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Ba Gua
Introduction : History : The Name : Curriculum : Articles
General Curriculum
Regardless of what variation or style of Ba Gua one is studying, the core curriculum can be seen in three main areas, building upon each other, of 1) basics, 2) martial palms, and 3) the circle; additional areas vary according to variety & teacher: forms, weapons, conditioning, energy cultivation and so on.
The basics are designed to train the fundamental body mechanics associated with the art and give the student a good "grounding."
In the martial palms, the student begins to learn many different martial palm patterns and applications, usually the 64 Palms, using the mechanics learned in the basics. Some styles practice the 64 on the circle while other styles practice these forms in a linear fashion, as we do in the Gao style.
The fundamental root of the various styles of Ba Gua, exposed in the second stage and studied in-depth in the third, is the circle. The practitioner walks the circle, learning stepping patterns, breathing and focus - moving on to holding various postures and executing "palm changes." In this third area of study, one learns various types of these palm changes, leading up to the "Eight Palm Changes" or the "Eight Mother Palms."
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