Gerald Sharp's Old 8 Palms Videos

[greytowhite]

I have been learning Jiang Baguazhang taught by 2 of Kenny Gong's students since 2014 and received some indoor practices in 2018. By that time I was already familiar with the wider world of Neijia and decided to fill in certain gaps elsewhere. After completing a year long Baguazhang and Vajrayana intensive in 2018 I decided to return to the Jiang Rong Qiao material. I met W. Kraig Stephens and learned Her Yue Wong's 8 Interim Palms at a park meetup but didn't feel like it related well to what I had already learned. I did really enjoy their take on creating a personal 8 step circle so you can get students to perform in synchrony instead of having one circle that is not the right size for everyone. Like many before I started looking on eBay for various DVDs and I got various discs I could find at an affordable price. I got this set and a few others from Gerald and Alex Kozma.

If you're looking for "by the book" Jiang Rong Qiao Baguazhang then this is it. At times I find it easier to relate to the movements of Zou Shuxian presented than Gerald's at times due to size disparity - I'm much closer to Zou in height. That said, Gerald provides a number of really important pieces that many miss. The 8 Mother Palms work is extremely important and Jiang's Old 8 Palms are constructed such that the Post-Heaven Bagua is set around the Pre-Heaven Bagua. The 1st Palm is Hexagram 14. The 2nd Palm is Hexagram 61. The 3rd Palm is Hexagram 55. The 4th Palm is Hexagram 27. The 5th Palm is Hexagram 47. The 6th Palm is Hexagram 47. The 7th Palm is Hexagram 33. The 8th Palm is Hexagram 8. The primary strategy of the 1st 4 Palms is in Hexagram 10 and the benefits of the 2nd 4 Palms are from Hexagram 53. One can use the logic of these various hexagrams to interpret the Jiang Old 8 Palms form and Gerald gives you all the pieces needed. I feel like anyone who is really invested in learning Jiang Rong Qiao's Baguazhang should have Gerald's discs as reference material as to just what was originally intended.

http://chiflow.com/store/instructional- ... -i-and-ii/

[drifting]

Jiang's daughter Zou Shuxian was very upset at Sharp for using her videos without permission in his publication. She was quite upset actually saying what Sharp does doesnt represent what she teaches. Her successor Iiyoku lives in Japan and teaches the full system of Jiang Bagua, and moves very differently to Sharp. Maybe harder to access but hes a great exponent and also carries forward Jiang's Taiji and Xingyi too. Just saying because Iiyoku is a close friend of mine, we have parallel lineages of Jiang Bagua.

[greytowhite]

Jiang's daughter Zou Shuxian was very upset at Sharp for using her videos without permission in his publication. She was quite upset actually saying what Sharp does doesnt represent what she teaches. Her successor Iiyoku lives in Japan and teaches the full system of Jiang Bagua, and moves very differently to Sharp. Maybe harder to access but hes a great exponent and also carries forward Jiang's Taiji and Xingyi too. Just saying because Iiyoku is a close friend of mine, we have parallel lineages of Jiang Bagua.

Thanks for clarifying. I follow Iyoku on Instagram - he mostly posts about ninjutsu. I don't know what exact kind of drama happened after Sharp and Wen Mei Yu were divorced. There is some kind of letter from someone about Wen Mei Yu not having learned from the lineage she claimed for many arts. I think Wen was Zou's gong fu sister? If that's even accurate. It's too bad the footage was released without permission. I could not care less at this point - the material is quite enlightening but I feel that Sharp's body method is Taiji all through his various arts.