Tian Gan - Ten Celestial Stems Demo

From Dr. Ken Fish:
"This video was filmed in Taipei about 30 years ago, and demonstrates a version of the BaGua Ten Celestial Stems exercise as taught in the Hong Yi Xiang line. It differs in a number of ways from the set as taught to me by master Zhang Junfeng, but that is not important. I am posting it to give a general idea of the depth of the stances and exertion required to perform the sets and obtain any useful training from them.
The level of skill demonstrated is beginning intermediate. There are numerous deficiencies in the performance - for example the lack of foot movement - the feet should move as if grinding something underfoot, and power generation should be from heel to hand and heel to crown. No matter - the point is that these exercises require deep stance work, exertion throughout the body for each movement, and understanding of the type of mechanical movement that each "stem" is supposed to train."

1. 砍 Kan - to hack
2. 搬 Ban - to move by lifting or carrying
3. 按 An - to press down with the hand
4. 斜挂 Xie Gua - Gua is a kind of chopping maneuver. Xie Gua is chopping in a lateral plane.
5. 扚 Diao - to strike quickly (a quick block with the back of the wrist moving immediately to a palm strike)
6. 掖 Ye - extended bow stance and palm strike (rotate around the central axis and extend)
7. 插抓 Cha Zhua - thrusting with a spear hand upwards, then horizontal, then down. Variation - thrust and grasp
8. 崩 Beng - vertical punches in a horse stance
9. 挫 Cuo - to push down, grind (variations on palm strikes in a deep horse stance)
10. 撞 zhuang - to crash into - double palm strikes in bow stances

 - Ken Fish