White Crane practice benefits

 

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hite Crane is possibly the oldest martial style that exist in a form that traditional martial arts are recognized today and it shaped development of almost all other martial styles from Fujian and Guangdong provinces and heavily influenced development of northern martial arts. White Crane has traditionally been practiced for multiple purposes, including self-defense, mindful nurturing of well-being, and fitness enhancement. For hundreds of years the Chinese have enjoyed many benefits that White Crane is believed to offer. Today, people of all ages and backgrounds from around the world are discovering what the Chinese have known for a very long time: that long-term sustained practice of Zonghequan leads to positive changes in physical and mental well-being.

Self-defense: The essence of the traditional martial arts is self-defense. With regular and diligent practice you will develop practical skills that you may need to use to defend yourself one day in an extreme situation. As unlikely as this potential situation might be in this day and age, surely it’s preferable to be able to protect yourself and your loved ones than face the alternative consequences. There are hundreds of martial arts available today but all of them may not be a good choice. At the time of its creation White Crane was something revolutionary new. It brought new concepts of using human body, training approach weapon usage and fighting principles. It was so advanced that influenced directly or indirectly development of almost all martial arts in Southern provinces of China. In almost every single style at least some White Crane influences are quite obvious. White Crane was first style that focused on “internal” training, relying on universal physical characteristic of the human body which allowed everyone to learn it and become a good fighter. Instead of brute physical strength which is not easy to develop, and which decreasing due to ageing process, White Crane focuses on internal alignment and training which makes people better and stronger over time regardless of their age. In general, martial arts before White Crane required rigorous and extremely hard training process and many people simply could not practice martial arts because their physical deficiencies. White Crane revolutionized training approach and martial training became available and possible to everyone. Saying that White Crane is the best martial art today would not be correct, but it certainly was at the time when it was created and even today is the best and for some people the only option for self-defense training. White Crane does contain a lot techniques that are designed to be practical in almost every situation, it combines foot techniques, hand techniques, joint lock techniques and weapons training. White Crane Kung Fu is a complete self-defense system that uses hands, feet, knees, elbows, shoulders and hips in its arsenal of striking techniques. The style is renowned, however, for its rapid hand techniques, short and low kicks strikes executed in conjunction with grabs and effective pressure point attacks, mixed with close quarter trapping and control methods. When mixed with punches, elbows and knees up close they can be devastating. The kicks tend to be low hence don't require any stretching, are fast (direct) and with shoes on can be painful.  White Crane Kung Fu combines defense and attack and uses both soft and hard power. It also emphasizes firm, extremely fast yet evasive footwork. It stresses empty-hand as well as weapons training, two-person sets, self-defense drills and free-sparring. The style's fierce pressure point attacks combined with rapid footwork and a no-nonsense approach make it a particularly effective, complete, and beautiful martial art. White Crane is not focused on out-muscling the opponent but on protecting yourself by redirecting or diffusing the opponent’s energy. The art is based on the main principle of following the opponent. Instead of attacking, White Crane practitioners closely mirror the moves of the aggressor, effectively diffusing their energy. The system eliminates unnecessary moves making it an effective combat system even for cramped spaces. The economy of movement is stressed upon to generate maximum force with minimum effort. Apart from being practical and adaptable, White Crane is especially effective in combat against stronger opponents because it is a combat system based on tactile reflexes. Instead of physical strength or speed, the focuses more on body structure, alacrity and practice. 

Physical Health benefits: Literary millions of people practice traditional martial arts for the health reasons. Heath benefits of traditional martial arts, physical as well as psychological are scientifically proven facts. Even more, a lot of people in fairly old age actively exercise on daily basis. White Crane can be practice as low impact activity and puts minimal stress on muscles and joints, making it generally safe for all ages and fitness levels. In fact, because it is a low-impact exercise, it may be especially suitable if you're an older adult who otherwise may not exercise. In China, it is believed that White Crane can delay aging and prolong life, increase flexibility, strengthen muscles and tendons, and aid in the treatment of heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, digestive disorders, skin diseases, depression, cancer, and many other illnesses. Unfortunately, there hasn't been a good deal of scientific evidence to support all these claims. On the other hand numerous studies have shown that traditional martial arts improve muscular strength, flexibility, fitness, improve immunity, relieve pain and improve quality of life. Muscle strength is important for supporting and protecting joints and is essential for normal physical function. Flexibility exercises enable people to move more easily, and facilitate circulation of body fluid and blood, which enhance healing. Fitness is important for overall functioning of the heart, lungs, and muscles. In addition to these components, White Crane movements emphasize weight transference to improve balance and prevent falls. A growing body of carefully conducted research is building a compelling case for White Crane and other internal arts as an adjunct to standard medical treatment for the prevention and rehabilitation of many conditions commonly associated with age. An adjunct therapy is one that's used together with primary medical treatments, either to address a disease itself or its primary symptoms, or, more generally, to improve a patient's functioning and quality of life. Some research suggest that White Crane practice enhance quality of sleep, can help with chronic spine and joint problems, improve symptoms of congestive heart failure. The focus on proper breathing techniques makes White Crane incredibly beneficial for sufferers of asthma. Proper breathing with slow movement of White Crane forms help regulate high blood pressure and helps with some forms of heart diseases. White Crane practice also enhances and maintain the fine motor movements. At the end, unlike many other sports or physical activities, martial arts, especially internal styles can be practice by people with physical disabilities. This is extremely important for many people with disabilities because their overall health situation and quality of life can be significantly improved.

Mental Health: General mental well being of White Crane practice involves areas of life such as feelings of satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, having some control over one’s life, having a purpose in life and a sense of belonging and support. Evidence of the effectiveness of martial arts in producing effective, cognitive and behavioral benefits has come from a number of studies. Improvements in self-esteem a more positive response to physical challenge, autonomy, emotional stability and assertiveness and reductions in anxiety and depression have all been associated with martial arts training. Also White Crane practice shows a reduction in stress. Breathing, movement, and mental concentration required of individuals who practice White Crane may be just the distraction someone needs from hectic lifestyle. The mind-body connection is one that deserves special attention, as it has been reported that breathing coordinated with body movement and eye-hand coordination promote calmness, it is creative and physically active way to improve how people mentally and physically respond to stress. Traditional martial arts were and still are a subject of various research studies which cover vast of array of topics. One of the things shown in those studies is a positive effect of traditional martial arts on decrease of aggressiveness, violence prevention and overall positive effect on other forms of antisocial behavior. Even more, traditional martial arts are used as a therapeutic method to improve overall social and cognitive skill of kids with different kinds of social and cognitive developmental problems. Self-discipline is a challenge for everyone. The surprising thing about Kung Fu is that help people to achieve self-mastery by disciplining their bodies and minds in the quest for enlightenment. Kung Fu truly is an art form, and can adapt to your changing needs and abilities over time. Many people begin their practice in childhood and continue throughout their lives into their 70’s, 80’s and beyond. Low self-esteem takes a toll on mental health. Physical activity, particularly martial arts, helps raise a person’s self-esteem. Building strength of mind and spirit also start to build confidence. This type of confidence is particularly helpful when it comes to martial arts and depression. Through martial arts, people discover that they are capable of so much more than they thought they were – physically and mentally. This mindset will carry people over to other aspects of life, and they often find themselves taking on new challenges and conquering new obstacles. 

Fitness benefits: White Crane offers a wide variety of exercises that are excellent for fitness! White Crane is a high-aerobic activity that utilizes virtually every muscle group in your body and provides a full-body workout that targets improvements in cardiovascular capabilities, muscular toning, and stamina. White Crane is not just a fighting art but also helps practitioners to rapidly transform the whole body. During a high-intensity class, practitioner is constantly moving. Through the training, heart rate will be raised significantly, which means that calories burn will be increased in the process. One of the most significant benefits of White Crane is the effect it has on cardiovascular system. Training works on major muscle groups of the human body. The practice will improve heart rate as well as increase oxygen intake. The most distinct and beneficial aspect of consistent training in any martial arts style is its effect on coordination and muscular communication. As practitioner grows in experience, more and more movements and techniques will require and develop greater general coordination as well as hand-eye coordination. Research has demonstrated that by practicing martial arts, practitioners not only significantly improve their reflexes in the specific martial activity but also during daily activities, such as driving. By participating in White Crane,  tone and the amount of muscle mass of the entire body can be increased. White Crane develop a healthy, strong and powerful body. Training not only increases muscle, but it also builds functional strength, power, and muscular endurance in a way few other training methods do. Since White Crane provides a full-body workout, it will naturally increase overall stamina and endurance. Practicing lots and lots of repetition will help increase endurance of the whole body and will also improve breathing capabilities. Increasing stamina is essential for a healthy lifestyle as it can help lower the heart rate, blood pressure and help burn fat. Generally, a White Crane class includes about 15 to 20 minutes of warming and stretching exercises before every session.  Stretching, kicking and other movements will help to increase muscle and joint flexibility so that practitioner can do various postures, exercises and movements better over time. Agility is a fundamental attribute to any martial art. Through the practice of various exercises, practitioner will develop the ability to move quickly in several directions. Proper execution of any White Crane techniques can't be done without balance. Balance and mobility are undoubtedly two fundamental attributes that White Crane movements depend on. Training forms, single movements, push hands, as well as sparring are a great way to develop balance and mobility. The better sense of balance becomes, the more in tune with his body practitioner will be, and the more effective he or she will become. 

Spiritual benefits: As people learn Kung Fu they find that the practice is more than just kicking and punching.  For many people the true value in studying the martial arts lies not in the learning of the technique or system itself, but in the acquisition of particular internal qualities that are developed through the learning process. The physical exercises are the concrete examples of abstract philosophical principles. Footwork systems teach the student about the qualities of energy, ebb and flow, and both creative and destructive potential. Handwork patterns teach the student about balance, dynamics and the intuition of natural spirit. The actions of blocking, deflecting, striking, breaking and throwing all contain concepts that can be applied to the human spirit. As people progress through an art they learn the basics, the principles, the forms, the exercises, the applications, but all of these are really a study of oneself. It is the person who is doing the movements, and in time it may become much more than something practitioner “just” do. The understanding gained from long term practice becomes part of who practitioner is.

Religious practice: Belief in a supreme being plays an important role in the life of most human beings. Religious beliefs have even been shown to promote good health in the faithful. In the martial arts, religion has an important role in the historical development of many arts, and it continues to dictate the ways in which many students think and act during practice sessions. More than a few Western students have converted to an Eastern religion simply because their martial art grew from that spiritual tradition. White Crane specifically is a part of some specific brunches of Taoism and some followers of Buddhism also train White Crane as a part of their religious practice.

Social benefits: There are many social benefits that can be achieved through practice of White Crane Kung Fu and traditional martial arts in general, especially when we talk about developing social skills in children. One of the things on which martial arts in general have in general is increase of empathy, even when we talk about the most brutal ways of training. Martial arts might seem like an individual activity but that is not actually true. To train martial arts practitioner will always need a group of reliable teammates that not only train and spar with him but motivate and cheer each other on as well. This will develop necessary skills to work in group. Through long and hard training process practitioner will be become aware of all the obstacles someone can meet during training and will learn to recognize when training partners or teammates meet same obstacles. Hence, practitioner will be able to understand their frustrations and spur them on during bad days, while also celebrating their victories alongside his own. This increased empathy will then enable practitioner to be a better friend to other friends outside the gym as well. It was noted before that martial training increase production of dopamine and endorphin, which make people happier. If people are constantly stressed out and in a bad mood, then they might appear unapproachable to others! When people release these feel-good chemicals in their brain, they not only they are turning bad day around but also boosting energy levels. Hence, they will radiate positive energy and other people will enjoy their company much more. Students show respect to each other, their instructor, and even to their school upon joining each class session. Sometimes it’s a simple bow, in other styles it’s a salute of some kind. The gesture encompasses several messages: gratitude, for the learning the student receives, and respect, an acknowledgement of the other person’s abilities. Regardless of the ritual, almost all martial arts teach students to value age, rank, expertise, and experience. Martial arts practice helps people to connect to others who share same interests and values and expand social circles.

One of the most important aspects when it comes to the healthy development of child’s personality is socializing, a process that can be essential during adolescence and arguably throughout one’s life. Martial arts practice help kids interact with other children belonging to their age group and through such an interaction they can shape friendships and relationships that directly help them expand their circle of friends, a thing that many children can have problems doing especially if they have a rather shy personality. In addition they help them develop a healthy sportsmanship, a quality that transcends blind competition and teaches them to respect the people that they interact with, something crucial in order to become a healthy member of any society. Intense physical training also promotes self-discipline and acute focus on given tasks, ensuring that during their more mature years they will manage to retain control even in dire situations and cope through difficulties in terms of studying, workload and personal crises.

Cultural benefits: The culture and history behind a martial art is one of the things that makes it unique and each has an advantage that should be known and highly regarded by individuals practicing the art. Students of martial arts should have pride in their style and preference of art and taking the time to learn history and culture will strengthen the student as well as connect them to the values that each discipline is built upon. Students who take time to reflect of the core values of the art they practice will be much more successful in our global society. White Crane had enormous influence on development of martial arts not only in China but also in Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Knowing the specific culture of White Crane style helps people to better understand other styles as well. One of the most important aspects of White Crane practice is that the style became international long time ago. Our world is filled with amazing, diverse people and cultures. White Crane helps all those people to connect and know each other. There is constant cultural exchange not only between Chinese and non-Chinese practitioners but also among various different cultures on all continents. Sharing common interest in martial arts people from all over the world interact with each other which  is one of the ideal ways of learning and understanding other people’s cultures. The advantage of attending international seminars and traveling to other places to learn and practice White Crane is that practitioners meet people from different countries and races. Not only do they learn about their culture, but you also teach them your culture. Being exposed to different cultures helps people to embrace and appreciate others that are different from them. Learn about other people and their different cultures breaks down stereotypes. Language is not the only player in communication. Culture can have effects on many different areas. Culture can affect speaking style, including speed, figurative language, details and more. It can also affect body language and gestures. Interacting with people from different cultures helps people to develop extraordinary communication skills. Meeting new people, learning about their customs and way of life, hearing their stories enriches everyone’s life and gives precious new experiences and memories. Lots of problems can arise from misunderstandings, especially because we live in a multicultural world. By learning and understanding different cultures helps to understand why people do things the way they do. When someone identify with other people, that person sympathize with their situation. This facilitates understanding and prevents misunderstandings. Learning about diverse cultures helps people to realize that there are numerous approaches to life. Many times, interacting with people from different cultures helps people to view life from a different perspective. When they learn about different cultures, they establish new ways of thinking and approaching and solving problems.

 

Morality and ethics: Considering the morality issue in Chinese martial art, it mainly embodies profound philosophy, a sense of human life as well as social values. This Chinese martial arts  emphasizes traditions, experience and rational knowledge. The idea of morality and ethics is not only an integral part of martial arts culture but actually one of the most important building blocks of many styles, especially of White Crane Kung Fu.  While morality and ethics is a universal thing across cultures, it is often overlooked in actual application. Wude is simply defined as “martial ethics”, or “martial morality” or “martial virtue”, and as its name suggest, is the idea of ethics and morality in the practice of martial arts. Wude teaches one how to become an upstanding and moral person. It is the criteria on how students are judged by their masters, and whether or not they are deemed worthy to be taught. Wude is formally divided into two categories; morality of deed, and morality of mind.  Morality of deed is defined as those ethics and morals which are directly applied to real life environments, such as interactions with other people and relationships, and morality of mind is defined by those traits developed inside oneself. Morality of deed includes: Humility, Respect, Righteousness, Trust, and Loyalty. Morality of mind is consisted of: Will, Endurance, Perseverance, Patience, and Courage.

Authority in Kung Fu (Wing Chun)

What I am going to discuss in this article may upset some people.  Recently in one of many Wing Chun online groups a debate about the real fighting skills arose. Certain master and lineage he belongs to was brought to the discussion and I pointed out that master, according to his own statement, never had a fight in his life, never practiced for fighting and his style is designed for everything else except fighting. Regardless of the fact that I just quoted the ”master” mentioned above, that I presented his own words, several of his followers asked me where my authority comes from? Authority to quote something that was publically said?!  Authority to have my own opinion?!  Seems that I need authority to even participate in an open debate if I have opinion that is different from the opinion of other participants. But the real question is, where does any kind of authority in Chinese Martial Arts come from?

World of kung fu is dominated or at least people pretend that it is dominated by old Confucian family system. Individuals were embedded in a network of relationships based on formality, hierarchy, social roles, and obligations. In traditional family compliance with formal norms of behavior is expected. Everyone had to accept the hierarchy and duties of the Confucian family, and whoever refused to do so was considered an outsider, an outcast, despised by his parents and relatives for not fulfilling their obligations. What is expected of every family member is compliance with ancient norms.

In traditional Confucian family as well as in Kung Fu family, authority does not come from any form of real competence. Amount of knowledge or skill is completely unimportant, what is important is inherited place in particular social network, being a family or kung fu school\style. In traditional Confucian family older person always have higher place in the social hierarchy and his opinion is always more important and have more value than the younger person. Family member will always have higher place than the outsider. Place of Kung Fu style grandmaster will be inherited by the eldest son, not by the best fighter, person with highest level of skills and knowledge (that is one of the reasons why there are so many self-proclaimed grandmasters). It doesn’t matter if the person has any real skills or knowledge, if his father is a founder of the style, he will be next head of the style even if he doesn’t have any skills at all, and he will be respected never the less.

That is the reason why there are so many grandmasters and masters who projects their authority to their subordinates which comes from their place in social hierarchy, not from the real skill or knowledge. Sadly this hierarchy and authority was accepted on West as well without any question and that is a consequence of the fact that majority of people interested in Kung Fu on West share certain psychological features,but that is a subject for another article. 

Taoyin (Daoyin) vs Qigong

Taoyin is ancient Taoist practice believed that first time appeared before 2000B.C. The term “Tao Yin” was first used in Chuang Tzu: Chapter 15 Rigid and Arrogant. During the Qin and Han Dynasties (221 BC–220 AD) further progress in Taoyin exercise was made. The Sui and Tang Dynasties (581 AD–907 AD) witnessed the further advancements of Taoyin practice and had great influence on later generations.

There is an error in presuming that Taoyin is or was equal in method and objectives as the current, collective topic of Qigong. Qigong is of recent nomenclature and collects a body of knowledge not extending as far back and being equivalent to Tao yin. Many people believe that Taoyin is a forerunner of Qigong and that is true but only to certain extent. The only truth is that large portion of Taoyin practice was absorbed into Qigong practice but with different goals and altered way of practice. Many wrongly use words Qigong and Taoyin as synonymies. In China Taoyin is defined as the ancient health practice and that opinion spread to the West and it is widely supported by western Qigong teachers, but this definition is inaccurate and incomplete. While both practices deal with health and Taoyin influenced greatly later practice of Qigong there is a significant difference between these two. Qigong, as it was explained before was created in early 1950’s as a therapeutic method which supposed to fill the gap in the health care created by civil war and lack of real medical doctors. Whine Taoyin does preserve health and can be used for the same purposes as Qigong, and both practices have foundation in Taoism, there is a significant difference. Taoyin literally means guiding and leading. Tao refers to the fact that physical movements are guided by the strength of the mind and in turn stimulate the internal flow of Qi within the body. Yin means that with the aid of physical movements, Qi can reach the extremities of the body. On basic level Taoyin exercises generally to emphasize the clearing of the tissue channels to open and invigorate the body. The mind is directed to the extremities and even a distance outside the body. Breathing also tends to be slightly more vigorous than in Qigong. Taoyin exercises are often more complex with precise body mechanics to open and stretch. As such, it is more demanding and strenuous than Qigong. Through physical movements, practicing Taoyin exercise can create the harmony of Qi and blood in the body, thus achieving the purpose of preventing disease, improving health and accelerating the recovery of limb function. Taoyin exercise involves breathing, massaging through stretching and twisting arms and legs, particular set of precisely executed movements and mental focus which act together to direct the flow of Qi. In this sense Taoyin and Qigong are quite similar, but similarities stop here. Main and only focus of Qigong is physical health, nothing beyond that. Some teachers on the west and in recent years in China are trying to promote Qigong as a spiritual practice but that is certainly not true and Qigong was not originally created for any spiritual and religious purposes. On the other hand Taoyin focuses on the body as the main vehicle of the attainment, health is necessary in order to start transformation that leads to self-realization and perfection. The body in Taoyin is an integral part of body-mind-cosmos continuum and can’t be viewed separately or independently from this continuum. In the very foundation of this continuum is Tao , the unconditional and unknowable source and guiding principle of all reality. Although Tao is beyond human perception and understanding it manifests its self actively in natural world though rhythmical processes and changes. Qi is concrete aspect of Tao, the material energy of the universe, the basic building material of everything that exists, it animates life, gives shape to the mater and manifests as functional power. Qi is the base of human life, the quality and flow of Qi determine the state of the body. Health manifests as balance and harmony of Qi flow which can be moderated and regulated. The state of harmonious flow of Qi which manifests through health is called Zhengqi Life is accumulation of Qi, death is dispersal of it. Qi can be accumulated through breathing, food, emotional and social interaction, sex. Qi can also be lost through all these activities if not done properly. The opposite of health is xieqi or pathogenic Qi which occur when harmonious flow of Qi in the body is disrupted and no longer support life and causes decline of health. When xieqi becomes dominant it turns the body against its self and depletes the body resources. This means that person is no longer in harmony with himself and with the world. Qi manifests its self through two opposites Yin and Yang which interact and change through five phases (Wuxing). The purpose of Taoyin is to create perfect harmony among these various forces and processes. Taoyin in conjunction with other Taoist’s practices aims to develop perfect persons who have identified their life rhythms so completely with the rhythm of the forces of nature that they have become indistinguishable from them and share their immortality and infinity, which is above the cycle of ordinary life and death. At the beginner’s stage practitioners gain good health and over time as they become more proficient in their practice, they regain youth vitality and prolong their lives. In higher stages of practice, with the transformation of the practitioner the practice of Taoyin transforms as well and changes into deep meditation practice (word meditation is used in absence of better term, Taoist’s meditative states are different from Buddhist or Hinduist meditation practices). Practitioner reaches higher level of awareness and oneness with the Tao.  

There are many “ancient” martial arts today that teach Qigong as a part of their curriculum, most of them claim that Qigong part is as “ancient’ as their art. Some style undergone extreme changes, like Tai Chi Chuan and Bagua and in recent times completely new styles were formed like Liu He Ba Fa to completely incorporate “Qigong” in their forms and complete practice. These styles don’t look anything like same styles 100 years ago. It is obvious that no styles could have Qigong part simply because Qigong simply didn’t exist until early 1950’s. On the other hand there are very few styles that incorporate Taoyin in their practice and there is a style which is completely based in Taoyin, that style is Zonghe Quan, Vibrating Crane. All White Crane styles find basic foundation in Taoyin tradition. ‘’Three battles” form or San Jin is a complete Taoyin exercise. When we talk about Zonghe Quan it is more than obvious that complete style is an elaborate system of Taoyin created to be used for fighting purposes as well as for personal development and growth. San Jin form of Zonghe Quan is incredible, multilevel training exercise. On purely physical level this form teaches proper body mechanics, body structure, proper ways to generate force, proper footwork, etc. On intellectual level forms contains basic principles and strategies of the system and from those principles and strategies additional forms and drills were derived. On spiritual level, persistent practice of San Jin form will bring different effects upon different practitioners. 

One ohter style has a foundation in Taoyin. Sanke Crane Wing Chun first form , much like Zonghe San Jin form is an elaborate, multy level exercise that among onter things incoroporates Taoyin , or more precisely, Taoyin was further developed to serve the martial purpose on purely phisical and also intelectual level. Whether Snake Crane Wing Chun was originally made this way or it was developed in the direction of using Taoyin as a foundation later will remain a mystery but it is the only Wing Chun style that is based in this ancient practie.

 As we can see Taoyin and Qigong are not synonimes and these terms define two distinct and very different practices  

Kung Fu and aggression toward diferences

Actively researching and writing articles on various subjects in Chinese martial arts I have noticed few very interesting things. First, people involved in Kung Fu more than often exhibit all the signs of a person involved in a religious cult and second, closely related to the first one is that people will reject the facts no matter how strong the proof of those fact is, if they are not completely aligned with their believes. No amount of evidence will make a member of certain kung fu school to reevaluate his or her believes. People react rather aggressively when confronted with truth that oppose their believes, they go as far as using physical violence and there is nothing they will not do to protect their world view and their perceived place in it.  It is also interesting that people who are completely logical in all other areas of their lives completely loose control when it comes to kung fu.This behavior is characteristic for non competitive, non combative “martial arts” and sports, and it is more common in online communication while in personal communication where people are physically located at same place is very uncommon.

So, are traditional martial arts really cults? Are practitioners of Traditional martial really  cult members? Answer to that question is not simple, fact is, almost all traditional martial arts exhibit some traits of classically defined cults it their recruiting approach, social structure, social interactions within the school\style and with outsiders and even a training approach. Historically speaking, many kung fu styles were real cults at some point in time. From the sociological perspectives, kung fu as well as other “traditional martial arts” stopped to be purely fighting systems long time ago and they offer much more than just fighting, in many cases everything but fighting, at the same time preserving the image of the fighting system. “Traditional martial arts” as a rule involve parts of far eastern religious systems, supposed ancient health preserving systems, esoteric arts, and they offer full spectrum of religious, health, spiritual, therapeutic, self improvement services that revolve around perceived fighting skills which someone will achieve in time. Term “martial art” separates certain practice from “sports” which are total opposites of the “arts”. Combat sports do not have any of traits mentioned above, their complete activity revolve around few simple goals, making the best training approach in order to produce fighters who will be able to win competition fights. In combat sports people simply develop through trial and error approach and there is no place for esotery, religion or spiritualty. Sport is a sport and it is focused on one simple goal. While similar behavior can be occasionally found among sport practitioners, that behavior is sporadic and usually exhibited by people who do not actually fight. Professional and amateur fighters are fully aware of their true abilities, reality check is something they do regularly, their goals and focus in training is quite different from people involved in “martial arts”, they are motivated by completely different things. They are also open to new experiences, trying constantly to improve their fighting skills. One more thing separates combat sports from martial arts. In sports, people responsible to teach and train athletes are coaches, in martial arts people who teach others are called “masters”, “grandmasters” or they use Chinese, Japanese, Korean …language equivalents.  More than often, generation of “masters” never had a fight in their lives but they are teaching others fighting arts. In Wing Chun and Tai Chi as two most popular Chinese martial styles today, that is more than obvious.

Very few martial organizations are full blown cults but majority of them have and use some of the techniques used by cults in order to attract and keep their followers.

To understand this behavior we have to understand what kind of people are usually drawn to Kung Fu and what is the psychology behind it.

People are initially attracted to certain martial art by what that particular style is offering. Most of the styles offer same thing and it is really a matter of availability of certain school than actual content that attract people in it. Tai Chi and Wing Chun have most followers simply because most kung fu teachers belong to those styles. These styles on the other hand became widely spread due to Chinese and U.S government political agenda at the certain moment of time. Same happened with Japanese karate, especially Kyokushin some time earlier. Although these days people can do some research about the style/school they are planning to join, and a lot of information is available, often there are simply too many info. and also many information are contradictory. Most important thing is that a beginner have no clue what actually he suppose to search and too many information often leads to confusion. Eventually, person will find what is he or she subconsciously desire.

People join “martial arts” for various reasons, it is also important to notice that people join combat sports for various reasons but those reasons can be put in two categories that lead to desire to compete and desire to learn how to fight. Of course, behind all the reasons stand deep and complicated psychological  processes. It is also not uncommon that people believe they joined martial school for one reason, but the real reason stay hidden deep in their subconscious mind.

One way that martial arts attract people is appeal to the pride of human beings through a rationalistic philosophy. Their doctrines sound rational and give their followers the feeling that through following them they will become ``someone important'', and we can see that in such an emphasis put in “lineage”, ”tradition” and “founder of the art” stories. Same things go with offer of higher or secret knowledge that is supposed to make their followers special and to give them powers beyond the usual human capabilities but without hard work and physical and psychological discomfort necessary for such achievement. These two approaches are usually combined together for higher impact on the new customers. Closely related to these two approaches comes another, also important approach in attracting new members and it has more appeal in Western societies due to complex sociopolitical changes in last 70 years. That is a sense of identity that usually comes from the leader or ancestor and it is closely related to “lineage” and “tradition” thing.

The other way is to stimulate the superstitions that many people already carry in themselves. In fact, only a few people really believe that what they see in this world is all there is. Instead they assume that there must be some supernatural force or being which is there to either help or threaten them. Many martial styles appeal to that kind of belief and offer quazi religious system based on all kinds of superstitions masked as either “ancient health practice” or “secret ancient system” which suppose to help  practitioner to develop fighting abilities, again, without hard work, pain and psychological discomfort required for such achievement or to help practitioner in his or hers “spiritual growth”.

Humans on basic level desire security, and in a fearful and uncertain world many turn to martial arts because they tend to promote exactly that. Martial arts leaders often make promises that are totally unattainable, but also offered by no other group in society. Such things might include security on physical level,, health, constant peace of mind, achieving high “spiritual” levels  the things most humans desire at the deepest level. Today’s world is a tough one, with more abstract issues than there are issues that are black and white. Craving for clarity many people join martial schools because they believe they’re being offered solid, absolute answers for at least some crucial life questions. Many martial teachers leaders promote messages that are simple and seem to make sense, the exact opposite of what we’re often provided with in typical, everyday life. “Wisdoms” like ”Martial art is a way of life” or “ Martial art is not just a way of life it is life its self”  say enough about “martial arts” and for many people this is true, they truly believe that practicing certain style will bring answer to any possible question and problems.

While people in martial arts are, for the most part, average people and they come from all backgrounds, all zip codes, and all tax brackets, many people who engage in martial training are said to have low self-esteem. People with low self-esteem are easier to convince that the specific martial school is the supportive environment they’re looking for or the environment where they will achieve their desired goals.

Once people get into practice and get a feeling they have started to achieve something, which can but not necessarily may be true ( more than often progress is more a thing of confirmation bias than real martial advancement) , they slowly commit their self to the style, school, teacher, ancestor…which by its self it doesn’t have to be negative thing if there was not one thing characteristic to so called “traditional” martial arts. So called “traditional” martial arts as a rule have a tendency to isolate themselves from the other styles of the same or similar arts and consider their practices the norm, while everyone else is wrong. “Us vs. them” mentality is prevalent model of thinking in “traditional” martial schools. Every insignificant detail done differently by outsiders is used as proof of their ignorance and inefficiency. That environment with specific personality traits make aggressive zealots out of common martial art practitioners. Aggression breaks out when all other defense mechanisms fail and person feels that his or her believe system, perception of the reality and his or hers perceived place in it is seriously shaken by facts or simply different opinion or practice. Cognitive dissonance and backfire effect play major role in this kind of behavior.  In the face of contradictory evidence, established beliefs do not change but actually get stronger and often this process is accompanied with bursts of aggression. This behavior is characteristic for intellectually dishonest people who have certain emotional or financial interest or fixed worldview and they are  immature and irrational. People who evaluate new information through logic and evidence and do not feel personally attacked by different opinions, believes and facts that challenge their current word view, do not react aggressively.

Liumin quan, rare Hakka art from Taiwan

The Hakkas ethnically belong to Han Chinese majority, spread in provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Hainan and Guizhou. The Hakkas originated from relatively northern provinces particularly Henan and Hubei. In a series of migrations, they moved and settled in their present areas in Southern China, and from there, substantial numbers migrated overseas to various countries throughout the world.  Chinese characters for Hakka (客家) literally mean "guest families". Unlike other Han Chinese subgroups, the Hakkas are not named after a geographical region, a province, county or city, in China.

 Throughout history Hakkas have been frequently subjected to hatred and discrimination by other Chinese ethnic groups that they have interacted with. These usually ended up with various forms of retaliation by other ethnic groups ranging from minor verbal insults to committing genocides against the Hakkas.

The Hakkas came to Taiwan quite early. The German historian Riess studied Dutch historical sources and found that during Dutch rule over  Taiwan Hakkas were used as a translators in communication with the aboriginal tribes. After Koshinga defeated the Dutch Hakkas gradually became minority to Hoklo people from Fujian province. There was a great deal of animosity between these ethnic groups and Hakkas were gradually pushed to the mountain region of Taiwan where they stayed more or less isolated from the rest of the island. Taiwanese mountain region is not easily accessible and that was even more true in the past and that is the main reason why Hakka people chose to live there. While they were pretty safe from other Chinese Han ethnic groups, they had constant friction with aboriginal tribes that suffer similar fate as Hakkas and were also pushed in the mountains.  Today Hakka people comprise about 15 to 20% of the population of Taiwan and form the second-largest ethnic group on the island. They are descended largely from Hakka who migrated from southern and northern Guangdong.

Being under constant threat of attack Hakkas brought and further develop their unique martial styles. One of these styles, a rare form of Hakka boxing that can be found only in Taiwan is Liumin quan.

Traveling a lot and in constant fighting with vast array of enemies Hakka people experienced firsthand large numbers of different fighting styles and techniques. Based on that experience they formed their own style and training approach. In Liumin quan accent is put on practicality and reality, while forms are of secondary importance. Great emphasis is put on body conditioning and physical strength. This style was made for selfdefnse and it doesn’t suffer from unnecessary moves, acrobatics, or visually pleasing and attractive forms. There is a saying that defines Liumin quan fighting approach which can be translated as “If you can’t defeat enemy in three moves, run”. This style teaches that fight should be ended quickly, if opponent can’t be defeated with first three moves it means he is a good fighter and there is a great chance that fight will not end as expected.

 Liumin quan indeed performed very well in full contact competitions. Proponents of this style won 4th Taiwan Zhengzheng Cup Championship in 1978, and  also won the gold medal in the first free fight World Cup  in Beijing. Chinese Marine Corps Special Service Team and other public security units have hired masters of Liumin Boxing to train them. Within Hakka community this style is known as a "fist of courage" .

Wing Chun basics, right and wrong

There is an undefined number of Wing Chun styles today, some very similar to each other some quite different. With great variety of styles comes even greater variety of forms and ways they are executed. Most of these styles sprang out from Yip Man’s school and continue to dividing in even greater number of new styles, it is an active process that speeding up over time. Other lineages have much less followers but the process of dividing and founding new styles is pretty much the same.

There is nothing wrong in founding new styles, in fact that is a natural process of evolution of martial arts, if style does not constantly change and adapt to outside challenges whether those challenges are social, political, cultural or purely martial it is doomed to disappear. Changes also happen without any intention of the practitioner, every generation is different than the previous one, their world view and way of life is different and those things influence their understanding of the art they are practicing.  

Changes are necessary, on the other hand those changes must be done carefully and knowledgably or they will have completely negative effect on the art and the practitioner himself. So let’s discuss about changes that happened to the art and how they influenced it.

Despite all the myths surrounding Wing Chun ancestor and style’s founders for the last 150 years Wing Chun people did not fight, at least not on regular basis. While there is so much talking about death matches, “secret underground fights” and similar things, there is no evidence for these stories what so ever. We can see that in the way of Wing Chun is taught, especially in the past. Old teachers did not include any kind of sparring in their systems of teaching, they would teach something called “techniques” – a prearranged set of movements that suppose to be a defense from some kind of attack, usually too complicated and unrealistic to be effective in real altercation but visually attractive. The style became overly complicated in technical and theoretical sense because people replace real experience with imagination.  There is also a predominant believe that Chi Sao is good replacement for sparring and combat experience. Recently, Qigong was incorporated in many Wing Chun styles, many people proclaim their styles “internal” mixing traditional Chinese medicine theories, Taoism and sometimes Buddhism in their teachings. On top of all many teachers will cover their own misunderstanding and lack of knowledge with more complicated theories. More than often incapable teachers hide their shortcomings with “tradition”, and hide behind lineage and their teacher’s names.  All these things influence technical foundation of the art. People started to develop their skills in a direction which is not only far from realistic martial usage but they are executing even the most basic movements wrong.

With great diversity of the styles came great diversity of forms and movements execution. Interesting thing is, every style has pretty “deep” explanation why the movements are executed in some particular way, what is “correct” and what is wrong.

While differences in executing basic techniques( movements, hand positions) are positive thing and give people different and wider perspective how movements can used and it is certainly bad thing to dismiss something as wrong just because it is different practitioner should be very careful in what he is practicing.

Wing Chun as a style is based and follows or at it least it should follow certain principles of biomechanical efficiency. This biomechanical efficiency has different names although the most commonly used term on the west is “body structure”, some things can differ from style to style but all should fall in specific frame of general rules how properly someone should use his body. These rules are not random, they are result of specific conditions of the time and place where the art was created and they give best possible outcome regarding energy and power efficiency whether we are talking about dealing with incoming force or executing the attack, stability and mobility. There is more than one way to correctly execute certain movement. Movement will be correct as long as basic structure of the body and movement its self follows correct skeletal alignment and proper sequence of muscle contractions. Body structure in general and every single movement can be tested. Wrong body structure and wrongly executed movements will simply collapse under pressure while correct cannot be interrupted under same pressure.  If there is no concept of body structure in some style, that style cannot be considered Wing Chun, also if there is a concept of body structure and it is practiced in forms but not utilized in drills and chi sao and not tested, that style is incomplete and lastly if all those concepts are not taught to be used in sparring and real fight that style is not complete because there is a big difference in just testing a structure of the movement and doing it correctly in a drill or chi sao but something completely different doing all that under pressure of real combat. Practitioner should be aware of all the facts regarding his chosen style and consider the best course of his further development and training.

Stop hiding behind linage and ancestors

If you practice Kung Fu for health reasons, tradition, as a form of spiritual system, religion, or something that helps you in your personal growth and development this article is not for you, on the other hand if you practice Kung Fu as a fighting art or at least you believe that you practice it as a fighting art this article is for you.

There is prevalent believe in Kung Fu circles that linage is not only important but crucial for determining the effectiveness of particular style. More than often can be heard, when a teacher wants to prove validity of the technique he is teaching to pull the argument “my teacher …(some famous name, supposed unbeatable fighter) taught me that way. Besides that, when teachers who don’t spar or fight want to prove the effectiveness of their system pull the argument like :” That ancestor had hundreds of fights and never lost” or something like that often underlining almost supernatural abilities of that ancestor gained through Kung Fu practice.

People take pride in following certain linage and believe that somehow they inherit supposed fighting abilities of some famous ancestor or founder of the style. While lineage may be important for people whose main purpose of training is to preserve and maintain tradition and in some cases for people who practice Kung Fu as a sort of surrogate religion in real life fighting, whether it is competition fighting or selfdefense, linage has no importance what so ever. Proving effectiveness of the style is simply not logical, effectiveness depends solely of a person not the style. Proving effectiveness of the style by putting up some supposed achievements of people who lived centuries ago is not only illogical it is stupid. Saying something like “ my art is efficient because some person 100 years ago had 300 fights and never lost” is same as saying “ I learned physics form Einstein’s son, the most famous physicist of all times, I know physics better than anyone”  

Empty hand fighting evolved more in last 100 years than in all human history before. Stubbornly keeping “tradition” and claiming it is the most effective fighting system in existence, and most of Kung Fu people claim that, is simply in collision with reality. Training approaches and “techniques” from past were proven inadequate in today’s fighting arena. ‘Tradition” has potential to completely destroy Chinese martial arts, at least to destroy them as fighting systems.

There is a lot of wisdom and experience preserved in TCMA. Centuries of fighting gained a lot of knowledge of the human body and how to use it in most effective way. Unfortunately, due to social and political changes TCMA stopped to be pure fighting arts and became what are they today. Pure fighting development simply stopped and martial styles started to develop in several directions, non of them fighting orientated.  Still, basic principles are still there and they can be utilized quite successfully with proper training approach. Modern martial arts starting to discover principles of body structure and efficiency known to TCMA for centuries, but unlike TCMA today , modern combat sports concentrate their training approach on fighting efficiency of each person in training. TCMA have great potential to enable a lot of people for at least basic selfdefnse  and more with just little changes in training approach.

Linage and ancestor will not help when someone finds him self in a situation where fighting skills are necessary. Spirit of Yip Man, Wong Fei Hung or Chan San Feng will take over your body and help you save your life, only thing that will save your life is proper training. Being part of some old, exotic, rare linage is cool but it doesn’t mean anything in real life fight. Be proud of your linage and your art but train hard and prepare your self for every possible situation.