Click here for Chinese New Year 2017 Year of the Flaming Cock

In 1994, two previous cycles of the Year of the Dog ago, I was earning my living as a martial arts instructor, a sword maker and dealer, a psychiatric crisis counselor, and a freelance writer. It was the Year of the Wood Dog, and I remember it well. That was the final year when I performed as a Lion Dancer for the Grateful Dead’s Chinese New Year show, as well as the year prior to my first pilgrimage to Shaolin Temple, a trip that would change my life. I was earning my keep doing niche work in a gig-to-gig lifestyle, so in order to keep my name in the minds of my network of potential employers, I used to make my own greeting cards (remember, this was prior to emailblasts and social media marketing). For that Dog year, I made a Chinese New Year card that featured an image that I poached from Shaolin Kung Fu, edited by Cai Liuhai, the first photo album distributed in America that gave us a peek into the original Shaolin Temple on Songshan. The image was a monk doing Dog Style Kung Fu, in a pose captioned “Dog Makes Water." He was lifting his leg as dogs do, as if to pee. I thought that was hilarious. And nearly a quarter century later, I still find it pretty funny. One of the many things I love about Kung Fu is that it doesn’t always take itself too seriously. Who can’t see the humor in a style of fighting that mimics a urinating canine?

This year, 2018, is the Year of the Earth Dog, or as I’m dubbing it, the Year of the Dirty Dog. This tickles my funny bone too, almost as much as last year’s Fire Rooster, which I dubbed the Year of the Flaming Cock. I confess that after writing about so many weird and wonderful things in Chinese martial arts (like iron crotch for example), I’ve developed a rather warped sense of humor. And I’ll be doggoned if that just tossed me in the dog house this year.

2014 Goes to the Dogs

Not every sign in the Chinese Zodiac has a Kung Fu style associated with it, but there actually is a Dog Style of Kung Fu. Tiger, Dragon, Snake, and Monkey all have renowned Kung Fu systems, as well as individual forms inspired by these beasts embedded within other systems. Horse and Rooster have stances named after them. As for Rat, Ox, Hare, Ram, and Pig, I’ve heard tales of some really obscure Kung Fu styles based on some of those, which may or may not be valid. The thing about Chinese martial arts is that there are so many rare folk styles that almost anything is possible. Dog Style Kung Fu is definitely unique. And it definitely exists, although it’s rare.

I made a bit of an off-color joke in my January+February 2018 Publisher’s Corner by saying that I was considering launching a "Doggie Style Championship" at this year’s Tiger Claw Elite Championships. I must apologize for that now. I always try to keep our publications as much of a "family show" as the martial world will allow. This gets hard with iron crotch (and yes, that’s a penis pun to offset all the dog puns in this article), but in my defense, by the time I get to my Publisher’s Corner, I’m often dog-tired from struggling to make deadline, and my humor gets crasser. Nevertheless, beyond raising a few eyebrows, that comment actually caught the attention of some active Dog Style Kung Fu practitioners. And now, it’s going to happen. In a perfect example of the tail wagging the dog, I’m proud to announce that we’ll really be holding a special Showcase Championship – the Year of the Dog Top Dog Championship – at what will be our 10th Annual Tiger Claw Elite KungFuMagazine.com Championships. Wow. Or should I say "Bow Wow"?

Dog Style Kung Fu garnered some attention when MMA emerged a few years ago. Based on the game of submissions, everyone started saying “all fights go to the ground” and criticizing traditional arts without a ground game for not being effective on the streets. Dog style became the "go to" reference for Kung Fu defenders because it has ground fighting, even though few who cited it really knew anything about it. There were a couple of books available about it back then, but not much, not even on YouTube, which has become the receptacle of so many esoteric styles, both real and imagined. There’s more now, but still not much more. Just like with all of the Chinese martial arts, we’re working to change that. We’re always looking to document unusual styles, so this Year of the Dirty Dog provides the perfect opportunity to explore Dog Style.

Of course, Kung Fu Tai Chi has covered Dog Style before so our longtime readers already know something about it. Chen Pengcheng wrote two in-depth articles on a Fujian Dog Style: "Shaolin Dog Boxing: An Interview with Master Zaipei Lin" (May+June 2005) and "The Shaolin Dog Master" (January+February 2009). Both articles are very revealing, arguably some of the best Dog Style coverage in English to date. Another good reference is "Xiang Xing Quan: Inspiration from the Animal Kingdom" (November+December 2007) by Stephen Chew and Xu Dezheng. Stephen is my longtime Kung Fu brother and Xu Dezheng was our May+June 2016 cover master. That article is an overview of some of the unique animal styles practiced at Shaolin Temple today, including Duck, Toad and Scorpion; the section on Dog Style is very informative. Coincidentally, all three articles are in Shaolin Special issues. Fujian Dog Style is associated with the Southern Shaolin Temple. And today, Shaolin performances often include some Dog Style in the imitative animal style section of their demonstrations. It’s usually done for comic relief. They can always get a laugh with that “Dog Makes Water” move.

For what it’s worth, Dog Makes Water is a genuine move, complete with a viable application. The proper full name of the move is tian guo dou shui (天狗抖水). That translates into “Heavenly Dog Shakes Water.” “Shakes” may seem like the wrong verb, but such is Chinese translation. It makes sense when you think about it, but please don’t ask me to elaborate, lest I fall back into more penis puns. I don’t want to get too distracted from the task at hand, because I’ve still got plenty more dog puns.

I even addressed Dog Style in one of my early articles – "The Martial Menagerie: Exotic Animal Styles of Kung Fu" (October 1999). But that was only a cursory mention, just two short paragraphs. In my defense, that article was an overview of unusual animal styles, and back in '99 there just wasn’t as much information on Dog Style as there is now. We have more to come on Dog Style Kung Fu too. I don’t want to drop spoilers, but keep your eye on Kung Fu Tai Chi. I promise that our next issue, the May+June 2018, will have a very illuminating article on Dog Style.

Master Shi Yanqiang demonstrates “Dog Makes Water” from our NOV+DEC 2017 feature article.

 

Chen Pengcheng’s articles and the Chew and Xu piece show the present distinction between the two major breeds of Dog Style. There’s a Fujian pedigree, which is more dogfight combat-oriented, and a Shaolin "theatrical version," which is more like show dog tricks. This isn’t to say that Shaolin lacks an authentic Dog Style root as Chew and Xu claim. It’s just that most of the Dog Style Kung Fu recited in Shaolin performances is Ditanquan (ground tumbling fist) combined with acrobatics and comedic theatrics like panting, howling, and making water. For the sake of our upcoming Top Dog Championship, we’ll accept either. Frankly, because Dog Style is pretty rare, we don’t expect a massive pack of dogs to enter. This is more for fun. Our Showcase Championships are staged to spotlight the unique diversity of Chinese martial arts. And now, we’re dog catchers, looking for whatever pure breeds or strays we can find, to compete in this once-in-a-zodiac-cycle Top Dog Championship.

Beyond the Top Dog Championship, there’s a lot of changes coming this year for the 10th Annual Tiger Claw Elite KungFuMagazine.com Championships. We’re also doing another Showcase Championship, the Ku Yu-Cheung Bak Sil Lum Championships. We’re also launching a whole new division dedicated exclusively to practitioners of Shaolin Temple Kung Fu from the original Shaolin Temple on Songshan in China. This evolves out from our previous Showcase Championships, the Songshan Shaolin Champion, but now they will have their own division and Grand Champions. Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? We’re always pushing to improve our event. We got to keep it fresh, not just for our participants and competitors, but for us.

I should note that despite their zodiac attribution, dogs aren’t always thought of that well in Chinese culture. Like with every culture, dogs are venerated for their loyalty, but they are also considered lowly animals. When calling B.S. on something, Chinese might say it’s a "dog fart (gou pi 狗屁)," and when calling someone blind in a derogatory way, like if someone cuts you off in traffic, they might say, "You’re blind in your dog’s eyes (Xia le gou yan 瞎了狗眼)’. This is why that scene in Bruce Lee’s 1972 film Fist of Fury, where he is banned from entering the park by a sign that says "No dogs and Chinese allowed" (狗與華人不得入內)” is particularly insulting. China receives global criticism for the Yulin Dog Meat Festival, where dogs are treated like their zodiac siblings, Ox (also translates as "cow" or "beef" if you add rou (flesh or meat 肉) as a suffix), Ram (also translates as "lamb" or "mutton" with that same suffix), Rooster (also translates as "chicken" or "poultry") or Pig (also translates as "pork").

Nevertheless, we hope to celebrate dogs this year with that upcoming Dog article (be sure to subscribe) and the Year of the Dog Top Dog Championship. Had enough Dog doggerel in this thinly-disguised sales pitch yet? Buy this T-shirt and have a fortuitous 2017. Xin Nian Kuai Le! Gong Hay Fat Choy! 新年快乐!

Top Dog Championship 

Click here for Chinese New Year 2019: Year of the Dirty Pig