A Great Contribution to the Internal Chinese Martial Arts: The Internal Fighting Arts Podcast Interview with the Publisher of the Pa Kua Chang Journal -- Dan Miller
August 06, 2024
From 1990 to early 1997, Dan Miller published the Pa Kua Chang Journal. In my opinion, it provided the best information on Ba Gua Zhang of any martial arts publication. In the 76th edition of the Internal Fighting Arts Podcast, I interview Dan about publishing the Journal. We also talk about other issues related to Bagua, including the moving root, why Bagua practitioners walk the circle, the training concept of practicing techniques, why he likes Sun style Bagua and Taiji, created by Sun LuTang. I enjoy the story Dan tells about one of his favorite memories, meeting one of the old traditional Bagua teachers by knocking on the master's door, carrying a letter from a childhood friend.
Dan attended the United States Naval Academy and served 10 years as an officer in the Marine Corps. Besides teaching martial arts, Dan is a musician. He lives in the Columbia, Missouri area and holds workshops hosting various martial artists including Tom Bisio, Tim Cartmell and others.
The podcast runs one hour and 12 minutes. You can listen here or download the file.
Enjoyed listening to this interesting choice of interview. Inspired me to track down a copy of Pa Kua Chang Journal, which I knew nothing about. So I will soon be learning about "Zhang Yi Zhong and the 'Sage Arts'", which I also know nothing about, from May of 1996, over some coffee. It looks like a great read. And I'm sure it will be worth it.
Which leads to my question. Can you offer me a list of some other martial arts magazines/journals, possibly current, but preferably those that have been lost to time, that are also worth tracking down? Worth tracking down, due to both strength of content, but also to the quality of the publishing (i.e. they have that cool "style" to them) . Obscure or main stream, I don't care.
I feel that you may be uniquely qualified to answer this sort of question! Thanks for your focus on this corner of martial arts, and mainly for tracking down these varied folks to interview. I look forward to your next podcast. Perhaps another "Best of?". The last one was great for getting a flavor of your interviews, over time. Thanks!
Posted by: Patrick | October 07, 2024 at 07:29 AM
Hi Patrick and thanks for your comments. The Pa Kua Chang Journal is amazing. I recommend buying the complete set for only $34.95 (plus shipping) at Plum Publications. That's where I bought my copy. Each issue is in pdf format that you can print off. You get every issue of the journal, starting back when it was called a "newsletter." It is typically free from the mystical B.S. that so many of the magazines printed, letting martial artists and tai chi folks get away with making all sorts of unproven claims, and even showing some guys doing the "no-touch knockdown" and fantasy like that. The Pa Kua Chang Journal stands out in that crowd. Here is a link to the Plum Publications page that has the Journal: https://www.plumpub.com/sales/bagua/paguajournal.htm
Posted by: Ken Gullette | October 07, 2024 at 08:33 AM
Thanks for the link for the Pa Kua Chang Journal CD! If you have a chance at some point, I'd appreciate your insights into other publications, of similar quality. Thanks again.
Posted by: Patrick | October 07, 2024 at 09:58 AM