Old Shaolin manuscript

[Tainan Mantis]

The following is the outline of old Shaolin. This is interesting to me as it is also the outline of old Mantis.
Since Mantis and Shaolin share the common manuscript of 18 families. It causes me to believe this manuscript is of great antiquity.

Shaolin says the 18 families was passed on during the Song dynasty. But no conclusive evidence has been shown.

The outline:


"Manuscript of Shaolin Short Strikes.

The three key points of Shaolin short strikes.

Eight eight sixty-four gates.

Nine nine eighty-one transformations.

Once the key is known you have the method of entering hands.

Fanche lulu fist six six thirty-six.

Eight strikes and eight forbidden strikes.

Eight rigid and twelve yielding.

Seven situations of combining continuous fist with eighteen families.

Twelve striking surfaces of the body with dodging, deceiving and double hand fastening."


If anyone would like to read the Chinese I will post it.
If anyone sees something familiar or has info that would help this research please post it.

[rik]

What is the source for this Shaolin doc.?

Some observations on the '18 styles' document which I understand is dated to the Ching Dynasty.

From what I can see only a few styles are mentioned,Tonbei, Hou Quan, Mian Quan, the rest appear to be techniques or the master’s specialty with the style’s name not mentioned. The long fist mentioned is most likely Hong Chang Quan. (Re: another post- my feeling is that both Cha and Hua Quan are later Qing Dynasty off-shoots from the older Hong Chang Quan). Hong Chang Quan, is sometimes called Taizu Hong Chang Quan because the art’s origin is attributed to him, likely originated around 1100’s and comes from a northern Imperial Song army called Hong Jin Jun. This army attributed its founding to Zhao Kuangyin (960-976 ), the first Song Emperor (posthumous temple name -Taizu).

If you take the manuscript at face value praying mantis developed at some later date because the manuscript says that Praying Mantis absorbed these older Shaolin techniques.

According to the Shaolin tradition I practice, Taizu’s Hong Chang Quan, Hou (monkey) Quan, as well various other animal imitation styles have been part of Shaolin at lest since the Song Dynasty.

It is well documented that animal imitating acts, dances, rituals - religious, civil and military - go back to ancient times in China and clearly the most ancient part of Chinese martial arts.


r.

[Robert Young]

Tainan Mantis,

The outline you mentiopned are generally apply to northern Chinese martial art systems, both northern shaolin and Praying mantis. What the outlines say is to cover the general techniques or principle of Chinese martial arts, especially northern Chinese martial arts.
"Eight rigid and twelve yielding." came from Praing Mantis from what I know. What is said is to remind people that Praying mantis has many soft skills also.
Whether it is northern shaolin or Praying Mantis, the goal is the same, the principal is the same. It is the entry training methods that are different. We should treat those outline as guide lines in general, not as individual style or system.
That is my thought.

Cheer,

[Tainan Mantis]

Rik and Robert,
Interesting comments.
What I have written so far is the table of contents.
I will summarize that bit by bit starting from the beginning.
I believe there is a relevance to what you have written so far.

This version called Shaolin Short Strikes only has the outline as I have written. followed by a detailed manuscript of a form.

For the contents I have to turn to other Mantis manuscripts(I am working with Mantis 108 to work out a clear translation.
It is on his forum under RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT-Wang Yifu.
So far it is just bits and peices).

"The three key points of Shaolin short strtikes"

Like I said this version only contains the outline.

Another version is written under"Eighteen Luohan Short Strike Preface"

This was passed on by Wang Yifu in the 30's.
I will use his version as the principal source to summarize the contents.

He uses the term"Three Transmissions" instead of "Three Key points..."and gives details of them.

The first "achievement is accumulating strength." and "Training for 100 days will bring achievement."

The second is "pushing and sending the sand bag to train the fists and palms."

By reading deeper into the manuscript it is apparant that "fists" means striking surfaces of the body and is detailed in in the chapter "Twelve Striking Surfaces of the Body..."


The third is training the hand methods.

Following is a long discourse which will take a while to hammer out an acceptable translation.

Rik,
Here is the source for this document.
This book is a hodge podge of material collected from unknown sources.
Most of the material itself is good though lacking in details of how the publisher acquired it.

[Tainan Mantis]

Eight Eight Sixty-Four Gates is also known as;
Connected Fist
and;
Central Gate Thirty-Two Left And Right Each Sixteen.

It is comprised of three forms.
1. Central Gate's Thirty-Two Gates.
2. Left Sixteen Gates Piercing The Ear Defeats Tong Bei Hand Method.
3. Right Sixteen Gates Tong Bei Defeats Piercing The Ear Hand Method.

Each of the 64 gates has a 7 character part of the song.

Does anyone know if these methods still exist?
I recall Count once said that Su Yuzhang had learned all the Connected Fist forms.
Maybe that happened while he was in China.

[Tainan Mantis]

From the manuscripts in my possession 9981 Changes has been recorded as a form of 18 sections.
The meaning of the name is defined as nine kewords such as crushing(beng), leaking(luo), pasting(tie), binding(kun) etc.
With each keyword having nine methods, making a total of 81 chnanges, hence the name 9981 Changes.

There are references throughout the manuscript to Mantis and its creator Wang Lang.
For Mantis practitioners this is valuable as it defines both the actions of the insect itself and how that relates to the fighting style.
More importantly, it defines, in clear language, what Mantis Fist means as a theory of fighting.
This, in my eye, differs markedly from the confusion of forms and theories found in manys schools of modern MA.

What would be handy now would be to see other versons of this manuscript.