CHAPTER SEVEN

The internal martial art of PA-KUA CHANG tends to compliment
t’ai chi. It is said that t’ai chi is the mother while pa-kua is the
daughter. At an advanced level, there is not much difference in the
fighting side of pa-kua and t’ai chi so I try to use techniques from
both arts in our Chinese Boxing Classes. To this end I have devised
certain training techniques that make use of both arts.
The main difference between the two arts in a combat sense is that
t’ai chi tends to evade or yield, blocking the outer lines of defense to
attack the center line. In pa-kua we tend to break anything that comes
in contact with the ‘hammer palm feelers’ and then attack the
center. The both ways of fighting are correct and will of course depend
greatly upon the type of body using them. A small person
would not try to barge in and break anything that came in contact
with his palm but rather evade and attack the center. The larger person
would be able to break any- thing that came in contact with his
palms and then get at the center. By the same token, a smaller person
would usually try to block onto the ‘closed side’ (covered earlier) to
avoid the opponent’s other arm or leg. The larger person would not
worry so much about the closed side but rather come straight in on
either side, crushing everything in his path.
The single pounding palm from pa-kua chang is a most formidable
weapon and when used correctly can break an attacking arm or wrist
with one blow. The low double-handed block from T’ai chi however
is used to block very heavy punches or kicks using the both arms and
then re-attack very quickly. I have put these two techniques together
into a two person training set. This way everyone regardless of size
is able to practice and use both of the above methods and gain something
from them.
It has been my experience to know that you will need some form of
forearm protection, as the pa-kua palm is very powerful.