I have recently become interested in learning Zhaobao Taijiquan, I won't bore with too many details but I read a very interesting article in Tai Chi magazine a few years back that piqued my interest. There was some suggestion of there being a link to Yang Lu Chan with Zhaobao because this style also emphasizes point striking etc ... the faint suggestion was that Zhaobao may have been an influential factor in the invention of Yang Style rather than Chen and there was further discussion of the Taoist origins of Zhaobao but personally I think the origins are more likely Military.
In any case I have seen a little of Zhaobao here and there and I liked what I saw a great deal so would be very interested to hear from anybody with experience in it's techniques, practice and application.