aikilouis

What I see from the 94-old Bagua man video :

- with first uke (black tee shirt) :
When receiving uke's contact : Bagua man places his intent between his feet and the point of contact (shoulder the first time then chest), via his center, as if compressing a spring.
He then releases his body's stored energy (releases the spring) linearly to push uke away, using the ground as fixed point to transmit his extension to uke's end.
At the third attempt he guides uke away the same way but adding an extra element : he uses his perception of uke's structural weakness and guides his release to unbalance him "into a hole".

- with uke #2 (grey shirt) :
Same principle but : his spring is a spiral instead of a straight compression spring, winding under uke's energy, then unwinding to push him away.
Note that this time the push is made from Bagua man's side (it was from the front with uke #1)

- with uke #1 and uke #3 simultaneously :
Simultaneous winding/unwinding movements on both sides at the same time (one spiral spring for each uke)
His release is quicker this time. I would say that he previously released his stored energy progressively while with this attempt his intent blocks the stored energy (as if cocking an internal pistol trigger) then "pulls the trigger", thus releasing the stored energy more suddenly.
To take a more bodily analogy, the first attempts are like blowing his nose, this one is like sneezing (both result in air being pushed out of the nose, but the internal processes are different).

- with uke#3 alone (white shirt) :
Sudden releases from the side, but this time he seems to drop his weight (see movement of the hand on the other side at the first attempt), then uses some kind of rebound to send the energy to uke. The elbow of the grabbed arm also seems to indicate a quick downward movement before the push.

- with uke #2 :
Sudden releases from the side, the position and relaxed state of the grabbed arm clearly indicating that it cannot be the source of the push. It could at best only convey power originating from the body.
I also interpret the time when Bagua man shows as he could lose his balance as such : he could be saying "see, if I tried to push you away with my upper body, I would not be solid enough against you so I would fall over from my own force, but now, if I place my weight very low, between my base (the feet) and your point of contact, I can push you and remain stable". Funnily enough, uke #3 behind mimics the hand moves but does not seem to get it.

My attempt is of course open to comments and corrections, I claim no expertise on the subject and have no credibility to defend. I also add that Wikipedia helped with the spring and trigger explanations.

I would be interested to know what Bagua man says (he often seems to say something like "now I do this, then I do that"), in particular when he touches his head an points downward (around 00:36). Anyone care to translate ?