Bagua Swimming Body Palms is the second book written by Wang Shujin,
one of the world's foremost exponents of Chinese internal martial arts
and a renowned expert of Bagua Zhang. This volume continues the process
of bringing Master Wang's important art to Western readers. More
intricate than the Linked Palms form, Swimming Body Palms helps
practitioners achieve fluent body mechanics and the ability to connect
and flow from one movement to the next with power. Master Wang, who
taught Swimming Palms to only a few advanced students, described it as
"swim-walking," or swimming around the body.
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Bagua Swimming Body Palms* offers a thorough grounding in the basics of
Bagua principles and practice, and illuminates the connection between
the cultural meanings of the I Ching and the physical movements of
Bagua Zhang. The photographs from the Chinese book are reprinted, along
with hundreds of new photographs of translator Kent Howard demonstrating
the exercises in greater detail. Sifu Howard provides extensive
commentary on Master Wang's writings, and Daoist master Huang Jinsheng
contributes a thoughtful essay on Master Wang's spiritual practice with
the esoteric Daoist sect Yi Guan Dao. The book's engaging style,
fidelity to the Chinese text, and comprehensiveness make it a welcome
addition to any martial arts library.
