Baji Thread

[Bob Patterson]

Comment by Dojo Rat on November 17, 2008 at 11:14am
Hi Jack;
How would you describe Baji?
From what I have seen is it appears to be used by bodyguards for Chinese politicians. It must be practical in that case.
D.R.

[Bob Patterson]

Comment by Jack Lund on November 17, 2008 at 2:32pm

Hi D.R.

You're right, it is a very practical style, almost spartan by Chinese standards. :-)

It's a very short-distance style, where every movement involves issuing power in a particular way. It uses elbows, shoulder strikes, punches, some throws, and some qinna. It's got really, really low, narrow stances, which really develop the leg muscles. It's meant to be quick and devastating, which is why it was ideal for bodyguards. The fa jin is also not as subtle as, say, Xingyi or Taiji, so it's easier to develop it in a short amount of time - again, a nice thing to have for bodyguards.

Since it's a short-distance style, closing with the opponent is an issue. Usually, it is taught with Pigua, which is a more long-distance style (originally, apparently, they were one art, but they got split up along the way). So, you would tend to use Pigua to enter, and then finish with Baji. However, some Baji fighters never bother with that, preferring, apparently, to launch themselves (sometimes over significant distances) at the opponent to close and strike, usually with the trademark Baji elbow-strike. Some of them were apparently very effective at this.

I like it because it's very straightforward, and I also like the "feel" of it. It also makes a nice adjunct to my other styles, Mantis and Shuai Chiao.

BTW, I'm also an avid reader of your blog. Thanks for putting that out there!

[Bob Patterson]

Comment by Rick Matz on November 17, 2008 at 3:22pm

You may find this of interest:

http://cookdingskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/06/motion-research-on-mar...

Best Regards,

Rick

[Bob Patterson]

Comment by Jack Lund on November 17, 2008 at 4:22pm
Delete Comment Wow! Yeah, those motions he's doing are Baji fa jin. In fact, in the first clip showing him, he's basically going through the first Baji form, Xiao Baji.

Really cool! Thanks!

[Bob Patterson]

Comment by Dojo Rat on November 17, 2008 at 7:36pm

Great video. I'll have to look more into Baji