Tuesday and Thursdays, 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM and 3:15 PM – 4:15 PM
Saturday 11:00am-12:00pm
Instructor: Keith Winterkorn
Baguazhang (also known as “Pa Kua Chang” or “Eight Trigrams Fist”) will be presented as a regular class for the first time at Lin’s Martial Arts Academy starting in August, 2020. Bagua was taught over ten years ago by Sigong Charles Lin at this school as a Saturday seminar series. Keith Winterkorn, who will act as instructor for this class, studied Bagua with Sigong Lin, but also was exposed to Bagua as early as the 1970’s at a school in Cambridge, Mass.
Bagua is a very sophisticated system of martial arts, meditation methods, and physical and mental training, as well as an exercise in which one can find something like the joy of movement found in dance. The Bagua is rooted in the millennia-old I Ching and ancient Chinese understanding of the energy flow and spiritual nature of the human body. In our class we will begin with the simple and over time grow into the complex nature of the Bagua. Whether one is new to martial arts, advanced in another Chinese art such as Tai Chi or Shaolin Kung Fu, or has a background in other arts such as Aikido or Jiu jitsu, there will be a space and value to be found in this class.
Finally, the teaching method for this class will be similar to the teaching of Tai Chi at our school. There will be supportive methods with drills of footwork, body motion, and palm techniques. The form, which is divided into eight “palms” or sections, will be gradually taught and practiced. The applications of the movements will be described as the form as taught. Knowledge of the applications helps with the internal sense of energy movement as the form is performed. After the form is completed, it will be reviewed and the applications practiced to make the form real and whole for the student. As the teaching of footwork and movement goes along, the internal energy elements will be emphasized. Like Tai Chi, practicing Bagua can be a form of Chi Kung. Indeed, without the internal work, the training in Bagua would be empty and incomplete
Where: Lin’s Martial Arts Academy, Chinese Culture Center, 427 Adams SE, Albuquerque 87108