For The Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 34, click here.
September 5, 2021 - This 35th installment of the Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour includes an interview with Wushu Kung Fu Grandmaster Liu Huai Liang, introduction to Hainan Island, martial art legacies of Hainan and Shandong provinces, Changquan Long Fist style of martial arts, the Beijing Wushu Team, international sports diplomacy in the 1970s, and the 1982 SHAOLIN TEMPLE. Part 36 of this series continues that interview introducing China’s newest martial art invented by Grandmaster Liu called Xiang Zi Dao, and later affectionately called “Bing Dao,” its inception, principles and strategies, the grandmaster’s virtual reality company and its happy marriage with martial arts, and a splendid dinner. It concludes with some hints about the next destination of the Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour.
September 2, 2021 Yes! After a year hiatus the Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour is back on the road. During the past year I did travel a bit, but Kung Fu schools were pretty much also on hiatus so not a lot got written. Recently I traveled to Hainan Island and had a highly entertaining and interesting interview with one of China’s true Wushu Kung Fu grandmasters.
For those not familiar with Hainan it’s the tropical paradise vacation island off the south coast of China. Historically Hainan was famous for being the “final destination” where exiled politicians, renegade poets, and others who fell out of favor with the royalty of China were sent. Not being worthy of execution by the royal court is actually a very good thing because Hainan is a beautiful place, though perhaps a tad warm in the summer except for the still very natural mountainous highlands located mainly in the central south-western part of the island and mostly occupied by the native Li and Miao indigenous groups.
In June 2020 the Chinese government released a master plan to develop the Island into the world’s largest high-level Free Trade Port with zero tariffs, aliberalized market, and foreign investment access. All the international port and trade businesses will occupy a small percent of the huge island, most of which is going to be turned into the world’s largest vacation tourism destination.So I, and my ever-enthusiastic friend and translator Miao Hui, went there to register a new company we cooked up which is now licensed to do business in 49 market areas ranging from growing Chinese traditional herbs to providing sports, health and leisure services and even construction and operation of tourism, ecological and cultural themed hotels.
Speaking of “cooking up,” on our first night in Haikou, the capital of that island province, an old friend of Miao’s invited us to dinner which turned out to be a combo “hot pot” and grill of bull organs including those rather sensitive ones… followed by a wonderful sea swim under the moonlight.
Naturally my first goal on Hainan (besides all that business stuff and eating) was to hook up with the Hainan Wushu Association and get a view from the top. Before departing for that huge island (about the size of Maine) I did some research and found out Hainan is an undisputable capital of Wushu Kung Fu.
In China there are nine “Hometowns of Martial Arts” and three of them are on Hainan. Tunchang County is known as the “North Gate of Central Hainan”. According to historical records, Tunchang martial arts culture has a history of more than a thousand years.
The history of martial arts in Qiongzhong can be traced back to the 28th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1291). The Li people “use wood as a bow, bow as feathers, bamboo as strings, in and out of their hands, use a sword as a ge, and a horn.” Being the first – shooting and hunting for a living – history can be seen everywhere in the history of martial arts in Qiongzhong.
People in Wanning has been practicing more traditional Chinese martial arts since ancient times. Since the 22nd year of Shaoxing (1152) in the Song Dynasty, there have been Wanning martial arts records (called Wanzhou martial arts at the time).Traditional martial arts include boxing, broadsword, long spear, etc. These arts have been passed down to the present by Zhuangtou Gong and Ma Zi Gong.They have been in Wanning for seventeen generations.
全国9个“武术之乡” 海南占三个(Nine "Hometowns of Martial Arts" in the whole country, Hainan accounts for three)
Shortly after arrival we met with Grandmaster Liu, we learned that in addition to ancient and traditional Chinese martial arts Hainan is also the home of China’s newest officially recognized martial art called Xiang Zi Dao, also known as Bing Tao, invented by the Grandmaster himself.
Note that Grandmaster Liu Huai Liang doesn’t call himself “grandmaster,” but I do because he has all the credentials as is illuminated in this short article. In addition to a martial art resume which is already in history books, watching his martial art movements I know he still has highly developed skills.
Liu’s martial art journey started in the 1960s on mainland China in Shandong Province principally training in Changquan Long-Fist Wushu Kung Fu.Shandong is famous for all kinds of things like being the home of Confucius, being the location of at least part of the huge sacred Taishan mountain range and numerous martial arts. The five sacred mountains of China according to legend formed the limbs and head of Pangu, the man who created the world and Taishan is the most sacred of them all.All that suggests Master Liu Huai Liang comes from exceptional Chinese Wushu Kung Fu stock.
Widely believed to be of North Shaolin origin, Changquan was developed as a unique style by the first Emperor of the Song Dynasty (960–1279) usually referred to as Emperor Taizu with the personal name ofZhao Kuangyin. It’s a style that emphasizes long-range fully extended kicks and punches that come raining in like unstoppable missiles. It’s an aggressive style that includes acrobatic-like moves, Qinna joint-locking techniques and Shuai-jiao judo/wrestling-like throws and takedowns. In other words, it’s a very comprehensive, very powerful external form of Chinese martial arts.
For background on Changquan see ”The Origin of Shaolin Taizu Chang Quan – Grand Ancestor of all Shaolin Boxing” by Salvatore Canzonieri.
Though pedigree can be helpful in establishing a martial art legend, it doesn’t add up to a hill of beans if the individual doesn’t have truly extraordinary skill and talent. Here is where Master Liu Huai Liang truly distinguished himself. Due to his extraordinary performances in Changquan Taolu national competitions he was selected to join the Beijing Wushu Team Tour in 1974.
For those not familiar with the Beijing Wushu Team it has an awesome history. It grew out of the Beijing Wushu School first created for the National Games of China in 1959. In 1974 Wu Bin and Li Junfeng created the Beijing Wushu Team located at Shichahai Sports School.
Kung Fu diplomacy in the west began with the Beijing Wushu Team’s debut world tour in 1974. Jet Li was among them and performed a two-man fight for US President Richard Nixon on the White House lawn. Jet Li reports he was asked by President Nixon to be his personal bodyguard to which heanswered, “I don't want to protect any individual. When I grow up, I want to defend my one billion Chinese countrymen!”
In addition to the US the Beijing Wushu team visited Japan, Great Britain, Spain, Ireland, Thailand, Syria, the Philippines, Burma, Australia, Italy, Malaysia, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, France, Mexico, Vietnam, Algeria, and Tunisia to name just some of that teams’ overall destinations.
During our interview Grandmaster Liu told us stories of demonstrations in Spain, England, and African nations including Cameroon where there were some problems with the airplane. He spent large parts of 1975 to 1977 touring with the team mainly in African nations.
Grandmaster Liu Huai Liang also played the role of Liao Kong in the 1982 film SHAOLIN TEMPLE, the first significant martial art movie filmed in mainland China as most others were previously produced in Hong Kong. Abbot Shi Yongxin went into some detail regarding that blockbuster movie in his book, Shaolin Temple In My Heart.
Grandmaster Liu also told us Zhou Enlai was really the first sport diplomat and that this year is the 50th anniversary of Ping Pong diplomacy which was the ice breaker introducing China to the world after decades of virtually no communication.
Stay tuned to Kung Fu Magazine for Part 36 of the Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour and discover Liangshan in Shandong Province, Outlaws of the Marsh, Master Song Jian also known as “Timely Rain,” China’s newest Martial art, Xiang Zi Dao, the 50th Anniversary of Ping Pong Diplomacy held by Virtual Reality and a whole lot more.
For Silk Road Kung Fu Friendship Tour Part 36, click here.
