, fwiw, it's just as easy to get knocked out at any range. Eating an elbow or a headbutt is just about the easiest way to get ko'ed.
Agreed. A lot of what they are doing here is what is called "shouldering" in tai chi and shuai chiao. A pretty common technique. Maybe not usually emphasized to this degree. But the movement occurs over and over in the tai chi form I practice...
@yamiyomizuki just want to say, you might be misinterpreting the mobility aspect here. Bajiquan can be very mobile, it just usually chooses not to be. All of our power comes from contact with the ground, so we prefere to stay rooted to one spot as much as possible. Moving necessitates being in less contact with the ground, which means less power, so we typically don't move except for after a strike, and usually that's to dissipate excess power so we don't lose balance. Or sometimes to harness gravitational energy for a big strike, but thats not going to happen in a casual sparring situation ever. None of the strikes in any of these clips were anywhere close to full power. We don't need to move because we just wait for you to use the energy to come to us, and if you don't, then that is still self-defense to us. If you ever spar with a bajiquan practitioner, you would do well not to assume they aren't mobile.
Baji, famous for bodyguards.
XingYi, famous for armed security.
Shuaijiao, famous for soldiers.
There is a gentleman in Houston, TX who runs a security and personal protection (corporate and executive level) firm based on “Side Gate” Bajiquan and Firearms training.
Of the three styles, XingYi and Shuaijiao were both seen among the finalists in Mixed Martial Arts tournaments against other TCMA as well as Muay Thai in the 1920s and 1930s.
I believe the first tournament they stopped the whole event, because they were scared someone would die and take their knowledge with them. They had signed waivers saying their body will be sent home to their family if they don’t make it 😅. The second tourney, the finalists were couple Xing Yi guys, Muay Thai guy, Shuai Jiao guy and I think a Western Boxer. Shuaijiao won in the finals after he beat the Muay Thai guy by slamming him and breaking his arm BUT he took so much damage that he went and learned more striking and boxing afterwards 😅 I believe you can find a b/w photo of the guys bruised face posted by David Ross. Many Xing Yi guys learned Western Boxing at that time, as well. Though they had proven their skill, they were open minded to their own weaknesses too.
1928, Huang Bo Nian published Xingyi fist and weapon instruction for the military. Also 1928, Central National Arts Academy opened a national examination which included sparring events in empty hand, long and short weapons, at least three of the first place winners were all Xingy Quan.
Of course, ALSO in 1928… the govt banned bare knuckle challenge fights (before then teachers had to take on all challengers). Probably the beginning of the end for TCMA, though out of it we got Sanshou and Shou Bo (both TCMMA long before San Da)
1940s the Govt decided to promote FORMS and separate out KungFu for Forms competition, Tai chi for health and the fighters and wrestlers placed into the “Sport” category.
1950s the govt decided to control MA’s and not to acknowledge any systems or styles but rather to just lump them all into blanket categories - in other words, to water them down 😅
Baji and its shoulder seems to be good fit for modern soldiers,as they are still usable while both hands are holding a weapon.
@@junichiroyamashitai can imagine Gun Fu fight a la John Wick, but then added with shoulder, hips, body ramming a la Baji Quan lol
@eliteblacksash Your info are so detail. May I ask from where do you got this precious info? I’d like to dig deeper
Some of the animals are effective against western boxers.
At 13 minutes the old Chinese guy is taking the same pose that Charlie Nelson used to call the Jack Benny lol. Charlie also had something he called the Ed Sullivan where your arms are folded across your chest, ready to defend against a punch or push or grab and to turn it into an arm bar with body rotation. It was a slick move.
八极拳 is one of the strongest and oldest styles practiced today. Made famous and carried through antiquity to modernity by the Hui people. Look at a man that goes by “an wushu”.
I will thank you 🙏🏼
@@inside_fighting another one you wanna check out is 心意拳。 Xin yi quan or “intent and likeness” boxing. Another classical style that has its roots in the old battle field tradition of Chinese martial arts. Lots of small, in close techniques intertwined with lots of explosive power. It’s quite unassuming to the untrained eye.
yes An wushu (An Jian Qiu) has a family style of Gao Bagua which uses Baji power method
On those first videos, he’s going to get cut to ribbons with that knife defence. Never assume the opponent is just going to stand there while you do four different moves in a sequence.
Exactly. Not a fan of demos where the guy gets disabled by the first strike and allows the fighter to make a movie with credits afterwards. Opponents never just stand there
To provide possible answers for your question about sanda influence on bajiquan the answer is yes but it went both ways. Bajiquan along with other northern arts like Bagua and most importantly Shuai Jiao played a not insignificant role in the formation of sanda back when it was being synthesized. However later on some bajiquan lineage carriers themselves had accomplished sanda careers and used this experience to bring back to and add to the style. And you can see this divergent evolution by looking at how bajiquan lineages in the mainland and wutan bajiquan lineages in Taiwan differ. Wutan bajiquan didn't have so much influence from empty handed fighting/combat sports, instead continuing to be used by the military, bodyguards, etc and so it developed in a different direction as opposed to lineages from the mainland which have had a lot added onto them over the years.
Hi, Taiwanese Bajiquan practitioner here and now doing BJJ. The style is a great complement to wrestling. I'd say the style is one of the best among traditional ones, however it obviously shares the same flaws among them, like really bad physical training. 99% of the coaches are hobbyists who only do Taulu and never do real sparring, thus they do not really know the application of techniques. Most practitioners who want to be truly capable of fighting have no choice but to join in other modern systems like Muay Thai or MMA. Fortunately some gyms are trying to modernize it now .
You want powerful Bajiquan An Jian Qiu old clips of him. He was a Chinese fighter they have there own family Kungfu. He’s Bajiquan, Baguazhang & Xing Yi are next level.
🤜🤛
Also Japanese exponent Tomatsu Miyahira on Kuro Obi World is a Great Bajiquan practitioner especially demonstrating the ramming elbow we do to the Xiphoid process centre of chest. It’s makes the opponent drop to ground and crawl away in agony.
Can’t wait to check it out
Coach Hu YuTao is a great Bajiquan practitioner and shows great applications.
@@camiloiribarren1450 I’ll check out his techniques 🤜🤛
Hi, loved your video. I've been fortunate enough to practice bajiquan for a few years now, at my modest level. Your comments on stickiness are really valid, but it goes much further with bajiquan: once you've punched you follow through with the elbow, then the shoulder,, then the whole body and hips, even the head. It its relentless. The arm sort. of folds in on itself each time you move to another strike - all with the same side of the body. Love it! And as you say, it remains a very traditional martial art
Subscribed to your channel a couple of days ago, and watched something like 50 videos all the way to the beginning. 😂 Great stuff, keep up the great work and cheers from Macedonia!
The internal power of Bajiquan gives them the ability to do fatal damage with a single punch or elbow strike. However, the development of this kind of power is not easy as it is very demanding.
This is very true and it’s tough on the knees, everything in Bajiquan starts from the rear foot to drive the power forwards and sinking ability (according to my teacher)
It's pretty much Tai Chi taught correctly with the combat element still intact. Nice...
100% incorrect
Please don't make
stuff up.
And please don't get your information from kung fu movies and reading third hand articles.
I see a lot of that in these comments section.
@@_BillyMandalay totally agree
@_BillyMandalay How is it made up, I just made an observation and just watched another video on combat Tai chi which demonstrated the same 💩. Go cry in your pillow.
Great find. Beautiful art.
3:56 If you've ever taken Tai chi yang style and Tai chi chuan not just for physical health but practice the fighting art of the movements within the forms in a practical way, you will find that what this man's doing is the exact same thing. By getting in close and using the other person's weight against them with your strikes and a low firm rooted stance. By using chinna hand locks, joint locks. He is definitely using hidden moves within the Tai chi Chuan, and Tai chi yang style systems. But I would point out having practiced myself, that these moves are not good when facing a mixed martial artist or a boxer because they will not let you get close enough. Especially if they have fast hands. This style relies completely on defense against the other person's movements towards you in an aggressive way. To close that gap so you are under his strikes and movements. It is effective in that manner. It is effective for most street fighters that are not trained in mixed martial arts. It is good against the average person on the street that wants to hurt you. Having used the system in practical application in practice and in real life, It is effective. I believe in what this man's doing. But it must be added to your toolbox with good groundwork and very good counter-striking with punches and elbows. But in this training video I recognize almost all the moves from training in Tai chi for years. As well as Kung Fu. I like the video keep up the good work.
Taijiquan for intellectuals, xingyiquan for soldiers and bajiquan for bodyguards.
Wing chun is for genius
As someone who studies taijiquan and xingyiquan, I can't argue with this.
I'd say:
Taiji for bouncers (repel the enemy while minimizing the damage),
Baji for "more violent" bodyguard work, Xingyi for soldiers, Bagua for assassins,
Wing Chun for streetfighters/cops/etc operating in a limited space ...
@tranquil_dude I dunno about minimizing damage. Maybe in Yang style. I study and teach both Yang and Chen. Chen Ziqiang was once asked what the goal of taijiquan is, and he replied, "To crash into my opponents center and kill him." Even in Yang style, there are a lot of joint dislocations going on. But Chen makes a lot of use of elbows and especially shoulders for striking, too.
Ba Gua was a favorite among bodyguards. Short power, infighting, striking and takedowns. Both are naturals for the needs of the profession
Thanks for making this!
My pleasure. Was awesome to see this style in action!
As a bodyguard's martial art, Baji is about explosively opening up your opponent's gates, and doing maximum damage/eliminating the threat in the shortest amount of time.
It is very practical and like an aggresive style of Baghuazhang.
Yeh finally bajiquan
It was time 🙏🏼
Earlier tian jin( 天津) sanda team's instructor was liu sho long 劉壽榮, he comes from ba ji quan lineage
The video you showed in the 1988 was his students lee bao qui and liu wan fu having friendly sanda match
the flick of the hands is a place holder, it can go side ways or down, like a slap parry (even multiple parries). a lot of people tend to translate the form work too literally.
This is what I grew up learning! So thrilled to see people talking about it, it gets lost in the background of gungfu variants too often when it's easily the most practical.
Ahhh one of the good styles! :D
-The phonetics is "Bah-Gee T'chu-en"
-The Phili shell part you mentioned is called Tie Shan Kao. It's a pretty core principle in the style. Others use it too but pretty sure Baji is the one that does it the most.
-The frame you mention with the elbow out is not really the same. The elbow position is Liang Yi Ding. The elbow is actually pointing more downwards than forward. THe driving force is the body moving its mass and the elbow usualy drives down into the opponnent as opposed to forward of even up using the tip of the elbow. THe videos at around 9min show this if you look closely.
-A lot, if not all of Baji schools, have sparring and do Sanda to try and apply some of their techniques "safely". A lot of the throws in Sanda that aren't from Shuai Jiao come from there (or some similar style), not the other way around. Nowadays they also do a lot of "real scenario" drills with safety equipment.
-There's a principle not really shown here that is important in this style at higher levels and other similar styles like Ba Shan fan wich is San Pan Lian Ji which means attack the three heights at the same time (top-mid-low) which is a reason for the hand not being in front during the elbow as u mentions in the Rhino (?). The rear hand usually did something during or right before the strike (block/pull the front hand in guard) while the front one hits and the legs move/crash into the opponent's stance. In it's "complete" application, that move usually cracks the lead leg along with the hit but shhhh.
-The dude you show at 14:45 is Wu DaWei, the son of the current Head of the Mengcun Baji style that is pretty much the most famous Baji style in China, having a legit whole village devoted to it. Papi in the corner is his father, mr. Wu LiangZhe. They are pretty damn badass. They have a lot of stuff on youtube now if you wanna look it up.
Glad you found out about this, it's not such an obscure style honnestly. There's a HUGE academy in Taiwan that teaches it, they're the ones who gave it the whole "bodyguard style" image with their founder Liu Yun Qiao I believe. You can look up Wutan Baji. They have schools up all over really. There was one in Montreal around the time you lived here I believe and Toronto/Ottawa too.
I'm not sure about the whole "retracting" thing though, Most traditional styles teach NOT to retract on linear strikes, outside of kicks really, because that's how you generate "real" power in a strike. For the same reason a Jab most likely never knocks out someone but a cross does, most strikes in traditional styles were meant for maximal damage and not wearing someone out. After that thought you got the idea :D When the hit is done, that means the space you hit is occupied, and unless grappled, can't be used by the opponent to counter attack you. From there, you have to gauge your options fast enough to see what's next. It's like... if you open a door, you don't wanna close it to REopen it to walk through kinda thing. But yes, everything you said after that seems correct :)
Keep up the curiosity man! It's how we all get better... or try to anyways :D
the fundamental KEY to this style (seen in their forms) is to SYNCHRONIZE the stepping and STOMPING timed with the strike. this is what gets that devastating power. it is the lesser known "fourth" of the internal kungfu triad (taiji, xingyi, and bagua-quan). it's similarity is in how these "slow" internal styles through their forms teach your muscles to work in synchronization to strike with the whole body. the "western" (muslim) influence of baijiquan is the addition of that stomping technique.
Actually, many Baji and Shuai Zhao takedowns are incorporated in earlier Sanda, but now its more of a cross-pollination deal.
Basically, if it involves grabbing the body - its from Shuai Zhao, if it involves grabbing the limbs and winding the opponent around your body, or crashing into the opponent - its from Baji.
Very interesting, thank you for sharing! I was unfamiliar with this style of Kung Fu as well. That old sparring footage from the 80’s sort of reminded me of the beginning of Enter the Dragon with Sammo Hung sparring Bruce Lee. The sparring gear in particular, but also the take downs .
Rear hand during a ram not covering the face to traditionally hold a piercing weapon (the elbowing arm wielding a shield). In modern day application it could be for drawing your sidearm.
Would love to see more ramming in modern combat sports but the defender's sprawl might inevitably lead to a headbutt
MMA made rules to keep traditional martial arts out right after they began. Any hint of traditional and you'd never see the pros. They'd just claim the ramming tactic was akin to a headbutt.
would like you to do a video on Pi Gua Zhang & one on TongBai
I’ll make sure to check them out!
@@inside_fighting Pi gua Zhang is often practiced alongside BaJi. it is said they compliment each other.
Try this on an experienced Muay Thai practitioner or even an experienced boxer.
Baji and taichichuan are both awesome stuff man.
That "Rhino" attack is literally a "Ding" strike from Bajiquan.
For a revisit of Wing Chun, I would recommend, Ip Man Wing Chun, Leung Sheung Wing Chun and Leung Ting Wing Tsun. Ip Ching Wing Chun is good too.
Any reason for leaving out Wong Shun Leung? I think Inside Fighting pretty much already has a fixed opinion about Wing-Chun.
Yeah, I thought the same. I think he has made his mind up on Wing Chun. Bad Wing Chun is bad, good Wing Chun is good. Like anything really.@@florisvanlingen
I have looked at this style as well. This style is cool and it works so well and it’s realistic. My favorite is that “iron mountain.” 😅😂😂😂
Thanks for the video(s), More like an influence of baji in sanda. Sanda is a modern hybrid, kind of like MMA, but many sandals fighters come from haji backgrounds,. There are other kungfu styles that use some of those entering techniques, including tongue and even bag and chen style taiga, but haji makes it the heart of their system. When you posted about KFM a little while back, i started to remark that it put me in mind of baji.
The other really useful aspect of crashing in with your elbows, hips and shoulders, is that you're at a lot less of a risk of breaking your hand on a hard target compared to throwing punches! Same with those standing hammerfists
Great point
and it makes you an easy victim for grapplers lol
@@allwoundup3574 couldn't be a martial arts video comment section without some peanut who has to point out the extremely obvious fact that everything has a counter 😴
@@allwoundup3574more like the opposite,if you want to close in they can knock you back.
@@Autonamatonamatonoh looks like I triggered the 90 lb Kung fu dork 😂
guy in the yellow shirt knows his stuff ...he was holding back a lot too... pulling his strikes ... a good display of BajiQuan is in The Grandmaster ... Mr. Straight razor
When you study the Spear Elbow (Ding Zhou), it's so deep you'll never hit bottom.
Okinawa Goju-Ryu Karate has lots of Spear Elbow variations. Forms like Shisochin or Kururunfa have very similar applications to those of Baji Quan.
Bajiquan, in my opinion, is going to be the next martial system that will become popular in MMA. I'm seeing more and more videos of Bajiquan fighters Crosstraining plus sparring with resistance. That right there leads most martial artists to test themselves and their art in combative competitions.
I don’t think so they drop their arms too much leaving their chin exposed, the reason why Muay Thai is better for MMA is because of the high guard defensive stance in Muay Thai
@@BRAINFxck10 Well, Traditional Muay Thai is not too effective in MMA. Like every art represented in MMA, it has to be modified to be effective in MMA. Also, isn't it the Point Karate guys in MMA, who fight with their hands down low yet still have defeated Muay Thai fighters with that stance ??? Check out Michael page vs Jefferson George and Raymond Daniels vs. Wilker Barros.
Lol no, Kung fu dweebs get folded in mma. Boxers/kickboxers and wrestlers dominate.
As a Chen style Taijquan practitioner, I can see a lot of similarities, especially with our Cannon fist repertoire. I suspect there are common early influences between the 2 styles.
When you practice do you train it as an external system?
@@inside_fightingChen Style is a very healthy blend of Internal/External. It's considered the "oldest" Taiji style, and has a lot of powerful wrestling takedowns, with a deep understanding of "spiral power". It's fascinating stuff.
Look up the hardcore Chen Village guys that maintain a high skill standard, like Mr. Chen Zhiqiang and Chen Bing. They often get their students to spar and pressure test vs folk wrestlers, Sambo and Judoka. Mr. Zhiqiang is probably close to 50 years old now but still in excellent condition and very explosive for his size.
I was just about to mention Chen taichi.. I've met Chen Ziquan! Amazing to watch
there's so much in common between the two that in my lineage we train chen taiji to improve our baji.
@@inside_fighting your use of the term internal here seems strange. internal refers to a set of movement principles as well as breathwork and mental exercise, applying something in a fight doesn't make it external.
Check out the Baji Quan fighting scene in the movie The Grandmaster. It is quite stylized with some kung fu movie magic added but the essential moves and basic concepts shine through.
I watched it after this video. It’s awesome :)
the second last video you showed ( the old guy in white shirt) is grandmaster Li junyi (李俊义), he's the niece of grandmaster Wu lianzhi (the father of the guy demonstrating the kata in the last video, Wu dawei), and he has recently passed away.
He has left a lot of short videos demonstrating the techniques in the kata, many of them are VERY insightful. Though one thing that is not explained very verbally in those videos are the footworks, it is one of the fundamental of the Baji system, to place your "root" down on your opponent (center of gravity), to break their posture, while using the upper body to ram/control/destroy your opponent's body.
To those who are interested in baji I would highly recommend looking this master up
Great content, Ilan!!!
Thanks so much 🙏🏼
As for the taijiquan/baji relationship, there was a friendly exchange in Beijing between Chen Fake and a baji expert (forgot name, sorry) who saw lots of similarities between their respective arts.
I'm talking here about Chen family taiji, which favours low postures and takedowns - not the more popular Yang style.
oh cool i didnt know that. I'm a student of chen fake's lineage
@@Purwapada- A student or a disciple?
I've met a lot of disciples that paid a LOT of money to be in the group pictures, yet they had no skills.
Chen Xiaowang would be a fool to turn down the easy money that can and does help so many in his community.
@@clintstinkeye5607 chen zhonghua
@@clintstinkeye5607 p.s chen xiaowang never learned from chen fake, he learned from feng zhqiang and never gave him credit
@@Purwapada - I didn't know that and I appreciate any opportunity to learn.
Thank you.
I do Baji and Bagua, Baji for striking Bagua for tying up and entering clinch.
The Bodyguard style! Just came across it a few weeks back and it's crazy you're talking about it. Nice one
If im not mistaken, sanda took influence from bajiquan during its creation
It makes sense
Dude, it heavily depends on how much the stylist makes the style his. It could have been any style. Baji is great. You can find the same strategies in Xing Yi, Xin Yi, Tong Bei, etc. These styles were never really commercial, but very effective. Not a superficial move. No waste. Just the business of hurting. Yes, you'll find some delusional people that think they've got it. But, there's folks in these arts that just hurt people for the heck of it.
Yeah I’ve been preaching chow Gar tong long - southern mantis. It’s full on hey, I did security work (bouncer, I hate that word) and at 5’9 and 75kg, I was always confident the mantis was with me.. so to speak. It never let me down
I’ve been practicing Xingyi, Taiji, and Bagua styles of Kung Fu and as I’ve grown as a martial artist I’ve always had an admiration for Bajiquan. To be honest of all the internal martial arts in CMA Baji has the best system of generating power through Fajin into a live application
I see quite a bit of elements in Baji Quan that I learned when studying Wing Chun under Tony Massengill. We looked at Wing Chun from an unchained perspective, a blank canvas so to say, not that we didn't honor the traditional forms. This approach is probably because of his marital arts background. We angle a lot, take the space of the opponent and took advantage of whatever presented itself. It could have ended in Chin na, striking, throws or kicks didn't matter as long as we have the correct angle, opening and proper covering/shielding. The stick and knife fighting were also fun.
LETSSS FUCKING GOOOOOOO FINALYY
HAHAHAHA. Let me know your thoughts :)
@@inside_fighting I knew you would like it, for more info check out youtube.com/@wutan_nj?si=FPa6kGNEUuqzAtXY they got a school in NY and ive learn alot from this channel. Baji olso has some sort of sister style called piguaquan, very similar but this one is more long range while baji is close range, that's why they are typically taught together. Olso characters from video games like akira from virtua fighter or leo from tekken use this style and showed me alot of inspiration for applications. Migth want to check our these 2 games in particular as they are filled with cool moves and they are realistic enough to be viewd in a comative perspective
You should check out northern eagle claw, or ying jow pai, it's more of a qinna based martial art and they like to spar and pressure test
I will for sure! Thanks for the recommendation
I wouldnt say they like to spar. Theres a lot of 2 man application forms. Style is famous for 108 standing locking techniques, which is a mix of locks and takedowns.
I'm loving seeing your enthusiasm in discovering this martial art.
As a fan of fighting games and that sort of thing, Bajiquan shows up a lot.
Leo Kleisen in Tekken is a good example, same with Akira in Virtua Fighter.
Li Shuwen (AKA God Spear Li) was a martial arts master of Bajiquan with mythological status, apparently quoted as saying "I do not know what it is like to hit the same man twice.", he was poisoned to death as an old man.
There's a manga called Kenji by Ryuchi Matsuda and Yoshihide Fujiwara and it's all about the main character learning Bajiquan and then learning from all sorts of other fighters to incorporate their techniques into his style, and it goes super in-depth into the training, philosophy, history and especially the movements and execution of Bajiquan and other martial arts.
It's a great read, and the manga inspired Bajiquan's inclusion in a lot of fighting games and anime since.
One thing you'll notice is there's a big emphasis on stepping in with a stomp, pushing the energy of all that momentum through the stomp, back up through the legs and torso and shoulders like a boxer and into the fist or elbow or sweeping arm takedown move, it's very cool.
That "wrapping" thing you describe near the end is also a thing in Bajiquan, a lot of the motions near the start like the parrying also work when stepping in and crashing in a way that breaks open the opponent's guard, then stepping not just *into* their space but stepping practically between their legs for huge crashing elbows and sweeping arms that knock them down.
Baijiquan your elbows shoulders and knees are all weapons. The whole body is a weapon, not only your fists and kicks.
I was first exposed to this art from the fighting game character Akira from Virtua Fighter. It's called Hakkyoku Ken in Japanese but it's definitely Bajiquan. So cool!
Akira was created after Su Yu Chang from PachiTanglang. The guy was a one of a kind. At the age of 20 he was given the name lightning fist SU due to his speed.
This is the advanced level of Tai Chi Quan. You start with Tai Chi, then after a few years, you transition to Pakua Quan, then next is Hsing I Quan, then the last, after you've mastered the previous three, Baji Quan. You actually see how related they all are, the foundation is the same. I've been training kung fu since highschool, and I've combined all three to get close to actual Baji. Combined with Krav Maga principles, it's a well rounded system. Took me 35 yrs to get to this point. 😂
is Pakua Quan aloso know as Baguazhang?
I would disagree with this. Just look at the systems historically and by lineage. All are separate and not really related although all 4 can produce significant power expression. Most people don't understand taijiquan well enough to know taijiquan has the same power expression as the other internal arts but taijiquan tends to focus more on neutralizing. Perhaps only Chen style is known for striking b
@@oldtyger Ya no... his comment is BS lol. Those are all separate styles and only Baji and Pigua are usually mixed in most places.
Bajiquan is one of the secret fighting arts that is tied to the tongs and is hard to find because they don’t have an open door policy (for the most part). It is in the similar space as a particular style of Hung Gar that uses different animals than the typical 5 animal style of tiger, crane, snake, leopard, and dragon.
Batman's street fighting style is based on these principles. Great video.
2:57 The driving in with the shoulder brings the enemy back in "the red zone".
Thankyou for sharing a good variety of different applications of this Art form. The side fighting horse stance also provides the enemy with the narrowest target and point of view whilst pro iding you with strength of leg structure and potential Kinetic sprung force in your advance.
Good to see my old kung fu teacher in one the video you showcased (the one in the Parisian park).
I was fortunate to learn Hsing Yi and Baji Quan. These guarded systems are classified as bodyguard internal styles. They have a level of practical simplicity and aggressive muscle memory that becomes second nature.
Remember to practice the arm drag counter and most of these moves with a blue belt or white belt in BJJ or these techniques will be easily countered.