Baguazhang Books

Fantastic work by Frank and Tina. Many years of research and practice has made Frank Allen one of America's foremost authorities on the art of Ba Gua Zhang. He has put together a great manual for practitioners to draw inspiration from. The form details will show any Ba Gua students some of the classical Cheng style movements, and will help all Ba Gua practitioners compare and contrast the moves they have in common. The weapons form is great too, giving much needed information on the notorious Deerhorn Knives. My favorite part is the work on Taoist meditation and I Ching internal alchemy. Great stuff and very thought provoking. Thanks you guys!

Sincerely,

Jess O'Brien

"Whirling Circles" has answered many questions I had about Ba Gua Zhang's history. I was unaware about its origins before this book. The illustrations are nicely rendered. The book is filled with many wonderful photographs displaying posture, techniques and high level practitioners. I especially liked the explanations of the classics. They are thorough, enlightening and enjoyable to read.

"The Whirling Circles of Ba Gua Zhang" is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the Taoist martial arts. It addresses a broad spectrum of issues relating to the art of Ba Gua Zhang, thus it has much to offer both the pure beginner and the more advanced practitioner. Topics covered range from the Taoist philosophy at the core of the art to detailed information about the deerhorn knives set to the poetic yet pragmatic sayings of the art's founder. I particularly enjoyed the first 50 pages which are devoted entirely to discussing the history of Ba Gua Zhang and the colorful cast of characters who helped it evolve into what it is today. In short, I would highly recommend this book.

This is a clearly written, basic overview of BaGua. Essentially, it's written like an introduction of the subject to the Western culture-- a useful book for those who know little about BaGuaZhang. In the first part, we are treated to a very wide overview of BaGua's history, with a number of stories-- many with mystical flavor still intact. Given that BaGua is a relatively new martial art, the authors can go into some detail in a fairly short space-- roughly 15% of this book is history. They also, I think, fairly, speculate that the reason for much of BaGua's obscurity is the relative youth of this art-- what few masters that developed subsequently saw their skills lost over generations in the many Chinese cultural revolutions that ensued.

This is followed by instruction on basic concepts-- circle walking, stances, palm training, VERY rudimentary energetics. I guess I was hoping for more. For much more on biomechanics, see the books by Park Bok Nam. That being said, the instruction in this book is clearly stated.

Later, we are introduced to the Old Eight Palms of Cheng Shi family BaGua as interpreted by Liu Jing Ru. Some photos of Liu doing his stuff are included. Unfortunately, most of the photos are of the authors, and unlike on the cover, in the photos inside they are wearing very loose "tradiitonal" kung fu outfits that make it very difficult to discern what they are truly doing-- even basic spinal alignment. Me, I love going to seminars where the masters come out in sweats and a T-shirt. George Xu, for example, is famous for letting you put your hands practically anywhere on his body to feel what he is doing. The text of this book, while clear, is very basic.

Similarly, a basic overview of weapons, and a presentation of the Deer Horns Set (which is very similar to the empty hands set entitled "Cascading Palms" form, aka "Flexible Chain Palms" depending on your source-- which is a more advanced form in the system. Again, my same comments about clothing and content apply.

Incidentally, Grandmaste Liu has his own VCDs/DVDs and books now (all but one book in Chinese--available via Internet-- I got mine in SF Chinatown), and one can see him in action. He is quite good, and gives a fairly "pure" BaGua flavor. It is sometimes hard to find this flavor-- George Xu himself, for example, will admit his forms are all blends at this stage-- and his BaGua is heavily influenced by Hsing-I and Lan Shou, among others.

There is an overview of applications that is basic concepts but not really applications. Despite being familiar with BaGua applications myself, I had a hard time discerning what was really happening in the photos-- usually one or two stills for each application, and an explanation that basically said: "Thunder techniques have the quality of a shockwave..." Basically, not very helpful outside a a philosophical understanding of intention, but not the mechanics.

Finally, there is a translation of the Songs of BaGua-- historically the classic means of transmitting the basic principles of BaGua from generation to generation. Again, the translation is basic-- that is, without a lot of more in-depth discussion exploring details and experiences that might help the intermediate-advanced student.

This book did blend in concepts of BK Frantzis' water meditation techniques into circle walking to a more advanced levels-- concepts that I did not get even from Frantzis' two books on the subject. That alone gave me something to work on, and made this books worth it to me.

In summary, a good book as a reference to sequence for these particular forms, and especially good as a basic basic introduction to the BaGua concept, but not a hard core martial artist's book.

Most martial arts books are passionless. My library is full of books that have lots of interesting content but little real human interest to me. Until recently the only martial arts books I loved were T.T. Liang's books on Tai Chi. Somehow the energy, the slyness of character, his love of his art came through. You knew Tai Ji was worth doing because it meant something to Liang. That was it until Frank Allen and Tina Zhang started publishing their internal martial arts series. These books are full of the love and passion that they have for these arts. I've reviewed the Tai Ji book before and will talk about the Ba Gua book now. The thing both books have in common is the completeness of the discussion of the art. In the Ba Gua book we have a detailed history of the arts beginnings and its subsequent development to our time. Frank and Tina don't pass on or make up fantastic tales. Where Dong Hai Chuan got his art isn't known they tell us; describing the tales that have been told but making clear in the end that Dong himself never said how he found or developed the art. But the history since Dong has been well researched and carefully presented so that we clearly understand the development strands that have developed. The best thing about all of this is that the authors own interest in the material comes through and helps in riveting our attention and memory of it. Next the book describes the basic training of a Ba Gua student. This is often neglected in standard books which is a shame because students need this kind of reference when they are practicing and need to remember how to hold the hands or a particular stance. There is discussion and demonstration of basic circle walking a la the Cheng style. Next the Cheng style eight palm changes are shown and discussed and these discussions are an excellent reference for someone who has been through the basic training in the Cheng style. After this the authors discuss the applications of Ba Gua for fighting and then the weapons of Ba Gua are shown and discussed. The next 3 chapters are for me the most important part of the book. In here are discussions of how to train, the philosophic and spiritual content of Ba Gua, Ba Gua's relationship to Taoism and to the I Ching. All of these are important and they are discussed with much care but not in a way to confuse or in attempt to make the authors seem to be above the reader. These issues are important for the student because they help connect you to the reasons for why we do the internal arts - the joy that rises up in us as we learn to connect to the Tao. The translations of the Ba Gua Zhang classics are, like the translations in the Tai Ji book, very practical and down to earth - making clear the principals of the art of Ba Gua Zhang. This book should be on your shelf if you consider yourself a sincere student of the internal arts - no matter what your level. And you should be hoping that the authors are writing a third book to finish their explications of the internal arts - a book on Xing Yi. We owe Frank and Tina much thanks for their passion and devotion to their art.

Dr Painter is an excellent writer and teacher and his books are very helpful in understanding this art, which is Jiulong Baguazhang specifically. Internal martial arts rocks!

This book and the second book by John Painter are the first books that I have seen that have the primary goal of teaching Baguazhang as a modern day self defense system.
Other books seem to be more focused on the cultural or personal experience aspects. In these books, Dr. Painter combines the effective historical Baguazhang with more recent discoveries in training. And presents them in a very well explained and easy to understand manner.

The books are very well written with lot of pictures and drawings to illustrate the contents.
I also recommend getting the 6 DVDs that Painter made, along with the two books. As good as the books are, it is helpful to watch the techniques demonstrated. Both the books and DVDs are published by Unique Publications and there is more information on the DVDs at Artemis Seminars.

I highly recommend Dr. Painter's Books and DVDs for anyone that wants to learn Baguazang as a modern day self defense martial art.

Dr. John Painter has finally put down some of the most well written information out there on Baguazhang in general and his system of Jiulong Baguazhang in specifics.

The material in both volume one & two is is presented with no fluff, and none of the mystical mumbo jumbo like mishmash that you see from other people who have written books in the past.

What you get is a straight forward approach to how this system of Chinese martial arts is trained from the very first stages to advanced levels.

You will learn how to sit and quiet the mind.

Learn how to stand correctly for health and combat effectiveness.

Study skills that will lead you to better understanding of yourself, your body, your mind and the reality of combat.

I cannot recommend these two books enough.

Sincerely,

Dale Dugas

This is an excellent book for either the beginning student of Baguazhang such as myself, or an advanced player as well. Dr. Painter's writing is clear and concise. He tackles a wide range of subjects, from the basic stretching and warming up you first learn to more advanced topics such as power generation and combat principles. There is a ton of information in this book and Dr. Painter is widely known and respected both as a martial arts teacher as well as a Law Enforcement trainer.

The best part about this book is that there is no mystical or esoteric material. Jiulong and Dr. Painter's methods are scientific and to-the-point. I think there are alot of misinterpretations with the "internal martial arts" that they are mysitcal and hard to understand. Dare I say this is a revolution from that misconception. This book is based on science, body mechanics and physiology.

A great read for anyone interested in martial arts in general. People from all styles can benefit from these *principles* and teachings. Thank you Dr. Painter for bringing this material to light!

This book and the first book by John Painter are the first books that I have seen that have the primary goal of teaching Baguazhang as a modern day self defense system.
Other books seem to be more focused on the cultural or personal experience aspects. In these books, Dr. Painter combines the effective historical Baguazhang with more recent discoveries in training. And presents them in a very well explained and easy to understand manner.

The two books by Dr. Painter are very well written with lot of pictures and drawings to illustrate the contents.
I also recommend getting the 6 DVDs that Painter made, along with the two books. As good as the books are, it is helpful to watch the techniques demonstrated. Both the books and DVDs are published by Unique Publications and there is more information on the DVDs at Artemis Seminars.

I highly recommend Dr. Painter's Books and DVDs for anyone that wants to learn Baguazang as a modern day self defense martial art.

There are a lot of books on Bagua, at least compared to a few years ago. This volume, written as a collaboration between Master Gao Ji Wu and Tom Bisio, is one of the best on the market. The pictures are large and clear (definitely a plus in a martial arts book). The background information is good, well written and avoids the strictly legendary. Bagua is a style like Taijiquan but even more sophisticated and this text gets you moving like a Bagua student without confusing you in the process. Definitely belongs in the library.

Never write reviews, don't have the time, but this book was simply outstanding. I have practiced Wudang Tai Chi Chuan for over 10 years, & have fought in the san shou circuits throughout Europe; basically I have a bit of an interest in martial arts. As a fighter I loathe the way many Nei Jia Arts have been watered down to appeal to the lazy new age group.
This book is complete with the Bagua classics, a great compliment to the Tai Chi Chuan classics. A commentary follows each verse from the classics, that explains in a clear fashion the principles and practicalities being conveyed by the passages.
The book's explanations on conditioning, Gung training and applications are direct and practical, devoid of any flowery mystical approach, i.e. the authors know what they are talking about. I have rarely heard of Ba Gua Practitioners walking the circle on up turned bricks with blocks supported on their arms. Yet I have often heard them speak of sure footedness and balance, and using the arm as a platform for locking throws. The authors here demonstrate these gung practice methods and their benefits are immediately obvious to anyone who has seriously trained in the Nei Jia Arts.
Many books on Nei Jia leave me disappointed; this on the other hand was a breath of fresh air.
Inspirational!!

Absolutely THE BEST book (AND DVD) on the market on the subject of Emei style Baguazhang. I study under Mr. Wen-Ching Wu at The Way of The Dragon in Rhode Island and believe me he knows exactly what he is doing when it comes to Chinese Martial Arts. I rate this book a BEST BUY if you are interested in Baguazhang!!!!!!!

After further reflection, and being a little bit older and presumably wiser; I would rate this book 5 stars for being so comprehensive and having so many translations. This book along with the video tapes or DVD has the broadest coverage of Baguazhang.

(I would change the rating to 5 stars, but the Amazon editor won't let me.)

I have found this book to be the most comprehensive book on Baguazhang. It includes:

* Baguazhang lineage.
* Hundreds of pictures showing different forms and steps.
* Demonstrates applications.

As good as it is I had trouble following the forms. It would have been better if there had been a circle marked on the floor to show orientation. Frequently the pictures are taken from different angles and this causes confusion as to which direction the practitioner is turning.

I would also strongly recommend getting the first two video tapes that go along with this book. Get the third after you have mastered the first two. Without the video tapes it is impossible to comprehend the fluidity and motion of Baguazhang.

I don't believe that it is possible to learn Baguazhang from a book alone, but this book makes a good compliment to lessons.

I have an intuitive feel from most the martial arts and sports I have practiced, so I will give from that in order to help.

I have a lot of instruction in the area of sports and martial arts. The one thing I have learned that has stayed with me is to give 110% in everything you do. This gives light to the fact that martial arts are work - and they require a lot of time and effort. Not only must one bust their butts during the class, but they must also bust their butts outside of class. Homework. All sports or martial arts require homework. Without this practice in the classroom will never improve. So basically your time, energy, and money are wasted. Remember this while searching for a teacher or coach.

This is a good book. There is no other book that is available in the U.S. that has the level of experience necessary to fully explain what some of the masters from China have written.

There are other good books, but none have translated ancient texts like Dr. Yang has done.

-Calvin.

For the general mass of Martial Artists who enjoy being pulled by the tail through their martial arts program, I have some advice to offer: don't get this book. If you are looking for a 'ba gua how to' book for dummies, then you're barking at the wrong door.
Dr. Yang and Liang combine to put together what may be considered a compilation of research on Baguzhang that will leave the reader both baffled as well as inspired. The 'theoretical' aspect is not to be trifled with here and NOT for the mere historian. It is for the martial artist through and through. Give it to the historian and you give it to the door. The theoretical aspects of the art as laid down by Dr. Yang in this book are absolutely essential to gaining a deeper understanding of why BaGua is what it is, and anyone who would preach differently simply has not understood what the martial art is or simply has not understood the theory. BaGua is, in some respects, a 'mental' art. Furthermore, the forms and sequences, the training aspects of the art, as given in the book are offered as a 'taste' of what the art is. One cannot possibly offer all aspects of the art in a single book and perhaps not in 10 volumes on the subject - it is just too enormous, and this should lead one to consider the fact that without theory, that is, without principles for the proper application of and study of an art, which is precisely what this book offers, together with the basic training materials and movements, it is impossible to develop and attain any degree of perfection. Perfection does not come through the leash, it comes through understanding and creative application of one's principles. This book will help those who are truly interested in learning, to learn. It is a guide to the art, offering thousands of years of research upon a single platter. That, in itself, should be enough reason for the dedicated martial artist to buy this book and to seek to understand its contents through and through.

Having practiced Baguazhang for a number of years now, and having read a great many of the treatises available on it, I must say, I find this translation very cryptic. You might refer to Tim Cartmell's translation of Sun Luc Tang's Taijiquan book to make comparisons (as sections on Wu Ji and Tai Ji seem to be relating the same passages).

Crandall's translation may technically be accurate, but that does not mean it readily conveys the intended meanings. As there are no other versions of this text available in English it is an invaluable source of information to anyone researching Sun style Baguazhang, but you better have your Rosetta Stone handy if you want to make practical sense of it. Sun Luc Tang undoubtedly had very useful things to say, but distilling his meanings from this translation is quite a challenge. I'm glad I have it, but would really like to see something more readily comprehensible language-wise. These are subtle matters to convey, yes, but given other authors' relative lucidity on this subject, I don't really think a text has to be as cryptic as this one is.

If Crandall's intent was to directly translate the Chinese into English as accurately as possible, okay, perhaps job well done. However, if the intent was to provide a serviceable kung fu manual, then the results are puzzling at best. For beginners it will be extremely difficult to sort the proverbial wheat from the chaff. Other references or a great deal of experience are necessary in order to triangulate on the intended meanings. There is much that needs to be puzzled out as if you were doing a cross-word puzzle-- by carefully scrutinizing the context and not necessarily assuming it literally means what it seems to be saying.

Also, in my copy, the photographs are ghostly. It can be hard to discern what the hands are suppose to be doing, for instance.

The author performs a great service in translating this classic.

This translation gives the non-Chinese reader a ["taste"] of one of the most famous BaGua masters (Sun Lu Tang). Made available to the public for the 1st time.

It includes Sun Lutang's two books on Baguazhang- Bagua Quan Xue (the Study of Bagua Boxing) and Bagua Jian Xue (the Study of Bagua Sword).

Unlike previous copy, this new translation has copies of photos of Master Sun instead of the drawings.

fyi- Bagua Jian Xue (Sun's "BaGua Straight Sword" Study) is translated into English f/ the first time in this edition.
This is an essential text for the collector as well as the Internal Martial Arts player.

Following is a listing of items found in the Sun's sword's essay: Essential Text about Bagua (Changing) Sword (chapter 15); Ten Forms of Usage of Bagua's Sword (chapter 14); 8-Character Sword Practice (chapter 2); and a complete 8 part sword form (chapter 3-11).

As mentioned in a previous comment: This ["word f/ word"] translation does not get into unique opinions or advice. The translator delivers the core message of Sun Lutang that's precise and concise. It gets a 5 Stars recommendation from me.

I have had the great joy of owning ALL of Crandall's translations of Classical Baguazhang series. If you want excellent material at a very affordable price, this is the stuff you must add to your internal arts library. When compared to Erle's lackluster and amateurishly feeble attempts, this stuff shines out like a veritable beacon in the fog, which seperates the mist from the light! After reviewing the pitiful mistakes that Erle has vomited forth upon the unwary and unknowing public;
I would be remiss NOT to let you all know that Sifu Joeseph Crandall's works are the next best thing to having a Chinese Shrfu right there with you, guiding you all the way along as you explore the vast world of Bagua Zhang.

Joe's works epitomizes the TRUE seekers work in making available to us, the Western reader, some of the finest works on Bagua Zhang, translated into readable and understandable English. It's
all there: Yin Fu's Method, The Wudang style, which is a breeze to learn!, The Gao I Sheng method, The stylings of Sun Lu Tang, and more! One point that is against Sifu Crandalls stellar attempts: he sometimes makes errors in his translations, but hey;
who esle among us has taken the time and effort to put out anything on these manuscripts? Some of the errors come from the original Chinese texts themselves, and all Joe does is copy them verbatim. Joe is not an expert in all the methods he writes of, but he does a far far better job than Erle could ever dream of doing, with regards to Bagua Zhang. Erle, you should stick to the taiji you know, even if it is 2nd class. So, to sum up this review: Joe Crandall's volumes YES, Erles pitiable attempts NO!

First and foremost, if you are interested in a good book on a comprehensive study of Bagua, Park Bok Nam is the way to go. This book however, all I can say is, if you are more interested in just (random) applications and learning something that goes in the complete opposite direction of real Bagua, fine, then get this book. But just remember authentic Bagua is alot smoother which can make it more effective for defense along with creating greater health benefits and coordination.
I have been told Erle has excellent Taichi stuff, I guess its true. But like some of the other stuff of his I have checked out, he seems too tied up with dim-mak applications and san-shao to the point that you forget what it is you were originally studying.

After reading this book, I feel Erle needs to take a long vacation, and then begin a course in a class on ethics in publishing.

The stuff in this book is a complete and total fabrication of nonsense. It rots from the outside in. Erle should really stick to doing taiji, that is what he is competent in at least. Bagua is NOT his bailiwick! This book is a complete and utter dismal product. If you wish to see a book, and know what NOT to look for in a book on bagua zhang, this book fits the bill, totally and completely.

I would put this book on the same scale as those by Ashida Kim.
Published just to part the gullible from their money. If you epect this book to have the same flavor andauthority of his taiji materials (such as they are), you are barking up the wrong tree here. This book was produced to seperate the unwise and unwary from their had earned cash.

In fact the last couple of Erles attempts at writing, like his "Book of Qi", for example, have been total trash. If you want better books on Bagua, you still have to go to the Chinese sources for the best. Other than that, I woul much rather recommend books by Dan Miller and Park Bok nam, followed closely by John bracy, and then some of the stuff put out by Jerry Alan Johnson (if you like your bagua to have a shaolin flavor).

The absolute best materials are those put out by Liu Jingru and C S Tang "Dragon Stretches its Claws", and secondly by Joe Crandall, and his bagua zhang series of translated works. But be forewarned, Joe Crandall does make errors in translating the books he puts out, but since he does a better job of it than just about anyone else, he can be forgiven for his minor errors.

Now, to conclude this review: Avoid, with all due care, this worthless excuse for a bagua book. I wouldn't even use the pages to wrap fish with. I might wrap used pampers with them though, as that is all they are fit for.

Before I write a proper review of this book, I'd like to start with a brief story about other teacher's opinions of Earl.
About twelve years ago I asked a local tai chi teacher on what he thought of Earl. "All that's O.K.", he replied, "if you believe in throwing chi balls at your opponent."
Goodness - people really have it in for him. I don't know why, perhaps because he's wholly, and appropriately, broken down all the bull from the alternative arts which got so badly hijacked by the demi-hippie movements of the sixties and seventies. The teacher I write of in the above statement actually tought the Chen Man Ching short form...without wishing to offend anyone out there, there's a hell of a lot more to tai chi and the realated arts then some condensation of an already watered down form. And where do these people get their ideas of chi balls? The only person I know of writing about that sort of stuff today if B.K. Frantzis, and to be frank, I wouldn't want to mess with him whether he did tai chi/bagwa or not!
Earl and his stuff gets it from both ends. People accuse him of being too 'magical' about the effectiveness of his styles, (hence the 'chi-ball' remark), or he's labelled as being just another external artist pretending to do internal. That must be where the rub really is. How can you defend yourself without being even a little bit external? Are you going to think them to death???
And so, onto the book. To be fair it's not that pretty to look at, and if you don't already have some knowledge of Bagwa then it might drive you round the twist, as it where, (sorry, bad pun). But there is still a lot to be gotten out of it, even for the novice.
The real benefits of this rather large volume, though, comes after you know a bit about the art and this style of it in particular. I've been pracitising tai chi and bagwa for nearly forteen years now, (goodnes - where does the time go?!), and this book is still a help to me even three or four years after I got it. It's a reference, that's all. No way would I want, or even fully attempt to learn the basics of Bagwa from it - the systems just too comlex. Buy the accompanying DVD, which has everything that's in the book, and learn from that.
Now, as to the content of the book - well, it's pretty superb. Earl does know his stuff, and from experience I can tell you that it works. Bagwa is incrediably good for your health and is so powerful for self defence, but it takes work and dedication.
The last point I'd like to make is that much of the stuff is external - it has to be whilst your learning the forms and practising the qi gong. It takes years of development, in tai chi and bagwa, for the style to become 'internal' - where the forms 'do' themselves at the tiniest, slightest levels. Luckily, until then we still have the benefits of the exercise from the forms and the qi, which will still circulate even at basic levels. You can't just go into these arts and 'be' internal, unless you're pretty special, because they challenge many of our beliefs about 'hard vs. soft', and because we've picked up so many bad habbits over the years.
So, it's a very good book, but perhaps not entirely for the novice. Get the DVD.
Oh, and don't buy the book. You can download it for free on Earl's site. The man seems to put his money where his mouth is.
Ironically, there are not many books on Bagwa out there, but the ones that are are nearly all good. This is no different.
Bagwa should last you a life time, and not just of mindlessley doing the forms. There are people I know who just keep coming back to it, because it has intricasies that are so challenging.
It should also be able to teach you something solid about defending yourself right from the very begining, and this does. The sixty-four palm changes are so powerful and defensive that you really should be able to deliver a hard, albeit external, blow from the off - the basic stuff is just body meachnics. In fact, I believe that Earl used to teach these to law enforcement officers in Australia who needed some way of attack/defence very quickly.
In my own opinion, after all these years of repeatedly having my eyes openned to the posibilities and effectiveness of Bagwa, I would say that, for any style of martial art class, if you walk in as a novice and don't pick up a powerful way of defending/attacking in your first lesson, then don't go back - life's too short to dilly around to another man's drum...go with your own and get on with life. After all, it is just a martial art.
And for those armchair martial artists who want pretty suits and someone they can call master and bow down to every five minutes, I say this: if you haven't had any experience of fighting for your life on the streets, then read Geoff Thompson's books - they're gruesome and horrible, and they paint an exact picture of what it's like.
Remember, Bagwa, like Hsing-I an Taiji, were developed to survive the unexpected and ultimate confrontations, and the instruction in this book reflects that - it's for life, not for the safety of the dojo.
Someone once said 'you know when you've got the right art when you fear actually having to use it', well, that's certainly true of this.
Personally, I try to enjoy it for it's health and beauty.
Long review, bit o' politics, but I hope it helps.

I've seen the criticism of Erle's BaGuaZhang book & felt compelled to offer a few words in his defence, since his training materials have been a big help to me. He provides certain insights into ChiKung & BaGuaZhang that are not easily found elsewhere-- insights that have proven their worth to me in actual practice. The scope of his materials is perhaps only matched or exceeded by the training videos offered by Dr. Xie Peiqi & He Jinbao (via Plum Flower Press).

That said I would not want to use this book without the BaGuaZhang videos he provides via his website.

Park Bok Nom's books on the subject are excellent & provide much more on fundamental training practices, but stop short of the forms. Whereas, Erle's stuff tends to emphasize the forms & their application. Together, a beginning student might just have the best resources available, short of personally training with a truly knowledgeable teacher. "Baguazhang: Emei Baguazhang" by Liang Shou-Yu, Yang Jwing-Ming & Wu Wen-Ching is another good resource.

As far as accusations that Erle's BaGuaZhang is fake... you hear a lot of that kind of bad-mouthing going on between the students of various branches. Each seems to have their claim to being the most authentic. Personally, the deeper I get into BaGuaZhang the more commonality I see: Luo De Xia is a respected BaGuaZhang artist who I also study and his teachings are not terribly dissimilar from Erle's. You need to get past the superficial differences & get to the principles at work. If Sun Luc Tang's or Ch'eng Ting-Hua's or Jiang Rongqiao's branches of BaGuaZhang are under suspicion, then Erle & Park might be accomplices.

Regarding "fa jing", Erle's approach is less mechanistic that most other's I've seen, but taken along with those who instruct on the "proper" body mechanics (like Park Bok Nom), his "angle" is worth at least considering, especially for those practicing nei gong.

And when it comes to "dim mak", who the hell knows? This stuff, it it can really be made to function, is so advanced that there are very few authorities who can meaningfully address the subject. Meanwhile, most of us have a lot of practice to do just to master the more physcial aspects of BaGuaZhang.

Erle's approach is more free-wheeling and less heirarchical than most you'll find. This may rub some people the wrong way-- those who prefer something a bit more formulaic. Clearly, Erle is doing a lot of creative and interpretive work. As there should be. We must think for ourselves, practice, research and explore; and not rigidly follow someone else's "way". This is implicit in the I Ching. And this is why there are so many different schools of BaGuaZhang-- every teacher evolves their own way of doing it based on a common framework of principles. Erle definitely has insights worth considering, as do many other BaGuaZhang teachers.

Practice then consider. There is no other way. Talk is cheap.

I had wondered about Montaigue for some time, seeing articles by him in magazines and such. He is enthusiastistic about the internal arts but I always questioned his legitimacy. I decided to get this book since i've become a student of pa kua in recent years and wanted to get as much information as I could. I feel I really wasted my money on this book. From what I have studied these few years, his pa kua has little or nothing to offer in the way of real internal power, just moves and strategy with none of the heart and soul of what this style entails. Perhaps he mixed some strategy with other arts and decided that was the secret to it. I don't know what he was thinking. Either way I remain a skeptic as to his legitimacy as a real practitioner from this effort. It's unfortunate because I was hoping for more from him. By the way, what's with the kids in the application photos, others who reviewed this book mentioned it but am I the only one disturbed by these? Anyway it's better to find other books that have much more profound information. particularly those with songs about principles and the like. I recently sold this book to a used book store; I can't help but feel I shouldn't have even promoted the sale of this book that far.