I have been intrigued by Xingyi’s Pangen exercise ever since I first read Joseph Crandall’s excellent translation of master Shang Ji’s introductory article (which can be found here: http://www.smilingtiger.net/pangen.html). It seems to have been created by Song Shirong after contact with practitioners of baguazhang. Although originally a practice of Song style, it seems to have spread to many other branches (Che, Hebei) through interchange over the years. How far it has spread it hard to tell, as it seems to be treated as ‘inside the door’ material by those branches that do practice it.
I recently found an interesting video of a Song style practitioner from Tianjin (Yu Chunhai) demonstrating their version of pan-gen: http://v.youku.com/v_show/id_XMjQ1MTk0OTQ4.html。
The version above seems slightly different to the exercise as described by Shang Ji. Can any readers who have had experience with Pan Gen comment on how it’s practiced in their line?
Masters of the IMA 
Jonathan Bluestein here…
This is my teacher’s gongfu uncle, and gongfu brother of master Wu Bingwen of Song shi Xing Yi Quan, Tianjin.
The version that was spread around I think is that of Se Bu Pan Gen or San Bu Pan Gen – Four/Three Step Base Encircling. It’s a physically tighter practice, and we have both the Song and Hebei versions of it.
This video was the first time I saw this version of Pan Gen, which appears closer to Bagua. In this version there’s a slight forward lean, unlike the other versions I know which are more perpendicular to the floor. I haven’t seen the Song XY version of Tuo Xing, but some of the movements are reminiscent of our Hebei Tuo Xing.
Thanks for the input Jonathan. How do you think Pan Gen practice has improved your xingyi? What do you think Pan Gen brings to the overall package?
Yeah, it looks more like tuo xing on a circle to me than Bagua.
This seems very odd to me. Song Shirong created pan gen stepping to enhance xingyi’s footwork, add more ‘heng’ power to it, and develop rotary and twisting forces, but it isn’t bagua circle walking. Although this starts with a bit of pangen, it quickly morphs into bad bagua wushu and doesn’t look functional, more like a performance routine.
Pangen turns are tightly focused on the body’s vertical axis, around which the arms should be closely wrapped in spirals and then projected with the completion of the turn and direction change to execute the five fists. Although it was deemed a secret method, there are now enough decent video examples around to see what it looks like. Of course, one can always say that this example is also pangen, just a different type, in which case words fail me, as they so often do.
Shang Ji’s article, btw, is very good.
Hi, Neil. Would you like to point us to one or two good pangen videos?
Hi friends. There is one mistake, Pangen was NOT created by Song Shi Rong, it was created by his brother Liu Qi Lan in Hebei. It was taken to Shanxi by Wang Fu Yuan. Also to Che style as author of article wrote.
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