History Built Into Form: Kung Fu San Soo and Nanquan

The Relationship Between Martial Arts Can Often Be Seen In Their Structure

     As many practitioners of San Soo may tell you, the history of Kung Fu San Soo can be difficult to trace. We know that Grandmaster Jimmy H. Woo brought the art to the United States, and we know that he taught at Cousin's Clubs to other Chinese immigrants before teaching the art to Americans of non-Chinese descent. This is how the history of San Soo started in the United States. What is not always so clear to many practitioners is how San Soo developed in China. 

     Again, most San Soo practitioners are aware of the history that San Soo developed in China over hundreds of years through the efforts of the monks of the Quan Yin Monastery in Southern China. The monks traveled around and gathered the most effective aspects of several styles of Kung Fu and incorporated them into a single fighting system out of a need for self-defense. Recently, however, this history has been questioned, and unfortunately the precise details of this history, just as with many styles of Kung Fu, have not been so easy to prove.

    Nevertheless, my goal in this entry is to highlight some of the structural similarities seen in Kung Fu San Soo and other Southern Styles of Kung Fu (Nanquan), namely Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar to show how these arts are indeed related, as they are all related to the famed five-families of Southern Kung Fu.

Most of this comparison will focus on the footwork and strikes of these arts.

    One of the most obvious differences noticed between the stances of Kung Fu San Soo is the "Half Horse," Which is generally similar to the Bow Stance found in most styles of Kung Fu. However, the front foot in most styles is held facing straight forward, the "Half Horse Stance" in San Soo has the front foot and back foot held parallel to each other at about a 30 to 45 degree angle. Many have seen this as something that San Soo "does wrong" but it is in fact part of the Southern Kung Fu tradition. Both Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar employ a similar forward stance as San Soo in having the forward foot turned in. The reasoning behind the forward foot's positioning is that it protects the groin from low kicks. Kung Fu San Soo, known as Tsoi Li Ho Fut Hung Ga, definitely seems to display a relationship to Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar through their stances. Though the stances alone, one can find evidence of a common origin (as if the name itself wasn't evidence enough).

   Another clear similarity between San Soo and Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar is in their strikes. From Choy Li Fut, San Soo shares the ample use of broad and sweeping strikes, from broad hooking punches to forearm hammer strikes to back fist strikes. Also, Choy Li Fut employs similar defensive arm movements that are very similar to the "Windmills" in San Soo, which not only intercept or strike at an attacking limb but also serve to redirect it.

    Hung Gar seems to share with San Soo its impressive use of Tiger Claws, Crane Strikes, Leopard Strikes, and One-Knuckle Strikes. While it has been stated that San Soo is not an "animal" style, it does employ a variety of strikes that come from so called "animal" styles, Hung Gar's influence of Tiger and Crane being one of those.

Please enjoy these linked videos for Choy Li Fut and Hung Gar.
They will help display the similarities between Choy Li Fut, Hung Gar, and San Soo.

Choy Li Fut

Hung Gar

Kung Fu San Soo

     

Circles and Lines

CIRCLES AND LINES
Reflecting on the Significance of Principles in the Martial Arts

"Understanding a handful of principles will unlock the key to understanding a multitude of techniques..."

     When I was younger, my father would sit me down to draw lines and circles on a sheets of paper in hopes of improving my penmanship. I'd draw dozens, even hundreds, of lines and circles to help me develop decent handwriting. I didn't keep up with it as long as he may have wanted, so who knows how much my writing "improved." Either way, the idea was to practice basic strokes in order to better my dexterity and to be able to spell my letters out legibly and with better style.

     But why lines and circles? Well, perhaps because most letters in the English language, or any language for that matter, are composed of combinations and variations of lines and circles-straight lines and curved lines. They are in a sense the principal strokes for written English, forming a basis for the entirety of the system, and knowing to do them correctly is important for learning how to write clearly.
    And how does this apply to martial arts? Well, I feel that the martial arts are similar in that they too are composed of basic principles. For example, many of the techniques in martial arts are composed of a series of principal motions, many of them coincidentally linear or circular in nature. This notion of linear and circular motion is just one example of the many principles in martial arts. Balance and footwork, range and position, striking and targeting--Principles such as these govern the techniques of the martial arts, and, while all arts are different, their principles often overlap.
    When it comes to understanding how and why techniques work, a student can benefit by learning the basic principles that govern that art. Without understanding the principles, a practitioner wouldn't be able to understand how body, mind, and action come together to create technique. Teaching martial arts without principles would be to limit the learning to mere performance and imitation--certainly a good start, but basically just the start. On the other hand, when the study of martial arts is guided by an understanding of techniques and their principles, both teacher and student benefit. Understanding these principles will better lead to a teacher's ability to explain why, how, and when an technique is applicable. Furthermore, it will help the student guide his or her learning and increase an understanding of how and why their own techniques work and how and why new techniques will work. Additionally, I feel that this kind of understanding helps contribute to a growth within the martial arts as they evolve. This kind of understanding can promote progress and development of technique, skill, learning, and application.
     A student who understands the principles of his or her own art might become a more adaptable practitioner than a student who can simply perform techniques via rote memorization.
     This is not to say that conditioned reflexes are unimportant. A proficient martial artist should have a level of muscle memory that allows his or her techniques to be executed quickly, effectively, and without thought, and this can only come from dedicated practice and experience. Discipline and the practice of skills are necessary to achieve effectiveness in application--one cannot give up physical practice for a "mental" mastery of the theory behind a technique. Still, total mastery is in both making the techniques instinctive, able to be executed perfectly without thought, and in understanding the technique practically and intellectually. This as a whole promotes the building of the arts in both knowledge and practice.
     My main thought here is that students who understands the principles of their art may have an advantage over students who has merely learned lessons through rote memorization, and the same goes for teachers. Those who understand the principles of their art may have an edge in improvising if and when they are in an unfamiliar situation. They may also be able to create an unfamiliar situation for an opponent by implementing or adjusting techniques in an innovative way against fighters while maintaining core principles in place. This comprehension of principles may also help said students become better teachers for the future students of their respective arts, allowing them to push the knowledge base of their arts towards new levels, moving their arts away from away from mysticism, as is the case in some arts, away from pure tradition, and to a place of understanding and creativity.
     So sometimes it's important to remember that even great artistry comes from an understanding of mere circles and lines. And here again, discipline is fundamental. You won't be able to use them if you don't practice.
   

   

Piguaquan: The Chop-Hanging Fist

PIGUAQUAN: CHOP-HANGING FIST

     Wow, those are some big arm movements. Fast too! Piguaquan, the Chop-Hanging Fist, is a visually impressive style characterized by long range chopping strikes, often delivered with palms, which is why the art is sometimes referred to as Piguazhang, meaning Chop-Hanging Palm.

     Piguaquan has a close relationship to Bajiquan, The Eight-Extremes Fist, which it complements. In fact, it is often stated that Piguaqan and Bajiquan were at one point two halves of the same art. Piguaquan is a broad, longer-range art; Bajiquan is an explosive, shorter-range art. Together, they complement each other.

    The "Pi" in Piguaquan is said to refer to chopping strikes with the palm. The "Gua" in Piguaquan is said to refer to strikes using the back of the hand.

    Below are some links and videos for forms and applications of Piguaquan. Also, I am providing two links for those who are interested in reading more information about the art.

Videos:

Forms:

        Piguaquan Video From Youtube--Pigua Quan Blue Dragon Fist

      Piguaquan Video From Youtube--Pigua Quan Flying Tiger Boxing

Basic Hands

From Youtube

Hooking

From Youtube

Application

From Youtube

For More Reading, please visit...

"The Versatile Whip"

Bajimen- "Pigua"

Baguazhang: Eight Trigram Palm

BAGUAZHANG: Eight Trigram Palm

     One of the internal arts, Baguazhang is a fluid art known for its "circle walking" and its beautiful, almost dance-like motions, which mask powerful striking and throwing elements. This post is a teaser, and I'm basically using it to provide links to some videos for Baguazhang. I hope that they pique your interest.

Baguazhang "Mother Palms":

Baguazhang Applications:

    Bagua Zhang Applications: Master Han Yanwu DVD

    Baguazhang Applications-- Internal Kung Fu Montreal

    Baguazhang Form and Applications--Sifu Wei-Chung Lin