plum flower in the logo

[cricri]

I was visiting the fierce tiger site and I sw that there is a plum flower in the logo. And I was thinking that there are a lot of style which has this symbol in its logo.

This flower is represented with 5 petals. What does this symbol mean? It is related to the 5 elements. And is there a connexion of any kind between school which has this flower in its logo?

And I do not know a school which has another flower in its logo. I do not understand why.

cheers
cricri

[sui-fuw]

come on limp ging,you should be able to answer this.scared you might get it wrong?its hard having expectations,let alone great ones.

:p

[fiercest tiger]

cricri,
wing chun, jow gar, wu mei, alot of shaolin systems have it! ill let the hakka master answer the rest, and tell you what its for and what it represents. :p

come & visit us!
http://home.iprimus.com.au/ykm
yaukungmun@hotmail.com

[sui-fuw]

i don't know,its not on my logo,where have you adopted it from,oh great limp ging :p

[fiercest tiger]

do you have to by another book or get another video?
you dont deserve a logo!
:p

come & visit us!
http://home.iprimus.com.au/ykm
yaukungmun@hotmail.com

[Kevin Barkman]

Good question! I also would like to know the significance of this symbol There are many forms in TCMA with this name. I understand the training method (stumps arranged in the ground for stance/footwork) but is there another (more poetic maybe)meaning?

Cheers - kevin

[mantis108]

Plum flower is a national symbol of China. It has been long time favorite amongst the intellectuals along the other two - pine and bamboo. These three are called the 3 friends of winter because they endure hardships and even flourish under the coldest condition. Plum flower represent Chinese national pride especially during the early Republic era and the Japanese invasion. Shaolin being a leading figure of martial arts community and unoffical leader of rebel forces against the Ching emperor, its use of the flower was to boost the national pride of the followers.

Mantis108

Contraria Sunt Complementa

[fiercest tiger]

thanks man, i just learnt more from your post! :D

come & visit us!
http://home.iprimus.com.au/ykm
yaukungmun@hotmail.com

[cricri]

Thanks for your answer Mantis108,

It is very interesting. But outside the martial art background is the plum flower always represented with 5 petals? Or the 5 petals are only in the martial arts.

[eightgates]

Sifu Ken Lo of the Wu Mei Pai school explains his interpretation of the plum flower logo of his school:

"The five petals represent the five extremities - head, two arms, and two legs, their movement ranges, and the five elements - metal, earth, fire, water, and wood. The eight stamens represent the eight trigrams and eight directions. The stamens are equal in length from the center, representing Wu Mei Pai's principle of force in all directions. The small dot at the end of the stamens represent the release of force out of the extremity but still within the range of movement."
(http://www.wumei.com/documents/plumblossom.htm)

Another interpretation attributed to the flower was when it was selected as the national flower of China by the Central Political Council (not sure when but probably after the founding of the Republic). Besides it symbolizing resilience in the face of adversity (flower in winter theme as mentioned by Mantis108), they felt the 5 petals could represent the Five Clans: Chinese (Han), Manchus, Mongolians, Moslems, and Tibetans. This was probably an effort at unifying the country.

Taiwan selected it as its national flower in 1964 also for its symbol of resilience, it has three stamens symbolizing Sun Yat-sen's Three Principles, and five petals, which represent the five branches of the ROC government.

:)
Eightgate

[Kung Lek]

Hi-

In ancient China, the plum flower was used to represent the first month of the year, wintertime, perseverance, and purity. In modern China, it symbolizes elegance and intelligence.

The plum flower. A flower that blossoms in the cold and harsh winter season, the plum flower signifies strength, endurance, and perseverance.

Seeing as it represents these "virtues", it seems natural that they would hold context to the practice of martial arts.

Martial arts Kung Fu requires strength, endurance, perseverance, intelligence and in the end it is elegant.

The plum flower is a perfect symbol for martial arts.

peace

Kung Lek

[cricri]

Thank you for all your answer. I would hardly find more complete anwers.

Eightgates, ken lo writes :
"The stamens are equal in length from the center, representing Wu Mei Pai's principle of force in all directions. The small dot at the end of the stamens represent the release of force out of the extremity but still within the range of movement."

With that interpretation I also understand that all moves takes its roots in the body which is the center and that the fa ging (release of the force) cannot be done at the border of the range of movement.

So is wu mei pai a short range kung fu? And as I do not see the ying yang symbol in your logo I deduct that wu mei pai does not emphasize the same principles (the end of a move is the beginning of the following one, hard/soft principle...) than the tai chi chuen. right or wrong?

[tnwingtsun]

The flower looks really cool behind
two crossed WingTsun butterfly knifes.

In Ken Lo's video he says that his style
comes from the Shaolin Nun Ng Mui
(cantonese for Wui Mei).
His kung-fu power generation is much closer
to Bai Mei than WT/WC/VT

[Inquisitor]

I'll just give the basic interpretation from which I believe stems all of the more complicated/detailed symbolism...

Basically, the Plum Blossom/Flower is one of the few flowers that can bloom during the harshness of winter (and we're talking cold, near-zero temperatures, snowy winter, not that wussy winter that people in Florida experience, heh). Because of this, the Plum Blossom has served as inspiration for many a martial artist. Hey, if that tiny little flower can survive the icy bleakness of winter, maybe I can survive my training. It's basically a metaphor for the idea of perseverence (NOT "preservation," to all you George W. fans). =

[mantis108]

F.T.,

Thank you. That's quite a compliment. :D

Cricri,

You are welcome my friend.

Eightgates,

Wonderful info. Thanks. :)

Mantis108

Contraria Sunt Complementa

[Serpent]

Would anyone be able to post a photograph of a real plum blossom flower? I don't think I've ever seen a real one.

Thanks.

[eightgates]

Hi Cricri,

I am not a student of Sifu Lo, I just cited his explanation as an example of another martial art using the plum flower as part of its logo.

Wu Mei Pai is also known as Mui Fa Pai or Mui Fa Kyuhn (Plum Flower Boxing) and does include both short and long range techniques. While it does espouse the theory of hard and soft, it approaches it from a different direction than Taijiquan. It does have one routine that is played slowly like Taijiquan called "Daat Mo's Health Form Boxing." Like many other Siu Lum arts, the idea of lihn wahn or linking or continuous series of movements is inherent in the style. With this in mind, Wu Mei does utilize the principle of the ending of a movement being the beginning of the next. But I am not an expert so please excuse me if I defer to others with more insight.

Best wishes,
Eightgates :)