DVDs on Liu He Ba Fa Kung Fu

DVDS on LiuHeBaFa (Water Boxing) More about this style

Geo. Xu Lan Shou Kung Fu form

DVD #12040 Water Style Boxing (LiuHeBaFa)
Helen Liang, 154 minutes
$29.95 Plum Price $26.95

To speak of calmness and even serenity, one need not jump on an oxcart and trundle off to the capitol. As a matter of fact, several branches of Chinese martial arts and energetics expose you to that paradoxical practice—attempting to teach you relaxation through strong, even brutal and demanding exercises.
One of the more interesting of these is Liu He Ba Fa (Six Harmony Eight Methods)—also called Water Boxing—and one of the most notable of the contemporary teachers of this style is Helen Liang.
In this newly produced DVD, Sifu Liang offers step-by-step instruction in this subtle practice. This new DVD replaces a two-part set she made years earlier, combining a renewed sense of clarity with the original teaching for which she is so well-known. It even has the added benefit of being half the price of the earlier set, and almost twice as long!

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Geo. Xu Lan Shou Kung Fu form

DVD #24237 LiuHeBaFa Fist
27.50 133 minutes.

To some this is the fourth great internal martial art. Unrelated to Tai Chi it is created from a different series of movements which can be both martial and Qigong simultaneously. We have a number of DVDs on this sophisticated martial art, most of them pretty good. What’s a key point with this pair of DVDs is the immediate and explicit corrections given to the student by teacher Chen XiangQiang. His instructions are precise, showing the practical application and the postural details. Like watching a live lesson.

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Geo. Xu Lan Shou Kung Fu form

DVD #24368 LiuHeBaFa
with York Why Loo, presented by Terry Dunn
Price: $49.95 PLUM PRICE $44.95

When Terry Dunn first offered this as a VHS few people indeed in the Western world had ever heard of "Six Harmonies and Eight Methods" or LiuHeBaFa boxing. Here is the full set of water boxing demonstrated in one of the first presentations on film, period. Reworked from a VHS this has no menu but the full on demonstration of the entire set along with names is essentially a single long shot of Dr. York clearly demonstrating the entire set. An excellent resource and, to our eyes, a much clearer and down-to-earth presentation than some we have seem. If you are a LHBF enthusiast, an historic DVD.

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Geo. Xu Lan Shou Kung Fu form

DVD #25114 Lecture on LiuHeBaFa
with Yun Yin Sen

The "Six Harmony Eight Methods" style is becoming more popular by the minute. According to George Xu the only reason it wasn't better loved sooner was that rich people in Beijing adopted Tai Chi much more openly. There probably is some truth in this and LHBF, which has been around longer than TC, is making up for lost time. It shares many of the attributes such as soft and full body movement. This entire lecture focuses on the use of the wooden (or any) ball as a training device. The ball can be a great training aid because it forces you to act like you are an internal stylist. Whole body movement which, take it from us, is VERY hard to grasp becomes easy with a ball in front of you. Good for ANY Kung Fu stylist. Note: In Chinese with immediate translation. A big room for a seminar, informal setting, some application to push hands, leg circling also shown.
Notes on this instructor...

About 60 Minutes

Liu He Ba Fa with Yun Yin Sen DVD#25125 LiuHeBaFa with Yun Yin Sen
and George Xu,

Yun Yin Sen Teaches Liu He Ba Fa, Primordial Qigong, and Push Hands at this week-long Summer Camp with George Xu in the beautiful coastal redwoods near San Francisco (La Honda). This DVD has a lot of material especially if you already know LiuHeBaFa or Taiji. Yun performs the Water Boxing LHBF set with continuous commentary by George Xu who speaks intelligently on the issue of CMA as "quiet" martial arts. This is followed by a very distilled discussion and demonstration of Primordial Qigong which concentrates on bringing Qi outward more than Dan Tian driven styles.

Over 50 Minutes

Liu He Ba Fa with Yun Yin Sen DVD#25131 Yun Yin Sen discusses LiuHe BaFa

On Liu He and Xing Yi. This couch interview shows George Xu as interviewer of Yun Sifu asking key questions on CMA theory and principles. Some of George’s translations are a bit less than clear but the overall information and the process of the interview we see as dealing with much information “from the horse’s mouth”. Some ideas are even stumbling blocks for Xu and these reveal the kind of insights that only a lifetime of practice can reveal. (There's a lot of "finger calligraphy" going on, which Chinese speakers do when they don't recognize an audible word.) Yun also discusses such topics as LHBF’s history which is a very thin line: Wu Yu Hui, his grand master at China San Shou Kung Fu Academy in Nanjing; Chen Xuan founded LHBF; Sung dynasty about 700 years ago. Yun speaks of LHBF’s part in returning his health. Some very sticky issues are addressed and, for the serious, this offers much to think on. After the interview Yun works with Susan Matthews and shows the details of his operations in a very clear and friendly manner. Many possible techniques for studying with a partner or introducing to a class. What works for LHBF would also help in Tai Chi and other tactile explorations. The sound isn't perfect but the information is very good.

Over 40 Minutes

Quantity $24.95

#12068 LiuHe BaFa form and detail

This new DVD with sifu Liu Xiao Ling is without a doubt the most technologically advanced presentation of LiuHeBaFa we have seen yet. It is also one of the best, if not the best. Teacher Liu has been practicing martial arts for a very long time. His movements are informed, authoritative and deep. He is said to be well known in China for his LHBF skill and we believe it. This DVD of "Water Boxing" is well set up indeed. First, if your remote control has this function, it shows Multiple Views so you can see the form from three angles. Next each part is shown in detail with both English and Chinese instruction which you can control. After that there is a self defense application given for each posture. A lineage chart is also enclosed. Finally there is a very interesting section of interviews in Chinese with English subtitles with Teacher Liu on such diverse topics as how LHBF differs from Tai Chi, what are its benefits, how it was developed and more. In our opinion all the instructional DVDs we sell are good but this one is indeed a cut above due to its excellent layout, presentation and content.

Jiang JianYe was born in 1950 and has studied Wushu from the age of 5, learning from well-known masters such as Yu MingWei, Yu Hai and many other such as Professor Kang Ge-Wu. He received a BA and MA from QuFu University and ShangHai Physical Education Institute. A national and international judge in China and the US, Shihfu Jiang is also a master calligrapher and has garnered more than $10 000 donated to the ShanDong Disabled Association.

#14002-14004 LIU HE BA FA: Parts 1 through 3
6 Harmonies and 8 Methods

by Jiang Jian Ye
NOTE: This series is covered by ALL THREE VIDEOS. Click pictures to see larger.

from the back covers:
"Liu He Ba Fa is an internal art, which combines tai chi, ba gua and xing yi. What is Liu He? "Liu" means "six" and "He" means "combination" and thus "Liu He" means "Six Combinations". What is "Ba Fa"? "Ba" is the number "Eight" and "Fa" means "Principles" and thus "Ba Fa" means "Eight Principles." This is a very extensive version of the Liu He with detailed breakdowns on the movements. In essence you have here six hours of instruction and demonstration showing all 96 movements of the traditional Liu He Ba Fa form. ShihFu Jiang's English is not perfect but it is more than adequate for general video instruction.

#14002 #1 is 120 minutes for Quantity $45.00
#14003#2 is 120 minutes for Quantity $45.00
#14004#3 is 120 minutes for Quantity $45.00

#11327 Liu He Ba Fa Form
Four disks, See Main VCD page for prices, CHINESE ONLY
by Wu Ying Hui

This is a version of the LiuHeBaFa (LHBF) form that differs somewhat from those most people have seen. We think the reason for this is obvious: most LHBF practitioners are Tai Chi players and consistent with the concept that this is an "internal" style play it the same as they do Tai Chi.This is not necessarily bad. This version has more circumscribed hand motions, is still relatively soft but with a bit more Fa Jing, and changes the angles somewhat. LHBF was never, until recently, a popular and wide spread style. It is presently enjoying its fifteen minutes in the sun. We will see more and more variations of this style as we progress because most practitioners were isolated and developed their own potential - a good thing in Kung Fu practice.
This contains FOUR disks.

#11328 LHBF Core Exercises
About an hour, See Main VCD page for prices, CHINESE ONLY

Teachers who are really concerned about transmitting their knowledge, especially in present day circumstances where few indeed have time for in depth study, spend a lot of time developing "essential" movements. If done right they can get the point of a style including the flavor and even the strategy across in record time. These are often seemingly simple movements - as in this case - hardly discernable from exercises but they aren't exercises. Whether created 1000 years ago or yesterday these can be truly valuable aids in getting beyond the shell of the form. Here we have the building blocks of LHBF. Subtle movements repeated and isolated.

Our recommendation: As a general rule, you should use the DVD's for standing postures and Qigong unless fluent in Chinese.

#11329 LHBF Usage
Two disks, See Main VCD page for prices, CHINESE ONLY

The usage in this VCD is developed out of the LHBF form and is demonstrated single person fashion first. Among LHBF presentations there are not a lot devoted to practical techniques yet. For those who want to get right to the hitting this may be a bit frustrating but when the practitioner shows all the variations it will be an interesting lesson in how FLEXIBLE forms are and should be. Along these lines there is an old Kung Fu saying that if you practice only the meaning of a move you ignore the other 99 meanings. Every good fighter we've known would agree. This contains TWO disks.

Our recommendation: We suggest the DVD's for technical points but, if you have a decent eye, you can probably pick up most points with little trouble. So, either way.