| Also known as | Kai men bajiquan (開門八極拳), Eight extremities fist |
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| Focus | Striking |
| Country of origin | China |
| Olympic sport | No |
| Part of the series on Chinese martial arts |
| List of Chinese martial arts |
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Bājíquán (Chinese: 八極拳; pinyin: Bājíquán) is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province in Northern China, but is also well-known in other places today, especially Taiwan. Its full name is kai men baji quan (開門八極拳), which means "open-gate eight-extremities fist".
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Baji quan was originally called bazi quan (巴子拳 or 鈀子拳) or "rake fist" because the fist, held loosely and slightly open, are used to strike downwards in a rake-like fashion. The name was considered to be rather crude in its native tongue, so it was changed to baji quan. The term baji comes from the Daoist classic, the Yijing (I-Ching), and signifies an "extension of all directions". In this case, it means "including everything" or "the universe."
The first recorded baji quan teacher was Wu Zhong 吳鍾 (1712–1802). Famous teachers that promoted the style included Wu Xiufeng 吳秀峰 and Li Shuwen 李書文 (1864–1934). The latter was from Cangzhou, Hebei, and earned himself the nickname "God of Spear Li". A Peking opera Wu Shen (martial male character) by training, he was also an expert fighter. His most famous quote is, "I do not know what it's like to hit a man twice."[1] Li Shuwen's students included Huo Dian Ge 霍殿閣 (bodyguard to Pu Yi, the last Emperor of China), Li Chenwu (bodyguard to Mao Zedong), and Liu Yun Qiao 劉雲樵 (secret agent for the nationalist Kuomintang and instructor of the bodyguards of Chiang Kai Shek). Baji quan has since acquired a reputation as the "bodyguard style". Ma Feng Tu 馬鳳圖 and Ma Yin Tu 馬英圖 introduced baji into the Central Guoshu Institute (Nanjing Guoshu Guan 南京國術館) where it is required for all students.[2]
Baji quan shares roots with another Hebei martial art, Piguazhang. It is said that Wu Zhong, the oldest traceable master in the baji lineage, taught both arts together as an integrated fighting system.[3] They eventually split apart, only to be recombined by Li Shuwen in the late 18th to early 19th century. As a testament to the complementary nature of these two styles, there is a proverb that goes: "When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it." (八極參劈掛，神鬼都害怕。劈掛參八極，英雄嘆莫及)[3]
Today there are several families of baji quan, including Han, Huo, Ji, Li, Ma, Qiang, Wu and the Wu-Tan branch from master Liu Yunqiao. There are some differences in the training between the variants, but the core is the same. The lineage holder of Wu family baji quan in China is Wu Lian Zhi 吳連枝. Through more than 50 years of training, he collected material and records which were passed down from generation to generation.
Baji fist is known to open the opponent's arms forcibly (qiang kai men 强開門) and mount attacks at high, mid, and low levels of the body (san pan lian ji 三盤連擊). It is most useful in close combat, as it focuses on elbow, knee, shoulder and hip strikes. When blocking an attack or nearing an opponent, baji quan techniques emphasize striking major points of vulnerability, namely the thorax (trunk of the body), legs and neck.
The "six big ways of opening" (liu da kai 六大開) are:[4]
Footwork in baji quan has three special features:
These striking techniques are related to traditional Chinese medicine, which states that all parts of the body are connected, either physically or spiritually.
The forms of baji are divided into armed and unarmed routines. There are 20 fist forms, which include 12 Baji Small Structure Fists, Baji Black Tiger Fist, Baji Dan Zhai, Baji Dan Da/Dui Da, Baji Luohan Gong, and Baji Si Lang Kuan. There are eight weapons forms, including Liu He Da Qiang (spear), Chun Yang Jian (sword), San Yin Dao (sabre), Xing Zhe Bang (staff), Pudao, and Chun Qiu Da Dao (a long two-handed heavy blade, used by Generals sitting on their horses).
The major features of baji include elbow strikes, arm/fist punches, hip checks, and strikes with the shoulder. All techniques are executed with a short power, developed through training; among Chinese martial artists, baji is famous for its fast movements. Baji focuses on in-fighting, entering from a longer range with a distinctive charging step (zhen jiao).
The essence of baji quan lies in jin, or power-issuing methods, particularly fa jing (explosive power). The style contains six types of jin, eight different ways to hit and several principles of power usage. Most of baji quan's moves utilize a one-hit push-strike method from very close range. The bulk of the damage is dealt through the momentary acceleration that travels up from the waist to the limb and further magnified by the charging step known as zhen jiao.
The mechanics of jin are developed through many years of practice and baji quan is known for its strenuous lower-body training and its emphasis on the horse stance.[1] Its horse stance is higher than that of typical Long Fist styles. Like other styles, there is also "the arrow-bow stance", "the one-leg stance", "the empty stance" (xūbù 虚步), "the drop stance" (pūbù 仆步), etc. There are eight different hand poses, in addition to different types of breathing and zhen jiao.
The six Major Characteristic Powers are:[6]
Baji focuses on being more direct, culminating in powerful, fast strikes that will render an opponent unable to continue. Even so, there are some styles that are derived from baji quan’s main principles or concepts on how to hit the opponent:
Many of these forms are also based or mixed with Luohan fist, a Shaolin style. The term ba shi may also refer to baji, but it can also be noted that the term is also used in xingyi quan.
An article on baji and some photos of the style can be seen on http://www.chinesemartialarts.eu
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