Baguazhang
Bagauzhang, (also pronounced Pa Kua Chang), is considered to be the daughter of Taijiquan and hence, belongs to the family of the Neijia or internal arts.
The name literally translates to "Eight Trigram Palm," referring to the trigrams of the I Ching - the Taoist Book of Changes, and contains the best of Shaolin and Taoist fighting methods.
The history of Bagua, like Taijiquan, is shrouded in controversy but can be traced back to one man - Tung Hai Chuan (1796-1880), or simply 'Tung the fugitive', a resident of Wen An district in Ho Pei Province.
Tung was deliberately vague about the origins of his martial art and many theories have arisen as to the reason why?
The most commonly held belief is that Tung, himself, invented the form and was too embarrassed to admit it for fear of losing face! It was a commonly held practice in those days to attribute ones work to ancient sages in order to gain respect and acceptance from your peers and society in general.
Another, belief is that Tung was a wanted man, on the run from the law and that was the reason why he was so vague! Whatever, the reasons, one thing is for sure - the art has been added to and subtracted from, over the years, in order to arrive at the highly complex martial and healing form that we have today!
The central core of the system is its form, performed upon the perimeter of a circle generating, both, circular and spiral movements, whilst twisting and turning, and learning to relate our own centre to that of the circle, until all 8 palm changes have been completed.