All about Fuzhou Singing Crane.鳴鶴拳.

鳴鶴拳

Just in case you are unaware, I got another blogsite up and running with regular entries all dedicated to my family line’s of Fuzhou/Fuqing Singing Crane.

Click here.

Lau Gar Kao Singapore.

And speaking of cosmopolitian Singapore, here’s a Hakka style that is still practised there.

Lau Kar Gao.

Around here, we like to say that Hakka kung fu is “chilli padi” – they are hot, spicy hot.

Do not let the look fools you, one bite and you will be looking for a fire extinguisher…….

Zhou Jia Quan.

Before I continue with the historical passage through the development and evolution of CKF, I thought I take a slight detour and talk a little about Zhou Jia or Jow Gar Kuen.

An  art that I took up for about 2 yrs before I left Singapore and personally, an accomplished system comprising of Hung Kuen, Choy Gar and Bak Siu Lum.

Northern and Southern characteristics all captured in one vibrant system and really one of the very few traditional styles that is still flourishing in cosmopolitan Singapore.

I still keep in close contact with my Zhou Jia sihing, Peter Lum, in Penang and we are on the verge of a joint venture involving Zhou Jia families in Singapore.

Anyway, here’s a Zhou Jia documentary from the mainland featuring Cho Bo (a place in Canton) and the Zhou Jia lineage there.

Hey, you even get to see the “hoe” form created by Sijo Jow Lung …. So good to see traditions alive and kicking in the motherland!

Back to the beginning.

A Brief Timeline of Shaolin Temple at Mt. Song
AD 495 Bá Tuó (跋陀), a Buddhist monk from India, was granted by Emperor Xiào Wén of Northern Wèi (北魏孝文帝) to establish Shaolin temple/monastery at Mt Song (嵩山少室山).

AD 527 PúTíDáMó (菩提達摩) spent 9 years in meditation, and attributed as founder of Zen (禪) Buddhism.

AD 574 Emperor Wŭ of Northern Zhōu (北周武帝) banned Buddhism, Shaolin monastery destroyed.

AD 579-781 Emperor Jìng of Northern Zhōu (北周静帝) restored the monastery, renaming it as Zhì Hù Monastery (陟岵寺).

AD 581-618 Suí Dynasty (隋朝) – Emperor Wén restored the name to Shaolin.

AD 618-907 Táng Dynasty (唐朝) – Early in the dynasty’s founding, 13 monks from the monastery rescued Lĭ Shì Mín (李世民). The monastery gained accolades and fame after Lĭ Shì Mín became the dynasty’s 2nd emperor.

AD 1271 to 1368 Yuán Dynasty (元朝) – Kublai Khan conferred honours upon the monastery.

AD 1368 to 1644 Míng Dynasty (明朝) – The martial monks assisted the Imperial Court to suppress coastal piracies (倭寇), and gained the monastery favours from the Court for renovations and expansions.

Towards end of the dynasty, the monks participated in the Court’s suppression of peasant uprisings, and became a target of the rebels, causing the monastery to suffer in the process.

AD 1644-1911 Emperors KāngXī (康熙) and QiánLóng (乾隆) respectively honoured the monastery.
KāngXī personally wrote the sign for the monastery,
while QiánLóng penned the phrase “明日瞻中岳, 今宵宿少林” while staying overnight, being given the abbot’s quarters in deference to his status.

AD 1928 Shaolin Monastery was commandeered as HQ by warlord general Fán ZhōngXiù (樊钟秀). After Shí YŏuSān (石友三), subordinate of warlord Féng YüXiáng (冯玉祥), defeated Fán, Shí ravaged the monastery. This was the 二八火厄.

AD 1966 Badly ravaged during the Cultural Revolution.

The founding of Shaolin

According to one legend of the founding of Shaolin, three men; a rich man, a 风水 practitioner and a Buddhist monk from India (Bá Tuó 跋陀), were travelling along the road to Mt. Song (嵩山) from the south, north and west respectively.

Suddenly, though they were in separate locations, they heard a voice in the clouds and saw an image of a monastery named “竹林寺”. A young novice in front of the temple was asking an elderly monk about an earthly counterpart to their temple.

The elderly monk replied, “天上竹林, 天下少林”, and pointed to a northern part of 少室山 of Mt. Song where a phantom of the Shaolin Temple suddenly appeared. The images then disappeared and the sky cleared.

That night, each man thought of the location they saw.
The rich man wanted to build a luxurious residence there and believed it will ensure his flow of wealth.
The 风水 practitioner wanted to move his ancestral graves there to ensure smooth future for his descendants.
The monk thought it would be a splendid place for a monastery, and set off for the location before dawn.

Three days later, the three men were arguing on the same spot about who had the right to claim the location. Their argument reached the ears of Emperor Xiào Wén of Northern Wèi who was touring the vicinity. The claimants then requested for the monarch to settle the dispute.

The emperor asked each of them to prove their claim.
The rich man pointed to his cap placed on a stick to prove his having claimed the spot.
The 风水 practitioner pointed to the stick to prove he was there earlier.
The Buddhist monk unearth his sandal buried beneath the stick to prove he was the first, and thus was awarded the site.

The first Shaolin martial arts master

One of the earliest legend of Shaolin was the monk called of Sēng Chóu (僧稠). He was said to be a thin boy who was bullied by other disciples at the monastery. Bá Tuó taught him martial arts to develop his physique. One tale had Sēng Chóu used an iron staff to separate two tigers fighting each other.

According to a written record, Sēng Chóu was an exponent who demonstrated his skills to the public during festivals. Since he was before the time of DáMó, he was credited with the founder of martial arts school in Shaolin.

An amalgamation of various martial arts forms

One proposal was that there was no single founder of Shaolin martial arts, but that the martial arts amalgamated to various martial artists who became monks at the monastery later in their lives. As the monks sparred with each other, they improved their skills, adopting the strengths and making up for the weaknesses of various forms, and gradually developed a distinctive school of martial arts for the monastery.

During the Song Dynasty, the abbot by the name of Fú Jū (福居) hosted a martial arts tournament for an exchange of skills. He invited top exponents from 18 schools from the pugilistic circles. After three years, 《少林拳谱》 was produced.

The monk Jué Yuăn (觉远) was one of those sent by the monastery to travel around the country to seek improvements of their skills. He was responsible for inviting the martial exponents by the names of Lĭ Sŏu (李叟) and Bái YüFēng (白玉蜂) to join the monastery and improve the skills of Shaolin further.

Bái YüFēng was a master of qigong and swordsmanship. He took the tonsure and adopted the name Autumn Moon (秋月), and became an instructor in the monastery. He was said to be the author of 《五拳精要》 or Essence of the Five Fists, modelled after the dragon, tiger, leopard, snake and crane (龙、虎、豹、蛇、鹤).

Under the guidance of Lĭ Sŏu and Bái YüFēng, Jué Yuăn developed and mastered the 18 Luohan Palms, and became an important reviver of Shaolin martial arts.

During the Ming Dynasty, the general Yú DàYóu (俞大猷) saw a demonstration of Shaolin skills at the monastery and thought that their staff fighting skills had lost the essence of a true fighting skill. The monastery sent 2 monks to accompany the general south for his campaign in order to revive the skills. After three years, they returned with the more effective skills using the staff.

It made sense for Shaolin monastery to be known as the top martial arts school in China if they maintained a policy of continuous improvement and always ready to learn from others, opening their doors to people from all walks of life. Together, with the monastic discipline, it is no wonder they would rise and stay at the top.

Such attitude would prevent complacency and the school from falling behind. The same principle is applicable today in R&D of various academic institutes.

Source : 《少林功夫的故事》
Publisher : Asiapac Books Pte Ltd asiapacbooks@pacific.net.sg
Contact : 65-63927455 (Phone) 65-63926455 (Fax)
Address : 996 Bendemeer Road, #06-09, Singapore 339944
Date of Publication : July 1, 2005 (1st Edition)
ISBN 981-229-412-0

Stay away!

“Talismans are the strange writing of writs which can invoke spirits and control the ghosts. Talismanic characters, with their twisted strokes, look like drawings as well as calligraphy, and are not easy to recognize.

Where do they come from?

According to the descriptions in Daoist scriptures, a talisman is a condensation of the clouds in the sky. As a matter of fact, the writings of talismans came from our ancestors’ worship of Chinese characters.

When the Collective Explanations of the Biography of Xie Gunu from the Stories of Magical Arts in the History of the Later Han quoted Hui Dong, it said that in ancient times, there were ways of controlling spirits.

Therefore the Book of Master Huainan 6 said that a long time ago when Cang Ji created Chinese characters, there was millet falling down from the sky, and spirits crying at night.

In Gaoyou’s commentary, he states that spirits were crying at night, afraid of being controlled by the talisman. So it is thus clear that the idea existed long ago that some special words or characters were able to impeach and control spirits.”

Read more about this here.

Another custom that the Chinese brought along when they left the mainland; talisman to ward of evil spirits.

One would expect that in these days of internet on your mobiles, talismans would have vanished but no.

In many Chinese homes all over SE Asia, talisman is still easily spotted along with hanging incense urns.

And must not forget the all important “red lanterns” at the front entrance.

Even though, these days you will see electric light bulbs rather than oil or candles.

And look at the talisman in the pic, it says “Mt WuDang” …. Hmmmm….

One of my earliest youtube clips.

This clip must has been uploaded sometime in 2006 …..

One of my students here in Kuching doing Liuhe Weito 1st form.

This is a form that I picked up from my army colleague who was training in “Chi Liu” some 20 – 25 years ago.

So for those of you who missed it the first time around, here goes :-

Sifu Lee Kam Wing.

“Sifu Lee Kam Wing is a permanent member of the Hong Kong Chinese Martial arts Association, Director and Seven Star Praying Mantis Coach of the Hong Kong Chin Woo Athletic Association, Consultant of the Guangzhou Chin Woo Athletic Association China, Director of the British Taijiquan and Shaolin Wushu Association, accredited Coach with the Hong Kong Coaching Committee, overseas consultant for the Singapore San Cheen Do Institute and is the Guardian of the German Seven Star Mantis Group. Sifu Lee continually strives to promote understanding of the Chinese Martial Arts and gives many demonstrations around the Hong Kong area and on television.”

A personal friend of Ah Teck, my Taizu teacher.

Here’s Sifu Lee website …. click.

This is different.

“Your wordpress site is an interesting resource, the subject-interest is partially your own: fukien : fuzhou related with sanshin core focus and the wingchun.

You also have entered subjects that have been cross-overed: liu-he boxing, liu-he xing-yi, liuhe bafa….and tai-zu etc.

Some of this I have years of knowledge about and some I have gone into, recorded,and published: liuhe bafa, yiquan, sanshin-stand/stepping. I will mention that there does exist, a very private video of Msr. Uechi demonstrating exactly what he learned in China it is very, very different from what was and is now circulated around the USA. The ’goju’ you mention, deviated and expanded itself, but was rectified to be compatible with the ‘original’ china form by gmaster Anthony Mirakian [who took an interest in the liuhebafa taught in Boston by LiChung], the notable change being hands open, elbows out, andmovements slow and continuous.

You do record the LHBF variously and include some data.  This is a highly complex subject and few know it correctly or completely ..and most prefer the easy, standard stories.  The youtube clip of KamTung, whom I know and who was ‘brother’ to my last teacher, the LHBF- form is not LHBF, it is LuHong Ba-shih: aka 8-link fist, etc.

Most people explain LHBF as a mix of IMA: taichi-, xingyi-, and bagua-. This is not quite true nor accurate. It uses the core-3 IMA as a platform/ foundation of principles,but the actual dance-playout is LuHong 8-link, swimming dragon, and mitsongyi-bagua thus, similar, but opposite. The wikipedia site cannot be relied on for an accurate history or discription as there exists a ‘group’ polishing the data to fit their group ideas.

As for the sanshin,…you correctly quote your on experience and the advice of Wang Xiang-zhai…principles are the leaders of foundation, the basic standing and stepping easily transfers to mocabu, stepping in yiquan, with no variation, but becomes somewhat tainted through its contact with crane, province, and teacher’s ideas.

I will qualify first some of what I will say [this is not meant as a lecture], my first teacher for LHBF, LiChung, was friend, brother, and student of Han Xing-yuan for yiquan and together they modified, standardized, and filtered out the LH-8 links refining it.

My third teacher, studied with Chen YikYan and with KamTung…and with Han Xingyuan and only taught principles, not style; again, merging of styles is possible with some correction.  My in between teacher, Mr. Ho, number two, was a student of Sun LuTang and his daily tea friend, Wu Yi-hui, founder of LHBF and taught the original water-style devoid of LHBF. Thus I understand that style form and ideas as passed down and preserved, can be a life long deception.

Your site also presents your peeves of teachers and students and their ambitions.

Han Xingyuan would advise: if you want to kill someone, buy a gun, do not waste your life on learning boxing.

Teacher Mr. Ho, would similarly advise: I have practiced under a great teacher, and practiced all of my life, kungfu will never teach you how to fly.

Overall, I am greatly impressed by the content and your efforts.

I do have a question for you, after the closing of the Nanking Martial Academy at about 1947, there was an ‘exit’ of top teachers for the liuhe bafa to, ’singapore, malaysia, vietnam, and teaching there.’  I have attempted to track down at each place, the where and the who. It is something of a curiosity question.  The LHBF system and its core forms, tends to be altered by each person touching it, some preserve, some addend, and some evolve it [HuaYo-TaiChi-LHBF+yiquan]. Would you know of source for this?

I am aware the in Burma, in the border area, of the Shan, I have seen a ‘boxing’ swimming form, that was shown on Thailand TV, very close to what I know.

The information in this letter is an open sharing.”

Doing something here that is, frankly, a little out of character for me …. reproducing a received email here in this blog.

I am persuaded that the mail, apparently written by someone very advanced in his knowledge, would serve well for me to express certain thoughts close to my heart.

Firstly, I am not an expert.

I love the arts and because of that passion, I became a collector of TCMA related materials for as long as I can remember.

As far back as 10 years ago, I wanted to share my collection with all like-minded folks and embarked on the project just to abort later due to various constrains.

Personally, the world of TCKF is huge and complex held together sometimes by nothing more than folklores and misguided superstitions that defy any contemporary “scientific” approach. Sometimes, all that we are doing in forums etc is merely trading hearsays.

Occasionally, we have published materials on some topics and usually these stay overlooked and hearsays as a result, are allowed to be perpetuated….and this really is a disservice to the transmission of TCMAs.

What I am doing here with this blog is nothing more than provides another viewpoint, one backed by others through their works.

Anyone reading here gets motivated enough to investigate further is all that I am hoping to accomplish.

You form your own opinions and I, at the very least, point out some of the resources that you can use.

When it comes to peeves, I really only got a one-track stand.

Never lie, show some respect for traditions particularly if it belongs to someone else. If you love the arts the way I do, honor the ancestors by speaking the truth.

And I not interested in killing anybody.

I spent 2 and half years serving in the army and if I really must kill, I think I got some good ideas how to.

As far as Nanking “Central Kuoshu Academy” is concerned, I do know folks here from that institution and I will be blogging about them in time.

Okay, now onto the topic of Liuhebafa and LuHong Ba-shih, I got 2 books here for those interested.

Again, I am not saying this or that.

Just want to let you know that I have some books in my collection that might make good reference for anyone looking into this topic.

If you want them in full, write to me and I will send the pdf files.

An oooh, before I forget; I do get days when everything works for me, you know I feel my central equilibrium, whipping, timing and breathing all totally in sync ….it’s moments like these that I feel like I am “flying”.

Back to 6.

Liuhe Quan or the six-combination Chuan is combat orientated. It is believed to be a derivative of Shaolin Quan and to have been passed on from an old boxer named Cao who lived at Botou in Hebei Province during Emperor Daoguang’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1821-1850). This style of Chuan was handed on from Cao to Li Guanming; from Li to Wang Dianliang, Tong Zhongyi and Li Shuting. Tong Zhongyi, known as one of the twin heroes in Cangzhou, opened a club in Shanghai to disseminate it further.

Liuhe Quan features strong, yet graceful stances. Its moves look comfortable, compact and vigorous. They are powerful with a clear-cut difference between substantial and empty moves. The moves of six-combinations Chuan imitate those of the dragon, tiger, crane, rabbit and monkey, and boxers rove in accordance with the Chinese eight diagrams. Resourcefulness and dexterity are demanded in executing the moves of evading, extending, jumping and moving either fast or slow, heavily or lightly …. Visit website here.

Other site with good info about LiuHe here.

This is a follow up on an earlier entry about LiuHe, one time taught in “Chi Lu” in Singapore.

And like in the description above, this is one graceful, compact and vigorous system – brilliant Northern style in my book!

One move……

From Por Suk blogsite here.

“明眼人一看开礼便会分晓是那一家拳术了”

Or translated: For those who know, one look at the opening salute will tell the family of the art.

This is almost like  the other popular CKF saying:-

“One move and the experienced will know whether it’s true or not”.

And someone like Sifu Ku Choi Wah will even go as far as saying; your opening sequences together with the fist poem encapsulates your art’s quintessence.

This is the “soul” of CKF, don’t lose it!

Por Suk and Cho Gar Wing Chun Siu Nim Tau salute.

Wushu Masters Association.

Since moving to Kuching Sarawak, I’ve cut back on purchasing of MA books/magazines.

This is, in part, due to the lack of supply; not many magazines make their way here to this far corner of Asia and even when they do, the mark up in prices is just plain crazy.

Also, it’s rare to find really good magazines these days – the sort with good substance and not just simply reporting about tourneys and the likes.

I like a well-balanced magazine with equal attention given to histories, personalities, comparative study of techniques and yes, even tournament results etc….

Asking for too much? Nah, magazines in the 70s and 80s used this format as a norm.

When they feature forms, it is usually spread over a few issues ….

Hmmm, maybe that is why I got such a mountainous collection …. Marketing ploy at work!

Okay so much for that …. Here’s one magazine that I try to follow …. intermittently because sometime I see it and sometime I don’t in the few bookshops I frequent here.