ChangWuJi

There are many arts that rely on muscular strength and there are those who through skill, can transcend the mechanical.

Look at this thing from different angle - every1 who speaks about "internal" staff all the time mentions health and long life. If you look at masters in so called "external" arts area, you can see that many of them lived long lives, just like masters from "internal" area. Some died young, from both sides, but in general picture is the same, so what's the matter? And one more thing - let think that for example bagua contains something that makes this style really better then any pther style. What does it mean? That means that peoples who use bagua should beat other styles, so there are two ways for future development - every1 starts doing bagua (since its the best, HUH) or someone invents or simply steal something that makes bagua better and create\upgrade his own style so it could resist bagua. So on, so forth... What we see now? Hundreds of styles in China, and every one can resist another one, that means that in some sense all these styles are equal since styles (and masters who developed and passed it through years) survived through hundreds of years of real fighting, not modern bulls@t championships.

Alot of these devices can be made with pennies worth of expenses, and in your back yard. They also can help other martial artists besides Bagua people. For me at least it was a very interesting read: http://www.chinafrominside.com/ma/bagua/bapanzhangbook.html

http://www.wuwei.org/taji/yanghist.html

http://www.taichifarm.org/Teachings_of_Jou_Tsung_Hwa.htm

http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/history.html The 'Southern' School of Tai Chi http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Philosophy/Taichi/southern.html [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-07-04 02:52 ]

http://www.geoffthompson.com/articles/article_reality_training.htm

Check this artcle out . http://www.cyberus.ca/~stonelion/external/beishaolin3.htm

http://www.yiquan.com.pl/history.html http://www.angelfire.com/ak/dachengquan/ [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-06-03 03:27 ] [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-06-03 03:33 ]

Chen Village Taijiquan http://www.chenvillage.com

I think I posted on this before. The problem with most people's conception of Tai Ji Quan is they see mostly watered down versions packaged and sold by people who have very little kung fu. It is probably the most often butchered form in martial arts. Most people who take the art also are not truly being taught martial aspects, and do not even participate in push hands (a tai ji form of sparring and sensitivity building), or any Chi Na training(locks etc used with many Chinese systems). They are lured by reports of health benifits, which even more sadly they do not realize because of poor instructors. If you ever see Yang style practiced by a true martial artist.....the form does not simply look slow..it is a power similar to watching a mud slide, they are deeply rooted, and show great power from the legs up through the dan tian. This slow tempo is for neigong (internal) conditioning only....application is not slow, but as quick as one senses the opponents imbalance. The sword is the same......do not mistake speed in training for speed in application. Chen style (original Tai Chi) is eally powerful and quicker to learn for combat than the other Tai Chi styles (with the right teacher), but it is more suitable to younger and healthy people. Chen style especially is explosive and alternates between slow and fast movements. As for the jian, there are still a few die hard traditionalists practicing both the later well know public Yang Style Jian & lesser known, Yang Family Michuan Jian as purely a martial art. Consider how many people think they will eventually attain the kind of martial power the ancients demonstrated. They somehow convince themselves they will reach such an exalted state just by doing their forms, a little Zhan Zhaung, and maybe some mishmash of Chi Gungs for all of an hour or two per day. You gotta be kiddin' me! They need to pay more attention to some of the other, less "cool stories". You know, the ones that talk about the training that Yang Lu Chan put his boys through being so tough that one was ready to commit suicide to escape it, or even some of Wu Tu-Nan's tales of Yang Shou Yu making Tu-Nan practice under a tall table for hours on end, to the point of not being able to stand afterwards. Or they might even pay attention to some of details regarding basic training in the Zhabao style that Tim Cartmell knows; if the basic exercises for that style are so tough that most people cannot do them, what does that imply about the training in other styles of real Tai Chi Chuan? That, IMHO, is how the Masters in those "cool stories" came have the skill and ability that made them famous: along with a healthy dose of raw talent, enduring through training so grueling it would kill most people.

KUOSHU WINNING SECRETS By Mike Patterson (First printed in Inside Kung Fu Magazine - August 1997) http://www.hsing-i.com/hsing-i_journal/kuoshu_training.html

THE YIN AND YANG OF BA GUA ZHANG The Legends of Thin Yin and Spectacles Cheng BY FRANK ALLEN & CLARENCE LU "Legends are apt, however, to be as right in substance as they are wrong in detail." - R. H. Tawney PART I - TUNG HAI CHUAN + YIN FU

Clip of fight: http://webhost.avint.net/munjudo/kimura_gracie1.mpg Here are articles of the entire fight: http://www.judoinfo.com/kimura.htm http://www.gracieacademy.com/generations/1951kimura.shtml [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-04-20 20:58 ]

There are alot more than Hung Gar martial arts that end with "Gar". It stands for family name martial arts. Fut Gar, Hung Gar, Chu Gar etc.

"Tai Ji Quan is considered to be one of the internal styles of Chinese martial art, and is the most widely practiced martial art in the world today. The term "Tai Ji" refers to the ancient Chinese cosmological concept of the interplay between two opposite yet complementary forces (Yin and Yang) as being the foundation of creation. "Quan" literally means, "fist" and denotes an unarmed method of combat. Tai Ji Quan as a martial art is based on the principle of the soft overcoming the hard. The origins of Tai Ji Quan are often attributed to one Zhang San Feng (a Daoist of either the Twelfth or Fifteenth century depending on the source) who created the Art after witnessing a fight between a snake and a crane. Although there is evidence that Zhang San Feng actually existed, there is no historical evidence to support the claim that he had anything to do with the creation or practice of Tai Ji Quan. These stories were popularized in the early part of this century and were the result of misinformation and the desire to connect the Art with a more famous and ancient personage. All of the various styles of Tai Ji Quan which are in existence today can be traced back to a single man, Chen Wang Ting, a general of the latter years of the Ming Dynasty. Chen was a native of Chen Jia Gou, Wen County, in Henan Province. After the fall of the Ming and the establishment of the Ching Dynasty (1644), Chen Wang Ting returned to the Chen village and created his forms of boxing. Originally containing up to seven sets, only two sets of Chen Style Tai Ji Quan have survived to the present. Tai chi came into prominence in the eighteenth century when Yang Lu-ch'an introduced it in Beijing. Prior to this, tai chi was reported to have been taught only to members of the Chen family living in a small village in Hopeh Province. Yang Lu-ch'an was the first non-member of the Chen family to be taught this most secret art. The following version of how this occurred was related by our teachers. We cannot vouch for its authenticity but nonetheless have recorded it as it gives an insight into and forms an interesting background for this ancient and rich art. Yang Lu-ch'an was a pugilistic enthusiast. He studied the 'hard' schools of martial art from many tutors. One day, he had a heated discussion with a Chen and was beaten up for his pains. Yang was very frustrated as he realized his skill in martial art was very inferior to Chen's. He requested a return bout. During the interim he practiced assiduously. In the return bout, he was again handled like a babe and thrashed so soundly by Chen that he forswore the practice of all other forms of martial art. He was determined to learn Chen's system. He soon discovered that it was taught only to members of the Chen family and then only if the Chen stayed in a particular village - the Chen Chia Kou village. The Chen who defeated him was the nephew of the grandmaster. Yang wished to learn from the grandmaster but realized that a direct approach would be unsuccessful. He decided to 'steal' the art from the family. First he disguised himself as a beggar, then he made himself temporarily dumb by swallowing some hot charcoal. He hoped that the sight of a poor, suffering beggar outside his home would evoke the grandmaster's sympathy. The ruse worked. Yang gained entry and was eventually employed as a servant in the grandmaster's household. He soon became a trusted servant and was given access to the inner courtyards of the family household. Here he spied on the Chen family as they practiced. Religiously, he copied their moves and practiced them in secret. He was able to benefit from this activity as he already had a good grounding in the martial art. One night, as Yang was practicing secretly, he suddenly found the grandmaster observing him. He was terrified. In those days in China, the price one paid for spying on other martial art systems was either one's head or right hand! The grandmaster, surprisingly, demanded neither. He merely said, 'Do you think I did not realize you were spying on us when we were practicing? I allowed you to watch because I wanted to see how serious you were and how well you would benefit from the instruction. If you had shown neither interest nor skill, I would have killed you myself.' On saying that, he tapped Yang three times on the head and walked away, leaving a puzzled but very relieved man. From that day, Yang went to the grandmaster's quarters every morning at 3 a.m. for personalized instruction in tai chi. During the day he did his chores as usual and no one in the family realized he was receiving secret instruction from the grandmaster. One day the grandmaster explained why he had broken one of the strongest family traditions by teaching an outsider the secrets of the art. He had realized that by restricting the art to family members, tai chi would eventually decline in vitality. Family members would not have any incentive to practice well or to introduce new techniques since even those with less than perfect mastery of the art were far better than most practitioners from other schools of martial art. He reasoned that if he taught a talented and skilled outsider, like Yang, he would ensure that the essence of tai chi would not be lost to the world. Further, tai chi would remain a vigorous and vital art as not only would it be practiced by many but also the family members would have to practice hard in order to avoid being beaten by their own art. The tradition of selecting hardworking and dedicated students to pass on the knowledge of the art began with Yang and has persisted. Often masters would not accept payment from such students, whose only obligation was to learn the art well and, in turn, pass on their knowledge to other deserving students. Thus Yang Lu-ch'an fulfilled his greatest desire and was personally instructed by the grandmaster for several long years. This grandmaster remained critical of the standard of the art practiced by members of the family. At one of the annual competitions held among members of the Chen family, he noted that none of the younger members was able to defeat an old man like himself. It was pointed out that this was because he had so much more experience and practice. Since the proficiency of an exponent was related to the amount of practice and as age did not impair one's ability in the art, they were confident that when they reached his age they would equal or better his skill. Then the grandmaster dropped his bombshell: 'If I can produce someone younger than myself, who has acquired sufficient skill through thoughtful and diligent practice, to defeat all of you, what would you all have to say then?' This statement was received with much laughter. The grandmaster's claim was treated with some derision when the family discovered that this superman was none other than their servant, Yang Lu-ch'an. Laughter turned to disbelief as, one after another, members of the Chen family were beaten by Yang. Gradually, their feelings hardened into anger as they realized that not only had their grandmaster trained an outsider, he had done it so well that he could defeat all members of the family. They felt cheated and betrayed. 'Yang Lu-ch'an will go forth and teach the world tai chi. If you all do not practice well enough, you will soon find that others will be better than you in your own art. Although I have broken our family tradition by teaching an outsider, I have ensured that the knowledge of the art will not die but will blossom and develop over the years.' With those words, the grandmaster personally escorted Yang out of the village and gave him his blessings to spread the knowledge of tai chi. Yang lost no time in fulfilling his teacher's wishes. He had to establish tai chi as an effective martial art system before he could attract any good students to his school. In order to do this, he wandered all over Hopeh Province, taking on all challengers. In his first year he carried a flag that proclaimed he was the best martial art exponent and challenged anyone who disputed this claim. The flag was displayed in taverns, marketplaces and other public places. It soon attracted many challengers for all serious martial art practitioners are proud of displaying their skill. Furthermore, a proven martial art exponent in those days could earn an honorable and comfortable living by providing escort service for the richer merchants and travelers or by teaching his art. Yang Lu-ch'an was never defeated in any of his bouts. He continued in his travels for a total of three years. His flag, by this time, recorded all his past victories and he called himself the 'Unbeatable Yang'. He also claimed that he practiced the martial art system, tai chi chuan - 'grand ultimate fist'. Despite all these claims, the number of challengers dropped. So Yang went to Beijing and started a school of tai chi. Here he teamed up with two other 'soft' or 'infernal' martial art schools (Hsing I and Pa Kua) and together they challenged, defeated and expelled all other martial art schools from Beijing. For a very long time afterwards, only these three schools of martial art were taught in Beijing. Following Yang's death, his version of tai chi, now known as Yang tai chi, was taught mainly by members of his family. His grandson, Yang Cheng-fu, formalized the teaching of tai chi into a set of 81 moves which took a student some time to learn and about 15-20 minutes to complete. One of his better students, Cheng Mun-ch'ng, updated this version by weeding out the more repetitive and impractical moves. He retained the essence of the art by neither introducing any new moves nor attempting to change Yang Cheng-fu's interpretation of the art. Thus the basics of Yang tai chi as taught by the originator Yang Lu-ch'an were preserved, and today, this version of tai chi is the one which most closely resembles the original form. It is this version which was taught to Chia Siew Pang by Cheng Mun-ch'ng and which is presented in this manual. (Tai Chi - Ten Minutes to Health) Yang style Tai Ji Quan is characterized by soft, smooth and flowing movements, which are relatively, even in tempo. The alternations of slow and quick movements that are found in the Chen style sets have been separated in the Yang style. Yang style Tai Ji Quan includes a 'long' or slow set in which all movements flow together at an even pace, and a separate 'fast' form which includes quick and explosive movements. Technically, the Yang styles include a great number of projections and takedowns. The vast majority of Chin Na techniques practiced in the Chen style have been removed from the Yang style. We have described briefly the evolution and development of one of the more popular forms of tai chi. This version has stood the test of time. Today, it is still widely practiced in many parts of the world. However, it is not the only version of tai chi that has developed over the years. In attempts to improve upon what they have learnt, several have introduced their interpretations of the art; the result has been the development of many schools of tai chi. Among the better known versions are Chen tai chi, Wu tai chi and Sun tai chi. Many later versions introduced modifications to the original system. Sun tai chi, for example, incorporates some of the techniques of other 'soft' martial art systems. All this reflects the rich heritage and versatility of the ancient art. Complete Tai ji Quan arts include basic exercises, stance keeping (Zhan Zhuang), repetitive single movement training, linked form training, power training (exercises which train the ability to issue energy in a ballistic pulse), weapons training (which includes straight sword, broadsword, staff and spear), technique training and various two person exercises and drills (including "pushhands" sensitivity drills). A hallmark of most styles of Tai Ji Quan is that the movements in the forms are done quite slowly, with one posture flowing into the next without interruption. Some forms (the old Chen forms for example) alternate between slow motion and explosive movements. Other styles divide the training into forms which are done slowly at an even tempo and separate forms which are performed at a more vigorous pace. The goal of moving slowly is to insure correct attention is paid to proper body mechanics and the maintenance of the prerequisite relaxation. Training exercises can be divided into two broad categories: solo exercises, and drills which require a partner. Traditionally, single patterns of movement were learned and repeated over and over until mastered, only then was the next pattern taught. Once the student had mastered an entire sequence of movements individually, the movements were taught in a linked sequence (a 'set'). The goal of training is to cultivate a kind of 'whole body' power. This refers to the ability to generate power with the entire body, making full use of one's whole body mass in every movement. Power is always generated from "the bottom up, meaning the powerful muscles of the legs and hip serve as the seat of power. Using the strength of the relatively weaker arms and upper body is not emphasized. The entire body is held in a state of dynamic relaxation which allows the power of the whole body to flow out of the hands and into the opponent without obstruction. This is described in the Tai Ji Quan Classics as "being rooted in the feet, developed by the legs, directed by the waist transferred through the back and expressed in the hands."The Tai Ji Quan arts have a variety of two person drills and exercises designed to cultivate a high degree of sensitivity in the practitioner. Using brute force or opposing another's power with power directly (double weighting) is strictly discouraged. The goal of two person training is to develop sensitivity to the point that one may avoid the opponent's power and apply one's own whole body power where the opponent is most vulnerable. One must cultivate the ability to 'stick to the opponent, smothering the others' power and destroying their balance. The ability to "stick, adhere, continue and follow (zhan, nian, lian, sui)" is vital to the application of Tai Ji Quan combat techniques, the majority of which are grappling oriented. Techniques that include pushing, pulling, wrapping, bumping, sweeping, locking, knocking down and throwing (grappling arts) far outnumber striking and kicking techniques. Solo forms training is designed to develop the ability to control oneself; paired practice trains the practitioner to apply the power developed during solo training to another in the most efficient manner. Modified forms of Tai Ji Quan for health have become popular worldwide in recent times because the benefits of training have been found to be very conducive to calming the mind, relaxing the body, relieving stress, and improving one's health in general. However, it is important to realize that all traditional systems of Tai Ji Quan were originally created for a single purpose, training the practitioner to fight. TAIJI QUAN COMBAT Tai Ji Quan is a martial art is based on the principle of the soft overcoming the hard. Direct opposition of another's force is strictly discouraged, and great emphasis is placed upon borrowing the force of the opponent and using it to one's own advantage. Belonging to the schools of the so-called "soft" martial arts, Tai Ji Quan training is designed to cultivate a relaxed, flexible and sensitive body along with a calm and focused intent. The Tai Ji Quan fighter is trained to absorb and neutralize incoming force, join with the opponent by sticking to his center, and issue force at the appropriate time and angle with the power of the entire body. By following the principle of giving up the self and following others, the Tai Ji Quan fighter is able to use an opponent's own strength against him, thereby allowing the weaker and slower to overcome the stronger and faster opponent. Another hallmark of Tai Ji Quan as a combat art is that it has, as its foundation, the principle of natural movement. All the movements and techniques of the Tai Ji Quan Arts are based upon natural strengths and reactions. Because training is less a matter of conditioning new responses as refining inborn abilities, real fighting ability can be cultivated in the Tai Ji Quan arts faster than most other styles of martial arts. The diligent student of Tai Ji Quan, properly trained, will have acquired real self defense ability in a matter of months, as opposed to the years of training required in many other martial systems. The primary combat strategy of Tai Ji Quan can be summed up in the phrase "Entice (the opponent) to advance, (cause the opponent to) fall into emptiness, unite (with the opponent) then throw (the opponent) out" [Yin jin, luo kong, he ji chu]. Enticing the opponent to advance (advance refers to the opponent's aggressive forward momentum) can be as simple as standing in front, presenting an open target or launching a preemptive attack designed to draw a reaction. Enticing the opponent into aggressive forward momentum has several advantages. Firstly, just like the arrow released from the bow, a committed attack cannot change direction until its momentum is spent. Such an attack affords the Tai Ji Quan fighter time and opportunity to gain the superior position for effective counter attack. Secondly, a powerful, committed attack almost invariably requires whole body motion. Once the opponent's whole body is in motion (and his center of balance is in flux) it becomes possible to unbalance him with a relatively small force (correctly applied). For example, it requires a relatively large force to foot-sweep an upright and stationary opponent to the ground. However once the opponent moves his center of mass forward as he takes a step, a sweep to the stepping foot just before it touches the ground will send the opponent crashing to the ground with a very slight effort. This type of technique is referred to as "Moving a thousand pounds with a force of four ounces." Finally, enticing an opponent into aggressive forward motion locks his mentality into the attack mode. With committed focus on attacking, the opponent will be slow in changing to the defensive mind set as the Tai Ji Quan fighter counterattacks. The opponent's reaction time is delayed, further increasing the counterattacks odds of success; this allows the Tai Ji Quan fighter to "leave after yet arrive first." [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-04-11 01:44 ]

HOP GAR KUNG FU KU CHI WAI "Hop Gar kung fu is rooted in the Buddhist monasteries of Tibet. Buddhist monks spread the seeds of this ancient art from Tibet through southern China. These spiritual masters developed an understanding of both mind and body through the practice of meditation. It was in this state of consciousness that Hop Gar was conceptualized. While meditating beside a mountain stream, a Tibetan monk observed a crane and an ape fighting. The ape attacked quickly using powerful circling blows intended to crush the defenses of it's opponent. The crane moved gracefully in and out of range evading the ape's outstretched arms. With speed and precision, the crane used its beak and wings to strike openings in the ape's attacks. The ape was struck in the eye by the crane's beak and ran into the jungle. Inspired by the techniques and power of the crane and ape, the monk developed an overwhelming martial art he called Lion's Roar, named after the breath of Buddha. During the rein of the Ming dynasty, the Chinese oppressed the Tibetan, Mongolian and Manchurian peoples. Being the minority, they were used as cheap labor and were looked upon as third class citizens. They were not afforded the same rights as the ruling majority peoples, the Han. In 1644, the Ming dynasty was overthrown by the Manchurians, thus beginning the Ching dynasty. For the next 276 years, rebellion swept the country. The Shaolin sect of Buddhism, being Han, aligned themselves with the Ming supporters. The Shaolin Temples became the training ground for Ming rebels. There were two main temples. The northern and original temple is located in Henan province. The southern temple was located in Fujian province. Branch temples were organized in remote areas. It was in this political climate that the Ching emperor allied himself with the Tibetans. The Tibetan monks were renowned for their fierce fighting style. Fearing a return to depravity under Ming rule, the Tibetan King offered their fighting skills to the Ching emperors. Monks came to the Ching court as teachers, not warriors, refusing to engage in combat. They trained the imperial guards and assisted in protecting the emperors. Late in the 1860's, a Tibetan monk named Sing Lung was traveling in the Canton region of southern China. While walking in the countryside, he happened upon a young man practicing kung fu. He quietly watched as the young man went through his routine. Sing Lung returned every day for several weeks to watch. He would sit quietly for hours observing the young man's practice. In need of a guide and impressed by the young man's dedication, he approached and introduced himself. The monk offered him a deal; kung fu lessons in exchange for guide services. The young man was offended by the offer. He arrogantly asked what the monk knew about kung fu. Sing Lung asked the young man to strike him. He tried and was discarded with ease. Several times, he attacked the monk only to be thrown aside. Sing Lung evaded punches and kicks with the grace of a crane, then attacked with the power of an ape, destroying his opponent's defenses. Sing Lung took his balance by continually moving forward against his attacks. The young man named Wong Yin Lum (a.k.a. Wong Yan Lum) became Sing Lung's student and companion. Wong Yin Lum was a master swordsman and master of Lion's Roar kung fu. He became a personal bodyguard, escorting rich families and dignitaries through southern China. At that time, bandit tribes ruled the countryside. He was known for his lightning speed and powerful hands. He was highly paid by those who wished to reach their destination alive. He came to be known as master Hop (Cantonese for Knight). Wong Yin Lum is famous for challenging China's masters to join in a kung fu tournament. He had an open-air stage built in Canton to display his skills for prospective students. Wong Yin Lum planned to open a kung fu school and needed money. This would be the perfect arena to popularize his name. He also expected to make a lot of money wagering on the fights. For one week, he fought all challengers, defeating each opponent decisively. He moved forward taking his opponent's balance. Then he destroyed their defenses with powerful blows. Master Wong defeated 150 opponents and then was declared kung fu champion of China. He organized a group of the ten best kung fu masters in southern China. They were called the Ten Cantonese Tigers. Master Wong was the number one tiger. Wong Yin Lum had two senior disciples, Wong Lum Hoi and Choy Yit Gong. Wong Lum Hoi assisted Grandmaster Wong with running the school. The school was popular and made a living for Wong Lum Hoi and himself. Choy Yit Gong was from a wealthy family and was not interested in teaching. He would later achieve fame as the bodyguard of Dr. Sun Yat Sin, the leader of the Nationalist party of China and was the man responsible for the overthrow of the last emperor of China. Late in his years, Grandmaster Wong was almost blind and no longer taught. Wong Lum Hoi taught classes and supported Grandmaster Wong. He was considered to be a great kung fu master as well. Wong Lum Hoi had very little time to spend with Grandmaster Wong who lived by himself just outside of town. It was at this time, my teacher, Ng Yim Ming, became a student at the school. Ng Yim Ming's family had no money, so at the age of four, he had been given up to a local Peking opera troop. He grew up on the road learning acrobatics, kung fu and acting. Even at an early age he displayed an incredible talent for kung fu. He was fast, agile and flexible. His movements were elegant and flawless with explosive power. In 1920, at twenty years old, he enrolled in Wong Yin Lum's kung fu school. He would go to school in the morning, practice in the afternoon, then perform in three evening shows. The years of pain and hard work in the opera had prepared him well for what was to follow. Wong Lum Hoi taught as much kung fu as his students could afford. Ng Yim Ming not having much money was taught few moves, which he practiced repeatedly while the other students advanced. He never complained and mastered what he was taught. Wong Lum Hoi would send him on errands and have him clean the school as the others trained. Wong Lum Hoi started sending Ng Yim Ming with food and medicine for Grandmaster Wong. Grandmaster Wong was put off at first, but, he was lonely and he began looking forward to Ng Yim Ming's visits. They would sit for hours and talk. After a short time, they developed a close relationship. One day Grandmaster Wong asked Ng Yim Ming to show him what he had learned. Ng Yim Ming asked how the old man would see his kung fu. Grandmaster Wong said he could hear his movements and feel their power. After a few moments, he stopped Ng Yim Ming saying he had learned only a small amount of White Crane. Grandmaster Wong told him to continue going to the school during the day, and then come by his house after nightfall. Ng Yim Ming would spend mornings at the school and evenings performing in the opera. After the last show, he would practice with Grandmaster Wong until three in the morning. This kung fu was not what he had learned at the school. He asked Grandmaster Wong what was the name of this style. Grandmaster Wong had not been given a name for the style. Grandmaster Wong asked Ng Yim Ming to call it Hop Gar, meaning Family of the Knight. Ng Yim Ming studied with Grandmaster Wong for eight years. Ng Yim Ming joined an opera troop traveling through southern China in 1928. His mastery of kung fu made him an instant star. He dazzled the crowds with great feats of kung fu and acrobatics. His speed and precision were without equal. He had mastered Hop Gar and was making extra money by competing in the streets. He was known as crazy Ming due to his brutal fighting style. He stayed with the opera troop until 1935, when he moved to the United States. Late in 1938, he joined a group of men being trained as pilots to fight the Japanese in China. This group of pilots later became known as the famous Flying Tigers. He became a fighter pilot flying missions over the south of China. He joined the Chinese Nationalist Army Air Corps in 1941 and worked his way through the ranks to colonel. After the Japanese were defeated, he became the personal pilot and bodyguard of my father, General Ku Ding Haw. They became close friends over the next four years. In 1949, the Communist forces led by Mao Ze Dong defeated and exiled the Nationalist sympathizers. We went to Hong Kong along with millions of other refugees. I had been learning Choy Lay Fut since the age of seven from Grandmaster Fong Yu Su, but I was forced to quit when we left China. Ng Yim Ming came to our house often for dinner parties. It was at one of these parties that my father asked him to take me as a student. My mother died when I was young and my father was away at war. I was raised by my grandparents and had become arrogant and spoiled. My father hoped Ng Yim Ming's strict training style would help shape my character. Ng Yim Ming trained in the tradition of the old masters of the opera. The student was required to live with and work for the master. Ng Yim Ming was reluctant to take on this responsibility, but felt he owed it to my father. In 1950, at the age of 12 years old, I became the student of Ng Yim Ming. My father was always gone on business, so we had never been close. Over the next few years we saw each other less frequently. Ng Yim Ming became my father. We were often in the company of his best friend Law Wei Jong. He was a Shaolin monk who lived in the Ching Yuan Si monastery on Ding Wu Mountain near Canton. It was a branch of the Fujian Shaolin temple. Law Wei Jong was a scholar and master of many skills. He was an accomplished artist and calligrapher. He was a doctor of herbal medicine and a kung fu master. He represented the monastery when dignitaries would visit, acting as diplomat and guide. In 1910, a high ranking Tibetan monk visited the temple. He was an elderly man about 100 years old. The monk's name was Sing Lung. He had come to visit his old friend, the Abbot (head monk). Law Wei Jong acted as escort for Sing Lung. In appreciation, Sing Lung taught him the "Great Five Elements" chi kung exercise. Ng Yim Ming escorted a lady friend to Ding Wu Mountain once a week for worship services. It was in 1946, on one of these trips that Ng Yim Ming met Law Wei Jong. Every week they would sit, drink tea and discuss philosophy, politics and kung fu. Over the next three years they developed a close friendship. Law Wei Jong left China in 1949, as did Ng Yim Ming never to return. Ng Yim Ming was a hard teacher expecting all of my time and attention. I awoke at 5:00 a.m. and trained from breakfast until 7:00 a.m., then from 8:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. I trained, taking breaks for lunch and dinner. Ng Yim Ming was very secretive about training. If anyone except Law Wei Jong came to our house, we stopped training until they left. Often I would fall asleep only to be awakened after a guest had left to resume training. Training consisted of forms, meditation, and iron robe. I punched rock filled bags. I beat my body with a bundle of chopsticks. I kicked trees until my legs were bruised and bleeding. We would apply some of Law Wei Jong's herbs, and I would be kicking trees the next day. Ng Yim Ming would teach me a move, then send me out in the streets to fight. If I lost I would have to train twice as hard, so I learned not to lose. I would join a kung fu school only to defeat it's teacher, then collect twice my money back to leave. Ng Yim Ming said Hop Gar was a fighting art and must be learned by fighting. Life was hard in the Peking Opera business of 1950's Hong Kong. We did not have much money. In 1958, at the age of nineteen, my uncle got me a job as a policeman with the Royal Hong Kong Police Department. Within three months, I was appointed the department self defense instructor. I maintained this position for twenty-one years. I spent five years as a policeman, then sixteen years as a civilian. I quit the police department to become a fireman. After four years, I left to become a bouncer. I found I could make more money in the nightclubs of Hong Kong. In 1959, after nine years together, I became Ng Yim Ming's disciple. In 1966, we opened the Hong Kong Hop Gar Kung Fu Headquarters. At the same time, I was learning herbal medicine from Law Wei Jong. We would workout early in the morning, then I would teach at the police academy until noon. I would go to San Shing temple after lunch to work in the clinic. San Shing temple was founded by Law Wei Jong in 1960. I would arrive at the school in the early evening and lead the school exercise until 9:30 p.m. I had to be at the nightclub by 10:00 p.m. and work until closing. In 1970, Ng Yim Ming left Hong Kong to start a business in San Francisco. I remained in Hong Kong to run the school until I could get a visa from the United States. Ng Yim Ming had a school in San Francisco for about a year and a half. In 1972 he was shot and killed. I moved in with Law Wei Jong after the death of Ng Yim Ming. I became his disciple in 1973. Over the years from Law Wei Jong I learned the 72 Shaolin kicks, Chin Na, weapons and hand forms. He taught me several chi kung exercises. Of these, the most important was the "Great Five Elements". Law Wei Jong died December 26, 1989, in Hong Kong at the age of 108. In 1981, I moved with my family from Hong Kong to Atlanta, Georgia. I opened Ku's Holistic Health and Martial Arts Center. Currently, I have a Chinese herbal and pressure point therapy office where I specialize in bone and muscle injuries. I continue to teach by appointment and serve as Hop Gar Kung Fu Grandmaster." [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-04-04 17:16 ]

THE FORBIDDEN FIST OF BAK MEI KUNG FU Grandmaster "Fishmonger" Qiang and his Son, Zhong Luo By Gene Ching "The most notorious villain of kungfu is Bak Mei. Blamed for the greatest tragedy of kungfu history, legend tells us that Bak Mei was a Wu Dang priest who betrayed the southern Shaolin Temple to Manchu tyrants during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911.) The temple was destroyed, the library burned and the monks killed. Actually, Bak Mei is a nickname that means "white eyebrow." Due to the legendary Bak Mei's nefarious legacy, white eyebrows are now the hallmark of evildoers in countless kungfu movies. Despite this stigma, Bak Mei kungfu master Zhong Luo remains passionate about his family's art. The son of Bak Mei Grandmaster Mai Yu Qiang, Luo comments on Bak Mei's infamy. "During the Qing, before the war started, all the Shaolin temples collected people from all the different kungfu circles, and created their own tournaments. Basically they created their own little world. So the government got intimidated by all these different martial artists who stuck together - getting bigger and bigger - hundreds of thousands - getting too big. The truth is that during the Qing dynasty, 90 % of the army, the bodyguards and those who worked for the government and the emperor, were all Bak Mei style. They don't realize that the reason those guys got hired was because they could really fight." "Unfortunately, a lot of people think Bak Mei is a traitor because they killed all the monks and burned all the temples - thousands dead. After that, the Bak Mei style disappeared for almost a whole century. The people were saying 'Anybody who does Bak Mei, deserves to die.' Their houses got burned down, their wives got killed, their children disappeared. People got revenge almost the whole century." Bak Mei practitioners who fought to preserve their kungfu faced bitter hardships until very recently. The Fighting Fishmonger Today, Bak Mei Grandmaster Mai Yu Qiang is one of the most respected kungfu names in China. But like Bak Mei, Mai Yu Qiang is only a nickname. His real name is Luo Rong Qiang, born in 1938 in Futshan (Buddha Mountain,) Canton. His father, a Hung Gar master, passed away when he was only six, so Grandmaster Luo studied Hung Gar, Praying Mantis and other assorted styles with his eight uncles, each a kungfu master in his own right. In 1957, he began studying Long Ying (dragon form) the first of the two styles that he would eventually master, under Master Jun Gen. Then in 1960, he began his tutelage in Bak Mei, which his great grandfather had brought into his family fighting arts, under Master Lao Siu Leung. During that time, the Luos were very poor like most of China. Grandmaster Luo cut fish at the wholesale market while his wife cooked for the employees of a big factory. Earning only a few dollars a month made raising two sons and a daughter very difficult, especially since Zhong Luo's brother was a sickly child and required expensive treatments. So in order to make ends meet, Luo resorted to illegal no-holds-barred fights. Luo organized underground open challenge matches at the market. What's more, he jumped into the ring whenever he could. His son, Zhong Luo, remembers the stories. "If you win, all those wholesale store owners gave a 100 lbs. of rice or a couple chickens or a couple fish, whatever. Those markets were huge, bigger then three Home Depots! All these people from different cities came to pick up fish or rice wholesale, driving little 3-wheel bicycles to market, then to their shops to sell. Every morning, my dad went to market to pick up fish to sell. On and off, he was fighting there about 2 years - sometimes every weekend, sometimes every month, depending on how much injury he got. After that he would teach people to go fight too, and he had a lot of students." It was there that Grandmaster Luo earned his nickname Mai Yu Qiang (Fishmonger Qiang.) Selling fish for over half a century, he even won competitions for cutting fish. He is so skilled with a filet knife that he can gut a fish in six seconds flat. His son still keeps some of his father's fish cutting awards. Even today, the Chinese press always calls him Mai Yu Qiang, seldom his real name. But reputation can be double-edged. During the Cultural Revolution of the 60's, the kungfu world suffered as did all of China. By 1972, the Red Guard caught Grandmaster Luo and threw him in prison for disturbing the peace, teaching people how to fight, and having connections to organized crime through his fight organizing. Many of his friends and fellow masters committed suicide in jail. Master Luo remembers being a little boy and visiting his father in prison in 1973. But incarceration did not break their spirit. In fact, Grandmaster Luo covertly taught his fellow prisoners so that when he was released in 1974, he had even more students - ex-cons - to help him teach. In 1976, the next political event to influence today's kungfu, China's Open Door Policy, occurred. All across the nation, public kungfu schools opened their doors. Grandmaster Luo's school began in his hometown in Canton, the nucleus of southern kungfu. It was a traditional kungfu school with no fees, just lucky red envelopes for the master during the holidays and the commitment to help out when necessary. Eventually, the school became well equipped with 30 sandbags for striking and dozens of rock buckets for finger jabbing training. Over 100 students were attending each night. By 1980, it was the biggest school in Futshan. Recently, Grandmaster Luo received two of the highest honors for a kungfu master. During the celebrations for 50th anniversary of China last year, he was invited to Beijing to organize a phenomenal 80 lion performance. Luo is one of China's top martial drummers with over 20 years experience. His drum was amplified to lead all 80 lions in one of the grandest lion dance performances ever held. Furthermore, in Hong Kong, he was invited to play at the opening ceremony for the new airport and the longest bridge in the world. On that historic occasion, there were no lions, just the grandmaster and his drum. Bak Mei at E Mei There is more to the Bak Mei legend than the popular Shaolin versus Wudang story. Shaolin and Wu Dang Temple descend from the venerated Mount Song and Mount Wu Dang respectively. But there is a third mountain famous for kungfu, Mount E Mei. Beyond the defeat of Shaolin, it was at E Mei Mountain where Bak Mei kungfu demonstrated its formidable power. There, early Bak Mei stylists studied kungfu from a Tibetan Lama when formalizing this style. Master Luo retells the tale. "Every year, they (Bak Mei masters) beat everybody up in the E Mei mountain tournaments. The Lama Temple in E Mei is huge. It's the biggest temple on that mountain. Inside, there were 4 or 5 different masters and they all have different loyal students. Everyone wanted to run the temple. The temple had money and reputation. Every year people go there, throw some money at the temple, burn incense, buy this, buy that. The Temple made a lot of money and they never paid rent. So they created a tournament. Whoever wins got the most power, more land, whatever. So for almost 20 years, the Bak Mei guys go in and kick people's asses. They fought so many years and never lost. Soft styles, other styles, big circle styles, they all lose." "Most styles focus on defense. In Bak Mei the defense is to attack. The block is the punch. The defense is to go off and attack, way different from most other styles. It's aggressive - a lot of striking and killing moves. After they won so many years, the Qing dynasty government wanted to kill all these martial artists, so they paid whoever they could. They hired a lot of Bak Mei style people to start a war with the kungfu circle. When the big war was going on, 90% got killed by the Bak Mei people, so the Bak Mei style got a huge reputation as a traitor style because they killed their own kungfu people. After that revolution died down, the Bak Mei style almost disappeared. That doesn't mean nobody was studying and training -- only that the people cannot tell others. If people knew you were training in this style, you would get killed. If someone's grandmaster got killed by your style, and you're Bak Mei, they come after you. So after 100 years, it comes back out." A Dragon with White Eyebrows Young master Zhong Luo (Luo Han-Zhong) carries the tradition of his father's Bak Mei and Dragon style. Being the grandmaster's son, he began his kungfu study at the early age of three. At seven, he digressed to study circus for two years. For centuries, circus skills have been a common parallel discipline to kungfu. Luo trained in acrobatics and unicycles, but was badly injured during a circus competition. In an instant, his tendon popped and his circus career was over. Later, at age twelve, his father pushed him to into four years of hard, full-contact sparring competition. Luo reflects on his transition from circus to combat. "I learned a lot of high kicks from that time (the circus.) After that, I jumped into the tournaments, and I really figured out the high kick doesn't work. I realized because most people who fight tournaments - my father agreed with me - fight the same weight. It works, sometimes. But if you're fighting some big old Samoans or big old whatever, a high kick just gives those people a chance to pick you up and throw you out. Especially, multiple fights or fighting in a small area, it's not practical." "My family focuses on fighting skills and the hand skills. Bak Mei doesn't have too much kicking. Most kicks are below the waist, only the ball kick and knee kicks. Bak Mei is famous for quick footwork and fast hand striking. Power comes from speed. Long Ying focuses on the heavy-duty punch. Each move - one punch." Speed and power. According to Luo, Bak Mei increases your speed and agility, while Dragon Style develops your power. It is a lethal harmony, fusing together for a devastating fighting style. "My body is considered big for a Chinese. My father was considered big for a Chinese guy when he was younger. A lot of people look at our bodies, they don't expect we can move quickly. That's why my dad is always telling me you've got to get quick before you get heavy. The Bak Mei style can make you a lot faster than you expect. We break the rules. Most people say you're big and kind of slow. That's not true. Our particular style really makes you quick." "Whoever is very weak can train the Dragon. Long Ying has a lot of attitude. It's the King of the kungfu styles, a very aggressive style, over 300 years old. It really increases your punching power. The punching is from the ground up - from the foot, to the toe, to the fingertip. Everything concentrates together - hips, shoulder, back, legs and thighs - everything. Throw it out in one shot." The White Eyebrow Dragon on Gold Mountain Master Luo immigrated to America and has been teaching Bak Mei and Dragon style in the Mission District of San Francisco, California. Recently, he brought his father over for his first visit to America. "I've been showing him a lot of fighting - different tournament tapes - the past few days he has been here. He looks at most kungfu schools and 90% of the martial arts is more like exercise. Our particular style and our particular teaching focuses on street fighting. It's not much exercise." "People have four different reasons for training in kungfu. Kungfu can be for looks. Some people train because they like the art. They just want to enjoy it. Some people train because they want the health - to help to circulate blood, (reduce) high blood pressure. Some train forms to make their confidence bigger and make themselves mentally better. The fourth reason is because they want to learn how to fight. They want to hit people and hurt people." "Kungfu was originally created for people who want to learn how to fight. Unfortunately, these days martial arts has become more like a sport. A lot of kungfu schools utilize martial arts to become a moneymaker. We personally don't think that's right. You use kungfu for moneymaking, you have nice music and nice equipment, (but) it's not practical. Some of them ruin martial arts. Then some boxing guy says, 'Hey! Kungfu doesn't work!' Not me. However my school comes out, I do not what to have a ****ty student. My father looks my student as his grand student. He always tells me, 'You have a smaller circle, you can build up slowly. Better than having a bunch of ****ty people and coming out with students who really don't know anything.' They might know 20 forms, and a guy comes to attack them, they're going to fall, call 911." "I think the worst thing about a lot of kungfu instructors is the day they start teaching is the day they stop training. In martial arts, you know and I know, if you don't train, you lose the breath. You lose the punching strength. You've got to keep it up. My dad still lifts weights four days a week and trains his students every day. I haven't stopped for years. Even now, I'm still teaching and training every single day. You can get older, you can train a little differently then young people with young bodies, but you've got to keep up yourself. I look at a lot of instructors and they are really out of shape. They tell people that it's a 'qigong belly.' No! That's a lie! That's too much beer and partying. There's no excuse if you do that for a living. For the rest of your life you cannot be out of shape. Keep yourself up. I look at my father at 63, he's still in pretty good shape for his age, apart from losing a little bit of hair." (laughs) Today, Grandmaster Luo's Futshan school is still going strong. He still does seminars and has many students from different countries like Macao, Korea, Germany and France. He estimates that he has taught some 10,000 students over the years, not including his teaching for the army. For the past ten years, he has stayed out of the fighting ring. Now he serves as a judge and an organizer. Young Master Luo's school is also beginning to produce Bak Mei and Dragon style fighters on American soil. His school is small yet hardcore. It is not open to everyone. Luo limits his classes to serious applicants only. Nor do his students compete in kungfu tournaments. Instead, he trains them to fight against the other styles like Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Jujitsu, Kickboxing, Muay Thai and of course, street fighters. After teaching himself English, he is always quick to voice his opinion on today's martial world. "I hope I don't offend, but I'm just telling the truth. Sometimes I think that too humble becomes too ****y. Some people don't give opinions. They don't say this guy's good. They don't say this guy's bad. Basically they don't criticize anybody. That's really arrogant. It's always good to come out with opinions. I can back it up." http://www.kungfumagazine.com/HomePages/magazine/2000/KF200012/200012Html/Covstory200012.htm

Ask that question here: http://members.boardhost.com/devere68/ I bet you'll get alot better responses. (edited by KickChick: This link is no longer valid! -- so actually you will not be receiving any better responses here!)

"What you are about to read ranks among the most remarkable true-life sagas ever published in the martial arts world. Ironically, it is the story of a woman's fighting art and its spectacular rise to world renown after two centuries of obscurity. It is also the story of that art's mysterious Chinese patriarch and his two maverick disciples. One disciple was a notorious streetfighter whose life was torn, then forever changed, by a secret vow forced upon him by the patriarch. His name was Cheung Cheuk Hing, better known as William Cheung. The other was a child film star who, publicly shunned by the patriarch, was forced to make his own way in the martial arts world. He later founded his own rebellious fighting art, and was ultimately known by millions as the greatest martial artist who ever lived. His name was Lee Jun Fan. He is better known as Bruce Lee. As boys in Hong Kong, William Cheung and Bruce Lee were inseparable. Cheung was responsible for introducing Lee to his eventual kung fu teacher, Grandmaster Yip Man. And since Cheung was soon after promoted to assistant instructor by Yip, he actually became Lee's primary training partner and instructor. And more. He helped Lee survive the vicious gang wars in the streets of Hong Kong. Then, as now, William Cheung was considerd Yip's premier fighter, the ultimate wing chun practitioner, personally trained for that purpose by the grandmaster himself. His fighting prowess still inspires both fear and respect. In fact, many of Bruce Lee's students report that their superstar instructor was so awed by Cheung's skill that, throughout his life, Cheung served as Lee's mental image of the deadliest warrior - the standard of martial arts excellence and the man he had to be able to beat to be truly the best streetfighter alive. Wong Shun Leung, a Yip student senior to both Cheung and Lee, remembers that about a month before his death Bruce Lee asked, "Leung, do you think now I can defeat Ah Hing (Cheung)?" Most of Lee's personal fighting techniques as well as his jeet kune do approach to the martial arts were developed with that eventual goal in mind. And as William Cheung recalls, in his final telephone conversation with his boyhood friend not four days before his death, Lee remarked half in jest, "Ah Hing, as soon as I finish filming this Game of Death, I'm going to take a long, long vacation. And I'm going to come by and visit you there in Australia. And you'd better be ready!" Although William Cheung was mentioned in both Linda Lee's "Bruce Lee: The Man Only I Knew" and in Alex Ben Block's "The Legend of Bruce Lee", most of the material presented in this article has never before been revealed. Bruce Lee in the Early Years Today his influence is everywhere ... in the spectacular leaps of an Ernie Reyes kata ... in the sudden devastation of a Chuck Norris backfist ... in the strategic theories of a Keith Vitali defense ... in the artful precision of a Sugar Ray Leonard combination ... in the unexpected angles of a Bill Wallace kick ... in the delightful acrobatics of a Jackie Chan comedy ... and even in the plastic nunchaku of the kid down the block. Bruce Lee was a fluke. He projected such intensity and charisma in the simple acts of kick, punch and block that his films catapulted him into the biggest international box-office attraction in the history of Asian cinema. He became almost godlike to many, even after his untimely death in 1973. To his fans around the world, he is still revered as the greatest martial arts star who ever lived or fought. And to martial artists throughout the United States, he remains a man in whose image the American martial arts experience has been forever transformed. At a time when Asian-born masters were becoming increasingly outnumbered by their own American-born black belts, Lee offered a new philosophy of martial arts training which appealed to America's melting-pot mentality. Through his articles and interviews in Black Belt magazine, he lambasted the stylistic puritanism of classical instruction. He offered to liberate instructors from the confines of classical beliefs. He encouraged them to examine and incorporate techniques from other styles, as well as to experiment and invent entirely new techniques of their own. Many black belts had already begun this process of examination and experimentation through the vehicle of the "open" karate tournament. Bruce Lee's rebellious declaration added impetus to their efforts. And although Lee's doctrine of artistic freedom has become identified over the years as the distinguishing characteristic of the American martial artist, the ideas themselves came very much out of the traditions and lifestyle of Lee's boyhood in the Orient. Bruce Lee spent his early childhood in a Hong Kong occupied by the Imperial Japanese Army and grew to adulthood during the troublesome post-World War II years, when the Communist triumph on Mainland China sent a constant stream of impoverished refugees into the tiny British Crown Colony. He was born the second son of Lee Hoi Chuen, a famous Cantonese circuit film personality and a comedy star of the Cantonese Opera Company. The young Bruce Lee was also the grandnephew, from his mother's family, of Sir Jay Ho Tung, who was dubbed Hong Kong's first Knight of the Order by King George V. When Lee was six years old, the director on one of his father's films spotted him hanging around the set and asked to put the youngster to work in a supporting role for an upcoming film. Bruce Lee's film career was launched on that day. Over the next 12 years, he spent his summer vacations from school as a supporting actor in some 20 Chinese films. By the time Lee reached puberty, his father's comedic stature in Asia had reached proportions perhaps equivalent to those of a Jerry Lewis or a Joey Bishop in the U.S. Lee's own star status rivaled that of a Ricky Schroeder or a member of The Brady Bunch. According to William Cheung, "Whenever he'd walk down the street, people'd start to recognize him." "I first met him at a party," Cheung recalls. "My uncle knows a lot of Chinese operatic artists. And Bruce's father was one of the most very, very famous. So one day - I think 1 was about ten or 11 - my uncle said to me, 'Come. We're going to a place where a young movie star's having a birthday party.' So 1 said, 'Wow, we're going to see a movie star!' "Well, we went and Bruce was there. But at that first meeting I wasn't really impressed with him yet. I was ignored completely. He was in the limelight. He probably didn't even know I was there. We didn't get together until about a year later." By this time in his life young Lee had become a prisoner of his own celebrity. His screen image from such Cantonese films as 'The Beginning of a Boy', 'Kid Cheung', 'Bad Boy', and 'Carnival' was that of a tough street kid who hung out with neighbourhood youth gangs,brawled, and engaged in shoplifting and pickpocketing for survival. Yet, at the same time, his film characters were not above battling to rescue the helpless from some impending disaster. His entire image was succinctly packaged through his theatrical name - Lee Siu Loong, "Little Dragon Lee" . . . a fighter's name. As a child star living in an overcrowded city where literally millions knew his face, Lee had to cope with constant challenges, especially from his peer group at school. On the one hand, there were those who expected him to be the streetwise gang leader he portrayed in his films, which might be one reason he actually did become part of a local street gang called "The Junction Street Eight Tigers." And on the other hand, there were those who expected his screen image to be a hoax. A film star had to be a sissy at heart, they thought, and a personal victory over the Little Dragon would be an easy way to earn respect. Understandably Bruce Lee developed a competitive outlook on life, with a flash temper and outspoken opinions. He felt a constant need to assert himself aggressively, making believers out of doubters. At the same time, William Cheung had already become quite notorious for his ability to best older students in battles of both brawn and wit. And since one of Cheung's classmates was a member of Lee's gang, the Junction Street Eight Tigers, a second meeting was arranged between the two. "When I met up with Bruce again," says Cheung, "he immediately started asking me questions about why I always won when I fought. I told him that I'd been doing this style (of kung-fu) for a year, but that it was too rough for him ... because he was a film star. He should look after his appearance. "I also told Bruce that it was this paticular style that was so good, and that we'd soon be organizing secret tournaments between it and other styles. He insisted that when we organized our secret tournaments that he be allowed to come along and watch. But I didn't take him at all seriously." Shortly before his 13th birthday, Lee began attending his new school, a Catholic institution called St. Francis Xavier. And again, he both attracted and created his own trouble. On one occasion he nearly got his head knocked off by a junior kung fu stylist in a gang-related exchange. Lee was furious. He could not bear the thought of losing a fight. He stormed home that day and announced to his mother that he wanted to be trained in the martial arts. He told her that he was being bullied at the new school and wanted to learn how to defend himself properly. Years later, in 1967, Bruce Lee explained his decision to BLACK BELT magazine in this way, "As a kid in Hong Kong I was a punk and went looking for fights. We used chains and pens with knives hidden inside. Then, one day, I wondered what would happen if I didn't have my gang behind me if I got into a fight. I decided to learn how to protect myself and I began to study kung fu." "Actually, Bruce wasn't really in a proper gang," confides William Cheung. "The Eight Tigers were just eight people who got together and decided to look after each other. But the Tigers weren't all that tough ... they got their fur singed a lot." Bruce's mother, Grace Lee, agreed to give her son the money for the kung fu lessons. He then hunted up Cheung and begged to be taken to Cheung's instructor. However, Cheung says, he still did not believe that Lee would be a serious student, and he thought the introduction might prove to be an eventual embarrassment. But Lee persisted. Thus with some reluctance on that autumn day in 1953, Cheung took Bruce Lee to the Restaurant Workers' Union Hall where classes were then held, and introduced him to the grandmaster of wing chun kung fu, Professor Yip Man. "Yip Man was very pleased to meet him because Bruce was a celebrity," continues Cheung. "And Yip Man always had an appreciation for talent. So 1 just left him there, and Bruce began taking lessons straight away." Prior to his enrolment in Yip's classes, Lee had had no exposure to a serious fighting art. He had been taught the rolling, punching, swinging, and kicking movements of tam toi, a northern system of kung fu exercises which are a mandatory part of the physical education curriculum of every Hong Kong youth. His father had taught him a little bit about the slow-moving techniques of tai chi chuan, and the film studios had taught him a few movements from several northern styles of kung fu. But never before had he been taught movements which were genuinely intended for the purpose of self-defense. Lee promptly dedicated himself to a seemingly impossible pursuit. His passion for gung fu bordered on fanaticism. He trained at Yip's school six, sometimes seven days a week. And after only two months of lessons, he was able to rechallenge the St. Francis Xavier student who had defeated him earlier. This time the Little Dragon won. Meanwhile, William Cheung's personal home life had become intolerable. His own exploits as a streetfighter drew severe condemnation from his father, which in turn resulted in constant bickering. To defuse the unhappy situation Yip Man invited young Cheung to come live with him. Cheung jumped at the offer. And since Yip Man never taught the wing chun classes personally, although he was usually present, supervising the instructors and tending to his favourite students - Cheung earned his keep by being installed, along with Leung Sheung, Lok Yiu, Tsui Sung Ting, and Wong Shun Leung, as one of the grandmaster's senior instructors. However, despite Cheung's instructor status, he still did not work with his most celebrated student. "At that time," recalls Cheung with amusement, 'it still stuck in my mind, 'This guy's a film star. He ought to look after his face.' And since the techniques I use are for real, I did not pay attention to him. I thought he was just learning kung fu because everybody was doing it, and that he did it to be on the 'in' crowd. So I didn't take Bruce very seriously. "Then, shortly after we moved the school to a bigger facility in Kowloon, we started hearing complaints about Bruce beating up his seniors, as well as other people who were training with him. They became very upset because he was progressing so fast. He practised every minute of the day. Even while talking he was always doing some kind of arm or leg movement. He could not sit still. That's when I realized that Bruce was actually serious about wing chun." Lee would not let up from the frenzied pace of his martial arts training. At St. Francis Xavier, during recess, he would exchange techniques with practitioners from other styles as well as practice wing chun's sticky-hands drill (chi sao). After school he would return faithfully to Yip's studio. Only now William Cheung, Wong Shun Leung, and even grandmaster Yip gave Lee the personal attention which was extended only to preferred students. A close friendship developed between Lee and Cheung, and they began to spend time together outside of Yip's classes. Unfortunately wing chun training could not protect Lee from the savage impact of his times. The Hong Kong of the 1950s suffered from the social shock produced by previously unimagined levels of overcrowding. Some four million people suddenly found themselves crammed into less than 40-square miles of concrete and asphalt, with thousands of new arrivals daily from the mainland. By 1960, the colony had somehow managed to absorb over one million refugees. And to make matters worse, much of the Hong Kong population subscribed to the traditional Chinese belief in the virtue of large families with ten, 12, sometimes 16 children. Housing shortages, unemployment and poverty resulted. The government provided public education until the completion of elementary school, at which time all Hong Kong youths were given an entrance exam. Those who scored high were advanced to secondary school. But those who failed, as most did, were turned loose at age 12 or 13 to roam the streets of Hong Kong until they were old enough to secure employment. Left with few alternatives, these disenfranchised youths naturally organized themselves into street and neighbourhood gangs not unlike those found in the ghettos of New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, only on a much larger scale. Protecting the gang's territorial home against trespassers, with an eye-for-an-eye code of vengeance, became an almost life-or-death passion. One-on-one street encounters often erupted into all-out warfare. Gang members lived in a constant state of readiness. And since the British had successfully prohibited firearms throughout Hong Kong for decades, physical beatings as well as knife and chopper (meat cleaver) wounds were the frequent by-product of gang war. Kung fu training and weapons expertise became a genuine source of street survival for members of the larger and more violent gangs. In fact, many such gangs became associated with a single neighbourhood kung fu school. And a few of these schools became associated with the Chinese mafia. In contrast, Bruce Lee came from a wealthy show business family. They lived in a relatively spacious Kowloon residence which William Cheung remembers as being in constant chaos, "The Lees were always looking after someone. Every time I went up there, there was a new kid living with them. Bruce had cousins, nephews, and even people from his parents' village living with him." To be specific, along with his wife, two daughters, three sons and one adopted son, Lee Hoi Chuen also supported his widowed sister-in-law, her five children, an occasional assortment of other relatives, several servants, plus nine dogs, seven birds, one monkey, and many fish. Outside of the strict 10:00 p.m. curfew imposed by his father, the confusion in Bruce's home life left him free to seek mischievous adventure with Cheung and the Junction Street Eight Tigers. Sometimes he, his gang, and a few friends from St. Francis Xavier would saunter up the hill after school to the segregated King George V School. They would taunt the British-born students there until fights broke out, affording Bruce an opportunity to test the combat usefulness of his wing chun techniques. On other occasions, he seemed quite willing to invite the wrath of a rival Chinese gang, even a big one. "Bruce took a lot of challenges," explains Cheung. "That's the most amazing thing ... he never backed out of any fight, although a lot of times we really just outsmarted our opponents." For example, as one story goes, William Cheung once was shooting pool in Nathan Road's second-story Billiards Room. Suddenly, the calm of the room succumbed to the rapid-fire pounding of Bruce's ascending footsteps. "Ah Hing! Ah Hing!," he cried. "They're after me! " Cheung took another shot at the pool balls, then looked up. 'Wait a minute, Bruce, you are in your own neighbourhood. That sounds crazy. How do you know they are after you?" I know because I beat up one of them," Lee replied. "Oh," Cheung sighed. He put down his cue and walked over to a window. Outside, milling about the street, were about 50 members from one of the larger gangs. They could be recognized by the white handkerchiefs they wore to identify each other. "Well, I see your problem, Bruce," said Cheung. "But come on, let's go out there." Nathan Road was a major Kowloon artery. At that time of day, on any block, literally hundreds of people could be found walking down the street, waiting for the bus, crossing at the crosswalk, or disappearing into shops. When Lee and Cheung emerged from the Billiards Room, they immediately made the hostile gang suspect a neighbourhood trap by the unhurried, cavalier manner in which they carried themselves. Then the two teenagers began their offensive with a sudden approach toward one large group of gang members. Lee and Cheung felt the familiar release of adrenalin pounding strength into their fists in preparation for battle. Their footsteps became quicker, more determined. The gang members tensed. And then ... Bruce Lee waved, smiling warmly. And since Bruce was a well-known film personality, a nearby group of citizens recognized him and waved back. Lee and Cheung walked toward other groupings of gang members, smiling and waving as they went. And in each case, all the people walking down the street, waiting for the bus, crossing the crosswalk, or disappearing into the shops recognized Lee, and waved. Soon the gang members had been convinced that they were outnumbered. Cheung and Lee then called over the gang's leader. Both sides agreed that they did not want to fight a major battle, and therefore would disperse. Members of both the white handkerchiefs and Lee's "gang" began walking down the street, catching the bus, crossing the crosswalk, and disappearing into the shops. By the end of 1956 Bruce Lee had become a serious problem for Yip Man. "Because he progressed very quickly," says Cheung, "he became a threat to some of the seniors ... Well, they thought they were seniors. Some people just put their name in the wing chun school, but they'd never come to class, or they'd just come once a week. They were never doing it properly." Yet, according to custom, a kung fu student was supposed to remain humble and subservient to his seniors. To do otherwise was considered a direct combat challenge. And since Lee only respected the knowledge and fighting abilities of Yip Man and Yip's appointed instructors, he refused to comply with the arrogant whims of his seniors. Instead, he would challenge them. And he would defeat them. Easily. Cheung continues. "Then they found out that he had a little bit of European blood in him. (Grace Lee, his mother, is part German.) They decided to use that to stop Bruce from training at the school. They put a lot of pressure on Yip Man. They knew that Yip Man was a traditional sort of person. He did not believe that the art should be passed on to Westerners." But Yip refused their demands. He had too much respect for Lee as a film star and as a serious martial artist to turn him away. The "seniors" redoubled their efforts, however, and eventually found a much stronger method for bringing pressure against the grandmaster. Yip Man was a poor businessman. He could not hang on to his money long enough to bother with financial management. Left to his own devices, he would sometimes risk eviction by spending the school's rent money. The students were forced to form a committee which would collect school fees, pay the rent, and leave Yip with a personal allowance. As the years passed and Yip's senior instructors began to leave him to start their own schools, Bruce Lee's detractors gradually came to control the committee. They threatened to reduce Yip's personal allowance if he did not dismiss the Little Dragon. "And then, very reluctantly, Yip Man agreed," admits Cheung sadly. "So Bruce was ignored at the school. No one would train with him, and he knew that he could not learn very much more there. So he left." Today there are still those who try to discredit Bruce Lee's association with his master through this incident. But William Cheung insists that most of their accusations are false. "Yip Man liked Bruce," emphasizes Cheung. "He liked him a lot ... because they always had jokes. You know, they joked around with each other. The other people were sort of sullen. Yip Man only talked to the people he liked. "Quietly Yip Man was very proud of Bruce." Certainly Yip Man's friendship for Bruce Lee was evident when he posed for a photo session with Lee in 1963. And Lee's feelings for his master were made clear in 1967 when he told BLACK BELT, "Before 1 discuss jeet kune do, I would like to stress the fact that though my present style is more totally alive and efficient, I owe my achievement to my previous training in the wing chun style, a great style. It was taught to me by Mr. Yip Man, present leader of the wing chun clan in Hong Kong where I was reared." Moreover, Cheung confides, "After Bruce left the school Yip Man told me, 'Now you ... you give him some practice.' " Yip Man knew full well that Cheung and Lee were close friends, so Cheung interpreted his master's words as a personal mandate to complete Bruce Lee's training in wing chun. Initially, Lee spent a year-and-a-half working out at Wong Shun Leung's rooftop school, and training with Cheung whenever he had some free time away from Yip's school. None of Wong's students were then advanced enough, though, to offer Lee real competition. So Lee sometimes waited on the steps outside of Wong's home before class and told the students that their instructor was sick. Then, innocently, he would climb up to the roof for a private practice session with Wong. However, once Cheung moved back home with his parents, Lee left Wong and trained almost exclusively with Cheung. "By that time I had learned most everything there was in wing chun," relates Cheung. "All I needed was time to practice. And also, my parents were sort of missing me. I hadn't seen them for years. They had moved to the New Territories - to a farm with a big back yard and a swimming pool - and they invited me back. "Bruce started visiting me every weekend, and also in the summer he'd come over for a few days, if he wasn't working on a film. He did that until I left for Australia. See, we were very good friends. I remember he won the cha cha contest (the Crown Colony cha cha championship of 1958) and he would come over and teach me the cha cha and all that ... really just to see me. Then we would do a training session together." Cheung reveals that he deliberately structured these training sessions with Lee so that they became experimental in nature. His reason was an important one. During the several years that he lived with Yip Man, he discovered that the grandmaster withheld key elements of the wing chun system from his commercial instruction. Specifically, Yip Man did not teach the system's authentic footwork, its "theory of four fighting ranges," nor their applications in closing the gap on an opponent. Instead he taught modified stance and foot patterns which were rigid and relatively impractical. The same patterns are still taught to wing chun students throughout the world today. Yip Man made Cheung vow that he would never teach the complete wing chun system for as long as Yip remained alive. So Cheung engineered practical situations for Lee which emphasized the weaknesses in the modified wing chun. "I was in a situation where I had to influence Bruce to ask himself a lot of questions," explains Cheung, "because I could not openly show him what I knew. It actually hurt me quite a lot to do that. So I often encouraged him, and even made him irritated so that he would sit up and think, 'Why?,' trying to find out for himself." In early 1958, one of the brothers at St. Francis Xavier School tried to rechannel the young film star's obsession with street fighting into a more respectable direction. He convinced Lee to join the school boxing team, Marquis of Queensberry rules, for the interschool championships. However, Lee refused to train with the boxing team. Actually, he did not appear to be training at all. Most of his class-mates thought he was crazy. Behind the scenes, though, Lee entrusted his tournament preparation to Cheung and their weekend practice sessions in the New Territories. Lee blasted his way effortlessly through the eliminations, knocking out three contestants, all in the first round. But in the finals he stepped into the ring opposite Gary Elms from the all-British King George V School. Elms, the champion for three straight years, was the most feared contestant in the tournament. Further, Elms enjoyed the advantage of having the event held at King George V School. "This was Bruce's first boxing event," says Cheung, "so he was very inexperienced. He had a lot-of trouble in the first ten or 15 seconds of the first round. But after that he settled down. He used wing chun's pak sac, lap sac, straight punches, double punches, and continuous punching We trained him to hit at two levels. "He knocked out the three-time interschool champion in the third round. He won very convincingly. "Bruce was very competent by then. He had had a few contests with other styles. He enjoyed beating them. It surprised me, too. I always thought that he was more or less a film star. But he would have beaten everybody in Hong Kong in wing chun back then, and especially now since the wing chun has deteriorated. He could really use most of the techniques in the system. "And his understanding was much greater than the people who were teaching. For example, he was always criticizing the rigid footwork, and so on. He'd say, 'Look, why is it like that? Why do I have to do this?' But 1 could not tell him." Years later, in the film Return of the Dragon, Lee would play a country bumpkin who was trained in Chinese boxing on a farm in the New Territories. The picture was written and directed by Lee, and the origin of the story's hero is an obvious tribute to the training experiences Lee had with William Cheung. A few months after the interschool boxing championships, Bruce Lee and a few other wing chun stylists accepted a challenge match from a group of choy li fut practitioners. During the encounter, Lee subdued his opponent by dislodging a few teeth. His opponent's parents complained to the police, and Lee's mother then had to sign a paper accepting responsibility for her son's future conduct. Although the summer of 1958 proved very productive for the the Little Dragon, bringing him a critically acclaimed performance in the film Orphan, Lee's first starring role, the fall brought yet another confrontation with the police. "This is the incident which caused him to stop seeing the Junction Street Eight Tigers and eventually to come to America," recounts Cheung. "They did some shoplifting in a shop. And we were with them. They ran so we had to run with them. But we hadn't taken anything. "Then they all disappeared. Meanwhile a taxi driver thought that there was something happening. He started chasing us, and through a lot of maneuvering he caught up with Bruce. I had to turn around and run back to fight Bruce free of the taxi driver. Bruce was trying to tell him that he wasn't involved. But by that time the police were everywhere. That's why I got caught. "But they could not find anything on us. All they could say was that I was hitting the taxi driver. But then I said, 'The taxi driver was hitting Bruce. I was helping my friend.' "The outcome was that Bruce decided that those Junction Street Eight Tigers were just bad news. Thugs. And when you are in trouble they never come back." In addition, the police again notified Bruce Lee's parents. They reminded the Lees of the paper Grace Lee had signed some months earlier. Any more trouble from Bruce, they warned, might result in legal action. Shortly afterward, both William Cheung and Bruce Lee decided to make a new start at life, away from the street gangs of Hong Kong, by attending school overseas. Cheung joined his brothers in Australia, whereas Lee, who had been born in San Francisco, returned to America and took his rightful place as a U.S. citizen. To a Hong Kong family in the 1950s, sending their son to school in a Western country was not too dissimilar from a wealthy American family sending children to finishing school in Europe." http://www.cheungwingchun.com/Articles/Article.WCS.1.html

Ba Bu Tang Lang Chuan "The history of the Praying Mantis Style of Kung-Fu (T'ang L'ang Ch'uan) began in Gimore County in the Shantung Province, during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). From the oral tradition and the writings of later Mantis masters, we know that the founder and patriarch of the style was Wang Lang. Wang Lang was the smartest and most talented child of his family, and from an early age had developed a great interest in the martial arts. He had travelled widely through China to learn the various arts, and soon became well known for his skills. Despite his mastery, Wang Lang felt that something was missing from his technique and decided to test himself. As it is well know, there were no better martial artists than those that were to be found in the temples of Shaolin. So, during the mid-Autumn festival, Wang Lang set out for the Lao Shan mountains to challenge the monks of the Shaolin Temple. Upon his arrival, the first thing he saw were taoist monks practicing the art of boxing in the main plaza of the temple. Wang Lang counted some sixty positions and styles that he had never seen before. Sensing that this was the perfect place to test his abilities, he challenged the monks but was ignored. Time and again he issued his challenge, but the silent monks would have no part of it. It took much time and patience for Wang Lang to persuade the monks at the temple to test him, but eventually they decided that he would fight a lower level student. Wang Lang had trained hard for many years and was confident in his abilities. This was the moment he had been waiting for. The fight was set. Wang Lang and his opponent of the famous Shaolin Temple were face to face. Wang Lang fought hard and with great swiftness but was defeated, for the abilities of the monk were far superior. There was much for him to learn. Wang Lang returned home. Determined and dedicated, he practiced very hard. After two years of continuous training, Wang Lang was in the best shape of his life. The time had come to test himself once again at the temple. Wang Lang returned to Shaolin, much more powerful and fierce than before. Once again he faced a student of the temple. This time Wang Lang was victorious. His rigorous training had paid off and his improvement became more and more evident as he moved higher through the ranks of monks. Wang Lang fought one monk after another until he was face to face with the head abbot of the monastery. Wang Lang had fought many fierce opponents and had proven himself a courageous fighter, but this was the true test. Wang Lang fought his best but was easily beaten by the abbot. Humiliated and aching, Wang Lang realized the depth of the abbot's martial skills and immediately left the temple. He had trained hard, but having tested himself he realized he would have to have much better technique as well. As Taoist masters have recognized, the answers to many questions can be found in nature by those who observe. It was in just this way that fate stepped in and changed the life of Wang Lang and the future of the martial arts. Resting his tired body, Wang Lang sat for a moment near a willow tree on the wooded slopes of the Lao Shan mountains. As he pondered on his unsuccessful fight and the reasons he lost it, his mind came to focus on his surroundings. He heard some curious sounds which grabbed his attention. Finding the source of these sounds, Wang Lang was amazed at the sight of two insects battling for their lives--a cicada and a much smaller praying mantis. The movements of this praying mantis were astonishing. With its strong legs and amazingly strong arms the mantis waited, ready. Drawing its opponent in, then striking with devastating power and fast, instinctive movements, the mantis was able to defeat its much larger and fiercer opponent. Wang Lang had discovered the key to what he had been missing. Astonished by the skills of the insect, Wang Lang captured the praying mantis and carried it with him on his return home. Having built a cage for his new friend, Wang Lang had decided to keep the mantis and study itÕs movements. Using chop sticks, Wang Lang spent much of his time battling with his tiny opponent, and very carefully watched to see which actions the mantis would take in order to defend itself. Wang Lang took these techniques and incorporated them into his training. Having learned the techniques of the Praying Mantis and having trained much harder, Wang Lang felt the time had come to test himself once again. Wang Lang could not forget the beating he had received last time, but he was dedicated to truly perfecting his skills. His defeat was all the more reason to return, and it was further evidence he had indeed chosen a worthy test. Wang Lang returned once more to the Shaolin Temple. The monks recognized Wang Lang and agreed that he should be able to test his skills. Once again he stood face to face with the head abbot of Shaolin Temple, but this time Wang Lang was victorious. Everyone was perplexed by this strange new form of fighting. How did he learn such skills, where had they come from, they asked. Wang Lang had defeated some of the Shaolin Temple's most fierce monks but now he had faced the fiercest and most skillful of all and had beaten him. The monks could hardly believe what they had seen. They could not let Wang Lang leave until they too learned these techniques. Wang Lang did not want to stay with the Shaolin monks so he left quietly in the night. The monks were left only with the memories of what they had seen Wang Lang use. Back home again, Wang Lang continued his training. He had discovered a very effective style but wasn't about to leave it at that. Wang Lang had fought many opponents in his lifetime and now he had faced the best in the world. Wang Lang now had the experience needed to develop and refine a fighting style that would be effective over any style or level of fighter. Wang Lang then dedicated himself to further develop the Praying Mantis system of fighting throughout his lifetime. Although his Praying Mantis techniques were very effective, Wang Lang realized a large part of his failure in his first fight with the head abbot of the Shaolin Temple was due to a lack of footwork. Once again an answer was to be found in nature. Carefully looking for the for the stepping techniques needed to complete his system, Wang Lang discovered the fast and deceptive footwork of the monkey. Their movements were swift and agile, skillful and tricky. The stepping and jumping techniques of the monkey were a very effective addition to what Wang Lang had developed, so he decided that he would incorporate them. During the rest of his life, Wang Lang further refined his Praying Mantis techniques until it was easily considered one of the most effective and fierce martial arts styles that had ever been seen. The art of Praying Mantis had become very famous, everyone had heard of its incredible effectiveness and many sought to learn, but despite all this the Praying Mantis system was kept very secret. Almost no one saw the techniques performed and little was heard other than the legendary stories and accounts of great men performing this elusive and secret style of fighting." http://www.dragonslist.com/articles/styles/?id=76

http://people.zeelandnet.nl/ejkoch/movies/WT2.mpg I don't take Wing Chun so I can't judge it. But to the Wing Chunners, what do you guys think? [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-03-27 01:30 ]

WHAT IS TAI CHI "Tai Chi is a way of life that has been parctised by the Chinese for thousands of years. We should look into three areas in order to fully understand the historical background of Tai Chi: (1) its philosophical foundation, (2) how it developed as a martial art, and (3) hot Tai Chi instruction has been passed from generation to generation. For those who are interested in the vivid, rich heritage of Chinese culture, and especially those who wish to communicate with and understand those persons from the other side of the globe, it is necessary to study the philosophy of Tai Chi: that invisible, immense, and most powerful thought that threads its way undimminished throught the entirety of oriental history, We are able to do so thanks to a few individuals in each of countless generations who were unselfishly dedicated to keeping the spirit of Tai Chi alive. First we may need to share some of the beliefs and assumptions we have inherited. Human beings knowing that they are not perfect, desire perfection and search for a better life. Historically people have always made mistakes in this search because they have misunderstood the nature and potential of human life. Each generation has interpreted this potential differently; some have made religious assumptions while others have ignored or even denied the value of human life. As various social and organizational hierachies develope and evolve into traditions, fundemental mistakes continue to be made. These accumulate and are often themselves perpetuated as tradition. If we naively follow our own traditions we may some day find out that we have made yet another mistake--the mistake of not questioning our traditions. Even though our modern technology has brought us into the space age, the motivation of human life remains mysterious. Human achievements seem very small in the light of the historical process of civilization. Yet even our theories of evolution are still in doubt; in spite of all our technology we still look up at the immense sky and wonder how it all started. When we watch with pride and enjoyment the flight of a jumbo jet shrinking the earth beneath its wings, it is all too easy to forget that its flight is an imitation of the birds--merely the use of aerodynamic principles that were thousands of years old before humans first walked the earth. Our advance medical technology has rocketed us to the super sophisticated level of organ transplant, but we still have to succumb to the most basic and primitive needs; we must breathe air and eat food to survive. We, humans inhabitants of this earth, may come to realize that fundementally we have not progressed very far from the original inhabitants of this planet. We may come to see that we cannot change very mutch about ourselves. A close look at our world's history reveals obvious cycles in which the development of the total person was either emphasized or ignored. When idealized human nature was emphasized, this yielded a very strong, creative civilization, one in which society progressed and people became spiritualized. Yet many mistakes still took place during this journey. HISTORICAL AND PHILOSOPHICAL BACKGROUND Several thousands of years ago, such idealism emerged in China. The Chinese of this period were searching for the highest form of life of the human mind and body. In their own unique manner, they achieved their goal--unlike Western civilizations, which seperated body from mind and allowed spiritual development only in terms of religious, mystical ecstasy. The Chinese conceived the human mind to be an unlimited dimension, but the scope of human activity to be moderate. The focus of their goal was unified philosophy of human life and a simplification of beliefs. This was the birth of what we know today as Tai Chi thought. Tai Chi became the invisible power that guided the movements of Chinese history for thousands of years. It gave tremendous impetus to that fabulous culture, showing its influence in areas ranging from medicine to diet, from art to economics. Even the order of human relations was designed according to Tai Chi ideals. Tai Chi means "the ultimate". It means improving, and progressing towards the unlimited; it means the immense existence and the great eternal. All of the various directions in which Tai Chi influence was felt were guided by the theory of opposites: the Yin and the Yang, the negative and the positive. This is sometimes called the "original principle". It was also believed that all of the various influences of Tai Chi point in one direction: toward the ultimate. According to Tai Chi theory the abilities of the human body are capable of being developed beyond their commonly conceived potential. Civilization can be improved to the highest levels of achievement. Creativity has no boundries whatsoever. and the human mind should have no restrictions or barriers placed upon its capabilities. One reaches the ultimate level, or develops in that direction, by means of the ladder of balanced powers and their natural motions--Yin, the negative power (yielding), and Yang, the positive power (action). From the viewpoint of this theory, it is the interplay of constructive and destructive forces that causes the essence of life to materlialize, the material world to manifest. And the spiraling movements of these forces seems endless. That the two equal powers, Yin and Yang, oppose and yet complement each other has confused many throught history. Explenations of the meaning of life have ranged from the theory that humans were born with sin already part of their nature, and throught the hypothesis that it is not education but the fear of punishment that creates a good person, down to the view that if there were no civilization at all there would be no evil in the world. The very fact that there is argument reveals the truth of the concept that two balanced powers exist. Our universe is programmed in such a way that the two powers exchange their essence, and existence comes from this. This natural law, obvious as it is, is ignored by most humans. We can easily rationalize our ignorance with the excuse that we ourselves are programmed to possess only one of the two powers--either male or female, for example. This human tendency to ignore all other aspects and focus on only the side of an issue brought Western civilization into religious worship. Western religions did, as a matter of fact, stabilize civilization and the social order for thousands of years, but they also gave rise to a series of tragic and bloody wars between different religious factions. Formal religions were often guilty of extreme and dogmatic attitudes. They sought to dominate by force rather than to promote harmony. They wielded influence so strong that humans could not easily shake it off, thus causing a wave of thought pollution whose effects still persist today. In the sixteenth century, there were many free thinkers, such as Galileo, who tried to enlighten people, but religion held the reins. Talking and thinking were not enough; lifestyle changes were needed. So the cultural darkness of the Middle Ages was only finally broken by the Industrial Revolution, which in turn brought about dogmatism. This dogmatism is now being eclipsed by the free-minded, educated generations of today. The women's equal rights movement is an indication of the fact that women's power--the negative, the Yin--has been ignored, abused, deprived, opressed, and misunderstood for centuries. The contributions of the negative power are as important as those of the positive power, just as the function of electricity consists of two opposite powers. The Chinese have long realized that the two Tai Chi elemental powers must interact, and the harmonious result could bring progress and unlimited development. Yet they have had no better luck at utilizing their knowledge than Westerners. While people in the West are freeing themselves from the shadows of religious idealism and creating the opportunity to experience the realities of the Tai Chi principle, the Chinese have not yet been able to release themselves from the mental pollution of their own Tai Chi-influenced culture. About two thousand years ago in China, following the Spring and Autumn Ages, the Tai Chi principle began to be misused, or ignored. There then followed several hundred years of Dark Ages, during which time the development of human relations and political power took place in a very inferior fashion. Tai Chi encourages the fulfillment of the individual person, yet also emphasizes that this goal should be achieved through moderate, natural ways of living. Examination of Chinese history shows that at a certain point this idea began to be applied only in terms of political power struggles: to be the ultimate person was to be most powerful ruler. The idea was simple, natural human nature was ignored. The Ching Dynasties cast the mold of authoritarian control and slavery that was to become the tradition throught ensuing Chinese history. To the rulers--the Yang, aggressive powers--went the benefits, the ultimate power; while those who were yielding, cooperative, obedient, and who encouraged harmony--those possessing the Yin power--were forced to become the subjects. Women were educated to be weak and helpless, the designated slaves, and men were trained to be followers of the ultimate power who was, of course, the King. To become the ultimate power oneself, one merely had to resort to the use of violence--extreme Yang power. Competitiveness and aggressiveness were encouraged but moderated, all for the benefits of the rulers. Ironically, it was this social tradition that carried on the Tai Chi principle for hundreds of years. As a consequence, even though Tai Chi was discovered and initiated in China so early, it followed the same sad destiny as did Western philosophy. Whereas religion was to become the core of the Western civilization, it was either ignored or abused in China. Although the Bhuddist religion was imported from India and then absorbed by the Chinese culture, its spiritual philosophy was de-emphasized, while its ceremonies and rites became fashionable. In Chinese Bhuddism the ideals of self-control was emphasized. The emperor used this ideal to suppress the common people, so that religion became known as "the ruler's favorite tool". Tai Chi philosophy, however offered beliefs that fulfilled human needs, even though the ideals were also abused by generations of the powerful and greedy. For the Chinese, who have received all of the influence of Tai Chi culture but also, sadly all of the pollution of a social system abused by power, there is mutch to be learned from Western culture. Westerners have already been released from the bondage of religious influence yet are still trying to put their ideals into actuality. Really, all people search for the ultimate today; we seek a powerful way, a natural way, a way to motivate our civilization toward the ultimate. Concidentally, our ideals perfectly match those of the Tai Chi way. Hundreds of years ago, those who searched for a way to elevate the human body and spirit to their ultimate level developed an ingenious system known as Tai Chi excersise. This system, which was inspired by the Tai Chi outlook and which was based on principles not clearly known or understood by its founders, has since proved to be the most advanced system of body excersise and mind conditioning ever created. While the Chinese ruling class was interested only in Tai Chi productive benefits, those who cared nothing about authority were adapting the philosophy to their personal lifestyles. They were applying the idea of a natural harmony to the development of the body and mind. Since this was of relatively little interest to the rulers, there is no real historical evidence of just when Tai Chi as a mind and body system began. THE SYSTEMATIZATION OF TAI CHI For thousands of years, the system of political rule in China was based on brutality and corruption. Those who were dedicated to the truth called themselves Taoists or "mounted men" and they lived a life similar to that of a monk. They carried on the spirit of Tai Chi's philosophy and in no way interfered with the ruling authorities. Since Tai Chi formed its own independent system and had nothing to do with the political structured, it was able to enjoy growth and freedom of development, even if small, isolated communities of dedicated men. While these groups had no ties with the governing authorities, their studies were nonethless respected by the rulers, first as a body of accumulated knowledge and later as a form of religion. Gradually Tai Chi came to be considered a highly advanced form of folk art, to be studied exclusively by intellectuals and to be passed on from generation to generation. Approximetly 1700 years ago, a famous Chinese medical doctor, Hua-Tuo, emphasized physical and mental excersise as a means of improving health. He believed that human beings should excersise and imitate the movements of animals, such as birds, tigers, snakes, and bearsm to recover original life abilities that had been lost. He therefore organized the folk fighting arts into a fighting art called the Five Animal Games. This was the first systematized martial art in China. Since then, the Five Animal Games have been popular with the Chinese, who practised them for health and excersise. Around 475 C.E., Ta-Mo (Bodhidharma) came to China from India to spread his religious teachings, and he resided in the Shaolin Temple in the Tang Fung area of North China. Besides religious worship and meditation, he included physical discipline. Dedication toward Bhuddhism, combined with an abundance of time for practise, allowed the Five Animal Games to develope in this context to a very high level of achievement as a martial art. When the followers of Ta-Mo spread their religious beliefs throught China they also carried with them their fighting art achievement. The system developed by the monks from the Shaolin Temple came to be known as the Shaolin martial art system. It emphasized physical toughening and strengthening, as well as spiritual development. This was the dawn of the systematic development of the external martial arts in China. The mental discipline aspect of Shaolin system was based mainly on Buddhist meditation. To those Chinese steeped in sophisticated Taoism and Yin/Yang philosophy, it was, and is still, considered to be simply a physical fighting system. In 1200 C.E., the Taoist monk Chang San-feng founded a temple in Wu-tang Mountain for the practise of Taoism, for the ultimate development of human life. Master Chang emphasized Yin/Yang harmony as a means to advance the development of mental and physical ability, natural meditation, as well as natural body movements propelled by internal energy which would be developed at a certain level of achievement. Since the Shaolin system had already been spreading throuout China for hundreds of years, the idea of adapting Taoist theory to everyday life instead of making it into a form of religious worship was readily accepted by Chinese society. Tai Chi thought and its Yin/Yang philosophy soon developed as a temple-style organization based on the model of the Shaolin Temple. A modified form of monastic training was adopted in order to promote the sophisticated system in missionary fassion. From its inception, the temple system at Wu-tang Mountain emphazied internal power and the development of wisdom. Thus, the Chinese have commonly referred to the Tai Chi system as the internal system, to distinguish it from the Shaolin fighting art system. Through the years, there have also been systems that combine of both the Tai Chi and Shaolin arts into a moderately developed martial arts. These are known today as Hsing-I, the form and mind system, and Pakua, the Eight Diagram martial art system. Since a great deal of effort and concentration, as well as firm dedication, were required in order to reach even a fair level of achievement in Tai Chi, a monastic system soon developed, and enrollment became exclusive privilege. Those who reached high degrees of achievement became the leaders of the system, and, followed by their enthusiasts, they evolved a unique training relationshop between master and disciple. This tradition played an important role in passing on Tai Chi knowledge and wisdom to society, and the immense power of its influence was able to pour deeply into all social classes. Supported by the common people, and at times even by the emperors (as when Master Chang San-feng was summoned to advise the rulers on Taoist philosophy), the temple-style Tai Chi system shaped the strong image that Tai Chi was the ultimate art of life. Masters of Tai Chi were regarded as the symbol of wisdom. They received great respect, especially since they practised justice, charity, education, and the medicinal arts as part of their lifestyle. Those who practised Tai Chi at times played a role in the enforcement of China's codes of human morality. For hundreds of years, the Chinese depended on only these codes as the law of the land. They were obeyed by everyone, even the emperors, and they were the foundation of the peace and social order of the Chinese civilization. Rulers of the basic human conduct--kindness, respect for one's elders, fidelity to parents, and love of one's kin--were enforced as strictly as written laws. Whereas the laws of today's industrial society say nothing, for example about the immortality deserting an elderly and needy parent, in the Chinese society of several hundred years ago such an act would have been considered a serious offense and would have been punished. Followers of Tai Chi believed that people should discipline themselves to be spiritual, kind, healthy, and intelligent; to be responsible for assisting others to reach the same levels of achievement; to enjoy the truth; to fight fearlessly against im-morality and injustice; and to protect the needy and the weak. It was these goals in mind that the martial art aspect of Tai Chi came to be developed and emphasized. Tai Chi theories were easily applied to the martial arts. Mind and body harmony, in tune with the natural order of things, was the core of Tai Chi. This offered a direction of development completly different from other forms of fighting techniques. It also yielded awesome results in terms of human abilities coming from the power of the mind. Thus Tai Chi Chuan became the most powerful martial art ever known. Throught the Chinese history, periods of unrest always led to local power formations and the use of force. In some cases even Tai Chi practitioners became involved in the enforcement of peace in their areas, with the result that instruction in the martial art aspect of Tai Chi was urgently needed. The Philosophical and meditation aspects of the art were gradually ignored by most people, with instruction in Tai Chi becoming almost completly limited to martial art aspect. The true, dedicated masters of Tai Chi remained in the mountains, and, along with their followers, they led a monastic life in order to carry on the pure art. They meditated and practised daily in order to attune the spirit, condition the mind, discipline the body, and eleveate the essence. In this way the original system was preserved more or less intact, with both mind and body discipline still being included in the training. During the times when peace was re-establishing and the need for self-defense training faded away, those who taught the art professionally carried on their dedicated careers as a type of family business. They taught only those who were most seriously interested, especially any of their own children who wanted to study the art as their profession. Herbal medicine and acupuncture were also offered to the local community on a charitable basis. Financial support depended on contributors by the local people whom they served, and by their students. Family surnames came to be associated with the different styles of Tai Chi that were being passed on, mouth to ear, from generation to generation--for example, the Chen style, the Yang style, and the Wu style. Many of these are still known today. Each style was distinctive, but all followed the classic Tai Chi principles. Today, temple-style Tai Chi is still considered the most authentic system, but since the rapid changes of industrial society allow little space for such a sophisticated system to grow, it has declined and is disappearing. Family-style Tai Chi is also diminishing. About 350 years ago, in 1644 C.E., the Manchurians invaded the Chinese empire and established the Ching Dynasty. Although the dynasty was founded by force and for the benefit of the rulers, the Manchurians were soon absorbed into the Chinese culture. They adopted a Chinese lifestyle, reconstructed a peaceful order of society, and started a period of corrupt rule that was to last for centuries. In the early stages of the dynasty, episodes of hostility and conflict between the Chinese and their Manchurian rulers were serious and often brutal. Even though the Manchurians tried very hard to learn the culture and adapt themselves to the Chinese ways, native Chinese still regarded them as barbarians. The people's feelings of responsibility toward their nation diminished; passisive resistance and refusal to coorporate with the "outsiders" resulted in the stagnation of the countrie's economic problems. As soon as the Ching empire builders heard about the sophisticated art of Tai Chi, they drafted the most famous master of the times, Yang Lu-chang (1799-1872), founder of the Yang style or Yang family system, into the royal service. Unwillingly to teach the Manchus, Master Yang deliberately modified the Tai Chi meditation forms, converting them into a kind of slow moving, outer excersise and completly ignoring the inner philosophy and mental discipline which is the key to Tai Chi. Master Yang knew that if the royal family learned of his unwillingness to teach them, and of his modifications, the emperor would take retribution for this offense and appease his anger by murdering not only him, but his entire family. Since Master Yang felt he could trust no one except his own sons, it was to them and to no one sle that he taught the genuine art of Tai Chi. In this way he avoided implicating anyone else in his personal decision to deceive the royalty. From that time on, the family style of Tai Chi became more restricted, with masters teaching the art only to their own kin. It was said that some masters would not even dare to teach the art to their daughters; when the girl married, a new relative could be linked with the Imperial family, or could be someone whom the master felt should not be allowed into the art. While the family style of Tai Chi decreased, the excersise style was encouraged and practised by members of the Imperial Family. It soon became the fad of the leaisure class throught China, and it remained so until the end of the Ching Dynasty. When the Revolution of 1900-1910 succeded in overthrowing the corrupt rulers, the noble families, deprived of their power, scattered throughout the country. Tai Chi, of course, traveled with them. Practitioners claimed the authenticity of their art, stating that it had been taught to them by masters of the Yang family, or of other Tai Chi families, and the public naturally accepted their claims. In this way, the modified form of Tai Chi became today's Tai Chi Chuan, or the so-called Tai Chi excersise. This is the Tai Chi practised publicly in China today; it is the Tai Chi Dance, also called Chinese ballet by some Westerners. In these modern times, a person may receive instruction in and practise the art of Tai Chi for many years, and, regardless of which style is being taught, still stand a very good chance of learning only "public Tai Chi". In other words, most of the Tai Chi practised today is not the original Tai Chi, and it is devoid of meaning. However, Master Yang-Lu-chan's forced instruction did serve a useful service. ALthough public Tai Chi is merely a shadow of the original, classical, temple-style Tai Chi, it offers the greatest opportunity for the Chinese people and for others of the world to be introduced into the art. As a matter of fact, if the Ching Dynasty rulers had not become interested in Tai Chi, it might have dissapeared altogether under the rising tide of industrialization. It is when a person becomes serious in the study of Tai Chi that the search for the authentic art, the temple style, begins. One can only then appreciate the courage and dedication of the masters who have preserved the line of temple Tai Chi down through the centuries. This is our heritage." -Tai Chi Classics by Waysun Liao [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-03-21 00:54 ]

Essential Knowledge for the Practice of Marital arts by Dai Long Bang, 1750 "Solo and Partner Practice - For those practicing martial arts, eighty percent of the time is spent in solo practice, twenty percent of the time is spent with others. Therefore, it is said, "The time strengthening the body is long, the time defeating opponents is short." Daily Practice - One must practice every day, barring illness, without break. Humility - One must not show off or bully others. Quality vs Quantity - One who practices too great a variety will become panicked and distraught , if one does not train the body with a realistic foundation, in combat there will be no mature technique to fall back on, one will have neither a well trained body nor a solid technique. Perseverance - There are those who have no perseverance, who study a little and think they know it all, they are quite satisfied with themselves and rarely practice, they think they are a great success, until they have to use the art and find themselves useless. Before practice - The stomach should be neither too full or too empty, the mind should not be preoccupied with other affairs, do not practice when angry. When hungry one has no energy, too full and the stomach will be injured. Extraneous thoughts harm the brain. Anger harms the spirit. During practice - Do not fool around. Do not spit. Do not be disrespectful. If one is not serious in practice the spirit is dispersed, spitting inflames the throat, disrespect weakens the practice. After practice - Do not eat or drink, do not relieve yourself, do not lay down. Food and drink will not digest well, elimination causes qi to scatter, laying down causes the qi to rise causing discomfort. The Three Harms - Those who practice martial arts must avoid the three harms. 1 - Inappropriate use of strength 2 - Forcing of breath 3 - Sticking out the chest and pulling up the belly If one uses strength inappropriately, the qi will not flow smoothly, the meridians will be obstructed and the body will become bogged down. If one forces the breath, one will become stiff and easy to break, with the chest full of air the lungs will be squeezed and will suffer harm. If one sticks out the chest and sucks in the belly, the qi will move the wrong direction and will rise, it will not return to the dan tian. Seeking Instruction - In order to study martial arts, one must be diligent in two areas. First, one must be willing to travel great distances in order to study with those of higher ability and sincerely request instruction. One must also be diligent in speech, humbling the self and asking for guidance. Force and Self-satisfaction - In practicing the martial arts there are two things which must be avoided, the first is reliance upon force, the second is self-satisfaction. Start Practice Slowly - After a period of practicing slowly, it is good to use more force and speed in order to increase the internal power for practical purposes. Sequence of practice - At the beginning of practice stand in San Ti, afterwards practice forms. Stages of Training - After beginning formal practice, one must follow the rules of training, if so, in three years the basic training will be complete. In the intermediate stages of training, practice single forms repeatedly, use the form to express the intent. After a long period of practice one will be able to change spontaneously with the circumstances. After six years one will complete this level of training. In advanced stages of training, both the internal and external gong fu will be completed, your body will become as hard as steel, your gong fu will be of a high level. When practicing, imagine as if you are facing a top fighter. However, in real combat, the mind is calm, and the face is not angry. "Be like there´s no one in front of you". The body remains relaxed at all times. Whole body power cannot be used with tense muscles and a worried mind. The body strikes in the manner of a bamboo pole: It´s flexible before reaching the opponent, and at the time of contact, the whole body tenses for a second, and the strikes come out with shocking force. The important point is to keep the eyes alive, the body must be ready to follow the intention and keep the distance. If the opponent doesn´t move, the Xingyi practicioner doesn´t move. If the opponent makes one little movement, or hesitates, thus closing the distance, the Xingyi fighter advances with quick steps, breaking the enemy´s defense, and strikes him, with multiple attacks or simultaneous attack and defense, gaining space and not letting him step away from the attack, until the enemy is down. The mindset is finishing the encounter as soon as possible. If the Xingyi fighter attacks first, he/she won´t let the enemy even know where the attack's coming from. One hand shows up, creating a reaction in the opponent. Based on that reaction, the Xingyi technique changes, attacking in many different ways, with shocking strikes that hurt, no matter where they land. (Because of its shocking nature, even a strike on the shoulder will transfer energy to the neck of the opponent, shaking his head with extreme force). Then, a fast takedown will finish the fight. Xingyi trains the fighter to attack with every part of the body, specially with the "Seven Stars" (Head, Shoulder, elbow, hand, hips, knees and feet). Together with the whole body, they form the "Fourteen Fists". The fist come out like a shooting arrow, with force and vicious speed. The head, shoulders, hips and knees are very dangerous in close combat. Any of this parts of the body, being trained with the practice of Xingyi, can deliver a dangerous strike. In standing grappling situations, the Xingyi fighter doesn´t spend too much time. He uses attacks to break the hold by striking the opponent, followed with techniques intended to finish the fight before the enemy tries to grapple again. Xingyi is a devastating fighting art, training the individual to strike even as he retreats, or turns. Generally the fighting stance is a 45° position, with one foot ahead of the other. This protects the 'gates' of the body, because they are more hard to see, this way. Also, a smaller target is presented in this position. In addition to that, in this way is easier to move into the opponent´s range. With all this in mind, one can understand how an art like Xingyi has stood the test of time. From the Chinese soldier on the battlefield to the modern day practitioner, this no-nonsense aggresive fighting art excels at what martial arts were created for, not health or character development ... but striped down highly effective fighting." [ This Message was edited by: ChangWuJi on 2002-03-15 01:03 ]