KUNG FU AND TAI CHI STYLE HISTORIES/LINEAGES
Northern Eagle Claw-Faan Tzi Ying Jow Pai
The history of Faan Tzi Ying Jow Pai or Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu traces its beginnings back to the Southern Song Dynasty in 12th century China, and General Ngok Fei’s elephant style, which he originally taught to his soldiers. It was later combined into a more complicated style of grappling, locking, footwork, striking and attacking the body’s pressure points. Later, the famous 108 locking hands were added with the eagle claw third hands/third legs, or simultaneous claws and sweeps. Ngok Fei rose in the ranks and inspired discipline and excellence in his troops from his moral integrity and loyalty.
After his later execution for falsely being accused of refusing a direct order from the Emperor, through the Prime Minister, to answer for false charges, Ngok Fei’s soldiers disbanded and continued on their own. The system which evolved during this time, became known as “Eagle Hands” and grew in fame until it migrated back to the Shaolin monastery. Years later, it was merged under the Faan Tzi system (which brought the style high kicks, three hands/three legs, tumbling, and footwork) to become Faan Tzi Ying Jow and later Ying Jow Pai or Northern Eagle Claw. The monk Lai Chin propagated this style after merging the two systems, later teaching the monk Toa Gai, who then passed it on to one of his non-Shaolin students, Lau Shing You. Eventually, the system was taught from Lau Kai Man, not only to the Lau inheritor of the system Lau Fat Man, but to the first outsider, Chan Tzi Ching, his sister’s son.
Chan Tzi Ching founded the Ching Mo Kung Fu Association in Shanghai with Fawk Yun Gop. He went to Hong Kong to help set up the Ching Mo Association there, but later returned to Shanghai, handing over the teaching in Hong Kong to Lau Fat Man. Ng Wai Nung, Lau Fat Man’s top student, trained under him extensively, and later became teacher/godfather to my teacher, Yee Shum Leung.
Grandmaster Yee Shum Leung has instructed thousands of people in New York City for 50 years, including a short Texas guy who moved to New York 40 years ago to work on Wall Street. Texas Mike, or Sifu Michael Aronson MBA, has been with GM Shum for 40 years of his overall 47 years of training in the Chinese Martial Arts. Texas Mike is one of GM Shum’s first generation and senior students. He reveres GM Shum as his second father in life and is grateful every day for his teachings.
Northern Eagle Claw Kung Fu contains all four elements of fighting (striking, kicking, grappling, chin na) and is one of the most advanced and treasured ways of fighting and protecting oneself in the world. It is famous for its 108 locking hands chin na techniques.
Nine Birds Shaolin Kung Fu
Nine Birds Shaolin Kung fu, or Ba Quen Chuan (the number 8 instead of 9 is used as it is a much more fortunate number in Chinese numerology) is a Shaolin family style of kung Fu created in the 18th to 19thcentury by the family of Abbot Wang Fui Yen. This style consists of the combined forces of nine different systems of “predatory birds,” including Falcon (speed), Southern Eagle Claw (power), Stork (fearlessness like a Dragon), Northern Crane (grace, speed, and footwork), Goose Boxing, and four other styles. The original style, Northern/Southern Falcon, was developed by two sons of an Emperor in Tibet, who banished them when he found them trying to secretly watch him practice his fighting. One day, these two sons came upon an eagle fighting a falcon. While the eagle came at the falcon with great claws and power, the falcon would evade those thrusts with his great speed (falcons can dive at 210 mph, the fastest bird on the planet). Both the birds were trying to fight over a snake the eagle had absconded. The two brothers tried to copy the falcon’s moves and flight patterns, but not until they added the snake evasive techniques did the style come together.
The brothers continued to perfect the falcon techniques while watching how falcons, snakes, and eagles interacted. Later, the brothers incorporated southern eagle claw movements (different from Ying Jow Pai northern eagle claw, three fingers employed in grabbing/locking, not five) combining to make strong fighting, evasion, and ripping techniques.
Later, the other birds were added, each with its own unique properties. Today, each of the birds has its own fighting system, or combined they become the overall style Nine Birds of Shaolin. Uniquely, these styles can be combined or separated at will.
Master Aronson is one of the few people outside of China to learn and teach this rare fighting style, given to him by his esteemed Shaolin master. He teaches these systems individually or as a combined style.
Northern Shaolin Long Fist
Northern Shaolin Long Fist comes from the Song Mountain Shaolin Temple and is associated with Gu Ruzhang, and then passed on to Gen Feng Chi of Jiangsu Province, by a Shaolin monk named Zhao Yan, or Zhu Fu, a member of the Ming royal family. From 600 to 1600 AD, the martial arts of the Shaolin Temple grew, with Shaolin monks developing the barehand and weapons techniques that would eventually leave the temple and be spread. After many years, and the creation of the Jing Wu or Ching Mo schools in China and Hong Kong, during the early 20th century there were the Five Northern Tigers, who specialized in Northern Shaolin, Nature Division, Bagua, Li Hua Spear, and Tam Tui. There were also teachers of TaSheng, Dong, Ying Jow, Yang and Sun Tai chi. The primary style developed for overall practice is Long Fist Kung fu, a terrific combination of northern style punches, kicks, evasive and expansive footwork, elongated arms, and leg strikes etc. During the time of 1937 to 1945 or during World War 2, many schools were closed or went underground. During this time, the Northern Long Fist grandmaster Li, Mao-Ching, began his training.
After the Communist takeover of the mainland China in 1949, many great martial artists migrated to Hong Kong and Taiwan. Li, Mao-Ching is a part of this generation of teachers, and his main instructor was Han, Qing-Tang who was a second-generation martial artist who graduated from the Nanjing Central Guoshu Institute. Master Li also studied Northern Praying Mantis, Chinese wrestling, and Sun Bin Quan. Li Mao-Ching became the instructor to Dr. Yang Jwing Ming in Taiwan, our current grandmaster in Northern Long Fist, and our teacher Master Jeff Bolt, started learning from Dr. Yang 50 years ago, in 1974. Master Aronson is a second- generation senior instructor of Northern Long Fist under Master Bolt.
Northern Long Fist, besides its famous elongated kicks, punches, and footwork movements, is also known for its many chin na (grabbing, seizing, controlling hand techniques) techniques, many of which emanated from Northern eagle claw.
Yang Style Tai Chi
Yang style tai chi is one of the 5 major styles of tai chi (Chen, Yang, Wu, Wu Hao, Sun) developed first as a combat art, and in later years used as a health exercise, along with Qi gong, 5 ways of breathing, and other techniques of slow movement to fast usage. This Yang style has the 108-movement set, 24- movement set created later to pare down the time taken to perform, Jian/Gim or straight sword, Tai Chi Saber, Tai Chi two person fighting set, tai chi staff, push hands (stationary and moving), tai chi chin na and fighting applications, and other movements. Yang Tai Chi derived from Chen Style Tai Chi, from its creator Yang Luchan, who later passed it down to his sons Yang Banhou, Yang Jianhou, who passed it to his sons Yang Shaohou and Yang Chengfu, and to Wu Yuxiang, who later developed Wu Hao style, the ancestor style of Sun style. Yang Jianhou concentrated on the more martial aspects of Yang tai chi, while Yang Chengfu removed the power generation practice, removed the more vigorous movements in order to emphasize health, and standardized the Yang style mostly practiced today.
Our Yang Style branch comes from Dr. Yang Jwing Ming of Taiwan, who learned it from Grandmaster Kao, Tao and his teacher Yue, Hauan zhi, indoor disciple of Yang, Cheng Fu, a large man, and perhaps the most famous Yang practitioner. Tai Chi Quan means “grand ultimate fist,” and can be traced back to the Chen family, the Daoists at Wudang Mountain, and possibly to the Shaolin Temple.
Qi-gong or “energy work” is the art of building the body’s energy level and employing that energy for health and rejuvenation- Dr. Yang Jwing Ming, YMAA
FILIPINO MARTIAL ARTS AND FREE STYLE WRESTLING
Filipino martial arts, escrima and espada y espada, (knife vs. knife and knife vs empty hand defense) along with free style wrestling are also taught to private students.