Pre-Heaven Baguazhang

Pre-Heaven Bagua is complex and esoteric by its nature. Dig a little into its meaning, and you'll hear about Chinese cosmology, Daoist philosophy, and the patterns of existence before manifestation. Well, my teacher never spoke of any of it. He has always stood by having a practical reason for training. To this day, Master Luo says, "You must have a strong body to support your development in internal kung fu. Understanding the concepts within our system without a strong body is pointless if the body is not strong; first, we must have muscle and strength, and second we must maintain it".

Master Luo's ideas are not esoteric; his rationale has always centred on the martial aspects of Baguazhang. Fighting and becoming a better fighter remain the main goals to this day. We upgrade our martial skills daily using training systems like Pre-Heaven Bagua. It might not be a typical response from an internal kung fu master, but it is one reason I chose to train with only him for over 25 years.

While Master Luo maintains a very practical approach to everything we practise, he also discusses internal aspects of the training. Energy and internal training play vital roles, and the techniques used are simple and to the point.

He speaks of Pre-Heaven Bagua as a system for literally changing our state of being, slowing down the mind and body to a point more in tune with nature or natural energy.

— Ollie Smith

Depending on who you are speaking to, the answer to what the key benefits of Pre-Heaven Bagua might change. Even though Baguazhang is open to interpretation, the mutual understanding is that after practising for many years, you should have greater skill and power.

While the fundamental benefits of Pre-Heaven Bagua (circle walking) are clearly stated, there are also practical reasons that are often overlooked:

1. Very quickly, you'll realise how this rather unique way of walking begins to develop your balance. You are, in effect, walking a kind of tightrope, though not that severe.
2. With deeper stepping, you become more grounded and improve leg strength.
3. You begin to free your mind from directing your limbs or controlling your movements.
4. Focusing the mind becomes faster.
5. Calming the mind and spirit is easier.
6. Spatial awareness increases as you become used to the constant rotation of the moving circle; you become still as the world moves around you.
7. As you become comfortable with walking fluidly, you find a more interesting way to meditate.
8. Everything slows down, starting with the brain's natural frequency (10 Hz) and moving to the resting frequency of the body, 5–10 Hz. They equalise and balance, mind and body becoming one.

The rolling and winding hands of the Pre-Heaven palms, the circular and round stepping, and the churning up and down of the body will all serve to connect and activate the muscle groups and sinews. The whole body will then naturally move as one unit to develop a more effective power.

During practice, one should calm down all disturbing thoughts and worries and stay focused throughout the exercise. Movements are led by intent and continuous, as if lined up on a chain. I like to think of Pre-Heaven circle walking as continuous, infinite change.