Combat Baguazhang Nine Dragon System, Volume 1: Forms and Principles [Paperback]

John P. Painter (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 252 pages
• Publisher: Beckett Media / Formerly Unique Publications; 1 edition (October 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865682550
• ISBN-13: 978-0865682559
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,518 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John P. Painter Ph.D. ND.

John P. Painter is head instructor of The Gompa center of Chinese and Tibetan Health and Martial arts located in Arlington Texas. The Gompa center www.thegompa.com specializes in training students in the Li family internal martial and health arts including Taijiquan, Baguazhang, Xingyiquan, Tibetan Snake Boxing, Tibetan Blue Heron Boxing, traditional Chinese martial weapons, Acupressure, Meditation, Qigong and Daoist yoga.

Dr. Painter began his training as a young boy in Chinese and internal martial and healing arts with master Li of Sichuan province. He studied with the master from 1957 to 1969. From there he went on to study Chinese medicine, massage and acupressure with Dr. Pao, Sun-Lung of Hong Kong and Tibetan yoga and meditation with Lama Trangu Rinpoche. He attended Texas Tech University majoring in psychology and theater arts.

Dr. Painter holds a Ph.D. in Naturopathic medicine is listed in Who's Who in the Chinese Martial Arts. Master, Founders and Leaders of the Chinese Martial Arts and was elected to the Texas Martial Arts Hall of Fame and was twice elected to the Inside Kung Fu Magazine Hall of Fame.

ENTERTAINER, ESCAPE ARTIST AND ACTOR
John Painter worked his way through college in the 1960's as a professional magician and escape artist performing in night clubs and trade shows. After college he worked as an entertainer in nightclubs and live theatre in the Dallas area. During the 1970's he traveled the club circuit around the United States and also appeared at the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. In 1971 he was hired, as a personal bodyguard by a well know Dallas designer who operated factories along the Mexican border.

As an actor in college and later in Dallas Texas John appeared in a number of feature films, with small parts in Midnight Cowboy, Benji, For the love of Benji, Take down and Learning Curve. He also served as a technical advisor and martial stunt coordinator for motion pictures, television and stage productions.

FIRST CHINESE KUNG FU SCHOOL IN TEXAS
In 1972 Dr. Painter opened the first Chinese Martial arts instructional center in Texas. Today it is the oldest continuously operating Chinese martial arts school in the state. Shortly after that he began writing for Inside Kung Fu magazine and other martial arts publications. Over the years he has appeared on numerous Inside Kung Fu covers. He has authored hundreds of articles on Chinese medicine, healing principles and the internal martial arts and produced a series of instructional video (DVD) on Chinese internal martial arts. John was also an advisor to the US Chinese Martial Arts Council, North American Chinese Martial Arts Association, also served for five years as an international trainer and judge for internal martial arts competitions.

MEDICAL RESEARCH
As a Naturopathic PhD he has also been heavily involved in medical and scientific research involving the study of Qi, (Ch'i) life force energy, through work with the Life Sciences Qi Research Institute and has received recognition from NASA and other science organizations for his work. Dr. Painter is presently working with well know researchers on methods to enhance healing as well as physical strength and speed through visualization techniques. His new program called Yi Xin Gong or mind intention attitude skills will be published soon.

LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINER
In 1990 Dr. Painter with a group of law enforcement officers founded the American Rangers Martial Law Enforcement Institute and in 1992 after the Rodney King incident in California he appeared on the popular television program, the Phil Donahue show to discuss the deplorable level of police training in the United States. Today the American Ranges is dedicated to training police trainers in high level defensive tactics.

Dr. Painter now a Captain in the American Rangers is considered to be one of the world's foremost experts in practical hand to hand combat training for police, corrections and security personnel. He currently trains professional police tactical trainers and consultants throughout the United States in all methods of defensive tactics from hand to hand to firearms and edged weapons combat. His personal private client list includes members who are themselves instructors of the Israeli military, FBI, DEA, US Army Rangers, US Army Special Forces, and US Marine Military Police officers.

Contact John P. Painter at [e-mail] or visit him on the web

www.thegompa.com
www.ninedragonbaguazhang.com
www.american-rangers.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Detailed, Insightful Principles Book, November 30, 2008

By 

V. K. Lin (Eugene, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Combat Baguazhang Nine Dragon System, Volume 1: Forms and Principles (Paperback)

Level: Beginner to Intermediate

Pros: Gets to the heart of matters quickly. Discusses, in clear, Western-perspective English, the what and why of exercises such as meditation, breathing/relaxation, power standing, stepping, palm shapes, and walking. Discusses the biomechanical and physiological principles to support his theories. Draws on modern day research to further back up the Eastern philosophies, and on rare occasions why Western research has changed the way he trains. Gives a step-by-step program for how to pursue his system's training method.

Cons: Not enough detail discussing power transference from legs to waist to shoulders to palm. I think another chapter on this linkage would have been ideal. Leaves a little bit lacking in this regards-- study each palm shape for about a year is what he says.

Items of Interest: The opening chapter is trying to find the place of his Nine Dragon System into the family tree of BaGua-- I guess there is some question as to whether the Nine Dragon System is truly BaGua. From the shape of the palms and all that, I'd say it has to be, personally. But this system has no forms. It is training technique and principles then linking it together.

Content: History, Philosophy, Training Philosophy, Relaxation (Meditation, Breathing, Standing Postures), Structure (Alignment, Testing Structure), Use of Imagery, Principles of Power Generation, Stances, Palms, Stepping--> Walking (Direction Changing). These are more my terms than his, but is what is included.

Summary: Awesome book, really. Mechanistically, rates up there with Park Bok Nam's books in describing BaGua technical mechanics. Superior to that landmark book in terms of technical principles behind breathing, relaxation, imagery, meditation, standing postures, etcetera, Would ask for more detail on palm shapes and the year-long process of exploring each palm (he gives about 2-pages on each palm, including pictures, and leaves the rest to the reader to find those revelations). This book does not contain a form! Basically the idea is, if you become the palm shapes, and understand them inside and out, then you can create your own forms effortlessly.

Reviewer's Note: I am reading through Volume 2, and scanned the entire book. It does not seem to contain the elements I would have liked above. It may indirectly, as it talks about combat principles and training methods-- but much of the training seems to consist of physically doing this or that, and does not appear to look further into the connections or detail of upper torso mechanics that would have made this the perfect book.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very detailed., January 23, 2008

By 

J. Prescott - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Combat Baguazhang Nine Dragon System, Volume 1: Forms and Principles (Paperback)

This is an excellent book for either the beginning student of Baguazhang such as myself, or an advanced player as well. Dr. Painter's writing is clear and concise. He tackles a wide range of subjects, from the basic stretching and warming up you first learn to more advanced topics such as power generation and combat principles. There is a ton of information in this book and Dr. Painter is widely known and respected both as a martial arts teacher as well as a Law Enforcement trainer.

The best part about this book is that there is no mystical or esoteric material. Jiulong and Dr. Painter's methods are scientific and to-the-point. I think there are alot of misinterpretations with the "internal martial arts" that they are mysitcal and hard to understand. Dare I say this is a revolution from that misconception. This book is based on science, body mechanics and physiology.

A great read for anyone interested in martial arts in general. People from all styles can benefit from these *principles* and teachings. Thank you Dr. Painter for bringing this material to light!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Combat Baguazhang: Incredible Information, April 12, 2008

By 

Dale B. Dugas (Quincy, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Combat Baguazhang Nine Dragon System, Volume 1: Forms and Principles (Paperback)

Dr. John Painter has finally put down some of the most well written information out there on Baguazhang in general and his system of Jiulong Baguazhang in specifics.

The material in both volume one & two is is presented with no fluff, and none of the mystical mumbo jumbo like mishmash that you see from other people who have written books in the past.

What you get is a straight forward approach to how this system of Chinese martial arts is trained from the very first stages to advanced levels.

You will learn how to sit and quiet the mind.

Learn how to stand correctly for health and combat effectiveness.

Study skills that will lead you to better understanding of yourself, your body, your mind and the reality of combat.

I cannot recommend these two books enough.

Sincerely,

Dale Dugas