Saskatoon Nine Dragon Baguazhang
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Location
Albert Community Centre
610 Clarence Ave S.
Saskatoon, SK
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Hexagram and Posture Correspondences
Jiulong Baguazhang is both conceptually and physically related to the philosophy of the Yi Jing, or The Classic of Changes. The Yi Jing is an ancient book used to inform the reader of possible ways to move advantageously from one situation to another. It can provide direction when one is faced with difficulties in life if one is skilled at interpreting both the event one is immersed in and the Yi Jing designation that corresponds to that situation. The designations are called “gua.” The word “gua” is translated into English as both “trigram” and “hexagram.” Each gua is composed of yin (broken) and yang (solid) lines, a trigram having 3 lines in any combination and a hexagram being composed of two trigrams, thus having six lines. The words “ba gua” mean “eight trigram,” and points to the philosophical connection the Li family makes between the eight palms in Jiulong Baguazhang and the Yi Jing.
The Yi Jing gua, I, or Nourishment, represents the hand position called Dragon Rolling the Pearl in the Xin Fu Gompa’s beginner curriculum. A brief examination of the potential meanings behind the gua may inform your practice. The gua exists in two primary shapes: a ladder and a diamond. Each can be interpreted differently.
I, Nourishment Ladder Shape:
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I, Nourishment Diamond Shape:
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Zhan Zhuang (Standing Meditation) is designed to teach us how to strengthen and direct our intent. The heart of the ladder-style I gua is empty, as our heart-minds (Xin) should be empty of capricious desires. The single boundary yang lines (top and bottom) suggest a gentle regulation of the mind is useful and a rigid mentality may not be. My first impression from this gua was that Man, when filled with intention, manifests himself upon the Earth, physically, and in Heaven via thoughts, ideas and spirit.
Thus our practice must be filled with intention to produce both technical excellence and a passionate/spirited action. Intention, Yi, or the unseen/hidden part of us, is the major force that sustains us in any challenge, of the spirit or body. This is especially apparent in the diamond-style I gua. Intention swells from a solid foundation and is focused in order to manifest.
The shape is symmetric horizontally, also. This shows me that foundation and pinnacle/initiation and manifestation reflect one another. Others have already addressed the ideas of non-localization and ball-and-wedge present in the shapes above.
In relation to generating Jin and producing whole-body force:
Thunder
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Thunder can be seen as the outbreak of yang force which has been hidden, accumulated in the earth during winter. This indicates the development of intention-power through Zhan Zhuang. Thunder can also be seen as the result of the clash between yin and yang. As the Yi-intention and the Xin-passion intertwine, expression becomes possible, action becomes possible. Thunder is the power and movement of the legs moving the body and transmitting power through the body (remember this when you look at the hollow shape of the four central yin lines).
Mountain
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Mountain has the spirit of action, or intention manifesting from quietude. Again, this speaks to the importance of intention and that it precedes action. Mountain also indicates an arrest, a halt to advancement. This suggests that the intention is progressively increased, focused, and discharged without attachment. The hands come out of nowhere and stop things with finality.
The entire gua suggests a clean Jin-line supported by a firm, but mobile connection to the ground while experiencing no hindrance to entrainment, no development of tension within the body between the feet and hands or between intention and action, and an intense, brief manifestation in the hands (perhaps as Fa-Jin).
The Rolling the Pearl curriculum is designed to develop whole body power, train the Yi, encourage spontaneity of action, and expose the student to the fundamental principles of Jiulong Baguazhang. I hope this short exposition of the relationship between the gua, I or Nourishment, and the posture, Rolling the Pearl, is of use to you in your Jiulong Baguazhang studies.