day 18: circle walking - 1st palm change

concepts:

• walking in a circle
• fluidity

forms:

• review: palm changes 1-8
• circle walking: introductory application
• circle walking: 1st palm change
• xiao kai men

i arrived somewhat early today, and so apart from a woman and her baby i had the park to myself. no big deal. i find that i always need to do my initial 15-20 minute session of stretching and warm-up before i can really engage in physical exercise anyway (it's actually mandated by most physical therapists i've dealt with, since it helps flush out damaging oxidants and excites the regenerative systems in the body). that, and there's something about standing outdoors on a quiet spring morning and letting fresh air blow through the trees...it's just simply better for the mind when experienced alone.

i had enough time to go through stretching, followed that with a session of level 1 bagua qigong (as far as i know it...i suspect i don't have the breathing down quite right), and then went into stances. i was just wrapping up stances when everybody else showed up.

there now appears to be equal numbers of baji and bagua students, which is good, since it makes for a much livelier atmosphere for Sifu's class...it makes it seem like there's an atmosphere of energy in the park, and seems to help move things along. Ching-Tszieh introduced another one of her friends, whose name i unfortunately forgot (Ching-Tszieh seems to be quite good at promoting bagua zhang with her dance colleagues--i count at least 6 dancers she has introduced over the time i have been in the class).

we began with Sifu leading the class through the bagua hand drills (single-hand and double-hand). i suspect that from an instructor's viewpoint we're using the hand drills as a warm-up exercise, with the additional benefit of ingraining muscle memory of some of the more fundamental bagua hand moves.

review: palm changes 1-8

following the hand drills, we went through a review of the first 8 palm changes (i'm going to say "first" 8, since i now understand that we have only learned side A of the 8 palm changes, and there is another entire set of side B). Kieun led this time, since Sifu left to see that the new baji students got started with their lessons.

Kieun tried leading us without counting or announcing the shift in techniques within each palm change. but i think Art had some disagreement with this approach and after a few minutes made an insistent "suggestion" that we start counting our way through the techniques to keep everyone on the same pace. Kieun complied and switched over to counting. i didn't seem to notice much difference, but i was at the end of the line and so couldn't see what the cause for the change had been.

the review itself was relatively straightforward. it turns out i was doing the 1st palm change wrong, using a bow-and-arrow stance for pushing moon out the door, when it's actually supposed to be done out of 60-40. i also noticed that there was a significant bit of difference in how some students and doing some of the palm changes, and it left me a little confused as to what was the correct technique. i figure this is something i'll have to ask Sifu during a class break, since i'm now having doubts as to whether i'm making mistakes i could be avoiding.

circle walking: introductory application

after finishing the review of the palm changes, Sifu returned and announced that we were going to begin walking the circle incorporating the palm changes. he gathered us together and made some comments about the nature of bagua, particularly in terms of how it is applied and how circle walking is related to its application. he did a brief simulated combat demonstration with Phunsak, describing his actions as he went, emphasizing the particular points of bagua and circle walking.

i'll summarize his points as follows:

• circle walking is commonly seen as the defining characteristic of bagua. however, while it is a core principal of bagua, it shouldn't be viewed as so immutable that it detracts from other aspects of bagua (i.e., surprise, deception, change)--or from the chaotic conditions of a fight
• circle walking should be smooth and quick, with no pauses or awkward movements, the extent that it is like a fluid
• circle walking should be changing, with constant variations in direction, stance, speed, height, and intent
• circle walking allows the practitioner to place the body around an opponent in a way which disguises the practitioner's hands, arms, feet, and legs from the opponent's view, making it hard for the opponent to read the practitioner's moves and thereby making it more difficult for them to respond--and bagua is about deception and disguise
• circle walking enables a lot of other bagua techniques, since it helps the practitioner get into positions around an opponent to apply bagua techniques in a way that reduces the need for large or exaggerated hand or body movements. this reduces the body signals given by the practitioner, and again makes it harder for the opponent to read the practitioner's moves and thereby making it more difficult for them to respond.

the last 2 points seemed to be the most important, since Sifu took some time to show just how much typical hand and feet movements can be reduced by proper use of circle walking. he commented that in learning the palm changes along a line, we have been exaggerating some of the physical movements of each technique. this is actually good, and is by design, since it is meant to help ingrain good technique into our movements. he noted, however, that in "real world" application, the practitioner shouldn't be using such large movements, but should instead use the footwork in circle walking to initiate the techniques.

this recalls another apparent defining characteristic of bagua: footwork. i seem to come across comments on the internet about bagua being noted for its intricate footwork, and the extensive amount of time bagua students spend learning it. i suspect a lot of this is connected with circle walking, and learning how to integrate circle walking with other bagua techniques in combat applications.

circle walking: 1st palm change

following his comments, Sifu ordered everyone out onto the asphalt (not all our practice is on grass). he performed the 1st palm change while walking a circle, then showed us that it wasn't that different from doing it in a line. he told us that we would learn circle walking with the palm changes by starting with slow iterations of each palm change, and then progressing into faster and faster iterations of each one.

he ordered everyone to choose spaces of our own to practice circle walking alone, and to practice doing the 1st palm change in the circle.

this was actually easier than i had expected. i had been concerned that there would be a fair amount of confusion comparable to the first experience with circle walking (reference: day 10: drills and beginning the circle). but it appears that prior exposure and subsequent practice reduced the awkwardness i had felt before.

of course, i also found that i had picked up some bad habits since that time--Sifu made some corrections to my technique. apparently, i wasn't raising my arm high enough in the finishing transition from leaf covers summer flower to lean against the horse and ask for directions, and i also appeared to have somehow regressed to an adolescent habit of shuffling my feet.

xiao kai men

Sifu left us again to return to the baji students. after some time practicing circle walking with the 1st palm change, people began stopping for a break. i decided to take advantage of the time to ask Art and Phunsak for some help with xiao kai men.

Art worked with me for a few minutes, but then handed things over to Phunsak, stating that he needed to meet with Sifu and that Phunsak had better form. Art seemed to be right, since i definitely noticed Phunsak had much more stylized stances and movements, which may be more true to the form.

i found this useful, since i could see the form much more clearly working with Phunsak after having a week to think through the movements. i also was able to get some explanations about the combat applications of each technique, although we didn't have enough time for me to practice them.

Phunsak noted that there was quite a bit more connected with xiao kai men, and that after learning how to do it in a line, i'd need to learn the combat applications, and then learn how to do them while circle walking. this i had already expected, since i've had previous conversations with other students in the class on what the bagua curriculum covers and just how much of it they had covered.

by this time Sifu returned and announced the end of class for the day. he told us that he would remain for a few more minutes to answer question, but that he wouldn't be going with us for the customary post-class lunch. with that, he dismissed us and let us go.