Baji Association (Baji Ry) is a Finnish martial arts school led by Lu BaoChun with a focus on Bajiquan and Taijiquan. Other Chinese martial arts are also taught within their system.
History[]
Baji Association was founded in 2001, shortly after Lu Baochun was invited to lecture on martial arts by the University of Helsinki. His background garnered significant interest including that of a group of young men who would go on to become the founding members of the Association. After requesting that he helped them found an association and teach martial arts, Lu moved to Finland 6 months later and the Association was formed.[1]
Alongside his students, Lu has travelled and taught hundreds of workshops and seminars around Europe and has helped to introduce Bajiquan to students across the continent.
Structure[]
Unlike many martial arts schools, Baji Association does not make use of belts or sashes to grade students; all students are treated as the same level with a heavy focus on personalised and personal practice.[2] Classes are generally taught in Finnish or English as most teachers are at least bilingual.
Martial Arts[]
Bajiquan[]
Baji Association splits their bajiquan training into four categories: Standing Exercises, Individual Techniques, Small Form and Pair Training. Their practice has a focus on the concept that "less is more" and building a solid foundation before focusing on forms/combat. Their BaJi is a mixture of Han and Huo systems.
Taijiquan[]
The TaJi Quan taught at Baji Association is a mixture of Feng Zhi-Qiang's Chen Style TaiJi Quan and Wei Shu-Ren's Yang Style TaiJi Quan.
Baguazhang[]
Baji Association BaGua Zhang comes from Zhang Xu-Chu and is a mixture of his teachers' styles.
Xingyiquan[]
The Five Animals form taught by Lü Baochun is considered supplementary or "advanced" material in his Baji system. There is also a Dragon Form which would be considered even more advanced. The Xingyi forms in this system stem from Li Rui-Dong and contain a mixture of styles.
Other[]
Baji Association also teaches courses in Qigong.
Notable People[]
- Lu Bao-Chun
- Karl Miika Wikberg
Media[]
- Lu was featured in the article "Kiinan Krav Maga" ("The Krav Maga of China") in issue 8 of the Finnish martial arts magazine FightSport.
References[]
- ↑ About our association - Baji Association
- ↑ Good To Know - Baji Association