Exposition of Original Shaolin Staff Fighting

[Tainan Mantis]

For those interested in Shaolin staff I have included some translations from Cheng Zengyou's 1624 book Exposition of Original Shaolin Staff Fighting

For the most part about "the barbarian surrendering Maneuver" first mentioned by General Qi (1528-1588) and published in his New Book on Effective Training Methods (1562). He describes the technique:

The applications are mysterious and limitless. From ancient times to the present other weapons have rarely matched its power. None of the other maneuvers can compare to it.

The Barbarian Surrendering Maneuver

[Sal Canzonieri]

For those interested in Shaolin staff I have included some translations from Cheng Zengyou's 1624 book Exposition of Original Shaolin Staff Fighting

For the most part about "the barbarian surrendering Maneuver" first mentioned by General Qi (1528-1588) and published in his New Book on Effective Training Methods (1562). He describes the technique:

The applications are mysterious and limitless. From ancient times to the present other weapons have rarely matched its power. None of the other maneuvers can compare to it.

The Barbarian Surrendering Maneuver

Great article!

[richard sloan]

I love this part Mantis:

An awe-inspiring well arranged display of military force with hundreds or thousands of soldiers in a platoon moving forward makes it impossible for the brave to rush to the front or the cowardly to hide in the rear. As the enemy troops arrange their spears or swords to attack us and we return the attack all the soldiers move together as a single unit. The platoon shape is so dense and tightly packed that even a minor movement of the hand is difficult. How can it be allowed to have everybody jump and move left and right?

At this point it would only take one person to turn back and everyone would feel doubt. It would only take one person to turn around and retreat one small step and everyone would lose their confidence.

I think in general a lot of people have mistaken ideas about the 'martial' part and all that entails, in the training and pursuit of these systems, and much time and angst and panty wringing is placed on 'effectiveness' and 'what works', citing to all kinds of things which are not strictly relative.

[RenDaHai]

This is a thread to talk specifically about the famous 1621 treatise on Shaolin staff method written by Cheng Zong You

少林棍法闡宗

'A disclosure of the Shaolin sect staff method'

[RenDaHai]

First off then;

This is an interesting passage, it was written in 1621 and mentions Shaolin boxing practice. I have transcribed the characters so that if you do not trust in my translation (as presented below) you may come up with your own. Note that there is buddhist specific terminology used which may confuse you if you are not familiar with it. The first is 菩提, that is 'Bodhi' or enlightenment. The hope is that fist practice will ascend to the height of 彼岸 'Paramita' which is akin to perfection. 夜叉 or Yaksha is also used, it is a buddhist spirit which can be a benevolent nature fairy, or it can be a wicked ghost.


或問曰, 棍尚少林, 今寺僧多攻拳而不攻棍, 何也

It was asked: Shaolin staff is so famous, yet the monks of today practice the fist more than the staff, Why is this?

余曰, 少林棍名夜叉, 乃緊那羅王之聖傳, 至今稱為無上菩提矣, 而拳猶未盛行海內, 今專攻於拳者, 欲使與棍同登彼岸也

I answered: The shaolin staff is named the 'Spirit', it is the sacred transmission of King Luo, and until this day is considered supremely enlightened. But the fist art is not so popular throughout the land, so today the shaolin specialise in the fist with the desire that it will reach perfection like the staff.

[Sal Canzonieri]

Doesn't it also say in a different answer to a question, that Shaolin has their beloved Taizu Chang Quan? I remember see that.

[RenDaHai]

Doesn't it also say in a different answer to a question, that Shaolin has their beloved Taizu Chang Quan? I remember see that.

I think so. I have not read through all of it yet but I have seen Taizu chang quan mentioned in several places, it also mentions MianZhang Duanda. It also compares various staff stances to their analogue fist techniques.

Various Martial Arts mentioned are 'YangJia Qiang, SunJia YinShouGun, Taizu ChangQuan, MianZhang DuanDa, Shaolin YeCha Gun'. All of these names exist as Shaolin forms today, With Taizu Changquan and YinShou Gun as two of the most popular even 400 years later.

[Tainan Mantis]

The chapter on questions on answers, where empty hand is mentioned, is chiefly on weapons. The chapter finishes with a brief mention of empty hands.

....鐵拳則有太祖溫家之類。短打則有綿張。任家之類。皆因獨步神奇。....
Iron Fist has both Taizu and Wen Family. Short Strikes has Mian Zhang.

Something very interesting to note about this is that Short Strikes is placed in the sentence opposed to the words Iron Fist.
Iron Fist is this...., and Short Strikes is this....,

Does anyone use the term Iron Fist?
The term has been in use in Shandong to represent a form of Longfist.
Anywhere else?

[Tainan Mantis]

余曰, 少林棍名夜叉,

I answered: The shaolin staff is named the 'Spirit',

夜叉 Yecha was a character in dramatic theatre during the Ming.

[Stickgrappler]

Hello RenDaHai et al:

*bows deeply*

Xie xie! Very cool! look forward to more from you on this.

Very truly yours in the MA,

~sg

[pazman]

Various Martial Arts mentioned are 'YangJia Qiang, SunJia YinShouGun, Taizu ChangQuan, MianZhang DuanDa, Shaolin YeCha Gun'. All of these names exist as Shaolin forms today, With Taizu Changquan and YinShou Gun as two of the most popular even 400 years later.

I guess the question is...just because they have the same names, are they really the same forms?

I've always heard Yangjia qiang and Liuhe qiang are interchangable terms, but when you look at huge assortment of forms with those names it seems not to be true. On the other hand, filter out some of the flashy opera moves and they boil down to the same handful of techniques and strategies.

More importantly...how were these arts trained back then? I've seen staff training in China that involves paired training that more closely resembles Japanese formal paired kata, but teachers in China seem much more content with teaching solo taolu.

[Sal Canzonieri]

I think so. I have not read through all of it yet but I have seen Taizu chang quan mentioned in several places, it also mentions MianZhang Duanda. It also compares various staff stances to their analogue fist techniques.

Various Martial Arts mentioned are 'YangJia Qiang, SunJia YinShouGun, Taizu ChangQuan, MianZhang DuanDa, Shaolin YeCha Gun'. All of these names exist as Shaolin forms today, With Taizu Changquan and YinShou Gun as two of the most popular even 400 years later.

Main Zhang Duanda, Cotton Palm Close Strikes, still exists as a style in China.
I have seen some of the routines.

But other books from the 1600s about Shaolin martial arts all mention a Yue Jia (Yue Fei Family, meaning his army) Duan Da.
Yue Duan Da is one of the most important Shaolin martial arts of ancient times, it influenced not only Shaolin close range fighting (chin na and takedowns) but many other martial arts too (Liuhe Quan, Ba Fan Shou via Wen family martial arts, Tang Lang, Xing Yi Quan, Eagle Claw, and others too).

[Sal Canzonieri]

The chapter on questions on answers, where empty hand is mentioned, is chiefly on weapons. The chapter finishes with a brief mention of empty hands.

....鐵拳則有太祖溫家之類。短打則有綿張。任家之類。皆因獨步神奇。....
Iron Fist has both Taizu and Wen Family. Short Strikes has Mian Zhang.
(Here it is likely a typographical error, and the meaning can be Soft Palms or Continuous Palms)
No matter what the style, they all have their unique characteristics.

Something very interesting to note about this is that Short Strikes is placed in the sentence opposed to the words Iron Fist.
Iron Fist is this...., and Short Strikes is this....,

Does anyone use the term Iron Fist?
The term has been in use in Shandong to represent a form of Longfist.
Anywhere else?

Main here is generally considered to mean Soft, Cotton.

Wen Family martial arts are now known as Chuo Jiao and Ba Fan Shou. Military and Scholarly Wen Family martial arts.
I think they are from Shandong. They preserved most of what Shaolin was like during the 1500s.

So, Iron Fist could be a term from Shaondong, many martial artists from Shandong visted Shaolin during the 1500s to 1600s.

[Sal Canzonieri]

夜叉 Yecha was a character in dramatic theatre during the Ming.

Yecha is like a vampire, forked teeth.

[Sal Canzonieri]

I guess the question is...just because they have the same names, are they really the same forms?

I've always heard Yangjia qiang and Liuhe qiang are interchangable terms, but when you look at huge assortment of forms with those names it seems not to be true. On the other hand, filter out some of the flashy opera moves and they boil down to the same handful of techniques and strategies.

More importantly...how were these arts trained back then? I've seen staff training in China that involves paired training that more closely resembles Japanese formal paired kata, but teachers in China seem much more content with teaching solo taolu.

Yang Family were famous, men and women, for their spear play. They were always in the military. Yang Family spear play consists of routines that are based on the length of the spear. So there is the Pear/Plum Blossum spear and the Eight Mother Spear, both two routines within Yang Family Spear. Shaolin still does this "Plum Blossum Spear", of what's left of it.

BUT, Liuhe Spear is meant to be thought of as "SIX Combination" Spear, BECAUSE the methods combine the best ideas of 6 different martial arts masters, Yang being one of them. So Yang Spear is not Liuhe spear.

By the way, Liuhe Spear was considered the most amazingly great spear play to master and it is what Ji Longfeng (aka Ji Jike) used in combination with Shaolin Xing Quan (Shape Boxing - Rooster, Hawk, Monkey, etc) to create what is now Xing Yi Quan. Its was an internal martial art, this spear because you had to practice whole body movement and qigong to master it.