Bagua Staff system of Fujian's Pingnan County.

Bagua Staff system of Fujian's Pingnan County.

"Pingnan county Bagua Staff methods.
In the reign of emperor Daoguang in the early-mid 19th century, Lin Laobao of Putian's Zhulin village came to Nanqiao village in Pingnan county where he taught this system of staff fighting to Lin Ribing. Lin Ribing then taught these methods to students in Guanyang, Yuanqiu, and Luxia villages. Among Lin Ribing's students, Jiang Chenghuai of Guanyang village was considered to be the most skilled.
Today the style is in it's 6th generation of masters and is still passed within the Lin and Jiang clans of Pingnan county.
This style of staff fighting places emphasis on footwork, training stepping to the left and right and eight directions along the Bagua pattern. There are three main practice forms, these are the Xian Tian Bagua Staff, Hou Tian Bagua Staff, and the 18 Changing Methods, as well as multiple two person staff drills.
In this system it is said that once contact has been made between weapons a master of the method can locate, respond to, and defeat their enemy from the sound and feel of the staff touching the enemies weapon."