Take downs and controls.

From a magazine, some sanctioned take downs and controls used in SanDa.. enjoy.

ps  … pics sequence – left to right….

The truth is out there.

The history of Dragon style has historically been transmitted orally rather than by text, so its origins will probably never be known in their entirety. Modern Dragon style’s history can be reliably traced back to the monk Tai Yuk Sim See who was the abbot of Wa Sau Toi (White Hair) temple on Mount Luofu. No reliable records of the style’s origin prior to that exist, though there is much speculation regarding the subject.

Dragon style has roots in Hakka Kuen, a combination of the local styles of the Hakka heartland in inland eastern Guangdong with the style that the monk Gee Sim Sim See taught in Guangdong and the neighboring province of Fujian in the 1700s.

North of the Dongjiang in the northwest of Bóluó (博羅) County in the prefecture of Huizhou in Guangdong Province is the sacred mountain Luófúshān. Luófúshān is the site of many temples, including Wa Sau Toi where, c. 1900, a Chan (Zen) master named Tai Yuk taught Dragon style to Lam Yiu-Kwai, who in turn passed the art on to the many students of his schools in Guangzhou.

Lam Yiu-Kwai and Cheung Lai-Chuen were good friends from their youth in the Dongjiang region of Huizhou, longtime training partners and later cousins by marriage. Lam and Cheung would open several schools together, and Dragon style and Cheung’s style of Bak Mei share many similarities.

A variation of the Dragon style is taught by the Long Choo Kung Fu Society based in Penang, Malaysia and with branches in Australia. Founded by Li Ah Yu and his father near the turn of the century, this association claims it is teaching a Soft / Hard Dragon style originating from Fukkien province….from wikipedia.

…… much speculation regarding this subject indeed …. If you just compare what I found on wikipedia and theory of origin in one of my “Lung Ying” books.

But then hey, with so much histories handed down without any proper recording, what do you expect?

And now that the world is so connected, everyone meeting and discussing, disparities are bound to surface.

So it’s either agree to disagree or stop talking to one and another.

Of course all this is discounting the surfacing of self-taught wannabes with absolutely no proof of any lineage rewriting “histories”…..

Make me appreciate all the current efforts, both on the mainland and elsewhere, where families are compiling their genealogy proper.

Again, with the world so connected …. It’s not so easy to get away with all that spinning…..

Ooookay, enough of that, now a few pages from one of my Lung Ying books featuring forms that include “Ying Jow” or “Eagle Claw”.

Shaolin or Emei ? It’s both.

I thought some of you might like this form; originally a Shaolin form but sometime during the Qing (Ching) Dynasty, the form was passed over to folks in Emei by a Shaolin Monk “Yun Qing”.

Yun = cloud

Qing = Green

Never had the opportunity to see the form in action but according to the account in the book, this form preserves the forcefulness of Shaolin and combines with “internal” training that Emei is well-known for.

Hmmmm, now where have I heard that before, taking something “hard” and adding in Emei’s “soft” to turn out another entity?

Nope, I am not talking about “procreation” here ….. What are you thinking???

click on thumbnails to download.

I say man, this is serious.

See, you should have listened to your folks and not skip “biology” class.

And no, attending “Human Reproduction” sessions only doesn’t count!

See, if you want to know how to inflict maximum damages to the other guy, he really deserve it right?……. you got to have knowledge of the human body…internally….

How to twist, turn, bend and smash and like I said, the other guy deserves it………

That or go work on a wooden dummy ……

I’m going back someday, come what may …..

Dachengquan (Yiquan) is an internal martial art which shares many of the same principles of Taijiquan, Xingyiquan, and Baguazhang…..read more here.

Dacheng which I would translate to “major accomplishment or success” is fascinating for anyone looking into evolution of TCMAs.

I don’t claim to know a lot about this but through the many books and videos that started surfacing these last 10 yrs or so, I see an effort to return to the original face of CKF through their unique paradigm of training.

Okay. Okay like I said, I got only armchair knowledge so don’t shoot me.

Superficially glancing at the system, you see elements from the 3 major internal styles, standing qigong, Fukien White Crane and even western boxing all rolled into it.

Where is the Fukien White Crane, you may ask?

Well, it is recorded that WangXiangZhai spent time working with White Crane exponents in his expeditions and many authors talk of “White Crane energies” that Wang integrated into his Yiquan.

Me?

I see some of their kicks as very White Crane-ish ….. perhaps its just me ……… and my good friend Mr. Carlsberg ……

2 Qin Na or not 2 Qin Na?

Still on Qin Na …. 2 man prearranged routine this time.

Mention this and most of us would start thinking Jinwu, many early works on Qin Na, inevitably feature some of their routines.

One of my earliest books is a hand drawings illustrated form …. Now now, where is that book – I really got to be more organized … but since I will be moving soon; my current lease is up , I might as well wait until I move into my new house…..hahahaha spoken like a real procrastinator….

But, the truth is, I love my “organized chaos” …… just like an authentic Bali garden …..hahahaha….

Okay, Qin Na 2 man; apparently during the early days of “modern” Wushu, many competition forms of this genre were assembled.

Many, again to my eyes, are based on the same JinWu design…..but if you look closer, you’ll find some good old Qin Na techniques at work.

And of course this being competition materials, you just gotta add in some flips, rolls and air-borne techniques.

Why?

Because it’s there ………… hahahaha……

Here ‘s a 2 man Qin Na set that is more “grounded”.

Seize & Control.

From Dr. Yang Jwing Ming website:-

“Qin-Na (Chin Na) means “Seize and Control” and is one of the four major elements of any martial arts training (kicking, punching, wrestling, Qin-Na). It comprises of techniques specializing in joint locks, cavity press, and muscle/tendon grabs to subdue and control opponents.
The successful execution of any Qin-Na technique relies heavily on skill and practice, as proper angling, timing, application of pressure and leverage are all essential keys to making it effective. “

Dr. Yang is spot on; Qin Na is one of the integral elements of any martial arts training, regardless of whether you know it as “lop sau”, “khim kar” or “ma chiu” …… lop sau is in Cantonese, Khim kar in Fukien and ma chiu in Fuzhou.

To seize and control is the broad concept of course, some styles do the seize and hit and others, seize and throw etc etc  … the combination are “infinite”.

Many books, some going back to the 30s, have been published on this topic. Most are very informative in areas like how to apply techniques and inflicting pain to tendons, joints and nerve points.

Then there is a comprehensive series on 2 men drills; many northern styles have this as an essential component of their training.

I want to single out one book, for now, that included Qin Na techniques against a weapon bearing opponent.And we are not talking knives or daggers here …

WuDang.

From wikipedia :-

In kung fu legend, Wudang is often associated with the jian, or sword, much as Shaolin martial arts are commonly associated with the staff. The sword techniques were again supposedly created by Zhang Sanfeng, and as with many arts associated with Wudang are based around internal and soft techniques, avoiding direct clashes with the opponent and instead relying on quickness and borrowing the opponent’s power.

The Hall of Yuzhen is the cradle of Wudang kung fu. In 1417, Ming Dynasty Emperor Zhudi (朱棣) decreed Wudang to be the “Grand Mountain” and ordered the construction of the Hall of Yuzhen for Master Zhang Sanfeng.

Now, this is so true.

Those of you who read Wuxia novels must have read how all jian experts are either from Wudang and Hua Shan and Shaolin churns out all the staff high hands.

However, in the last 10 years, many books started appearing about Wudang Kung fu in general.

When I first saw these, I was thinking to myself – now who dress like this anymore looking at the pictures in the books.

Well, it appears that they still do ……. Some kind of uniform for them I suppose.

And their fighting skill sets? Really lean towards “soft” arts in my eyes.

Here’s a book on Wudang that is good for anyone trying to get inside this system…….

Plum Blossom Pole.

And you thought this is a Hong Kong movie fantasy ……..

Tsk Tsk Tsk …..What were you thinking???

You must have noticed that my last entry is a bit “hurried” and for good reason too.

I am in the thick of researching for a book to be launched early next year about Chinese customs practised in Sarawak for the last 200 years or so.

Towards that end, I was talking to a couple of renowned historians highly -respected for their works concerning the Chinese here.

Dr. Daniel Chew and Dr. Paul Yong, both qualified historians are helping us with some aspects of our upcoming book.

And in the course of talking to Dr, Yong, he mentioned a soon to be held seminar to explore MAs in popular Wuxia novels.

So there you go …. … and mind you, this seminar is organised by the Chinese Studies faculty of one of the universities in Singapore….serious stuff, you understand?

Formless.

There are many, including me, who believe that TCMA started without formalized forms training.

It was, in a big way, all “loose techniques” training. Forms, a stringing together of techniques, most likely started during the “Ming” era.

I remember, in an old Hong Kong magazine, an article talking about “Hap Gar” and the Sifu interviewed said that they only have 16 techniques.

Their training format is doing these in different permutations and their concentration is on polishing the essential 16.

I will post that article once I find it in my heap of books/magazines.

Here’s another style that is “formless”, again the focus is on working on energies and flow etc etc…

Wang Xiang Zhai’s Yiquan.

From wiki:-

Yiquan is essentially formless, containing no fixed sets of fighting movements or techniques. Instead, focus is put on developing ones natural movement and fighting abilities through a system of training methods and concepts, working to improve the perception of one’s body, its movement, and of force. Another thing that sets yiquan apart from other eastern martial arts, is that traditional concepts, like qi, meridians, dantian etc. eventually were discarded, the reason being that understanding ones true nature happens in the now and that preconceptions block this process.

Yiquan seems to have been influenced by various other arts that Wang was exposed to, include Fujian hèquán,Tai chi chuan, bāguàzhǎng,, and Liuhebafa^{[citation needed]}. But in fact it was the internal core of these other arts that made them effective. It was this core that master Wang perceived. In essence there is only one principle of merit in all martial arts, one core, and one moment of truth.

And from a mainland magazine, this is Dachengquan – another manifestation of Yiquan :-