Smoky Mountain YSB Study Group Information

“Only health provides the greatest of happiness.”

                                                                                           Dr. Xie Peiqi

Building and Maintaining Health with YSB

by Rand Cardwell

Yin Style Bagua is first and foremost a formidable fighting method, being one of the tirade of Chinese Internal Arts, but it is also known for many excellent health benefits that are derived from practice. To the westerner, the most obvious is the combination of strength and cardio benefits that are readily apparent after participating in only one workout session. The repetition of the various strikes build strength and endurance in many secondary muscle groups. The emphasis on the twisting and circular nature of bagua movements are an additional factor in developing muscle groups that are rarely used in modern lifestyles. Working the various strikes in high repetition will definitely cause you to breath hard, which has a direct impact on your cardio health.

The Strengthening Exercises, which are practiced in a standing position with little movement, will develop additional strength as your ability to hold the postures for longer periods of time increases. Eventually, you should be able to hold each of the strengthening postures between three and five minutes. This pillar of YSB training has additional benefits in the development of what the Chinese refer to as Internal Energy. This topic could fill volumes, but will only be touched on in this presentation. Internal energy training, on the most basic terms, is developing a higher awareness of the internal connectivity of your body and its environment. This type of training, conducted over a long period of time, has a marked affect on your ability to flow through the many demanding movements of bagua.

Turning the Circle, the most distinct training method of bagua, has many benefits from a health aspect. You develop greater leg strength from walking in a squatted position. The twisting of the upper body provides strengthening to various muscle groups and internal organs. As we all know, aging causes a stiffening of the body if the joints and muscles are not used in their full range of motion. The twisting and turning aspects of bagua training will open your joints and develop a greater range of motion. Both of these help to provide the ability of being more mobile and active as we age. Various arm postures are held while circle walking and contribute to strength and endurance. Check out the article by Jim Lindsay about beginning training in YSB. It provides an excellent overview of “how” to train in this art from a beginners perspective.

Check out this page for future articles on other aspects of Yin Style Bagua’s health building qualities, which has just as much depth, if not more, than the martial aspects of the system.

Articles

Liu Shichang on the Healing Powers of YSB - Mr. Liu was born in 1928 and has studied YSB continuiously since 1958 after a chance meeting with Dr. Xie Peiqi. His account on the healing powers of YSB is inspiring and a must read.

Health Building in Yin Style Bagua - an overview of the traditional health-building exercises of Yin Style Baguazhang. Link is to the London Branch Study Group Website.

The Eight Healing Sounds of YSB - by David Parker. This article covers the eight healing sounds of the health building aspects of Yin Style Baguazhang. [pdf format]

More to come

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