Martial arts has for long been a favorite for people, who want to excel in physical combat, so as to defeat others or to deal with physical attacks against them. There are various forms of martial arts that are practiced till date. One such form of martial art is the Bajiquan. The original name for Bajiquan was “Baziquan”, which literally meant “rake fist”, in Chinese and it got its name from the reality that while not attacking, the individual’s fist is kept slightly open, which resembles a rake; it also says that the art had downward movements resembling a rake moving in the fields. The term “Baji” in Chinese means to extend the directions and include everything.
This form of martial arts gains its ruthlessness by being simple, direct and powerful in ways to attack the opponent. Other forms of martial arts always tend to show their beauty and power through the movements, which is not followed by Bajiquan. It relies mainly on striking with the elbows and the shoulders, fist bashes and hip check with a special form of power inculcated by a rigorous schedule of training. In the martial arts community, Bajiquan is famous for its violent and fast movements, which take any opponent by surprise, leading to his downfall. Bajiquan emphasizes on striking the weak and vulnerable parts of the body such as the trunk of the body or thorax as it is known, legs and neck. Any blow to these vulnerable parts renders the opponent defenseless which is one of the biggest advantages Bajiquan has over its opponents.
Wu Zhong
The first teacher, who is credited with the creation of Bajiquan is a person named Wu-Zhong (in Hebei province, China) who is believed to have learnt the original and crude version of the style from two Taoist monks with the name – Lai and Pi. Another story says that once when Wu-Zhong was practicing the traditional forms of martial arts he knew, diligently in front of his house, a person watched him and started to laugh. The person said that he was not practicing properly. When asked by Wu-Zhong to show the correct way, the man did some moves. Wu-Zhong was immediately impressed by the moves the man practiced and asked him to take him as his student. The old man first refused, but after many requests he agreed to take him as his student. The man taught Wu-Zhong for ten long years and taught him everything he knew. When the man was about to leave, Wu-Zhong asked his name and he replied that he is known as Lai. Wu-Zhong later improved the ways of Bajiquan to make it invincible.
Bajiquan shares its roots along with another form of martial arts, the Piguazhang. Many believe that Wu-Zhong, at the start of the Bajiquan lineage, started teaching both the forms of the art, as a combined form of one single fighting system. The two forms split apart and were later recombined by another famous teacher Li Shuwen by the end of the 18th century. Li Shuwen is supposed to have claimed that he did not know any ways of hitting an individual twice to defeat him. Li Shuwen’s skill with spear earned him the name – God of Spear Li. Another famous teacher, who taught the art of Bajiquan, was Wu Xiu Feng. Li Shuwen taught students and his famous students included Li Chenwu, Liu Yun Qiao and Huo Dian Ge, who was the bodyguard of Pu Yi, the final emperor of the China. The art of bajiquan came to be famous as the Bodyguard Style. Ma Yin Tu and Ma Feng Tu introduced Bajiquan into the Academy of Chinese Martial Arts, where it was mandatory for all the students.
In the present times, there is more than one family line that lay claim to the art of Bajiquan. The families of Huo, Han, Wu-Tan, Wu and the Li – all lay claims to the art of Bajiquan and are supposed to be related somehow to the master Liu Yunqaio. The forms of bajiquan practiced by the different family lines are different. There are minor differences within the training and the skills taught, but the basics remain the same for each family line. All the family lines teach the same Bajiquan with the same ruthlessness and swift motions, which take the opponent by surprise and render him helpless. One among the lineage holders of the Wu family in the China is the famous Wu Lian Zhi. He is supposed to have collected documents from fifty years of rigorous training of Bajiquan, which are handed down from one generation to another.