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It is one of the most mysterious martial practices and its excellent for health. It is also easy to start and can carry you right along to the highest levels of practice. It's based on the most ancient aspects of Chinese theory but it is one of the last martial arts to come out of the last of the Chinese dynasties. And, like life itself, it start with a circle.

Bagua is fully called Bagua Zhang (bah gwah jong) which means Eight Trigram Palm. Trigrams are just little three-line drawings which the Chinese consider to represent all the basic transformations in the universe. From this foundational belief ancient masters created one of the most beautiful and intriguing martial arts.

Like Tai Chi it can be practiced softly, slowly and smoothly. It concentrates on the idea of qi, the vital life force of the human being. The movements are practiced while walking in a circle. This special walk encourages you to remove all the harsh, angular motions that normal life and work force you to do. In a way Bagua just smoothes out the wrinkles in , and don't worry, if you are prone to dizziness you can start any of the exercises by walking in a straight line or even just meandering.

Bagua has one advantage over Tai Chi, though. Bagua is modular. Rather than memorizing a long sequence of very formalized movements performed in a set routine of about 15 to 20 minutes, Bagua is broken up into sections some of them lasting only a couple of minutes. These sections can be combined in any order and in either direction. This gives Bagua an incredible flexibility. You could practice different orders for months and even years without duplicating your efforts.

Like Tai Chi, Bagua is a martial art and has applied self defense techniques embedded in each movement. But for most people the self defense is a little easier to see in the case of Bagua since the actions, though not hard and brittle, as still obviously functional and practical.

Because it walks in a circle Bagua does not require much space. Its movements are soft, fluid and extremely beautiful. It can be practiced for health and also for martial arts. It plays with weapons and partner forms. Like all good Chinese martial arts it comes with "FREE" Qigong exercises which are already woven into the structure of the practice so you don't have to learn Qigong separately.

Many advanced martial artists are adding Bagua to their repertoires but it is slowly becoming better known to the general public. Look into it, few styles have so much to offer for people of any age.

Bagua: the Art of Change