Originally Posted by
Sal Canzonieri
Hunh? more combative? ALL the styles are combative. It's the person doing the style that is the driver in the car, the automobiles all get you there no matter what they look like, whether it is a sports car, van, sedan, or whatever.
Sorry. I was not sure how else to put it. General Qi would have referred to "flowery hands and embroidered feet" to describe practices he deemed not combat worthy. For myself, I still see a difference where QI-KUNG and MA are combined, in that some styles seem to go heavier on the CHI-GUNG and lighter on the MA, while others are just the reverse. At any rate, I note that a number of resources view the CHA QUAN with its supposed roots in the HUI community as being more aggressive. FWIW.
Lost Track is from the Song dynasty also, it is a clue to what Shaolin stuff was like back in the day. It is most "classic".
I have the 2-book set by CHEN Fenqui and CHEN Youliang (See: ISBN 7-5054-0126-2) and am thoroughly taken with the spirit forms demonstrated in them as well as the 2-person forms.
Hua (Wah is a better pinyin word for it) Quan that you are looking for I am familiar with and have learned. It looks like a combo of Shaolin and Cha Quan.
You can find some really great VCDs of the style on the internet many places. One of the very best fighters in China was of this style, Cai Long.
So far the only material I have been able to locate is "HUA QUAN" where the term is meant to reflect "flower" or "blossom". There is probably some source out there for DVD or VCD but I have yet to find it. Usually I am pretty lucky with Jarek (Szymanski) (See: Inside of China website) but in this case I am still looking. Any thoughts on a good location?
BTW: Maybe its a coincidence but one of my favorite Chinese forms (a work in progress as I write this) is " WU SONG BREAKS MANACLES" (See CAI Longyun). As I continue my research I am surprised at how similar certain biomechanics in that form are with the "Lost Track" material. I mention this only because you commented on the family name CAI as relates to WAH QUAN. FWIW.