Different Styles of Martial Arts - Bak Mei, Liu He and Bak Fu Pai
Bak Fu Pai According to legend, Fung Do Duk, the founder of the system, was one of the few monks to escape with his martial-arts knowledge from the brutal burning of the southern Shaolin temple in 1723.
While meditating on Emei Mountain, he was visited by a goddess on a golden throne.
She demonstrated a set of meditations called "fae fung sunn gung," which were said to greatly benefit the health of mankind, but also warned the monk that, because the exercises and meditations were heaven-sent, he had to choose who he taught them to with great care.
Consequently, a tradition of secrecy has always surrounded the art.
Bak fu pai as it is taught today includes a number of southern-style Chinese punches and kicks, including the "reverse punch.
" Low shin kicks and knee kicks are a commonly employed tactic and, alongside the study of meditation and nutrition, "iron-palm" practices are widespread.
The most spectacular iron-palm strike is the coconut break, in which, after a number of years of iron-palm practice, practitioners are able to smash coconuts with the fist or the back of the hand-a clean break indicates good, solid iron-palm technique.
Liu He The guiding principle of this art is the belief that the received impact of a strike or a force is far greater when the body is working as a harmonious unit.
There are two elements to this martial art-the external and the internal, both of which have three harmonies, or combinations.
"San wai he" (the external harmonies), refer to the coordination between hips and shoulders, knees and elbows, and feet and hands.
If the maximum amount of power is to be delivered by the strike, all parts of the body and mind must act in complete harmony with each other.
"San nei he" (the internal aspects) relate to how the spirit harmonizes with intention, how intention harmonizes with physical energy, and how physical energy harmonizes with strength.
These six harmonies must work together in order to deliver the most effective strikes.
Bak Mei The system is said to have been developed by a Shaolin monk nicknamed Bak Mei, meaning "white eyebrow.
" Some practitioners, however, claim he was a traitor to the Shaolin temple and worked as a spy for the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), an allegiance that resulted in the burning down of the temple and Bak Mei's subsequent escape.
Some animosity remains among kung fu stylists to this day, and some teachers refuse to teach Shaolin arts to students who have previously trained in bak mei.
Powerful principles This important and powerful system is characterized by close-contact, aggressive, explosive punches and blocks that are often thrown in decisive combinations.
Hand movements whip, cut, and poke, and practitioners exhale hard when throwing punches.
At its core the system is a close-range fighting art founded on four principles: to float, to sink, to swallow, and to split.
These power principles refer directly to the forward, sideways, and up-and-down motions of movement, and in particular the delivery, or splitting, of power and the swallowing, or absorption, of force.
Further important fighting techniques used within the system are sinking, springing, thrusting and neutralizing.
The style has been fictionalize popular Hong Kong movies such The Shaolin Heroes or Shaolin Yir Xiong (1980) and more recently by the character Pai Mei, as played by Gordon Liu, in the Hollywood film Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).
While meditating on Emei Mountain, he was visited by a goddess on a golden throne.
She demonstrated a set of meditations called "fae fung sunn gung," which were said to greatly benefit the health of mankind, but also warned the monk that, because the exercises and meditations were heaven-sent, he had to choose who he taught them to with great care.
Consequently, a tradition of secrecy has always surrounded the art.
Bak fu pai as it is taught today includes a number of southern-style Chinese punches and kicks, including the "reverse punch.
" Low shin kicks and knee kicks are a commonly employed tactic and, alongside the study of meditation and nutrition, "iron-palm" practices are widespread.
The most spectacular iron-palm strike is the coconut break, in which, after a number of years of iron-palm practice, practitioners are able to smash coconuts with the fist or the back of the hand-a clean break indicates good, solid iron-palm technique.
Liu He The guiding principle of this art is the belief that the received impact of a strike or a force is far greater when the body is working as a harmonious unit.
There are two elements to this martial art-the external and the internal, both of which have three harmonies, or combinations.
"San wai he" (the external harmonies), refer to the coordination between hips and shoulders, knees and elbows, and feet and hands.
If the maximum amount of power is to be delivered by the strike, all parts of the body and mind must act in complete harmony with each other.
"San nei he" (the internal aspects) relate to how the spirit harmonizes with intention, how intention harmonizes with physical energy, and how physical energy harmonizes with strength.
These six harmonies must work together in order to deliver the most effective strikes.
Bak Mei The system is said to have been developed by a Shaolin monk nicknamed Bak Mei, meaning "white eyebrow.
" Some practitioners, however, claim he was a traitor to the Shaolin temple and worked as a spy for the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), an allegiance that resulted in the burning down of the temple and Bak Mei's subsequent escape.
Some animosity remains among kung fu stylists to this day, and some teachers refuse to teach Shaolin arts to students who have previously trained in bak mei.
Powerful principles This important and powerful system is characterized by close-contact, aggressive, explosive punches and blocks that are often thrown in decisive combinations.
Hand movements whip, cut, and poke, and practitioners exhale hard when throwing punches.
At its core the system is a close-range fighting art founded on four principles: to float, to sink, to swallow, and to split.
These power principles refer directly to the forward, sideways, and up-and-down motions of movement, and in particular the delivery, or splitting, of power and the swallowing, or absorption, of force.
Further important fighting techniques used within the system are sinking, springing, thrusting and neutralizing.
The style has been fictionalize popular Hong Kong movies such The Shaolin Heroes or Shaolin Yir Xiong (1980) and more recently by the character Pai Mei, as played by Gordon Liu, in the Hollywood film Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004).
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