Ba Gua: Advanced Hidden Knowledge in the Taoist Internal Martial Art

"The book covers the history and development of Bagua quite indepth and I found it quite a good read. The only thing I was dissapointed about was the form, the instructions were not that clear and none of the possible applications were talked about in the form. I would only get the book to learn more about the history and development of Bagua."
~ Written on 2002-01-23

"Books about ba gua are rare, so I snapped this up as soon as I saw it. I liked the history aspect of the book which tells how ba gua was developed, the purpose of walking in a circle, etc. But aside from that, it's clear that the author has reached a refined degree of practice and understanding about this profound art. It inspired me to resume learning ba gua, and much more seriously than before. It's a great book for anyone interested in tai chi, chi gung, and other internal martial arts."
~ Written on 1999-06-08

"I am a former student of Master John Bracy, and a T'ai Chi instructor at the Kapiolani Women's Center and 24Hour Fitness in Hawaii. I studied T'ai Chi Ch'uan at Hsing Chen School of Internal Healing Arts and had the opportunity to observe private classes with my Sifu and his Ba Gua students. I remember hearing the shared laughter between teacher and student as they challenged each other using this mysterious and beautiful art. I found this book on Ba Gua to be informative and inspiring. I now incorporate the chapter on Ba Gua Qigong in my classes and my life and have made his book "required" reading for every student. They tell me that reading "Ba Gua" helped them achieve a deeper and clearer understanding of T'ai Chi as well as stimulate interest in learning more about Ba Gua. I hope that all students of the internal arts get a chance to read this well written work. It's like getting private lessons with the Grand Masters!"
~ Written on 1999-05-23

"I recomend this book simply because English books on baguazhang are rare to begin with. However, the potential reader should be aware of a few problems. First of all, the author jumps from basic circle walking directly to two-man exercises and applications. This will cause a problem for beginners who might benefit from pictures of the author's form so that they can get a "feel" for how the style moves (baguazhang doesn't move like anything else). So a beginner will have no frame of reference. However, I can't say this is a book for advanced practicioners either because the applications are very (!) simplistic. Don't look here for bagua's inherent complexity! Also, the exercises and applications are difficult to follow because they lack arrows depicting the movements of the practicioners. The first 50 pages on history and theory are pretty good although they borrow heavily from the "Pa Kua Chang Journal" which (in Bracy's defence) was a pretty comprehensive journal and a tough act to follow. I guess I was also disappointed in this book because Liu Xing Han's Chinese books are considered modern classics (and rightly so). Why not simply translate them and make them available to the baguazhang community?"
~ Written on 1999-03-28

"In english bagua literature any contribution to the field is admirable, for every book serves to inspire and record great practicioners for the future. This book, however, will set a new standard for internal martial arts texts. John Bracy's Ba Gua marks a milestone in the slow growth of Ba Gua literature in the west. It is comprehensive in coverage, providing historical, structural, and practical examples of this authentic style. Along with a handful of others, this bagua book will stand as an extremely valuable requirement for every internal kung fu library. Future bagua writers will be challenged to document their art, thoroughly practicing and exploring every aspect, in an effort to meet the level of this text."
~ Written on 1999-02-07