Applying circle walk into muay thai would be unwise and probably won't work. The techniques in baguazhang is built to work off of the circle walk and therefore is side oriented in their initial application. Muay thai is designed to work off of the front orientation of it's own guard. So the techniques wouldn't really be compatible with the circle walking.
As far as I seen there are people even in baguazhang circles(excuse the pun) who doubt the combat effectiveness of the circle walk. The doubters think of the circle walk more as an illustration of the mind set(avoid a strike and attacking from another angle like diagonal stepping in muay thai) and a method of conditioning. That and it is said that circle walking originates from Taoist practice as a form of meditation. So these guys think it's not for combative use.
In short, combining circle walking and muay thai is probably a bad idea.
The circle walking footwork was made with high intent of evading multiple attackers so that you can always be moving and away from all the attackers at once. Baguazhang uses mostly palm strikes,usually wont kick above waist, and uses some joint control moves. The walking patterns they use are always changing direction and is compared to the wind. A disadvantage to using this style i can think of though is the fact that it is more of a complex movement that could possibly take years to be able to make it effective in a street fight where your adrenaline might make complicated stuff harder to pull off. But if you become master, you will be able to stay calm or at least still be able to execute properly under dire circumstances with proper experience training.
My Sigong teaches both Tai Chi and Bagua, but at the moment i'm only training in Tai Chi.
Bauazhang defends and attacks at the same time. With each deflection or redirecting of a punch the counter strike happens simultaneously. Bagua practices circle walking also called mud walking, while constantly changing hand positions, there is also a figure eight walking. A Bagua practitioner sticks or stays in contact with their opponent and only changes direction when necessary. The system is very circular the foot work as well as the arm and hand techniques.
'Stepping' is to position oneself at an advantage to execute a defensive or offensive technique. All martial arts regardless of style/school practise and emphasise the importance of stepping. The routines (kata/taolu) are full of it. Baquazhang is no different. It has many offshoots. The Yin-style baquazhang has its distinguishing 'han-zhi' bu (stepping) and Cheng-style has their mud-slipping stepping.There is a special system of stepping, called the 9-Palace stepping of Yin-style baquazhang which is used for fighting against multiple opponents. There is 'kou-bu', a stepping which is useful as leg-trapping technique.
Walking the circle is a basic stepping technique of baquazhang, and that's when 'han-zhi bu' of Yin-style or Cheng-style's mud-slipping stepping are practised. Circle walking is also understood as the pre-creation stepping. There is post-creation stepping as well, and that's linear stepping. So, there is linear stepping as well in baquazhang.
Please correct me if I'm wrong. I've read many times that Baguazhang is more "defensive" because it apparently focuses on deviating and dodging the opponents attacks? That's where the "circle walking" would come in I suppose.
If is this true (well, even if what I've said isn't my question still stands), can "circle walking" be used/adapted into other styles? I only started in muay thai several months ago, and I know I probably should not be mixing styles so early in my training. I'm simply curious as to see if "circle walking" ciuld be used effectively in conjunction with muay thai?
Also, what does "circle walking" encompass? I've seen some refer to it as an alternate name for Baguazhang, and others use it as a name for a technique (I think). Can someone please explain this to me in greater detail?
Thank you.
