Journal of Asian Martial Arts

Volume 16 Number 4 ~ 2007

Ba Gua Quan - Eight Trigrams Fist: Pao Chui

And Practical Applications

By Michael Guen

Wasah Institute

ISBN 0-970966-5-8

2007 ~ $24.95

Reviewed by

Paul J. Cote, Ph.D.

Georgetown University

              In this book, Michael Guen presents a portion of the “Eight Trigram Fist” system (Baguaquan)  that he inherited from Gong Baozai of Taiwan.  The book details a 64-movement Cannon Fist (paochui) form, along with some of its underlying theory and applications.  This Cannon Fist form is considered the basic in a fairly extensive set of forms that are taught in this system of Baguaquan.

              I enjoyed reading this book.  It is well-organized, consisting of an introduction and sections on the history, fundamentals, theory, the 64-posture form sequence, and example self-defense applications.  The form sequence is presented using 200-plus photos, with narrative text form each movement, and the name of each sequence is provided in Chinese-Mandarin with English translation.  The self-defense applications section consists of nearly 100 additional photos.  The author was kind enough to provide me with a brief film clip of him doing the Cannon Fist form, which assisted further with the review of his book.

              Learning a form and the proper feeling of the movements is nearly impossible using a book alone.  However, the author does an excellent job conveying technical aspects of the form sequence and example applications.  In several places, postures are shown from multiple views, and each of the example applications is shown clearly using photo sequences and narrative text.  The example applications make sense relative to the form sequences, although some may see a particular application portrayed as more or less effective, depending on their own martial arts background.  Taken together, there is more than enough detail for reference for those receiving instruction in the form.  If I practiced this system, I would definitely find this book valuable for its clarity of presentation, and depiction of the Baguaquan Cannon Fist form and applications. 

              In another book by the same author, there is a list of the many forms taught in the Gong Baozai Baguaquan system.  The system was described also several years back in the Baguazhang Journal (Vol. 4 No. 5, 1994).  Some of this Baguaquan system is clearly Shaolin-like, while some is like Baguazhang with its circle walking and various palm postures.  The full system is actually quite expansive, and, according to the author, has both external and internal training elements that eventually become fused for the development of martial skill and health attributes.  The Cannon Fist form described in the book is clearly Shaolin-like in its postures and movements.  It is claimed to have roots in Shaolin Lohan, although a separate Eighteen Lohan set is also taught as a part of the overall system.

              There were a few places where one could take issue.  A brief history of this art was transmitted to the author by his teacher, Gong Baozai, who traces it back to Gong Baotian, an imperial guard of the “third-level-sword-carrying-class.”  The guard’s older brother, Gong Baoshan (who died prematurely during an epidemic), was an early disciple of Yin Fu, and he provided his younger brother with an introduction to this famous master, who was head of the imperial guard at the time.  Yin Fu had learned the Eight Trigram Palm system under the Baguazhang founder, imperial guard Dong Haichuan.  According to the author, the lineage of his Baguaquan system, including the Cannon Fist and several other Shaolin-based forms, trace back to Dong Haichuan and Yin Fu.

              I am less inclined to believe that so much Shaolin in this system should be attributed to Dong Haichuan and Yin Fu.  Of course, if an amalgam of different martial systems were represented among palace guards, it may have been conventional that any arts imported by various guards be assigned to the lineage of the headmaster.  Dong and Yin became most famous for Baguazhang, not Shaolin.  Baguazhang became famous as one of the Six Great Gates (Liudamen: Shaolin, Tantui, Tongbei, Bagua, Xingyi, and Taji).  As with its two sister internal arts, Taijiguan and Xingyiquan,  Baguazhang was often referred to as Baguaquan.  However, in this context, “quan” refers to “boxing system,” rather than simply “fist.”  It was the idea of “zhang” (the palm), and the related circling methods, that rendered the art of Bagua a great “quan” (i.e., boxing system) of such high caliber, and this also differentiated its status from Shaolin arts. 

              Although Yin and Dong may have taught some Shaolin Eighteen Lohan, that particular method represents only a part of the Shaolin that is transmitted by the Gong Baozai lineage.  Specific Shaolin training methods that may have been associated earlier with Baguazhang seem to have been jettisoned in the process of the development of this art, and this would likely have been nearly completed by the third generation.  This generation included not only Gong Baotian, but also Ma Gui.  Ma was Yin Fu’s first disciple, and later palace headmaster, who passed on an orthodox system of 64-movement Baguazhang circle changes that is not mentioned in the Gong Baozai curriculum.  The third generation also included a number of well-known Baguazhang disciples from the Cheng Tinghua lineage, some of whom also specialized in Xingyiquan.  Accordingly, Baguazhang became a complete and great internal martial art in-and-of itself, and independent of Shaolin training methods.

              The 64-movement Cannon Fist form consists of eight sections with eight movements for each section, and it has relationship to the familiar bagua diagram and its attributes.  But it bears no resemblance to the set of straight line Baguazhang methods of second generation innovator Liu Dekuan, or of third generation master Gao Yisheng.  The Baguaquan Cannon Fist form is not related to other Cannon Fist forms that became famous in-and-of themselves (e.g., Three Emperors’ Cannon Fist) or as progenitors (e.g., Chen Village Cannon Fist and their Taiji). 

              In Dan Miller’s earlier article, he indicated that once the Gong Baozai Shaolin forms were combined with their methods of Bagua circling and palm postures, they seemed to take on more of the flavor of Baguazhang.  But in the section on body methods, some distinguishing features of the 64-movement Cannon Fist Baguaquan are the elevated chest and curvature in the lower back, which are rarely seen in other systems of Baguaquan.  If there is some eventual fusion of external and internal, or some relation for skills development between the Baguaquan and Baguazhang, it is not easy for me to see how the study of this particular form will develop one’s skills for Baguazhang applications.  Lastly, some of the anectodotal accounts in the oral history of this lineage could be balanced with more stringent factual research, or by pointing out their limitations for the benefit of the novice.

              And yet, I remain intrigued reading Michael Guen’s book on Baguaquan Cannon Fist.  He sees Baguazhang as part of a larger system (i.e., Baguaquan) that he inherited from Gong Baozai and via Gong Baotian.  Just how his system might relate to palace guard martial arts systems of the era, and to the Baguazhang made famous by Dong Haichuan and Yin Fu, remains a subject of speculation.  But the author’s premise is indeed provocative and should continue to stimulate debate among martial arts historians. 

              One of the book’s more appealing elements for today’s variety of martial arts practitioners is the author’s east-west synthesis of external and internal, hard and soft, body and mind, anatomy and physiology, and philosophy and spirituality.  He maintains that his system, and its manner of transmission (i.e., pedagogy), represent a useful way to study the human condition through interrelating martial arts, medicine, psychology, philosophy, and mysticism.  He calls it “the way of the saint,” and it is the subject of his next book, which I am sure I will enjoy reading as much as this one.