Warfox Bagua 錦園八卦掌

Hello there friends, I hope you are all doing well. I have been under the gun with projects recently so excuse my momentary absence. Don't worry when I get used to my new rhythm I will start squeezing in more post for you. In the meantime I recommend that you pick up my new book, that just hit shelves this month. The title is called Chasing Dreams To China, Successor.   It's a story that follows my whole life growing up and training with my brothers. It begins from my struggle in a racist environment and follows me through every step of my mental and martial arts environment. It's got a lot of action, comedy, drama, and training tips. It's a total of 524 pages containing most of the significant events in my life until about 2 years ago. At the bottom is the link for the paper back or the hard back. It's sure to give you some inspiration for whatever you are going through. http://www.amazon.com/Chasing-Dreams-To-China-Successor/dp/1592324150 http://shop.b...

On October 5th, I woke up early in the morning to meet with my master Wu Guo Zheng for a demonstration taking place in Miao Li, Taiwan.The name of the event was called "臥虎藏龍之夜 Night of the Stealth Tigers and Hidden Dragons." You may have heard the term Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, which in my opinion is a bad translation. A tiger is usually crouching because he is sneaking up on his prey. The term is a Chinese idiom that indicates hidden or unseen power. This would be the second time I participated in this event which invites masters from all over Asia to be representatives of their styles. It is like a martial arts master fiesta and I'm always honored to be invited. But the truth is that on this particular morning I am feeling the continuing pressure of what has been a difficult, but blessed year. I have been bounced around on the job market since my wedding took place last summer. I have been screen play writing, acting, editing and working on my second novel. A...

In life we have all been given a quest that will help us find the hero within. Challenges are presented through every form in order to test the fabric of our character to its very core. It can be extremely difficult to even find one's quest and even harder to hold to it once we are on the path. Cause more than likely, we will have to walk that path alone. My path has had me in Taiwan for the last decade, away from what I used to call home. I don't really miss America, but I miss all the people in it. In fact my journeys home have been short but very sweet because of the rare individuals hungry for Bagua. Good students are just as hard to find as good teachers. Yet my path has pulled me back to Asia because there are so many possibilities for the future that sometimes it gives me goosebumps. But making possibilities into realities is probably the hardest kung fu there is. Yet it's also the only kung fu worth doing. My master Wu Guo Zheng has passed 26 different style...

     我跟你媽媽很興奮你快要出生的日子。只剩一個月我們就可以見面。你爸爸是有很多不同的工作比方說我是功夫老師，舞蹈老師，英文老師，編劇，翻譯者，作家，表演者，演員，編輯者，歌手等...。我做過很多不同的事情，但是我的全部的成就，都不能跟你來比，創造你，是我最大的成功，而且你是讓我在做事情時有一個很清楚的方向和比較深的意義，那都是因為有你。 　 　　我之前跟你說功夫是上帝給我們的工具可以用來做很多的不同的事情，這也是我有那麼多不同工作的原因。功夫就是一個了解精神的方法，就像顆充飽的電池般，它能支持全部的夢想和概念，在未來不管你想要做甚麼，功夫就是你的電池。但是我們怎麼知道我們的夢想是甚麼？       你一出生我跟你媽媽會注意到你想要做的事情是甚麼，其實小時候我們的夢想比較清楚。人長大後常常忘記他們要得是甚麼。為了錢，人類常把夢想丟了，取換比較膚淺的東西，所以常常一直不快樂。你很快會發現其實大部分的人在這個世界很不快樂，這是因為他們不知道自己是誰。這是因為很多的東西在地球可以讓我們迷路。你的開心不是錢，不是女人，不是朋友，也不是功夫或你爸爸媽媽，是上帝才能給你全然的開心，只有上帝知道你是誰，所以我們要先找上帝才可以了解甚麼是幸福和真的成功。 　　我四歲的時候在一個很奇怪的城市上學，這個城市很不喜歡黑人。我的爸爸要我們練功夫所以可以在很危險的環境保護自己。我第一次使用功夫只有5歲。我那個時候是跟一個欺負我的8歲小孩，他試圖打我，而我立即擋住他的動作，然後還他的肚子兩拳。就在那時，開啟了我領悟功夫優點的路，這保護自己，只是其中之一....。但是我也發現我那個學校的敵人非常多，你爸爸很辛苦的要一個禮拜跟人打一次，每次是更多更可怕的人，但是我爸爸說我們不能因此不上課。 　　我跟我兩個哥哥繼續這樣打到我13歲。你能想像這是甚麼樣的日子嗎？是不是聽起來很可怕？但是我媽媽一直教我們怎麼禱告。他說耶穌創造全部的世界。耶穌創造黑人所以我不用覺得吃虧，耶穌創造功夫所以我不用擔心，耶穌創造快樂所以我不用難過。所以就算在所有人都討厭我的城市裡還是勤練功夫，而我就是一個很快樂的小孩。雖然那些的小孩想要打我的臉，耶穌一直保護我的靈魂。這是我今天要跟你說的重點。不管你的情況是多麼...

In my lineage of Gao Style Bagua there are literally thousands of movements, but they can be broken into three simple parts: Pre heaven, Post heaven and spacing. The Preheaven, or the development of explosive power, the understanding of energy and Qi development. Post Heaven is the application of combat and how to effectively move in a way to capture or control your opponent. Both of these are necessary and familiar to most Bagua practitioners and martial artist in general. You have to know how to build power and then you have to understand when and how it's used against living breathing opponent. One of these practices can only be done by yourself, while the other should be done against resistance. The third part in our Xin Zhu Bagua Association  that I have found to be significant is the 25 different footwork steps or methods to engage the opponent. In addition to the power development and applications of technique there must be an understanding of how to close the distan...

In our training of whatever style, we must be very cautious not to make assumptions. If we make assumptions of our ability, our technique, our opponent or other styles, we can easily deceive ourselves and be lead into danger. That being said I would like to share with you a family secret technique that my father taught us when we were very young. He said he learned it from his friend "Fats" who accompanied him in many fights in the streets before he gained his knowledge of martial arts and wisdom. Yet even after his martial arts training he continued to use this technique to stun, knock out opponents or hide other attacks. The movement became something that me and my brothers used as a back up or in emergency situations. I favored it  for times when I had to fight more than one opponent while my brothers favored it when they found themselves faced with a weapon or whatever. This move is so effective that even after I have learned it, my father can still hit me with i...

The videos made for online students will come with a set of instructions that will clarify and help focus student training on this site. http://robertjayarnold.blogspot.tw/ This site is also open for question on the training videos so please feel free to let me know what you need.

After the warring period ended in China all of the martial arts were forced to take a dramatic change of direction. With new forms of war already being adopted, the use martial arts in terms of combat began to take a back seat. Being that kung fu was always of a secret nature it continued to pass through the hands of smaller circles, but the masses for the most part, were left in the dark of what martial arts is. On the other hand, the Beijing Opera, novels and eventually film continued to use the martial arts as a form of entertainment. Initially Chinese opera was used to tell stories of heroic individuals and their amazing feats on the battlefield. These actors and entertainers had to be extremely skillful in the martial arts in order to perform many of their dramatic events. They began their training as children and would endure many hardships that most martial artist wouldn't even have to face on the battle field. An example of an exceptional individual who emerged from t...

In an attempt to further my ability to show Bagua to those who are unable to find teachers in their area I have been making a series of online videos. The videos are an attempt to teach to those who will dedicate themselves to really reaching out for the art. However a video alone is a very one sided classroom. Any class without the ability to ask questions  for clarification will have a hard time meeting the students needs. Especially if the classroom is as wide as the globe, with all different ages, countries and creeds participating. So what I hope to encourage is that you continually ask me questions about movements in the video or anything at all. Even when learning Bagua face to face, it is impossible to explain what is happening in only a 2 hour session. There are a lot of things happening all at the same time. I encourage you to contact me often in regards to your training. Even if you don't purchase a video but have questions that I may be able to answer, I am happy to. ...

This video for online learners teaches the full Ba Da Gang for Gao Style. This means you will have twelve movements to practice from the circle that will act as an energy and power enhancement to everything else you do. You could think of it as weight training for your internal energy. This training will revitalize your health as well as make you more combat effective. This video is 73 minutes. Even though there is more information in this video, the price is the same as the last. 30 US dollars. It is not necessary to have the first video in order to purchase this one. It stands alone as great for both health and learning beginning combat just as the first video. But the first video of the Heaven Sections first 8 movements plus this video will give you a more complete understanding of where your training is going. Hope you enjoy.

In my early days of training my father often reminded me that one of the best ways to make efficient progress was to practice the movements in my mind. As a child it seemed strange that somehow thinking of a movement would increase my physical ability, but as time passed I came to find that my thoughts and ideas not only assisted my movements, they also came to shape the core of my being. These mental mechanics can escape us so easily as we are a society that tends to want to see "proof" of everything. But everything that is physical, at one point was only a thought. God first saw the world in his mind, then he spoke and then it existed. This is a three step process that we must all undergo in order to create anything. In fact if a teacher uses only grades as proof of his student's progress, then the teacher will fail to have a true relationship with the student, which of course is "faith" in that individual. If you wish to design a car it must start a...

Allow me a moment to self reflect on many of the concerns I have with spreading Bagua to the next generation. Feel free to follow along as I make a track to record the changes I've undergone through the years of training. Sometimes I write post for you guys and others I write them for myself.  Before my father enlisted into the military, he was the golden gloves boxing champion of Cincinnati. Although my father was a great boxer, he was an even better hustler. In fact, boxing was one of his many hustling strategies and tools. At that time a man who couldn't fight, couldn't be free to hustle. Hustle basically means, street survival through any skill or tact that you can add to your arsenal. Whether you use pool, cards, fighting, words or even music, the more skills you have, the more free you become.  My father's friend, Lee, who he met in the military was into Taekwondo. He once witnessed Lee defeat multiple people at the same time, a feat that proved often too...