Hey there everyone! I have taken extreme intrest in Baguazhang and I have been searching for schools, but in my area, there are none that I can find. So what should I do? Give up? I mean, I’ve read that the real way to learn is through an actual teacher, not a book or video…any advice? I live in Florida BTW. Thanks in advance!
[QUOTE=Laz;981088]Hey there everyone! I have taken extreme intrest in Baguazhang and I have been searching for schools, but in my area, there are none that I can find. So what should I do? Give up? I mean, I’ve read that the real way to learn is through an actual teacher, not a book or video…any advice? I live in Florida BTW. Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]
what city in fl?
from http://rumsoakedfist.org/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=509
Name: Andrew Chung
School: Chung’s Luk Hop Kung Fu & Tai Chi
Address: 3300 SW 46th Avenue, Bay 3, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33314
Phone: 954.224.9940
E-mail: chungtaiqi@aol.com
Website: http://www.chungskungfu.com
Styles: Yang Family Tai Chi Chuan, Hebei Hsing-I Chuan, Pa Kua Chang, Hakka Kuen, Wing Chun
Teacher Name : Benjamin Sanchez
School : Heaven Man Earth International (Miami)
Address : 1 Washington Ave, Miami Beach, FL, USA
Phone : 305 360 9198
Email : benjamin@heavenmanearth.com
Website : www.heavenmanearth.com
Styles : Taiji
Lineage : Huang Sheng Shyan
Name Nick Scrima
School Chinese Martial Arts Center
Address 1370 Main St., Dunedin, FL
Phone 727.734.8222
E-mail kungfu@usa.com
Styles Mizong Luohan; Fan Tzi Eagle Claw; Yang Taijiquan; Xingyiquan;
Baguazhang; Shuai Jiao
Misc International CMA Tournament, every summer, in central Florida
Name Shifu Elio Tarrago
School Essence of Evolution
E-mail infocmia@chinesemartialinternalarts.com
Website Essence of Evolution
hi Laz.
welcome aboard.
may i ask what interests you in Baguazhang? and what are your goals for learning it?
if you can figure that out, it will help u find what u are looking for.
baguazhang is a woderfully complicated art compared to a basic kick and punch approach. i mean that it is heavily layered.
i agree with my grandteacher Hung that learning xingyi first is best way to go, since you would learn how to utilize the structure of the “internal” arts faster as well as create a strong base of fighting techs and strategies faster. of course u can learn bagua without previous experience. but the general fighting flavor, if one wants to call it that, would be a heck of a lot easier if u already have some kind of base and experience.
honestly, finding the best and most capable teacher in your area is what i most recommend - regardless of style. if you have an ok bagua guy but an excellent yi quan guy near you, learn that!
just never try to learn from a book or video!!! those are really only truly used as references for students.
looking at the names provided, i would go and check them all out, and see which one feels like it fits you the best.
btw, glad to see and EoE school around! su dong chen has a great method of breaking things down!
[QUOTE=Laz;981088]Hey there everyone! I have taken extreme intrest in Baguazhang and I have been searching for schools, but in my area, there are none that I can find. So what should I do? Give up? I mean, I’ve read that the real way to learn is through an actual teacher, not a book or video…any advice? I live in Florida BTW. Thanks in advance![/QUOTE]the foundation of bagua is walking the circle… even without a school you can simply train the foundations as long as you like until you do find a school, at which point you will have a solid foundation to begin taking external lessons if and when the time comes.
personally, the best teacher is yourself… think about it, when someone shows you something, they don’t do it for you, they just show you and in order to be shown something, you must watch and imitate - osmosis, it truly is freely available for anyone to use at any time. 
There’s also post heaven (linear) bagua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22PM_Rz20k
Well thanks for all the replies guys, it is much appreciated! Well I first was just browsing videos on youtube and I stumbled across Cheng Style Bagua…I was blown away. I was literally in awe at the beauty and grace of the fluid motions. I am just eager to learn and I think it has very many personal benefits, along with the fact it just looks amazing. I know at first my movements would be clumsy, but I am willing to try extremely hard to get them down. The reason why I was so intrested it in, was because I have never seen anything like it. Oh I also live in Loxahatchee.
[QUOTE=kfson;981239]There’s also post heaven (linear) bagua:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E22PM_Rz20k[/QUOTE]i was amazed in the similarity of movements between this video and my own form.
is it safe to assume that is you demonstrating??
[QUOTE=uki;981590]i was amazed in the similarity of movements between this video and my own form.
is it safe to assume that is you demonstrating??[/QUOTE]
Very unsafe. I do not practice Bagua. Although, I am currently investigating the History, Peoples, and subgroups of Bagua.
[QUOTE=kfson;981595]Although, I am currently investigating the History, Peoples, and subgroups of Bagua.[/QUOTE]the beauty is found in the circles. thanks for the video…
[QUOTE=Laz;981368]Well thanks for all the replies guys, it is much appreciated! Well I first was just browsing videos on youtube and I stumbled across Cheng Style Bagua…I was blown away. I was literally in awe at the beauty and grace of the fluid motions. I am just eager to learn and I think it has very many personal benefits, along with the fact it just looks amazing. I know at first my movements would be clumsy, but I am willing to try extremely hard to get them down. The reason why I was so intrested it in, was because I have never seen anything like it. Oh I also live in Loxahatchee.[/QUOTE]
Laz,
Some advice for ya, maybe you will find it useful. While the movements you see in youtube clips are amazing the “real deal” comes in doing alot of circle walking, just basic focused circle walking. If you’ve done a sufficient amount of that.. the rest of it is a much less difficult proposition.
Here is the thing though.. if you only practice in class.. and especially if you only walk the circle in class.. you will always suck at bagua. Period. (well unless you have 4 hours of class per day or something weird). You can get good at fighting alot easier than you can get good at bagua!
You have to learn how to practice on your own and do it very well and regularly. Most bagua people will tell you, if they are honest, that this is always a challenge.
So while you need to find the best teacher you can, with the best method.. you only need to learn a few things from them in the first few years.. specifically the circle walking method.
Learn that, and how to stand the bagua way.. and go train it till it’s a living thing you have dreams and nightmares about. And almost all of that training will be just you “in the yard”.. grinding it out. That’s what it takes, and if you don’t give it that.. you will always suck at bagua.
And the messed up thing is.. even if you succeed at doing the circle walking hard enough for long enough (years worth) it will mean very little to most people (even so-called bagua people).
It has to be worth it to you.. and only to you. Good luck!
[QUOTE=dimethylsea;981648]Laz,
Here is the thing though.. if you only practice in class.. and especially if you only walk the circle in class.. you will always suck at bagua. Period. (well unless you have 4 hours of class per day or something weird). You can get good at fighting alot easier than you can get good at bagua!
You have to learn how to practice on your own and do it very well and regularly. Most bagua people will tell you, if they are honest, that this is always a challenge.
[/QUOTE]
How many minutes/hours per day do you recommend someone to practice? This could be beginners-experts.
Not being a Bagua practitioner, it seems like people describe Bagua as requiring more time for practice than other styles.
[QUOTE=kfson;981714]How many minutes/hours per day do you recommend someone to practice? This could be beginners-experts.
Not being a Bagua practitioner, it seems like people describe Bagua as requiring more time for practice than other styles.[/QUOTE]
I can’t say from my own experience because I’m not living up to the standards I’ve chosen to follow myself.
My teachers (past and present) have advised as follows..
Sifu Glenn always said that one hour of circle walking per day for a year was the absolute minimum to BEGIN to understand the circle walking practice. This was a heel-toe “natural step” style of circle walking practice (similar to how He Jinbao walks the circle only not quite so macho looking).
Yang Laoshi my present teacher says that he wants us to go through lots of shoes walking the circle. The style of circle walking he teaches uses a “grinding” kinda step with the heel down and the toe elevated, preferably on rough surfaced tile, asphalt or concrete, to get the good friction.
I’m figuring that amounts to at least an hour a day of circle walking (and a method of walking that is tough enough you have to stop for breath every 10-15 minutes or so).
So most serious bagua teachers in the lineage preach a similar gospel.
An hour a day is the minimum they want to see to know you are serious as a casual student.
Three hours a day for 10 years is the traditional prescription for “inheritors”.
Please note I am stating OUTRIGHT I am not at this level of dedication (neither the 1 hour nor the 3). I get maybe 3 hours a week in dedicated circle walking (static upper body or single palm change).
More awesome replies thanks guys I think I can do the circle walking for at least an hour a day. Although, how do I know if I am doing it right? Do I need certain shoes? Shouldn’t I learn how to do the walk straight first? I thought I read that somewhere…
[QUOTE=Laz;981865]More awesome replies thanks guys I think I can do the circle walking for at least an hour a day. Although, how do I know if I am doing it right? Do I need certain shoes?[/QUOTE]
Aha, this is a thread I planned to start. What shoes do you use? Do you use different shoes for different styles?
I prefer thinner sole shoes so there is less likelihood for collapsing an ankle. I have used Converse Chuck Taylor, but they don’t fit me at my big toe. Presently I’m using Adidas Rod Laver tennis shoes and Adidas Samba indoor soccer shoes.
i wear leather keens… waterproof, non-slip… i also been wearing leather snow boots alot this year so far when training. 
[QUOTE=Laz;981865]More awesome replies thanks guys I think I can do the circle walking for at least an hour a day. Although, how do I know if I am doing it right? Do I need certain shoes? Shouldn’t I learn how to do the walk straight first? I thought I read that somewhere…[/QUOTE]
You need a teacher bro. Find a good one (preferably one who can tell you their lineage back to Dong Haichuan the founder), who has a good method.
The best way to do this is do your homework, find out the best teachers within the geographic area you can get to (even for a brief visit). Call them or email them and tell them that you are a newb and wish to visit, pay for a private lesson and learn their basic circle walking practice. Bring a camera if you can. If they want to teach you other things politely decline and just learn circle walking and (at most) single palm change.
Go and take a private lesson with them, ask if you can film your own lesson (this is usually not a problem if you are paying for the lesson). Learn their version of the basics (in your head at least) and take lots of notes.
Then comes the hard part. You go home and spend an hour a day for 3 months working it. Then go back for another private lesson and corrections. Do that for a year or two. If you work it like this you will have a good foundation and you will be able to judge whether your present teacher is good enough to take you further or whether you need to move up to a teacher with more skill.
Pick the best teacher you can initially and work their method per their instructions for a half year, at an hour a day. You’ll have a better foundation than most bagua people do, if you can manage this.
[QUOTE=uki;981878]i wear leather keens… waterproof, non-slip… i also been wearing leather snow boots alot this year so far when training. :D[/QUOTE]
Drop the leather snow boots.
Frog style Bagua:
How much would these shoes cost? I don’t have a job (Although I am in the process of looking for one) I only have running shoes and some converse high tops. And I cannot seem to find ANY teachers that are not 2 hours away from me. All the schools are on the west coast of Florida…
[QUOTE=Laz;981884]How much would these shoes cost? I don’t have a job (Although I am in the process of looking for one) I only have running shoes and some converse high tops. And I cannot seem to find ANY teachers that are not 2 hours away from me. All the schools are on the west coast of Florida…[/QUOTE]you’re screwed dude…
Its seems so 