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 History Of Kung FUBuddhidarma's "Lohan 18 hands" are said to be the roots of Kung Fu, transforming weak and frail monks into strong invinsible monks that were able to defend themselves and meditate in a more diciplined way.
The Lohan 18 hands are called, "Sho Pa Lo Han".
Loha means, "one who is worthy". The Northern Lohon Monks were from the Honan Shaolin Temple and had a reputation for being spiritually enlightened. The Southern Lohan monks were thought to have came from the Fukien Siu Lum Temple and had reputations that reflected a less favorable light.
The monk Gok Yuen expanded on the Lohan 18 hands creating 72 movements. This new style combined hard and soft movements. Gok Yuen requested permission to leave the Fukien Shaolin temple and travel around China seeking the knowledge of masters in fighting from other provinces.
In the city of Lan Zhou (Lan Chou) in the Shensi province Gok Yuen witnessed a fight between two men. The victor, by the name of Li Shou (Li Ch'eng), defeated his opponent with just a touch. His name was Li Ch'eng.
Li Ch'eng would not tell Gok Yuen anything about his deadly strikes at first but after some time the two becaome friends. They exchanged martial arts knowledge and Li Ch'eng introduced Gok Yuen to his master Pai Yu Feng.
Pai Yu Feng came from the Luke Yong Huck Seng Monastery near Emei Mountain. He was a master in the art of Hit Tai Tau which specialized in a internal boxing style. Gok Yuen persuaded both of these skilled martial arts practitioners to return with him to the Shaolin temple.
The knowledge of these masters blended into the 172 techniques. Then further into Shaolin Five Animal Kung Fu.
Leopard (Bao)
Tiger (Hu) Snake (She) Dragon (Long) Crane (He) These styles of Kung Fu are thought to have originated in the Henan Shaolin Temple located in the central part of China. Henan has mountains in the South and west but is flat in the east.
Leopard (Bao) Style Leopard style is a fast style of Kung Fu which uses more strikes and less blocks. The main strike used in Leopard style is the leopard claw. This is done by bending the fingers at the second row of knuckles. Strikes are made to soft areas of the opponents body so that the fragile bones in the fingers do not break. Tiger (Hu) Fung Do-Duk was one of the original masters of the Tiger Kung Fu Style. Known for his powerful punch and firm stance Fung Do-Duk was one of the five Shaolin monks who escaped the burning of the temple. Tiger style Kung Fu is fearless and aggressive. Tiger Style Kung Fu uses the base of the palm for strikes and the fingers as claws. This is a ferocious attacking form of Kung Fu using powerful strickes with large circular motions.
Snake (She) Snake Style uses fast fluid movements to disable the opponent. The force of the opponent is redirected or avoided rather than blocked. Weak points are targeted such as the eyes, throat and pressure points.
Dragon (Long) There were 2 different style of Dragon Kung fu one that originated in Northern China and one in Southern China. Dragon Style Kung Fu is famous for its handwork. Mor kiu or "Magical Arms." Southern Dragon kung fu is thought to have manifested from a Buddhist temple in Canton province.
Crane (He)
Fung Do-Duk White Tiger Kung Fu
Tiger-Crane style of Kung Fu the powerful posture and attacks of the Tiger Kung Fu
softer 'sticking-hand' techniques of the White Crane style
Tiger-Crane combination Kung Fu
Southern Tiger (elements of Shaolin's Eagle Claw, Leopard, and Monkey styles of Kung Fu)Miu Hin Five Shape boxing. Pei Mei White Eyebrow Kung Fu. Ng Mui Dragon boxing. Jee Shin Wing Chun Kung Fu. Crane (both White Crane and Black Crane) Snake Dragon (both Southern Dragon and Northern Dragon) Northern Praying Mantis Southern Praying Mantis Pak Mei (White Eyebrow) Wing Chun (Blessed Springtime) Northern Shaolin Kung FuNorthern styles of Kung Fu such as Praying Mantis and Drunken style Kung Fu and the many Kung Fu styles that came after the five surviving Shaolin masters tried spreading Kung Fu around China such as Hung Gar and Lau Gar, plus more recent systems such as Wing Chun Kung Fu Northern Shaolin use many long-range fighting techniques. This type of Kung Fu involves elements of ancient Shaolin temple boxing.DragonThe Dragon specialty at the time of attack is a combination of Hard and Soft techniques. Exponents rely on "floating and sinking movements with shoulders dropped and elbows bent." -Taken from "KUNG FU: History, Philosophy and Technique"White CraneThe regal spirit of the white crane has inspired what may be considered as the most elegantly beautiful of all the Chinese Kung Fu systems. Patterned after the aesthetic essence of the statuesque wading bird found mostly in marshes and open plains, the classic White Crane self-defense forms contain an unexpected deadly beauty, especially devastating for the aggressive beholder. The main principles of the White Crane style are really quite simple and direct, although extremely difficult to perfect. There are four main principles to remember: to Hurt, to Evade, to Penetrate, and to Intercept. To Hurt: A White Crane master will never fight unless it is to save lives or prevent harm to others. This includes, of course, the protection of oneself from destruction. To Evade: The White Crane master almost haughtily disdains physical contact with an opponent, instead opting for a single debilitating blow, usually delivered from long range. A White Crane saying has it that "If you evade an attack, there will only be one attack; if you block an attack there will be ten attacks." To Penetrate This means to break through the defense of the adversary. The master should take advantage of the tense side of the opponent's attention or the lax side of his inattention. To Intercept: Violent situations could possibly arise in which distasteful physical contact might be forced by a strong opponent. There are basically two methods of intercepting, physical interception and negative interception. Physical interception, the blow is intercepted just as it is launched. And negative interception, an application of pressure in the same direction as the antagonistic force.Wing ChunThe essence of Wing Chun, in Chinese terms, is "Opponent attacks, absorb and neutralize blow. Opponent withdraws, pursue and counter. Disengage restriction from arms, retaliate with penetrating thrust." Technically, Wing Chun uses a constant flow of forward energy based on the principle that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Offensively, a Wing Chun artist will use a combination of straight and intercepting lines and deflecting arcs.Hung GarHung Gar is an adaptation of the Shaolin Tiger system, and stresses close-quarter fighting methods. This system was totally unlike the far-ranging jumping styles of the North, but it was extremely effective for combat in the confining alleys of China during the Ch'ing dynasty. In Hong Kong, Hung Gar artists consider a half hour in a strong horse stance adequate for daily exercise, in addition to powerful boxing and weapons sets.Praying MantisSome three hundred and fifty years ago Wang Lang founded the Praying Mantis form of Kung Fu. Wang based his martial art on a mantis he captured. He observed the mantis' offensive and defensive movements. After Wang's death his carefully thought out mantis heritage became divided when four of Wang's disciples, each claiming superior innovations, sought to be released from the founding school. The mantis master granted permission on one condition- each student name their individualized style after the markings on the back of a personally captured mantis. One had the appearance of a Yin-Yang symbol (Tai T'si), another looked like a plum blossom (Mei Hua), one showed the markings of seven stars (Tsi T'sing), and one had no markings and was called the Bare style (Kwong P'an).Monkey StyleIt may be a very comical style of martial arts, but is truly one of the most deadly personal defense systems. Its origins trace back to at least 1842 when foreign missionaries were first allowed into China. When a normally peaceful man, Kau See, resisted being drafted he accidentally killed an officer. For this crime he was placed in prison, from his cell Kau See watched and imitated the movements of the prison "watchdogs" which were apes. He watched the movements of the apes for ten years, paying special attention to how the apes fought. When he was pardoned and released he became know as "The Monkey Master." Disciples soon joined him to learn his unusual hopping and squatting defense system.Choy Lee FutChoy Lee Fut's power originates from the waist through a strong horse stance. It utilizes this power to release punches from only a foot away from the target. It also uses basic Chin Na grappling and throwing techniques, high and low kicks, side kicks, snap kicks, hook kicks and turn kicks featuring 360-degree spins and turns. Intercepting and jamming are favorite tactics used against any enemy. Jam an opponent off balance by moving straight into him while blasting overpowering hooks and uppercuts. Some of these moves are strikingly similar to Western boxing.
ABOUT SOME INTERNAL KUNG FU STYLES
Little Nine Heaven is the oldest Taoist system known today dating back to 2698BC. It consists of three skills:
ju kung (boxing), chian-kuan jen (swordsmanship) and shi shui (bone marrow washing). It consists of five forms, twelve animals, three rushes, five harmonies and the nine essentials. It is also the highest level of the I-Ching (Book of Changes).
Hsing-I is an ancient art of fighting and healing that tunes the mind and body to a finely honed degree. It is said to have developed during the period of the Northern Sung dynasty (1127-1276 AD). The system consists of the five elements, twelve animals, tien-gunn, six harmonies, nine essences, and the theory of touch, go, kiss using the seven stars. Hsing-I is the easiest style to learn, but the hardest to master, because it is so easy.
Chen Tai-Chi The old form taught at the school is called 13 postures. It consists of 13 sections and has 64 moves. The second form is called Pao Twi (cannon fist). The learning of chen sa chin (silk reeling energy), circles around the body's meridians like latitudes around the globe. The precise movements will give extraordinary power. This also provides a form of moving meditation in time.
Splashing Hands is a fighting style which is an extremely practical, no-nonsense art. It features quick shuffling footwork and low-focused straight leg kicks. It is combined with jabs, punches, elbows and singular and two man fighting forms. Splashing Hands is geared for the street and dates back to early 1700.
Iron Hand the term, refers to the properly developed human hands which can become hard like iron and generate tremendous power, but still maintain the look of a normal hand. It dates back to the early days of the Shaolin Temples. There are several methods of training in iron hand including 'slapping', 'thrusting' and 'cooking'. There are thousands of Kung Fu Styles. Some are shown below. Ax Hand Feng yang sau "hard hand of wind"
The masters are known by many different names. Names of Gok Yuen are Chueh Yuan Shang-Jen, Zhue Yuen and Kiao Yuan. Names of Pai Yu Feng are Bai Yu-Feng and Bak Yuk Fung
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