If your friend gets in full-on fights as part of her security job, then she needs to be
very careful about what sorts of martial arts she pursues. Environmental awareness and being able to maintain central equilibrium become far more important than the style or lineage she trains. The practical hands-on experience of and clarity of instruction provided by the teacher are key.
This program,
http://womenspersonaldefense.com/, is affiliated with the Hsin Lu Tao school,
http://hsinlutao.com, which offers baguazhang training--but more importantly, offers training in basic fighting skills and kali/escrima weapons skills. Your friend would need to check with the instructors as to the provenance of their baguazhang.
Other than that, she will probably have to travel to either the Santa Fe area (He Jinbao has a small group training up there) or to San Antonio, Austin or Dallas periodically to get some basic training material. She will absolutely need training partners to learn how bagua--or any other martial art--works in fighting. Bagua is much more frequently taught as an art of performance and solo cultivation than as a practical art of self-defense.
If self-defense rather than silk-pyjama'ed self-cultivation is her goal, she may well be better off finding some playmates and working with a group like Pramek
http://pramek.com.
Tim Cartmell,
http://shenwu.com used to teach a group led by Abdullah Orozco at NM State@Las Cruces. Abdullah is at the University of Washington now, but Tim (
shenwu@verizon.net) might be able to check with him about contacts in the area.
by BaguaKicksAss on Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:57 pm 
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