Bagua for Beginners Eight Palms DVD 1 (YMAA Kung Fu) Chenhan Yang **Baguazhang Bestseller**

The actor does a great job of demonstrating Bagua. He does a couple of athletic moves which are beyond my physical ability. I purchased this DVD to figure out what the differences are between Tai Chi and Bagua. Tai Chi uses the entire body to exert force (i.e., Jing). Bagua based upon the artist demonstration appears to be based more on muscular strength - from the waist up.

very good with one draw back it is to light to see the hands clearly

Not really for beginners but its good information. There are better instructional videos available that are more beginner friendly.

Great presentation and a detailed example and demonstration of 8 palm

I enjoyed this DVD. The speaker's English is clear. He faces the camera and what he has to say make sense. When the second volume comes out, I will likely purchase.This DVD is stripped down. It has eight palms, basic stances, and eight Circular Palm change "forms." No history, Trigrams, applications. Chinese words are kept to a minimum. The backdrop -- bookshelves with swords and certificates above, is a little busy but serviceable. As far as I know, there is no accompanying text, which can be helpful for learning.One major caution: "For Beginners" is a questionable title. If you have little or no Chinese internal arts training, and have never learned a new sequence from video, you will be lost. Most "beginners" get dizzy watching or doing circle walking and the DVDs relatively quick pace will confuse them.In my experience, Bagua circle walking is usually taught with outside foot arcing in, then inside foot making a straight step. This version uses inside foot toeing out, toward the center. If you get the weight transfer right, this makes a tighter circle, and may be quicker. The problem is, it challenges and overstretches the knees, if not done smoothly.Also, some of the palm changes shown use a 360 degree spin on one leg. In traditional tai chi, some steps also use a spin, but most "beginners" will struggle to follow it, and then imitate. It is another knee challenge, and I have found it wrenches my back to do them counterclockwise.

I liked everything. I use this DVD for training

It was what I was looking for.

I'd like to mention at the outset that I received a free copy of this DVD for review from YMAA Publishing Center … I'm also happy to report hat this instructional offering meets the high production standards and clarity of presentation that a longtime customer like me has come to expect from this publisher …I think it's important to note, however, that the present video is NOT intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of Baguazhang … For that, you'll want to look at the book and DVD co-authored by Yang Jwing-Ming and Liang Shou-Yu (BAGUAZHANG: THEORY AND APPLICATIONS [book] / BAGUAZHANG – EMEI BAGUAZHANG [DVD]), also published by YMAA … What the present DVD does – and does brilliantly – is offer detailed instruction on the classic Eight Palms sequence from the bottom up: beginning with the eight palm shapes and the basics of circle walking, and proceeding meticulously through each form ("palm") in the sequence … Master Chenhan Yang brings a genial yet businesslike presence to his presentation that I found particularly appealing and apropos, very much in the spirit of giving a master seminar on a specific aspect of the art – which is how I think this offering should be taken …That said, then, I'd hesitate to recommend this DVD to someone utterly new to the intricacies of baguazhang, but would heartily endorse it as a resource for anyone who has at least some grasp of the fundamentals …

It does what I want it to.

Beginners should start with standing posture practice which isn't covered.

Ver well built up from first principles through to more difficult palm changes, with movements isolated and repeated for the student, and beautifully executed by this master. Truly inspirational.

I don't think this is a modern approach its too classical not what I wanted. The masterDoes not break the form down. The music drives me nuts.

This is the second disc i have had from amazon which according to YMAA are not supposed to be sold on purple discs but they should be on silver discs therefore are sub standard and do not meet the standard that should be going outto custo ers