Photos: Courtesy of Jian Zengjiao
Coiling Dragon Staff or Panlonggun (盤龍棍) is a classic name that encompasses a wide range of definitions and variations. In fact, the same term could refer to a set of staff techniques or routines practiced within certain styles of traditional Wushu, or to specific staff weapons found in old Wushu manuals and particularly in classic martial novels, spanning from a standard wooden or metal staff, to two-section staff variants of different proportions, materials, and attachments; or even the more popular and well established three-section staff. Wushu Master Jian Zengjiao (簡增蛟) shares his own insights and experience with a traditional routine he learned as a child called Coiling Dragon Staff.
Modern Athlete with Traditional Foundation
Master Jian, known as “JJ” among friends and peers, is a former professional Wushu athlete who has utilized his consistent skill sets to elicit numerous results during his career, including multiple-time national and international medalist, the recipient of the Martial Hero Level (武英級) athlete award by the Chinese Wushu Association, the subject for scientific studies on Wushu’s high difficulty movements, a performer in the Olympic bid video presented by the International Wushu Federation to the IOC, the cover model of the Chinese Wushu Magazine, a stuntman and stunt coordinator on movie productions, a long-time performer and martial arts trainer at Cirque du Soleil’s famous show “KÀ”, a school owner and coach at Las Vegas Modern Kung Fu, and the list goes on. Most importantly, his passion for Wushu never stops.
Born in 1976 in Gaizhou (蓋州), a county-level city of the Liaoning Province in Northeast China, Master Jian started learning traditional Wushu from his uncle Jian Ruihai (簡瑞海) when he was seven years old, including several Shaolin-based external styles and hard qigong exercises. As many kids of his generation, he was heavily inspired by the 1982 film Jet Li (李連杰). Under the strict guidance of his uncle, he trained very hard and before he was 9 years old, he had already learned a variety of routines such as Small Red Boxing (小紅拳), Praying Mantis Boxing (螳螂拳), Cross Pattern Broadsword (十字刀), and Coiling Dragon Staff.
In 1986, Master Jian joined the Yingkou City Sports School (營口市體校) to practice modern Wushu full-time. Enduring the hardships of living away from his parents, he often cried, but was determined to fulfill his dream. In 1990, given his strong traditional foundation and excellent competition performances, he was transferred to the Liaoning Province Wushu team, a top tier professional team where he continued developing his skills, specializing in broadsword and staff, and earning several national titles. In 1995, by recommendation of his former teammate and formidable athlete and coach, Master Liu Qinghua (劉清華), Master Jian was able to join the Beijing Wushu Team – the same team as his childhood hero Grandmaster Wu Bin (吳彬). Master Jian’s athletic career had come full circle as he continued to win several national and world level medals until his retirement.
The Ancestor of All Weapons
In China, the use of the staff or gun (棍) as a weapon is highly valued in both military and folk martial arts circles. Identified with different names such as bang (棒), gan (桿), or ting (梃), many types of traditional staff techniques were developed over time, which later were organized, systematized, and incorporated into martial art styles. By the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), many authors already discussed the use of the staff in detail in early military texts such as the Classic of Swords (劍經) by Yu Dayou (俞大猷), the New Treatise on Military Efficiency (紀效新書) by Qi Jiguang (戚繼光), the Record of Military Preparation (武備志) by Mao Yuanyi (茅元儀), and the Study of Shaolin Staff Methods (少林棍法闡宗) by Cheng Zongyou (程宗猷) to name a few.
The reason why the staff is considered the “first of a hundred weapons” (百兵之首) is threefold: 1. Staffs are one of the earliest production tools and rudimentary weapons used by mankind. 2. The dominant value of the staff in training has been highlighted in the military Classics multiple times. For example, Mao Yuanyi wrote: “All different arts are based on the staff,” a concept Yu Dayou elaborated more: “If you can use the staff, the method of each sharp weapon will be obtained from that.” 3. Staff techniques are simple to learn yet highly effective. On this subject, the Record of Arms (手臂錄) by Wu Shu (吳殳) says: “Merely hitting down to ground level, up to head level, unremarkable, like a peasant plowing the soil. Yet, after long time of training great attack power is unveiled. Therefore, the staff techniques cannot be underestimated.”
The Ancestral Connection to Red Boxing
Traditional martial arts lore and martial arts novels generally associate the Coiling Dragon Staff to Emperor Taizu of Song, Zhao Kuangyin (趙匡胤), who is credited as the founder of Red Boxing (紅拳), also known as Taizu Red Boxing (太祖紅拳) or Taizu Long Boxing (太祖長拳). This traditional style originated in the Shaanxi Province allegedly since the Song Dynasty (960-1279), although it may have been during the Qing Dynasty (1368-1911) when it was solidified and widely spread around China, with many regional variations and overlapping derivatives. A passage from an old Red Boxing martial poem or quanpu (拳譜) should be self-explanatory: “The godly Coiling Dragon Staff can't be overstated, all movements are great and practical staff methods, Taizu wielding the staff was unparalleled in the world.” However, we must also mention that other versions of Coiling Dragon Staff can be found in styles such as Shaolin Boxing (少林拳), Gongli Boxing (弓力拳), Yanghu Boxing (陽湖拳), Lanshoumen (攔手門), Erlangmen (二郎門), and even a branch of Wudang Boxing (武当拳).
Looking back at the traditional routines that Master Jian learned as a child, it only makes sense that his uncle taught him the Coiling Dragon Staff from Red Boxing. Master Jian’s uncle, Jian Ruihai, learned from the traditional Wushu folk expert Grandmaster Sang Yongmao (桑永茂 1896-1980), a true member of the old martial artists community or Jianghu (江湖) from the Gaizhou area since the early Republican era. He was an 8th generation descendant of Plum Blossom Praying Mantis Boxing (梅花螳螂拳), former police trainer, who was said to know hundreds of boxing and weapon routines from various shaolin-based styles, including Red Boxing, and thus becoming a vital person in the transmission of traditional Wushu to thousands of students in Liaoning.
Bold And Heroic
Master Jian’s Coiling Dragon Staff can be practiced with a standard wooden staff and comprises of the same compact frame and neat structure of his Small Red Boxing routine.
The main characteristics include low and strong stances, quick and stable transitions, while executing all major staff techniques such as splitting (劈), tilting (崩), swinging (掄), sweeping (掃), circling (絞), blocking (攔), poking (戳), etc. The Coiling Dragon Staff is exclusively for attack and defense without any of impractical movements. Combining his traditional and modern foundation, Master Jian performs this routine with a bold and heroic expression, executing all movements with his mind, body, and breath in unison, generating the power for each movement from the ground up; from the feet, ankles, and knees to the body’s center of gravity or dantian (丹田), to the chest, shoulders, arms, elbows, hands, through the staff, reaching the specific area of the staff depending on the technique being executed. Now, that is what he calls Modern Kung Fu!
