A Comparative Study of Kung Fu

A Pot-Pourri of Bear, Praying Mantis and Crane The various ingenious ways masters devised to meet theft combat, health and other needs are in themselves fascinating, as weU as providing us with suggestions on improving our own art. The great mihtary strategist SunTzu said that ifyou understand yourself and understand your opponent you will win a hundred battles out of a hundred. A crucial factor for combat efficiency is to understand the strength and weakness of your opponent's martial art. Understanding the various styles of Kung 15u is excellent for this purpose because virtually all the well-known martial arts techniques in the world are found in Kung Fu. This is not surprising if we remember that Kung Fu has a history many times longer and a volume of practitioners at any one time marly times bigger than other martial arts.
Combat efficiency is not the only reason why a comprehensive study of Kung Fu styles should be attempted. The various ways masters devised to meet their combat, health and other needs are in themselves fascinat- ing, as well as providing us with suggestions on improving our own art. For those choosing a martial art to practise, a comparative study is necess- ary to enable them to make an informed choice, and for those who are already practising a chosen art, such a study may introduce them to techniques and skills not found in their own arts. For Shaolin disciples, it is inspiring to learn that all other styles are related in some ways to Shaohn Kung Fu, thereby further confirming the value of the art they are practising.
Contrasting Shaolin and Wudang Kung Fu
Some people regardTaijiquan as a contrast to Shaolin Kung Fu: one is slow and gentle, and the other forceful and fast. But as we saw in the previous chapter, Taijiquan is derived from Shaolin, and the slow movements of Taijiquan are not an end in themselves, but are meant to develop flow of
chi (vital energy).When Taijiquan is used for fighting, it can be very fast.
Besides Taljiquan, the other two major internal schools ofKung Fu are Bagua and Xingyi. These three schools are sometimes collectively referred to as the Wudang styles. Wudang is named after the Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province, China, where the Taoist master Zhang San Feng found-
ed internal Kung Fu. Only Taijiquan, however, which can trace its origin back to Zhang San Feng, has any connection withWudang Mountain; the term Wudang Kung Fu is used to cover all three internal schools mainly to contrast them with Shaolin Kung Fu.
Internal Palm of Bagua Kung Fu The Romanized Chinese spelling 'Bagua' is pronounced and traditionally spelt as 'Pakua' in English. The founding of Bagua Kung Fu, or
Baguaquan, is generally attributed to Dong Hai Chuan (1796 1880). Dong, (pronounced as 'Tung' in English), who was well-trained in Shaolin Lohan Kung Fu, reported that he was lost in a forest on the Jiu Hua Mountain, where a Taoist saint taught him a system of internal Kung Fu.Some martial arts historians suggest, although the evidence is not conclusive, that this saint could be Mi Deng Xia or Guo Ji Yuan, both of whom were classmates of the famous Wudang Taljiquan master Wang ZhongYue. lfthis is true, then Bagua Kung Fu does have a historical claim
to being classified as one of the Wudang arts.
The philosophy of Bagua Kung Fu is based on the Eight Trigrams of the YiJing (I Ching). A unique feature is that the palm is used throughout, never the fist. Hence in Chinese, Bagua Kung Fu is more popularly known as baguazhang, meaning 'Bagua Palm', rather than baguaquan, which means 'Bagua Fist'.
In Bagua Kung Fu there are eight fundamental palm techniques, corresponding to the Eight Trigrams, which multiply to give 64 techniques. The eight 'mother palms' of Bagua Kung Fu are:
* Single Changing Pahn
~ Double Changing Palm
~ Flowing Palm
~ Triple Threading Palm ~ Back Palm ~ Round Body Palm ~ Turn Body Palm ~ Return Body Palm These terms, and those used elsewhere, may sound odd in English because they are translated literally from the Chinese; in their original form they are both meaningful and poetic. Bagua Kung Fu is famous for its excellent footwork. Some exponents are so skilful that they can get to their opponents' backs without the latter realizing. This skill is acquired through a method called 'running round the octagonal formation of the eight trigrams', which is an essential training procedure in this style of Bagna Kung Fu.
Another typical training method of this school is zhan zhuang, or the art of Standing Posture, where the practitioner poses motionless in one of the eight mother palms for some time, then moves to the next step of the octagonal formation holding another pose of the mother pahns, if it is practised persistently over a few years, tremendous internal force can be developed from zhan zhuang. It may be difficult for the uninitiated, especially those used to the hard and rough type of force training, to comprehend the profundity of this apparently simple exercise, but anyone who has had an encounter with a Bagua master can appreciate the power of his internal force.
Xingyi Kung Fu and Taoist Concepts Xingyi (pronounced 'Hsing Yi') Kung Fu, or Xingyiquan, is reputed to have been founded by the great 12th century Song general Yue Fei, who was also a Shaolin master. Other Kung Fu historians, however, believe that although Yue Fei's military classics provided the inspiration and back- ground material, it was the 17th century Ming Dynasty Kung Fu master, Ji Long Feng, who invented it, after witnessing an illuminating fight between a bear and an eagle.
LikeYue Fei, Ji Long Feng was an expert in the use of the spear, and he was nick-named the Super Spear. He was so skilful that he could pierce a fly' resting on a paper window without damaging the paper. This is significant for Xingyi students, many of whom think that Xingyiquan is connected only with unarmed combat.
In the past, Xingyi Kung Fu was known as Liuhequan, which means 'Kmtg Fu of Six Unities'. These six unifies are internal force, intrinsic energy, mind, form, will-power and external strength. It was also known as Xinyiquan or shortened to Yiquan.
Xingyi means 'form' and 'mind'. The following saying reflects the meaning of Xingyiquan: 'Just internal without external cannot make good Kung Fu; just external without internal cannot make good art. Its philosophy is based on the concept of wu-xing, the Five Elemental Processes – often mistranslated as the Five Elements – of metal, water, wood, fire arid earth. Thus, there are five fundamental approaches which interact to create and destroy. For example, a metal approach like a chopping attack can be countered by an earth approach like a diagonal strike to the attacking ami.
The style also makes use of 12 animal forms: dragon, tiger, monkey,horse, tortoise, cockerel, hawk, swallow, snake, kite, eagle and bear. Figure4.2 below shows a typical Xingyi pattern.
Like Bagua Kung Fu, Xingyi Kung Fu also places a great deal of empha- sis on zhan zhuang for training internal force. Besides the motionless poses of the various animal forms, a characteristic Xingyi posture is the sancai zhuang, or Three Treasures Posture. If you have ever wondered why the strike ora Xingyi master can be so powerful although he may never have punched a sandbag nor lifted any weights in his training, a likely answer is that he has spent time in zhan zhuang. The Philosophies of Wudang Kung Fu It is interesting to note the philosophies behind Tijiquan and Bagua and Xingyi Kung Fu. Taiji, meaning the Grand Ultimate, is based on the principle of yin and yang, the two opposing yet complementary aspects of the reality of the whole Cosmos.
Bagua Kung Fu derives its inspiration from the Yifing (or I-Ching) the famous Book of Change, which states that the forces of yin and yang create bagua, the eight primordial features represented bi,' the Eight Trigrams. Each 2ua or trigram consists of three treasures, expressed as heaven, earth and man, each represented by an unbroken yang line or a broken yin line. This classical Chinese paradigm parallels the concept in modern physics of positive and negative forces creating the proton, the electron and the neutron. The yin-yang of Taiji and the Eight Trigrams of Bagua can be combined in the symbol show in Figure 4.3.
The eternal interaction of the bagua produces 64 trigrams which symbolize the myriad features of the universe. This bagua interaction can be described by wu-xing, the Five Elemental Processes of metal, water, wood, fire and earth, which form the basic philosophy of Xingyi Kung Fu. The Five Elemental Processes are continuously engaged in inter-creativity and inter-destructivity as shown in Figure 4.4. They are governed by the forces of yin and yang, thus bringing the whole cosmic transformation into a never-ending cycle.
These philosophies of yin-yang, bagua and wu-xin~ are Taoist concepts. Hence, Taijiquan, Bagua Kung Fu and Xingyi Knng Fu are often consid- ered as belonging to the Taoist school of Kung Fu, in contrast to Shaolin Kung Fu, which is Buddhist. It must be emphasized that terms like 'Buddhist' and 'Taoist' are philosophical, not religious, in meaning. Shaolin,Taijiquan, Bagua, Xingyi and all other styles of Kung Fu are non- religious: they can be practised by people of any religion without affecting their beliefs.
One should also remember that yin-yang, bagua and wu-xing represent symbolic, not absolute, concepts. Yin-yang refers to the two complementary aspects of reality, bagua to the eight promordial features of the uni- verse, and wu-xing to the Five Elemental Processes operating the Cosmos. For example, the first gua or trigram is qian, and the second is kun, represented by heaven and earth respectively. Qian and kun are not actually heaven and earth, only symbolized as such. Translated into Kung Fu terms, an attack that comes from above can be regarded as a qian attack, whereas one that is low is a kun attack。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。。
Similarly in wu-xing, the concept of wood creating fire suggests that a process that is characterized by growth, which is symbolized by wood, will result in activity, which is symbolized by fire. In the Kung Fu con- text, training that increases our force as in zhan zhuang, for example, will improve our attack and defence movements. Wuzuquan or Kung Fu of Five Ancestors As we saw in the last chapter, the classification of Kung Fu styles into external and internal is for convenience only. Wuzuquan, or Wu Chu Kung Fu, for example, is generally regarded as external, yet it has a lot of internal features. When 1 learned Wuzuquan from Sifu Chee Kim Thong, my most lasting memory was of my instructor constantly telling me not to use strength. How could one fight effectively, I wondered to myself, if one did not use strength? I later found that we were to use internal force.
Wuzuquan was invented by a Kung Fu genius, BaiYi Feng, during the Yuan Dynasty (1260-1368). He invited many masters who had graduated from Shaolin Monastery back to the monastery to demonstrate their most spectacular arts. They were all specialists in their respective fields: some were experts in kicking techniques, some in agile footwork, others in internal force, and so on. Five masters, whose names have unfortunately not been recorded, were most outstanding in this display, excelling in the White Crane, Taiju, Lohan and Monkey styles and in the chi training of the Bodhidharma style. Bal Yi Feng combined these five styles into one, which is now known as Wuzuquan, which means 'Kung Fu of the Five Ancestors'. Later in the Ming Dynasty, CaiYi Ming popularized this style; hence, it is sometimes known asYi Ming Kung Fu.
Although it originated in the north, Wuzuquan became popular in southern China, especially in Fnjian Province. The nmst important set in this style is San Zhan, meaning 'three battles', and it is used for develop- ing internal power as much as for fighting patterns. Wuzuquan has great- ly influenced Japanese karate, and San Zhan, which is known in Japanese as Sanchin, is found in many karate styles as an advanced leata. Ftigure 4.5 shows a pattern from it. Tanglangquan or Praying Mantis Kung Fu Another popular style that is derived from Shaolin Kung Fu is Tanglangquan, or Praying Mantis Kung Fu. Wang Lang, a secular Shaolin disciple, practised Lohan Kung Fu in Shaolin Monastery during the Ming Dynasty. Partly because of his small physique, he could not beat his class- mates, no matter how hard he tried.
One evening while he was resting under a tree after being beaten by his seniors in sparring,Wang Lang noticed a praying mantis fighting with a cicada. Although the praying mantis was smaller, it used its long limbs to defeat the cicada. Wang Lang was inspired. He captured a few praying mantises and studied their fighting movements, which he introduced into his Shaolin Kung Fu.
His master was amazed at his tremendous improvement, although he still could not match the best monks. With help from his master, Wang
Lang experimented with these praying mantis movements. The master suggested that he took leave from the monastery to travel the country and study other styles of martial arts. He specially advised Wang Lang to improve his footwork to refine his Praying Mantis techniques.
In his travels, Wang Lang selected the best points from 17 other Kung Fu styles to be incorporated into his Praying Mantis techniques. He found the footwork of the Monkey style the most suitable for his purpose. He called his new style Shaolin Praying Mantis Kung Fu and it is composed of the best aspects of eighteen styles: ~ Taiju Long Fist ~ Wrestling ~ Stretched Arm ~ Grasping ~ Bolting Method ~ LeakingTechniques ~ Short Fist ~ Felling Techniques ~ Close Hit ~ Double Kicks ~ Monkey Style ~ Continuous Attacks ~ Close-Body Techniques ~ Straight Attacks ~ Palm Strike ~ Praying Mantis Techniques ~ Blocking Hand ~ Lohan Kung Fu as Base. He returned to Shaolin Monastery to teach Praying Mantis Kung Fu to the monks and secular disciples. It became immensely popular, and for a time it even replaced Shaolin Lohan Kung Fu as the main style in the monastery.
A Taoist master, the priest Sheng Xiao, was a regular visitor to Shaolin Monastery. One morning he was surprised to find the monks practising an odd style ofKung Fu. He was even more surprised when he could not match them with his Wudang Kung Fu.
'What's this strange Kung Fu?' he asked his friend, the Abbot of the monastery'.
'It's Praying Mantis Kung Fu.'
'Praying Mantis? Aren't you ashamed that the famous monks of Shaotin are doing Praying Mantis?'
'It's an excellent art'
'I've no doubt about that,' Sheng Xiao said. 'But what about your Shaolin Lohan Kung Fu, which has been the hallmark of Shaolin throughout the ages?'
'That's exactly my problem. I don't want to see this excellent style becoming extinct after such a short time; but I also don't want to go down in history as the Abbot who discontinued the Shaolin tradition of Lohan Kung Fu.'
Then the Shaolin Abbot and Sheng Xiao made an agreement. The Shaolin master would teach the Taoist priest all be could about Praying Mantis Kung Fu, and Sheng Xiao promised to preserve and spread the art. So, it is alt interesting feature of Praying Mantis Kung Fu that it was founded by a secular disciple, developed by Buddhist monks and popularized by a Taoist priest.
Praying Mantis Kung Fn is well known for its varied and subtle kicking techniques, an example of which is shown in Figure 4.6. The Spread of Southern Shaolin Kung Fu The Qing Dynasty witnessed the growth of numerous styles front Southern Shaolin Kung Fu. In addition to the Northern Shaolin Monastery in Henan Province, another Shaolin Monastery was built in the Quanzhou district of Fujian Province during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).The Kung Fu taught here is referred to as Southern Shaolin Kung Fu to differentiate it from the Northern Shaolin Kung Fu of the Henan Monastery. Southern Shaolin Kung Fu is characterized by solid stances, powerful arms and elaborate hand techniques, in contrast with the elegant jumping, extensive movements and wide range of kicking attacks of the Northern Shaolin version.
The Quanzhou monastery became a centre for revolutionaries during the Qing Dynasty. According to a legend, the Qing emperorYong Zheng himself infiltrated into the monastery as a monk to learn Shaolin Kung Fu. He later dispatched the army, aided by Tibetan lamas who were martial arts experts, to raze it. Thus, when Tibet was attacked by the Communist army and Tibetan lamas escaped to other parts of the world, some people regarded it as a karmic retribution. On the positive side, like the Shaolin masters who escaped to spread the Shaoliu arts elsewhere, Tibetan lamas escaped to other parts of the world to spread Vajrayana Buddhism.
One of the Shaolin monks who escaped changed his name to Jiang Nan to avoid the pursuing army. After 50 years of wandering, with the sole aim of finding a suitable successor, he reached southern Thailand. There he met a young Kung Fu master named Yang Fa Kun who practised Fengyang Kung Fu, which is noted for the Phoenix-Eye Punch, and who earned his living as a Kung Fu display artist. The old Shaolin monk watched his display for many nights. Then one night, after the crowd had dispersed, he said to Yang Pa Kun, 'Young man, you have won a lot of applause for your display. But yours is only a display art, not real Kung Fu.'
Before Yang Fa Kun could said anything, the Venerable Jiang Nan continued, 'Don't take my word for it. The test of Kung Fu is fighting. Let find a suitable place and have a friendly sparring match to test whether yours is a display art or real Kung Fu.'
In the subsequent sparring the Venerable Jiang Nan, who was about 80 years old, handled the 20-year-old Yang Fa Kun like a small boy. When Yang begged the monk to accept him as a student, the old Shaolin mas- ter insisted on one condition. 'Stay with me on top of a mountain and train from scratch,' he said.
About 50 years later, Yang Fa Kun taught the Shaolin arts to Ho Fatt Nam, who practised Siamese Boxing, Malay Silat and seven other styles ofKung Fu, and who earned his living as a professional Siamese Boxing fighter. Yang Fa Kun also insisted on one condition. 'You have to start from scratch,' he told Ho Fart Nam.
l know this story intimately because Sifu Ho Fart Nam is my master, and he generously taught me the Shaolin arts. When I begged him to accept me as a student, I already had 18 years of Kung Fu training behind me. Like his master before him, he made the one condition, 'Start from scratch'. Major Southern Shaolin Styles In Southern China, the five major Southern Shaolin styles were named after the families of the mastets Using these names instead of the term 'Shaolin' was one way to avoid the attention of the Qing army. These five major styles were Hongjiaquan (Hoong Family Kung Fu), Liujiaquan (Liu Family Kung Fu), Caijiaquan (Cai ]Family Kung Fu), Lijiaquan (Li Family Kung Fu), and Mojiaquan (Mo Family Kung Fu).
Of these five styles, Hongjiaquan is the most famous. It is often short- ened to Hongquan, which is pronounced in the same way as the Hongquan of Northern Shaolin Kung Fu described in the previous chap- ter. Hongjiaquan was named after a Shaolin master, Hong Xi Guan, and it is well known for its solid stances and powerful punches. Its form is as beautiful to watch as it is superbly effective. The teacher who first intro- duced me to Kung Fu, Sifu Lai Chin Wah, who was known in Kung Fu circles as Uncle Righteousness was a famous Hongjiaquan master.
Liujiaquan, named after Liu San Yah, is noted for its staff techniques. Caijiaquan is named after Cai Bai Da, and is famous for its kicking tech- niques. Lijiaquan is named after LiYou San, and is noted for its Phoenix- Eye Punch. Mojiaquan, named after Mo Qing Jiao, is also famous for its kicks.
Some Shaolin masters specialized in particular forms which were derived from the movements and qualities of animals, such as a tiger's power and a crane's elegance. Hence, besides naming the styles after the masters, some are named after their most prominent form, such as Lung- xingquan or Dragon style Kung Fu, Heihuquan or Black Tiger Kung Fu and Paihequan orWhite Crane Kung Fu.
Two other popular styles of Southern Shaolin are Yongehunquan or Wing Choon Kung Fu and Cailifoquan or Choy-Li Fatt Kung Fu.
Wing Choon Kung Fu, the style practised by the celebrated Bruce Lee, was invented by a woman,YanYong Chun, pronounced asYimWing Choon in the Cantonese dialect. It is noted for its fast movements and vicious attacks. Figure 4.8 shows a pattern that I learned from Sifu Choe Hoong Choy.
Choy-Li-Fatt Kung Fu was invented by a patriot called Chen Heng, who combined Choy Family Kung Fu, Li Family Kung Fu and Fatt Family (or Buddha) Kung Fu into one style. It was popularized by his dis- ciple, Zhang Hung Sheng. Choy-Li-Fatt Kung Fu is remarkable for its long-reaching techniques, and its effectiveness for fighting against several attackers. Figure 4.9 illustrates a typical Choy-Li-Fatt Kung Fu pattern.
The variety of Kung Fu styles is impressive. Each has its characteristic features and special advantages for particular needs. For example, Wing Choon Kung Fu is effective for women against brutal opponents, while Choy-Li-Fart Kung Fu is useful for fighting one's way out of an ambush. Lohan Kung Fu takes advantage of size, whereas a large physique would be a hindrance in the Monkey style. Bagua Kung Fu uses the palm exclusive- ly, while movements of Taijiquan are performed like a poetic dance.
The styles I have described are just the major ones. There are many more, but there is not enough space to discuss them all.
Kung Fu, like any art, is a practical affair, not just a question of gath- ering knowledge. In other words, one becomes proficient through hard, regular practice, not by reading about it. Nevertheless, some background information is not only useful but necessary; otherwise the student may waste a lot of time groping about in the dark. The next chapter will pro- vide you with such knowledge, so that you can derive the most benefit from your training.