DEVELOPMENT OF SHAOLIN KUNGFU AND VARIOUS SHAOLIN STYLES
Eighteen-Lohan Fist
Question
I find that when I tell people I practise Shaolin Kungfu they say "What type?"
Because the closest kungfu to ours that I saw outside of our school was Hung Gar/Hoong Ka, I used to tell them that, rather than get into a complicated discussion or try to persuade them that Shaolin itself was a style. (I later discovered that this is what Uncle Righteousness kungfu was referred to by some?)
I then wondered if Hoong Ka was the base for most styles, like the original Shaolin. Would it be more accurate to say that Lohan kungfu was the original Shaolin?
Or are both of these incorrect and the original Shaolin kungfu is simply called Shaolin Kungfu, with both Lohan and Hoong Ka being derivations, Lohan coming before Hoong Ka?
Drunken Boxer
Answer
Yours is a question asked by many people, and the answer here will help to clear away much confusion.
I too experienced the same confusion before. In one of my meetings with my sifu, Sifu Ho Fatt Nam, before I started learning from him, I asked him a similar question.
Noticing that what he taught was called Shaolin Kungfu, I asked him what type of Shaolin Kungfu he taught. Was it Hoong Ka, Choy-Li-Fatt, Lohan Kungfu, Praying Mantis, or something like that?
My sifu’s answer was straight to the point. “It’s Shaolin Kungfu,” he said. “It’s parental Shaolin. It was the type of kungfu practiced at the Shaolin Temple. Other types of Shaolin Kungfu, like Hoong Ka and Choy-Li-Fatt, derived from it.”
I did not understand my sifu’s answer fully at the time. It was later that the full meaning dawned on me. I also discovered later that by the Shaolin Temple, he referred to the southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou in Fujian Province of China.
I also clearly remember that many years earlier, my first sifu, Uncle Righteousness, told us, i.e. all his students, as follows.
"Many people have asked me what type of kungfu we practice. It is Shaolin."
At that time I was just a small boy. I did not understand enough to know the significance of Uncle Righteousness’ statement then, but I remember the occasion very clearly. I can even see in my mind now the scene then. Uncle Righteousness had just come into our training hall. He just took off his usual white Hawaiian shirt and hung it on a rag on a wall, and was wearing a white T-shirt when he made this statement with many students standing around him.
Years later after Uncle Righteousness had returned to heaven, many of my classmates found a kungfu school in his honour and named it Chin Wah Hoong Ka Kungfu Gymnasium. I was not around then. Had I been around, I would have strongly proposed “Shaolin” instead of “Hoong Ka” as that was what Uncle Righteousness called his kungfu.
The Shaolin Temple on Song Mountain in Henan was built about the year 377 by Emperor Xiao Wen for the Indian monk, Batuo, to translate Buddhist sutras from Sanskrit to Chinese. In the year 527 Bodhidharma arrived to teach the Shaolin monks Zen. Finding them sickly, Bodhidharma taught them Eighteen Lohan Hands and Sinew Metamorphosis.
Martial monks at the temple, many of whom were retired generals, evolved the Eighteen Lohan Hans into Eighteen-Lohan Fist or Lohan Kungfu. As it was being practiced at the Shaolin Temple, it was also called Shaolin Kungfu.
It is significant to note that Shaolin Kungfu or Lohan Kungfu varied according to place and time. The Shaolin Kungfu practiced at the Shaolin Temple would not exactly be the same as the Shaolin Kungfu practiced outside it even when the latter originated from the former. The Shaolin Kungfu practiced at the Shaolin Temple or anywhere at one time, like in the 7th century, would be different from the Shaolin Kungfu practiced at the same place at another time, like in the 8th century.
Shaolin Kungfu spread to many other places. Other styles of kungfu also developed in other places. In the Western regions of China amongst Muslim populations, Chaquan or Cha Kungfu was popular. Chaquan was named after Cha Mi Er, which was the Chinese name for Jamil.
In the northern regions Huaquan, or Beautiful Kungfu, was popular. There was no records, as far as I know, who the first patriarch of Huaquan was. I believe it was called Huaquan because its performance, besides being combat effective, was beautiful to watch, like most styles of kungfu are.
In many regions of China, Houquan, or Monkey Kungfu, was popular. There were a few different styles of Monkey Kungfu, each different from another. In regions of Tibet, for example, techniques of Monkey Kungfu resembled those of apes, whereas in regions in the south, techniques of Monkey Kungfu resembled those of the apes’ smaller-sized cousins.
I don’t know whether these styles, like Chaquan, Huaquan and Monkey Kungfu, were directly developed from Shaolin Kungfu, which was mainly Lohan Kungfu, or they developed independently of their own but much influenced by Shaolin Kungfu. But they were generally regarded as Shaolin styles because both their philosophy and practice were similar to the philosophy and practice of Shaolin Kungfu.
For example, like Shaolin Kungfu they were practiced for combat, and they used Horse-Riding, Bow-Arrow and False Leg stances. They were different from, say, Taijiquan, although Taijiquan was also derived from Shaolin Kungfu, as Taijiquan was relatively “soft” and “circular” whereas they were “harder” and more linear. They were very different from Judo, Karate, Taekwondo, Boxing and Wrestling, which were sports whereas these Shaolin styles were combat arts.
Meanwhile, there were kungfu styles that were directly developed from Shaolin Kungfu, like Xingyiquan, Eagle Claw, Taizuquan, Taijiquan, Wuzuquan and Praying Mantis.. Even now the term “Shaolin” is sometimes prefixed to Xingyiquan, and often to Eagle Claw, Taizuquan, Wuzuquan and Praying Mantis, calling these arts Shaolin Xingyiquan, Shaolin Eagle Claw, Shaolin Taizuquan, Shaolin Wuzuquan and Shaolin Praying Mantis. Interestingly, the term “Shaolin” is never prefixed to Taijiquan, although originally it was called Wudang Shaolin Kungfu, to differentiate from Henan Shaolin Kungfu practiced at the Shaolin Temple in Henan.
All these Shaolin styles were related to the northern Shaolin Temple in Henan where Shaolin Kungfu, which was basically Lohan Kungfu, was practiced. All these Shaolin styles were quite different from Lohan Kungfu. An informed observer could, for example, easily differentiate Eagle Claw or Wuzuquan from Lohan Kungfu. We must also remember that the Lohan Kungfu at the time when Taizuquan developed from it during the Song Dynasty (960-1279) was quite different from the Lohan Kungfu at the time when Wuzuquan developed from it during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) an emperor built a southern Shaolin Temple in the city of Quanzhou in Fujian Province. A famous style derived from the Shaolin Kungfu practiced at this southern Shaolin Temple, which was also mainly Lohan Kungfu, albeit its southern version, was White Crane Kungfu. It is interesting to note that this White Crane Kungfu is similar to Wuzuquan. A main set of White Crane Kungfu is also San Zhan, but this San Zhan is slightly different from the San Zhan of Wuzuquan, which significantly has not changed much over space and time.
It is also significant to note that there are different styles of White Crane Kungfu with different history and philosophy. Another famous style that drew inspiration from the White Crane is Lama Kungfu in Tibet, which is sometimes called Tibetan White Crane, whereas the other is called Fujian White Crane as it was (and still is) popularly practiced in Fujian Province of China. An informed observer can easily tell the difference between Fujian White Crane and Tibetan White Crane. Fujian White Crane is short-range, whereas Tibetan White Crane or Lama Kungfu, by which term it is more popularly known, is long-range.
The southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou was burnt to the ground by the army of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). Pak Mei escaped to Er Mei Mountain, and the kungfu issued from here was called Shaolin Er Mei Kungfu. The style of kungfu from Er Mei Mountain first taught by Pak Mei was also called Shaolin Pak Mei Kungfu, in honour of Pak Mei, and Shaolin Dragon Style Kungfu, because its main feature was the Dragon.
It is worthy of note that Er Mei Kungfu, Pak Mei Kungfu and Dragon Style resemble more of Wuzuquan and Fujian White Crane than of Lohan Kungfu. Over time and space, there are also fine differences amongst these three kungfu styles form Pak Mei, but generally they look the same even to informed observers.
Another Taoist priest, Fong Tou Tuck, escaped to the Wudang Mountain, and the kungfu issued from here was known as Shaolin Wudang Kungfu, later shortened to Wudang Kungfu. Please take note that this Wudang Kungfu of Fong Tou Tuck was different form the Wudang Kungfu of Zhang San Feng about 6 centuries earlier.
A Shaolin monk, the Venerable Chee Seen, escaped to the Nine-Lotus Mountain also in Fujian Province and built another southern Shaolin Temple there. This southern Shaolin Temple was secretive, in contrast to the publicly known southern Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou. This southern Shaolin Temple on Nine-Lotus Mountain was also burnt to the ground by the Qing army, led by Pak Mei who later sided with the Qing. Many southern Shaolin styles issued from this historical event which will be described later.
Another Shaolin monk whose name in the southern Shaolin Temple we do not know but changed his name to Jiang Nan to escape the notice of the pursuing Qing army, ran out of China and taught Shaolin Kungfu to my sigung, Yang Fatt Khuen, who in turn taught to my sifu, Ho Fatt Nam. With this historical background, it makes perfect sense when my sifu told me that the kungfu he taught was Shaolin Kungfu, i.e. the type of kungfu practiced at the Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou.
Unlike Wang Lang earlier who developed Praying Mantis Kungfu from the Shaolin Kungfu he learned from his teacher, or Yim Wing Choon later who developed Wing Choon Kungfu from the Shaolin Kungfu she learned from her teacher, my sifu and sigung did not change the Shaolin Kungfu they learned from their teachers. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to remember that the Shaolin Kungfu Wang Lang, Yim Wing Choon and my sifu and my sigung learned from their teachers was different. The difference was due to different place and time.
Jiang Nan, Chee Seen and Pak Mei were classmates. They learned Shaolin Kungfu at the same time and place. Why were the styles of Shaolin Kungfu passed down by them different? Their representative kungfu sets, Four Gates, Triple Stretch and Nine-Step Chase, were noticeably different. This was because there was a wide range of choice for specialization at the Shaolin Temple at Quanzhou. In the same way in future even when their lineage is from Shaolin Wahnam, their kungfu may be characteristically different if the practitioners learn from masters who specialize from, for example, Eighteen-Lohan Fist, Taijiquan, Xingyiquan or Baguazhang.
Paying Mantis Kungfu
The masters teaching these family styles to their students generally did not change what they learned from their teachers. In other words, the family styles of kungfu of Hoong, Lau, Choy, Li and Mok as well as Fatt were directly from the kungfu practiced at the southern Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain, though there might be fine differences due to different needs and specialization.
There is an important point not normally known by many people. The kungfu of one particular family style may have different first patriarchs and histories. Many practitioners of Li Ka Kungfu, for example, attributed their first patriarch to Li Pak Tat, whereas many others attributed their first patriarch to Li Pa San. Their styles of Li Ka Kungfu were also different, as Li Pak Tat’s lineage was from Chee Seen, whereas Li Pa San was a disciple of Pak Mei.
Most Hoong Ka practitioners, I believe, have not solved the question of their lineage. When asked why their kungfu was called Hoong Ka, many would answer because their lineage traced back to Hoong Hei Koon. But the first patriarch of many Hoong Ka practitioners today was actually Lok Ah Choy. If you ask students of Chin Wah Hoong Ka Kungfu Academy, the kungfu school founded in honour of my first sifu, Uncle Righteousness, most of them, I guess, would give the same answer, i.e. the first patriarch of the Hoong Ka Kungfu they practiced was Hoong Hei Koon. Most of them would not know that their first patriarch was the Venerable Harng Yein, the most senior disciple of Chee Seen.
We in Shaolin Wahnam would not have this problem. If asked who our first patriarch of Uncle Righteousness lineage was, our answer would be Chee Seen. It was to Chee Seen that all students of Uncle Righteousness paid homage to at the start of our kungfu training. When asked who our first patriarch of Sifu Ho Fatt Nam lineage was, our answer would be Jiang Nan. It was the Venerable Jiang Nan who brought the Shaolin arts out of the Shaolin Temple to pass down to us.
Returning to the various Southern Shaolin styles from the Shaolin Temple on the Nine-Lotus Mountain, there were two where the first patriarchs made some changes to what they first learned from their own teachers. One was Wing Choon Kungfu and the other was Choy-Li-Fatt.
Yim Wing Choon, the First Patriarch of Wing Choon Kungfu, modified what she had learned from her teacher, Ng Mui. In other words, what she practiced and taught to her only student, her husband Leong Pok Khou who later passed on Wing Choon Kungfu to posterity, might not be the same as what she learned from Ng Mui. Yim Wing Choon, mainly for her personal needs, focused on the "soft" aspects and discarded the “hard” aspects of Shaolin Kungfu.
The difference is most noticeable in the popular style of Wing Choon Kungfu from Hong Kong, where the Goat Stance and the Triangle Stance are mainly used. It is not so obvious but still discernable in the Choe Family Wing Choon we practice in our school, where the fundamental stances of Shaolin Kungfu, i.e. the Horse-Riding, Bow-Arrow and False Leg, are still frequently used.
Chan Harng, the First Patriarch of Choy-Li-Fatt Kungfu, combined Choy Ka Kungfu, Li Ka Kungfu and Fatt Ka Kungfu (which is southern Lohan Kungfu) into one style. He did not change what he learned from his three teachers, but the resultant combination was significantly different from each of the three styles he separately learned from his teachers.
All these styles, regardless of whether their first patriarchs consciously made changes to what they learned from their teachers, or just taught what they originally learned though there might be differences amongst the styles due to different needs, specialization and other factors, had the term “Shaolin” prefixed to them. Hence, we had Shaolin Hoong Ka, Shaolin Lau Ka, Shaolin Wing Choon and Shaolin Choy-Li-Fatt, etc. But eventually many people shortened the terms and just called them Hoong Ka, Lau Ka, Wing Choon, Choy-Li-Fatt, etc.
With this historical background, we can now answer the questions, directly asked or implied, with understanding and knowledge.
Obviously those who ask you what type of Shaolin Kungfu you practice, do not know this historical development of Shaolin Kungfu. They also do no know that the Shaolin Kungfu we practice is different from the Shaolin Kungfu practiced in other Shaolin schools, as well as the Shaolin Kungfu, usually called Shaolin Wushu, practiced at the Shaolin Temple in China today.
To tell them that you practice Hoong Ka Kungfu is incorrect because what you personally practice is quite different from Hoong Ka Kungfu.
Also what a typical kungfu student in Shaolin Wahnam practices is different from what a typical student in a typical Hoong Ka school practices. The difference is not just in the approach of the training which is actually more important, like our approach is on force training and combat application whereas in most other Hoong Ka schools the approach is on learning kungfu sets, but on the material taught, by which most other people use to compare different styles.
In many Hoong Ka schools students start with “Taming Tiger”. In the Chin Wah Hoong Ka Kungfu Academy students start with the “36-Pattern Tiger-Crane Set. “ In other Hoong Ka schools students start with sets like “Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain” or “Four Gates”, which is different from our "Four Gates".
In our school students in the Shaolin section start with “Lohan Ask the Way”, and in the Taijiquan section they start with “White Crane Flaps Wings”. “Lohan Asks the Way” and “White Crane Flaps Wings” are far simpler than and quite different from all the other sets in the other Hoong Ka schools.
Indeed, it was because I found most Hoong Ka and Taijiquan kungfu sets, even beginning ones, too complicated for our beginning students that I composed “Lohan Asks the Way” and “White Crane Flaps Wings”.
It would be more appropriate to answer that you practice Southern Lohan Kungfu than to say Hoong Ka Kungfu.
But it is better to answer that you practice Shaolin Kungfu as taught in Shaolin Wahnam, and that it is different from Shaolin Kungfu taught elsewhere.
If they want more information, ask them to refer to the answer here. If they want to argue just for arguing, don’t waste your time on them.
There is no need to get into a complicated discussion or to persuade them that Shaolin itself is a style. If you want to elaborate, you can say that Shaolin Kungfu has a very long history and has spread to many places. Therefore, there are different versions of Shaolin Kungfu. The version practiced in our school is the one passed down to us from the two southern Shaolin Temples at Quanzhou and Nine-Lotus Mountain.
If others ask whether our style of kungfu is Eagle Claw, Praying Mantis, Hoong Ka, Wing Choon or Choy-Li-Fatt, our answer is no, it is Shaolin Kungfu. But those who wish to specialize in these and other kungfu styles, have an excellent opportunity to do so in our school.
Hoong Ka Kungfu is not the base for most styles. It is, for example, characteristically different from Tantui, Praying Mantis, Wing Choon, Pak Mei or Monkey Style.
The original Shaolin was Lohan Kungfu. Shaolin Kungfu originated from the Eighteen Lohan Hands into the Eighteen-Lohan Fist.
Over time and space, there were many different versions of Eighteen-Lohan Fist. Short sets were called Little Lohan Fist, or Xiao Luohanquan, and long ones were called Big Lohan Fist, or Da Louhanquan. Those originating from the northern Shaolin Temple were called Northern Lohan Fist, or Bei Luohanquan, and those from the south Southern Lohan Fist, or Nan Luohanquan.
Thus, it is not only more accurate, but factually accurate to say that Lohan Kungfu was the original Shaolin Kungfu.
The original Shaolin Kungfu was simply called Shaolin Kungfu. Later more developed versions of Shaolin Kungfu with sophisticated techniques and skills, like what we practice in Shaolin Wahnam, were also simply called Shaolin Kungfu. As mentioned earlier, there are different versions of Shaolin Kungfu over space and time.
Depending on how we use language, we can say that Hoong Ka Kungfu was a derivation of Shaolin Kungfu. Hoong Ka Kungfu derived from earlier and simpler versions of Shaolin Kungfu.
On the other hand, we can also say that Hoong Ka Kungfu was not a derivation of Shaolin Kungfu but a logical continuation of it. Famous Hoong Ka masters, like Hoong Hei Koon and Loh Ah Choy, did not add anything extra to the Shaolin Kungfu they learned from their teachers. In fact they did not call it Hoong Ka Kungfu, they call it Shaolin Kungfu. As recent as 50 years ago, or less than 3 generations before most Hoong Ka practitioners today, the great Hoong Ka master, Lam Sai Weng, called his kungfu Shaolin.
Also depending on how we use language, we can say Lohan Kungfu derived from Shaolin Kungfu, and we can also say Shaolin Kungfu derived from Lohan Kungfu.
The above description of the historical development of Shaolin Kungfu shows that the original Shaolin Kungfu was derived from Eighteen Lohan Hands, and was called Eighteen-Lohan Fist, which is another name for Lohan Kungfu.
Many later versions of Lohan Kungfu, like our Shaolin Wahnam Eighteen-Lohan Fist, were derived from Shaolin Kungfu, i.e. the type of kungfu practiced at or originated from one or more of the Shaolin Temples.
How language is used is important. Its misuse, purposely or innocently, can lead to serious misunderstanding and quarrels.
Hoong Ka Kungfu
Little Lohan Fist
18-Lohan Fist
Treasure House of Kungfu Sets
Treasure House of Combat Application
Those who wish to attend the 18-Lohan Fist course in Frankfurt, Germany on 26th, 29th, 30th September and 1st October 2014, please contact Secretary, Wahnam Germany or phone (069) 904-31954.
The questions and answers are reproduced from the thread 10 Questions on 18-Lohan Fist in the Shaolin Wahnam Discussion Forum.
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