Piguaquan, also known as Piguazhang due to its emphasis on palm techniques, is often practiced along with Bajiquan and is a style of wushu that features explosive, long-range power. It originated in Cangzhou, a prefecture in Hebei Province of North China, but today is also well known in other locales, including Taiwan. Piguaquan's power is from the accelerational force of the arms which are often in rotation. The hip movement in Piguaquan is more subtle and gentle compared to Bajiquan, because you only need enough to guide the big chops whereas in Bajiquan, the hammers, punches, elbows and swings rely completely on the quick and powerful rotation of the hips, and sink to bring its power out.
Contemporary History
Piguaquan has a long rich history. During middle Ming dynasty it has already spread amongst the martial arts practitioners amongst the common people. During the middleQing Dynasty there are two major branches of Piguaquan in Cangzhou. One branch led by Guo Dafa of Nanpi village, who had remarkable martial prowess that led to him later becoming an imperial bodyguard. The other branch was led by Zhuo Baomei of Yanshan village, who specialized in the Qinglong forms and Pigua slow forms. In 1928, the Nationalist Republic established Central Guoshu Institute where Ma Yingtu and Guo Changsheng, practitioner of the Yanshan and Nanpi lineages were martial arts coaches. The two soon became friends. After in-depth study and analysis, taking elements from the two lineages and combining them into one new style, while also adding skills from the 24 forms of Tongbeiquan. The two professors also incorporated weaponry into the style, including Feng Mo Staff, Pigua Dao, and Miao Dao forms, filling the void of lacking weaponry in the old lineages.
Relationship with Bajiquan
Piguaquan and Bajiquan are often taught as complementary martial arts, especially in Taiwan. In fact, there is a Chinese martial arts proverb that goes: "When pigua is added to baji, gods and demons will all be terrified. When baji is added to pigua, heroes will sigh knowing they are no match against it." In Mainland China, Piguaquan is still often practiced as a stand-alone art as well. Among some lineages of the art in Mainland China, there had developed practice forms and methods which are called "Baji-Pigua", which combine elements from both arts. Historically, many famous teachers, such as Liu Yunchiao and Ma Fengtu have practiced and taught both arts. In the present day, this tradition continuous among various teachers, such as Su Yu-chang, Tony Yang, Adam Hsu and Zhou Jingxuan.
