---
title: Eight Vajra Postures (金剛八式) — Bajiquan
---

**金剛八式 (Jīngāng Bā Shì, "the Eight Vajra Postures"** — also **金剛八勢)** is the **foundational basics drill of **[**Bajiquan**](https://wulin.openmindspace.org/baji) — eight single power-postures, each trained back and forth on its own before the forms, that install the art's rooted, explosive short-power. The name **金剛 ("vajra / diamond,"** the indestructible thunderbolt of Buddhist iconography) is the quality they build: an immovable base and a hardness that "splits the mountain." Each posture carries a five-character **歌訣 (verse)** naming its image.

## The eight postures

Reproduced under fair-use citation with the wiki's own glosses.

| # | 式 (中文) | 歌訣 (verse) | English |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 撐捶 | 崩弓竄箭急 | Propping Hammer — *"a bursting bow, a darting arrow — sudden"* |
| 2 | 降龍 | 五岳朝天錐 | Subduing the Dragon — *"the five sacred peaks, an awl to heaven"* |
| 3 | 伏虎 | 六合撲地錦 | Crouching Tiger — *"the six harmonies, a brocade pouncing to earth"* |
| 4 | 劈山掌 | 劈山斧加鋼 | Mountain-Splitting Palm — *"a mountain-splitting axe, edged with steel"* |
| 5 | 探馬掌 | 登山探馬準 | Scouting-Horse Palm — *"climbing the mountain, the scout-horse true"* |
| 6 | 虎抱 | 圈攔虎抱急 | Tiger Embrace — *"circling-block, the tiger's quick embrace"* |
| 7 | 熊蹲 | 熊蹲硬靠擠 | Bear Squat — *"the bear squats — a hard shoulder-barge and press"* |
| 8 | 鶴步推 | 鶴步推山穩 | Crane-Step Push — *"the crane's step, pushing the mountain — steady"* |

<Callout type="note">
  **Branch naming.** The eight are stable in their core, but lineages name two or three of them differently — the **霍氏 (Huo Dian'ge)** line gives 撐捶 · 迎面掌 · 降龍 · 伏虎 · 劈山掌 · 探馬掌 · 圈抱掌 · 虎抱; the **孟村老架 (Mengcun old-frame)** gives 撐捶 · 撲面掌 · 降龍 · 伏虎 · 劈山掌 · 探馬掌 · 虎抱捶 · 圈抱掌, framed by an opening salute (恭揖式) and close. All agree on 撐捶, 降龍, 伏虎, 劈山掌, 探馬掌 as the spine of the set.
</Callout>

## See also

<PageRef space="notes" slug="baji" text="Baji (八極拳) — the style, the six openings, the lineage" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="baji-small" text="小八極 Small Baji — the foundational form" />

<PageRef space="notes" slug="li-shuwen" text="Li Shuwen (李書文) — 'Divine Spear Li'" />

## Sources

**[1]** *八極 / 八極拳* entries, Baidu Baike — the 金剛八式 names and 歌訣 reproduced here under fair-use citation, with the wiki's own glosses. The eight-posture basics drill is documented across the Huo (霍殿閣), Mengcun (孟村), and Wutan (劉雲樵) lineages; the names are traditional, the modern encyclopedia text is not reproduced.