• GENERAL
  
• WUDANG SANFENG
  
• ZHAOBAO
  
• CHEN
  
• YANG
  
• WU (Wu Yuxiang)
  
• WU (Wu Jianquan)
  
• SUN
  
• HULEI
  
• OTHERS INTERNAL STYLES
  
  • XINGYI QUAN
  • BA GUA ZHANG
  • LIU HE BA FA
    
• WEAPONS
  
  • SWORD
  • SABER
  • SPEAR
  • STICK

WUDANG ZHAO BAO TAIJIQUAN (ZHAOBAO)

ZHAO BAO CHARACTERISTICS (II)

The principle of "bei si kou" and the diagram of Lai Zhi De
The seven rules of the Zhao Bao Style
The seven levels of the Gong-Fu (mastery).

When beginning to study the Zhao Bao style, one has to revolve "tan-tien" (one of the vital corporal centres) by the circle movement of hands.. The gyrating movement that begins in the hands by means of after-heaven "Bei Si Kou", soon becomes a revolving movement from where "tan-tien" comes, the one that is transmitted to the extremities, it´s called before-heaven "Bei Si Kou". Its practice is, indeed, to cultivate the Tao, to feed "qi “on the "Virtual plane" –habitually called before-heaven or Xian Tian- (inherited, original), to practice tai-chi chuan is to manage to attract the before-heaven through the not innate. The "bei si kou" (or winding division), is exactly, the change of the original chaos, tai-chi is, exactly, the change of "bei si kou". Each position practices the improvement of the "empty circles". Inside the state of everything are three uprights, four alignments, six coincidences and eight pursuits. During the four alignments the centre of gravity of the body cannot be lifted.

The internal flow of each movement is going to the end of four points:

The teeth are the ends of the bones, lingua is at the end of the muscles, the nails are the ends of the sinews, the hair and the pore are at the end of "qi '".

BEI SI KOU and DIAGRAM of LAI ZHI DE

One of the most important characteristics of the style is called "bèi sï kòu” which I will translate as "winding division". The principle of this concept is based on the Taiji diagram of Lái Zhï De'. Of the emptiness ("kòng") without poles (lacking) or fundamental chaos, one goes to the polarization (to have), from there to the sprouting of the connected opposite curves, in the form of "that" (winding division), and to the extreme polarization (formation of yin-yang) which can be seen on the diagram Lái Zhï De' as well as in the concept "bei si kou". For its diverse types, and how it is applied in the martial technique, see the article of Zhang Xiumu, in the section "Articles" that will be published next.

"Bei si kou" is a "gong-fu", a work, a skill, that actually always has to be present part of Zhao Bao, from the beginning of the first movement and finally to the last one. Since we began to study this form until at last we managed to keep all its mysteries awake in the last master’s degree. Without its assimilation and development it is impossible to enter the "secret" of tai-chi chuan Zhao Bao.