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Question and Answer Series
18 Lohan Fist
by Grandmaster Wong Kiew Kit
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Table of Contents
Question 1Could you please tell us about the philosophy, force training, tactics and
benefits of the 18 Lohan Fist?................................................................................................3
Question !What is so special about the 18 Lohan Fist? How can it enrich y !ai"i#uan
practice? What would the strengths and wea$nesses of the 18 Lohan Fist be? .................%
Question "Can you tell us the story of the e&olution of the 18 Lohan Fist?
What are its ad&antages copared to other artial arts?.....................................................'
Question #What is it about Lohan#uan that ade it so popular and useful for other
systes to (build( upon? For what types of fighting was Lohan#uan de&eloped to handle?
)s Lohan#uan particularly well $nown for certain weapons?................................................11
Question $Can you please tell us about any great past asters who fought using 18
Lohan Fist and any special techni#ues and strategies they ay ha&e used?....................1*
Question %What type of +ung Fu do we practise?...........................................................1
Question &What are the typical differences between -orthern haolin +ungfu styles?
Who did the /enerable Chee een, 0a$ ei and -g ui learn fro? Why was 0raying
antis +ungfu no longer officially taught at the haolin !eple after soe tie and
replaced by Lohan +ungfu?.................................................................................................2%
Question 8Could you please elaborate on the relation between the 18 Lohan Fist and
!an !ui? What are the siilarities and differences between these in ters of philosophy,
for, force training, tactics and strategies?.........................................................................2'
Question '(!iger beats on$ey, on$ey beats Lohan and Lohan beats !iger.(Could you
coent on this?.................................................................................................................33
Question 1(Lohan +ung Fu is ore siple and straightforward. Could this also be an
ad&antage at a aster4s le&el?............................................................................................3
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Question 1
Could you please tell us about the philosophy, force training, tactics and benefits of the 18
Lohan Fist?
ifu 5nton
Answer
!he 6ighteenLohan Fist was de&eloped fro the 6ighteen Lohan Hands. When
7odhidhara taught editation at the haolin !eple, he found the on$s wea$ and
unhealthy. o he taught the the 6ighteen Lohan Hands to strengthen the in all aspects physically, eotionally, entally and spiritually.
9radually the 6ighteen Lohan Hands e&ol&ed into the 6ighteenLohan Fist. !he 6ighteen
Lohan Hands were a set of chi $ung e:ercises, whereas the 6ighteenLohan Fist was a
set of $ungfu techni#ues. !he 6ighteenLohan Fist becae the prototype of haolin
+ungfu. )n other wor$s, &arious styles of haolin +ungfu branched our or de&eloped fro
the 6ighteenLohan Fist.
)t should be noted that both the 6ighteen Lohan Hands and the 6ighteenLohan Fist were
practiced at the sae tie, though not necessarily by the sae people. Later artial
on$s also e&ol&ed the 6ighteen Lohan Hands into the 6ighteenLohan 5rt, which was
also practiced siultaneously alongside the other two Lohan arts. 7ecause of the long
history of the northern haolin !eple in Henan, and later the two southern haolin
!eples at ;uan
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footwor$ with fre#uent $ic$s, whereas the southern &ersion by solid stances and ore
hand stri$es. elati&ely, -orthern Lohan Fist focuses ore on straight punches with the
fist, whereas outhern Lohan Fist on sweeping stro$es with the ar.
)f all other factors were e#ual, Lohan Fist fa&oures those who are big and strong. )t
bulldo
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Question !
ay you share with us what is so special about the 18 Lohan Fist?
How can the 18 Lohan Fist enrich y !ai"i#uan practice?
What would the strengths and wea$nesses of the 18 Lohan Fist be?
antiago
Answer
!he two facts that the Lohan Fist is the prototype of haolin +ungfu, and that techni#ues
of all other artial arts can be found in haolin +ungfu, a$e the Lohan Fist &ery special.
)t is worth noting two coon isconceptions, that 7odhidhara, despite being honouredas the First 0atriarch of haolin +ungfu, did not in&ent haolin +ungfu, and that $ungfu, or
Chinese artial arts, did not start at the haolin !eple. +ungfu was already practiced at
a high le&el e&en before the haolin !eple was built. 9enerals li$e !hi$ Cheng Awho
e:panded the Han 6pire to the WestB, Lu 0u Aconsidered the ost foridable in the
!hree +ingdo 0eriodB and hao Dun Awho was undefeated in all his battles, also of the
!hree +ingdo 0eriodB were before the haolin era.
7odhidhara taught the 18 Lohan Hands at the haolin !eple, and retired generals at
the teple e&ol&ed these chi $ung e:ercises into the 6ighteenLohan Fist. /arious haolin
styles de&eloped fro the 6ighteenLohan Fist, li$e !ai
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e:ecuted their throws, and 7o:ers threw their body forward in their stri$es. 5 welltrained
$ungfu practitioner would ne&er coit all these wea$nesses, which ga&e free offers to
their opponents.
Wrestling, was regarded as a sport, and it was well $nown aongst $ungfu circles that
without safety rules, wrestlers would be dangerously e:posed. Wrestlers would be $illed orserous in"ured in a real fight with a genuine $ungfu aster. +ic$7o:ing and i:ed artial
5rts were un$nown then, but loo$ing at these arts today we can readily see that their
e:ponents would be dangerously e:posed if not for their safety rules.
When +ai taught counters against pindowns any years ago at a special course in
ungai 0etnai, ) was pleasantly surprised to see that all the attac$s and counters were
found in haolin +ungfu, though ost haolin practitioners ight be unaware of the
application e&en when they had learnt the techni#ues. We all ha&e to than$ +ai foropening up this whole area of attac$s and counters.
urprisingly, uay !hai fighters were the ones ) found ost guarded aongst the other
artial arts, or sports. 7ut ) had the great ad&antage of y sifu, ifu Ho Fatt -a, who
hiself was a professional uay !hai chapion, teaching e any secrets in fighting
against uay !ahi. Howe&er, when a uay !hai fighter clinch onto you to deli&er his
deadly $nee "abs, feared by any artial artists, he is e:posed.
5ongst any other benefits, practicing 6ighteenLohan Fist with its pictureperfect for,
will enable us to a&oid these wea$nesses, and e:ploit the if our opponents e:pose
thesel&es. !his philosophy is also applicable in our daily life.
) would strongly recoend those who practice !ai"i#uan to learn 6ighteenLohan Fist,
and &ice &ersa, because representing the two e:trees of $ongI and yauI A$angI and
rouI in andarinB, or literally hardI and softI, and figurati&ely forceI and flowingI, the
two arts copleent each other.
!he forte of 6ighteenLohan Fist is to use force to press into an opponent, but not using
brutal strength or forgetting safety first. !he forte of !ai"i#uan is to yield to an opponentEs
coing force, deflect it away and turn it bac$ to the opponent. )t is ob&ious that $nowing
and being able to apply these two opposite s$ills will offset the wea$ness of $nowing "ust
any one in cobat as well as in daily life.
5n e:aple in daily life occurred recently in Hawaii. iu AipoB and ) had a eorable
lunch with the Gapanese group led by 6i$o. When we arri&ed at a restaurant, a waitress
directed us to a bigger round table and another saller s#uare table, which was not only
uncofortable but also we had to be separated into two groups., ) re"ected this
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arrangeent told her to arrange a few s#uare tables in a row so that we could sit ore
cofortably together in one group. !he waitress was unwilling.
With the forceI fro y 6ighteenLohan Fist training, ) as$ed her what was wrong with y
suggestion as it could be done. ) started arranging the s#uare tables yself, and soe
Gapanese girls were #uic$ to help e than$s to their e:cellent training under 6i$o.7efore the waitress could reali
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When a diehard artial artist rushes in to wildly hit a haolin Wahna student and
o&erwhel the latter, despite the latter ha&ing better techni#ues but lac$ing in the eleent
of threat, the forer is e:hibiting the principle of using hardness to o&erwhel softnessI.
Whether using hardness to o&erwhel softnessI or using softness to subdue hardnessI
will triuph, depends on the s$ill of the e:ponents as well as their fighting e:perience. 5llother things being e#ual, if the hardI e:ponent is ore s$illful than the softI e:ponent,
using hardness to o&erwhel softnessI will triuph, and &ice &ersa. iilarly, all other
things being e#ual, is the softI e:ponent has ore fighting e:perience than the hardI
e:ponent,. using softness to subdue hardnessI will triuph, and &ice &ersa.
!here are any &ersions of 6ighteenLohan Fist. !he early &ersions, being at the start of
$ungfu de&elopent, were siple and straightforward. !he techni#ues were ostly
punches, with a few $ic$s, not unli$e +arate $atas today. When ) bought a copy of an early&ersion of 6ighteenLohan Fist about *% years ago at a tie when y understanding of
$ungfu history and philosophy were rudientary, ) was surprised at its siple techni#ues.
ophisticated techni#ues, li$e chinna of the tigerclaw and eagleclaw, di ar$ of =ne
finger en, dragonhand and phoeni:eye, tric$iness of the on$eypaw, profundity of
>ingyi#uan and Wu
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Question "
Can you tell us the story of the e&olution of the 18 Lohan Fist?
What are its ad&antages copared to other artial arts?
ifu 5ndy Cusic$
Answer
!he 6ighteenLohan Fist was e&ol&ed fro the 6ighteen Lohan Hands.
When 7odhidhara taught en editation at the haolin !eple in the Jth century, he
found the on$s wea$. o he taught the 6ighteen Lohan Hands to strengthen the
physically, eotionally, entally and spiritually so as to better attain 6nlightenent.haolin !eple was an iperial teple. !here were also any retired generals as on$s
at the haolin !eple. !hese retired generals, who were different fro the other wea$
on$s , odified the e:ercises in the eighteen KLohan Hands for their personal needs.
!his odification was not a concerted effort by the artial on$s collecti&ely. !he
odification was carried out on a personal, spontaneous basis. =&er tie these odified
patterns were #uite different fro the original patterns of the 6ighteen Lohan Hands, and
were practiced not "ust as chi $ung e:ercises for health, but as $ungfu techni#ues for
cobat.
!hese $ungfu techni#ues were collecti&ely called 6ighteenLohan Fist, or hi 7a Luo Han
;uan in Chinese, in contrast to 6ighteen Lohan Hands, or hi 7a Luo Han hou. )nitially
there were 18 patterns in the 6ighteen Lohan Fist, with each pattern of the chi $ung set
odified into a pattern in the $ungfu set. Howe&er, because of the different periods these
odifications were ade, there were different &ersions of the 6ighteenLohan Fist, each
different patterns foring the set.
ore patterns and ore odifications were added to the 6ighteenLohan Fist. 7y the tie
of the !ang @ynasty in the 1'th century, there were sets with 18 patterns. 6ighteen
Lohan Fist becae the prototype of haolin +ungfu. =&er its long history, any $ungfu
styles de&eloped fro haolin +ungfu, li$e !ai
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unared and weapon sets. !here were ten unared sets, and they were con&eniently
naed First Lohan et, econd Lohan et, etc. !he weapon sets were "ust naed after its
type of weapons, li$e taff et, abre et, pear et and 7ig +nife et.
5lthough Lohan +ungfu, especially its earlier &ersions, is relati&ely siple copared to
later $ungfu styles that de&eloped fro it, li$e Cha#uan, 6agle Claw, 0raying antis,Hoong +a and ChoyLiFatt, it is ore sophisticated than non$ungfu artial arts, li$e
+arate, !ae$wondo and uay !hai. )t is also coprehensi&e, i.e. it has all the four
categories of attac$ and defence, whereas the cobat techni#ues of non$ungfu artial
arts are rather restricti&e. For e:aple, +arate is ainly restricted to stri$es, !ae$wondo to
$ic$s, and there are no felling and gripping attac$s in uay !hai.
Herein lie its ad&antages. )ts siplicity yet coprehensi&eness copared to ore
sophisticated styles li$e 6agle Claw and Hoong +a,a$es it easier to learn and be appliedfor cobat. )f all other factors were e#ual, students would be better trained in both solo
perforance and fighting in Lohan +ungfu than in 6agle Claw or Hoong +a. !ypical Lohan
patterns are easier to perfor, and their cobat application is ob&ious, but the elaborated
patterns of 6agle Claw and Hoong +a ay not.
=n the other hand, the siplicity yet coprehensi&eness of Lohan +ungfu is a great
ad&antage o&er non$ungfu artial arts, li$e +arate, !ae$wondo, 7o:ing, +ic$7o:ing and
uay !hai. 5lthough Lohan +ungfu is siple, there is still ore &ariety in Lohan +ungfu
than the other artial arts. !he stri$es in +arate, for e:aple, are ainly forward punches,
but there are any different ways of stri$ing in Lohan +ungfu. !he $ic$s in !ae$wondo
lea&e its e:ponents e:posed, but $ic$s in Lohan +ungfu are well co&ered.
Lohan +ungfu is sufficient to handle any for of attac$, but the other artial arts are
inade#uate if opponents use techni#ues outside the repertoire of these arts. )f you grip a
+arate$a, fell a !ae$wondo e:ponent, or $ic$ at a 7o:er, for e:aple, they would ha&e no
techni#ues in their repertoire to counter.
!he early &ersions of 6ighteenLohan Fist were siple. )n fact, about 3 years ago in the
1'8s when ) first bought a boo$ on the 6ighteenLohan Fist, which ) later learned was of
an early &ersion, ) was surprised to find that its patterns were ainly straightforward
punches and $ic$s Lohan +ungfu de&eloped too, and in its long history it has incorporated
sophisticated techni#ues fro other styles. While aintaining its original fla&or, our haolin
Wahna &ersion of 6ighteenLohan Fist contains any sophisticated techni#ues. any
other artial artists as well as $ungfu practitioners of other schools ay thin$ soe of
these pattern erely decorati&e, when in fact they are &ery effecti&e for cobat.
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Question #
Lohan#uan is considered the (base( for any $ung fu systes, li$e 6agle Claw, 0raying
antis, and 7agua
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with one hand and siultaneously attac$ed hi with y other hand in a tigerclaw using
the pattern Hungry !iger Catches 9oatI.
)f a !ae$wondo e:ponent ga&e e a side$ic$, ) would, without o&ing y feet, sin$ bac$
in y 7ow5rrow tance to let the $ic$ pass, then shift y body forward to stri$e hi while
he tried to reco&er his balance after his $ic$. 7ecause of y s$illful use of y stances,e&en if y actual speed was slower than their, ) could still hit the before they could
reco&er their initial attac$ to defend thesel&es against y counters.
)f y opponents tried to o&e away fro y counters, they would ha&e to use two or three
steps, but ) could co&er the sae space in "ust one step. )n ordinary circustances they
could defend against y counters, but y footwor$ ga&e e such ad&antages of spacing
and tiing that put the in disad&antages positions. 6&en when they $new the defence
against y attac$s, they could not effecti&ely defend thesel&es due to their unfa&orablepositions.
)t is worthy of note that y techni#ues then were ediocre, y internal force was nothing
copared to what it is now, and ) $new little or no strategies. Det, with the ad&antages of
spacing and tiing brought about by y s$illful use of stances, ) could reain undefeated
e&en in y early years of sparring and actual fighting.
) ust add that there was another factor contributing to why ) always won. ) fought sart. )
studied y opponents and $new their strengths and wea$nesses before sparring with
the. 7ut still it was y footwor$ that ga&e e practical &ictory. Without y s$illful
footwor$, e&en when ) theoretical $new y opponentsE strengths and wea$nesses, ) would
not ha&e the ad&antages of spacing and tiing to beat the. !his de&elopent cae later
when ) started teaching $ungfu.
=ne ay argue that fighting sart was a use of strategy. 7ut ) was not consciously aware
of the strategy then, unli$e now ) can use strategies or tactics li$e leading opponents to
futility, and stri$ing the when they are une:pectedI, when there is for stri$e the for,
when there is no for stri$e the stri$e the shadowI and when there is a bridge go along
the bridge, when there is no bridge, flow with the waterI.
)n any ways, y use of footwor$ to defeat opponents resebles in principles the
superiority of Lohan +ungfu o&er other artial styles. When opponents are ediocre,
using Lohan +ungfu gi&es a big ad&antage o&er using other styles. 7ut if the opponents
are s$illful or sophisticated, Lohan +ungfu in its early &ersion ay be inade#uate. !his
setbac$, howe&er, is not applicable in our school because of our ad&antage of spread and
depth. 7esides, the situation today is that ost fighters are ediocre, otherwise they
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would not ta$e being punched and $ic$ed in sparring for granted.
5ll the three basic stances naely Horseiding, 7ow5rrow and False Leg were
Lohan +ungfu stances. !hey had been found to be so useful that they had been adopted
in all other $ungfu styles and any other artial systes. =ther stances, li$e the 9oat
tance, the !riangle tance and the !tep, were later de&elopents. +ungfu styles li$eWuingyi#uan, 0raying antis and on$ey tyle, de&eloped after Lohan +ungfu
had been established. Hence, you find that any of the stances in these styles do not use
Horseiding, 7ow5rrow and False Leg as fre#uently.
While the stances pro&ide ad&antages in spacing and tiing in cobat for the initiated,
they becoe a hindrance to those untrained in the or who do not use the in sparring
e&en when trained in the in solo practice. !his is a ain reason why any $ungfu
practitioners are beaten by 7o:ers and +ic$7o:ers bouncing about.5s an analogy, a car pro&ides ad&antage in spacing and tiing in transportation o&er a
bicycle. Dou are both ore cofortable and faster in a car going fro place to place. 7ut if
you do not $now how to dri&e or do not want to dri&e, riding a bicycle can enable you to
reach your destination but the car would not.
Lohan +ungfu was de&eloped for all types of fighting, including, of course, ass fighting,
one &ersus any, one &ersus one, and protecting soeone as a bodyguard, though Lohan
+ungfu practitioners, being haolin disciples, ight not want to be bodyguards because
this profession was not considered noble in haolin tradition.
!he long range of Lohan +ungfu techni#ues are effecti&e for ass fighting and one &ersus
any. !he powerful pressing o&eents of Lohan +ungfu are effecti&e for one &ersus
one, especially when the opponent is ediocre.
)f all other things were e#ual, a s$illful e:ponent any e:ploit the longrange techni#ues of
Lohan +ungfu. 7ut not any e:ponents ha&e such $nowledge and s$ills. ost e:ponents
would be o&erwheled by the powerful, pressing attac$s. oreo&er, in haolin Wahna
other things are not e#ual. We ha&e the great ad&antage of breadth and depth to
o&ercoe this setbac$ of Lohan +ungfu.
!he staff, especially when it is used as a staff and not as a spear, is particularly well $nown
in Lohan +ungfu. !he staff should be hea&y, and is ainly used for hitting, not piercing.
taff techni#ues and Lohan +ungfu techni#ues are siilar, thus they enhance and
copleent each other. !he often entioned but seldo seen faous classical staff set
of -orthern haolin, naely Little -ight 9uard or >iao Dia Char in Chinese, is e:cellent for
this purpose. )ts odern &ersion, called Fi&e !igers in a Herd of heepI, is widely
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practiced today in &arious branches of the Chin Woo 5thletic 5ssociation, founded by the
great haolin aster, Hou Duan Gia.
Question $
Can you please tell us about any great past asters who fought using 18 Lohan Fist and
any special techni#ues and strategies they ay ha&e used?
@oinic, )reland
Answer
=ne of the earliest asters using 6ighteenLohan Fist was the /enerable !an ong, who
led twel&e other haolin on$s to help Li hi ing established the !ang @ynasty. His
e:ploits were iortali
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!he 6ighteenLohan Fist e&ol&ed into !aiingyi#uan, !ai"i#uan, Chuo Giao, !ongbei#uan, Cha#uan and Hua#uan. Concerned thathaolin +ungfu ight lose its original fla&or, 7ai Du Feng with the help of the abbot in&ited
faous haolin asters to the haolin !eple to deonstrate their arts. Fro the
nuerous deonstrations 7ai Du Feng chose four other styles to cobine with his original
style, Lohan +ungfu, to found Wu
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before the !an @ynasty ore than % centuries earlier. 5s the /enerable Gue Duan was the
in&entor of Fi&e5nial Fist of haolin +ungfu, it is reasonable to guess that his
Lohan#uan cobat would also include these anial fors. Hence, his techni#ues and
strategies would not be as direct and pressing as earlier &ersions of 6ighteenLohan Fist
but ore flowing and swer&ing.)n -orthern haolin, the Lohan +ungfu techni#ues and strategies of Huo Duan Gia and
Wang i 0ing as e:pressed in their !antui were ore flowing and fle:ible. ) would iagine
that techni#ue li$e econd 7rother =ffers Wine, ising @ragon 9alloping !iger and !hree
ings 6brace oon would be their fa&orites. !hey would also use strategies li$e tric$ing
opponents to ad&ance to futilityI and stri$ing for where there is for, stri$ing shadow
when there is no forI.
)n outhern haolin, the Lohan +ungfu techni#ues and strategies of Wong Fei Hoong,La ai Weng and Chan Harng as anifested in Hoong +a and ChoyLiFatt would be
#uite different.
Wong Fei Hoong was faous for his noshadow $ic$. !he noshadow $ic$ could ha&e
e&ol&ed fro the punchcu$ic$ of Lohan +ungfu, later anifested as ising @ragon and
9alloping !iger in !antui, but the strategy of punchcu$ic$ in Lohan +ungfu was #uite
different fro that of noshadow $ic$. )n Lohan +ungfu the strategy was to punch and $ic$
an opponent at the sae tie, whereas in noshadow $ic$ the strategy was to decei&e an
opponent so as to $ic$ hi une:pectedly.
La ai Weng was faous for his tiger claws. !here were no tiger claws in Lohan +ungfu.
!he tiger claw techni#ue in our haolin Wahna &ersion of the 6ighteen Lohan Fist in the
pattern Hungry !iger natches LabI is y inno&ation. 7ut when La ai Weng used
Lohan +ungfu techni#ues in cobat, they would be !hrow 7all in Wa&esI, 7lac$ !iger
teals HeartI, and un Character 5rrow 0unchI. His strategy, typical of Lohan +ungfu,
was to press into an opponent relentless while ta$ing care of his own safety.
5lthough ChoyLiFatt has the ost fla&or of Lohan +ungfu in outhern haolin, it is #uite
different fro the Lohan +ungfu of -orthern haolin. While both -orthern haolin
Lohan#uan and ChoyLiFat use forceful, pressing attac$s, the forer attac$s are ore
linear and forward, whereas the latter attac$s are ore circular and downward or upward.
) belie&e Chan HarngEs special techni#ues and strategies would be to press in an
opponent, siultaneously deflecting his counters if applicable, with patterns li$e !hrow
7alls in Wa&esI, Whirlwind ashes Wa&esI and 7lac$ 0anther 6nters oc$I.
)t is interesting to note that while the leopard fist, li$e in 7lac$ 0anther 6nters oc$I, is
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widely used in ChoyLiFatt, it is no found in 6ighteenLohan Fist. !his is because the
leopard fist was a latter de&elopent.
!his answer shows not only the special techni#ues and strategies of past 6ighteenLohan
Fist asters, but also the de&elopent of 6ighteenLohan Fist o&er any centuries and
how we can benefit fro it.
Question %
) find that when ) tell people ) practise haolin +ungfu they say (What type?(
7ecause the closest $ungfu to ours that ) saw outside of our school was Hung 9ar N Hoong+a, ) used to tell the that, rather than get into a coplicated discussion or try to persuade
the that haolin itself was a style. A) later disco&ered that this is what Mncle
ighteousness $ungfu was referred to by soe?B
) then wondered if Hoong +a was the base for ost tyles, li$e the original haolin. Would
it be ore accurate to say that Lohan $ungfu was the original haolin?
=r are both of these incorrect and the original haolin $ungfu is siply called shaolin
$ungfu, with both Lohan and Hoong +a being deri&ations, Lohan coing before Hoong
+a?
@run$en 7o:er
Answer
Dours is a #uestion as$ed by any people, and the answer here will help to clear away
uch confusion.
) too e:perienced the sae confusion before. )n one of y eetings with y sifu, ifu Ho
Fatt -a, before ) started learning fro hi, ) as$ed hi a siilar #uestion.
-oticing that what he taught was called haolin +ungfu, ) as$ed hi what type of haolin
+ungfu he taught. Was it Hoong +a, ChoyLiFatt, Lohan +ungfu, 0raying antis, or
soething li$e that?
y sifuEs answer was straight to the point. )tEs haolin +ungfu,I he said. )tEs parental
haolin. )t was the type of $ungfu practiced at the haolin !eple. =ther types of haolin
+ungfu, li$e Hoong +a and ChoyLiFatt, deri&ed fro it.I
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) did not understand y sifuEs answer fully at the tie. )t was later that the full eaning
dawned on e. ) also disco&ered later that by the haolin !eple, he referred to the
southern haolin !eple at ;uaniao Wen for the )ndian on$, 7atuo, to translate 7uddhist sutras fro ans$rit to
Chinese. )n the year %2 7odhidhara arri&ed to teach the haolin on$s en. Finding
the sic$ly, 7odhidhara taught the 6ighteen Lohan Hands and inew etaorphosis.
artial on$s at the teple, any of who were retired generals, e&ol&ed the 6ighteen
Lohan Hans into 6ighteenLohan Fist or Lohan +ungfu. 5s it was being practiced at the
haolin !eple, it was also called haolin +ungfu.
)t is significant to note that haolin +ungfu or Lohan +ungfu &aried according to place and
tie. !he haolin +ungfu practiced at the haolin !eple would not e:actly be the sae
as the haolin +ungfu practiced outside it e&en when the latter originated fro the forer.
!he haolin +ungfu practiced at the haolin !eple or anywhere at one tie, li$e in the
th century, would be different fro the haolin +ungfu practiced at the sae place at
another tie, li$e in the 8th century.
haolin +ungfu spread to any other places. =ther styles of $ungfu also de&eloped in
other places. )n the Western regions of China aongst usli populations, Cha#uan or
Cha +ungfu was popular. Cha#uan was naed after Cha i 6r, which was the Chinese
nae for Gail.
)n the northern regions Hua#uan, or 7eautiful +ungfu, was popular. !here was no records,
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as far as ) $now, who the first patriarch of Hua#uan was. ) belie&e it was called Hua#uan
because its perforance, besides being cobat effecti&e, was beautiful to watch, li$e ost
styles of $ungfu are.
)n any regions of China, Hou#uan, or on$ey +ungfu, was popular. !here were a few
different styles of on$ey +ungfu, each different fro another. )n regions of !ibet, fore:aple, techni#ues of on$ey +ungfu resebled those of apes, whereas in regions in
the south, techni#ues of on$ey +ungfu resebled those of the apesE sallersi
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@uring the ing @ynasty A13J81J**B an eperor built a southern haolin !eple in the
city of ;uan
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5nother haolin on$ whose nae in the southern haolin !eple we do not $now but
changed his nae to Giang -an to escape the notice of the pursuing ;ing ary, ran out of
China and taught haolin +ungfu to y sigung, Dang Fatt +huen, who in turn taught to y
sifu, Ho Fatt -a. With this historical bac$ground, it a$es perfect sense when y sifu
told e that the $ungfu he taught was haolin +ungfu, i.e. the type of $ungfu practiced atthe haolin !eple at ;uan
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different needs and speciali
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but still discernable in the Choe Faily Wing Choon we practice in our school, where the
fundaental stances of haolin +ungfu, i.e. the Horseiding, 7ow5rrow and False Leg,
are still fre#uently used.
Chan Harng, the First 0atriarch of ChoyLiFatt +ungfu, cobined Choy +a +ungfu, Li +a
+ungfu and Fatt +a +ungfu Awhich is southern Lohan +ungfuB into one style. He did notchange what he learned fro his three teachers, but the resultant cobination was
significantly different fro each of the three styles he separately learned fro his teachers.
5ll these styles, regardless of whether their first patriarchs consciously ade changes to
what they learned fro their teachers, or "ust taught what they originally learned thought
there ight be differences aongst the styles due to different needs, speciali
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!ai"i#uan section they start with White Crane Flaps WingsI. Lohan 5s$s the WayI and
White Crane Flaps WingsI are far sipler than and #uite different fro all the other sets in
the other Hoong +a schools.
)ndeed, it was because ) found ost Hoong +a and !ai"i#uan $ungfu sets, e&en beginning
ones, too coplicated for our beginning students that ) coposed Lohan 5s$s the WayIand White Crane Flaps WingsI.
)t would be ore appropriate to answer that you practice outhern Lohan +ungfu than to
say Hoong +a +ungfu.
7ut it is better to answer that you practice haolin +ungfu as taught in haolin Wahna,
and that it is different fro haolin +ungfu taught elsewhere.
)f they want ore inforation, as$ the to refer to the answer here. )f they want to argue
"ust for arguing, donEt waste your tie on the.!here is no need to get into a coplicated discussion or to persuade the that haolin
itself is a style. )f you want to elaborate, you can say that haolin +ungfu has a &ery long
history and has spread to any places. !herefore, there are different &ersions of haolin
+ungfu. !he &ersion practiced in our school is the one passed down to us fro the two
southern haolin !eples at ;uan
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in haolin Wahna, were also siply called haolin +ungfu. 5s entioned earlier, there
are different &ersions of haolin +ungfu o&er space and tie.
@epending on how we use language, we can say that Hoong +a +ungfu was a deri&ation
of haolin +ungfu. Hoong +a +ungfu deri&ed fro earlier and sipler &ersions of haolin
+ungfu.=n the other hand, we can also say that Hoong +a +ungfu was not a deri&ation of haolin
+ungfu but a logical continuation of it. Faous Hoong +a asters, li$e Hoong Hei +oon
and Loh 5h Choy, did not add anything e:tra to the haolin +ungfu they learned fro their
teachers. )n fact they did not call it Hoong +a +ungfu, they call it haolin +ungfu. 5s recent
as % years ago, or less than 3 generations before ost Hoong +a practitioners today, the
great Hoong $a aster, La ai Weng, called his $ungfu haolin.
5lso depending on how we use language, we can say Lohan +ungfu deri&ed fro haolin+ungfu, and we can also say haolin +ungfu deri&ed fro Lohan +ungfu.
!he abo&e description of the historical de&elopent of haolin +ungfu shows that the
original haolin +ungfu was deri&ed fro 6ighteen Lohan Hands, and was called
6ighteenLohan Fist, which is another nae for Lohan +ungfu.
any later &ersions of Lohan +ungfu, li$e our haolin Wahna 6ighteenLohan Fist, were
deri&ed fro haolin +ungfu, i.e. the type of $ungfu practiced at or originated fro one or
ore of the haolin !eples.
How language is used is iportant. )ts isuse, purposely or innocently, can lead to serious
isunderstanding and #uarrels.
Question &
What are the typical differences between -orthern haolin +ungfu styles, where Lohan
+ungfu was doinant and outhern haolin styles?
Could you please elaborate who the /enerable Chee een, 0a$ ei and -g ui learnt
fro? @id they learn at the -orthern haolin !eple?
Why was it that 0raying antis +ungfu, although &ery popular and also &ery effecti&e was
no longer officially taught at the haolin !eple after soe tie and replaced by Lohan
+ungfu?
ifu oland
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Answer
!he saying nan #uan bei tuiI, or outhern Fists -orthern +ic$sI, typically sus up the
ain difference between outhern haolin +ungfu and -orthern haolin +ungfu. outhern
haolin styles are well $nown for fists, whereas -orthern haolin styles are well $now for
$ic$s.!his does not ean that fists are not iportant in -orthern haolin styles, or $ic$s are not
iportant in outhern haolin styles. )n fact, the hands of -orthern haolin styliests are
often help in fists or open pals. =ther hand fors li$e the tiger claw, the dragon the hand,
phoeni:eye fist, and the leopard fist which are often found in outhern haolin styles, are
rarely found in -orthern haolin styles.
5s Chinese is a &ery concise language, the saying outhern Fist -orthern +ic$sI does not
liit only to fists and $ic$s, but has a wider connotation. )t iplies that outhern haolinstyles are characteri
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5nother typical difference which any people ay not reali
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warlord later used it as a ilitary cap. 5 ri&al warlord attac$ed the cap with guns and
cannons.
5lthough Chee een, 0a$ ei and -g ui learned fro the sae teacher in the sae
southern haolin !eple in ;uaniao that he Athe abbotB was troubled by this &ery topic. 0raying
antis +ungfu, he continued, was e:cellent, but all the while the ain style of $ungfu
taught in the haolin !eple was Lohan +ungfu. He did not want to change this ageold
tradition, but he also did not want to see 0raying antis +ungfu discontinued.
!he haolin on$s would re&ert bac$ to Lohan +ungfu, but the abbot would teach heng
>iao all he $new about 0raying antis +ungfu, and heng >iao would spread it outside
the teple. heng >iao learned well and fast, and $ept his proise.
!he founder of 0raying antis was Wang Lang. !he second generation was the unnaed
haolin on$s. heng >iao was the third patriarch. !here is an interesting "o$eI aongst
0raying antis practitioners. 0raying antis +ungfu was in&ented by a secular aster,
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de&eloped in a 7uddhist teple, and spread by a !aoist priest. =f course, as in all $ungfu,
0raying antis +ungfu is nonreligious.
Question 8
Could you please elaborate on the relation between the 18 Lohan Fist and !an !ui?
What are the siilarities and differences between these in ters of philosophy, for, force
training, tactics and strategies?
teffen
Answer
!antui was a logical de&elopent of the 6ighteenLohan Fist. !he 6ighteenLohan Fist
de&eloped fro the 6ighteen Lohan Hands o&er a period of tie, and becae the
prototype of haolin +ungfu, often called haolin Lohan +ungfu.
)nterestingly, haolin Lohan +ungfuI was called shao lin luo han #uanI in Chinese. 5s the
6ighteenLohan Fist was practiced at the haolin !eple, it was called haolin Lohan
FistI, which was also shao lin luo han #uanI in Chinese.
!here were a few ters in Chinese eaning artial art or $ungfu, one of which was
#uanI, which literally eant fistI. =ther popular ters were wuyiI and wushuI, which
eant artial artI and artial s$illI respecti&ely.
!o denote that it was a artial art, the ters faI and shuI, which eant techni#ueI and
s$illI, were often suffi:ed to #uanI. Hence haolin +ungfu could be called haolin
;uanfaI, haolin ;uanshuI, haolin WuyiI or haolin WushuI.
)t is significant to note that in odern Western societies, the word wushuI has now ta$en
the concept of $ungfu fors for deonstrationI. 7ut in Chinese, the word wushuI eans
artial artI, although wushu practitioners today do not practice the art for cobat. Hence,
we soeties ha&e the debate whether wushu can be used for fighting.
!he Chinese generally do not ha&e difficulty debating whether haolin +ungfu should be
called haolin#uan or haolin Wushu, because they usually use words for con&enience,
and not as rigid definition. 5s far as ) $now there is no record of how the ter e&ol&ed, but
) belie&e that gradually and without their conscious awareness on$s with artial art
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bac$ground called what they practiced luo han #uanI, or Lohan Fist, instead of luo han
shouI, or Lohan Hands, as they changed their open hands into close fists for artial
purposes.
!his e&olution continued o&er tie, a little at a tie without significant difference at the
oent, but o&er a long period the resultant practice was #uite different fro when itinitially started. !hat, ) belie&e, was how the Lohan Fist or Lohan +ungfu de&eloped. )t also
e:plained why there are now any different &ersions of the Lohan Fist set. !he Lohan Fist
practiced during the ong @ynasty, for e:aple, would be &ery different fro the Lohan
Fist practiced in the preceding !ang @ynasty. haolin +ungfu has a &ery long history.
5s Lohan Fist was practiced at the haolin !eple, it was also called haolin Fist, or
haolin +ungfu. )t reained as the ain style of $ungfu practiced in the haolin !eple.
haolin +ungfu also spread far and wide outside the teple, and de&eloped specialcharacteristics by different asters and in different regions, li$e >ingyi#uan, Wuingyi#uan, haolin Wu
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!antui, li$e how its practice contributed to cobat efficiency as well as good health, &itality
and longe&ity, than in arguing the e:act source if the ter.
)n andarin, pondI in @ragon 0ond !eple, and springI in spring$ic$I, are both
pronounced as tanI, though the written words are different. 7ut in Cantonese, pondI is
pronounced as thaI, and springI as thanI.When ) first learned the 12 se#uences of !antui, ) called it tha thuiI, which in written
characters eans pond$ic$I. Later when ) researched into the art, ) found that it was
popularly practiced by the usli population in northwest China and was called than
thuiI in Cantonese or tantuiI in andarin which eans spring$ic$I, with 1 se#uences.
)nterestingly, !antui is "ust called !antuiI, without the suffi: #uanE added to it. Mnli$e
Lohan +ungfu which is called Luohan#uanI in Chinese, or !ai"i +ungfu which is called
!ai"i#uanI, !antui has ne&er been called !antui#uanI. )nfre#uently, it ay be called!antui WushuI, which eans the artial art of spring$ic$s, or the artial art that
originated fro the @ragon 0ond !eple.
!he siilarities between Lohan Fist and !antui are #uite ob&ious for the initiated. !here
are, of course, also differences.
!he philosophy of Lohan Fist and !antui is the sae. For con&enience, we ay di&ide
their philosophy into three le&els, for cobat, for health, and for spiritual culti&ation.
7oth Lohan Fist and !antui are &ery effecti&e for cobat for those who $now and ha&e
the necessary s$ills. )n fact, cobat efficiency was the first reason why Lohan Fist and
!antui were created and practiced.
Howe&er, today ost Lohan Fist and !antui practitioners do not $now how to apply their art
for cobat. any people e:plicitly practice !antui for health. oe Chinese schools teach
!antui, without its artial aspect, during lesson periods for physical education.
)t is &ery rare nowadays that people practice Lohan Fist or !antui for spiritual culti&ation,
although their training, without the awareness of the practitioners, actually nourishes the
spirit. We in haolin Wahna are different. 6&ery practice is a training of the physical,
energy and ind or spirit. )ndeed, we start and coplete e&ery training session with
spiritual culti&ation in siling fro the heart and standing editation.
!he philosophical difference is that, due to ignorance and con&ention rather than genuine
reasons, Lohan Fist is generally considered to be ad&anced, whereas !antui is considered
eleentary. When a student says that he is learning Lohan Fist, those who $nows
soething about $ungfu ay thin$ he is ad&anced. When a student says he is learning
!antui, they ay thin$ he is a beginner.
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!his is probably due to con&ention. Lohan Fist is norally taught at ad&anced le&els,
whereas !antui at the beginning. Historically, it is the re&erse. !antui, being a de&elopent
fro Lohan Fist, has ore sophisticated techni#ues.
!he for is siilar. 7oth use long stances and e:tended ars, e:cept in outhern Lohan
Fist, which was a later de&elopent fro -orthern Lohan Fist, and generally later than!antui. While the stances and ar o&eents of outhern Lohan Fist are longer than
those in Wing Choon and on$ey tyle, they are shorter than those in -orthern Lohan
Fist and !antui.
7oth Lohan Fist and !antui use the fist and open pal. ophisticated hand fors li$e
dragon handfro, leopard punch and phoeni:eye fist are not present.
!he difference between !antui and Lohan Fist, howe&er, is that !antui $ic$s, as e:pected
of an art that speciali
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as their siilarities and differences not only enable us to benefit ore in our training, not
only in Lohan Fist and !antui but also in other $ungfu styles, but ore significantly enrich
our daily life.
+nowing the de&elopent of !antui fro Lohan Fist, we can also $now in principle though
not in specific situations, the de&elopent of other styles li$e !ai"i#uan and Wing Choon+ungfu. +nowing the siilarities and differences between Lohan Fist and !antui will also
enable us to appreciate the siilarities and differences between Wu
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countless processes can be classified into fi&e archetypes, represented as etal, water,
wood, fire and earth, coonly but wrongly described as the fi&e eleents.
!hey are not eleents. 0ast asters did not say that all things in the world were ade up
of fi&e eleents called etal, water, wood, fire and earth. !hey said that all processes in
the world can be generali
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that he has no tie to steal your peach.
7ut when a !iger eets a Lohan, the !iger eets his neesis. !he hallar$s of a Lohan
are his solidness and pressing attac$. He is so solid that it is difficult, e&en for a !iger, to
hold hi under control. 6&en when a !iger succeeds in initiating a hold, the Lohan will
rotate his waist, ward off the hold with a swinging ar, and sash down the other ar atthe !iger li$e sashing wa&es. When a Lohan attac$s the face of a !iger, it is usually a
real attac$, and regardless of whether the !iger succeeds in warding it off, the Lohan will
press in with ore continuous attac$s.
We in haolin Wahna can benefit uch fro an understanding of this interdestructi&ity.
-ot only we $now the philosophy, we also ha&e the eans to put the philosophy into
practice.
tudents in other schools would not ha&e this ad&antage. )f they practice a on$ey style,for e:aple, they will be beaten by others who practice a !iger style, and they ay not
$now why. !he !iger stylists will be defeated by those who practice the Lohan, and also
they ay not $now why.
!hose who practice siplistic artial arts, li$e 7o:ing, +ic$7o:ing, Gudo, +arate and
!ae$wondo will be defeated by the Lohan, the !iger, the on$ey or any $ungfu practitioner
because of the liitation of techni#ues of these siplistic artial arts. !his is in theory. )n
practice, the Lohan, the !iger, the on$ey and ost other $ungfu practitioners will be
defeated by these siplistic artial artists.
Why is this so? Why is it that in theory $ungfu practitioners of any style should beat
practitioners of siplistic artial arts, but in practice it is the other way round? )t is
because ost $ungfu practitioners perfor their $ungfu techni#ues for show, and do not
$now how to use their $ungfu techni#ues for cobat. !he few who $now, li$e soe of our
instructors and students, throw away their $ungfu cobat application and fight li$e
practitioners of siplistic artial arts.
!hrowing away their $ungfu application which they $now and fight li$e siplistic artial
artists is worse than the great a"ority of $ungfu practitioners who do not $now how to use
their $ungfu for cobat. !hey ha&e a rare opportunity to practice $ungfu cobat, but
consciously or unconsciously they do not use it, or are afraid to use it, at a tie when it is
necessary to put their dedicated practice into use.
5ll these will happen in noral situations. 7ut in e:traordinary situations the re&erse ay
occur. -orally a !iger beats a on$ey. 7ut if the on$ey is &ery s$illful he can beat the
!iger.
3%
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)n the intercreati&ity and interdestructi&ity of the fi&e eleental processes, water norally
e:tinguishes fire. 7ut in an e:traordinary situation when the fire is &ery strong, it can dry
up the water.
o, if you put your $iungfu cobat application into actual use, not erely practice it in your
$ungfu lessons, you can defeat students of other artial arts. 7ut a aster 7o:er candefeat you.
7esides $nowing the neesis of the on$ey, the !iger and the Lohan, it is also useful to
$now their benefactors. !here are any benefactors for each style, especially in our
school where we ha&e the ad&antage of breadth and depth. o the e:aple gi&en below is
only one of a few possibilities.
0racticing the Crane style is a benefactor for the !iger. !he elegance and flow of the
Crane pro&ide good harony for the force and ferocity of the !iger.For the on$ey who is agile and tric$y, practicing >ingyi#uan is beneficial. !he hallar$s
of >ingyi#uan are siplicity and internal force, which haroni
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long history, it has continued to e&ol&e and de&elop. Hence, Lohan +unfu practiced during
the ;ing @ynasty would be &ery different fro Lohan +ungfu practiced during the !ang
@ynasty ore than 1 years ago.
Let us loo$ at a artial art with a history of about 1 years, li$e +arate, first introduced by
ensei 9ichin Funa$oshi to Gapan, in 1'1J. !he techni#ues are siple, ainly consistingof straightforward punches and $ic$s. !here are no what could be thought of as fanciful
patterns li$e piritual Lion =pens outh and )ortal Lies @own to -ap, or e&en less
fanciful but still unthin$able patterns li$e Lohan ubdues @ragon and 7uterfly @ancing in
Front of Flowers. Lohan +ungfu in its first 1 years of de&elopent could be li$e +arate
today.
5n iportant #uestion often o&erloo$ed is which &ersion of Lohan +ungfu should we use
when we wish to copare it with other styles? For con&enience we ay generali
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artists will be able to recogni
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areas li$e the spine at the bac$, &ital points, the eyes, the groin, or to apply chinna
techni#ues would not be as effecti&e as stri$ing ordinary areas. o special hand fors, li$e
the leopard fist, the phoeni:eye fist, the dragonhand for, the crane bea$ and the tiger
claw were in&ented.
0re&iously, practitioners had to eploy internal force ethods outside the set. 9raduallyasters incorporated these force training ethods into the set itself. Hence, in sets li$e
180attern !igerCrane and !riple tretch, the first part of the set was used for force
training, and the reaining part for cobat application. )n sets li$e )ron Wire and iu Lin
!ou, the whole set was used for force training.
7y &irtue of the fact that it was the latest in the long de&elopental history of haolin
+ungfu, outhern haolin was ost proinent with these de&elopents.
Des, despite its long, continuous de&elopent with the result that one &ersion of Lohan+ungfu at one tie ay be different fro another &ersion of Lohan +ungfu at another tie,
there are general features coon to all &ersions of Lohan +ungfu that a$e it
characteristically different fro other $iungfu styles, especially those styles where their
in&entors or first patriarchs consciously ade changes to the $ungfu they had learned fro
their teachers. Lohan +ungfu is characteristically different fro, for e:aple, >ingyi#uan,
6agle Claw, Wu
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Lohan +ungfu would be a setbac$.
!his siplicity of Lohan +ungfu is relati&e. Lohan +ungfu is siple copared to other
$ungfu styles li$e 0raying antis, 7aguaingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan and Wuingyi#uan, and the siple techni#ue, tuE or shootI of Wuingyi#uan and
Wuingyi#uan and Wu
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How would the insight fro this long answer help us in our daily life?
We ay, for e:aple, benefit fro its general principles.
!he sae #uestion ay ha&e different right answers due to different conditions. !he
siplicity of Lohan +ungfu is an ad&antage to a aster, but not to ordinary students. Det, if
the aster eets another aster, the siplicity ay be a setbac$.!he sae principle can be applied to other things besides Lohan +ungfu, and appreciating
this principle can sa&e us a lot of isunderstanding and #uarrels. With our e:perience, we
$now that practicing chi $ung can o&ercoe socalled incurable diseases, but ost other
people who ha&e no e:posure of genuine chi $ung, or those who practice gentle physical
e:ercise using chi $ung fors, would not belie&e this fact. =thers ay &eheently accuse
us for being isinfored.
We ay also benefit fro the practical de&elopent of techni#ues. We traced thede&elopent of Lohan +ungfu fro siple punches and $ic$s to sophisticated techni#ues
that the uninitiated ay not reali