Secrets of Phoenix Eye Fist Kung Fu. Mark WileyЧитать онлайн книгу.
rare and dynamic fighting art.
—Mark V. Wiley
Towson, MD
INTRODUCTION
Over the past fifty years martial arts have seen a rise in popularity never seen at any other time. Along with this popularity, though, has come a watering down of the traditional kung-fu methods. That is to say, the original purpose of the arts as systems of self-defense and physical and mental disciplines has turned into aerobic and gymnastic performance activities.
Due to the recent changes in the People’s Republic of China, martial arts there have taken on a unique flavor, one based on the utilitarian role they are seen as fulfilling. With the aesthetic aspects of the art being stressed, and as a result of the persecution of martial artists during the ten years of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), the practical aspects are often downplayed, and it is arguable that the overall level of skill in the combative elements of the arts has greatly declined.
The purpose of this book, then, is to not only preserve one of the most dynamic and realistic Chinese fighting arts in existence, but to provide the reader with a broader view of the art of Chuka Shaolin than has previously been available.
This current work is divided into four parts, each focusing on a different dimension of the art. Part One, “Chuka Shaolin in Perspective,” sets the tone for the book by presenting a detailed history of the art from its parent art of Fukien Shaolin to its formation at the hands of the Chu sisters, through several generations of masters, up until the present time. This section also offers an overview in terms of how a student learns the art and the fighting principles that enable the practitioner to effectively apply the art when necessary.
Part Two, “The Empty-Hand Art,” gives an overview of the basic stances, hand techniques, and foot techniques used in the art in general—yet also specific to the two-person fighting form presented later in the book—as well as descriptions and photographs of the empty-hand two-person form. By practicing this form, exponents learn the proper distances, angles, and psychological mind-set necessary when attempting to apply the empty-hand techniques against an opponent. This section also presents five strength and conditioning exercises, diligent practice of which will better enable the Chuka practitioner to execute his techniques, absorb the impact of his opponent’s techniques, as well as develop his own gripping, pulling, and pushing power without the use of external training devices.
Part Three, “The Weapon Art,” offers an overview of the weapons used in Chuka Shaolin, which includes the pole, long spear, iron rulers, twin knives, and farmer’s hoe. The six-and-a-half-point pole form is then presented, along with fighting applications of the pole and other weapons.
Part Four, “The Healing Art,” discusses the little-known healing dimensions of Chuka Shaolin. This section provides a discussion on the use and practice of chi kung, or internal energy exercises, and presents an overview of the impact healing art used to treat old injuries to the musculoskeletal system.
The book concludes with an afterword, a lineage of the art’s masters and teachers, and a complete list of the solo and two-person empty-hand and weapon forms found within the system. In the interest of keeping the text easy to read, most of the art’s terms are presented in English. For those interested in the original Chinese spellings, a glossary of terms in English and Mandarin is found at the end of the book.
We hope this book has something to offer all martial artists, beginners and advanced, Chuka stylists and exponents of other arts alike. It should be noted that this book was not written in a vacuum, but represents, instead, the efforts of many individuals. We would, therefore, like to thank the following for their respective contributions to this project: Tan Hun Poey, Cheong Boo Kheng, Ong Tatt Lin, Woo Kim Hin, the Lam family, Ron Beaubien, Karunakaran A/L R. Chindan, Hunter B. Armstrong, Carlos Aldrete-Phan, Robert Chu, Alex Co., and the late Donn F. Draeger.
—Cheong Cheng Leong &
Mark V. Wiley,
Penang, 1999
Part I
Chuka Shaolin in Perspective
CHAPTER ONE
Historical Perspective
The historical documentation of a fighting art that spans several hundred years is a difficult undertaking. This is especially so when the art in question lacks written documentation prior to the 1970s, as is the case with Chuka Shaolin. And while Cheong Cheng Leong knows the history of his art as passed on to him by his late master, Lee Siong Pheow, he is unsure of the origins of the art past five generations.
In an attempt to be as accurate and as detailed as possible, we not only present the oral history of Chuka Shaolin as passed down through the generations, but we also offer several new insights into the “mother art(s)” from which it may have sprung.
One possible origin of Chuka Shaolin is found among the Hakka, or Guest Family, peoples of Canton/Guangdong, China. There is a martial art among the Hakka people that stems from Chu gar kow, or the Chu family religion. Chu gar kow was originally an underground society that formed during the Qing/Manchu dynasties. Chu gar kow’s fighting art is now known to many as Chu-gar mantis, the first of the “southern” praying mantis systems to have developed. Over the years, other styles of southern mantis, such as Chow-gar and jook lum have also evolved. Since the Chinese characters for Chu-gar (southern praying mantis) and Chuka (phoenix-eye fist) are the same, it is possible that the latter art evolved from the former.
Another possible origin of Chuka Shaolin is Fukien white crane boxing. Some believe that the teachings of the Chu gar kow spread and became the various styles of Fukien Shaolin boxing—of which white crane boxing is a part. Since the cave where the nun Leow Fah Shih Koo resided and later taught her “Shaolin” art to the Chu sisters was known as the Pai-Ho Toong, or White Crane Cave, it is possible that Chuka Shaolin is based in pai-ho, or southern white crane, kung-fu.
Perhaps a more feasible explanation is that the art evolved as an eclectic blend of several Fukien Shaolin arts, including white crane boxing and Chu-gar praying mantis boxing.
However, like so many other martial arts, the history of Chuka Shaolin is shrouded in the myths and legends of oral traditions passed down through the generations from master to disciple. In the case of the art in question, oral history holds that it was founded by a Shaolin nun who, after leaving the Shaolin Temple, passed on her art to two sisters with the surname Chu.
The story goes something like this...
A Nun and Two Sisters
In the late eighteenth century, there was a Buddhist nun named Leow Fah Shih Koo who was said to have attained mastery of Shaolin kung-fu at China’s Fukien Shaolin Temple. She learned the art from her brother, Abbot Chih Sun. During a time of political turmoil, Leow left Shaolin to seek a more peaceful and quite life for herself in the Pai-Ho Toong, or White Crane Cave, in Kwangtung province.
Aside from her skills in Shaolin kung-fu, Leow was also an herbalist. In fact, she earned her living by gathering and compounding herbs from the hillsides and selling them in a nearby town.
One day, while en route to town to sell her herbs, Leow chanced upon two sisters who had been abandoned and left to fend for themselves in the village granary. Upon further investigation, Leow found that the sisters were Chu Meow Eng and Chu Meow Luan, daughters of wealthy parents who had recently been robbed and murdered.
Leow took the children into her cave-home and raised them as her own. The Chu sisters assisted the nun in the collection of herbs and the preparation of compounds for sale in the village. In addition, Leow taught them Shaolin kung-fu, an art at which they excelled. In fact, it is said that the Chu sisters were so talented that they were able to master the Shaolin art after just