Historical note
This is historical reference only. Publishing Gao Yisheng’s Ten Rules here does not mean that students of The Moral Dragon are expected to follow these guidelines today, adopt their wording, or treat them as school policy. Modern training here is about skill, respect, and clear teaching — not enforcing a nineteenth- or early-twentieth-century code as written.
Disclaimer on dated language
Rule 3 defines “the weak” as women, children, and people in difficulty. That phrasing belongs to the historical document and to the social assumptions of its time. It does not represent current thinking at The Moral Dragon. We include the wording so the source remains intact as lineage material, while making clear that we do not teach or endorse that framing today.
The handout introduction
Bagua masters of the past put much emphasis on martial virtue. Gao Yisheng’s “Ten rules for practising Bagua” focuses on the goal of “in practising the arts, virtue comes first,” and practitioners should know and follow this.
Gao’s 10 Rules for Practising Baguazhang
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Be filial towards your parents.
Your parents gave you life; how could we exist without parents? The unfilial are lower than common beasts, and therefore may not be taught nor made friends with. Even less may they be allowed into a system of Baguazhang. -
Get along with your neighbours.
People who get along well will respect each other, defer to each other, help each other, and support each other through difficulties and sickness. -
Respect elders and aid the weak.
Elders should be respected. The weak refers to women, children and people in difficulty. To help means to give support to, to be concerned about, and to care for.
(See the disclaimer above: this definition is historical, not current thinking.) -
Do not get drunk.
Drink within limits. In getting drunk we can get hurt, make fools of ourselves, and also make mistakes. People who habitually get drunk should not practise Baguazhang. -
Do not gamble or take drugs.
From ancient times gambling and robbery have gone together, and therefore should be strictly avoided. Drugs harm the body and the home, and so should not be touched. -
Follow the teacher’s instructions.
The person who instructs is the teacher, and the person who learns is the disciple. Teacher and disciple are like father and son. Instructions are the words of guidance from our teacher. To receive an art, all is dependent on the teacher to transmit it; with no teacher to transmit it, the art will be like water without the source, and so we must follow our teacher’s instructions. -
Practise diligently.
Hard work overcomes all difficulties. It is often said: “The teacher brings one in the door; from there it is up to the individual.” When the teacher shows a movement, practise it diligently. Have humility and perseverance, and over time your art will mature. That is what is meant by the phrase, “Familiarity brings skill, skill leads to mastery, mastery leads to the mysterious.” -
Do not boast or be verbally offensive.
To be verbally offensive is to ridicule others for their shortcomings. Practitioners should never forget that, “There is no end of learning in gongfu” and “There is a horizon beyond the horizon, and other people behind us.” -
Be loyal, honest and generous.
Honest people will be solid and steady in their undertakings, and not fickle and frivolous. -
Be trustworthy and have a wide range of friends.
Trust is the foundation of practitioners of the arts. We should live our lives such that words lead to action and action brings results. Friendship is one of the five cardinal relations. We should have many friends but also be selective. The smart bird chooses his place in the forest to build a nest and a man of cultivation chooses well his friends.
How to read this today
Taken as history, the Ten Rules show how Gao-branch teachers once framed entry into the art: character before technique, care for family and community, restraint, and a serious teacher–student bond.
Taken as modern instruction, they are incomplete and in places outdated. Keep the distinction clear: lineage document, not present-day requirement.
Further reading: Yizong lineage, Cheng Tinghua, and Gao-style Baguazhang.
