Bagua Zhang, translated as 8 Trigram Boxing, is a complete internal Chinese fighting system. I wanted to post a short vid of my rusty arse self along with not putting the energy into cleaning out the twigs around the little tree, Lol! That is the beauty of Bagua, btw. Is to train and practice especially when the elements aren’t perfect. The first clip is me getting used to the footwork and not tripping or falling. This is the essence of the I-Ching, the esoteric essence of Bagua. I-Ching is the art of change, meaning just as I practiced on a windy day, one cannot control the elements and sometimes the body when it has other plans of its own, lol. The essence of Bagua within its core training is to accept adversity and change, and to become one with this. Training with partners who also add non-compliance, such as in sparring is just as important, imo, as training solo, if you are fortunate to have this opportunity. I was freestyling 1 of the 9 palaces. One day, when I have the land or space, I will create a video with 9 posts, trees, or people demonstrating drills of 9 opponents by walking around 9 palaces. The essence of Bagua is fighting multiple opponents at the same time requires the same acceptance as receiving one opponent. Seems impossible? Well, that’s why we train Lol! :) Yes, Bagua was the style of Kung Fu known for training Imperial Palace Bodyguards who trained to take on multiple attackers who had weapons. Only the best of the best trained within this inclusive system at this level. Not my level, but this level of earning and acquiring such high and secret training from masters. Lastly, In both Shing-Yi Chuan and Bagua Zhang the entire body is trained as a weapon just like a fist. So, the shoulders, hips, back, arms, legs, and feet can be trained in to offer as attack or receive. Whole body is functioning as one. My shoulder strikes in this vid above are also receiving as in blocking. I would say I was "shadow boxing" with a tree. Btw, that weird hand gesture at the end?? I noticed a Circadia appearing on the tree to greet me. 🙂