KUNG FU

KUNG FU

ORIGINS OF KUNG FU

It is most likely that the birthplace of kung fu was in the northern China about 520 AD.

In recent findings it is the possibility that a primitive martial art form reached the East by the Fertile Crescent in Mesopotamia,to be developed in India and China.It is possible that the martial art started even before then as there is a Babylonian plaque held in a British museum dating back about 5,000 years or more,which shows figures using systematized blocking and countering techniques.

The Kung Fu that is practised today is said to come from the Shaolin Monastery on the Songshan Mountain in the Honan province,in northern China.It is said a wandering Indian monk called Bodhidharma,also called Ta-Mo.As the son of King Sugundha of India he was well trained in the warrior caste.It is not known why but he renounced his birthright,and took up the robed of priesthood and set off to find truth and knowledge.He crossed the impenetrable barrier of the Himalayas on foot.He came across a monastery called Shaolin,here the monks were in a very poor state of health.So he introduced the monks to a series of exercises to get them fit and well again.He taught them 18 different movements to condition there body and minds.It is believed that these movements were the forerunners of Shaolin temple boxing,known as the Eighteen Hands of Lo-Han.H e also brought Buddhist teaching and Philosophies to the monks.It is believed that the Shaolin temple was the birthplace of the Ch"an philosophies known as Zen.

Five hundred years ago the Shaolin monks were feared as great fighter.Although they upheld the Buddhist reverence for all forms of life,if put in a life or death situation they could kill a man with their bare hands.In the late 1500 a man named Kwok Yuen came across the temple and expanded the Bodhidharma's exercises from 18 to 72.Kwok Yuen passed himself as an old man and wandered the country in search of skilled teachers of Kung Fu,and would return to the temple with new instructions until the number of movements reached 170.These were then put into individual styles:tiger,crane,leopard,snake and dragon.They were improved later and known as the five animals fist.

TEST OF COURAGE

It is said that when a young monk was ready to leave the Shaolin he had to take a last test and it meant life or death.The temple only had to doors one going to the temple grounds and the other to the outside world by the main exit.To leave he had to go through a labyrinth of many traps and obstacles to prove he was a master of Kung Fu.If he failed he died and was never heard of again,but if he made it he would come across the main gate which was blocked by a smouldering urn,and the only way to move it to get to freedom was to lift it up with his forearms.In doing this it would open the gate,but on each side of the urn a dragon was carved so as the monk moved the urn a tattoo of the dragons was burned into his forearms by the red hot metal.This then signified to everyone that he was a fighting priest of Shaolin and a master of Kung Fu.There were many temples in and around China called Shaolin and most of them had a thriving kung fu class.There was two religions,Taoism and Buddhism and both equally popular but the Shaolin was strictly Buddhist.The five ancestores were the founders of today's Triad who survived the attack from the Ching emperor K'sing-Hsi in 1674.The monks supported the king in battle with their fighting skills on many occasion,but he was persuaded that they were a great threat to him, so he formed a large army to defeat them,and it is said with the help of a renegade monk the temple was razed to the ground.Of the 118 monks 100 died in the flames and of the 18 who survived 13 were captured and killed and only 5escaped across the yellow river.

MYTH and SECRECY

Most of what was learned about the martial arts was handed down by word of mouth and shrouded in myth and secrecy.Only students who were dedicated were allowed to be taught he masters style of martial art.Many students waited years before they would be accepted,because it was a great honour to train even in the basics of the techniques.Once accepted they were bound by a code of secrecy and silence,and were forbidden to share any of their wisdom with outsiders.Because of rifts and power struggles between politicians and generals the martial arts were very often practised between closed doors of the temples.When the master of particular style new we was getting to old or new he never had a lot of time left he would find a student who he thought had the right character and teach him the finner points of the martial art,but if one could not be found the core of the style would die with him.

KUNG FU PRINCIPLES

To understand the slightest thing about Kung Fu you must have an underlying principle knowledge of the Chinese martial arts.Most methods of kung fu appears to be about the philosophies based on religion nature and cosmology.The fighting techniques were adapted from mammals,birds,insects and tidal waves.The symbol that is seen inside kung fu schools or kwoons is the yin,yang.This famous symbol,surrounded by eight trigrams figuratively expresses nature and its changes.Known as the double fish symbol representing opposites residing together.In the heart of Yin,the negative force of cold,darkness and emptiness,is a tiny part of Yang.Yang is warmth,light and positive energy.And in the part of Yang is a small part of Yin.This tells you that within strength is found weakness and within hardness is softness,and activity within inactivity.They contradict as well as complement each other.The Chinese believe that without understanding this eternal duality one can never comprehend the true essence of Kung Fu,or the power that regulates the very universe itself.

THE TWO SCHOOLS OF KUNG FU

Chinese martial arts are divided into two parts,one is the internal or soft school and the other one is the external or hard school.the external systems are associated with Shaolin(chuan-fa) meaning Shaolin fist(hung gar and tong long).These schools work on the principle of power strikes,hand and body conditioning,and to use the force in a straight line,with a lot of emphasis on kicking.

The internal schools are normally considered to be defensive and passive,not like the external systems which are mostly aggressive and muscular in approach.The influence of religion throughout the oriental martial arts is paramount.They are either Buddhism or Taoism,both believe in attaining salvation through the cultivation of harmony in mind and body.Chinese boxing or as of today it is called Kung Fu,evolved into five major styles named by their creators,Hung Lau,Monk,Choy and Li.The changes have been many over the ages from all the creators but that is what has resulted into the Kung Fu schools we have today.And they have survived the test of time because of the schools in china were built on a strong family structure.The Sifa,teacher resembled the father figure and the Sihings advanced students were looked upon as the older brothers.The novices and and beginners were classed as younger brothers.Everyone worked under a system based on self-discipline and sacrifice to perfect his art to the best of his ability.It is because of this dedication the arts of Kung Fu have survived the turbulent history of ancient China,and to become a significant and vital part of today's martial arts.

HARD SCHOOL OF KUNG FU

The legacy of the five animals have been handed down and expanded many times over from the Shaolin monastery,and may styles have developed.There are about 1500 distinct kung fu styles practised today.Many of them are still guarded in secrecy on mainland China.It has been about twenty years or so ago that Chinese teachers have come out into the open and taught westerners their art.Until then only Chinese were accepted into the student ranks.Even in the sixty's you had to be very special to be instructed by a Chinese Master As in my post which is the best martial art,there is not one,the same goes for gung fu.Even today in Hong Kong there is in-fighting between rival schools because each one thinks his is the best style.There are at least two or three bouts of(kong sau)"secret fighting" every week to try and gain supremacy over a rival school of kung fu.

HUNG GAR CHUAN

Hung gar chuan is one of the most popular external styles.Hung is the name of the originater,Gar is the name of the family and Chuan means fist.This is a southern Chinese style,and was adapted from the Shaolin tiger system.It incorporates the white crane style and is a very low and strong stance.Beginners are supposed to stand in(Ma-PU) or horse stance,and practise punching for three hours a day for three years before they are allowed to learn the next technique.It is said that one thrusting punch should alwayes result in a knockout.Hung Gar is the lowest of all the Kung Fu styles and produces very strong legs,and the movements are generally kept close to the body.The reason for the low stance comes from training secretly on board Chinese junks which have low roofs.So because of the restricted space in the junks and the bobbing about in the water while training the martial art students adapted the Shaolin style and used sweeping foot patterns.Because of the conditions they were taught in they had to concintrate on breathing exercises and have a lot of stamina with plenty of will power. The Hung Gar martial art makes use of a blocking technique known as a pounding block which is executed with a hammer fist.To use this technique properly the student had to undergo a great deal of hand and arm conditioning.So they were definitly a force to be reconed with.

TONG LONG

THE Praying Mantis

Legend say's that a Kung Fu Master named Wonk Long went to the Shaolin temple to challenge the monks to a fight as he had heard they were undeafeatable.After persistent challenges the abbot got fed up and sent out a novice monk to fight him.In a matter of seconds he was defeated,twice he went away and learned superior techniques and both times he was defeated.In dispaire he went to the mountains and secluded himself from the world.One day he was sat under a tree and watched a fight between a grasshopper and a praying mantise upon which the smaller and weaker mantis won and eat the grasshopper.He was duly impressed and wondered how this could happen,so he got a piece of grass and teased the mantise with it and all the time watched its movments in defending itself.He mememorised every defence and attacking movement the mantis made,and taught himself these same movementts.Once he had the ability to fight the same way he went back to Shaolin and issued the same challange,this time Wong Long defeated all comers.

The most distintive movement of the mantis is that of the mantis hand,which when attacking is shaped like a hook and looks like the insect's doubled up forelegs and the fast footwork is based on the hops executed by the long legged mantis.The system employs two basic principles.The first is the grab,this used by shaping the hand to resemble the mantis's claw with the index finger pointed forward.Grabbing is followed by pulling,to expose certain areas of the body,then a strike is made to a vital point,pulling is done to make the opponent off balance.The second principle is what is known as the monkey footwork,it doese not mean you apply the footwork of a monkey but that you imitate its speed and agility,while still giving support and balance.The stances are short,with quick a sideway's steppoing motion.

Mantis or Tong became the Tong Long style.In the north and south they both had the Praying Mantise in ther titles,but ther method's and fighting principles were quit different.The north mantis stress long range fighting tactics with a variety of kick's,while the south mantis schools rely heavily on the fighting techniquis deliverd from close range with a more stable stance.Kicks are seldom used but when they are ,they are aimed at the groin or knee caps.

CHOY LEE FUT

Kung Fu was founded in 1836 by Chan Heung,at that time it was called Choy Lee Fut.The style was named after his two teachers,Lee Yau-Shan and Choy Fook.Chan fought against the British in the early years in the Opium Wars.He taught fung fu to the localvillagers in the hope that they would beat the British,but to no avail,so he fled to Nanking.It was there that he set up many Tong and Traid Societies that flourished at the time.Later he went to America settling in San Francisco where he opened up his Kung Fu Kwoon.Chan Heung was born in 1802 in the village of King Mui,and from a early age he was astudent of Hung Gar Kung Fu.Not long after his early twenties he wanted to expand his knowledge of fighting styles.He set out and found a hermit named Choy Fook in the mountains,who was famous throughout china for his fighting skills.Although Choy Fook had retired he spent ten years training Ghoy everything he could,and when he thought he had learned all he could he went to the mountains to refine everything he had been taught.He combined this with what he was taught in Hung Gar by another monk named Lee Yau-Shan.In 1936 he came out of the mountains with his own system.

A lot of weapons are used in his style like the tigers fork and double knives,but the most popular was the nine dragon trident.The head of the spear has nine objects resembling hooks,this was to remind users of dragons teeth.The weopon was so heavy ordinary people could not use it.The doudle knives were short and very heavy and were desighned like that so if there was a mis-aimed blow it could do still do a lot of damage.

When the Opium wars ended and the English were victors,many secret societies were formed and ritual killings were common place,the double knife was the favorite fot these killings.Choy Lee Fut is one of the most popular Kung Fu styles in the world todayThe style consist of grabbing and seizing methods,plus punching with long circular strikes with the blow being released only a foot away from the target.A student of this style attacks by running straight into the opponent and unleashing a deadly whirlwind of overpowering hooks and uppercuts.

WING CHUN

Because of the great late Bruce Lee wing chun is probably the best known kung fu style,Bruce Lee looked to wing chun to form the nucleaus of his own style of Jeet Kune-Do.About four hundred years ago.It was founded by a nun named Yin Wing Chun.Her teacher was Ng Mui who escaped from the burned down Shaolin temple by the Ching troops with a few others.She and a few other monks found refuge in central China.Ng Mui was an instructor of Mui Fa Chuan,known as plum flower fist.In the village where she was she met Yim Wing Chun as a young girl,and taught her the system.But Yim Wing Chun thought the plum flower fist was to complex and had to much reliance on power techniques and strong low horse stance,being better fitted for a man than a woman.Yin Wing Chun wanted something that was not as complicated yet efficient enought to defend herself.She could not find it among existing styles so she greated her own.She dedicated her style to the monk that had taught her,but named it after herself,Wing Chun which means beautiful springtime.The first time the art came to the west was when it's modern instigator,grandmaster Yip Man left the town of Fatshan on the Chinese mainland during the communist takeover to live in Hong Kong.He had one great desire which was to make Wing Chun known all over the world.At his death in 1972 aged 78 he had almost achieved it.Wing Chun concentrates on defending the imaginary centre line which runs through the centre of the body,where all the vital organs lie.The simplicity of Wing Chun is evedent by the number of workable techniques involved in learning the system.There are only three forms to learn in order to gain mastery.Even the weapons system is limited to just two implement,the butterfly knives,and the six and a half point pole.