Walking the I Ching: The Linear BA Gua of Gao Yi Sheng

The similarities between Martial arts and philosophy are at the end of the day just that, similarities. This is shown to be the case in the in this book. Take the Post-natal set of Tiao (1:6), which the author names as Carry, (it is also known as Rising Palm or flick). To this set is attributed the 23 Hexagram of Bo, from the I Ching, which is more pictorially inspirational in its correspondence than based on hard concrete fact. The inverse of the hexagram 23 (24) is used in correspondence with a set, which is named Press by the author, which further shows the pictorially inspirational nature of this work. There may be other forms of inspiration in finding similarities, finding them and the similarities is half the fun/toil of this book.This being said, this book is good for being a book, in English dealing with Cheng Branch, Gao Yi Shen Style, Ba Gua Zhang, It also benefits from representing the post heaven sets of the Gao Yi Shen style and for the little reference to martial arts training. And if you like playing with similarities this is a good source of such.I did feel at times that it was an abridged version of a larger more in-depth book, which was the most disappointing part of the experience of reading this book and this is the reason it gets only 2 stars..

This great. I learned part of this system 20 years ago, from the author, and never had the opportunity to continue further...until now. The book is well laid out and the instruction are clear. I wouldn't think it would be very useful to a beginner but someone with martial arts experience could follow along and work out the movements, as I'm doing.- Brent Russell

Allen Pittman hatte das grosse Glück vor 30 Jahren in Taiwan mit dem Ba gua Lehrer Hung I Mien zu leben und eins zu eins Hungs komplettes Gao Ba gua System gelehrt zu bekommen. Die letzten 30 Jahre hat PIttman nun darauf verwendet, die ihm anvertraute Kunst zu erforschen und perfektionieren.Während der grösste Teil dieses Buches eigentlich eine "extended memory" für Allens Schüler darstellt - ursprünglich war es ein privat publiziertes "Ba gua workbook", enthält jedes Kapitel konzentriertes Wissen über die einzelnen "Sektionen" - kurz "Häuser" genannt, die nicht nur Einsicht geben in Taktik, Anatomie, Psychologie, sondern auch aufzeigen, welche spirituelle Tiefe in diesem System liegt. Zudem erhält der Leser unschätzbare Hinweise für eigene Nachforschungen aus der Hand eines Mannes, der 30 Jahre seines Lebens dieser Kunst gewidmet hat.Erfrischend auch, dass es Allen versteht eine ursprünglich chinesische Kunst übergreifend, das heisst transkulturell, darzustellen, was ihm natürlich gerade aus gewissen "traditionellen" Kreisen viel Kritik eingebracht hat...Kurzum, wer sich für ein grösseres Bild bezüglich Kampfkünste interessiert, der kommt an diesem Buch nicht vorbei...

I wanted to drop as positive review as possible for Mr. Pittman's book - well done! First off, for English speakers, I have not been able to find any linear books/ texts with regard to Ba Gua. Secondly, Mr. Pittman's knowledge is as deep as they come (imho) and many will welcome this book in their permanent library. Such a unique find and a great bargain to boot!Thank you!Donald akanunh

This was a great purchase and a must for my library. I would recommend this book for any serious minded person who are studying the I-Ching. Jimmie

Great to use as a reference to see the differences between how each gao system is practiced.