I have been taking Aikido for about a year and a half now and I was wandering if anyone could tell me what Internal Martial Art would be good with it? I posted this in another thread but I think no one saw it. I would greatly appreciate a response. Thank you.

BAGUAZHANG.

But it is not an art that is found anywhere and competent teachers are hard to come by, even in china or taiwan.

The other two commonly reffered to are tai chi chuan & xing yi chuan but they do not have the intricate footwork of baquazhang, which can be a great complement to your aikido; but in terms of internal energy development, it depends on the teacher. Some are obviously more knowledgeable and generous than others in this area which traditionally is reserved for advance students.

No matter what internal art you chose (they are all good) it ultimately depends on your committment to spend at least few hard years before you even begin to comprehend what it is all about when seen in the context of MA application.

For general health maintenance purposes or for alleviation of specific illnesses, that is another matter entirely.

Ask 'Baguabyrd' nicely for locations of Baquazhang schools in your area.

The only one i realy know about is Mike Pattersons school in San Diego. He teaches all three, mainly focussing on xingyi.
http://www.hsing-i.com/

Well, thanks for the replies. I live in Delaware so I do not think there will be any Baguazhang dojos around here if they are that rare. Thanks anyway for the help.


-Joe-

Not so much that they are rare, more that they don't advertise as much. You may be able to find one but it will take more leg work. You might try cnotacting Mike Patterson at the web site i gave above and ask if he knows of anyone in the area.