Li Tianji and his son Li Deyin know bagua and xingyi as well as taijiquan. Does anybody know what their lineage in these arts are? Which style of baguazhang do they practice?
Martin, do you live in Sweden ?
Please e-mail me at fredrik.regn@spray.se if you do. Not many people practising bagua in Sweden
Hi Martin,
I believe Li is of the Sun Ludong style. The first style I studied (from Bowsim Mark) was a standardized form that she said was made by Li. Interestingly it is almost exactly like the one that Liang Shouyu calls Emei Bagua in his book. The form is classic Cheng Tinghua style to my eyes.
Buddy
I met Li Tian Ji in Beijing in the early 90's when working as a translator. Li's father, Li Yu Lin was a well known martial artist that studied Xing Yi Quan with Hao En Guang, a student of Li Cun Yi. Li Yu Lin was also a student of Sun Lu Tang, and reportedly studied Yang Tai Ji Quan with Yang Cheng Fu. Li Tian Ji studied with his father first, and later with the famous swordsman Li Jing Lin. Li Tian Ji went with his father to the Shandong Martial Arts Academy and was exposed to a number of other teachers. He later learned several styles of Tai Ji Quan, and was one of the teachers chosen to create the "simplified" forms popular in the Mainland today. Li also created the first simplified Ba Gua form that was taught as the standard form in the Wu Shu academies. Li's Ba Gua was primarily a variation of Sun Lu Tang's style.
Li Tianji's book "The Skill of Xingyiquan" is available in English translation (by Andrea Falk)at www.thewushucentre.com.