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Bajiquan Wikipedia

Bāj??qu??n (八極拳,literally eight extremes fist) is a style of wushu (Chinese martial arts)
that features explosive, short range power and is famous for its elbow strikes. It originated in Hebei Province of North China, but is also well-known in other places as well today, especially Taiwan.

It was in some ways made famous by the Sega video game hit Virtua Fighter, as the style that the main character Akira Yuki practices, though none of the many representations of Baji Quan in popular media has ever been very accurate.

The major features of this somewhat rare school of Chinese Martial Arts include elbow strikes, hip checks, and strikes with the shoulder. All techniques are executed with a very distinctive form of short power, developed through rigorous, sometimes torturous training. Strategically, Baji focuses on in-fighting, entering from a longer range with Baji's distinctive Charging Step and issuing power up close.

Made famous in (somewhat) recent times by Li Shu Wen (1864-1934), a fighter from Shandong province whose skill with a spear earned him the nickname "God of Spear Li." His most famous quote about fighting was, "I do not know what it's like to hit a man twice." Certainly a bit of hyperbole, but still speaks for the shocking power Baji training develops. Li Shu Wen's most famous students include Hou Dian Ge (bodyguard to Pu Yi, the last emperor of China), Li Chen Wu (bodyguard to Mao Zedong), and Liu Yun Chiao (secret agent for the nationalist Kuomintang and instructor of the bodyguards of Chiang Kai Shek). Because of this, Bajiquan as come to be known as "The Bodyguard Style."

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Last Modified:   2005-11-04