Ba Gua Zhang Fundamentals - Walking the Circle

Join our two-day workshop teaching the fundamentals of Ba Gua Zhang, a Chinese internal martial art and circle walking practice.

Ba Gua Zhang - or Eight Diagrams Palm - is rooted in Taoist philosophy and at its heart is centred on learning how to move with change and adapt to it with ease.

The postures, movements and patterns of Ba Gua help to develop an open and connected body that is structured and strong but relaxed and supple. One that is able to move in a way that is both balanced and rooted but quick and dynamic.

As a 'meditative practice', the continuous flow of circle walking combined with adaptive changes in hand and footwork create a growing sense of being grounded within life and its changes. 

Along with its benefits to health and psychological well-being, Ba Gua is one of the three internal martial arts of China which also includes Tai Chi Chuan and Xing Yi Chuan.

In this two-day workshop we will learn the basics of circle walking, including mud stepping and basic footwork changes along with the first two of the Mother Palms - a series eight of fixed palm stepping postures with associated changes.

We'll learn this alongside specific Nei Gong exercises for Ba Gua - standing postures and simple, movement exercises that help to build the internal connections and felt understanding in the body that is gives the practice its depth and integrity. 

It's offered by Internal Arts Exeter, a small school dedicated to the study and dissemination of this work, along with the meditative work of Nei Dan and the martial systems of Xing Yi Quan and Ba Gua Zhang (see our website for more details).

This is open to all levels of experience - existing students of our school, complete beginners and practitioners of other arts.

If you have any questions, please contact Max St John (hello@maxstjohn.com)

Travel

Exeter Community Center is 10 minutes walk from Exeter Central Station and there is all-day parking available at Isca Place car park

Lunch

We will be training in the centre of Exeter, near to many great, independent places to eat.

[Image shown is the Ba Gua trigram illustration, Robert W. Smith, 1967 ]