LEGENDARY ORIGINS
Baji Quan ( also known as Baji Men, Kaimen Bajii and Bazi quan) is a tradtional martial art from Hebei province in North China. It applies unique principles in combat relying on explosive burst of power and the unification of body to the attack allowing for both unique close quarter combat whilst being able to close the distance gap.
Baji Quan originated amongst the Hui nationality in the Cangxian area (Cang County Prefecture) and gained reputation as a practical and efficient boxing method. Possibly it is because of such that many bodyguards of high officials in history have also been practitioners of Bajiquan. There are few different branches of the style which have now evolved, although fundamentally they all share a common core.
There is mention also in the Ji Xiao Xin Shu of "Ba Zi fist and Staff" and many have correlated the two Baji and Bazi to be one and the same. However the methods of Bazi are not necessarily associated to Baji based on the Mengcun historical records, and since the methods of the Bajiquan style does not appear anywhere else other than derived from the Mengcun Wu Zhong descendants it is more affirmation of that incorrect association.
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT
Ba Ji Quan is one of the martial arts of China that are attributed to the Hui Zu nationality (Chinese Moslem). The Hui Zu arrived into the Cangzhou region from the time of the Ming Dynasty (around 1403) when Zuo Yonggong was stationed in the south of Cangzhou by the Ming Emperor, where his families purchased lands from around the Cangzhou area including parts of Mengcun county, Heludian, Xiaolu vilage, Wu Zhuangzi and Houzhuangke villages. It is those areas that 4 generations later the Wu families emerged decending from their original Hui Zu ancestors. 10 generations later In 1712, Wu Zhong (also known as Wu Hongsheng) was born in nearby Houzhuangke. His father died when he was an infant and his family suffered in poverty, as a result his mother sent him away to Mengcun under the care of his elder niece.
Wu Zhong was a bright and diligent child and grew to adore martial arts. He recited scriptures at the local Qing Zhen Si (Mosque) where he also practiced some boxing methods with local masters (the Hui Zu have a large array of martial arts such as Liu He Quan and Cha Quan at the time) which have been practiced since Ming Dynasty times and likely to be the atypical style practiced by Wu Zhong). It is said that Wu Zhong had excelled in understanding the essence of combat after practicing with many masters and derived his own style on that understanding. The method at the time did not have any name as it was just a derivation of Wu Zhong so it was often referred to as Wushi (Fighter Wu's style) or later as Wu Jia Quan (Wu Family Boxing). In 1727. It is also said that a Daoist Master "Lai" taught boxing to Wu Zhong and that a few years after the master left another teacher "Pi" (supposedly a student of Lai) taught the Liu He Spear to Wu Zhong.
A story of Wu Zhong's travels articulates that Wu Zhong travelled around southward and had actually visited the Shaolin Temple. in a friendly exchange of Skills the Shaolin monks were impressed by Wu Zhong's Spear Techniques (Liu He Spear). He received praise from senior monks and officals that were there, and since was named "Super Spear wielding Wu Zhong" and along with two other masters Kang Dali (expert of Duan Da and Chin Na) and Li Zhang (famous for his broadsword techniques), was known as the "3 Outstanding Martial artists". He became good friends with his martial coleagues. After the fame the imperial court sought Wu Zhong out and after many duels to prove his skills he became the teacher of the 14th son (Yin Ti) of the Kangxi Qing Emperor. He then gained fame as "From Nanjing to Yanjing (Beijng), Wuzhong is number one". Many wondered about his nameless boxing methods.
In 1775, Wu Zhong returned to Mengcun, he took care of his monther and family, also teaching his boxing skills to the Wu Family (Wu Jia Quan - Wu Family Boxing). Althought many studied aspects of his skills, it was only his direct family that received the full transmission. These included his daughter Wu Rong, his grandson Wu Zhongyu and his great grandson Wu Ying.
In 1790, Wu Ying systematically recorded the contents of the boxing into a manuscript, he also assigned the name "Bajiquan" (Wu Shi Kai Men Bajiquan to be exact) to the methods to ensure that the nameless method would not be lost into history. In the manuscript it clearly states that Bajiquan did not exist prior to this time and that the name was derived for the preservation of this most important set of skills. The great Master Wu Zhong passed away 1802.
