Piguazhang This style, known throughout China, is one of the great fists. Not only is it loose, fluid, beautiful and effective but the relaxed movements are excellent for health. PiGua style blends extreme flexibility of the shoulder with Long Fist motions and a relaxed method of Fa Chin (energy issuing). Often taught hand in hand with BaJiquan these two compliment each other beautifully. But then again PiGua (which transformed into Monkey Fist through the centuries) has been known to "marry" well with many other styles. PiGua can be variously translated as Split-Deflect or Ax-Hitch Boxing. In the old days this was a form of Kung Fu used when warriors wore armor. The very famous Ming general Ch'i Chi-Kuang (Qi Jiguang) in his book New Essays on Martial Arts the act of fighting while armor-clad. In 1928 when the well known and influential National Wushu Institute was formed a PiGua master of repute, Ma YingTu, was put in charge of the entire operation. One of his first acts was to invite Guo Changsheng, another PiGua practitioner from Hebei, to lecture at the institute. Together they did one of the first restructurings of Wushu not only streamlining the style, adding power moves but taking as inspiration the ancient actions of 24 Movement TongBei Chuan (Through the Back Fist). Much of the PiGua now popular came from the efforts of these two men and the revised version they created. However much traditionally structured PiGua remains. PiGua concentrates on movements which are complimentary, actions that reinforce one another. A good PiGua demostrator exhibits accuravy, fluency, agility, continuity, speed, power, subtlety and ingenuity. PiGua players are known for slow stance work but very fast hand motions. Arm strikes arrive from highly unusual angles often tracking to a "return" flight to reach their targets. PiGua, also known as Long-Armed Ape Style, is truly unique in execution. The arms are move with such extreme looseness that practitioners often seem to have no bones. (In fact, for emphasis, many performers were their sleeves extra long to heighten the effect. Because of this PiGua is particularily appropriate to female players with high flexibility). PiGua is a popular style in China and sometimes mixed with other forms. The most famous marriage is that of PiGuazhang and BaJiquan two styles which really seems to compliment each other. And, indeed, there are bridge forms such as PiGua/BaJi first which cross both styles. PiGua, due to its loose arm flapping and extremely sinuous appearance is often said to resemble the animal actions of the Snake and the Eagle. Reprinted from a description at Plum Publishing's Website. Piguazhang (chop-hanging palm) can also be called piguaquan (chop-hanging fist), but due to its emphasis on the use of the palm techniques it is more commonly called piguazhang. The ancient name of this style was "drape-hanging fist" (also pronounced piguaquan), and was already famous more than six hundred years ago in the middle period of the Ming dynasty. It was generally acknowledged to been spread from the LuoTong area in the southeastern villages of Cang County, in the HeBei Province of China. According to Grandmaster Liu, bajiquan and piguazhang were both taught by Wu Zhong and belonged to one integrated training system. After Wu Rong (daughter of Wu Zhong) was married into LuoTong, LuoTong and the surrounding area began to specialize in the practice of piguazhang. So bajiquan and piguazhang gradually became two separate systems. However, both styles are obviously complimentary to each other. Bajiquan is visibly hard in its appearance, its jings are short and crispy, and its combat strategy primarily employs short-range fighting in body-to-body contact distance. On the other hand, piguazhang is soft in its appearance, its jings are continuous and long, and its combat strategy is that of long-range fighting. Therefore, there have always been these proverbs about the two systems: "When pigua is added to Baji, gods and demons will all be terrified" and "When baji is added to pigua, heros will sigh knowing they are no match against it." Reprinted from a description at Grandmaster Liu Yun Quao's Website. Extensive Introduction to Pigua Quan - Work in Progress Read the Future in Your Pigua Palms - by Adam Hsu Long Fist's Three Greatest Styles - In ba ji, pi qua and mei hua, long fist practitioners find everything they need to create a complete style. By Ted Mancuso

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