Alignment in Bagua

[Anonymous]

Hi. I have a question I’ve been wondering about as I work through the Bagua Mastery Program.

Bruce stresses the alignment of the centerline of the body with the tip of the finger, the eyes and head when turning to the center. I see many pictures of bagua masters where it looks like the hand is to the center of the circle, the eyes are fixed on the finger, but the centerline of the body is only turned in a little, say 45 degrees, to the center of the circle. I know there are other things going on here, but I was wondering what anyone had to say about this. I will follow the directions as given in the BMP, but it will be a long time, if ever, before I will be able to face the center of the circle while keeping my four points aligned. It seems very powerful to have the hand and eyes to the center. Any thoughts? thanks

[Anonymous]

From what I understand after talking with a few people more experienced than me is that you don’t necessarily have to have the physical alignments to get the same effect if you’re good enough. That’s generally speaking in terms of the mind and intent.

For me the hands and eyes are the 2 biggest things in terms of turning on my intent. It’s an interesting question you propose because it seems more intuitive to train to point your intent when everything is square as you say. By the time you get your 4 points pointing towards the center you might already have the ability to turn your intent on in any position.

[Anonymous]

From my perspective the turn toward the center is overrated and rarely done properly. The problem is that people think turning toward the center is a reflection of mastery. It can be, but more often it is just another example of hand waving gone wrong or form without content.

From a simple point of view, the turn ratchets down the spirals and makes them significantly tighter. The problem comes when you ratchet down too much and cut off the flows. Think of a garden hose getting kinked: the water won’t flow. Most people can’t even feel these flows so they have no idea that they’ve clamped them shut like putting a garden hose in a vice. BTW, this significantly reduces their likelihood they’ll ever figure out how to open them.

For me the critical flows are from the throat notch to the armpits and the perineum to the kwa along the central channel. If these stay open and keep the four points open, you have a chance at keeping the side channels open as you turn to the center.

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys. Good points and things to think about. I’ve been very conservative about turning in, following Bruce’s advice. After 25 years of taiji, Bagua feels very different. I still haven’t decided if its the right thing for me. I’ve given it two years and I’ll give it one more before I force the issue.

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