D_Glenn wrote:I'm not sure on Sun Lu Tang's source of information or where he learned the Songs.
I don't think Sun Lu Tang actually knew the animal systems just the postures or what would be called the 8 mother palms.
D_Glenn wrote:I'm not sure on Sun Lu Tang's source of information or where he learned the Songs.
I don't think Sun Lu Tang actually knew the animal systems just the postures or what would be called the 8 mother palms.
Gary Stier and his system of Shen Men Tao Ba Gua Zhang was featured in the Pa Kua Chang Newsletter, Volume 1, Number 4. In this article Gary explains how
his system views the eight mothre palms.
The Eight Trigram Palms of the Shen Men Tao System, founded by Dr. Lei Wing-wah in the late 1940's, are externally simple in their form and structure, yet internally profound in their energy dynamics. Dr. Lei taught that the logical development of the Ba Gua art gradually progressed over time from simple ideas and forms to more complex ones. With this thought in mind, the foundation of the Shen Men Tao practice method is a unified physical, mental, and spiritual expression of the primary eight trigrams, or ba gua, of the Book of Changes, the Yi Jing. It makes sense that an art named after these eight trigrams must have been greatly influenced by the
philosophical ideas they represent, and the physical attributes associated with them. By deliberately incorporating such connections in the form routines, the dynamic energy potential of the art flows with unbroken continuity through a three fold process of inner alchemy to outer expression. Beginning with meditation on the original spiritual revelations inherent in the eight trigrams, the mind is then able to formulate an inner relationship with the intended meaning of the trigrams and, lastly, unite the metaphysical process of spirit and mind with the physical postures of the body. The Shen Men Tao formula describing this unfoldment as follows: "Spirit forms the intention; the intention directs the energy; the energy shapes the form; the form reflects the Spirit. This completes one cycle from Spirit to Spirit, Eternity to Eternity. All things are essentially One in origin!" As a result of this process, the Shen Men Tao method teaches a single and unique palm shape or form as representative of each of the eight trigrams. A specific pattern of transitional movement leads the arm and hand into each of these palm shapes. As a group, the Eight Trigram Palms are sometimes referred to as the Mother Forms, or the Mother Palms, since each palm may be combined with any one of the other palms, 8X8, to produce the 64 Hexagram Palms, i.e. 64 uniquely different two handed forms or postures. Using these trigram and hexagram forms as a basic reference tool, any single or double handed posture
from any sequence of Ba Gua exercises may be related to the Yi Jing as a type of moving Daoism. From this perspective, most of the tactical palm change postures
presented as the Mother Palms by other styles or systems of Ba Gua are in fact two handed postures which are more logically representative of hexagrams rather than trigrams. If a two handed form posture is associated with each trigram, then an immediate problem arises when associating postures with hexagrams since we don't have four arms and four hands, making such associations difficult to logically justify! In the Shen Men Tao training, the individual or single handed trigram palms are first practiced separately while walking the circle. Their identifying transitional movements are used to repeat the posture as many times or for as long of a period of time as desired. Each palm is practiced equally on both sides, walking circles to both the right and left. Next, all of the eight different palms are linked together into two
separate form routines which represent the Earlier Heaven Arrangement of Fu Xi and the Later Heaven Arrangement of Wen Wang, respectively. Specialized
breath work may also be incorporated in the practice as the routines become familiar enough to allow mental attention to focus on additional considerations. Specifically, a Pre-Natal Reversed Breathing is practiced with the Earlier Heaven Form, and a Post-Natal Breathing is practiced with the Later Heaven Form. These Eight Trigram Forms are then followed by the 64 Hexagram Palms Form, which logically combines all of the previous material, while expanding the expression of the simple forms and footwork to a much greater degree of difficulty both athletically and energetically. All of the Shen Men Tao Ba Gua practice methods discussed in this article will be presented in great detail by the author in a forthcoming book and video tape, which will be available in 1996.
See the photos on the next page.
~ Pakua Journal 6-1
D_Glenn wrote:And like Yeniseri wrote: "From what I understand about Sun Lutang, the 'animal' flavours was never his cup of tea, as it were." Which jives with what you wrote above.
D_Glenn wrote:.....if you take the Animals out of Baguazhang you really don't have anything left, the only non-animal material is the 'Chuanzhang' (penetrating palms) and even these are essentially 1 method from each of the 8 animals, so to say that Sun Lu Tang did Baguazhang without the animals is ignorant at best.
D_Glenn wrote:So back to Yeniseri, if you take the Animals out of Baguazhang you really don't have anything left, the only non-animal material is the 'Chuanzhang' (penetrating palms) and even these are essentially 1 method from each of the 8 animals, so to say that Sun Lu Tang did Baguazhang without the animals is ignorant at best.
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D_Glenn wrote:If anyone can post some video of a whole Animal system that is not the Dragon or Chuanzhang (penetrating palms) that would tremendous. I would be forever grateful.
yeniseri wrote:I do not agree that if you take the animals out of Baquazhang, you have nothing left! If one seeks to name the jibengong and shenfa as "animals" then I guess that is different.
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