Vimana Vajra

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The Fighting sets of Yin Fu Baguazhang by Kevin Wikse.

November 25, 2023

The fighting sets of Yin Fu Style Baguazhnag, most notably the infamous "piercing palms," serve as a bridge for individuals with little to no prior combat experience to practice Yin Fu Baguazhang's martial strategies and health-building exercises, especially circle-walking, before the more specialized aspects of Yin style Baguazhang which generally required a student to have a solid foundation in martial arts to begin with. Yin Fu Style Baguzhang's fighting sets are mainly separate from the art's esoteric I-Ching connections. These are fighting forms, and while the student does assume a "posture" or "body" such as Lion, Dragon (by far the most well known), Pheonix or even Bear, these postures, in this context, are stripped down in essence, purely transmitting kinetic chains of movement and acting as delivery systems for the martial payload. That is not to say the advanced, esoteric methods of Yin Fun Baguazhang founded on the I-Ching are le

Bagua circle walking leaves your mark upon the world, by Kevin Wikse.

August 30, 2023

On and off, from 2016 to 2019, I regularly (when I was in Idaho) practiced long hours of Bagua circle walking around a specific tree in Settler's Park, Meridian, Idaho. Here we are, four years later, and the circle I walked still shows up. Looks like a crop circle... -Kevin Wikse

The Eight Attacks of the Bear Baguazhang by Kevin Wikse.

August 03, 2023

"Eight Attacks of the Bear" is an intermediate set of Vimana Varja Baguazhang, which develops full-body shocking and jarring effects through explosive short-power attacks, jamming, and sudden redirection of forces. Building off the unrelenting and primarily linear-based attacks of Lion's pure yang energy, the Eight Attacks of the Bear introduces attacks of heavy, sinking, and collapsing yin-style power paired with a yang mindset and attitude. Bear expresses Gen, or the Mountain gua, of the I-Ching. The Eight Attacks of the Bear set teaches heavy-handed offense and defense methods. Bear seeks to concuss and rattle the attacker with careening shots from jagged upward and downward angles. Other tactics include jamming the opponent's attacks by aggressively occupying their space, projecting them backward with braced force as a bird crashes into a window, and a defense that redirects attacks but also sucks energy in, pulverizes it like a woodchipper. The Eight At

Eight Attack of the Lion Baguazhang by Kevin Wikse.

July 29, 2023

"Eight Attacks of the Lion" is a highly productive and result-producing beginner's set of Vimana Vajra Baguazhang, which amasses and hones an impressive arsenal of martial weapons while establishing a solid foundation for more advanced Baguazhang sets. Eight Attacks of the Lion is extremely "Yang" in nature, assuming the shape of the I-Ching's "Heaven" trigram or "Lion" mind and body. Highly versatile and comprised of eight minimalist and spartan "turnarounds," Eight Attacks of the Lion can be applied to circle walking or performed as line drills. Each "turnaround" is direct and simplistic, focused nearly exclusively on attacking and offensive strategies common to the "Lion." Each attack is meant to be drilled and repeated ad nausea. The footwork of the lion is heavy and springy, with stabbing and sything actions for stepping. The Eight Attack of the Lion Pounce/Leap Penetrating. Pounding. Cutting. Slicing

Directed Energy, first of the Eight Mothership Palms of Vimana Vajra Baguazhang by Kevin WIkse.

July 27, 2023

The "Directed Energy" turn-around is the "Single Palm" change of my Vimana Vajra Baguazhang's "Eight Mothership" palms foundational set. Exceptionally "yang" in nature, meaning aggressive and straight to the point, the Directed Energy turn-around features a triple palm strike employing the same hand, utilizing the three shapes most responsible for all the death, damage, and destruction by palm strikes in human history. In addition to serving as a platform for launching the mind, body, and spirit into a weaponization process, Directed Energy turn-around teaches the practitioner how to direct their energy to a singular focus point, maintain it even while altering its trajectory, and toggle between right and left sides of the body. This training keeps the practitioner's mind and body active even when they appear static. The applications are great, and many not just for a martial artist but for anyone developing any practice where directing e

"Fire, walk with me." The Rooster Shape Baguazhang by Kevin Wikse.

June 30, 2023

Birthed from the Fire Gua or Trigram of the I-Ching, Rooster Shape Baguzhang is an animistic personification of fire. Explosive, quick, and always moving, the action of the Rooster is that of a flame's ability to leap to new and nearby sources of fuel. The Rooster hops and struts like the pops and snaps of a long string of firecrackers; each step and movement of the Rooster is sharp, fast, and powerful. Fire Gua The Fire Gua or Trigram of the I-Ching is drawn as two unbroken yang lines, top and bottom, with a split ying line sandwiched between them, which denotes the idea that fire possesses qualities of circling and clinging, spiraling around and engulfing its fuel sources. Even while expanding outward, the fire's primary movement is upward (if only to generate power for the downward). The Rooster is the same, utilizing rapid spiral stepping, launching kicks, knees, palm strikes, palm/backhand whips (mimicking a rooster's wings flapping), slicing elbows, and chopping str