Other reasons why the Kanjiaquan/BSL theory is false.
Apparently there were lyrics that were considered to be older versions of the one's that are in the Bak Siu Lum sets today. The older lyric for Tornado Kick for example was Phoenix Flies to Heaven. Double kicks were called Carp jumps over the Dragon's Gate. If Kanjiaquan is truly an older style that's related to Bak Siu Lum, one would expect to see some of these older lyrics used in the sets. None of them show up at all. Not only do none of the older lyrics show up, but none of the lyrics (besides maybe "tornado kick") are the same in either style at all, period.
Also, Yang Xiushan is known as one of the original teachers of Kanjiaquan. The Kanjiaquan people mention that Yang Xiushan was an older classmate of Kuo Yu Cheung's teacher, Yim Chi Wen. Apparently the Chinese characters used (Yan Yuqi) for Kuo Yu Cheung's teacher in their texts are different than the Chinese characters used for KYC's teacher (Yim Chi Wen) in other well known documents. Back then, a person could have up to three different names: Their birth name, their adult name, and the one people used to refer to them after they became famous. Yim Chi Wen had two with the other being Great Spear Yim. It is also well known that some schools try to attach well known heroes or famous masters to their style or school in order to promote it. I don't mean any disrespect to any Kanjiaquan practitioners out there, but I think that is the case here. It seems unlikely that Yim Chi Wen was a classmate of Yang Xiushan's. Even if he was the styles they're known for are considerably different.
It's possible that Kanjiaquan was taught in Yang Xiushan's curriculum along with other styles that included Bak Siu Lum but this doesn't prove it's the older style at all. It's been documented that Kanjiaquan dates back to the Yuan Dynasty. It was always told in Kuo Yu Cheung's lineage that BSL dates back to the Sung Dynasty (around 1100 A.D.) with its roots connected to the Five Mother styles, Hung, Wah, Cha, Pao and Hua. I know this will always be quite a stretch for many historians but, need I remind you, Shaolin temple was destroyed and it's monks either killed or scattered several times. In 1732 it was attacked and destroyed by Ching troops and in 1928 it's records were even more thoroughly destroyed and lost forever. Then there was The Cultural Revolution when a great many books and records outside the temple were burned and destroyed. Does it really seem all that far fetched that some of these styles that survived outside of the mainland do indeed date back to antiquity. I wonder if it's just blind nationalism that keeps people from questioning the "official" findings on these matters.
Last edited by Siu Lum Fighter; 05-17-2011 at 05:43 PM.
The three components of combat are 1) Speed, 2) Guts and 3) Techniques. All three components must go hand in hand. One component cannot survive without the others." (WJM - June 14, 1974)