I was recently discussing internal martial arts with an instructor in washington dc. He said when he was younger his bagua sifu had a training manual on bagua that was excellent.

He couldn't remember the title or author but I have a real hankering for wild goose chases.

Aparantly it had excellent photographs of certain bagua moves. The distinguishing feature though is that all the photos were of very old chinese men wearing "turtle shell" suits on their backs.

The backgrounds of each image had been removed and replaced by an off white background such that there was no sense of depth to photos, only the old men in various poses.

I guess this is just a shot in the dark, but it would be very exciting if anyone on here has come across this book and might be able to identify it for me? I would love to find it and show up with it one day.

You just described every book from that era.

The turtle shell armor too?

Jerry Alan Johnson?

Old manuals had his picture---new two volume book had no photos.

I may have been incorrect.

Rather than photographs they were drawings of old men with turtle shells...i guess representing some turtle forms within bagua?

Thanks all for your help.