Xingyiquan - Master Alexander Bakari - A Question?

[scottm]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to practicing XY (about 3 years) and recently moved. Where I now live, the closest person who teaches XY is a gentleman named Master Alexander Bakari.

I took a trial class at his school recently and I noticed his XY is very different from the style I used to take (Hebei Style, Master Ch'ang Tung Sheng lineage). I haven't asked Master Bakari about his lineage because I didn't want to offend him by citing the differences in styles.

Has anyone heard of Master Alexander Bakari before and is he a competent teacher to take Xingyiquan from?

Thanks in advance,
Scott

[ashe]

did GM Chang do XY?

[scottm]

He most certainly did .

Although Chang was primarily a Shuai Jaoi stylist, he took Yang Style Tai Chi and created Ch'ang Style Tai Chi. The primary difference being that he made it where most postures have a Shuai Jaoi throw application.

He also created a Hebei style off-shoot he called Hsing-Jing. Outwardly, it looks nearly identicle to Hebei style, but is altered slightly to include Shuai Jaoi applications.

Unfortunately (for me), the school I originally learned at taught Hebei style as fundamental training and only taught Hsing-Jing to its advanced students. So I can't really speak for Hsing-Jing itself, other than what I've learned from talking to the advanced students.

But yes, long winded answer for "Yes, GM Chang did learn and teach XY"

[scottm]

Thanks for the recommendation Tom.

I learned from another source that Master Bakari learned XY from Master Tolo Naa (with whom I am not familiar). But you say he learned it from Master Lu Hung Bin?

I feel sadly ignorant as I'm not familiar with either .

[cerebus]

Hmmm... I just did a search for "Bakari Hsing-I" and found some.... "odd" things.

As Tom mentioned, if you're anywhere near Dr. Ken Fish, that's who you should train with...

[Josealb]

Bakari's xingyi is rather different, not to say strange, yes. I would keep looking if i were you.

[scottm]

Thank you all for the recommendations.

So Master Bakari is 'odd' and 'strange' and I should keep looking for someone else. Got it .

I'll look into Dr. Fish and see if he is close enough to train with.

But if worst comes to worst and I can't train with Dr. Ken Fish, is Master Bakari a suitable "runners up", or should I not bother?

[Josealb]

Well, scott, the thing is...that im pretty much sure that any serious xingyiquan guy would look at what Bakari offers and frown.
Its not that his form is different, or just that what he does looks odd. Its his body mechanics. It doesnt have a xingyi signature.

But in the end we're all just martial artists right? If you meet Bakari and he turns out to be a very skilled man, consider your options. If you cant find the art, look for skill.

Anyway...be sure you dont miss out on Ken.

[cerebus]

I have to agree with Jose. It's not just that his Hsing-I is unusual, it actually looks like something other than Hsing-I (at least to me). Though my own Hsing-I is nothing to be impressed by, I do know what I SHOULD be doing for it to be correct, and I've seen some really good Hsing-I to know what to look for. I really can't imagine where Mr. Bakari learned his Hsing-I or how long he trained for, but I don't think I'd recommend him based on the videos I've seen of him...

[Doc Stier]

I don't know if Bakari is a competent xingyi teacher. His bagua and xingyi come from the late Lu Hung Bin.

Two people who would know about Bakari's connection with the late Sifu Lu are Richard and Iva Lim Peck. Both of them are Indoor Disciples of Lu Hung Bin. He even lived with them for several years time.

They can be contacted here:

http://www.acupuncture-center.org/default.asp

[Bao]

Scott, just because a person calls himself "master" it does not mean that you need to call him that. A title as such should be deserved, and only people who studied with him for quite some time (and also have met a lot of other teachers to compare with) can know for sure if he deserves that title or not.

... by that I mean that I would personally never practice with anyone who calls himself "master", regardless how good he is ...

That was a bit OT, sorry. My suggestion is that you should compare his vids to other on the net and see if you like the expression of what he does. If you like it and say to yourself: "hey! I could practice with those guys", then why don't you go for it?

[c_xlong]

That is not xingyi. I do not know what it is, but it is not xingyi.

[Wanderingdragon]

He can probably fight , but real Xing I would destroy anything he has to offer.

[c_xlong]

I heard a story from a friend in Michigan. He said that Master Bakari went to visit Dr. Fish, maybe almost 20 years ago. Dr. Fish demonstrated some things - hit a phone book hold by Master Bakari on his chest, showed him how to use drill to block and slip, that kind of thing. Bakari later told someone that he had never been hit that hard - his back hurt later. And when Dr. Fish used drill to block a punch, he broke a bone in Bakari's wrist.

[Josealb]

Sounds like it was one of those visits.