8 Drunken Immortals

Who invented this system? I have an intrest in it and would like to find out more

hehe well errr ummm
Basicaly the 8 immortals themselfs...
According to legend 'get ready' the 8 immortals where invited to attend a banquet under the sea. During the banquet they all became rediclously drunk and ended up accidently insulting there hosts. The hosts did not respond well and attacked the immortals who promptly made up there own fighting styles on the spot.
The 8 immortals each have there own techniques and specialtys.

Its a Daoist based art and as such can proberly be traced back to one of the many Daoist temples around China. Still thats the official legend of the Drunk gods.

I don't know who invented this style.
Of the 8 only one was drunken. His name is Lan Tsaihe.

They are from different periods of Chinese history.
In the Yuan dynasty these 8 people of Chinese mythology(at least one really existed) were brought together for short plays, paintings etc.

How a kung fu style is derived from them is a mystery to me although I do know for a fact that there are such forms named after them with straight sword.

"8" signifies 8 certain conditions of life which they represent.
-youth
-age
-poverty
-wealth
-aristocracy
-plebianism
-masculinity
-femininity

The Eight Immortals by T.C.Lai gives history and stories about them.
Though, you won't find any MA.

:o :o :o :o :o ok I guess I asked for that one jon.......daoist huh didnt figure on that one.......I guessed it was created by someone and they sinple named the style attrebutes after the immortals

With the proper mindset, almost any technique can be practiced in a "Drunken Immortal" style.

What I'll do is a slow recoil in one direction, storing up the internal chi via an external windup. Then in the REVERSE direction, I'll suddenly explode fast and quick. I catch the rebound of the fast jing by going back into a slow recoil, ready for the next move.

The entire motion is like a pitcher winding up before throwing the ball. The difference is that instead of having a complete external followthrough at the end of the move, there's a recoil that prepares a guy for the next strike. An even better example of this would be Michael Jordan stutterstepping his way to the basket in the 80s.

From what I've seen of 8 Drunken Immortals, it has this kind of recoil mixed in with jings from other styles. But the slow recoil-fast explode jing is the most prevalent usage of the art. BK Frantzis talks about that jing to a very slight degree in his "Internal" book.

8 Drunken Immortals, like many other CMAs, uses exaggeration of that jing release to teach that internal striking method. In my experience, one can minimize the windup to the extent that it looks like a normal strike. Systems like Hung Gar's "Iron and Thread" form skip the external theatrics of the Drunken aspect and go right for the small internal windup. Both systems are valid ways of teaching this, in my opinion.

Chen Taijiquan and Baguazhang have that kind of jing in their systems. But as I said earlier, almost any art can be practiced in this manner.

Now that jon has given you the Taoist version, I'll give you what I know of the Buddhist version of the legend.

Unfortuantely, I cannot remember this monk's name but supposedly there was a Shaolin monk who liked his drink strong. :cool: When he returned to the Temple after a drinking binge, he was expelled. In a rage, he fought with his guards that were supposed to escort him out and ended up defeating something like 30 monks. On his way out, he is also claimed to have torn the doors off of the Temple as he left. Anyhow, the techniques he used were then "codified" as often happens with mimicry styles and thus, drunken boxing was born.

Take as you will. ;)

Quote:

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Community members show up to restore defaced ‘8 Immortals’ mural in Vancouver’s Chinatown
Michelle De Pacina
5 hours ago
https://nextshark.com/wp-content/upl...town-mural.jpg

Members of Vancouver’s Chinatown community reportedly lined up on East Georgia Street on April 16 to help restore the “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” mural that was defaced last month by graffiti taggers.
Artists Sean Cao and Katharine Yi of the Bagua Artist Association organized the mural’s repair as a way to gather people through art and build a sense of community.
The mural, which was meticulously painted onto the side of a two-story building of the Liang You Bookstore, was meant to promote cultural redress.
The social event was supported by the City of Vancouver’s Chinatown Transformation Team, who is working to revitalize the community and combat anti-Asian racism.
Community members of Vancouver’s Chinatown came together on Saturday to restore the “Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea” mural that was defaced last month by graffiti taggers.

Artists and volunteers lined up on East Georgia Street on Saturday afternoon with paint brushes in hand to cover up the over five-feet-high black letters graffitied across the mural.

Meticulously painted onto the side of a two-story building of the Liang You Bookstore, the mural was meant to represent the diversity of people throughout Chinatown’s history and to promote cultural redress. The painting was based on a Chinese folktale about eight immortals who use their unique powers to cross the East Sea.

The vandalism left mural artists Sean Cao and Katharine Yi of the Bagua Artist Association heartbroken. They organized the mural’s repair as a way to gather people through art and build a sense of community.

“Seeing this is very touching and people are so supportive,” Cao told Global News.

“It just means that all of us are standing together to make this community better, and to treasure our public cultural assets,” Yi said.

Terry Hunter, a volunteer who has lived in the neighborhood for 40 years, told CBC News, “When it’s damaged we all feel hurt, we all feel the pain and to be here today to heal the mural is really important. What we need is a sustained, coordinated effort to change the whole attitude about this neighborhood and what can and cannot be done here.”

“There is a sense of ownership, and so that’s where the community effort comes in,” a volunteer identified as “June” told Global News. “We need to turn it into not just being angry. It’s about action.”

The social event was supported by the City of Vancouver’s Chinatown Transformation Team, who is working to revitalize the community and combat anti-Asian racism.

City councilors including Sarah Kirby-Yung, Pete Fry and Lisa Dominato also attended the event. The city has said it will provide more funding to restore murals in Chinatown.

“In the future when people walk by, they can probably say, ‘Oh hey I contributed to that,’” Yi told Global News. “It becomes everyone’s, not just to the artists. It’s the community’s.”

Featured Image via @baguabagua

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