BaJi Quan 八極拳

Bājíquán (Traditional Chinese: 八極拳, Simplified Chinese: 八极拳) also known by its full name, Kai Men Ba Ji Quan 開門八極拳, is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short range power and is particularly famous for its elbow strikes. It originated amongst the Hui people in Hebei Province in Northern China, but has since spread globally, particularly to Taiwan and to Japan, where it is known as Hakkyokuken.

## Name

The name Bājíquán 八極拳 translates literally as "Eight Extremes Boxing", with the character Ji 極 being the same as in Taijiquan meaning "extreme", "pole" or "furthest point". The full name, 開門八極拳 (Kai Men Ba Ji Quan) translates literally as "Open-Gate Eight Extremes Boxing", with 開門 referring to the idea of smashing through the target's defensive "gates", highlighting the aggressive nature of the martial art.

> "In Chinese martial arts, the posture that is held first, and from which skills are executed is usually called a gate. The use of an effective defense skill - one that neutralizes the opponent's attack - is referred to as "closing the gate." "Opening the gate" refers to an effective offensive skill that opens the opponent to an attack. The term "Kai Men" indicates that the skills of this style can open any gate and that no defense skill can be effective against them"
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The translation “eight poles” also suggests that the techniques extend far out in the eight directions - an idea which is discussed in Jiang RongQiao (姜容樵)'s 1933 article 八極拳攷證 (Examining Bājíquán). He also offers the suggestions "Eight Boundaries" and "Eight Directions". Paul Brennan's translation of the article offers a further translation of the name based on the inferred meaning, suggesting:

> Connotatively, the notion of the “eight poles” could perhaps be rendered as “Everywhere Boxing”, bracing in all directions in terms of structure, filling our surroundings in terms of power.
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The Wu Family credits Wu Ying/Rong with naming the style in 1790 (at the order of his father-in-law, Wu Zhong). Prior to this, the style had been referred to as YiShu (异术，unusual style/method), by Wu Zhong, or as Wu Jia Quan (吴家拳, Wu family boxing).

## Characteristics

Bājíquán is best known for its elbow strikes, and fast, short range strikes. Similar to Muay Thai's "Eight Limbs", Bājíquán uses "Eight Weapons" to strike:

* Feet
* Knees
* Hips
* Body
* Shoulders
* Elbows
* Arms
* Head

It is built around close, in-fighting, engaging aggressively from a longer range with its Chuang Bu (charging step) footwork and the characteristic sound of Zhen Jiao (foot stamp and sinking). Baji's horse stance is higher than that of typical Long Fist styles, and it also makes use of many other common Chinese martial arts stances such as xūbù 虚步 (empty stance). Baji has six major characteristic Jin 勁 (power issuing methods) which are:

* Sinking (Xia Chen 下沉 or Chen Zhui 沉墜)
* Thrusting (Chong 沖)
* Extending (Cheng 撑)
* Entangling (Chan 纏)
* Cross (Shi Zi 十字)
* Inch (Cun 寸).

Rather than making use of a wind-up/swinging motion to create momentum, most of Bājíquán's moves rely on short range explosive force, dealing damage through a combination of the momentary acceleration traveling from the waist to the striking limb and multiplied by Zhen Jiao. A good example can be seen in this video. The power comes from the sudden opening of the hips and the sudden stop after stepping which can be achieved by sliding the foot with the toes over the ground but with the heels raised to maintain connection.

## Media

### Bājíquán in popular culture

#### Documentaries

* Bājíquán in Mengcun - Korean [No Subs]
* KungFu Quest: S02 E03 - Bājíquán - Chinese [English Subs]
* The Great Zhao FuJiang 赵福江 - Chinese [No Subs]

#### Video Games

##### Shenmue (Series)

* Xiuying Bājíquán (See around 1:25 - the first part is PiGua)
* Ryo Hazuki-Ba Ji Quan(Fan Made)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 **八極拳 BAJI BOXING 繆淦傑 by Miao Ganjie [published Nov, 1936 ]**[translation by Paul Brennan, Dec, 2015] - Brennan Translation
2. ↑ Wu Ying/Rong (吴溁/荣) - Wu Family Bajiquan