TIGER STYLE, MONKEY STYLE AND LOHAN KUNGFU
A tiger pattern of Shaolin Kungfu
Question
When I started learning Shaolin Kung Fu, someone in our school once told me: "Tiger beats Monkey, Monkey beats Lohan and Lohan beats Tiger."
Could you comment on this?
Sifu Roeland Dijkema
Answer
"Tiger beats Monkey, Monkey beats Lohan and Lohan beats Tiger."
This is an illuminating comment. It sounds like Darryl speaking.
It also reminds us of a children’s game called cup, water and stone, where two children at a given signal bring out their hand from their back in one of three formations. They can close all the finger-tips making a crane-beak. This represents a cup. They can open their palm which represents water. Or they can close their fist which represents a stone.
A cup beats water as it can scoop up the water. Water beats a stone as the stone will sink in water. A stone beats a cup as the stone can smash up a cup.
In a more philosophical vein, the children’s game reminds us of the inter-destructivity of the five elemental processes. There are countless processes in the world, but all these countless processes can be classified into five archetypes, represented as metal, water, wood, fire and earth, commonly but wrongly described as the five elements.
They are not elements. Past masters did not say that all things in the world were made up of five elements called metal, water, wood, fire and earth. They said that all processes in the world can be generalized into five archetypes represented by metal, water, wood, fire and earth.
Metal processes can overcome wood processes, like the broadcasting of knowledge can replace the physical movement of teachers to many places.
Wood processes can overcome earth processes, like the physical movement of teachers to many places can off-set the concentration of information at only one centre.
Earth processes can overcome water processes, like the concentration of knowledge at one place can arrest the loss of knowledge when people are diffused over many areas.
Water processes can overcome fire processes, like when people are diffused over many areas can prevent them from quarreling amongst themselves.
Fire processes can overcome metal processes, like when people quarrel amongst themselves, they will have no time to broadcast their knowledge.
This inter-destructivity, like the inter-creativity where one process nourishes another, enables life to carry on normally in all its variety, otherwise there is only one direction of destructivity or creativity throughout, like fire will always destroy wood but not destroyed by another elemental process.
In the same way, the inter-destructivity in kungfu, like its inter-creativity, makes kungfu interesting, besides enriching our understanding and practice by knowing the nemesis and benefactor of various arts.
Why is the Tiger the nemesis of the Monkey. It is because the hallmarks of the Monkey are agility and trickiness, whereas the hallmarks of the Tiger are force and ferocity.
If you meet an opponent who is very agile and tricky, you will have a difficult time fighting with him. When you think you have him in control, he turns his body and grips your throat from your back. When you defend against his monkey paw at your face, suddenly you find him stealing your “peach” below.
But when you are a Tiger, you become his nemesis. You are so forceful when you hold him under control that he can’t turn his body and get to your back even when he knows the techniques. As you defend his feint attack to your face, you are so ferocious and continue instantaneously with a counter-attack regardless of whether his initial attack is fake or real, the Monkey will be pre-occupied with avoiding your forceful and ferocious counter-attack that he has no time to steal your peach.
But when a Tiger meets a Lohan, the Tiger meets his nemesis. The hallmarks of a Lohan are his solidness and pressing attack. He is so solid that it is difficult, even for a Tiger, to hold him under control. Even when a Tiger succeeds in initiating a hold, the Lohan will rotate his waist, ward off the hold with a swinging arm, and smash down the other arm at the Tiger like smashing waves. When a Lohan attacks the face of a Tiger, it is usually a real attack, and regardless of whether the Tiger succeeds in warding it off, the Lohan will press in with more continuous attacks.
We in Shaolin Wahnam can benefit much from an understanding of this inter-destructivity. Not only we know the philosophy, we also have the means to put the philosophy into practice.
Students in other schools would not have this advantage. If they practice a Monkey style, for example, they will be beaten by others who practice a Tiger style, and they may not know why. The Tiger stylists will be defeated by those who practice the Lohan, and also they may not know why.
Those who practice simplistic martial arts, like Boxing, Kick-Boxing, Judo, Karate and Taekwondo will be defeated by the Lohan, the Tiger, the Monkey or any kungfu practitioner because of the limitation of techniques of these simplistic martial arts. This is in theory. In practice, the Lohan, the Tiger, the Monkey and most other kungfu practitioners will be defeated by these simplistic martial artists.
Why is this so? Why is it that in theory kungfu practitioners of any style should beat practitioners of simplistic martial arts, but in practice it is the other way round? It is because most kungfu practitioners perform their kungfu techniques for show, and do not know how to use their kungfu techniques for combat. The few who know, like some of our instructors and students, throw away their kungfu combat application and fight like practitioners of simplistic martial arts.
Throwing away their kungfu application which they know and fight like simplistic martial artists is worse than the great majority of kungfu practitioners who do not know how to use their kungfu for combat. They have a rare opportunity to practice kungfu combat, but consciously or unconsciously they do not use it, or are afraid to use it, at a time when it is necessary to put their dedicated practice into use.
All these will happen in normal situations. But in extra-ordinary situations the reverse may occur. Normally a Tiger beats a Monkey. But if the Monkey is very skillful he can beat the Tiger.
In the inter-creativity and inter-destructivity of the five elemental processes, water normally extinguishes fire. But in an extra-ordinary situation when the fire is very strong, it can dry up the water.
So, if you put your kiungfu combat application into actual use, not merely practice it in your kungfu lessons, you can defeat students of other martial arts. But a master Boxer can defeat you.
Besides knowing the nemesis of the Monkey, the Tiger and the Lohan, it is also useful to know their benefactors. There are many benefactors for each style, especially in our school where we have the advantage of breadth and depth. So the example given below is only one of a few possibilities.
Practicing the Crane style is a benefactor for the Tiger. The elegance and flow of the Crane provide good harmony for the force and ferocity of the Tiger.
For the Monkey who is agile and tricky, practicing Xingyiquan is beneficial. The hallmarks of Xingyiquan are simplicity and internal force, which harmonize well with the qualities of the Monkey.
A benefactor of the Lohan is Taijiquan. While the hallmarks of the Lohan are solidness and direct pressing attacks, those of Taijiquan are flowing force and circular movement. These different qualities harmonize one another.
Understanding the nemesis and benefactor of these various arts not only improves our kungfu performance, but more meaningfully enhances our daily life. If your girlfriend is a Monkey, for example, often changing her decisions and cheeky in her behavior, you can overcome these problems by bring out more of your Tiger qualities.
What should you do if the situation is reversed, where your boyfriend is a Tiger and you are a Monkey? You may be a Lohan, solid and pressing in your attack. You can, but you may not want to, as becoming a Lohan in this case may compromise your feminine qualities. You can be a master Monkey while your boyfriend is only a student Tiger.
On the other hand, especially in relationships between boyfriends and girlfriends, husbands and wives, or even just amongst colleagues, you must not be too drastic in being their nemesis. You should win them instead of defeat them. So if you are a Tiger, once a while you may let your girlfriend enjoy being a mischievous Monkey.
If you wish to improve yourself, knowing the benefactor of your type will be helpful. If you are a Tiger, for example, you would attain yin-yang harmony by taking part in activities represented by the Crane, which is elegant and flowing, like joining a dancing school or taking up a course on short-story writing. If you are a Monkey, activities represented by Xingyiquan, like simple and forceful, like practicing Zen and stance training, will contribute to your overall development. If you are a Lohan, engaging activities represented by Taijiquan, which is flowing and circular, like listening to music and going to picnics will give you balance.
Training in Shaolin Wahnam not only make you successful in your work and play, but also add much fun to your daily life.
a Monkey pattern of Shaolin 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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