I've become more interested in Pa Kua (8 Diagram Palm) and Hsing-I (5 Element Boxing) lately.  For those of you who have seen the Jet Li movie "The One" you have seen both of these styles.  The evil Jet Li in the movie used Hsing-I, which is a very linear and aggressive style, while the good Jet Li used Pa Kua, which is based on the concepts of circular motion and the physical and mental application of the "I Ching", the Chinese "Book of Changes".

I've learned the basics of "walking the circle," a Pa Kua drill that basically has you walking in circles for hours.  It is designed to teach balance, mental fortitude, and evasive offensive and defensive movement, as well as condition the waist by ingraining power generation through twisting motions.

The two styles compliment each other well since one is based on the line and one based on the circle, which are the basis of all attack and defense movements.

I also learned an interesting little tidbit from my instructor (sifu) today.  He was once told by a master of Pa Kua that Hsing-I was for the young, Pa Kua for the middle aged, and Tai Chi for the old, which explains why they are almost always taught together.