Here you will learn that there is more to the Taoist internal martial art of baguazhang than just self defence, becoming a fighter, Kung Fu master or retiring to a monastery. The Tao leads some to become a martial arts boss in search of their true spiritual identity. Perhaps by listening in, you too could discover your own guided path up the mountain. This is one man's internal martial arts journey to Bagua Shan 八卦山.
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302. I am a real Baguazhang Kungfu master…
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Yes. It is true. Through Baguazhang 八卦掌 journeying along the Taoist path, I am what I am: A real kungfu master and people like to call me Shifu 師傅 as a mark of respect. But… while it is a great honour, it comes with its own challenges like NOT abandoning this life for one of seclusion in the mountains like a lot of Taoists 道者. Or whether or not to …
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301. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (19): How to measure your Qi 氣 ?
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On the one hand this episode could be another one about Mopai. But in the end I went back to what is really important: Baguazhang. It starts off with that age old question of how a person can measure qi? And the it goes somewhere else. Hey! It’s a Saturday and the garden path leads to where it wants to go. So sit back and relax into it. Enjoy ☺️…
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300. The Baguazhang Taoist Path vs Mopai, part 3: Are the 72 levels achievable?
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Let’s get real: Are the 72 levels of Mopai achievable? And how do you you know you have achieved any one of those levels? 🧐 Hmmmm….. ☶
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299. The Baguazhang Taoist Path vs Mopai, part 2: Is it a martial art?
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Now this is an important question: Is Mopai a martial art? It reads like one in the book. And it is the source of much of the “qualified” criticism about it. Of which… I answer the question. The problem most people have and don’t want to admit is that they are seeking something that blinds them to the obvious. Something which all the internal marti…
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298. The Baguazhang Taoist Path vs Mopai, part 1: Qi Cultivation
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Recently I read the book ‘The Magus of Java’ by author Kosta Danaos. It is a book about Mopai and its then grandmaster John Chang a.k.a John Baharudin a.k.a. Dynamo Jack from Ring of Fire fame. In part 1, I give a basic description of the difference between Baguazhang and Mopai in how qi is cultivated. ☳…
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297. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (18): An HK adventure in search of black jade
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While in Hong Kong I wanted to do a bit of exploring and eventually I got myself, sort of, lost. Well, not really in the larger scheme of things… but it made for an interesting day out and in the end I managed to score myself a nice new black jade pendant to assist me with my Qi 氣 cultivation while doing Baguazhang 八卦掌.So why black jade?Black jade …
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296. Doing Baguazhang in Hong Kong - 在香港做八卦掌
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Hello from Hong Kong 香港.In this episode I am recording from my wife’s home town and the birth place of Bruce Lee 李小龍.It’s been an interesting experience thus far doing Baguazhang 八卦掌 and focusing on cultivating my Yin 陰修.I know that most Taoist cultivation practices focus on Yang 陽. But that is for people who’s qi 氣 lacks inner strength.But Baguazh…
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295. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (17): Original Taoism 道紀
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So recently I started my own personal journey of translating the Tao Te Ching 道德經 as part of my own Taoist experience because 1) I wanted to, and 2) because I have noticed discrepancies between what the typical English version says and what the Chinese version says. And it can get frustrating. But do not worry, I won’t be publishing it. But what wo…
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294. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (16): How not to do Baguazhang 如何不做八卦掌
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Ok… So in this episode titled: How not to do Baguazhang 如何不做八卦掌, I’m letting you know about Neidan Master Damo Mitchell’s audio by the same name. Listen to it. It’s in-depth and worth its weight in gold. It’s about an hour long but if you try to rush it and skip sections, you will miss a great deal of important stuff that will either boost your pra…
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293. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (15): Living the dream… My ordinary daily life
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Question: What is it like to be a baguazhang Taoist?The answer to that question on the daily life of being a Taoist 道者 or a Baguazhang master 八卦掌大師 is… (drum roll, please) is this: You’re a fucking weirdo. Most people have no idea what you are. Or why you would bother chasing a goal that leads to nowhere. Maybe in Asia somewhere, with its exotic lo…
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292. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (14): The Living Tao 活道
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The urban environment is a tough place to practice, cultivate and master Baguazhang 八卦掌. No matter what people say. And for the most part, it is a lonely path 😩. But here’s the thing: Are you ready to become a Living Tao 活道? Are you ready to become the living embodiment of your craft as it’s ultimate personification? Even if none of us truly knows …
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291. The Way of the Taoist Bagua Master – 道教八卦大師之路
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The way of the Taoist Bagua master is one of resilience. It isn’t for everyone. It’s a lonely 😩 path filled with a lot of hardships. A lot of people think 🤔 that once they become a Taoist or a Baguazhang master, life will be enlightened bliss. Sadly, this not the case. But as my podcast reveals, sometimes while we are down, our trained body just sa…
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290. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (13): Environmental Cultivation
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I finally did it and talked about some weird shit involving Baguazhang - environmental cultivation (of the self). And no, I don’t care that to some people it’s total woo-woo! I know my shit and it’s grounded in experience.
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289. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (12): 德 Inner Power and ‘Street Cultivation’
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After cultivating 基 Ji, 精 Jing, 氣 Qi, 神 Shen and the 心 Xin (heart-mind) the next cultivation stage is 德 Te (inner power).With the Tao Te Ching 道德經 it is usually referred to as virtue but this a Confucian ideal. And when read as such, it leaves a lot of people confused 😕 ! Te 德 or inner power, as it is more commonly referred to in Taoist language, i…
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288. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (11): Baguazhang Immortality realized…
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Do you want to be a baguazhang immortal?Do you want to be a baguazhang xian?1. 仙 2. 僊 3. 仚 4. 㒨 5. 僲 6. 屳 7. 佡Above are the 7 Chinese characters in which to write the word: Xian.Xian means immortal. And then so much more. In this podcast #288 I discuss their different “deeper” meanings in relation to the #taoist #internal_martial_art #cultivation p…
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287. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (10): What is Yi 意?
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For those of you too impatient to listen to my #baguazhang #八卦掌 podcast, yi 意 is your will or intention. That’s it. For the rest of you, I finally delve deeper into the mystical side of baguazhang. This is a stage of Taoist cultivation that’s rarely openly discussed because it’s usually a very private and/or personal journey that a practitioner has…
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286. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (9) Xin 心… Part 2, going deeper
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My first episode on the Taoist Heart-Mind of Xin 心 (episode 281), doesn’t fair too well with listeners because it’s not the rosy blissful description that people want to hear or experience. But if you are a baguazhang 八卦掌 practitioners or cultivator, you’d be wise to listen because without facing certain experiential truths, it will be nigh impossi…
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285. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (8) Wu 無
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Tonight I’m keeping it short and discussing the mysteries of Wu 無 or nothingness. And in particular I will discuss this Taoist concept through the lens of baguazhang 八卦掌. While in this podcast I provide a few real life examples of what it looks like experientially, the sad fact is for most people those examples are what people try their darnedest t…
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284. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (7) Cultivating Te 德 or Virtue
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Again and again, it is a repeated comment that in order to cultivate the Taoist path, a practitioner of the way must have virtue or Te 德, or it is all for nought! But what is Te and how do I get some? Is it the same Te as in the Tao Te Ching 道德經? Yes it is. And as a baguazhang 八卦掌 practitioner I will explain it to you in a way that the urban mind c…
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283. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (6) The practice of Chazen 茶禪
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True Baguazhang 八卦掌 cultivation can produce in the body, over time, trauma in the mind and body. The ritual of practicing Chazen 茶禪 is about more than just mindfulness. Without a way to cleanse ourselves and consolidate our “gains” we can get stuck in our progression in self-cultivation, especially if our Tao 道 is more or less locked into an urban …
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282. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (5) Sun Lutang 孫祿堂
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Well, I’m finally doing it and I’m gonna talk about Baguazhang master Sun Lutang 孫祿堂 (1860 – 1933). Disciple of master Cheng Tinghua 程廷華. Master Sun is important because he was the first to produce baguazhang manuals (which are still available today):Baguaquan xue (A study of eight trigrams boxing) published 1916;Baguajian xue (A study of eight tri…
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281. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (4) Xin 心
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Whether you are a traditional Taoist cultivator or you are ascending through the baguazhang path, there is a stage that must be confronted in order to truly grasp the true significance of what you are doing. And that is the stage of Xin 心. In Taoism it is traditionally referred to as the heart-mind or mind-heart, and is sometimes interchanged with …
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280. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (3)
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Revision of the 5 baguazhang cultivation stages of Ji 基, Li 力, Qi 氣, Yi 意 and Shen 神. Actually there are other levels, but for most Baguazhang practitioners these are the most important and exist like a alternative path or version to the Taoist one. Here I discusss the similarities between the two…
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279. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (2) Ji 基
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Before a person even attempts to cultivate the three Taoist treasures of Jingqishen 精氣神, there is the beginning of Xing 形 or form/shape. The baguazhang equivalent is called Ji 基, and it is the foundation of all that is to come next. In this podcast I introduce the listener to this much neglected stepping stone.…
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278. Baguazhang Taoist Cultivation – The urban path (1) Li, Qi, Yi and Shen 力氣意神
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Taoism has its self cultivation path of the three treasures: Jing Qi Shen 精氣神. And sometimes they add a fourth level of Tao 道. The internal martial art of baguazhang 八卦掌 also has its parallel equivalents of Li, Qi, Yi and Shen 力氣意神. In this podcast I will be discussing (lightly) what they are and how they match up to the Taoist version of things.…
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277. Is doing Xingyiquan 形意拳 the same as doing Baguazhang 八卦掌?
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For the final podcast episode of 2022, I ask this simple question: Is doing Xingyiquan the same as doing Baguazhang internal martial arts? Both styles are Taoist in origin and both styles fall under the category of internal martial arts, but are they the same? And the answer to both questions is NO! While FaJin 化勁 may be a Xingyiquan and Taichi con…
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276. Must I be a Taoist to do Baguazhang?
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In this episode I answer the question: Must I be or do I need to be a Taoist to do or practice the internal martial art of baguazhang? Listen to it, to learn further on what you signed up for. Some of you already have your answer but for others it may be enlightening, even if only in a tiny hum-drum sort of way. 🙂…
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275. Baguazhang ritualism versus baguazhang habits
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What’s the difference between having rituals and having habits in Baguazhang? And does it affect my neigong practice?
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274. Is doing Baguazhang 八卦掌 the same as doing Taichiquan 太極卷?
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Both are internal martial arts styles, but is doing baguazhang the same as doing taichi? And the answer is… NO! A lot of people, who don’t know any better, make this mistake all the time. If you are listening to this podcast, you probably already know the difference but it doesn’t hurt to go over it again.…
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273. Baguazhang & ‘Chronicles of Tao’ continued…
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The biggest question I get asked repeatedly is: Is the story real or true? And that’s a good question to ask and it all depends on what you are actually wanting to experience. Let the Tao 道 be your guide.
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272. Baguazhang & ‘Chronicles of Tao’
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Last night I finished reading the biography ‘The Chronicles of Tao’ by author Deng Ming-Dao. Whom, some of you on the spiritual Taoist path, would already be familiar with. This book is supposed to be a loose biography of his spiritual teacher Kwan Saihung.As a lesson in Taoist spirituality and in what the followers of the Huashan sect did to attai…
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271. Genchitaofu Baguazhang’s Proof - 艮氣道福八卦掌の憑
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The proof is in the pudding. As they say. So you say I’m full of shit with my stories, even though the Genchitaofu Baguazhang was my proving ground as a baguazhang master. Rather than dismissing what I am about, I challenge others to go and have their own Baguazhang adventure and prove it to themselves what it means to be a master of this art. In t…
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270. When is it the best time to practice baguazhang? (Part 2)
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When’s the best time to learn baguazhang? Well, not 5 minutes before you to go out and fight. As a martial art it takes years to master it. It looks s unrealistic to think you can learn it over night.
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269. When is it the best time to practice baguazhang? (Part 1)
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We have all asked the question: When is the best time to practice baguazhang? And typically you’ll get an answer that the Shifu wants you to follow. But few people ask why, and fewer still know why.But it is important to know why if one truly wants to progress further. In this podcast you will hear my answer to this question. You may have heard it …
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268. Review: Secrets of Drunken Boxing in the 8 Shadow Style by sifu Neil Ripski (Part 2)
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Further baguazhang ramblings inspired by sifu Neil Ripski’s book: Secrets of Drunken Boxing in the Eight Shadow Style.
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267. Review: Secrets of Drunken Boxing in the 8 Shadow Style by sifu Neil Ripski (Part 1)
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I strongly recommend this book to other internal baguazhang practitioners because 1) it’s good to sometimes walk a different path and gain new experiences. And 2) it contains baguazhang neigong exercises from the Ma Family style (馬家八卦掌) of baguazhang. Which I am sure some of you will be familiar with.This was the review I intended to post in Amazon…
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266. Is a bagua master the same thing as a baguazhang master?
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In this episode I answer a qood question that I get asked a lot: Is a bagua master (八卦大師) the same thing as a baguazhang master (八卦掌師傅)? And the answer is a yes and a no, and it depends…
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265. Talking shit as a Baguazhang master again…
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I thought I would take tonight’s baguazhang episode in a new direction and just bullshit my way through it. I am surprised that I’m not on ‘Bullshido’ yet, but I’m hoping that this podcast makes the grade. Anyway, let me know if there’s anything about my arts you would like to know etc, otherwise I may continue with this kind of talking!…
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264. The unspoken missing Baguazhang injury
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For those of you who listened to podcast #263, you will be surprised 😯 to learn that I missed out 1 very important injury that a baguazhang practitioner may experience. It is a difficult one to explain but I hope this podcast episode will hit home!
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263. In Baguazhang what are the main causes for getting injured?
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Usually if you are doing baguazhang correctly, you should not get any injuries because baguazhang is a healing art at its core. Having said that, it is still possible to fuck things up. And people being people, no system is prefect. And so now I present to you a short list of the major types of injuries and their causes that can be sustained while …
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262. How does a Baguazhang Master pursue the Tao?
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How does a baguazhang master pursue the Tao?That’s a very good question. And the answer is…A baguazhang master does not pursue the Tao. A baguazhang master walks the Tao.That is what walking the circle is all about. Like a road or pathway, the Tao is a thing and not a thing at the same time. And just like the bagua circle, it only exists when the p…
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261. The Baguazhang Living Tao GONGFU EDITION
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And so I finally did it.After months of procrastinating and going nowhere, I have finally received a call from a fellow martial artist with a simple request: When am I going to publish a gongfu book?What?Yes. When am I going to publish a gongfu book?I thought I did already. But no. I have not. What’s been missing is a manual with pictures and instr…
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260. The I-Ching art of war - Chongqing 3D
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Just a day ago I posted on social media a picture of my new 3D puzzle of a Chongqing streetscape featuring a spring festival dragon dance.Now, because I totally suck at gluing things together, which in turn makes modelling stressful for me, I prefer not to them. However, because this puzzle has a clip together system that avoids gluing, I was all f…
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259. Just wondering: Do you want to become a Baguazhang Immortal?
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It has taken a decade or so, but I am now coming to the realisation that I have committed myself to the baguazhang path toward enlightenment. Which from the Taoist mountain summit, it is sometimes called being an immortal.Immortality as it is defined in Taoism is a very broad concept that needs the clarity of having deep internal knowledge of one’s…
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258. Have you read “The Baguazhang Jin of War” yet? — 你讀過《八卦掌戰勁》書了嗎?
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So recently I wrote and spoke about how rare the internal martial art of baguazhang (八卦掌) is. And I have even used some rough numbers to support my claim. But, no matter what, it is always amazing how many people do not actually dig deeper into things and would prefer to argue that the martial art is one of the most popular styles out there.I never…
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257. I was pondering on the baguazhang path to Taoist immortality, when…
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Recently at work, while it just so happened that I was pondering on the baguazhang path to Taoist Immortality, I got asked by a coworker what type of martial art do I do?It had been a difficult night of standing at the front door requesting for the 200th time for an adult customer’s Covid vaccination passport. Most customers are really good about i…
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256. Genchitaofu Baguazhang’s Shen-hood - 艮氣道福八卦掌の神方向
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At some point in the baguazhang practitioner’s journey along the Tao, there comes a moment when the practice of baguazhang loses its glamour and the practitioner will quit.This isn’t a case of things getting too hard, but rather it is becoming too easy and in a sense it loses its challenge. When this happens it is because deep down inside the bagua…
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255. Practicing baguazhang 八卦掌 when the humidity gets too much & jingong 勁功
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Today is not one of my better days. The humidity is up and it is reminding me of why I do not live in the tropics. Everything else I can reasonably handle but just not the humidity.And so, just before the humidity really started to hit at around 9am, I made sure I had already done most of my baguazhang sets.But there is still one form I still must …
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254. 📗 Baguazhang art of war - Jingong 勁功
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Some of you may have noticed that The Baguazhang Art of War series has recently gained a new member to the family: The Baguazhang Jin of War.Of the six books on baguazhang I have published thus far, this book has been the most challenging.And it has been the most challenging because in order to get anywhere with this book, I have had to confront wh…
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253. Genchitaofu Baguazhang’s Jingong Flame - 艮氣道福八卦掌の勁功焰
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Since my most recent podcasts about jingong 勁功 came to air, I have been requested to give a practical example of how jingong 勁功works; for the less spiritually inclined.For the briefest of moments, this got me thinking. And I got the feeling that maybe, just maybe, I might be overthinking it a bit.And as it turns out, I was overthinking it. Because …
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