Kung Fu - virtual yet authentic!

 As some of you may remember, some time ago I mentioned on this very blog that I was taking a step back to a beginner student process of learning a new, traditional-type art. It was not mentioned back then what it was, but now it has been a little bit over half a year, and this might be a nice opportunity to share some of my impressions.

First of all, although from my input here it is clear that my main areas of coverage are essentially FMA and RMA, along with a few other weapon based methods, as well as western fighting methods, including MMA, in the past, I have had a particular kind of interest for a long time when it comes to traditional Chinese arts. As an example, back in the second half of the 1990’s I spent a couple of years training in Uechi-ryu, which is normally perceived as a school of Okinawan karate, but in essence is a slightly modified southern Chinese martial system. That said, the teacher of that school, the late Mario Topolsek, also taught taijiquan and a little bit of baguazhang, of which the latter later become my favorite kung fu system. However, it too quite a number of years before I found a competent instructor to point me in the right direction of exploring baguazhang…but that is not my topic today.

Somehow, about a year ago I first learned about Baji Quan, one of the so-called northern schools of Chinese martial arts, coming of the Hui nationality, i.e. a Muslim minority from the Hebei province of China. This article will not deal with the historical background of the art, because that is not what attracted me to it. It was the quality of movement and overall attributed displayed by some of the exponents on the internet that drew my attention. 

As it often happens, there are several lineages of bajiquan out there, and my initial criterion for picking one was simple – availability! In this case, it means an online school, which then met other criteria of quality instruction and well presented material. I found that in the BaJiShu online program of sifu Vincent Mei.

So, what is it that makes his program good? First of all, it really is a program, which reflects the lineage from which sifu Mei comes, that of the renowned Wu Tan school of founder Liu Yunqiao in Taiwan. Basically, it is a curriculum of material that follows a well thought out progression, aimed at teaching the practitioners not just the moves, but also the underlining principles and physical attributes required for the proper execution. 

There are certain specific aspects of this online school that make it stand out. Namely, you can’t just sign in any time you want and then access the material at your own pace. No, you can enroll when a new group (cohort as it is called) is formed, thus starting the journey with several other people at the same time. Why is this important? For a very important reason – every week you get access to a video with material to be worked on, and then you have to submit homework for review. The neat aspect is that all of the classmates in a cohort submit their homework to the same online folder, so everyone is able to watch everyone else’s progress. Once a week, sifu Mei posts a review with commentary, critique, corrections and additional instruction, so you are able to learn from the common mistakes and general feedback, as well as the specific, individual comments. And let me tell you – the instructor has a sharp eye for catching even the smallest details of students’ performance. It also helps that he uses frame-by-frame video analysis to bring his point across.

The teaching approach is quite interesting. One of the forms from the school’s curriculum is taken as a lesson plan (which reminds me of FMA master Rey Galang!), and then dissected into components that make it. In practice, it typically means one of the maneuvers from the form is taught each week, presented as contained within the form, then analyzed in detail; next, the application is shown, so that the understanding of it gives a better feel for the moves; finally, a drill is derived from the technical elements, in order to really focus on the underlying principles of the material covered. 

By the way, the weekly lessons are not presented in isolation, but rather in each one the sifu leads an actual training session – warmup, basic exercises and foundational stances, followed by reps of essential punches and kicks. That way, it reminds you to put in your daily work before tackling new material. Trust me, with the attention to detail and weekly homework deadlines, you will never be complaining about not having enough to work on, despite the seemingly bite sized instruction.

The whole package is expanded by membership in a BaJiShu members only group on Facebook, where you can exchange opinions and experiences related to lessons and other material of interest, thus reinforcing the sense of belonging, as in a non-virtual class or club/school.

Yet, if you are not a person who can commit to this approach, you can order standalone weapon programs or recordings of Bajiquan seminars held every year.

For those who would like to have a peek into where the training leads to over long-term practice, sifu Mei has a Youtube channel with ample additional input for those who need the motivation from a wider context of what the program has to offer in the later stages of instruction. Honestly, while I am perfectly happy with working on whatever happens to be the ongoing lesson at the time, it is nice to see some partner drills to complement the functional understanding or absorption of the information.

All in all, with his BaJiShu project, sifu Vincent Mei has been doing great things for bringing the traditional Chinese martial arts into the 21^st century. So much so, that he was able to generate enough interest and support for the expansion of the concept, so now the Tsang Wu Ge Academy project he started is offering other Shu classrooms – Chang Chuan and Hung Ga, with top-tier instructors…and hopefully even more systems coming in the future.

In conclusion, BaJiShu is a prime example of how modern communication technologies and media can be used to adequately propagate traditional martial arts as best as possible, short of in-person instruction. And in order to bridge that shortcoming, sifu Mei goes on annual seminar tours of North America, Asia and Europe, thus creating possibility for members of his online academy to also experience the dimension of live instruction and cross hands with other practitioners. What better way to deepen the feeling of belonging and commitment?

To this practitioner – the whole package is clearly the winning combination!