THE PROPER METHOD IN A NUTSHELL

Face it. Most people are lazy. When lazy people want something they usually want it now and usually don't want to work for it. When they find out that there is work involved, they drop it and go to something else. And so it goes on with most people. This type of attitude certainly holds true with many martial art beginners. Thus there is a large drop out rate at the beginner level in most martial arts schools. The larger the school, the more this is apparent. With BaGwa, there is even a higher drop out rate. There are 3 main reasons for this:

1. BaGwa involves coordination of the mind, body and spirit/breath. Thus it is a "thinking art" and this is very difficult for beginners to understand and absorb.
2. There are not many qualified instructors today, even in China. Thus finding a good school and/or instructor can be quite frustrating.
3. BaGwa training requires long term commitment and effort to achieve results. Most people are not commited for long haul because mental stamina must also be developed over time.

So when you want something like BaGwa, you have to really want it badly and be prepared to stick it out. With this desire and commitment, you must then seek for the information. The best choice is always a good school with a good head instructor. But other information, such as good books, articles and video tapes, will certainly help immerse yourself, enrich, enlighten and help guide you. So let us now examine the heart of the matter, so that you will see that, really, it isn't that difficult afterall, if you understand what it entails. This is a structured overview, simplified of course. And presuming you actually begin practicing BaGwa, you will learn and improve with time.

Put simply, BaGwaChang is an art of self-defence, in fact, it is a science of it. Yes folks, BaGwa, foremost, is a fighting art, not only a fancy form performance resembling some weird form of wushu-ized ballet. If you can acknowledge this fact, then you can tackle its training from a logical perspective, free from buffoonery. So let logic guide you and adhere with the BaGwa principles. Remember that everything you practice in this art must have a beneficial purpose to enhance your fighting ability, otherwise, you are not practising the real art.

If you are new to the martial arts, then you must begin with or implement sound "kung-fu" basics. But basics which adhere with BaGwaChang. This goes for TaiChiChuan training as well. So we must begin with stances. Without this understanding, being able to hold a good stance and stance transitions, all your training will be futile. Period. Practice them from with a comfortable speed, then both slow it down and speed it up. Generally, you should develop 3 speeds: slow, 1/2 speed and full speed. Next, impliment the 3 types of shifting and the circle walking procedures. In summing up: develop your rooting; develop your foot-work. This is key.

From your stances (and circle walking), practice your blocks, your punches and your kicks. Learn to fade and learn to stick. But learn how to do these correctly from 3 speeds. Develop power; develop speed. Develop explosion; develop softness. Coordinate you breath, your mind and your body. This, in turn, will develop your spirit.

Combinations or little procedures should be practised, with and without a partner. And this leads to the 2 important training procedures: solo and partner training. You cannot get good by brainlessly training only in your class. Note that there are drills and exercises that are practised solo, some with a partner, others may be practiced both solo and with a partner. But most importantly, partner train at every opportunity you get, practicing an abundant of logical movements. When training, keep your drills simple and practice slow. This is the time to correct and ingrain procedures or patterns, and also to see what works and what does not. When you are comfortable with a particular drill, speed it up though at a speed which you (and your partner/s) can handle. Sticking, rolling, fading; softness, hardness (tension), and amounts in-between etc., don't forget these.

Never forget to practice the classical stuff, but the good classical stuff (there is a lot of bad BaGwa out there now), the simple forms, the exercises, the BaGwa circular forms. All this makes you good, and strengthens your body, mind and spirit. Practice your chi gung exercises. You must be able to breath from the Tan Tien, even while under pressure or when you are exerting yourself. Once you've developed some skill, do a little sparring now and then. You may get a rude awakening, sending you back to the drawing board!

This is what BaGwa training is all about. So train wisely. Train naturally. Train daily. And good luck in this fantastic martial art.