POWER OF THE CIRCLE
Even Martial Circling Can Be a type of Daoyin Qigong
By John P. Painter
Making a mandala is a discipline for pulling all those scattered aspects of your life together, for finding a center and ordering yourself to it. You try to coordinate your circle with the universal circle.
Joseph Campbell. "The Power of Myth"
The Power of The Circle In Jiulong Baguazhang
Performing walking the circle (Bu yan quan-zi 步沿圈子) is the hallmark exercise of almost all Baguazhang styles. Every style has their own idiosyncrasies and methods and instead of criticizing things I do not understand I celebrate the ideas of others while remaining true to my own methods that have stood me in such good stead both in health and combat for over 50 years.
What most modern practitioners are not aware of is that bio-feedback experiments conducted at the Life Sciences Research Institute in the 1980’s found was that circle walking when performed correctly for an extended period of time (up to nine minutes or longer) changes brainwave activity and is capable of producing an altered state of consciousness, not unlike a light stage of meditation. This study was made using our Nine Dragon Eight Diagram Palm (Jiulong Baguazhang九龍八卦 掌) circle walking methods.
The finding showed that circling training can increase blood circulation, limber joints, improve flexibility, release endorphins which results in a release of anxiety and tension, and thereby affect the overall bio-chemical balance of our body in a positive manner. As a martial exercise circle walking is highly aerobic and develops the ability to turn, spin and weave in and out of multiple opponents making it one of the most important specialized exercises used in Jiulong Baguazhang to develop combat skills but it also can greatly influence ones health and longevity.
Continuous Rotation Of Multiple Circles
As the student circles in training it is important to walk with a feeling of constant rotation you are rotating around the circle, around your own center (ridgepole) and around each joint. Your joints feel as if they are screwing or twisting in and out as you move especially the legs, torso and arms. The changes of direction should be trained slowly matching each move from foot to torso to hand in a continuous flow of power. Turns should be smooth with no pauses or loss of momentum. Steps should be nimble and light yet still maintain the feeling of being deeply centered in the earth. The student should be like a spinning top, with center of gravity well controlled from the center point (Dantian 丹田).
The Three Orientations
In Jiulong Baguazhang we also have the Three Orientations. This means that we begin walking the circle facing forward as we circle, next we walk so as to orient the upper torso from the pelvis to shoulders inward to face the center of the circle and the third is walking so we face out away from the circle.
The three directions are
- Tangent to the circle
- Facing into the circle
- Facing out away from the circle.
Beginners begin facing tangent to the circle and as flexibility improves are allowed to rotate facing inward in time intermediate students can orient in all three directions while circling. This is analogous to walking with antagonists in front, and to both sides. Being able to neutralize attacks and strike while on a single circle in the point of this exercise and is a precursor to moving into the methods of using two circles, then three and finally nine circles as in the nine post walking (Jiugongdian) methods.
Circle walking in Li family traditions is thought of as both martial and spiritual in nature. On the spiritual side it is symbolic of a basic Daoist belief that life is improved when one returns to a feeling of oneness with nature. On the martial side it employs natural methods of bio-mechanics to create energy and force for defensive actions against one or more opponents. In the training of Li family Jiulong Baguazhang which unlike some other styles is closely connected to the Yijing as a template to understanding the eight palm energies and later coming to understand their combinations to produce 64 energies from knowledge of the hexagrams we find that our circle walking evolves into a free spontaneous exercise or type or non choreographed circular dance (Jiulong zifa wudao 九龍自發舞蹈). Please note that this is not just a waving of arms while running in circles. It is an evolution derived from internalizing the mental and physical methods of structure and motion prescribed by in-depth study of the eight palms and their natures.
It should be noted that this study takes at least eight to nine years before such an ability is fully realized. At this level we learn that letting things follow their natural course (Wuwei 無 為) is best method for dealing with the inner and outer world including combative situations. With this practice we may also begin to understand our own nature at a deeper more insightful level.
As long as one continuously circles with the correct stepping patterns be it one or nine circles the positive health benefits both external and internal will be realized. There is quite a bit more but this will suffice for now. If you are a student of Jiulong Baguazhang then please keep this in mind when you are training, you will benefit greatly from these abilities.