Gao Yisheng - The Cheng School Gao Style Baguazhang Manual: Gao Yishengs Bagua Twisting-Body Connected Palm

Copyright 2013 by Vincent Black. All rights reserved. No portion of this book, except for brief review, may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwisewithout written permission of the publisher. For information contact Blue Snake Books c/o North Atlantic Books.

Published by Blue Snake Books, an imprint of North Atlantic Books

P.O. Box 12327

Berkeley, California 94712

Cover photos courtesy of Liu Shuhang

Cover and book design by Brad Greene

The Cheng School Gao Style Baguazhang Manual: Gao Yishengs Bagua Twisting-Body Connected Palm is sponsored by the Society for the Study of Native Arts and Sciences, a nonprofit educational corporation whose goals are to develop an educational and cross-cultural perspective linking various scientific, social, and artistic fields; to nurture a holistic view of arts, sciences, humanities, and healing; and to publish and distribute literature on the relationship of mind, body, and nature.

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PLEASE NOTE: The creators and publishers of this book disclaim any liabilities for loss in connection with following any of the practices, exercises, and advice contained herein. To reduce the chance of injury or any other harm, the reader should consult a professional before undertaking this or any other martial arts, movement, meditative arts, health, or exercise program. The instructions and advice printed in this book are not in any way intended as a substitute for medical, mental, or emotional counseling with a licensed physician or healthcare provider.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Yisheng, Gao.

The Cheng school Gao style baguazhang manual : Gao Yishengs bagua twisting-body connected palm / written by Gao Yisheng.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references.

Summary: In its first English-language edition, this highly detailed training manual offers a complete history and theory of Gao-style bagua zhang as well as step-by-step instruction in basic techniques and empty-hand formsProvided by publisher.

eISBN: 978-1-58394-622-0

1. Hand-to-hand fighting, Oriental. I. Title.

GV1112.Y62 2013

796.815dc23

2013006286

v3.1

Chinese Editions Senior Editors

Wang Shusheng, Liu Shuhang

Third Chinese Edition Editors

Liu Shuhang, Gao Jinhua

Third Chinese Edition Associate Editors

Liu Yungang, Liu Lingjie

Contributing Editors

English Edition Editor

Vincent Black

Translated from the third Chinese edition by John Groschwitz

Dedicated to all Baguazhang enthusiasts worldwide

2012

Cheng School Gao Style Baguazhang Association, Tianjin, China	North American Tang Shou Tao Association, Tucson, Arizona

I am humbled and honored to be asked to write a preface to this first English edition of the Cheng School Gao Style Baguazhang Manual, a comprehensive treatment of Master Gao Yishengs legacy and discussion of the systems components and methods. It is an excellent treatise on one Bagua familys history and evolution going back over three generations to Grand Master Cheng Tinghua. I want to thank Liu Shuhang and the entire Gao Bagua family for their kind considerations and thoughtful inclusion in this undertaking.

I first met Liu Shuhang in the early 1990s while on a six-month sabbatical in China. I was researching Chinese Medicine, interning in the hospitals, and seeking out reliable sources of Baguazhang and Xingyiquan for the North American Tang Shou Tao Association. I had spent time in Shanghai, Xian, Taiyuan, Beijing, and finally Tianjin. It was near the end of the trip when I met Mr. Liu and his associates to discuss their Baguazhang. The whole Gao Baguazhang family stood out to me when comparing them with other Baguazhang families that I had interacted with in the previous months in China. While it is only natural for everyone to have at least a portion of their aspirations invested in their own personal interest, this family was the most free from the distrustful cynicism and suspicion that was so palpable with all the other groups I had encountered. It was reassuring to find people to work with who naturally exercised willingness to negotiate and to give the other side an opportunity to show that they also can have integrity and can be trusted.

My previous seventeen years of training and teaching was with and for my Xingyiquan family from Taiwan. That Taiwan lineage springs from Zhang Junfeng, my teachers grand-teacher, who was a student of Master Gao Yisheng and a classmate of Mr. Lius grand-uncle Liu Fengcai, a major contributor to this book. I could not help feeling that this coincidence was auspicious.

Subsequently, throughout the following twenty years, the North American Tang Shou Tao Association and the Tianjin Cheng School Gao Style Baguazhang family have been working together prodigiously to transplant this art to America through group excursions of American students going to train in China, group excursions of Gao family disciples coming to America to teach even larger groups directly, and several mutual excursions where the Chinese teachers and American students met in Thailand for some intensive weeks of training. So much shared passion over time establishes true deep feelings and friendships.