Eastern Pass Boxing

Guandong Quan has a fairly long history, its initial methods/concepts are in folklore said to have originated during the time of Sun Wu and then practised within the imperial court.

In ancient time the Guanzhong (within the passes) was the fortified region surrounded by four key passes (Hangu Pass, Wu Pass, Xiao Pass, Dasan Pass). Since the Western Zhou dynasty, the area was the capital region of China for a total of 12 dynasties including the Qin, Western Han, Sui, and Tang. By the Tang dynasty the economic center of China had shifted south to the Yangtze basin and Guanzhong became increasingly dependent on supplies transported via the Grand Canal. Historically the most important pass was the Hangu Pass (Guan Dong Pass) along the Yellow River which separates Guanzhong from the North China Plain. Guanzhong includes the central part of Shaanxi and the extreme west of modern Henan.

In the beginning the Generals and leaders would practised the Guan Dong Quan (Palace Movements) emphasizing health preservation exercises and the soldiers would practise Guan Xi (Palace training) Quan emphasizing direct combatives, later both methods were combined. It is sometimes referred to as “Ba Shi” frame because its foundation is based eight key methods which over time evolved into many more techniques. 

Guan Dong Quan (East of the Pass Boxing) 
Guang Xi Quan (West of the Pass Boxing)
Xing Men Ba Shi (Moving Gates Eight Postures)
Xing Ba Shi (Patterns of Eight Postures)