Fu-style baguazhang

Fu-style Wudangquan is a family style of Chinese martial arts encompassing tai chi, xingyiquan, baguazhang, liangyiquan, bajiquan, and Wudang Sword. Fu Style Baguazhang is one of the five styles of baguazhang recognized as orthodox in China. It is the highest form of the Fu-style martial arts.

History
Fu Zhensong began learning Chen-style tai chi at age 16 from the famous Chen Family master, Chen Yanxi. Three years later, Fu began learning Baguazhang from Jia Fengming. Fu was one of the first to learn these arts, as the Chen family had only started teaching their art to outsiders a few decades earlier; Dong Haichuan had only revealed Baguazhang a few decades earlier, and only took on a handful of students, one of them being Jia Fengming. Although Fu did not receive the formal schooling of his urban countrymen, Fu was very bright, learned the two arts well, and practiced very hard.

At the age of 26, Fu had become very famous for single-handedly defeating a large mob of bandits, a story that appears in a number of versions.

Fu traveled to Beijing where he met the other great Baguazhang masters of that period. He learned from them and exchanged information about the art. In 1928, three military generals organized the first nationwide martial arts competition in Nanjing. Fu Zhensong was one of the five judges of the competition. When the generals wanted to test the true skill of the top winner, a young man by the name of Wang, all the judges "nominated" Fu to do the "testing." Fu had no choice but to respect the commands of his seniors and fought with the winner, Wang. According to those present, the battle went on for a long time, and at the end, Fu hit Wang off the stage with one single blow. This was to be one of the three high-profile battles Fu was famous for, the other two being the fight with Li Shuwen, an older and established master of Bajiquan, and with a large group of Muslims who practiced Chaquan back in Fu's home village.

During this time, Fu met, befriended and exchanged information with the top Baguazhang masters of China. He became close friends with Sun Lutang, and taught him the Baguazhang "mud-walking step (tang ni bu)." Fu studied Yang-style tai chi from Yang Chengfu, and one day beat him in a match of "push hands." Yang said, "You only won because you switched to Baguazhang." Fu also studied swordsmanship with Li Jinglin.

Fu Zhensong and four other winners of the competition were invited to the south to teach their arts. Because of this historic event, they were called, "The Five Northern Tigers." These five men were constantly challenged by martial artists in the south, as the southern martial artists were very proud of their arts and refuted the arts of the north. Fu Zhensong never lost a fight or a challenge.

Fu Zhensong moved to Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, and headed a school there. By this time, Fu had synthesized his own system by learning various family styles of tai chi; the differing styles of baguazhang; the Wudang Sword from Song Weiyi (likely learned from Li Jinglin, though Fu did study under Song for a time); Xingyiquan and Bajiquan; by emphasizing the most important principles and techniques from each, and by eliminating all of the parts he thought were not valuable or of no substance. Fu's style of Baguazhang would include such methods as the yin and yang palm changes, the famous Dragon Baguazhang, the sixiang form, the liangyi synthesis of Baguazhang and tai chi and his own version of tai chi. Many of the names used were likely inspired by the I Ching, and the forms and progressions inspired by both that work and by the martial philosophies of Sun Lutang.

Learning Progression
When Fu and the other four invited martial artists arrived in Guangdong, Ta Kung Pao newspaper published an extensive article about the background of Fu and proclaimed that he was at that time the "true inheritor" of the Baguazhang tradition as handed down by Dong Haiquan and Cheng Tinghua. Fu understood the massive gap between tai chi and Baguazhang; thus, he created an elegant solution for that gap. Fu created a martial arts form he called, "liangyiquan," or Harmonized Opposites Boxing. This form would be a vital key to the Fu Style system of learning Baguazhang, as it is a precursory set of movements and skills required to move from tai chi to Baguazhang.

In other words, if one wishes to learn Fu-style Baguazhang, he or she must learn Fu-style tai chi very well; then learn Fu-style Liangyiquan very well in order to advance to the highest levels where he or she can learn Fu-style Baguazhang. Many will refute this hierarchy of learning, however, this is the true system of learning Fu-style Wudangquan (which is the globally encompassing name for the Fu-style system of tai chi, liangyiquan, baguazhang, xingyiquan, bajiquan, weapons, applications, and total mastery of qi, health and wellness).

Fu-style is characterized by a large number of spinning movements and point strikes. This fighting style can also be used to damage internal organs with precise striking methods.

Fu-style today
The Fu-style Wudangquan was carried on by his son Fu Wing Fay, who also created forms for sixiang, advanced tai chi and more. Among others, Fu taught Bow-sim Mark. The lineage is now held by his own son Victor Fu Sheng Long in Vancouver, Canada. Victor Fu has somewhat truncated the style because he feels there is not enough time to learn the entirety of the Fu-style system, and it is more important to develop health and wellness, rather than "hands that can chop a table in two." However, with the incorporated conditioning exercises, 2-person routines and the practice of the Baguazhang form, the martial aspects remain intact. Another branch of the style was established by Fu Zhensong's student Lin Chao Zhen, who likewise modified the teaching methodology. Fu Zhensong's internal student To Yu as well taught Fu-style Wudangquan in Hong Kong, and now has many disciples in western countries.