The Shi family's 36 secret songs of Bagua Zhang essentials.

Yi. Touding he gou shen zhengzhi, ta yao gong tui xu shi bu, chen jian zhui zhou shen qian bi, niu wan ting zhang la shizhi

1. The top of the head is held up, the chin is tucked, the body is straight and upright. Sink the waist, bend/ bow the legs, use empty and full stepping. Sink the shoulders, drop the elbows, extend out through the front arm. Twist the wrist, the palm is held rm and straight, pull back through the forenger.

Er.

Yi bi shen tui yi bi qu, yan xiang shen bi hu kou qiao, shen bi tui ba qu la xian, haosi wan gong she da diao.

2. The front arm is straight and pushing, the back arm is bent. The eyes look towards the out-stretched arm and gaze at the tiger's mouth. The front arm pushes and holds, the back arm is like pulling a bow string. It is like using a bow to shoot a big vulture. [this last line is referring to an old chinese tale]

San. Hu kou yuan cheng zhang xin ao, la zhi ting zhang zhi shang qiao, tui ba la xian kuo xiong fei, qu xi xing bu tui jiao jian.

3. The tigers mouth is round the palm is held hollow. Pull the ngers back, the palm faces up, the ngers point upwards. Push and grab, pull the bow, expand out through the ribs strengthening the lungs. Walking with bent-knee stepping strengthens the legs.

Si. Qu xi gong tui tang ni bu, wai kou nei shi zou yuanquan, niu yao ta yao ba gang ti, xing ru tui mo tuan tuan

zhuan.

4. Bend the knees and bow the legs imagine wading through thick mud. When walking the circle the outside foot hooks(kou) the inside foot steps straight. Twist the waist, sink the waist while holding and lifting up the perineum [huiyin point]. The form is like pushing a millstone around and around, turning in a circle.

Wu. Shen sui bu zhuan shou suishou niu, niu yao niu jing ta yao gu fu. peihe huxi hua na gong tu, qu xi gong tui jiaozhi zhua di.

5. The body follows the stepping while turning the circle, the hands ride along with the body's twisting. Twist the waist, turn the neck, sink the waist and round the abdomen. Coordinate exhaling and inhaling, when changing breathe in, when attacking breathe out. Bend the knees, bow the legs, the toes grasp the ground.

Liu. Zou zhang shen mo qingxie, qian fu hou yang dou du jinji, nui yao xiao fu jintie gu, bu luu chenzhou shen pingwen.

6. When walking and changing hands, the body must not lean to the sides. Stooping forward and leaning back, both are forbidden. Twist the waist, contract the abdomen to connect to the thighs. When walking, even on uneven ground, the stepping will be calm and composed and the whole body will appear level and steady.

Qi. Shi dongzuo zuoyou lian, xunhuan wangfan bu san dun, xian xiang wenshi qiu ping zheng, shenqi bai bian shu zhong sheng.

7. Power/force in the movements/changes is done on the left and right sides to perfect one's skill. Drilling back and forth, to and fro, the movement is not done leisurely or with breaks. First work on becoming steady and stable then seek to be level and exact. The mysterious will become known and will change and grow.

Ba. Chuan zhang shou tie zhou xia chu, bi shi cheng xu cai you gong, jiao ta zhongmen xun men lu, xie chu zheng ru sui ren dong.

8. In the penetrating palm the hand goes out from below the elbow. Avoiding the solid parts and aiming for the gaps and soft areas is the skill that allows this strike to work. The feet tread the center door and seek out the way inside. The arm at a slant is struck straight to enter then it follows the opponent's movements.

Jiu. Chuan Zhang shoufa yao laoji, hou zhang chuan chu qian zhang, xianghu peihe xiang fu cheng, shenshou bu yao dong xietiao.

9. The skill of the penetrating palm is important to remember clearly. The back hand stabs out the front hand gathers in. To win, the hands need to work together. Coordinate the movement of the body with the hands, feet, and waist.

Shi. Zou quan san pan zhubu lian, chu lian shang pan jia shao gao, zhong pan qu xi shi jian dun, di pan jiang qiu ping xi kua.

10. Walking the circle is progressively practiced at three different heights. The basic practice is the upper basin where you stand just a little lower than your normal height. The middle basin is done with bent knees, power comes from gradually squatting lower. The lower basin stresses getting the thighs level with the knees.

Shiyi. She di shang e bi huxi, qi chen dantian tong daoyin, dongzuo huxi ying peihe, de ji de shi qingsong ling.

11. Press the tongue up against the roof of the mouth, breathe through the nose. Sink the qi down to the dantian like its being guided. Coordinate the movement together with the movement of exhalation and inhalation. To generate and deliver power you need to be relaxed and agile.

Shier. Shangxia xiang sui yi yizhi, shenshou shun sui yao tui dong, bufa bianhua zou zhuan yi, ji dong linghuo wu ding zong.

12. Top and bottom move together and follow one another. Skill comes from moving with and following the movement of the waist and legs. Moving and shifting come from changes in the footwork. Its powered by nimbleness and exibility not a xed pattern of stepping.

Shisan. kou bu xing zheng sanjiao, zu jian xigai tong xiang he, bai bu chengwei ba zixing, zu jian jiao gen er jiao he. 13. Hooking (kou) stepping has the shape of a triangle. The tips of the two feet and the kneecaps touch/meet. The swinging (bai) step has the shape of the character '' ba (eight). The tip of the foot is in line with the heel of the other foot.

Shisi. Shang bu hou zu chao qian zu, jin bu qian zu xiang qian xing, che bu qian zu yue hou zu, tui bu hou zu xianghou xing. 14. In the 'forge step' the back foot steps past the front foot. In the 'advance step' (jin bu)front foot advances forward. The 'withdrawing step' (che bu) the front foot moves past the back foot. In the 'retreating step' (tui bu) the back foot moves backward.

Shiwu. Shang de bu shang li, shang zhi bu shang yong, shang li yu shang yong, chizao bi luokong. 15. Esteem virtue not strength. Esteem wisdom not bravery. Esteeming strength together with bravery sooner or later will fail you.

Shiliu. Chu shou shun diyi, difang zuo you gong, di tui qian zu qi, di jin hou zu xing. 16. The outgoing hand should follow the enemy. Guard against attack from the left and right. To retreat from the

enemy move the front foot rst. To advance on the enemy move the back foot rst.

Shiqi. Shen ru you long yan teng kong, hu zhuang gui yong she xingdong, wei hui lian lian shi wu ding, xie heng jin tui tan xiao zhong. 17. The body is like a swimming dragon, a wild goose soaring through the sky, a tiger pouncing, a sea turtle gliding, and a snake's coiling. Surrounding, returning, joined together, or in succession the power/force can be varied. On an angle, to the sides, advancing forward, retreating back, all the while remaining in the center smiling.

Shiba. Zhang aomiao zai zou quan, bufa zhi sheng jiao li gong, kou bai rao xingzong piao hu, shi qian hu hou wu ding zong. 18. These palms are secret and mysterious when walking on the circle. Victory is achieved through the footwork and the strength of the legs. The Hook step (kou bu) and the Swing step (bai bu) wind around and are lost track of, the body appears to be oating. Its seen in front and without leaving a trace, it suddenly appears behind.

Shijiu. Shou sui ren dong shun di qing, qi er wei luo zhan zhongyang, jiao ta zhongmen xun men lu, di zong you fang yi wu fang. 19. The hand follows the person, changing to move with the enemies position. Rise up but do not fall to occupy the middle. The feet tread the center door and seek out the way inside. Even if the enemy moves up to defend themself it will not hinder your attack.

Ershi. Chu shou, yao yi buyao er, yi duo sheng shao yao laoji, ruo neng shi de qi zhong yi, youshi chang cun zhangwo zhong. 20. The outgoing hand must be one not both hands. Using the one hand to do many things to overcome the few, must be remembered. If you are able to understand this you can obtain this central idea. Superiority is always held by seizing control of the center.

[lian huan zhang] Eryi. Chu shou zhao yin ren dong, fengbi duifang zui you gong, bu cong sanjiao zhuan yi ling, shou qu shizi li hua gong 21. The outgoing hand needs to provoke causing the enemy to move/ react. To seal up/ entangle the enemy is the best situation/ skill to achieve. Steps should follow the triangle pattern [a right triangle- either diagonally then horizontally or horizontally then diagonally] to turn and change effectively. Using the hands in the cross-shape or gure ten '' to take advantage its quick ability to change is a great acheivement. [this is why the back hand in bagua is held under the elbow of the front to quickly cross-up and exchange the back hand for the front hand, its why bagua was said to have really fast hands]

[shun shi zhang] Erer. Di jin wo zou bi rui feng, rang chu diwei yin luo kong, huishou yi ji chang qie zhong, bai zhong qusheng shi you gong. 22. If the enemy advances, move to avoid the tip of his attack. Yield your positition to let him fall into emptiness. Turn back and with one strike (almost always) cut/slice into his middle. Giving up the center to achieve a victory is a very hard skill to achieve.

[bao shi zhang] Ersan. Di zheng wo zheng qi, di qi wo qi zheng, ruo shen la duo wei, shun shui jia qing zhou. 23. If the enemies attack is appropriate, I make the appropriate unexepected. If the enemies attack is unexepected, I make the unexepected appropriate. The soft/exible body pulls the rudder to turn the tailend and follows the waters current to easily move the boat.

[feng lun zhang] Ersi. Ji zuo you ying, ji qian hou ying, xianghu hu ying, shi ren nan ying. 24. A strike to my left my right answers, a strike to my front my back answers in harmony with my breath makes it difcult for the enemy to answer back.

[bei shen zhang] Erwu. Bi gun fang zuo you, huitou tui wei jin, jin ji zou li yuan, fu li zhang shen xing. 25. Close up and roll to defend against the left and right, turn around and appear to retreat to advance, crowd your body close to move them away, expend force to change the body's shape.

[ping tuo zhang] Erliu. Tiao zhang cang shen jin bu, gou zhang tuibu jin shen, di ren zheng mian jin gong, tiao gou shangxia jiu ying. 26. The icking palm hides the body as you advance, use the hooking palm as you retreat step and then enter to the body, attack the enemy's front side with your advancing attack, icking up and hooking down working together.

[wo shi zhang- tactic of the empty in the middle Li trigram] Erqi. ce shen shen bi shi xu kong, shen xiong baolu you ren gong, yin de duifang chengxi jin, chan jiao feng tan zheng zhudong 27. Lean the body to the side, [hollow the abdomen] extend out the hand to show the false vital area/ gap in your defense. The body's vital areas lay exposed to entice the enemy to attack. Draw out the enemy then take advantage and enter, coil, blend, and seal to nd and take the initiative.

 [fan shen zhang] Erba. Fan shen zhang fa shou wei gong, fan gun rao zhuan sui ren dong, shuncong ke guan diu zhu guan, chuan ba gua you ling huo yong. 28. In the method of the 'returning to the body palm' observe and comply with the enemy's attack. Turn over, roll, wind around, rotate to follow the enemy's movements. Be compliant to the enemy's outlook put aside your own outlook. Penetrate, rake, and hang like swimming quickly to attack.

Erjiu. Baguazhang fa bu dang jia, yu yu qu qi shun zhong cheng, shou chu xuan ze tujing jin, hou fa xian zhi cheng dagong. 29. Baguazhang's method does not take a blocking posture, it wants to move everything around its center to win. The outgoing hand determines the angle of approach, emit your strike after but having it arrive rst is the desired ability and key to winning.

Sanshi. Zhan zhan lian sui bu ding, bu dang bu jia shun di qing, rang chu di wei zheng zhudong, dong ren jiang dong jing ren jing 30. Touch and stick, join and follow do not lose the control. Do not block, do not support, follow the enemy's situation. Give up your position to gain the initiative. When the enemy moves handle it by moving calmly to keep the enemy calm.

Sanyi. Ren gang wo rou quan zhang zou, chuang zao tiao jian duo xian shou, zhuan ru 31. If the enemy is hard I am soft and use moving/changing throughout the ght. Bring about the condition to land the rst hand. Turning and entering I try to get to get to the enemy's back. Then soft turns to hard, stick and stay close to emit.

Saner. gang zai xian xi rou nei cang, rou zai qian xi gang xiang fu, gang zhong cang rou yu gang, gang rou bianhua duan zai bu. 32. When hardness is used rst, softness must be hidden inside. When softness is in front of hardness the two must mutually assist each other. Hardness hides softness in the center, hardness resides within softness. The changing/ transforming between hard and soft are begun within the stepping.

Sanshisan. Yan dao shou dao yao tui dao, quanshen xie tiao jin fa, neng shen neng qu bu luu wen, de ji de shi neng zhi ren. 33. The eyes, hands, waist, and feet all need to arrive at the same time. The whole body needs to coordinate to emit power. When extending out or contracting in, the stepping must be stable. When you understand how to generate and deliver power you will be able to control the enemy.

 Sansi. Jing shen guan zhu qi shi chong, zhen ding an xiang bu huang kong, yan zhen di qing shi xianfeng, ping zhang shou jiao ling huo yong. 34. The essence and spirit need to pass through and combine with the energy for your power to be full, so you will be calm, composed and not frightened. So the eyes will detect the enemies disposition and their rst attack (vanguard). Rely on the nimble movement and tricks of your hands, and your agility and cleverness to win.

Sanwu. Chu shou da ren yao bu cui, jin tui xian yi jiao gensui, wu dei zou hua zhuan yi yi, bagua zhenli zaiqi zhong. 35. When you strike the enemy hit with the waist and urge/press with the stepping. Entering or retreating should be followed with the legs. You must comprehend the meaning of stepping, transforming, turning, and changing. Therein you will know the true meaning of Bagua.

Sanliu. Bagua zhenli bu xuanxu, shun zhu jie hua zou zhuan yi, bu dang bu jia bu diu ding, she yi cong ren shun di qing. 36. The truth of Bagua is not a mystery. Follow and pursue, divide and transform, move, turn, and change. Do not block, do not support, do not lose the lead. Nothing else matters, following the enemy becomes your life. Follow, adhere, and move along with the enemy's situation.