順勢掌 shun shi zhang
One of the basic ideas of baguazhang is to never use force against force. The following change trains the techniques of following along, leading, and using smoothness to beat brute strength. The variations train folding and returning, ‘duck splits the water’, and ‘swallow skims the water’. This palm change emphasizes koubu and baibu once again. Later changes emphasize body work more.
Movement Names: Stab to heaven and earth, Gaizhang, Hide a flower under a leaf, Dragon turns its head.
Description: starting in dragon form with the left hand up.
Action One: Koubu the left foot (inside foot) to point away from the centre, settling firmly into the left leg. Stab the left hand up until the upper arm is at the head, and stab the right hand to place the back of the hand at the hip. The left arm is straight up at the left ear.
Action Two: Baibu the right foot, keeping the weight back and the arms in the same position. Look through the upper arm. The back will now face the centre of the circle.
Action Three: Look to the right. Large koubu the left foot, coming around to gaizhang the left hand along the line of the circle. The chest will now angle towards the centre of the circle.
Action Four: Hook the left hand, settle into a drop stance, and thread the right hand along inside the leg, palm rolled over to face up. Keep the body straight. If you cannot do a full drop stance, do a really clean half mabu.
Action Five: Shift forward and move into ‘hide the flower under a leaf’. Set into the back leg as you come up, to arrive in a centred half mabu stance, stretching out the arms fully. Then do ‘dragon turns its head’. You have not changed sides. To change sides, do the single palm change.
The variations of following change are not in any specific order. They are numbered for convenience.
First variation. Starting the same, going almost to the end of the change. Instead of turning back into the drop stance after the gaizhang, koubu to the outside of the circle, threading the rear hand through under the armpit away from the circle. Then roll the body over, ducking the head under the arm to go directly into the dragon form. Do not pass the hands over or behind the head. This has thus changed sides, and you can go directly to dragon walking.
Second variation: This starts with the same movements as the standard change, but repeats the drop stance three times. It then does a liaozhang, a ‘swallow dips the water’ , and a ‘duck swims’, all three times. This opens up the groin area. (I actually learned this as the standard following change). Repeat the drop stance threading palm three times. If you do not drop down fully, do liaozhang half mabu repeats. Then do ‘swallow dips the water’ three times. This also settles into a drop stance. Cross the arms in front of the body, circle them, stretching them fully up and down, to finish with the fingers pointing on the toes in front and a hook hand behind. If you cannot do a full drop stance to touch your foot, do an open mabu and yazhang. Then do ‘duck swims’ three times. Shift back and forth in a drop stance (or low mabu). Bring the arm that just completed the downward touch around at above shoulder height to the other side, palm up. Since this is done by turning the body, the other arm stays stretched out behind the body. Coil the lead arm in towards the bpdy then stretch it out behind into a hook hand, reaching the rear arm and turning the palm up to come to the other side of the body. Repeat this three times. To finish, do another drop stance to thread through and go directly to dragon form, having changed sides.
Third variation: Step the outside (right) foot slightly to the outside of the circle line. Koubu the inside (left) foot around, landing on the circle line with the body facing in. Place the right hand on the right knee and keep the left hand up. This is similar to the position taken in the standard following change, but facing in instead of out. Then koubu the left foot around, landing back around with the body angled out a bit. Gaizhang with the left hand. Then drop stance with a right thread palm, move forward to ‘hide the flower under a leaf’ and turn to dragon. You have not changed sides.