post a basic 8 step bagua walking video, please

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tried to search for one and boy it's a lot of garbage out there of people talking endlessly about their hip joint or scapula or nature or whatever, then not even doing a circle walk.

p.s. it's also annoying me when someone does some nice demo but does 9 steps, then 10 steps, and so on, inconsistently around their demo circle, lol. I want to see the "ba" (8) gua....

[origami_itto]

There's some on here

https://mindfulmotiontaichi.com/home/media/

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Thanks. Looks like he walks a 20 step circle.

Guess nobody is walking ba steps. Odd.

[origami_itto]

It looks to me like he's walking 8 steps between each change in the video "Pa-Kua Chang 8 Inner Palms"

the circle is bigger than 8 steps, yeah, lol. I mean...

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lol sure it may seem silly but yeah looking for some nice 8 step circle examples. "8 trigrams" a bit literally.

don't care about changes, throws, long winded explanations about feet, etc.

Thanks for looking for one

[D_Glenn]

Here’s an 8 step Circle. A little bit of talking but…

This is our biggest diameter circle. I’ve been practicing a 3 step circle lately. The tip of your shoulder is the center.



https://youtu.be/crXYjl1RLcY?si=tpwFkvfg_QnXT8hE

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wonderful, thank you so much!

Was just re-reading the Li Zi Ming book (Liang Zhen Pu Eight Diagram Palm on some of the basic tips. A couple of them are to do 8 steps as a beginner and inside foot is on the "line" (tangent line, I suppose), outside foot toes in to stay on the circle/octagon. Similar to some of what the video says/shows. P.S. I can't absorb all the instruction at the moment, but the "talking" is excellent, lol.

[D_Glenn]

Everything,
The most important thing is to just try to step naturally (ziranbu). But that’s difficult to do because of the turning. The best thing to always ensure good knee health is that you want to be gripping the ground with your toes. In order to do that you need to first pull your toes back and spread them out, like a hand spreading open, and then they can actually grip something. It’s hard to do with shoes on. But this will protect the tendons of the knee because it keeps them relaxed when the foot comes into contact with the ground. If you simply have your toes pointed forward, without being pulled back, it stretches the patellar tendon, which then gets jammed back into your knee.
The turning of the foot should be mostly done using the thighs, opening and closing the Kua.

This Lion posture is a good upper body development. Don’t bend your spine to the side. Instead try to use your intercostal muscles to spread your ribcage open on the upper arm, and squeeze them closed on the inside arm. Try to keep your shoulder’s wide. Which will also expand your ribcage. This posture, over some months of training, can add at least 4 inches to your reach measurement.

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[origami_itto]

This is a bit different, but something I really like. The posts are arranged according to the post-heaven bagua.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umBJO3_RVl4

[D_Glenn]

Origami,
I don’t know that with those sticks that you have to constantly navigate around that it would let you get into the Zhuang state of mind.
Circle Turning is trying to kill two eagles with one arrow. It’s a Gong Li practice and a Xing Zhuang (Moving Meditation). In order to get to the stage of getting cognitive and mental benefits the Moving part needs to be something you don’t have to think about. You also need to practice for a significant amount of time in order to reach the 3rd stage where the mental benefits can arise.

过尾闾关时需要细步慢行，如羊驾车；经过夹脊关时象鹿驾车，可以大步急奔；过玉枕关时，通道较小，要象牛驾车一样用力猛冲。 从泥丸宫下行要结合沐浴和退符，使得到初步凝练的药归于丹田。

[In order to 'Open the Three Gates' ] {Passing through the first/ 'Tailbone Gate' by pulling under the tailbone then carefully take a step and start to walk slowly around like a Goat pulling a cart. When working at passing through the 'Middle/ Spine Gate' one begins to move a little quicker like a Deer pulling a cart, where you're taking large strides, rapidly moving forward. Then, Passing through the 'Upper Gate', the road/ path is now comparatively narrow and you must be more like an Ox pulling a cart, physically exerting and charging forward. Then finally, cooling down, slow down the walking and you let the energy flow downward from the pituitary gland (Mud Pill Palace), joining with and immersed in the calming of the breath. Slowing down the breathing combined with the slowed stepping. As the stepping and breathing is slowed the Elixir (炁 Qì) is gradually brought back into the 丹田 Dān​tián.}

Most people only practice a short time and only experience the Goat Pulling a Cart stage. Which is just awkward and uncomfortable, and they give up on Circle Turning.

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difficult to do because of the turning

I do more "complex" futbol turns (you can sort of think of them sort of like "double foot changes" rather than palm changes doing sleight-of-foot magic tricks sometimes with a built-in ward off in the upper body), sometimes in a circle walking way, with continuous agile changes, apparent hard-to-follow movement on the outside, stillness on the inside (for reading the game), etc... but not gonna lie, these "simple" turns with only 8 steps are rather difficult! especially with trying to mind the other points. I am wearing "barefoot" shoes and being careful of a knee injury/rehab so those foot/tendon tips are much appreciated. just beginner-BGZ is endlessly interesting. is "zhan zhuang" really the IMA foundation? or is "walking"? lol.

[origami_itto]

Origami,
I don’t know that with those sticks that you have to constantly navigate around that it would let you get into the Zhuang state of mind.
Circle Turning is trying to kill two eagles with one arrow. It’s a Gong Li practice and a Xing Zhuang (Moving Meditation). In order to get to the stage of getting cognitive and mental benefits the Moving part needs to be something you don’t have to think about. You also need to practice for a significant amount of time in order to reach the 3rd stage where the mental benefits can arise.
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The folks that I know that practice it don't seem to share those misgivings.

This is a better example of something like I've seen.

[D_Glenn]

difficult to do because of the turning

I do more "complex" futbol turns (you can sort of think of them sort of like "double foot changes" rather than palm changes doing sleight-of-foot magic tricks sometimes with a built-in ward off in the upper body), sometimes in a circle walking way, with continuous agile changes, apparent hard-to-follow movement on the outside, stillness on the inside (for reading the game), etc... but not gonna lie, these "simple" turns with only 8 steps are rather difficult! especially with trying to mind the other points. I am wearing "barefoot" shoes and being careful of a knee injury/rehab so those foot/tendon tips are much appreciated. just beginner-BGZ is endlessly interesting. is "zhan zhuang" really the IMA foundation? or is "walking"? lol.

The bai and kou (opening and hooking inward) stepping should actually help to strengthen your knees as it’s slowly moving your knees through their full range of motion. Stretching and strengthening the tendons on the sides of the knees. You might not that your Tibialis Anterior Muscles start getting thicker and better protect the bones.

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Origami, my mistake I thought that was a practice that you were personally doing.
But, in my humble opinion,Circle Turning is like a wheel, and it probably doesn’t require reinventing.

Penetrating the Nine Palaces is a martial exercise. We use them, only virtually. All our short animal forms are done while stepping on top of the imagined poles. Arranged in a small square, the width of your own stance. While our Penetrating Palm System you’re weaving in between the imagined poles like in the second video you posted.

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definitely on the knee rehab, yeah. my external hip rotation (toe out) mobility is fine. internal (toe in) is bad. think the circle walking will help. the way i do it (no basin change, keep it beginner level) wouldn't put my knees through full rom/mobility/strength. the "kneesovertoes" program is helping in this regard but without the gentle turning stress. perhaps one day far in the future with the low moves, i could put it all into circle walking for efficiency. endlessly interesting. the poles stuff as well.

[D_Glenn]

When you walk it should be like if you’re wading across a shallow but fast moving stream, where you can’t see below the surface because you’re kicking up sand. Without seeing or looking down each foot needs to seek out a stable spot and then your other foot moves. You have to be stable on one leg so you don’t get swept by the rushing water, (and intermittently establishing Zhongding). After years you could do some Circle Walking on grass that’s infested with worms and there’s a bunch of unseen lumps that you ankles have to adapt to, just like the small boulders in the river.

I posted the Daoist stuff above, but I practiced Circle Walking for about 12 years before my teacher told me about that. It was an Aha moment because it was a perfect analogy for the changes you experience in every session. But you don’t need that information in your mind in order to achieve the state changes. It might even be detrimental. So ignore that I posted them.

What you do want to focus your thoughts on, is these principles:

There are 8 key points in the training of Baguazhang which come from the 8 Trigrams and are based on whether a line is solid or broken and where the line is situated.

☰ Qian Heaven - the three sections of your arms are held stable, with tautness in the muscles, stretching but then isometrically tightening.

☷ Kun Earth - the three sections of your arms are (shoulder, elbow, wrist) are not held so tight that you cut off circulation. The joints need to be flowing and open.

☳ Zhen Thunder - The Bottom is held solid - meaning the ten toes must grasp the ground which slightly raises up and activates 湧泉 Yongquan point in the arch of the foot.

☵ Kan Water - The Middle is held solid - meaning the 丹田 Dantian is kept solid and full. When turning you want to learn to activate the Transverse Abdominal muscles on only the inside of the circle. This is what turns your Waist/ Dantian to the side.

☶ Gen Mountain - The Top is held solid - meaning the crown of the head is raised up, and the chin is tucked which closes off 大椎 Da Chui point, closing off of the whole neck. The back is also rounded and held strong, giving strength to the two shoulders and arms.

☴ Xun Wind - The Break at the Bottom needs to be closed - so the tailbone/ coccyx is tucked under and 會陰 Huiyun point is held taught and contracting upward.

☲ Li Flame - The Break in the Middle needs to be closed - so the chest is concaved to keep the opening to the 中廷 Zhong Ting (heart and solar plexus area) protected.

☱ Dui Swamp - The Break at the Top needs to be closed - so the tongue is pressed up against the roof of the mouth, back far enough to touch the soft palate.

Your mind’s eye will be moving around the inside of your body constantly making sure that the principles are being maintained.

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