Sunday, December 04, 2005

Fist of Legend (1994)


Reviewed by - Mark Pollard

Premise: Remake of Bruce Lee's Fist of Fury has Jet Li as Chen Zhen, a martial artist and patriot who returns to Shanghai after learning that his master has been killed. While struggling against discrimination, Chen discovers the truth behind his master's death and helps fight against Japanese out to destroy the school.

Review: Without a doubt, Fist of Legend is Jet Li's finest film and arguably one of the greatest martial arts films of all time. Ironic and all the more impressive considering that the style of combat and demeanor he adopts for this film are not his specialty.

In the early 1930's, Shanghai is under occupation by various foreign powers including Japan who is using this foothold to prepare for an invasion of the mainland. One of the opposition leaders to Japan's influence in China is Fok Yuen Gaap, a kung fu master and founder of the Jin Wu school. A local Japanese General by the name of Fujita (Billy Chow) has had the teacher poisoned before a match with the leader of a competing Japanese school which results in his death.

As the film begins, Fok Yuen Gaap's leading student hears of his master's death and rushes back to Shanghai from Japan where he has been studying. Chen Zhen (Jet Li) arrives to find the school's reputation in tatters. Unable to believe that his master could have lost a match, Chen challenges the Japanese master who fought Yuen Gaap and beats him easily. This confirms his suspicion and after performing a crude autopsy discovers that Yuen Gaap had been poisoned. With the destruction of China's martial arts reputation and the impending invasion in mind, General Fujita kills the Japanese schoolmaster in order to frame Chen for murder but his trial is thrown out after Mitsuko (Nakayama Shinobu), his Japanese girlfriend shows up to claim he was with her at the time of death. Freed of these charges Chen now has to face discrimination against Mitsuko by his own brothers at the school which leads to a confrontation with Yuen Gaap's successor, Ting On. Chen beats Ting On in a fight and goes to live in the country with Mitsuko. Their solitude is broken after General Fugita sends Matsuko's uncle (Yasuaki Kurata) to kill Chen. Chen is beaten by Fumio but the samurai has great respect for Chen and spares his life.

Meanwhile, the Jin Wu school has been formally challenged by General Fujita. Ting On manages a painful recovery from the disgrace of losing to Chen and visits him knowing this may be his last chance to see his old friend. Matsuko returns to Japan and Chen accompanies his friend to the challenge. Ting On is no match for the brutal Japanese officer's karate skills and Chen steps in to fight which leads to the general's death. To appease tensions between Japan and China, Chen agrees to accept responsibility for the General's death, but his friends may have other plans.

To begin with, this story which ties together the pre-World War II tensions between China and Japan as well as the changing face of martial arts in the modern world has become the foundation for so many kung fu movies. Its difficult to convey just how important was Lo Wei's creation of Chen Zhen (AKA Chen Jun) as portrayed by Bruce Lee to the Hong Kong film industry. But few if any films ever came close enough to the original or even dared to try for fear of failing to live up to Lee's performance. Donnie Yen may have opened up the possibly for another direct feature film adaptation after his successful Fist of Fury television series premiered on Hong Kong television. Shortly after the filming of that series came Fist of Legend that brought together the creative mastery of Jet Li in Bruce Lee's role, several Yuen brothers including Yuen Wo Ping doing choreography, and Gordon Chan whose eclectic skills as a writer and director helped bring about such memorable films as Fight Back to School (1991) and King of Beggars (1992).

Fist of Legend is a powerhouse film that gets just about everything right when it comes to creating a modern martial arts film. The filmmakers carefully steered away from the one-sided depictions of racial intolerance by Japanese with a refreshing relationship between Jet Li and a Japanese woman played by the lovely Nakayama Shinobu. In a memorable scene where Chen pauses during a tense fight with his old friend at the Jin Wu school, he looks at purposefully at Matsuko just before he decides to go on the offensive. This seems to underline the fact that Chen is fighting for more than just Chinese independence, but also for equality and tolerance in general, something Bruce Lee's Chen would never had been so sensitive to.

The Yuen brothers obviously decided early on not to replicate Lee's moves and it was a good idea. Jet Li is a student of northern wushu which is soft, rather than southern boxing which is where Bruce came from with his former Wing Chun training. As Li was portraying a student of "hard" kung fu, his approach is much more intense and brutal in its execution than ever seen before. He would go on to replicate this style in Kiss of the Dragon (2001) and to a lesser degree in The One (2001). Yuen Wo Ping smartly allowed various elements of Li's own moves to be incorporated, thus creating a visually stunning repertoire of moves which Li unleashes upon his foes from agile kicks to rapid punches. The choreography is some of the best ever conceived of by the Yuen brothers. Every move and every camera shot is dynamic and creative without being too fantastic. You rarely if ever see the same move or angle and lots of little touches such as slaps to the face add that bit of zest to each battle.

The costumes, sets, and acting performances are all top notch. Having Yasuaki Kurata portray a sort of mentor and foe to Jet Li was a masterstroke of casting. Kurata has been in dozens of Japanese vs. Chinese martial arts films and many of them quite good, although he was usually cast as the bad guy. This is perhaps his finest performance in terms of acting and likely his last great martial arts role. Chin Siu Ho who once gave Jet Li and Michelle Yeoh a run for their money in The Tai Chi Master (1993) deserves special mention for his stellar performance as Ting On, the new master of Jin Wu school. Again, the filmmakers expanded on the original story by including a rivalry between Ting On and Chen, one that nearly destroys him. In fact, he steals Jet Li's dramatic thunder by being the most distraught protagonist. On the flip side, Jet repeats his stoic image he perfected in Once Upon a Time in China (1991). Unfortunately, he isn't able to capture any of the raw intensity that Bruce Lee was so capable of. This may be another reason why other characters such as Ting On are given more time in the spotlight.

Another complaint I have is how Jet Li's character seems to simply saunter into the final showdown with General Fujita by tagging along with Ting On. Despite Fujita's attempts to have Chen dealt with earlier on, there isn't any real emotion invested in Jet Li's battle with Fujita. The impression I get is that this Chen Zhen spent all his frustration and anger after his first encounter with the Japanese karate school. But, that's a small gripe next to the incredible physical performance Li gives. For sheer kickass entertainment, you cannot beat Fist of Legend. By any standard, this is a classic of martial arts cinema and if you haven't seen it yet, I pity you.

Friday, December 02, 2005

Snake in the Monkey's Shadow (1979)



AKA: Snakefist vs. The Dragon

Premise: A young fishmonger who dreams of learning kung fu finally gets his chance after finding work at a kung fu school. But his teacher is killed by a pair of snake style experts and he must get revenge with the help of a friend who teaches him monkey style.

Review: Although the film obviously attempts to mine more than just the success of Jackie Chan's Snake in the Eagle's Shadow (1978), this film bears its own distinction for displaying some terrific snake-style kung fu versus a wicked drunken monkey technique.

John Cheung is Lung, a fishmonger who spends more time than he should dreaming of learning kung fu. After arriving late to the village's leading family with a shipment of old fish, Lung is beaten and sent packing by the Yan's eldest brothers. He eventually gets his revenge after talking Ho (Hau Chiu Sing), a local kung fu master into allowing him to join his school. Lung is relegated to cleaning the place but proves his devotion by practicing everything he has seen performed by the other students at night. Ho finally takes Lung on as a student and teaches him drunken boxing.

While showing off his skill to Ting Sang (Pomson Shi), a monkey style expert, Lung humiliates the two Yan sons which only causes their father to seek a fight with Teacher Ho. This time Ho beats the father and his two sons which only adds more fuel to the flames. Yan hires two fighters who kill Ho and even kill Ting Sang who was an old adversary. Lung is beaten, but survives to train further by combining the drunken boxing and monkey style to defeat the duo's formidable snake style.

Snake in the Monkey's Shadow is simply old fashioned kung fu goodness. The story is indistinguishable from countless other Hong Kong films of the '70's, but the actual combat stands out. John Cheung plays an affable protagonist who ends up performing some rather entertaining training sessions and combat. The highlights include his sparring with a revolving set of poles while hopping around on tables and his final battle with the two villains. At one point, he bites the hand of Charlie Chan and throws him over his head with his teeth still clenched. He flips over and deals Chan a death blow, all while biting the guy's hand. Its a brilliant, if seemingly ignoble piece of choreography.

While some of the early action is somewhat dull, the creativity of the action scenes increases as the film reaches its conclusion. Pomson Shi, who is relatively unknown does a great job performing monkey kung fu. The whole significance of these combat styles which is set up at the beginning of the film is that monkey style beats snake. Since Charlie Chan, who plays the lead villain loses with his snake attacks, he comes back with screen veteran, Wilson Tong to double-team his old foe. Tong really shows off his experience as fight choreographer in these scenes towards the end.

There is nothing new to be seen, but with fast and furious old school action and a lot of great talent going into this production, its a safe bet that most classic kung fu fans will enjoy this title.

Ong-Bak - A Short Review



A short review of the 2003 Martial Arts Movie Ong-Bak. Booting lives in a small and peaceful village. One day a sacred Buddha statuette called Ong Bak is stolen from the village by a immoral businessman who sells it for exorbitant profits. It soon becomes the task of a young man, Boonting (Phanom Yeeram), to track the thief down to Bangkok voluntarily and reclaim the religious treasure. Along the way, Boonting uses his astonishing athleticism and traditional Muay Thai skills to combat his adversaries.

When the head of Ong-Bak, the sacred Buddha of a poor village is stolen, the population is plunged into misery. The Buddha was the focal point of an anniversary vigil believed to bring rain to the drought-stricken area. Young Ting is selected by the villagers to travel to Bangkok and rescue the relic in time for their ceremony. Ting has an affinity with the statue as he was left on the temple steps as a baby and raised by monks, who taught him muay thai, but forbade him to use it in combat. But now he is forced to delve into a seedy underworld and try to avoid temptation...

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Grandmaster Ki Nam Yum


Hwa Rang Do, or "The Way of the Flowering Manhood" is the ancient Korean martial art of fighting, healing, and self-improvement. Hwa Rang warriors are legendary in Korean history and were the noble protectors of their time. Today, Hwa Rang Do is prominent all over the world, teaching fighting and healing techniques and a family way of life.

A tradition that began almost 2000 years ago, the ancient Korean Knights called the Hwa Rang were gentlemen of high intelligence and nobility who were known as the fiercest fighting sect in all of Asia. With their fighting skills and adherence to a strict code of ethics, history documents literally thousands of incidents of their extraordinary and heroic deeds.

Hwa Rang Do is one of the most comprehensive and diversified martial arts in existence, combining both hard and soft techniques such as kicks, punches, throws, joint locks, grappling, weapons, etc.. Yet Hwa Rang Do is more than just an effective method of personal combat and self-protection. We also believe in developing our mental acuity to the fullest, thereby achieving HARMONY OF MIND, BODY, and SPIRIT.

Choi Kwang Do


Choi Kwang Do ( C.K.D.) is a modern self defence system devised by Grandmaster Choi specifically orientated to be effective in a real confrontation. There is no "full contact" or "semi-contact" punches or kicks in our classes - the power of Choi Kwang Do is far too great to allow such sparring in class. For the same reason we do not have any competitions since "point-sparring" is also unrealistic with regard to street self defence. Even in your first lesson you will learn blocking and countering techniques, which will help you if you confront danger in a real-life-situation. Korean traditions such as showing respect, bowing to each other, loyalty, courtesy and self-discipline are being used in class as well.

None of our techniques use the "hyper-extension" or "lock-out" movements as in the traditional martial arts styles; Grandmaster Choi found these traditional movements to be not effective enough on the street where it counts. Furthermore on C.K.D. Video number one (available from our organization) you can see and hear 3 medical doctors explain why Choi Kwang Do is superior to other martial arts styles from a health point of view as well since lock-out movements (as seen in Kung Fu and traditional Karate ) often causes swelling, inflammation and other chronic illnesses to the joints .

Despite the tremendous power of Choi Kwang Do it is safe and suitable for ALL: male, female , young or older age. Truly a " family sport ".

About Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi

Grandmaster Choi advanced to be the youngest Tae Kwon Do master-instructor (martial art of foot and hand techniques) to go out into the world to spread the teachings of Tae Kwon Do. Having seen others and himself suffer physically from the unnatural "hyper-extension" movements of Tae Kwon Do Grandmaster Kwang Jo Choi decided to leave his previous organization and form Choi Kwang Do converting students and masters from all over the world to his new modern system of self-defence.

Grandmaster Choi`s nickname was "The Flash" when in his homeland because of his technical speed …. Now even faster and more powerful see for yourself what Dojunim (translated: The Founder ) has created in CHOI KWANG DO!

Master Lee Shing


Master Lee Shing was born in China in the province of Canton. Being a Kung fu fanatic since childhood, he studied martial arts from various masters including Wing Chun master Chun Wah Soon.

Later, Master Lee Shing studied with the late Yip Man in Hong Kong after having to leave China during the Chinese Revolution. He then came to Europe and brought the art of Wing Chun with him. Already a well known master in the East, he was pursued by the rather small Chinese community at that time to teach his fellow countrymen.

As the first Wing Chun master to travel the West, 40 years ago, he was greeted with great respect and honour. Before the death of Yip Man he was appointed by him as the permanent President of the Yip Man Wing Chun Association of Europe in 1970.

Sifu Austin Goh


Austin Goh grew up in Malaysia where he gained a strong foundation in the martial arts. He left his home town in Malaysia for England in the early seventies to continue his academic studies. It was there that he set up his first Wing-Chun school in London and has since expanded into Europe. He now has well over a thousand students in his schools.

Austin has also travelled extensively around the world giving demonstrations and lectures in Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.

His success as a teacher in the martial arts is due to his friendly and open-minded teaching methods which have gained him the respect and loyalty of his students. He teaches that anyone who wants to succeed in any martial art must be prepared to work hard and be determined to achieve this goal, and he leads in this respect by his own example.

Austin was the first wing-chun teacher in Europe to teach not only Bil-Chee (wing-chun's third form) but also the pole form, wooden dummy form, and the 180 movements of the Butterfly Knives.

Many wing-chun teachers are not prepared to teach these things for fear that the secrets and techniques of all these forms be revealed and stolen.

Austin feels that there should be no secret formulas or techniques in any style of martial art. He believes that as times change, so must the arts - what worked 300 years ago might not be practical now, and so the training systems and principles must change to suit our modern life. For anything to survive, it should be taught openly and properly.

In 1983 Austin appeared on the British television programme "Just Amazing" where he gave a chi demonstration. In an awesome display of chi strength, he made a new world record by breaking fifteen four-inch concrete blocks on his chest with a sledge-hammer weilded by one of his students.

He also stunned the audience by breaking two concrete blocks against the side of his head with a sledge-hammer!

After this performance, the audience nicknamed him the "Iron Man of wing-chun".

Global Martial Arts

Wing Chun is a system of fighting said to be created by a female martial artist of the same name. It has been developed over time in the highly populated regions of southern China. Often fights would take place in over crowded boats, where high kicks and swinging punches would not have been favourable. Thus the style favours very few kicks, all below waist height and uses mainly short punching techniques such as the chain punch. It has a special concern about protecting its centre line and attacking the opponents.

Chain punching and sticky hands are two techniques that are often heavily emphasised. The concept of trapping is also an aspect, which is often associated with the style.

Praying Mantis apart from having a cool name also has quite an impressive look to it. Its low stance and claw like hand guard make it quite memorable. Again this system mainly uses the upper body in its attack (obviously the legs play an extremely important role in stability and movement).

Unlike Wing Chun it does not emphasize the centre line as the target, but uses more curved or swinging hooked punches. The shape of the hand when striking an opponent is also unusual in this system. A strike from the back of the hand or fingers joined together to form a beak shape is often seen.

Eagle Claw is another famous technique although it is rare to find an instructor. The system concentrates on grappling techniques, mainly what is termed as Chin na or catching hands. There are 72 preset techniques in Chin na, from which you are to understand how to create more yourself. It is believed to have been originally developed by one of China's many great generals and passed on to his troops to increase their effectiveness in combat.

Eighteen throw system is a little known art, but is amongst some of the oldest styles in China. This is a system of throwing and ground grappling techniques.

Hun Chaun is an extremely widely practiced technique although sometimes the practitioners themselves do not know it. The average Chinese villager who wishes to train in the martial arts often practices this technique. It is also know as Hun Gar or Lau Gar. The Hun or Lau referring to the particular family (Gar) variant.

Chow Lu Fat is another very famous system of Kung Fu renowned for its external fighting style. Again this styles emphasis is on the upper body.

Northern long fist is a flamboyant system that concentrates on punching techniques. The system uses long swinging punches from a distance to attack its opponents.

Southern long fist is an extremely rare system in the west. Although it sounds similar in name to the previous system mentioned, it is by no means the same. It also concentrates on hand techniques. At a basic level it resembles western boxing. It is however, not restricted in its techniques as boxing is due to the rules of the sport.

This style bridges long distances quickly in order to strike with the fist. The advantage being that the opponent does not expect to be hit form such distance. Deception and curved punches are trademarks of the style.

Southern fist

Pak Kua or Ba Gua Zhang as it is sometimes known is one of the main three internal systems of Kung fu. It is characterised by its distinctive footwork and use of curved movements.

Hsing-I is the second of the main three internal arts. It is by far one of the oldest Chinese styles, having first been mentioned around four thousand years ago (Yellow Emperor). It is said to resemble Karate in form but is soft and relaxed. It is practiced at a normal speed unlike the other two internal styles.

Tai Chi Chuan is the third main internal style. It is by far the most famous and widely used. It is characterised by its slow graceful movements, building internal strength. It is not renowned for its combat effectiveness although it can ultimately be used for this. It is also a favourite amongst the elderly community.

Iron Palm is both an internal and external technique. It concentrates on the development of strong powerful palm strikes. Students are often seen sending the hands, fingers first, into hot sand or even coals. To achieve this without damaging the hands one must apply the correct medicine.

Iron Bell is a little known technique and indeed little practiced. To my knowledge there are only two proper Masters known to exist. This style concentrates on creating a highly conditioned body using internal training methods. It is said that these masters only have 2-3 weak points where they are especially vulnerable. The points differ from person to person.

Iron Shirt/Vest is another system that concentrates on conditioning the body, mainly the upper body.

The reference to iron indicates the internal aspect of the three aforementioned styles. An important part of the training is the ability to develop chi.

Drunken Style is a technique that takes on some of the characteristics of a drunkard. These include being extremely relaxed and unpredictable. It is characterised by its use of movements that look off balance but are not.

Flipping kick is another little known technique. It is characterised by its shear speed and power, achieved by the nunchaku like action of the leg.

Pak Mei (White Eyebrow)

Japanese martial arts

Ju Jitsu is a grappling style that was developed on mainland Japan by the Samurai. It uses both throws and wrist/arm locking techniques. Kicks and punches are also taught but is an aspect, which it is not particularly famous for. It is however famous for its submission holds and is a favourite in the British military.


Judo
is an offshoot of Ju Jitsu. It concentrates on throwing techniques and was designed by Jigero Kano, to develop the martial artist spiritually as appose to developing a street fighter.

Aikido is another offshoot of Ju Jitsu, and in much the same way as Judo was designed to develop the spirit of the practitioner. It specialises in wrist locks and proclaims to use the force of the opponent against them (a lot of styles claim this).

Ninpo tai jitsu is better known as Nin jitsu. It was developed in the mountains of mainland Japan, where many of societies out casts ended up with native tribes. It contains a range of movements although it is not famous for any particular range.

Karate is probably the most famous of martial arts. It was developed from the Chinese temple boxing system by the Okinawan's. Originally known as Chinese hand, it was changed to mean empty hand by Ginchin Funokoshi who created Shotokan Karate, when Japan invaded China.

Under the banner of Karate there are many variants. These include Shotokan, Wado Ryu, Kyoshinkai etc. They are characterised by the linear attacks and emphasis on conditioning.

Kendo is a sword fighting art. As with a few of the more famous Japanese martial arts, this focuses on the spiritual development more than the self defense, hence the "do" at the end.

The sword is actually made of bamboo so as to prevent injury, and is know as a "Boken".

Ken jitsu is the ancestor of Kendo, the "jitsu" refering to the more lethal martial way. Here real swords are often used in training. Both these arts are known for their short simple movements.

Iedo is a lesser known sword fighting style. It mainly concentrates on trying to finish the fight in one movement. The art of quick draw swords.

Sumo is a type of wrestling. It has many rules to it as it is a sport. It is characterised by some throwing techniques and by powerful striking palms.

Japanese wrestling is a grappling style that includes punching and kicking.

Shoot fighting is mainly a grappling art, developed from various styles particularly ju jit su. It does contain striking aswell but concentrates on submission techniques. It is particularly famous for its sudden grabbing of the legs, hence the shoot aspect of the name.

Korean martial arts

Tae kwon do is a mix between japanese karate (which makes up the main hand techniques) and Korean kicking style Tae Kyon. The kicking technique is the main distinguishing features of Tae Kwon Do.

It is a relatively new style which has grown rapidly in popularity, mainly due to good marketing by the Korean government. It is now an Olympic sport.

Tang Soo do

Hapkido involves a lot of wrist lock technques and some basic grappling techniques, but is not as well known for them as other grappling styles. It too contains kicking techniques derived from Tae kyon.

Soo Bak do

Thai martial arts

Muay Thai is famous for its knee and elbow techniques. Practioners are often commended for their fitness and conditioning. The Muay Thai fighter will land with the shin as oppose to the instep of the foot, thus they condition this area a lot.

Shin kicks to the legs followed by knees and elbows is what you should expect. They are not so famous for their punching techniques, but do still use it on the occasion. The punching is simular to western boxing.

Burmese martial arts

Malaysian martial arts


Penchak Silat
is a generic name for various fighting arts that are quite simular in south east asia. It involves puching kicking grapplings techniques. The fighters tend to have a low stance and are quite agressive. Practioners often carry unconventional fighting aid like a hook ring on the finger, which adds a cutting edge to a punch.

Philippines martial arts


Escrima is a stick fighting art.

Konk kolan

Limo lama

Bangladeshi martial arts

Latti is a short stick fighting art. There are only a few people practicing the art now.

Indian martial arts

Kelari pattayu

Thang ta is a sword and spear art.

Gatka is a sword fighting style.

Russian martial arts

Sambo is a russian martial art developed by the Russian army. It is mainly a grappling style, favouring submission holds and featuring leg and ankle locks that are often not in other grappling styles.

European martial arts

Savate/boxe francais (French) was developed indepently in France during the Napoleonic period. Its hand techniques are like mainstrean western boxing. They also have quite distinctive kicks, often kicking with the heels.

Boxing (English) evolved over the last 3 hundred years. Due to the numerous safety rules applied to it (modern rules= queensbury rules) it now only involves punching techniques. Jab, cross, hook and uppercuts are the main techniques learned.

Most fighters only stick to working these moves. Some fighters will work on moving around the opponent coming in for quick shots and moving out quickly before being hit.

Fencing (European) is a sword fighting style. Practitions will often be seen fighting with a Foil or Sabre. It has short parries and long direct jabs.

Brazilian martial arts

Capoeira originally from Africa it was banned by the slave owners from being practiced so the practioners incorperated it into a dance. It is characerised by it flamboyant movements.

U.S.A martial arts

Jeet Kune Do is the style developed by the late Bruce Lee. It translates as the way of the intercepting fist, and is probably one of the U.S.As earliest original arts. There are many variants of JKD and offshoots, depending on who teaches you.

You have the OJKD (original JKD) also known as Jun Fan Gung Fu. This is 80% Wing Chun, the rest is made up of Boxing, Fencing and Savate techniques. The next major group is the JKDC (concepts), these guys do most of the same curriculum as the OJKD guys but also add other stuff from Kali to BJJ any style that they see fit but the aforementioned is a norm.

Other smaller groups but equally influential art Progressive Fighting System PFS, created by Paul Vunak (student of Dan Inosanto who was Lee's second top student), it goes further adapting the techniques himself. So the practitioner may be doing something that was descended from Wing Chun but may not be recognised as one.

American freestyle wrestling is a grappling art descended from greco roman wrestling. It is generally practiced as a sport, where the player has to keep the opponent pinned down for a given number of seconds.

Locks and submission holds are not a general feature of this, although in the advent of nhb tournaments wrestlers are learning these aswell. Some famous names include Dan Severn and Randy Coutor both UFC champions.

Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu

From the Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu Web Site

Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu is a rare system of self-defense which combines foot techniques, hand techniques and chin na (seizing and controlling). Although rare in the western world, the art is a famous fighting style in Southeast Asia. In fact, it is widely considered to be one of the ancestors of several traditional Okinawan Karate systems. It uses hands, feet, knees, elbows, shoulders and hips in its arsenal of striking techniques. The style is renowned, however, for its rapid hand techniques, its strikes executed in conjunction with grabs and its devastatingly effective pressure point attacks.

The founder of the style, Fang Chi-Niang, was a petite woman who lived in violent times. Most men were comparatively larger and more physically powerful than her. Moreover, body conditioning was, at the time, a much more important part of Kung Fu training than it is today. Enormous time and effort went into strengthening the arms, legs, torso, and even the skull. Fang Chi-Niang reasoned that certain vulnerable areas of the body could not be hardened or conditioned to resist injury. Powerful strikes to the temples, eyes, throat, solar plexus, floating ribs, kidneys, groin, knees, etc., could successfully debilitate even the most determined attacker. Consequently, attacking pressure point targets with specialized hand strikes became a trademark of White Crane.

White Crane combines defense and attack and uses both soft and hard power. It also emphasizes a firm yet evasive footwork. Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu stresses empty hand as well as weapons training, two-person sets, self-defense drills and free sparring. The style's fierce pressure point attacks combined with rapid footwork and no nonsense approach make it a particularly effective, complete, and beautiful martial art.

Fighting Strategy



The Fung Ying Chuan (Phoenix eye fist) is the basic White Crane fist technique. It is named for the slightly protruding index finger which resembles the eye of the legendary Phoenix. It is most useful for pressure point attacks, since it concentrates one's entire power in a very small area, namely the second joint of the index finger. This means that power is extremely focused and that it tends to penetrate deeply. Although it is necessary to practice specific hand and finger strengthening exercises to effectively use the Phoenix eye fist, it is nevertheless considered a relatively easy technique to master. A second commonly used hand formation is Biao so, or Spear Hand. It is formed by completely straightening the fingers and thumb and keeping them held tightly against each other. It is used exclusively against the body's weakest points, such as the eyes, throat or groin. Further hand formation used in Flying Crane include: edge of hand strikes, crane, eagle, tiger, and dragon claws. Most other hand movements either mimic a crane's wings or resemble classical Southern Kung Fu systems hand techniques.

A good White Crane fighter can, amongst other things, sidestep and strike an opponent. This tactic is very effective in self-defense scenarios against a completely committed and possibly enraged adversary. It was not designed for the often tentative, forewarned and illusory nature of controlled sparring involving mutually consenting competitors. This brings us to a most important point: Authentic Chinese martial arts were created and evolved to be devastating self-defense systems. As society changes and evolves, however, many martial art systems have changed their fundamental nature and modified their training regimen. We can safely distinguish between those arts that have remained faithful to their tradition of all-or-nothing self-defense and those that have become martial sports. Both have something very special to offer to the public. There is, however, a great difference in approach.

I believe that most traditional Chinese martial arts focus upon forms, two-person exercises, weapon sets, body conditioning, internal exercises and free fighting. It is, in fact, quite a perversion of reality to suggest that traditional martial arts overemphasize forms training. After all, it is modern Wushu and other performance arts that do so.7 Traditional systems emphasize applications (Yong Fa). To do so, they must study a wide spectrum of subjects related to combat. They need to have a holistic approach to martial arts. This determined and comprehensive study of combat is what we call Kung Fu.

Training Methodology



A unique feature of the White Crane system is the manner in which the many empty-hand and weapon forms are designed. The forms are comparatively short, and many of them are designed to be done as fighting sets with a partner. That is to say, the various blocks, counter-strikes, and joint locks in the second half of a given form make up the correct response to the various moves of the first half. Thus, one can familiarize oneself with the movements in solitary practice, and then test one's understanding in a controlled-contact environment with a partner. This system ensures an organized approach to mastery of not only the individual movements, but also the fighting theory and real-world application of the form.


The same two-person set fighting paradigm is used for many of the weapons forms,8 beginning with White Crane's famed Seven Star Staff (Chi Sing Guen). Along with the spear (Chiang), three-sectional staff (San jie guen), halberd or General Kwan's Broadsword (Kwan Dao), cane (Gwaijian), Horse Cutter Broadsword (Jam Ma Dao), and the tiger fork (Fu Cha), there are several double weapons in traditional White Crane. These include the double iron rods (Swan jien) which are similar to Japanese sai, the double broadswords (Bai Her Dao), and the southern short swords (Nan Dao). Single weapons include: Single Broadsword (Dao), Straight sword (Dsien) and Fan (San Tse). There are over 80 empty hand forms in the Flying Crane style. Some are very short, others rather long. There are also a great many weapons forms.



Besides forms and two-person sets, students also condition their bodies and practice striking various training equipment. Several sensitivity or listening drills are also emphasized. For example, students often pair up and extend their arms so as to make them touch. From this position, they practice attacks and counter-attacks. Regular practice of this listening hands drill permits students to feel their opponent's intentions and act accordingly. It also provides a safe and realistic forum from which to practice the application of their techniques. Free sparring is also introduced early on and is emphasized according to the individual's wants, desires and skill level. Finally, advanced breathing exercises are taught on a one-on-one basis due to their nature.



History of Shaolin White Crane Kung fu

Before proceeding further, it is important to explain to readers that there are actually two martial art systems emanating from China that bear the name of White Crane: one originates in Tibet and the other in the southern coastal province of Fukien. Both arts are famous and have glorious histories of their own. This fact is mentioned in order to avoid confusing the public.



The history of the Fukienese White Crane Kung Fu has been passed down from master to student (father to son) for five generations. Although various accounts do exist, they all tell a similar tale. The history of White Crane Kung Fu as passed down within the Lee family.

Fang Chi-Niang was born in Lei Chow Fu in the middle of the 18th century. Her father's name was Fang Hui Sz and her mother's name was Lee Pik Liung. Fang Hui Sz studied Kung Fu in the Shaolin temple at Nine Lotus Mountain, Ching Chiang district, Fukien (modern day Fujian) province. His wife and daughter lived at Lei Chow Fu. Since they were victimized by local landlords, it was decided to move away from the village. Eventually, they settled down in Ching Chu temple, on Ching Chea Mountain (Lei Chow Fu). One day, as Fang Chi-Niang was drying grain in front of the temple, she saw a huge crane come down from the roof and begin to eat. She decided to use a bamboo stick to chase away the intruder. Fang Chi-Niang was both curious and fearful of the crane. At first, she tried to strike its head but the bird was evasive. Then she attempted to hit the crane's wings but it stepped to the side and used its claw to block the attack. When Fang Chi-Niang tried to poke the bird's body with her staff, it moved back and used its beak to peck the bamboo. Fang Chi-Niang was surprised. She continued to use the techniques her father had taught her but her efforts were completely unsuccessful. Astonished by the crane's skill, Fang Chi-Niang sought to practice with it on a daily basis. Fortunately, the crane obliged. This permitted Fang Chi-Niang to analyze and absorb the bird's self-defense strategies. Eventually, she mastered the movements and spirit of the crane.

During this period, Emperor Chien Lung ordered the destruction of the Southern Shaolin temple after having been informed of revolutionary activities on its grounds. Fang Hui-Sz was one of the few fortunate ones to escape the attack. He sought out his wife and daughter and they initially settled at Pik Chui Liang. Subsequently, Fang Hui-Sz moved to Sah Liang temple near Foochow, where he spent his spare time refining his daughter's Shaolin Kung Fu. Fang Chi-Niang eventually mastered everything her father could teach her and chose to combine the crane's spirit and movements with her Shaolin Kung Fu. She taught Kung Fu at Sah Liang temple to Weng Wing-Seng, Lee Fah-Sieng, Chang The-Cheng, and Ling Te-Sun. Weng was from Lei Chow Fu, Lee was from Chow Ann district, Chang was from Wing Chun district, and Ling was from Foochow. Weng and Lee taught many students at Kao Pei Cliff and set up a school there. Chang (nicknamed Nine Dots monk) settled at the White Crane temple and taught martial arts. Ling's descendants moved to Taiwan. Lee passed his skills to his son Lee Mah-Saw. Lee Mah-Saw continued to set up schools and taught in Chow Ann district. Fang Chi-Niang's teachings gave birth to different interpretations and four principal styles were developed: Flying Crane (Fei He), Eating Crane (Shi He) Screaming Crane (Ming He) and Sleeping Crane (Jan He or Su He). Later on, variations and combinations with other systems occurred which led to the creation of even more types of Fukienese White Crane.



At this point, it may be useful to debate whether the Fukienese White Crane arts are truly Shaolin systems or whether they represent a separate school. Since they were created outside the temple, many older generation White Crane masters do not consider their art to be a Shaolin art. This belief is compounded by the fact that White Crane focuses heavily upon soft power in the advanced stages. On the other hand, the founder did study from her father who was an accomplished Southern Shaolin practitioner. Consequently, it is difficult to resolve the debate as it is largely a question of perspective. Perhaps it is best to acknowledge the root of the art while simultaneously recognizing the founder's unique contributions.

Grand-Master Lee Kiang-Ke: Bringing White Crane into the 20th Century
Historically, with the end of feudal social systems and the widespread use of firearms, advanced methods of combat are no longer an every day necessity. This fact of life, combined with the traditionally secretive nature of kung fu instruction, is contributing to the loss of an irreplaceable part of China's cultural heritage. Many of the hundreds of different styles of kung fu are in danger of being lost or diluted to the point of extinction.

For practitioners of Fukien-style White Crane Kung Fu, the life of Grandmaster Lee Kiang-Ke (1903-1992) represents both a link to the past and window toward the future. To properly understand the reverence a martial artist has for his or her Grandmaster, it is necessary to view the martial art in its proper historical and cultural context. One important difference between the martial arts and other forms of physical activity is that martial arts can be practiced and enjoyed for a lifetime, and progress can be made at virtually any age. As such, many older masters are considered living treasures, due to the decades of accumulated knowledge, experience, and teaching expertise that they possess. Today, fewer and fewer people are willing to devote their lives to the study and teaching of martial arts as was done in the past. Because of this unfortunate reality, priceless martial knowledge often disappears forever upon the death of an elderly Grandmaster. This is especially true in the many styles of Chinese martial arts, where kung fu Shifus were secretive about their personal fighting art, and unwilling to disseminate it indiscriminately.



Fukien ShaolinWhite Crane Kung Fu is continuing to thrive, thanks to the enlightened thinking of one of its foremost proponents. Third-generation Grand-Master Lee Kiang-Ke was the single most influential person responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the flying crane system of Fukien White Crane. His choice to open to the public what had previously been a closed-door system ensured the survival of a most complete and devastating Chinese martial art system.

Grandmaster Lee Kiang-Ke started to learn Kung Fu from his father at the age of seven.

After 10 years of arduous training, his father sent him away to live at a temple (Bai He An) where he furthered his martial knowledge under the instruction of a temple monk known as "Nine-dots Monk." This temple specialized in the instruction of Fang Chi-Niang's White Crane techniques. After four years of intensive study, the young master returned home to assist his father in teaching White Crane and in practicing herbal medicine. In time, he became the chief instructor and medical practitioner in his community. Later on, the Kuomintang (Chinese Nationalist government) invited him to join the 49th Army Division as a medic. He ended up also teaching the soldiers the long handled broadsword (Da dao).

When his time of service was completed, he returned home and continued teaching martial arts and practicing medicine. Thereafter, Lee Kiang-Ke moved to Singapore where he stayed for six years. In an effort to escape the Japanese invasion forces, he then moved to Kuching, East Malaysia. Unfortunately, the Japanese invaded Malaysia soon after. Following the war, fellow martial artists invited him to open a club. He did so and named it the "Martial Heroes Association" (Woo Ing Tong)3. It prospered for many years. During this period, Malaysian society was quite rough-and-tumble. Polite tests of skill were fairly common. Less friendly challenges and outright life and death self-defense situations also occurred. Master Lee was famous amongst his peers for never losing a challenge.4 In 1963, he moved to the city of Sibu (also in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak). Eventually, he directed several schools in local communities including Kuching, Sibu, Sarikei, and Bintulu.



In 1967, the first South East Asian Kung Fu Tournament was held in Singapore. Lee Kiang-Ke's Kung Fu brother, Lee Wen-Hung, came from China and competed. Lee Wen-Hung had studied with Lee Kiang-Ke under Lee Mah-Saw. Despite his somewhat advanced age, he won first place in combat. He then he settled in Singapore. In 1973, a White Crane student representing Sarawak (East Malaysia) went to compete in the third South East Asian Kung Fu Tournament where he won second place in combat.

Grandmaster Lee Kiang Ke retired in 1978 leaving his son, Shifu Lee Joo-Chian, the leadership of the head school in Sibu, East Malaysia. Master Lee Joo-Chian's own training reveals the hard work needed to acquire some real skill (Kung Fu). Like his father, he started training at the age of seven. Classes were generally two and a half hours long. As the climate is hot and humid, warming up time was very brief. Students practiced forms for a half hour without any break. Thereafter, they briefly rested and recommenced their training of forms and basic moves for another half hour. Two-person forms were then practiced for another half hour followed by conditioning drills or weapons training. Finally, the last half hour was reserved for free sparring practice. The young Lee Joo Chian followed this grueling schedule three times a day, six days per week! Morning class was at 4.30 A.M. Then the children went off to school. Upon his return, Lee Joo Chian helped teach the afternoon class. Around eight in the evening, Lee and his sisters trained once again. Master Lee likes to remind people that there was little television in those days.




Benefits of training


Shifu Bernard believes it is a regrettable fact that many young people no longer engage in regular exercise. It is perhaps no accident that some of the most common ailments of modern life include back pain, hypertension, high stress levels, and insomnia, all conditions that exercise has been proven to alleviate. Training in a traditional Kung Fu school permits people to train their minds and bodies, develop real self-defense skills and preserve some link to martial tradition, folklore and culture. Furthermore, the confidence one gains from knowing real self-defense skill filters through all aspects of that person's life thereby providing access to a more relaxed and pleasurable lifestyle.

Making a habit of regular exercise can be a difficult task. A learning activity like Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu, in which there are always new skills to master, can prevent boredom from setting in. Furthermore, in this age of short-lived trends, some fads don't even last long enough to prove their long-term value or even their safety. The roots of Kung Fu go back over a thousand years, and many instructors retain a high level of fitness into their sixties, seventies, and even eighties. They are living proof that Kung Fu movements, when properly practiced, are at the very least, safe, and most likely, highly beneficial.

Fukien Shaolin White Crane Kung Fu today

Although the Flying Crane style is relatively rare, it and other Fukienese Kung Fu styles have made their influence known in other ways. For example, the link between Fukienese Kung Fu and Okinawan Karate is undeniable. It is also known that in the late nineteenth century, the founder of Goju Ryu Karate came to Foochow, in Fukien province, and studied several styles including White Crane and southern Praying Mantis.

One of the foremost proponents of the system in North America is Shifu Lorne Bernard, based in Montreal. He began his studies with a student of Grandmaster Lee, Shifu Augustine Ngu, who immigrated to Canada in 1977. Shifu Ngu now operates a large Kung Fu academy in Mississauga, Ontario. Shifu Bernard travels to Malaysia on a regular basis to learn from the various White Crane masters both in and out of the Lee family. He has also arranged for the system's present leader, Shifu Lee Joo Chian, to travel to Canada and teach for an extended period of time on several occasions. Access to such highly skilled practitioners permitted Shifu Bernard to gain a deep understanding of the theories and finer points within the art.



In addition to teaching at two schools in the Montreal region, Shifu Bernard has arranged for White Crane to be taught at two major universities in Montreal (Concordia University and Univerité du Québec à Montréal). Shifu Bernard has also trained several instructors, thus ensuring the continued growth and expansion of the White Crane system. A good teacher, in any field, understands that the vitality of a teaching institution can be gauged by the quality of its students. As such, a skilled martial arts instructor takes pride in helping students achieve new heights of proficiency.

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1 This account was given to Shifu Lorne Bernard by Grandmaster Lee Kiang-Ke during his first trip to the Orient in 1989. There are several accounts of the origins of Fukien White Crane Kung Fu. Fortunately, they are all quite similar in that they generally refer to the incident with the crane, and the fact that Fang Chi-Niang eventually became extremely skilled in martial arts.

2 It is noteworthy that in Grand-Master Lee's account, the crane was interpreted as being the personification of a god descended from the heavens and determined to teach Fang Chi-Niang martial arts.

3 It is noteworthy that the name "Wu Ing Tong" was actually the original name of one of the Lee family's Herbal stores in Chow An, Fukien province.

4 His prowess was generally explained by his incredible speed of execution.

5 This is his subtle way of criticizing those who waste countless hours fixed at the television screen.

6 Furthermore I would argue that some of the supposedly combat-oriented "no-nonsense" systems are guilty of underemphasizing forms practice.

7 Wushu literally means martial arts. Chinese martial arts have also been referred to by many other names including Guo shu, Chuan shu, Kung fu and Chuan Tao to name a few. Many family styles will refer to their art as Chuan Tao. Although the use of the term "Wushu" is actually correct, its use in the Western world is undermined by the fact that it is too closely associated with the contemporary martial arts being promulgated by the mainland Chinese government.

8 Some people may question the validity of training so many varied weapons in the modern age. Shifu Bernard always point out that if one is familiar with so many weapons, then anything in that person's reach can be skillfully used in self-defense. He also points out the many other values of traditional weapons training including: better understanding of footwork patterns, of the finality of strikes, cardiovascular and strength training, etc. Besides, most students focus on a few weapons as they may not have the time that professionals have.

Temple Style: A Tai Chi System Beyond The Form,- Part 2

by Gary J. Clyman

(This article was completed 5 years before the Sash Testing and Ranking System was created. Please see that section for rank qualifications and requirements.)
If "Internal Power" is what makes Tai Chi Ch'uan special, then why is it the best kept secret in the martial arts?

The purpose of this article is to give readers a Grand View of Tai Chi Ch'uan including a understandable description of what the word "internal" really means when used to describe the high level of achievement possible in Tai Chi Ch'uan. The system I am describing is Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan which I began studying in 1974.

When people practice what they call Chinese "internal" arts, all teachers have their own interpretation. Most of the articles used to describe what Chinese internal arts have left me hungry for a definitive answer. This is my attempt to fill in the blanks.

Many transformations that take place inside the body. This is what makes an art Internal. Internal Energy is stored for latter use. The difference between an "internal" art and an "external" art is an "external" art is visible to the untrained eye. That means you can actually see what the actual technique is by the way it appears. For example, a external punch is usually one single long movement. However, when we are describing "internal," we are talking about the transformations that take place inside the body. It is as if the body is the gun and the Jing (Internal Power) is the bullet.


THREE BASIC CATEGORIES OF FAH JING (EXPLODING POWER)
There are three basic categories of Jing: Long, Short, and Cold. Long Power consists usually of one long vibration similar to the motion of a garden hose when shook once. Short Power consists of many vibrations crammed into one small space. Short Power resembles the inside of a laser tube. The vibrations bounce back and forth without leaving their confinement. Cold Power consists of many vibrations that don't take up much space but usually move horizontally and vertically. Cold Power looks like what happens when you throw a bucket of water against a wall. The water moves horizontally and vertically. With Cold Power there is usually no perceivable penetration.
Long Power is usually painless. The person receiving Long Power usually feels nothing at the point of contact, that is, until they hit an unmovable object like a wall or the ground. Long Power has been described as feeling like you were hit by a truck. Believe it or not, Long Power is the "friendliest" variety of Jing.

Short Power usually hurts. The vibrations go too fast for the receiver to neutralize. That means the tissues receiving Short Power could get damaged. People don't like getting hit with Short Power. Short Power is not friendly and can be used to break your opponents will. Short Power possesses the variety of expressions.

Cold Power is used to knock an opponent silly or unconscious. Concussion or shock is the usual outcome of being hit with Cold Power. Cold Power can overload the central nervous system of your opponent and end an altercation immediately. Cold Power feels like you ran into a wall that you didn't see. Permanent damage can result from using this nasty application of Fah Jing. I have been in fights that have lasted only one punch because of Cold Power. Cold Power releases the most energy in the smallest possible space.

There are many variations and expressions of this so called "bullet" or the Jing. Many different variations of Jing and still within Short Power has the most possibilities for expression, so what we have here, is an internal art. When I want to transfer power, I decide what kind of frequency and what speed the vibration will manifest prior to the expressions of the technique or internal power. Then I release my Jing. Not only do you have five element flavors; fire, earth, water, metal, and wood, you also have any kind of design of the vibration that you want to create. It's like bouncing a basketball on the floor, which is "bounce" power or driving in a screw which is "twisting" power, just to name two.

You have all these different variations of Fah Jing otherwise known as Exploding Power: the way that Jing can be expressed. No one ever tells you how you do that, what processes do you go through, or what steps you take to develop the ability to release internal power. Then when you develop the ability to release internal power, how do you develop the ability to hold it or change the frequency to the type of vibration you wish to let out. No one ever told me how, I practiced it for many years, 6-10 hours a day before I figured it out.

It's important to understand, you don't begin as an external practitioner and then suddenly switch to be an internal one. You begin internal and just get better!

When I hit somebody and let out the various frequencies and flavors of Fah Jing, "What are you letting out?" is the question. Not, how do you do it? If you understand the concept of what you're letting out; how do you do it is very simple.

How do you flavor what you let out? First, you have to have developed the ability to suck. You don't get that from doing forms. You get it from practicing Chi Kung or doing what I call "The Tai Chi Connective Meditations." You have Chi Kung which is one aspect, and Tai Chi, the other aspect. Tai Chi gives you the structure. You will find the answers in my Tai Chi structure where all the meditations in the entire system are outlined.

The commodity of energy and cultivating internal energy in yourself comprise step one. Step two is transforming your Chi, which is your cultivated internal energy into cultivated internal power, which is your Jing. So one is your Chi and one is your Jing. Chi you feel and they don't, Jing they do feel. So a lot of people have Chi (Internal Energy), but very few people have Jing (Internal Power). Cultivating this internal power requires special training. We are talking about modulating the amount of Jing and varying the type of frequency that the Jing manifests.

How do you do that? Is it all here in the mind, pointing to one's head? This commodity of energy that you circulate in your body is an exact reflection of your WILL. And your WILL therefore is a direct reflection and extension of your cultivated sexual energy. That's why when you have sex, you don't want to ejaculate.

When you cultivate your internal energy (Chi), the goal is to transform it into Internal Power (Jing), you express your Jing in your life or through applying these energy principles through Fah Jing (Exploding Power). Fah Jing is directly related to your ability to condense. You can modulate or alter your frequency as well as the amount of energy you let out. The important thing to understand here is "when you practice this and you cultivate internal power, it is the kind of thing that can be released from your body without you losing any when you release it." That's why when I hit someone, I don't get tired. But also when I hit someone, I remain intact, and the energy that's released on contact remains my energy in their body. You must invest years practicing condensing breathing before you can do this. What's reflecting here is your ability to create your internal vacuum which will be directly related to your ability to explode.

I'm not trying to make it sound like not ejaculating is the same as cultivating Jing, it's not, but not ejaculating is an important step in cultivating Jing. So you have this commodity of energy that stays intact in your body. After you can circulate this commodity of energy as a capsule throughout your body, the question is, "How does this set you up for being able to release your Jing outside of the physical boundaries of your body to use it in some other space?" Now we are talking about real Jing (Internal Power).

When you cultivate Jing, you develop control of where your energy is packaged in your body. When I hit you very gently, I release the vibration in the form and flavor that I choose the vibration to be. I determine what that vibration will look like. I can draw it on paper and give it to you and you will draw the same picture of the vibration. That is the kind of control that can be developed. But before you can even think in terms of releasing energy with a specific frequency or modulation, you must cultivate it first.

How does your Jing fit in with a business transaction? Your WILL is a direct reflection of your Jing. You do not cultivate energy when you need it you must cultivate energy before you need it. You must have energy already stored. You are going to use "stored energy." Your WILL is a direct reflection of your amount and ability to circulate cultivated sexual energy you possess. So if you practice in the morning and feel alive, you are not going to be a wimp in a business environment. Shen is your level of assertiveness in the world. I have the ability to transmit my internal energy to someone else over distances if I've already worked with them. When I touch you after you've learned Chi Kung from me, you will pick up the vibration from me, then you convert it into yours. When you sit back to back with me, you're getting my energy to circulate throughout your system until you have practiced enough where the energy that I've transfused to you has been adopted and accepted as yours. A little bit of me always stays within you. For instance, if you are under stress, I go back and rev up that piece I left behind.

First you cultivate Chi. Next you transmute Chi into Jing. What we are referring to here is the various expressions of Jing (cultivated sexual energy or Internal Power). There is a difference between Internal Energy and Internal Power. Internal Energy is Chi, Internal Power is Jing. Jing can look like lightning, a whirlpool, or it can look like bouncing a basketball. These are all various expressions of Jing. What do you cultivate or generate to develop the ability to express these specific frequencies and modulations of energy? I am talking about cultivating this golf ball that is moving around under your skin from practicing Chi Kung. You move your WILL inside your body freely. After that has been accomplished, you can then allow your will to leave your body while also still remaining in you. A tiny part can leave which can then be vibrated into another person. The sensation that you can feel, you can eventually shoot. You can separate it from you yet still stay in contact with it. The golf ball that moves under your skin is what you shoot out into the other person. This information has been kept quite a secret. Many authors write about it, but few can actually perform it. This high performance level is one of the major goals of Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan. The Seven Levels of Mastery will describe what is involved in becoming proficient in Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan. Cultivating your vibration is the main purpose for learning and practicing Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan.


THE 7 LEVELS TO MASTERY
LEVEL #1 DESCRIPTION
Level #1 in Temple Style is geared toward creating a strong, yet fluid foundation. In the beginning of the system, during the first year, your Tai Chi must be carefully and patiently practiced. You must allow enough time between learning new forms for your body to change, structurally. Many new Tai Chi students have no idea how frozen and immobile their hips, knees, ankles and other joints actually are. The Foundation Fundamentals (available on video) appear simple and easy while watching, but are extremely difficult and may even appear impossible to perform correctly at first. Beginning Tai Chi students should spend enough time on each form and not be concerned with getting to the next form. Your body will make the necessary adjustments and you will successfully move through the system by concentrating on The Foundation Fundamentals.
Level #1 is not restricted to only Foundation Fundamentals. After creating a foundation to build upon, you will soon begin to learn new material at a faster, yet appropriate rate. Level #I contains all the forms up to and including the construction of The First Section, right and left sides. The Two Person Practices are also taught from the very beginning and will be emphasized throughout your Tai Chi training.

Unlike many other Tai Chi methods, Temple Style encourages learning all the forms on both sides. This feature is and will become even more important in your Tai Chi future. By the time you complete Level #1 in Temple Style, your body should have changed considerably. Your joints will function more smoothly and securely. Your posture will be corrected considerably. You will be breathing more fully in a coordinated fashion, and you will develop a new way to move using your whole body and become firmly rooted to the ground. There may be many other benefits as well depending on your level of health.

This first part of Temple Style training should not be skimmed over. You must realize that your Tai Chi future is based largely on your first year. Be patient and careful not to skip a single detail during your first year. The first year is also your hardest. If you neglect anything in your first year, it will reappear to haunt you until you have successfully repair it.


LEVEL #2 DESCRIPTION
Level #2 begins with a new method of practicing Pushing Hands called "2 Hand Pushing Hands" incorporating Ward Off and Push as a two person practice. Your hips must move fluidity in order to perform 2 Hand Pushing Hands correctly. This takes a lot more work than is apparent. You will then begin learning the Individual Forms that are included in Second Section. Again, being thorough and patient cannot be over emphasized. I do not want learning Second Section to sound like an extension of First Section. It isn't.
Second Section builds on your Temple Style foundation and introduces more variations to your movements. Diagonal and more difficult movements will be introduced and incorporated thus making it obvious how hard you worked while learning First Section. These new kinds of movements will stress your joints differently than the more basic moves in First Section.

The Breathing Training taught at the end of Second Section is important in giving you more endurance, control, and extension of your breathing. This is the only time in Temple Style that this kind of breathing training is taught, so you must successfully and competently be able to perform this breathing training. The breathing training in not related to meditation or some sort of internal power development. It is clearly practiced for endurance purposes only and should not be skimmed over. You will never see this again, so don't skip over this.


It will be clear that you are unable to learn and practice Second Section without first absorbing First Section. Level #2 includes everything up to and including the completion of Second Section.


LEVEL #3 DESCRIPTION
Level #3 contains, completes, and connects the remainder of The Long Form. The primary components of Level #3 is Third Section. However, in this level, a large percentage of the material is dealing directly with the aspect of Tai Chi martial art applications. Fair Lady Works At Shuttles is the main Third Section addition and introduces Upward and Downward movements combined with diagonal movements. Roll Hands, 6 Kinds, is an extremely important subset and must be practiced totally as a unit. Do not pick and choose which ones you like more. All 6 must be practiced equally to insure equal proficiency. These Roll Hands Parts are in preparation for Methods of Roll Hands in Level #4. 5 Style Steps and all its variations is of great importance in the big picture since 5 Style Steps can be combined with nearly every other form. In a fighting situation or while practicing your Two Person Practice, smooth 5 Style Steps will prove to be invaluable.

LEVEL #4 DESCRIPTION
Well, now that the form is done, that means that your Tai Chi is done also? Right? No way! Now the fun begins to start. In Level #4, you will learn some of the most potent Two Person Practices that will give your Tai Chi the hormones it has been lacking. We start with 4 Forms Pushing Hands which gives you applications for using Ward Off, Roll Back, Press, and Push. Temple Style has a very specific order and structure for learning and practicing all the Two Person Practices. It is important not to skip any of these specific practices. There is one video that contains all these Two Person Practices. Don't skim over any of them. They all lead somewhere.
Next in Level #4 we come to what is named Temple Style Martial Art Foundation Forms. This subset is important because it helps create the physical structure and connections you will need for utilizing your internal power in a martial art situation. Again, this subset should be practiced in its entirety to assure even progress.

Now we come to one of the two most important subsets in Level #4. This is called Methods of Roll Hands. These 5 Roll Hands Parts will be responsible for you developing great instinct and ability when performing any Two Person Practice with either your best friend or a total stranger who only speaks a foreign language. You get these down pat, and you can deal with nearly any situation without hesitation. This subset is in The Top 5 Important Subsets in the whole system.

Next we come to the Making Chance subset which teaches you how to apply the various Tai Chi forms to your roll hands practice. This subset will be valuable to your Tai Chi fluidity latter when you start performing Free Style Roll Hands. Condensing Breathing traditionally is introduced at this place in the system approximately 2 and a half years into your Tai Chi practice. Condensing Breathing is taught Personal Power Trainingx and on my Tidal Wavex Chi Kung video program. Condensing Breathing is the single most important factor and principle in Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan. It changes not only your Tai Chi practice but your life. No kidding. Practicing Condensing Breathing will give you an internal vacuum that is responsible for packing 18 inches of movement and power into one inch of space. Condensing Breathing is in The Top 5 Important Subsets in the whole Temple Style system.

After Condensing Breathing has been practiced sufficiently, another extremely important subset is introduced call Basic Path Training which contains the mind training in Preparation, Beginning, Upward and Downward, Inward and Outward, Raised Hands Stance, Tai Chi Stance, and Slanted Flying. This Basic Path Training subset is so important it is also taught in Personal Power Trainingx and on my Blue Sub-set video.

Now we come to a favorite part of Temple Style; First Section Low Stance Training. This is an extremely difficult part of the system but has enormous benefits when practiced sufficiently. First Section Low Stance will give you strength like you have never imagined in the lower half of your body. After practicing First Section Low Stance over a period of time, all other practice will seem much easier in comparison. This is practiced to raise your endurance. You will practice First Section Low Stance forever. It will never become easy. Make sure you keep it that way.


LEVEL #5 DESCRIPTION
By the time a student has completed the first four levels, more attention is paid to developing a higher ability to develop and utilize Jing or Internal Power. Soong, Hwa, and Bii Jing are specific explanations of the 3 different ways to express Jing or cultivated internal power. It is important to understand that Soong, Hwa, and Bii Jing are recognized by the user and are extremely difficult to distinguish and quantify without expert level Tai Chi skill.
"Soong" Jing translates from the Chinese as "loose." By this, I mean Loose in its truest sense of the word. Loose should be interpreted as Zero, or nothingness. In applying Soong Jing, Tai Chi students should practice being insubstantial or as "not there" as possible.

"Hwa" Jing translates from the Chinese "to make heavy or thick." Use the image of moving your hand in a bathtub full of Jello. Hwa Jing is used to make your opponent increase his effort, while you can control him by using your mind, not strength. A Tai Chi practitioner of greater ability can easily confuse his opponent into increasing his use of strength while he has the ability to decrease his own. In applying Hwa Jing, Tai Chi students should increase their resistance without relying on force. The difference between Hwa Jing and force can be detected by an expert's eye.

"Bii" Jing translates from the Chinese as "quick acceleration." This quick acceleration applies to your Tai Chi Two Person Practice. Your ability to increase your velocity, without relying on strength, is the true use for Bii Jing. It is important to note and understand that Bii Jing exists only before the actual contact with the other person. Once you make contact with your opponent or practice partner, Bii Jing turns into Fah Jing.

Next in Level #5, we come to the Change Door Forms. These forms are important in helping you to develop mobility in general. These Change Door forms are related to your martial art forms practice. This gives you the ability to completely change your position thus giving you all new targets and protecting yours.

Ta Lu is the introduction of your diagonal Two Person Practices. When learning Ta Lu, you will be taught how to use the forms of Roll Back, Lean Forward, Split, and Roll Pull. Learning and practicing Ta Lu will give your Tai Chi the ability to move your whole body as a single unit while doing your Two Person Practices. This also will have direct reflections on your martial art ability. (Brown Sub-set video)

Meditations in Methods of Rolling Hands Forms cannot be over practiced. These meditations will add life and substance to your Two Person Practice as well as to your martial art ability. These new meditations are a direct extension of Methods of Rolling Hands that you learned in Level #4 (Two Person Practice Video). There is a prerequisite to learn these meditations. Each Tai Chi student must be extremely proficient in the Methods of Rolling Hands subset. Practicing this meditation subset will significantly improve your Two Person Practices and your martial art ability. Spend as much time as you can designate to perfecting this subset. It will be some of the most productive Tai Chi time you can invest.

Non-Arms Training is a subset where you learn to use your body as though you have no arms. It consists of evasive whole body movements as well as trapping practices. After satisfactorily performing and practicing Non-Arms Training, your arms will be reinserted back into your Two Person Practice. This is the only place you will spend time practicing Non-Arms Training, so be careful not to skim over it.

Now we come to Fah Jing Training. Fah Jing Training is the releasing part of all your Condensing Breathing and Tai Chi Connective Meditations. Most students at one time or another ask the question, "What do I do on the exhale?" Now comes the time to pay attention to the release part of most of your meditations that you've learned up until now. I hope you have been seriously accumulating energy for a long time, you'll need it.

Fah Jing Training is how you will learn to convert many of your Tai Chi forms into your martial art applications. Each specific form has its own Fah Jing practice. Take your time and get these right.

At this point in The Temple Style Tai Chi System you will be taught the difference between Long, Short, and Cold Power Fah Jing. Each one of these different powers have different vibrational frequencies. Long Power Fah Jing resembles the movement of what happens to an empty garden hose when you give it a solid single shake. Short Power Fah Jing resembles the movement of a jig saw when you are cutting a piece of ply wood. Cold Power Fah Jing resembles a firecracker explosion. In this I mean it seems to come from nowhere and cannot be detected until it appears. No telegraphing. I will now explain each individual power in a general sense. Please remember that each Fah Jing can be expressed in nearly any Tai Chi form, but some are easier than others.

Long Power is the practice of releasing one single vibration and sending a person flying across the room. Long Power Fah Jing is usually performed with a wall or backstop behind the person being propelled. The backstop is important for the other persons safety. Without the backstop, you run the risk of the propelled person falling and getting injured. You want to avoid this at all costs. I like using very hard wood walls or solid wood doors for demonstrating Long Power. Concrete is too hard and can do structural damage to the other person. If no backstop is available, I advise not practicing Long Power Fah Jing. Wait until the situation is more suitable and never practice Long Power on a fragile person, they can be hurt by accident.

Short Power Fah Jing is the practice of releasing a huge amount of energy and vibrations in a very small space. There are very little space requirements in order to perform Short Power effectively. You can utilize the space inside your practice partners own body. This is different than the practice of Long Power Fah Jing. In Long Power Fah Jing your practice partner must have room to fly backwards. In Short Power Fah Jing your practice partner requires very little space.

Cold Power Fah Jing again is a very specific way of releasing energy and vibrations. However, when performing Cold Power Fah Jing, your practice partner or the person you are demonstrating on, must be prepared for an intense and surprising shock. Not an electrical shock, it's more like getting hit by a car and never knowing it is there until it is too late. Again, Cold Power Fah Jing requires absolutely no space to perform. Cold Power Fah Jing may also be performed in almost any Tai Chi form and it utilizes shock or concussion, so you need a resilient practice partner.

Practicing Long, Short, or Cold Power Fah Jing in the beginning will appear somewhat crude or rough. You must have patience and faith that you will soon begin to see results. The first time I used or rather it used me while I was practicing Rolling Hands was in 1977. I dumped one of my seniors who had been considered better than me since the start of my Tai Chi training. However, we were both extremely shocked when something unconsciously came out of me and he landed on his head in a deep puddle of water from recent rainfall. I don't know who was more surprised, he or I. I was in Temple Style Tai Chi about 3 years when this happened the first time. Shortly after that, I developed more control of my internal power and eventually began to be able to use my Fah Jing at will.

Now we come to some specific directional meditation practices called Sink Jing and Uproot Jing (Brown Sub-set video). These two Jings train you in sending your mind in single directions, namely, straight up and straight down. The practice of Sink and Uproot Jing does not require the use of any specific Tai Chi forms. Rather these are done in your basic Beginning Stance. Sink and Uproot Jing practice will give all your Two Person Practices more thickness and the ability to control your opponent.


We have now completed Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan Level #5.


LEVEL #6 DESCRIPTION
Level #6 starts out with the various applications of internal power (Jing). There is only one simple way to describe the concept of En-Jing and that is to slam a door. You close the gap on your opponent and leave no space for any additional movement. This is not only a physical technique but also a psychological technique.
Next is Control Power which is exactly what is sounds like, controlling your opponent. Jie-Jing is to borrow the other persons energy and hold them in place.

Next we come to the precursors for Gold Bell Training which is developing the ability to take and repulse a punch from an opponent. Gold Bell Training is also sometimes known as Iron Shirt, only the translation is different. When learning Gold Bell Training, you start with relatively light pressure and accelerate it to full contact. (See IKF Magazine article #2 for details.)

Our next practice we come to is San-So and all the various applications. San So is directly related to your martial art practice. There are literally thousands of variations in techniques. This will help your free fighting.

The next section we come to is Low Stance Training. Here you will get a chance to practice some of your favorite Tai Chi forms, but not in your favorite way. You will use Low Stance. Hang in there, you will eventually get good at this.

In Temple Tai Chi Ch'uan, Chi In Voice And Action is very important. Here is where you learn to coordinate your voice with your ability to repulse hits from a practice partner. This adds coordination ability to your Gold Bell Training.

The next section we come to is related to advanced pushing hands which I have named Intercepting Hands Attaching, In & Out. This is using what you learned years before in your pushing hands practice.

Mother Meditation is the precursor to Nei Kung. Mother Meditation teaches you how to suck energy into your palms and other areas or doorways in your body. Mother Meditation uses many of the basic forms you have already been practicing for years (Brown Sub-set video).

Arms Connected Rolling Hands takes your Free Style Roll Hands a step further. In this I mean, you learn to roll hands with yourself which will give you added sensitivity and fluidity for your Free Style Rolling Hands. To take this principle a step farther, we come to Arms Separated Rolling Hands which will compound your fluidity, which is so important in Tai Chi martial art applications. Here is where I have added Blind Folded Pushing and Rolling Hands with a partner. You can imagine what this will do for your sensitivity training practice. This ends Level #6 in the system.



LEVEL #7 DESCRIPTION
Level #7 contains some of the most important material in the whole system. Some of the subsets are complete in and of themselves.
Level #7 starts with Free Style Mother Meditation. This is a formless practice using whatever you wish to use. Free Style Mother Meditation is rarely found anywhere except in Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan.

Close Encounters Trainingx is the way I designed to teach Tai Chi martial art practices which does not require many years of traditional practicing. Close Encounters Trainingx is divided into three basic segments. The first is segment is called Ten Tai Chi Principles which describe and illustrate the underlying ideas and general ideas to use Tai Chi as an effective martial art.

The next segment in named The Ten In-Fighting Applications which teach you how to use isolated moves not necessarily derived directly from The Long Form.

The next and final segment is called Ten In-Fighting Sequences. This segment is fairly difficult and requires absorption of the first two segments to be done effectively. This is the equivalent of learning street fighting martial art forms. They are fairly viscous and require a good amount of skill to be done well. All these three segments are taught on my videos.

After a Tai Chi student has progressed this far, they are about to begin to learn Free Fighting with Contact. You have been waiting a long time to get here, about five to seven years.

The Linkage Exercises are not exactly Tai Chi but they contribute to connect your body mechanics. These were taught to me after I had already had my school for a few years by my last teacher. I decided to place the Linkage Exercises here in the system. The Extension/Expansion Exercises are the flip side to the Linkage Exercises.

Tao meditation, Standing using two Fingers is a practice that helps you develop the ability to release your internal power at will. It is done in a Preparation Stance. The energy comes from Tan Tien and projects out from your first and second finger on your right hand.

Tao Meditation using Four Directions is performed in a sitting position, preferably cross legged and on a cushion. Tien is for Heaven, Tee is for Earth, Soon is for Man, and Tao is for the explosion into the Universe in all directions at the same time. This practice must be passed orally to another person in order to be practiced correctly.

Pulse Coordination Meditation is extremely relaxing and is used to help become sensitive to your own internal clock. This is a very advanced meditation and should not be practiced too frequently, maybe one per month.

Omei Mountain is a fighting meditation that is used to help bring out your fighting spirit. It is done as a circulation from Tan Tien and is very similar to Standing Tao Meditation except for the contribution to your aggressiveness.

Tiger Chi is also a fighting meditation that is used also to bring up your fighting spirit. Practicing this meditation should be controlled since it does increase your aggressiveness vastly.

The following material is taught in detail in The Personal Power Trainingx. For further descriptions and instruction you should read my book entitled Beyond Self-Help: Mastering Personal Powerx. Condensing Breathing, Basic Path Training, Inside Air, Sitting forms with The Mind Training, Palms on Knees Meditation, The Micro Cosmic Orbit, The Macro Cosmic Orbit, Heaven and Earth Meditation, Creating your Daily Affirmations and Visualizations, Impregnating the Universe, and Layered Condensing are all in my book.

Free Style Chi Kung is a formless method of practicing Sitting Forms with The Mind Training. This practice connects your chi circulations with your sitting movements.

Tao Kung is closely related to the practice of The Micro Cosmic Orbit except you circulate your internal energy at the speed of 1,000 circulations per breath or at the speed of light. While practicing Tao Kung, your body will vibrate violently however, you should not become alarmed. This violent vibration is due to the fact that your body cannot keep up with your Chi circulations. Other teachers warn against this phenomenon, I advise practicing it. Most of this material is taught on the videos.

Nei Kung is the grand finale of The Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan System. The practice of Nei Kung is also called "The Inside Form." The important thing to pay attention to is how you circulate Chi. While practicing Nei Kung, you will purposely drop many of the physical details that you have been practicing for many years. Remember, the circulations are important, not the forms. Good Luck on your great journey. GJC

To order videos: FOUNDATION FUNDAMENTALS - Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan and/or TIDAL WAVE CHI KUNG by credit card, use the order form on my home page or call my 24 Hour Voice Mail Energy Hot Line at (800) 7 TAI-CHI = (800) 782-4244 and I will call you back to confirm your order information.



1990 Gary J. Clyman
E-mail: master@chikung.com

Temple Style: A Tai Chi System Beyond The Form - Part 1

Published In Inside Kung Fu Magazine - April 1989

by Gary J. Clyman

The purpose of the article is "say more," to break the silence of tradition and "create hope" for the next generation of practitioners of the dying art of Tai Chi Ch'uan. What do I mean when I say for the "next generation?" Everyone knows Tai Chi is on the upswing, but what few realize is that with each new generation comes a further deterioration of details, essence, and the treasures the art previously possessed.

The original reason for organizing this information was to help improve a new student's Tai Chi practice. My friend had been in Tai Chi for nearly 14 years when he approached me for instruction. I accepted him as a private student/friend. His advanced level of Tai Chi compelled me to organize and prepare a curriculum of instruction for near-master level students.

This article represents that instructional organization. I have broken my system, Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan, into various categories and subsets with the intention that this material will enable you, regardless of your martial art persuasion, to improve and interpret your own system more fully.

Everyone assumes "length of time equals expertise," but nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, time in the art is a factor, but there are other equally important factors.

These questions are important for understanding where you stand in relationship to your own art. Did your teacher know what he was doing? Did you understand what you were taught? What percentage of "the teaJings" did you comprehend and retain? Did you "practice" or just "run through" your material as a student? Did your teacher "care about you" when you were learning? Was your teacher trying to reproduce himself? Is your system "real," and yes, how many years have you been in the art? You might not be able to find the answers to all these questions, but you must look.

The answers to these questions will have an important influence on your level of achievement, now and in the future.


FIVE CATEGORIES OF TRAINING:

Each subset will fall under one primary grouping, listed first, and may also be a member of secondary groups.

THE MIND/BODY RELATIONSHIP - Concentrates on what the mind is doing. The body is secondary.

THE BODY/MIND RELATIONSHIP - Concentrates on what the body is doing. The mind is secondary.

ENDURANCE TRAINING - Very physically grueling, highly repetitious, simple and practical.

STRUCTURE TRAINING - Most forms practice with more gross or general details.

CORRECTIVE RESILIENCE TRAINING - Concentrates on more specific details using high repetitions, but not as grueling as Endurance Training, (i.e., proper positioning of the pelvis, pulling the support knee out, slightly bowing the spine, etc.)

SUBSETS AND SPECIALIZED PRACTICES

LOW-STANCE TRAINING - This particular practice is very important not in the beginning so much, but after a student has been in Tai Chi for over a year. There are specific forms that are more appropriate for Low-Stance Training, but in my opinion, the most valuable is practicing First Section by itself repeatedly.
Long-term implications: Low-Stance Training develops enormous strength in the lower body and is a primary component of Endurance Training. When you practice Low Stance, you will lose some of your details. That's okay: you give and take. You give up the details but you get added strength. A problem that many students have is they think they are supposed to practice correctly all the time. That's not important at this stage of your training. Low-Stance Training falls primarily into Endurance Training, but is also in The Body/Mind Relationship.

TAI CHI CONNECTIVE MEDITATIONS - These meditations incorporate condensing breathing into your ward off, roll back, press and push. Practicing these specific Tai Chi meditations is the first link to The Mind/Body Relationship. When practicing Tai Chi Connective Meditations, you will learn to focus with your mind sequentially on three or four specific areas in a row. Theses meditations are unique because they are halfway between doing forms and standing meditation. These are the most basic meditations in the system. Long-term implications: Great changes for the better will show up in your form after even a short period of practicing Tai Chi Connective Meditations. These Tai Chi Connective Meditations are prerequisites for Nei kung, which will be explained later. Tai Chi Connective Meditations falls into the categories of The Mind/Body Relationship and EnduranceTraining.

TWO PERSON PRACTICE

These develop sensitivity to your partner. These act as the measuring devices to your Tai Chi progress. This is not competition like fighting, but can be used as a way of gauging how you compare to others. Long-term implications: Practicing these give your Tai Chi life and develop your communication and fighting skills. Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan is structured so you learn various Two Person Practices. This falls into the categories of Structure Training, Endurance Training and Corrective Resilience Training; they are not the same. In Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan, Two Person Practices start early in the system. Completing The Long Form or even First Section is not necessary or a prerequisite for learning the Two Person Practices. The Foundation Fundamentals have to be practiced and absorbed, but that only takes about 5 to 7 months.

CONDENSING BREATHING This teaches you how to convert coal into diamonds. This is the single most important factor related to improving your Tai Chi. As far as I know, Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan is the only system that contains this practice. Learning Condensing Breathing by itself without learning the rest of the system will enormously help your Tai Chi. Condensing Breathing is one of the first things I teach in The Personal Power Trainingx and on my Tidal Wavex Chi Kung video program. Long-term implications: This will always be practiced and should be treated as a single unit. Even after 20 years, Condensing Breathing still remains an important piece of my daily practice. Condensing Breathing falls into the categories of The Mind/Body Relationship, Endurance Training and Structure Training (See IKF Magazine April 87 article #1 for detailed instruction in Condensing Breathing).


CLOSE ENCOUNTERS TRAINING

I created this out of the need for students to learn how to use Tai Chi fighting applications. This is all practical. Some might say it looks like street fighting. I teach Close Encounters Trainingx in my Tai Chi fighting workshops and on video. Long-term implications: This improves and leads to good fighting skills. Smoothness in changes, timing and practicality are obtained through practicing Close Encounters Trainingx. This falls into the category of The Body/Mind Relationship, The Mind/Body Relationship and Endurance Training.

GOLD BELL TRAINING

This is often talked about but rarely taught by anybody in Tai Chi. Gold Bell Training develops the ability to take a punch, diffuse the energy, and bounce the punch off without being hurt. This is very simple but you need good Condensing Breathing, great timing, courage and the desire to learn. It is not dangerous - it tends to be on the rough side because it is accelerated. It starts off relatively gentle and progresses to full contact over a period of time.

Long-term implications: Gold Bell Training is the practice of repulsing incoming forces or attacks. Practicing Gold Bell Training helps prevent injuries while practicing or fighting. In the order of preference when fighting and being hit are: 1) deflect, not block; 2) neutralize or evade; and 3) absorb or repulse. You do not want to use your Gold Bell Training unless it is absolutely necessary. Gold Bell Training falls into the categories of Endurance Training and The Mind/Body Relationship.


FAH JING TRAINING

Fah Jing Training is where you release your condensing, contracting and sucking meditation practices. Fah Jing Training can be practiced by practicing in any individual Tai Chi forms, such as ward off, roll back, press, push, elbow, shoulder, roll pull, and split. Each Fah Jing Training practice is done differently. These lead to improved fighting skills, but are reliant on your Condensing Breathing ability. There is no Fah Jing Training without first learning how to suck, draw in, condense, and store your internal energy. Long-term implications: Learning Fah Jing Training will give you a technical release of energy in your forms and applications. This falls into The Mind/Body Relationship and Endurance Training categories.

5 STYLE STEPS, ATTACHING STEPS AND CHANGE DOOR PRACTICE

This is very specific Tai Chi footwork and can be performed on top of five patio stones. Long-term implications: This practice will give you versatility in spacing, the ability to match your opponent, and the ability to create false openings for your opponent to fall into. Categories: Endurance Training, The Body/Mind Relationship and Structure Training.

INDIVIDUAL FORMS PRACTICE

Most Tai Chi classes are not systems and only teach "The Long Form." In Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan, each student first learns individual pieces, which later will be constructed into sequences. This characteristic makes Style Tai Chi Ch'uan unique and better than most other Tai Chi systems. Long-term implications: This is the basis of your Tai Chi practice. Categories: Individual Forms Practice fall into Structure Training, Corrective Resilience Training and The Body/Mind Relationship.

FOUNDATION FUNDAMENTALS

This is the first five to seven months of basic training. This is where you develop your various stances, preliminary movements and structure. The rest of the Tai Chi forms are built on this material. Work hard here, it will pay off forever. Long-term implications: At a certain point these basics do not have to be practiced because they are contained in all the material that follows, but that is only if you have worked hard through this stage. Categories: Structure Training, Corrective Resilience Training and The Body/Mind Relationship.

FIRST SECTION ONLY

This is learned after you have gone through and allowed your body to absorb each movement in First Section. When you learn First Section, if you have practiced correctly, you can almost be talked through it without losing the details. Long-term implications: First Section will always be practiced as a single unit with different flavors and attitudes. Categories: Structure Training, The Body/Mind Relationship, Corrective Resilience Training and Endurance Training.

FIRST SECTION REPETITION

This is an important piece in your Tai Chi big picture. While practicing First Section in repetition, you can train many different ways. You can concentrate on continuity, you can concentrate on details, you can concentrate on lengthening and lowering you stance and you can also track your concentration abilities. First Section will remain important throughout your entire Tai Chi career. First Section Repetition falls into many categories, primarily Endurance Training and all the others because of the versatility that can be applied to practicing it separately. Long-term implications: First Section is possibly the most versatile tool in your Tai Chi arsenal. It can be used for anything.

THE LONG FORM

People who say "all things come from just practicing The Long Form" are either dreamers or liars. Most teachers don't know much else besides The Long Form, but when you have a greater overview and perspective of Tai Chi, The Long Form is simply one single tool, one thing, but all most other Tai Chi teachers have is the form and nothing beyond the form. To become a master or to become a professional, you have got to learn from a professional. You have to know more than just The Long Form.
In Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan, The Long Form is merely a beginning phase of your Tai Chi practice and does not represent a majority or even a large piece. In Temple Style there are three sections, as is other Yang styles. Long-term implications: For the first ten years, the framework of your Tai Chi will be based around your practice of The Long Form. At more advanced levels, The Long Form is a minor category, but what's very important to understand is at no time are any of these steps to be skipped, neglected, under practiced or disregarded. Category: Like First Section, The Long Form has many uses.


CHI IN VOICE AND ACTION

This is important in advanced training. This practice helps each cell in your body communicate and transmit to every other cell, very similar to Condensing Breathing. However, Chi In Voice And Action is more advanced than Condensing Breathing, not more important.

Chi In Voice And Action trains your body and is a precursor to Gold Bell Training. This practice teaches you how to take your voice and effect energy. Coordination is developed in the mind. This practice relates to Gold Bell Training as a solo exercise prior to being stimulated or punched by a practice partner. Long-term implications: This practice brings your spirit up to the surface and contributes to your physical presence, awareness and helps develop your "speed of the mind" for advanced Tai Chi practice. Categories: Chi In Voice And Action falls primarily into The Mind/Body Relationship category. It's not hard to do; it's just specific.


FLOATING AND SINKING

The practice of Floating And Sinking is done in basic Tai Chi postures. You train your mind to accelerate up or down, at a very high velocity, but you move very little. This practice is tied into Still Power. It's sort of the Condensing Breathing of the body as opposed to stillness. This is a single direction meditation acceleration practice. This will improve you Pushing Hands and all other Two Person Practices including fighting. Long-term implications: This is an advanced practice but applies everywhere. Categories: Floating And Sinking falls into the category of The Mind/ Body Relationship.

ROLLING HANDS PARTS/INDIVIDUAL FORMS PRACTICE WITH MEDITATIONS AND APPLICATIONS INCLUDING TWO PERSON PRACTICE

This is the single most important part of the advanced Tai Chi Two Person Practice. Learning this material will immediately improve your fighting skills and these individual forms are the reasons for you to excel in Two Person Practice. Very few people know this material.

Long-term implications: You will always be practicing this subset as a single, self-contained unit. First you learn the forms in this part, then you learn the Two Person Practice forms. Last comes the meditations. Categories: Rolling Hands Parts falls into the primary category of The Body/Mind Relationship at the first level of details. At a more advanced stage when the physical forms are perfected, the category changes to Endurance Training and The Mind/Body Relationship. This subset is really cool. The importance of this subset cannot be overemphasized.


HIGH REPS/LOW VARIATIONS TRAINING

Many practices fall into this category, including change door, individual martial art forms, and almost unconscious forms practice. High Reps/Low Variations Training is used to develop instinct and precision in your Tai Chi applications. My favorite forms for this practice are: fist under elbow, long and short hand, fan through back, turn and chop opponent with fist, and fire flame hand. These forms are done while performing change door or 5 style steps. Long-term implications: Fighting skills, sensitivity, improved natural human response and reliability are developed through this practice. Category: Usually this kind of practice is an equal mix among Endurance Training, The Body/Mind Relationship and Corrective Resilience Training.

CHI KUNG

There are too many Chi Kung techniques. What is important to understand here is that the positions and/or movements the body appears to be using are not important. What is important here is what the mind is doing. Do not forget this.

There are four basic categories into which each individual chi king technique falls. Many techniques do indeed fall into multiple categories, but all are clearly members of one primary type. I have put this section at the end, so you can more fully understand this article.

The following is a list and explanation of the four basic categories in the Chi Kung system I teach. These are my classifications:


* THE CONDENSING PRINCIPLE

- This is the single most important ingredient and the first principle to understand. Condensing Breathing is the source of all the energy cultivation exercises. Without practicing this, there will be no "alchemical agent" or "essence" to be circulated. Practicing Condensing Breathing is a meditation that will cause consolidation on all levels. This practice can and will aid in the transformation of one's constitutional properties.

* TORSO CIRCULATION

- The Micro Cosmic Orbit or The 10 Point Cycle: This principle is used in regard to chi circulations limited only to the torso.

* MACRO COSMIC CIRCULATION

- This combines the whole body as a single unit. Each body part is in communication with each other body part. This term is used when relating the extremities to the torso as a single unit with intimate communication.

a. Mother Meditation
b. The Macro Cosmic Orbit
c. The Tai Chi Connective Meditations

* PROJECTING/IMPREGNATING THE UNIVERSE

- Using this is sending your spirit out into the world. Practicing the following exercises in the prescribed order will produce immediate profound results. These practices are distinctly different from other affirmations and visualizations in that they are performed after practicing Condensing Breathing. They are linked to your body and will manifest in a very real, physical, and obvious way.

NEI KUNG

It is rare to find anybody who knows anything about this practice. Nei Kung is clearly different than Chi Kung in that it speeds up the frequency of the mind faster than the body can possibly move. It is as if it changes your metabolism and the speed at which you think. Nei Kung creates excitement in all your practices. When you learn Nei Kung, your Tai Chi will never be the same again. Results will show up immediately.

Nei Kung is like doing the form with your mind and body struggling to keep up. This is an advanced practice and should be learned only after you are very experienced. This will keep improving year after year and will never get boring. Long-term implications: Nei Kung can be used as a self contained system; it does not rely on forms. Nei Kung can be added to other kung-fu systems and will automatically improve your martial art skills. Categories: It falls equally into The Mind/Body Relationship and Endurance Training.

To order videos: FOUNDATION FUNDAMENTALS - Temple Style Tai Chi Ch'uan and/or TIDAL WAVE CHI KUNG by credit card, use the order form on my home page or call my 24 Hour Voice Mail Energy Hot Line at (800) 7 TAI-CHI = (800) 782-4244 and I will call you back to confirm your order information.

c 1989 Gary J. Clyman