the Longxing bagua tuishou 

Loriano Belluomini 

From high to low: Mov. 1: DANHUAN ZHANG Mov. 2: SHUANGHUAN ZHANG	From high to low: movements 5, 9, 10 (pictures from a booklet of mine)

 

The tuishou or "pushing  hands" it is well known for how much it concerns the Taijiquan. It deals with absorbing and ridirect the adversary's pushing without using rigid strength but ability of listening and neutralization. Less known it is the Tuishou of the Baguazhang. In the Gym of Lucca I teach both Tuishou that "tuisan", that is a tuishou where we reach the fighting not limiting us  only to the pushing. 

The flower  of the school was  is the" Eight Diagrams Dragon form pushing-hands" (Longxing bagua tuishou). It is, in effects,  a two-man form  (duilian) created by Fu Zhensong that however mainly centers on  going along the circle, on  absorbing the pushes, rotating and  winding around the adversary. The result is exceptional. 

This  two-man form  includes the use of principles both of the taiji and of the Bagua: From the taiji tingjin originates "hearing energy"(hearing by contact of the other person, of its movement and of its intentions) and also the fact not to use strength against strength. It is emphasized in fact the principle "si liang hua qian jin ", that is "four liangs (four ounces) deflect a thousand jins  (five hundred kg) ". From the Bagua the whole rest originates: To turn in circle or in  smaller circles continually; to turn and to entwine  with movement coming from the life; rapid and penetrating changes of technique. In general the movement should be whirling and serpentine as that of a Dragon. From which the name. 

Liang Qiaya, also him a teacher of the Fu school ,says that, practising this form, we can learn the principles of the baguazhang fighting. These principles are (SeeT'ai chi magazine, 26/1, 2002, p.46): 

1) Use motion to overcome stillness 

2) Avoid the front/square and attack from the slant 

3) Use one's front/square to control the opponent slant 

In the 1992 Fu Meilan  gave me the book written by her father Fu Yonghui, "Longxing baguazhang" (Lingnan Meishu chubanshe, 1987) that  also contains the sketches of Longxing bagua tuishou. These sketches are drawn by photo that show Fu Zhensong and Fu Yonghui. Here I give an example of it. 





The techniques used in Longxing bagua tuishou according to the book of Fu Yonghui are: tui, tuo, dai, ling, ban, lan, jie, kou, ning, fan, zou (to go around the circle),zhuan, chan (to twist or to wrap ), chuan (to penetrate), guo, zuan. It is inclusive also of Danhuanzhang (single change of palm) and Shuanghuan zhang (double change of palm), Tuibeizhang (palm that pushes the back), Baishe chanyao zhang (palm of the White Snake that winds around), the technique lyu (to throw down) of the Taijiquan, xibei banlan shi that is an attack of surprise to the shoulders and other bagua movements . At the end of his introduction to this type of Tuishou, Fu Yonghui wrote: 

(These techniques)  can  be used frontally

or sideways but to attach of surprise 

the back  of the adversary 

it is the principal characteristic 

of the techniques of fighting of 

Longxing bagua tuishou. 

An effective synthesis of the characteristics of the Baguazhang!
 

Go to the ENGLISH HOMEPAGE

Go to the HOMEPAGE