(Uncle Mike says these videos are neither groovy nor funky, and that the above title makes no sense, despite his knowledge of the Frogurt routine. I say that I'm typing this, and I'll do as I like. Buwahahaha!)

Mike: Practicing Lu Zijian's Ba Da Shi in class on 3.14. As you can see, warming up makes a big difference. I am at least not stumbling about as I walk the circle, and my upper body technique looks much smoother. However, notice my feet. In the "tang ni bu" step of Baguazhang, the legs are supposed to almost scissor against one another. Knees and ankles should brush with each step. If you look, you'll see that my own feet tend to splay out a bit, and I do not consistently brush my ankles together as I walk. This is a serious problem that needs a lot more practice. Part of the reason also has to do with my weight; Lots of fat 'round the thighs with relatively boney lower legs means that getting my ankles together correctly is a challenge. I've heard it said that in Bagua, walking is the first thing you learn and the last thing you perfect. I should be further along than this for five years of practice. But, all there is to do is soldier on.

Next, Exasperatsu, the ancient Jewish art of complaining while waving a large toy sword around. Mike, of course, views things differently.

Mike: Master Sun has been trying to teach me Sun Zhijun's Bagua sabre form. This is as far as I've gotten. One day, I hope to be competent at this.

Mike calls this "Walking the Nine Palaces." I call this wandering around your back yard, hour after hour, alone. See what being unmarried and unemployed gives you time for?

Mike: This is an exercise that is supposed to train me to walk the bagua circle around several different foci, as if I were dealing with multiple opponents. The stakes should be sturdy enough to actually strike. Alas, mine aren't, but I can still practice the stepping pattern. Also, as one learns the pattern, one should try to perform different palm changes and different linking forms between the stakes. Again, I'm not too good at this yet, but I have so far memorized the proper progression.

Mike claims that this is Sun Zhijun's Ba Mu Zhang. As far as I can tell, this is Mike locked in fierce battle with a stool, through the medium of interpretive dance. Some of the moves are actually pretty good, in a 70s b-list club kind of way. As is so often the case, Mike disputes this.

This form is the second form I learned from Master Sun. The Eight Mother Palms of Cheng Style Baguazhang, as taught by Sun Zhijun. As you can see, it is a more complex form than the Ba Da Shi. I am making some progress; my footwork is slightly better than it has been in my other practice vids. And I had some difficulty with a few of the gua-- You'll be able to spot the trouble spots quite clearly.

Also, those of you in the know will notice that in my single and double palm changes, I do not drop to one side, as is common in SJZ's form. The stance I take is much more akin to Wang Shujin's stance; more evenly balanced, in a kind of horse, or half horse stance. This is because I am too fat, and I cannot bear my entire weight on just one leg as I sink. Not to worry-- I am working on leg strength.

We'll check in with this form again in about six weeks to see how I'm doing then.

Mike returns to his never ending battle with his archnemesis, The Small Houshold Stool! Not really neverending in this case, as the Stool sets Mike on his heels in just over a minute. Again, Mike refuses to accept defeat and move on.

A Variation on Sun Zhijun's Ba Da Shi 3 May 2009

This weekend, Master Sun started us practicing Ba Da Shi's palm changes, without the walking. Although we are to continue walking the circle (obviously), this exercise is supposed to help us learn to change direction and technique very quickly. Eventually, we should be able to string together the different gua randomly as we work.

As always, we'll check in on this one in another six weeks or so to see if there's any progress.

Now, often with these videos, I may be a bit overly critical of Mike. Here, however, I have to admit that he's making real progress. It's not perfect, but the power flow is there in several of his turns in this video, and his posture and movement in general are improving. I can see how far he has come, and my hat's off to him.

Bagua Post Practice at Master Sun's House

(Mike wishes you to know that Fudeo is copyright fatuncles.com, and that he demands tribute from anyone else trying to use this term)