Tai Chi vs. Baguazhang
Quick answer
Tai Chi (taijiquan) and baguazhang are both classed among the internal Chinese martial arts, taijiquan has documented practice from the transition between the Ming and Qing dynasties in Henan, and baguazhang is traced to Dong Haichuan in the 19th century. Taijiquan rests on slow forms and partner tuishou, baguazhang on circle walking and eight palms. Taijiquan is an IWUF taolu discipline and has a number of randomized studies, while for baguazhang we have not found an IWUF competition discipline or a health study.
At a glance
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | China | China |
| Origin | Early modern (present form) | 19th century (present form) |
| Founder | Zhang Sanfeng (by tradition) | Dong Haichuan |
| Contact | Light contact | – |
| Sparring | Light contact | – |
| Competition format | Forms | – |
| Olympic status | Not Olympic | Not Olympic |
| Rank recognition | unknown | unknown |
| Weapons | Weapons optional | Weapons optional |
| Forms | Forms at the core | Forms at the core |
| Relative cost | low | unknown |
| Katas and forms in the encyclopedia | 11 | 1 |
| Techniques in the encyclopedia | 8 | – |
Scales 1–5
Rated for the typical training of an adult beginner in an ordinary club, calibrated across all arts.
What each art is built from
Editorial rating 0–3: how much room each area gets in ordinary training.
History and relationship
Tai Chi (taijiquan) and baguazhang are both classed today among the internal Chinese martial arts (neijia). The distinction between internal and external first appears in the epitaph that Huang Zongxi wrote for Wang Zhengnan in 1669, and his son Huang Baijia compiled the manual Neijia quanfa in 1676. The sources do not claim that Huang introduced the term.
- Taijiquan: the exact origin is unknown, the most fully documented practice begins during the transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty in the villages of Chenjiagou and Zhaobao in Henan, and UNESCO places its emergence in the mid-17th century. Chen Wangting (1580–1660) may have founded the Chen style, and the dispute over the origin of the Chen and Zhaobao styles remains open.
- Taijiquan in the 19th century: Yang Luchan studied for 18 years with Chen Changxing, then taught in Yongnian and in Beijing. The term taiji is first publicly linked with the art in a poem by Weng Tonghe about his performance.
- Baguazhang: Dong Haichuan, born in 1797 or 1813, left Hebei around 1853, arrived in Beijing around 1864, served in the household of Prince Su and later worked as a tax official. He died in 1882. The sources do not state the year when he began teaching publicly.
- Baguazhang after Dong: the branches of his students Yin Fu, Cheng Tinghua, Liang Zhenpu and Gao Yisheng. Cheng Tinghua (1848–1900) died during the Boxer Rebellion, shot by German soldiers.
- Taijiquan in the 20th century: in 1932 Tang Hao examined family records in Chenjiagou, and his book challenged the myth of Zhang Sanfeng as the creator of the art.
UNESCO inscribed taijiquan on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020. On the national intangible heritage list of the PRC, Chen-style taijiquan was added in 2006 and baguazhang in 2008, as item no. 797 for Hebei province, which in 2011 was extended by the Beijing branch from the Xicheng district.
Technique
- Slow, flowing forms, and in the Chen style an alternation of slow and fast movements, silk reeling and explosive bursts of force (fajin).
- Tuishou: partner work with the eight gates, of which peng, lu, ji and an are given as the basic ones.
- Walking in a circle in low stances, facing the centre with regular changes of direction, the circle for beginners being about 1.8–3.7 m in diameter.
- Strikes, kicks, locks and throws with evasive circular footwork, with palms such as the piercing and the striking palm.
- Character of the branches: Cheng palm pressure, close-range fighting and locks, Yin piercing with the palms.
The circle is the basis of movement in baguazhang in all its forms, and the description of the technique also mentions circling around the opponent to the back. Taijiquan builds on forms and practises contact with a partner in tuishou.
Training
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis of practice | forms, which in the Chen style are often preceded by standing zhan zhuang and silk-reeling qigong | walking in a circle in low stances |
| Partner work | tuishou | we have not found a description of partner practice |
| Weapons | in the Chen style shaking the pole or spear, the manuals describe the spear, staff, broadsword and straight sword | crescent deer-horn knives, the great bagua sword and the bagua broadsword, staff, spear |
| Lesson structure | we have not found it | we have not found it |
Studies of taijiquan worked with a programme of twice a week for 60 minutes over 24 weeks, but these are research protocols. We have not found the training frequency for baguazhang.
Progression and ranks
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Grades | not documented | not documented |
| Progression in content | in the Chen style the first form Yilu, then the second form Erlu, faster and more explosive | according to the Hebei national listing beginners start with mud-walking (nibu), we have not found a uniform order of further content |
| Standardized forms | 24 (1956), 48 (1976), 42 (1989) for competitions | we have not found standardized forms, the Beijing national listing names the Old Eight Palms and the Sixty-Four Palms |
We were unable to document a grading system for either art. Progression can therefore be described only through the content of the forms, and for baguazhang this is described less fully than for the Chen style.
Physical load and risks
- Wang et al. (BMJ 2018, 226 people with fibromyalgia): 12 adverse events related to the intervention, of which 8 in taijiquan, mostly minor musculoskeletal complaints.
- Li et al. (NEJM 2012, 195 people with Parkinson’s disease): no serious adverse event, minor events in all three groups.
- NCCIH on the review by Cui et al. (2019, 24 studies, 1,794 participants): no serious event attributed to taijiquan.
- We have not found a study of injuries or adverse events with numbers.
- We have not found a study of the load on knees and hips when walking in a circle in low stances.
Who it suits
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Older age in studies | Li et al. (JAMA Intern Med 2018): 670 people aged 70+, mean 77.7 years | we have not found it |
| Health groups in studies | Parkinson’s disease, fibromyalgia | we have not found it |
| Persons of both lineages | Sun Lutang, Wu (Hao) style from 1911 | Sun Lutang, from 1891 with Cheng Tinghua |
Children
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Children’s courses | we have not found how widespread they are or the minimum age | we have not found it |
| Junior competitions | world junior wushu championships: groups A, B and C, age limits not found | we have not found a separate junior category |
| Studies in children | we have not found a study with a control group | we have not found it |
Self-defence
- Competitive tuishou has contact without strikes, and the Swedish SWKF in the fixed-step variant prohibits strikes, kicks, throws and locks.
- Points for unbalancing the opponent: lifting a foot or touching the ground with the body.
- The repertoire includes strikes, kicks, locks and throws.
- Evasive footwork in the circle and circling around the opponent.
We have not found a source on training against full resistance or on the level of contact in self-defence practice for either art.
Practical use
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Falls in older people | Cochrane, Sherrington et al. 2019: 20% fewer people who fall (8 studies, 2,677 participants, high certainty), rate of falls 19% lower with low certainty | we have not found it |
| Seniors at risk of falling | Li et al. (JAMA Intern Med 2018, 670 people aged 70+, Tai Ji Quan: Moving for Better Balance programme): over 6 months 152 falls versus 218 in a multimodal programme and 363 in stretching | we have not found it |
| Parkinson’s disease | Li et al. (NEJM 2012, 195 people): greater displacement in the stability test and 62 falls versus 133 and 186 in the control groups | we have not found it |
| Fibromyalgia | Wang et al. (BMJ 2018, 226 people): a difference of 5.5 points on the FIQR questionnaire compared with aerobic exercise | we have not found it |
| Osteoarthritis | ACR 2019 strongly recommends taijiquan for osteoarthritis of the knee and hip | we have not found it |
All the studies concern taijiquan, and for baguazhang we have not found a study with numbers on health, fitness or balance. Nothing about the effect of baguazhang can be concluded from them.
Competition
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| IWUF taolu | taijiquan and taijijian as separate disciplines, forms of 3–4 minutes (2019 rules) | not among the disciplines in the 2005 IWUF taolu rules, non-standard forms are judged without a difficulty component |
| IWUF traditional wushu 2019 | shared age groups for all styles | not found by name |
| Partner competition | tuishou at national federations, for example the Swedish SWKF: 2 × 2 minutes, weight categories | we have not found it |
| Olympic programme | no | no |
Availability and organisations
| Tai Chi | Baguazhang | |
|---|---|---|
| Divisions | five family styles: Chen, Yang, Wu (Hao), Wu, Sun | branches Yin, Cheng, Liang and Gao, with the sub-styles Sun, Gao and Jiang derived from the Cheng style |
| Holder on the PRC national list | Chen style, the Chenjiagou region in Wenxian County (2006) | Ren Wenzhu, the Wenzhu wuxiao school in Wen’an County (2008), since the 2011 extension also the Beijing branch with the holders Liu Jingru and Sun Zhijun |
| Umbrella organization | in IWUF competitive taolu | we have not found it |
| Recognition of grades | we have not found it | we have not found it |
Philosophy
- For the philosophical background, Laozi’s saying is cited that the soft and yielding overcomes the hard and strong.
- It is generally accepted only that Dong Haichuan became acquainted with Taoist methods, including circle walking, on his travels.
- The Hebei national listing describes walking the circle to the left as yangyi and to the right as yinyi, with the principle movement as the foundation, change as the method. We have not found a philosophical interpretation by a historian.
The Chen style also cultivates explosive bursts of force and Erlu (Cannon Fist).
Forms and terminology
Taijiquan has both family forms and standardized forms. The simplified form 24 was compiled in 1956 by a group of masters led by Li Tianji of the Yang style and takes about six minutes, form 48 was created in 1976 and form 42 in 1989 for competitions. The Chen style teaches Laojia Yilu and Erlu.
Baguazhang is built on eight palms. The Hebei national listing names eight basic palms from danhuanzhang to zhuanshenzhang, and the Beijing listing the Old Eight Palms and the Sixty-Four Palms. According to some sources Dong Haichuan taught only the first three of the eight palms and varied the others for each student, while other sources state that he taught considerably more.
Common misconceptions
- Baguazhang was handed down by Taoists for generations before Dong: evidence from before the modern era is missing, and many stories about Dong and his students come from popular novels. Taoist and Buddhist teachers in the mountains remain a tradition.
- The Wudang group means origin in the Wudang mountains: for taijiquan the name is meant to distinguish the internal art from the external Shaolin ones, and the link with the Wudang monasteries belongs to legend and fiction.
Which to choose
Frequently asked questions
Why are taijiquan and baguazhang classed as internal arts?
The distinction between internal and external first appears in 1669 with Huang Zongxi. In China taijiquan is classed in the Wudang group, whose name distinguishes the internal arts from the external Shaolin ones.
Does baguazhang have health studies like taijiquan?
We have not found a study with numbers on health, fitness or balance for baguazhang. For taijiquan there are many, for example the 2019 Cochrane review on falls in older people, but their conclusions cannot be transferred to baguazhang.
Is baguazhang competed under IWUF rules?
In the 2005 IWUF rules for taolu baguazhang is not among the disciplines, and we have not found it by name in the 2019 traditional wushu rules. Taijiquan and taijijian are separate disciplines in IWUF taolu.