From External to Internal - Applied Yin-Yang Theory
by Mark Jensen

Last year I returned to my studies at Wing Lam Kwoon after some time away attending night school to further my education. I had been studying Hung Gar and Iron Palm from Sifu since 1982 and, except for few of the Ha Say Fu Hung Gar weapon sets, I had learned the whole system. Although I did not really want to suspend my study, at this point in my life I felt that the extra education would benefit both my family and career. When I returned, I began to review the Hung Gar system with the aid of the videotapes and Sifu's help. After settling into a review schedule, Sifu and I talked and decided that this might be a good time to start something new and different. I did not have any idea however, just how different it was going to be when I chose Baguazhang. This article is an attempt by me to explain, from a hard stylist's perspective, the physical and mental adjustments encountered in transitioning from an external to an internal style and how each may benefit from the other.

The Hung Gar system is traditionally thought of as a hard physically demanding system. The Hung Gar student (especially the beginner) will expend an enormous amount of muscular energy while practicing the forms. The movements, practiced correctly, are meant to work the muscles, strengthen the ligaments, increase the lung capacity and promote the flow of Chi. As they become more refined, students gain a greater understanding of the movements along with a greater mental and physical understanding of their application to a fighting situation.

As I started my Baguazhang lessons, the first thing I had to learn was that Bagua required only enough muscle energy to hold the posture as you "walked the circle". In fact excess muscle usage is a detriment to the practice of the system's fundamentals. Sifu was constantly reminding me to loosen up while I walked and, over time, this has improved but the concept that Baguazhang movements are as soft as Tai Chi but performed at normal speed was, to me, a direct contradiction to all that I had previously learned.

The next thing that became clear to me was that my body was not flexible enough to perform the twisting movements required by the Baguazhang system. I have worked hard trying to perfect my Hung Gar stances, but here again, was a contrast. The basic Baguazhang posture is called Taiji. It's characteristics are such that, as you stand on the circumference of the circle, the portion of the body from the waist down is facing outside the circle while the upper part of the body is facing toward the center of the circle. Until it became clear to me that I had to just relax and let the ligaments do the work, holding the Taiji posture while walking the circle was harder to do that any stance training I ever did in the Hung Gar system. In my study of Hung Gar, I began to realize that the transition between movements were as important as the movements themselves. A large amount of energy can be conserved and the seed increased if the transitions are done correctly. In Baguazhang the whole system is transition. The only time that you stop or pause is at the end of a palm change when you check your posture for correctness and then continue on walking the circle. All Bagua movements are continuous flow and in constant transition and any point within a transition can be a possible application.

In Hung Gar I have come to understand the application of most of the movements such that, when I am practicing a form, I try to visualize these applications against an opponent. Most of the Hung Gar blocks, strikes and kicks are relatively easy to understand their application and visualization. For me this is not true of Bagua. I was practicing the movements for the correct postures but had no idea as to their applications. I am currently in the process of researching the application of each of the eight palm changes so I might be able to again visualize them in useful situations.

Mind Dynamics between Hard and Soft

For me, practicing Baguazhang requires a greater amount of concentration that Hung Gar. This is not to say that concentrating during the practice of Bagua is more difficult that that of Hung Gar, but I believe it requires the practitioner to concentrate for a longer period of time. This is because a Hung Gar form requires a relatively short amount of time compared to the Bagua Circle walk. Typically a Bagua practitioner will walk the circle continuously for an hour or more. This requires an hour or more of concentration. A Hung Gar practitioner who practices for an hour might perform as many as eight to ten forms with short breaks in between. During these breaks there mind has a chance to relax.

Flow of the Chi and Chi gung

At not time during all my Hug Gar practice did I ever feel the flow of Chi through my body and hands as I have felt practicing Baguazhang. Only during Iron Palm have I ever experienced this kind of energy. When I am walking the circle and my body alignment is correct, the energy flow sensation is like water rushing up through the body to the hands. Even when I am practicing outside during winter my body and hands become warm and unaffected by the wind or the cold. At no time during my baguazhang practice have I ever experienced the shortness of breath as I have while practicing Hung Gar. The physical affect on the body was the same for each system at the end of practice but I was never out of breath after my Bagua practice. This enabled me to get more out of my practice time.

Conclusion

The ready might gather from this article that I feel that the Baguazhang system is superior to the Hung Gar system. This is not the case and I will explain why. A period of time after I started learning Bagua I injured my right elbow practicing a Hung Gar weapon form. As much as I tried I could not ignore the pain that I felt when I practiced any of the Hung Gar hand forms. There was no pain during the Bagua practice however, so I continued the Bagua and stopped the Hung Gar until the elbow had a chance to heal. When the elbow did finally heal enough so that I could resume the Hung Gar practice (a period of two months), I noticed a difference in my stances and movements that are a direct result of practicing Baguazhang. My legs were much stronger which really seemed to improve my balance. The applications of the Hung Gar movements were much softer until the end which is where the hardness needs to be. I could do many Hung Gar forms and not nearly be as tired as before. If we think of all this as applied Yin Yang theory then we can see that the Yin in my Bugua help to balance out the Yang in my Hung Gar and, from my Hung Gar I know where to put the Yang into the Yin of my Bagua. Yin Yang theory tells us that we must seek to find the balance point between the Yin and the Yang. With the addition of Baguazhang to my Hung gar, I am on my way to finding my martial balance point.