Notes
Eight Vajra Postures (金剛八式) — Bajiquan
On this page
金剛八式 (Jīngāng Bā Shì, "the Eight Vajra Postures" — also 金剛八勢) is the **foundational basics drill of **Bajiquan — eight single power-postures, each trained back and forth on its own before the forms, that install the art's rooted, explosive short-power. The name 金剛 ("vajra / diamond," the indestructible thunderbolt of Buddhist iconography) is the quality they build: an immovable base and a hardness that "splits the mountain." Each posture carries a five-character 歌訣 (verse) naming its image.
The eight postures
Reproduced under fair-use citation with the wiki's own glosses.
# | 式 (中文) | 歌訣 (verse) | English |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 撐捶 | 崩弓竄箭急 | Propping Hammer — "a bursting bow, a darting arrow — sudden" |
2 | 降龍 | 五岳朝天錐 | Subduing the Dragon — "the five sacred peaks, an awl to heaven" |
3 | 伏虎 | 六合撲地錦 | Crouching Tiger — "the six harmonies, a brocade pouncing to earth" |
4 | 劈山掌 | 劈山斧加鋼 | Mountain-Splitting Palm — "a mountain-splitting axe, edged with steel" |
5 | 探馬掌 | 登山探馬準 | Scouting-Horse Palm — "climbing the mountain, the scout-horse true" |
6 | 虎抱 | 圈攔虎抱急 | Tiger Embrace — "circling-block, the tiger's quick embrace" |
7 | 熊蹲 | 熊蹲硬靠擠 | Bear Squat — "the bear squats — a hard shoulder-barge and press" |
8 | 鶴步推 | 鶴步推山穩 | Crane-Step Push — "the crane's step, pushing the mountain — steady" |
See also
Baji (八極拳) — the style, the six openings, the lineage
小八極 Small Baji — the foundational form
Li Shuwen (李書文) — 'Divine Spear Li'
Sources
[1] 八極 / 八極拳 entries, Baidu Baike — the 金剛八式 names and 歌訣 reproduced here under fair-use citation, with the wiki's own glosses. The eight-posture basics drill is documented across the Huo (霍殿閣), Mengcun (孟村), and Wutan (劉雲樵) lineages; the names are traditional, the modern encyclopedia text is not reproduced.
Details
- Section:
- Notes
- Updated:
- 2026-06-08
More in this section