My name is Myles, I have been training YSB for over 20 years. I attended work shops annually and organize a study group in the DC/MD area that meets weekly. Throughout the years I’ve mainly studied the Qian/heaven trigram Lion system interlocking palm. However, in more recent years my training focus was the Gen/mountain trigram Bear system turning the back palm. Currently I have been more focused on dragon systems lifting and holding palm and the snake system moving with the force/smooth palm. I have some experience training other trigrams as well.
All of YSB’s animal systems or trigrams are contained within each other. So even the study of one animal system contains aspects of the others. Namely their personalities and strategies, but also their stepping patterns and body methods.
Much time and effort is required to even scratch the surface of this art. We do not train forms mindlessly as do many traditional arts. We first learn individual striking methods, utilizing many ways to deploy each, and only then when they are understood do we start to link them together into combinations and later “forms”. Our forms are much shorter than many other arts and can more easily be thought of as fighting combinations. With regard to these forms and changes, a lot is open to interpretation and at a certain stage in one’s development one is encouraged to create their own fighting combinations based on what they favor and excel at.
I’ve decided to put together this locals page in the hopes of reaching a broader audience of others interested and thus spreading the art to those who are willing and able to put the time and effort needed to obtain the flavor of YSB. I will post many of my notes here, answer questions, and possibly put together some lessons plans depending on interest. Those who are able are encouraged to attend workshops, get together with local study groups, and seek one on one training whenever possible. Learning online is only viable up to a point. But great strides can be made with the proper enthusiasm and attitude. YSB practitioners should aim to be stable, accurate, vicious, cold, crisp, and fast.
Here I introduce the basic elements of the snake system. I will be putting together some of my favorite snake combos in the coming weeks. I’ll try to also upload some run throughs of the applications as I am able.
Here I discuss using the rear hand to directly attack and open the opponent as opposed to the first two methods that address a more responsive role, responding to the opponent by rushing or withdrawing. Here we will initiate an attack in order to cause and utilize the response. Soft and leaning strikes are introduced as well as the method of turning the back.
In this clip I explain how the withdrawing attack method specializes in stepping and how that can be utilized based on the forms and direction changes of the bear system. Drilling these short combos can be beneficial to those new to the art as a way to get familiar with the different systems and strategies. Drilling these combos can also benefit more seasoned practitioners by giving them an idea of how to apply the art in real life situations.
Yin style Bagua is first a combative art. Unlike many traditional arts these days we study strictly for combative use. YSB contains no watered down flamboyance as is found in many other traditional arts in current times. Training of Yin style Bagua is strictly for self defense and is taught as it has been handed down to us from the practitioners who came before us.
Dong Hai Chuan passed down the art of Bagua to Yin Fu, his greatest and longest studied student, to whom this branch of Bagua is named for. Yin Style Bagua differs from other styles of Bagua in many ways. Yin Fu passed his art on to Men Baozhen, who in turn taught Xie Peiqi. Dr Xie trained He Jinbao fully in the combative aspects of this art. All these practitioners hailed from Beijing, where He Jinbao resides to this day. He Jinbao teaches workshop across the United States and Europe annually. There are many study groups in the States that train regularly and come together to attend these workshops throughout the years. ...
Tomorrow our group will be running the interlocking shooting form, from 2024, as well as introducing the new form Matt Bild just uploaded to the Facebook group page, the turning the back shooting form. Should be a blast. Finally have a temperate day here on the east coast for a change.
Slight departure from the snake content but this is what the group studied yesterday. The following post is from the group Facebook page:
Training Lion system yesterday in our study group. Focusing on the different uses of the waist to generate force in the strikes. Moving with the waist, moving against the waist, and expanding the waist.
-The rising sweeping strike was used to emphasize the waist moving with the strike.
-The inward sweeping strike was utilized to place emphasis on the method of the waist moving against the strike.
-And lastly the upright chopping strike was used to emphasize more of a dropping or expanding usage of the waist.
First we started with a stationary strike drilling method to work on the waist and the arm/strike coordination. We then added in a step, using the triangle stepping in place or an advancing-withdrawing type of one step drilling method.
This allowed us to add in hand-foot harmony to the already used hand-eyes and waist-strike coordination. Thus turning...
