One form – entire lifetime.

Okay, the form that brings back ton of memories ….. there I was a kid of 11…12 maybe and going thru the paces in a class full of grown-ups …..half of the time not even sure what I was doing.

Even now, after I don’t even know how many times doing this form, I am still “discovering” new facets.

Exactly like what my other Sifu taught – if it’s good, you only need one!

I don’t know, Ven Sek must have taught 100 of forms in his lifetime but this is the one form that I think defines his Shaolin or more popularly “Saolim”.

This and his “Lohan”.

So here is the full form in pictures.

Enjoy.

click on thumbnails for full size.

Rambling…

One of my fav gripes – working with outdated archaic classical Mandarin.

Really a monumental pain in the behind, if I ever did have one; no wonder it got outmoded.

Some of you might be thinking, easy does it, just run it thru all the translation software and viola …. Now now now, if only things were that simple.

Most times, running even ordinary “putonghua” through “babelfish”, you’ll end up with something smelling fishy and jeeze talk about babbling…..

So now when I need to work on translating, I usually have some music blasting in the back, just a little something to remind myself that hey, there is a simpler world out there.

I just got to find it first hahahaha……

And for those of you observing the Mid-autumn mooncake festival, go enjoy your mooncakes and some good “pu’er” tea – good for lowering blood sugar and yadda yadda yadda …

Me, for tonight, I will still be grappling with some old “tongues” and Dobbie Brothers playing in the back ………..

Old black water, keep on rollin
Mississippi moon, wont you keep on shinin on me
Old black water, keep on rollin
Mississippi moon, wont you keep on shinin on me
Old black water, keep on rollin
Mississippi moon, wont you keep on shinin on me
Yeah, keep on shinin your light
Gonna make everything, pretty mama
Gonna make everything all right
And I aint got no worries
cause I aint in no hurry at all

十八叟 Eighteen Elder Form (Sub Bai Sou Q’uan)

I got the exact same book featured in the first clip; in fact, I’ve got most of GM Wong Hon Fon books in my collection. This book is special because it is printed in a small booklet form – just like some wuxia comics from those days ……

There is also a clip of someone doing the form and I am linking it here too and if you read the comments under that clip, someone wrote:-

Some say this is the beginning (1st) form of North Mantis then follow is the Beng Bu.You won’t see this much in mainland China now, all of the mantis were modified to nothing even Wang Lang cannot recognised by himself. Treasure this buddy!

Now that comment – the same could be said for so many other styles of TCKF found on the mainland these days…….

So really, treasure and preserve this or it will be nothing but dust in the wind one of these days.

Yinyang Baguazhang – Lion Style ; 田氏阴阳八卦掌 — 狮形掌

Goggle “lion in kung fu” and chances are you’re going call up more on “lion dancing” than lion styled fighting .

So far, I’ve spoken about Southern Fukien Golden Lion; now widespread amongst the Fuzhou communities but outside of that, you don’t really hear about any other stand alone “lion” style.

You see the lion in some 10 animals forms and essentially that’s it. I was told of a whole “lion” form done by some lines of Cantonese Shaolin or Siu Lam and the form is named “Double lion playing with a ball” but this has proven to be elusive even until now.

The Jin Wu folks do their northern lion dancing and one of their routines is named the same, I think.

Now, I might be totally wrong here but I don’t think lions were that common in Chinese; a little goggle and I found very little about this subject; other cats yes but the lion ………

Maybe in the western regions, the close proximity with countries like India, Kazakhstan…some lions might have made it through there back then …. I don’t know.

So as far as I do know, the most familiar lion in China must be the “stone lion” or Shishi – a stylized figure of a snarling lion. Its original significance was as a guardian presence in a Buddhist temple. Shishi are often created in pairs, with the male playing with a ball and the female with a cub.

When the Chinese left China, these “stone lions” traveled with them  and that’s how they proliferated.

Hey, we even have big businesses here with buildings guarded by these  stone lions; more a “wind water” thingy, I reckon

And before I go any deeper into stone lions, here’s a form of Pak Kua that is based on the lion.

Forever young.

Crane:

The Crane is legendary in China for being the prince of all feathered creature on earth. Next to the Phoenix , the Crane is the most favored all Chinese bird symbols. The Crane is the ancient symbol for longevity because of its exceptionally long life span. In many legends, the spirits ride on cranes, which are also said to bear the souls of the departed to the heavens.

Tortoise:

The tortoise represents longevity, of steadfast effort, of deliberate action that inevitably leads to success. The combination of the Dragon and Tortoise combines the qualities of both animals into a potent symbol of success and longevity.

Usually associated with “longevity”, the crane and tortoise have inspired many breathing calisthenics and qigong throughout the ages of Chinese history.

This book, written about “Tortoise Crane Qigong” must be a first featuring both animals jointly in one form.

Hey, if one founders, there’s backup ……good, especially if you are planning on staying on planet earth for a protracted period of time.

But seriously, look at 2^nd paragraph of  the 1st page , the line that begins with “According to the classics, breathing in is living and spitting out is dying”…..

The author goes on to explain that a child breathes in more, at midlife there is balance of in/out and after that, it’s mainly “spitting out”.

Many breathing qigong forms, including the one in the book, teach you to keep “breathing in” even until advanced age.

Errrrh, I am no expert but isn’t it true that when you don’t breathe in, it’s kaput time?

Anyway ….. Pages from the book:-

Duanquan短拳.

Of all CKF idioms, “Northern Kicks Southern Fists” must be the most widespread; you see it recurring anywhere from KF comics to academic CKF dissertations.

Northern styles, we are told because of terrains, attires and even body structures are typified by long ranges and usually big movements covering large spaces.

Yes, that is quite the norm.

And as in all norms, they are exceptions and in this case, none more distinct than “Short Range Fist” or “Duan Quan”.

Originating in Hebei, this is one style that stands out amidst all the other Northern styles.

From wikipedia:-

Duan Quan (Short-range Chuan )

Duan Quan or the short-range Chuan is also called the “short-style fight,” which is an age-old style of fist play. Mianzhang style of short fighting and Mianzhang Chuan were recorded in Tang Shunzhi’s On Martial Arts, Qi Jiguang’s A New Essay on Wushu Arts and He Liangchen’s Chronicles of Chen, all of which are more than 400 years old.

Duan Quan is called “short-range Chuan,” merely in comparison with Cnang Quan or the long-range Chuan. The two styles differ a great deal in combating skills, generation of power, movements and routines.

The major features of the short-style Chuan are its short and compact routines which usually consist of three to five steps and a dozen moves, its use of low stances and small but quick movements. The arms and legs of the short-style boxers are bent slightly and they use simple and sudden moves and the actions are executed smartly. Movements are well connected and fist plays follow in quick succession often with sudden changes. The boxers seldom jump or leap, nor do they use fixed or mid-air actions, rather, they rove around to shun the attack from the opponent. The short-style Chuan, therefore, is strongly combat-orientated.

By practising the short-style Chuan, one cannot only improve his physique, but also sharpen his eyesight and response and master the skills of close-range combats. The short-style Chuan is very popular and is practised in Baoding and Gaoyang of Hebei Province as well as some other places.

And again found on youtube, a video clip of this posted by none other than “Sifuwu” ….. I got a bunch of books and videos of Duan Quan buried somewhere.

This being a Sunday and all, I’ve decided that “no digging” is allowed….

Did see one book within easy reach, so some scans ….. Enjoy your Sunday.

Is Hokkien my ‘mother tongue’?

An example of why examining mainland Chinese cultures in these parts is soooo interesting and perplexing even …. si peh siong, sometimes catch no ball one man, I say…….now onto my morning cup pa …..

Click here.

Crane? Where is the Crane ???

Wuzuquan bears resemblance to Hequan and Taizuquan more than the other three arts. It was composed no more than 200 yrs ago. There are three main lineages of the art Chee Kim Thong is well known and respected that is true, there is the Singapore lineage as well as the Malaysian did you know of that one (or even the philipines and China). Actually in sth east asia there are many great masters residing that have been acknowledged as treasures, as there are many outstanding individuals that kept the arts during the difficult years of the cultural revoloution outside Mainland PRC.
Whether it was the origin of Karate is also disputable as Fujian White Crane bears more resemblance to Goju Ryu, whilst Fujian Tiger Fist bears resemblance to Uechi Ryu.
In fact one of the masters of White crane was the master of the founder of Goju Ryu Ryu Ryuku …
Likewise Uechi Ryu Founders have had communication with Zhou He Zi one of the Masters of Fujian Hu Quan.

The resemblance between Wuzhuquan and karate is not direct rather both through their foundations of white crane. In fact the founder of Wuzhuquan was a complete Master of White crane solely before spending 10 years travelling to develop the wuzhuquan art. So in fact he had to lines of students those of white crane and those of Wuzhuquan.

Much has been written about Wuzu or Ngo Chor ……..

I kind of like the above that I found in KFO forum archive, something written by “Shaolin Master” or “Sifuwu” as he calls himself over on youtube.

Singapore, my hometown, has her own tradition/lineage of Wuzu with the late GM Kan Teck Guan who is also highly spoken of as a “Yong Chun White Crane” expert.

Yes, I agree that the most obvious in 5 Ancestors are Grand Ancestor and White Crane but then again, like I said before, overlapping as far as White Crane and Taizu is also broad…if you care to look at the 2 and compare.

Here in Sarawak, beside GM Kan another GM also left a strong Wuzu legacy and that is Lee Chai Ruan who penned a book on the topic of “Crane Boxing”

Still fondly remembered by many Wuzu elders around here, many of GM Lee feats are frequently recounted over many tea sessions……love those……

Personally, with hands on-experience in Lohan, White Crane and TaiZu over the last 44 yrs, I can vouch to the fact that learning is relatively easy … it is the “mastering” that you’ll need another 44 yrs….at least.

To quote another Wuzu giant; the late GM Chee Kim Thong of West Malaysia :-

“Take 3 yrs for a small achievement and 5 yrs for a big achievement”.

And before anyone of you think that I am “insatiable” in doing so many styles, I just want to say that my kung fu path is planned for me by my dad and uncles.

It takes me 44 yrs to see why ……

Hey, I am a slow learner okay?

Without further ado, here are some Wuzu scans that could be easily mistaken for “White Crane” … at least to me:-

From my email box.

Just got in (it is 10:30 pm here in Kuching) after spending about 3 hrs at a dinner/meeting with 2 doctors (anthropology and history) and my boss in a bistro down town ……….

This is about the book that we are launching 1^st quarter next year and the 2 doctors are helping us in their area of expertise. I will be elaborating on this some other time.

Anyway, I was going to take a shower and then sit down to update this blog but I decided to check my mail first.

Besides the usual junk mails, enquiries etc, I got 2 from friends that might prove interesting to you – eeerrrh both “crane” related.

First is a typical one liner of a youtube link from our ever so taciturn friend Mr. Russ Smith of Florida.

An old gentleman doing a couple of crane forms in the old-fashioned manner – reminds me of some elders in the Fuzhou Clan Association in Singapore. Equally if not more taciturn, these Fuzhou elders loved to just go into some of the very same movements spontaneously sometimes and then just walk away without offering any explanation of what they do.

Hmmm, I think Russ and these Fuzhou elders would do well together…..

The second is from Yong Chun White Crane Martin Watts; I think he is still in Majorca somewhere, and this is about a baby carrier that he is marketing….anyway this is his site here.

Now if this carrier can do cats, maybe I’ll need one or 2 ……

Chen Tai Chi.

Wooooo, what a day …… round after round of brainstorming, meeting and now I am just so “spent”……

And folks still think I don’t work for a living……hah!

Okay, a simple entry for today … need to spent more time doing nothing today to recuperate hahaha……

Doing nothing … hmmm……. Can doing be “nothing” …. A paradox???

All right, all right ……back to Kung Fu.

One very popular “allegation” is that Chen Tai Chi is initially/ primarily inspired by Long Fist 32 Postures.

Could this be, some may ask.

Well, if you ask me, just by putting them side by side, it’s not hard to see the likeness ….really.

Just look at some of Chen Tai Chi’s techniques:-