GRANDMASTER SUN ZHIJUN

Sun Zhi jun (孙志君) is the 4th generation representative of Ba Gua Zhang. He received the Chinese National Cultural Heritage Award in 2012 and is officially the National Representative Successor of Ba Gua Zhang, which he continues to practice every day.

Master Sun was born in 1933 and grew up in the Cheng village of Hebei province, home town of Cheng Ting Hua, founder of the Cheng style of Ba Gua Zhang, also known as "You Shen Ba Gua Lian Huan Zhang”. Master Sun received teachings from three main masters of Ba gua zhang: Liu Zi Yang, one of the most developed disciples of Cheng Dian Hua, Cheng You Sheng (Cheng Ting Hua’s nephew and Cheng Dian Hua’s son) and Cheng You Xin (Cheng Ting Hua’s second son). Besides practicing the art of Ba Gua Zhang, master Sun also practiced Xing Yi Quan which helped him to develop speed and strength with different martial movements. As a child and a young teenager, master Sun would spend his days and evenings practicing with his teachers and would continue to practice the art even after everyone had long left. It was very common for master Sun to come home in the middle of the night after practicing all night.

Like his teachers, master Sun soon became top practitioner among his fellow Ba Gua brothers. Due to his hard work he progressed rapidly in the art and soon became the favorite student of Cheng You Sheng who taught the most advanced level of Ba gua zhang performed in a low stance. Master Sun continued to practice throughout wars and internal turmoil of the cultural revolution all the while studying to become a civil engineer.

In 1964, master Sun started competing in the national games. He won the martial arts championship of the open hand and weapons forms at the Beijing competition. He won the gold in the National Conventional Martial Arts Championship in 1983 as well as gaining the National Outstanding Martial Arts Athlete Award. In 2004, master Sun won two gold medals for the open hand and saber forms at the World Conventional Martial Arts Festival Championship in Zhengzhou, Henan province.

In 1982, master Sun started coaching at the Eastern Martial Art Institute and was evaluated as a National Outstanding Instructor. He has been teaching students and disciples ever since and has spread his knowledge to many worthy disciples. His disciples range from National and International gold medalists and became masters themselves.

With over three decades of coaching experience of teaching in China and abroad and over 60 years of practicing the art with a dedication of steel, master Sun has earned the titles of National Treasure and Representative of the Art of Ba Gua Zhang.

In order to preserve the quality and purity of the art of Ba Gua Zhang, master Sun began a project for conserving the accuracy and quality in 1983 and two collections of DVDs were made in 1990 and 1992 titled; “Traditional Chinese Martial Arts” and “Ba Gua Zhang”. Later, the DVD titled “Cheng Branch Ba Gua Zhang” was produced to show the application and fighting skills of Ba Gua Zhang. To respond to the large demands, master Sun published the Chinese version of the “You Shen Ba Gua Lian Huan Zhang” in Singapore (1994), China (2002) and Taiwan (2004) which clearly demonstrates the traditional forms of Ba Gua Zhang.