Introduction to Baguazhang
Baguazhang is one of the three main schools of Chinese Internal Martial Arts (the others being Xingyichuan and Taijiquan). This art includes movements, strategies, postures inherited from a more martial era, embedded in a variety of forms, most often practiced around a circle. Each of the postures contains unique story, attitude, and energetic frequency.
Both a martial and self-healing art, Baguazhang can also be described as a form of embodied daoist cosmology, resonant with the I-Ching systems used for mapping patterns of change across all scales. In this way, each of the Eight Trigram Palms, and Eight Animal Methods in particular, can offer an experiential way to shift consciousness, state of mind, and patterns of behaviour.

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Introduction to the Baguazhang Snake System of Water Trigram Palm

The Snake Form is an expression of the ☵ Kan Trigram of the WATER, and the qualities of Yin fluidity, and dynamic flow.

The Bagua Snake form is performed with dance-like flow, consisting of coiling and wrapping movements, quick precise whipping strikes to vital points, locks and throws.  Snake moves primarily from this spine and abdomen to generate its power- in this way it cultivates great poise, grace, and strength through dynamic movement, maintaining inner stillness throughout.  

Sometimes considered cold, or emotion-less, the snake form grounds us down below the activity of the mental and emotional body, which can be often be chaotic and unbalanced.   It therefore calms the mind to adaptively respond from a place of stillness, drawing on deep Innate wisdom of ancestral and primal body intelligence.

Further, the postures and movements from the Snake form replenish the deep energy reserves (‘jing’ and yin) to increase health and longevity,  

There will be opportunities to practice martial applications from the form, as much or as little as desired, but pure self-defence training is not the primary goal of this workshop.