Thank you Jade Dragon Alaska* and Marty Eisen** for sharing the story of Kungfu below,
When I was young, I practiced the form, and I couldn't get anyone to teach me or coach me further in my studies (study of form doing anything proficient and well into spiritual development). I looked back and I can see why none wanted to teach me, because they literally feared me. Really not much different from today as a servant to the peoples of Heaven and Earth, to receive the truth of the past is not so easy to Swallow, to be free like the bird who sails.
I practiced kung fu, the practice in everything I did. I would get up at 4am, and do yoga for one hour, then run a mile before I ate breakfast. Then I would go off to studies, where I added some Tai Chi, Kenpo, Basketball, Swimming, Weight training, other various forms and then sometimes I would run another 10 miles in a day. On the weekends, I would go off running through obstacle courses, in the Rain Forest in Washington State stopping to sing, pick berries or some vegetable, like mushrooms or ferns, I was certainly well rounded. I began literary studies, made my own clothing design, did pencil and ink drawing and calligraphy, and supassed all my teachers expectations, in fact some of my classes I just got bored, like Algebra. It seemed so confining, even though I never got less than a 96% practicing mathematical forms day in and day out, that I just never passed my classes, I would just drop out from boredom and because teachers who just didn't care. Although, I had one teacher, who taught me about society, and how they wouldn't allow me to surpass their rules that confined others.
Anyway, many of my teachers would even demote me, because I did not take beginning classes and often would start in advanced sciences, they purposefully did not support my studies until I just gave up. You see in my day, women, and especially children, where not supposed to be more intelligent than the teachers. I am now 48 years young now. Even last week, some tell me I look and act like a child. And at an early age, I asked for a dictionaries for gifts both english and korean, later in the years of my teenage kungfu, medical and latin. Now I have an extensive library, but usually end up looking at the web these days, it's much quicker to find roots of things.
It is imperative, that our children, now a days, be given the place of sanctuary to be challenged, for we all have gifts to offer to the world. My husband Holiness David, he is 62 years young and was just carded (proof of identity of years) last year at the Chinese Market (we both talk about this, our fond memory), remembers many of his friends where Genius types, which has nowhere to go or to be challenged as society was very fearful of them. Is this what we offer our children in a new dawning, where all can be the best they can be? I pray sow. But we must learn to not fear, those, who have gifts. Because we may very well have gifts too, that none other could even comprehend.
Heaven and Earth is upon us, but it seems that in the practice of Kung Fu, the practice of being the best you can be, has gone to the dust. We talk many times in the face of Qi Research, however, the very laws that began this whole existence of study and practice, we fearfully leave behind, the study of Heaven. There are very few, who really know these laws and practice the integration of the I Ching (changes). It seems that the entire right brained (creative abstract) process has been delivered over to the left brain (intelligence) and the whole process of integration has been eliminated, with the very few Taoist and Native Americans.
We are spirits of our flesh and our souls. Our very heaven is returning to us now, and our children have new talents, just waiting for the break through of adults to accept them as they are, not to be formed into forms, but to be enlightened as a new generation, that can teach us of our Heaven. Some of our children see with their ears, and recently science have taught blind people to have vision with our tongues. Now if our children already know of God's perfection, how come we need prove the reality of it. It is God, heaven and earth, and it's here. The world call these children Indigos or Crystal people, however we are the Rainbow Clan, and each of us have a power so great and magnificent, but we cannot realize and live up to these perfections, when the whole of society fear little children, regardless of race.
Could we even imagine a world that provides our children of sanctuary? Well we are entering this new paradigm shift, and only those who are able to enter our heaven, will know of the great and perfect part of themselves. Now I am not saying get rid of science the study of God, however I am saying, that "it is" the study of God, the Oneness or unity of Heaven and Earth. And now evolution, will bind us together, and we must be prepared to allow our children to lead us homewards.
There are only four kinds of people, and they are red (southwest), yellow (northwest), blue (southeast) and white (northeast). The red and yellow are the children of the world of heaven, and they are the ones, who shall show us the way, as the parents, the blue and the white, will be proud of us. The islands (south) and the extending bodies of land (north) peoples are the pivoting points of love, the wind of our spirits (magnetic north and south, look at any globe). We are the six directions of perfection and it's the law of heaven and earth. This mathematical perfection has been calculated in more types of diagrams, all over the internet, through the form of kungfu or practice of various forms. However it's the putting them all together, that seems to boggle the minds of separation, and only Oneness can fathom it's reality into evolution.
It's Christmas here in the United States and most everyone is consumed in their own very plights or their own very joys, to don't see those who need to be filled with spirit or with simple needs of foods or clothing. During a time, when snow, the perfect crystalline snow flake teaches us the perfection of the six directions, let us all remember to offer a blessing to the perfect God, YOU!
There is greatness and power within you, and to allow this power is to receive each other's gifts, not with exclusion, but with inclusion of the breath that travels both ways in and out. Be a gift to the world, reach out and extend and reach inwards to your own glory, find your soul, the heaven waiting to find it's way!
Thank you for your inspiration to share our story, Jade Dragon from Alaska!
your devoted servant,
white buffalo calf woman, your twin deer mother
elder crystal person, wakan iyeshka or holy interpreter
alightfromwithin.org prophecy of rainbow warriors
ps. My soul as a child only sang the Blue (black peoples motherly love) and when I grew up as an adult (forties) I sing the Red (red stories of the stars). Born in Korea, and raised in the States, my parents are where the East (yellow) Meet the West (white), and I am, where the child led the parents. I am complete, "I am". This too is you, the perfection of "You are". This is evolution, and this is the harsh reality of perfection, the power of the perfect soul, a light from within. *On Fri, Dec 25, 2009 Jade Dragon Alaska wrote at Qi Research Yahoo Group:
Interview with former Shaolin monk, Zhang Lipeng
by Barbara Malvik
by Barbara Malvik
BM: What is kung fu?
Zhang Lipeng: Kung fu is not what most people think. All the movements are not kung fu. The form is not kung fu. Kung fu means you're training the one movement for so long, for so many years; that movement you can change in so many different ways to defend yourself and to fight – that's called kung fu.
In China, they don't just call martial arts "kung fu" – anything else they can say is "kung fu." If you've been driving a car for twenty years and never had an accident, that also means kung fu. It means you drive very well. It also means your experience. If you are like…anything – anything you did for a long time and really experience; like a doctor can also say that very good kung fu. In China, that's what they call this guy. That's what kung fu means.
BM: Is the form kung fu?
Zhang Lipeng: No, the form is not kung fu. The form is just the form.
So many people in the US and in Europe – even in China – think forms are kung fu. But the form is not kung fu. The form is just a form. I can teach you two forms – three forms – twenty forms – you still just know the forms. They say the form. They don't say the kung fu. They say form. So that's why it's not kung fu – it's just exercise. If you're training with one form every day for ten years, one movement you can change twenty different ways for fighting with people. You can use different ways for training. Take each movement out from the form and just train for twenty years – ten years. Don't train just the form. Try and take out. And try to use the movement; and fight with the movement; and change the movement. Each movement you can change twenty different ways or thirty different ways to fight with people. Then, you can say that is real kung fu. Then you can fight with the form on anybody. No size. Bigger people, tall people you can fight because the form you can change so many different ways to fight with different people.
BM: So, you mean that, in the form the kung fu exists, but you have to get rid of everything else.
Zhang Lipeng: Yes.
BM: So it's someplace in there, but you take away pieces of the form little by little.
Zhang Lipeng: To fight. For training.
BM: And you concentrate each one.
Zhang Lipeng: Each one. And each movement can also be changed twenty different ways to fight. You change. So flexible, so detailed – that's called kung fu. Even if you know a different way to fight, but if you don't know how to use it, you still cannot fight. You have to train for a long time to fight. Like Tai Chi; this movement – hand up, this arm grab, this arm goes this way – you have to train this movement for a long time and the teacher has to stand aside when you do this movement, the teacher has to – boom – with a stick come to your face you have to – boom – grab the stick so you have to do training like this for a long time. Not just with hands – you've got to train with staff, with hands, with punch, with legs; all kind of ways to fight. And you've got to be training like that for a long time. Of course you can fight. That's why I say forms are not kung fu.
BM: So kung fu is basically the way you approach your training.
Zhang Lipeng: Kung fu is there. The one movement you train for twenty years and you can use all different ways. That's called kung fu. You have such power and ability to fight. That's called kung fu.
BM: Why do people ask you "Is wushu kung fu?"
Zhang Lipeng: So many Europeans and Americans think wushu is kung fu – kung fu is wushu. Wushu translates to English as "martial art." Fifty or sixty years ago, China's president, Chairman Mao, changed kung fu to become something that looks like gymnastics – like dance, and just beautiful – not form or fight.
Because Chairman Mao didn't want people to train for fighting because he was so worried about people trying to…
BM: …to take his power away.
Zhang Lipeng: …to take his power away. That's why they say kung fu is very dangerous. Chairman Mao's real bodyguard was from Shaolin Temple.
BM: Really?
Zhang Lipeng: His name is Shi Xuyu. Shi Xuyu was the younger of six brothers. The Shaolin Temple Master traveled past his village, and the mother said to the monk they couldn't support these children. So could you save one of my children? The Shaolin Master looked at the six children and pointed to one. See, right away that child had a future. So the Shaolin Temple Master took that child to Shaolin Temple. His name was Shi Xuyu.
He trained at Shaolin Temple for eight years – this is a true story – not a legend. It happened only 50 years ago. Then the Shaolin Temple Master said, "You can go." Shi Xuyu never went back to Shaolin Temple because he went into the army – an enemy army of Chairman Mao's – and then he joined with Chairman Mao. He had already become a general in the other army, so Chairman Mao didn't want to kill him, and saved him because he wanted him to bring his whole army to follow Chairman Mao. So, Chairman Mao saved his life. That's why he stayed with Chairman Mao his whole life. He died when he was around 85 or 90. He was the Chief of Staff of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; so he was a very powerful guy. He was very small, his face very angry and ugly, and he was a really scary guy.
His martial arts were so amazing. So I think that's why Chairman Mao wanted martial arts ended. He saw his bodyguard, Shi Xuyu, was so good at training in martial arts. Can you imagine if somebody else – in China there are so many people who can do training very well – if somebody else used him, then what? So that's why he changed them to martial arts.
BM: Chairman Mao made it illegal to train in martial arts?
Zhang Lipeng: Yes. All martial arts. You could not have swords or anything. He's the one who changed everything. That's why right now they have the modern martial arts and the history martial arts. In history martial arts you train one form for twenty years. In modern martial arts you jump up and down, you flip around; beautiful, nice movements-that's not kung fu. That stuff is only for looks.
BM: Do people train differently now from the way they did 300 years ago?
Zhang Lipeng: Yes. 300 years ago, the master did not look at your size. They trained all sizes – tall, short, skinny, fat. He looked at your spirit, your self-esteem. They did not look at your body. If you want to do it, anything is possible. So the master will teach you if you're a little bit bigger, he'll teach you something else. If you're small, they'll teach you other stuff. So, if you're skinny and small, the master is going to teach you swords – straight swords, or other swords. You'll be training with swords, one form, for twenty years every day. So when you have the sword, you can kill people in one second.
BM: Big or small, it doesn't matter.
Zhang Lipeng: It doesn't matter. That's the history way of training. In the modern way of training, they want to know how many forms you know; they classify you by size, and the fights are not fights, it's like punch, punch, grab somebody's leg, boom boom boom; hey, that's the modern way of fighting. They don't have real kung fu anymore. It's just if you're stronger or bigger or you know grappling, you know how to punch and kick, then you can fight. That's why people think if they've been training for a couple of years they can fight, but that's the modern way of martial arts.
BM: That means to me that kung fu is disappearing.
Zhang Lipeng: It is. It's the spirit. It's over. It's over. Do you know why it's over? Because the modern style, you don't need martial arts to protect the country. You don't need martial arts to protect your life. Nobody's going to kill you. In history, everybody would carry a big knife, a straight sword. It didn't matter where you went, if you went into a restaurant you would still carry a knife because you always had to defend yourself. Right now, if you want to kill somebody, you shoot him – you have a gun; you don't have to spend twenty years stuck in a mountain to do training. You don't need that stuff for revenge. That's why the history martial arts will slowly disappear.
BM: Why are they saying martial arts now are only an art and not self-defense?
Zhang Lipeng: The question of the arts right now – it's art now. It's not for training. You feel good and it makes people live longer, but can you really fight? No. You cannot fight. That's why when I was in Belgium, somebody who was training karate for 20 years said, "I cannot fight one street guy." Do you know why? Because he didn't train that way before. He trained for a couple of hours for 20 years. That doesn't mean anything. So right away you're going to treat martial arts like art. You cannot treat martial arts as a way to fight or to kill somebody. You can defend yourself better than people with no training, but you cannot fight against 20 people. It's not possible
BM: So martial arts now is getting to be more like ballet.
Zhang Lipeng: More like art, but ballet is only art, but with martial arts now you still can defend yourself. It's a combination. You still can defend yourself, but it's not like before. That's why the modern martial arts are very good for this modern time.
BM: So, there is no real way that kung fu is going to come back because it's not needed anymore.
Zhang Lipeng: Not needed anymore.
BM: They do fighting now for sport…stuff like boxing.
Zhang Lipeng: That stuff has become like business. In history, the fights led to death – to save themselves life. They didn't fight for twenty minutes; they'd fight for one minute or two seconds and then it's over. They didn't fight that long. You die or he dies. Your leg broken, his leg or arm broken – it's one second; then it's over. Can you imagine every day a small guy training with swords for twenty years – do you think he's gonna fight with you for twenty minutes? As soon as he moves his swords, you don't even know what's going on, you're already finished. It's over.
BM: What if you have two people who've been training for twenty years?
Zhang Lipeng: Then it depends on what did you do for 20 years. Also, it depends on who goes first.
If I start first, my speed is so fast you cannot even see. If I start first and he cannot defend against my sword, he dies. But, if he can defend, we start all over again and it takes a little bit longer. But those training with swords for twenty years, it takes one minute – or two minutes to end the war.
BM: Why are you promoting Shaolin martial arts if there is no kung fu anymore?
Zhang Lipeng: I trained at Shaolin Temple and I know how good they are. I went back there when I was 12 or 13 years old because I believed my future was there. I also realized that at that time it was not possible to train in the history style. Things were not like history anymore. That's why I left my family to go back to Shaolin Temple. When I was 16 I went to Belgium where they liked Chinese arts so much; I decided I wanted to go to Europe to promote Chinese Shaolin martial arts. That's why I treat this like art. I don't treat this like anything else. That's why right now I'm in the US – I just promote the art. That's why this year I'm organizing a competition; I'm going to try to do it every year to promote Shaolin arts and to let people know what is kung fu, what is going on in martial arts. The modern style is for me to promote. In history, there were different ways to promote. Right now I'm the one who was born in this modern generation. I am the one responsible to promote the modern way of the art. That's why I want to promote the Shaolin martial arts.
BM: Would you say that you are the last generation of actual kung fu?
Zhang Lipeng: When I was young, I trained much longer than the new generation. Right now, they can train at the Shaolin Temple for five or six years and then they can come and do the show.
BM: So we still call it "kung Fu," but we're really doing the forms?
Zhang Lipeng: Yes. The form is kung fu, but you have to train for a long time with one form. It's a different way of training.
BM: The forms may be the beginning of kung fu and then you have to take that form, and study it for 20 years.
Zhang Lipeng: Create the form.
From: http://ezine.kungfumagazine.
**Interview with Master Mark - Classical versus Modern Kung Fu
ME: What was Kung Fu training like in the monasteries?
GFM: You had to have patience. In the beginning martial arts were never mentioned. First we trained all the senses. Long periods of meditation preceded and followed each training session. We were blindfolded for all the sensory exercises. We had to distinguish herbs, incense, animals and other material by smell.
ME: I suppose the martial art application was to detect an enemy by smell. Were there any other applications?
GFM: Monks could tell some of the ingredients in a herbal mixture by smelling it. There were no devices for telling time in many chambers in the temple. Different smelling incense sticks were lit each hour to tell the time.
ME: What were some of the hearing exercises?
GFM: We were blindfolded and sat in the center of a circle of monks. When a monk made a noise, we had to tell which direction it came from. A similar exercise was to tell the direction of an object from the noise it made when it dropped. We had to try and hear a grain of rice thrown in the air. A stick or sword was struck and we had to tell whether it was hit at the top, middle or bottom.
ME: The obvious martial art application of these last exercises is to detect a surprise or rear attack by hearing. Could you mention some other applications?
GFM: You can tell which part of the foe's sword you contact by the sound. The hearing exercises were helpful for avoiding bullets and shells while fighting in the Sino-Japanese War. Enemies could be detected in the dark.
ME: Although smelling and hearing training are useful, I don't think they account for your outstanding hand techniques. Did you practice any sort of yielding or sensitivity exercises?
GFM: Yes. We began by sitting in a chair opposite our partner. We were blindfolded. A simple beginning exercise was to hold your hand, palm up, in front of your body. Your partner would gently push down on your palm. You would try to move your hand in the direction of the force and turn it over, so that your palm was face down. You would try to remain in contact with your opponent's hand, as if they were glued together. Your opponent would now push up and you would try to move your hand upward and rotate it so that your palm faced up.
ME: I suppose that this exercise was designed to teach you to relax, offer no resistance and move in the direction of the opponent's as if your hands were pasted together?
GFM: Correct. After becoming proficient in the one-hand exercise both hands were used. Your partner could push either hand or both simultaneously. When both hands were pushed, each hand could be pushed in a different direction. After a while the hands could be pushed in any direction, not just vertically. Similar exercises were done for the legs. Later, other parts of the body were pushed.
ME: Were these exercises only practiced sitting down?
GFM: No. They were practiced sitting down initially so that you could relax more and not become tense because of a poor stance. After you became proficient in the sitting exercises they were practiced standing still. Later, they were practiced moving and other exercises were added. For example, we would bump into each other and practice neutralizing and using the oponent's force against him. Our feet were tied together and we had to move in unison in various ways using only feeling, since we were still blindfolded.
ME: Were practical applications of these sensitivity exercises discussed in this stage of your training?
GFM: Applications were not discussed until you became proficient in the sensory exercises. In general nothing was explained. Explanations are the American way or modern way in China. You were shown an exercise and told to practice it thousands of times. You would not be shown another technique until you mastered the previous one. You might finally understand a technique through your practice. Verbal explanations were not given.
ME: Did you practice self-defense after mastering the sensory exercises?
GFM: Even after passing through the sensitivity part of your training , you didn't learn to punch, kick or block. You had to practice exercises designed to loosen and relax every part of your body. You had to practice footwork and stances for a long time. Many hours were devoted to qigong and meditation exercises. You had to develop a great deal of power in single techniques before you were allowed to practice combination techniques.
ME: Did you study weapons?
GFM: Yes, we studied all the classical weapons, but only after mastering all the unarmed techniques. Nowadays, students learn weapons right away. How can someone with no power, a poor stance and footwork, use a weapon? Even many instructors look like they're performing a juggling act during a weapon's demonstration. They swing their weapons in large arcs; they don't have short power.
ME: Your system of Praying Mantis is famous for short power. How did you develop short power with weapons?
GFM: The only secret is patience and constant practice. I had to be very skilled and strong in unarmed techniques before I was allowed to practice weapons. My instructors made me practice single techniques, as cutting potatoes, melons, etc., for six years before learning any forms.
ME: I can see why your techniques are so powerful. Nowadays many students come to train once a week. In six years or in many situations much sooners, they think they are Masters and open their own clubs. People don't seem to use common sense when thinking about martial arts. No one would think that a PH.D in Physics, for example, could be obtained by attending a university once a week of an hour or two for six years.
GFM: I think that most of the old Masters were more skillful than most modern Masters. It is not because secret techniques were lost. Modern times are not conducive to learning Kung Fu. Many people have a lot of responsibilities such as their jobs, families etc., and there are many different forms of amusement to distract people. When I was a boy, there were no radios, televisions, movies or books in our village. People did not have a lot of responsibilities or a demanding job. Consequently, I could practice nearly the whole day. Besides, training was one of the few forms of amusement.
ME: Did you only study self-defense in the monasteries?
GFM: No. The monks realized that it could be dangerous to only practice the yang part of Kung Fu (self-defense), without practicing the remaining yin part (meditation, Chinese medicine, art, etc.). They wanted to produce a well-rounded human being, not a killing machine. Since the monasteries were isolated, it was important to know medicine to treat sick people as well injuries occurring during Kung Fu practice.
ME: I can attest to the fact that constant yang type training often leads to a hard mind ....
GFM: The students in monasteries were better than most students in modern, commercial Kung Fu schools. Monastic students had to have good character and aptitude to be admitted to the monastery. They couldn't pay to learn techniques and only learned new techniques when they had mastered the previous techniques to the satisfaction of the Master. They had to have a lot of patience and perserverance and were forced to train hard. Students were instilled with the love of learning. They realized that Kung Fu was a lifetime pursuit, since they saw that the Masters were still studying. They were not given a false sense of pride in their accomplishments, since there were no rankings, in the modern sense.
ME: You mean that there were no colored belts or sashes. Was there one Master for a system?
GFM: The students were classified as Student or Disciple. You didn't need a belt to know if you could do a technique. Wrestlers don't get belts. There was only one known Master. The other people trained because they liked it. When the Master retired he appointed a succesor. The existence of another Master was kept secret. No one ever saw him train. He never taught any students. The reason for this secrecy was that if the known Master was killed, then the system would not perish, since the other Master could take over.
ME: Did you study more than one style in the monastery?
GFM: No. In fact the style of Kung Fu was never mentioned. Learning one style takes a lifetime. Nowadays you often see commercial schools run by a teacher in his twenties purporting to teach a half a dozen styles. Many modern students want to learn a lot of styles. They remind me of the boy who wanted to fatten his cow. He took the cow up one mountain which had green pastures. No sooner had he got there, he noticed what seemed to be a greener pasture on another mountain. So he dragged the cow up the other mountain. After remaining there for a short time, he spotted what looked like a more lush pasture on another mountain. He dragged the cow to this new pasture. After repeating this process for awhile, he noticed that his cow had become skinnier.
ME: Do you think some styles might have some techniques not contained in other styles and so it might be advantageous to study them?
GFM: In the old days most styles were oriented to self-defense. The end result of their training was the same. The good fighters looked very similar when they fought. If modern students who are interested in self-defense could have seen these old Masters, they might change their mind about learning different styles.
ME: How did the old Masters train their students to fight?
GFM: Real fighting is continuous. You attack, your opponent counters, you counter his counter and so on. The advanced students were taught realistic, two-men fighting formulas emphasizing the continuity of real fighting. Thus, students could practice and learn timing, distancing, feeling, using the opponent's strength against him, etc. These types of training exercises can no longer be found in most modern versions of these old systems. I have devised such two-person formulas for each one-person formula in my system.
ME: Where did you study the sensitivity exercises you describe.
GFM: In the Hoi Jung Temple in Macao.
ME: Did you study Praying mantis there?
GFM: No, I studied a version of Tiger Claw. It doesn't resemble most modern versions of Tiger Claw that I have seen. I applied these ideas to Praying Mantis. That is why my hand movements are softer than my instructors.
ME: Why doesn't modern Tiger Claw resemble the system you were taught?
GFM: Perhaps this system was lost. Modern masters are not soley motivated by practicality in fighting. They like to pose and flex their muscles. Many of them have really not studied the animals they are trying to imitate. The monks kept many animals in the monastery.
ME: Did they keep the animals to learn to imitate their actions?
GFM: There were other reasons. Some were kept as pets. Others were trained to do useful tasks. Bears were trained to fetch water. We also fought the bears. This was good practice. The students became stronger from this training, but even the strongest student was not stronger than the bear. Thus, you had to learn proper timing and the correct angle of deflection to deflect the bear's cuff.
ME: What led to the decline of Kung Fu in China?
GFM: When the Communists came into power they tried to suppress Kung Fu, since it could be used against them. They persecuted Masters, especially those that were good fighters. For example, my uncle was a famous Kung Fu expert. When the Red soldiers came to his village, they tried to force my uncle to kneel. This was humiliating and insulting, since only criminals knelt in China. The villagers begged him to kneel. However, he refused saying that every one must die sometimes. My uncle had great inner power. The soldiers shot him more than twenty times before he died. The Masters who were not killed or imprisoned fled to Taiwan or went into hiding. The Communists thought that any form of religion was superstitious. Monks were also persecuted and monasteries were closed.
ME: In recent years the Chinese government has been encouraging the development of Wu-shu. Do you think that this will revitalize Kung Fu in China?
GFM: Wu-shu is designed to please spectators and judges. It consists of many large, exaggerated and acrobatic movements. The formulas are supposed to be based on classical formulas. However, the competitors are marked on originality and choreography. Thus, the old formulas are not preserved. Besides, I have never met any old Masters of any classical system who knew the whole system on my trips to China. Therefore, instead of preserving Kung Fu, encouranging the development of Wu-shu will further weaken classical Kung Fu.
ME: Have you me a lot of people who were good fighters on your trips?
GFM: Some of the wu-shu people, especially the younger, athletic ones, thought they could fight. However, they were mediocre in comparison to the old, classically trained fighters. The practical application of Kung Fu is still discouraged in China.
ME: Did you see any monasteries that were functioning as in olden times?
GFM: No. The government has reopened some monasteries as tourist attractions. They are filled with actors, not priests.
ME: Do you think that there are any Masters, in the classical sense, left anywhere in the world? By this I mean a person who knows his complete system and was appointed the sole successor of the system by the previous Master.
GFM: Very few. Even when I was a boy many of the older systems were incomplete. The Masters had died before passing on the whole system. Although some had retained the forms, the practical applications were often lost. Fortunately, there have only been four previous Masters in our system and none had died before passing on the complete system.
ME: Do you think it possible to bring Kung Fu to the level it was at when you were a small boy in China?
GFM: It would be very difficult. There are very few Masters alive today that know a complete system of Kung Fu. Students are not discriminating and don't seek out these people.
ME: Yes, it is very strange but parents don't investigate martial arts schools. However, if they were going to attend a university they would investigate the schools thoroughly.
GFM: Times and attitudes ase also different. As I mentioned previously, people don't have as much time for practicing. In the old days more people understood the virtues of hard work, respect of the ancient Masters, humility, loyality and respect of the teacher and his guidance.
ME: Similar difficulties are encountered in the educational system in the United States. Many students don't respect their teachers, want instant enlightenment and rarely do their homework. What do you think about tournaments?
GFM: Generally, they are detrimental to Kung Fu. Many judges are not expert in the style they are judging. Competitors don't do a classical form but a choreographed, shortened version. They are frequently judged on how flashy their form looks and how well they can act and not how closely their form resembles the original or on practicality or power.
ME: What about other aspects of Kung Fu which were taught in the monasteries?
GFM: There are very few teachers who have studied the treatment of injuries or Qigong for health. In the old days, the monasteries were isolated and medical help was not readily available. Thus, it was necessary to keep yourself healthy and be able to treat illnesses.
ME: Today many students think that western medicine is sufficient. They regard Chinese medicine and Qigong as unscientific and so they don't want to devote time to study these arts. There is a lot of empirical evidence that these methods work and there are already many scientific investigations explaining some aspects of Chinese medicine.
GFM: Some of the ancient Masters could perform amazing feats when they were aged. My Six Healing Sounds teacher was known as "Old Man" in China. At age ninety-eight, he looked half his age. Until his death, at about one hundred and five, he was very active and in excellent physical condition. He continued working for the government and travelled from province to province teaching Qigong. Lee Siem, the second Master of our system, was practicing Kung Fu and running around China building temples when he was over one hundred years old.
ME: Today most commercial don't teach Chinese painting or Lion dancing.
GFM: In spite of the limited time of many students, I still try to teach these subjects and other arts taught in the monasteries.
ME: We are fortunate to have a complete, classical system today. All that is necessary to preserve it are dedicated students who are willing to spend a lifetime studying and improving the system.
GFM: Yes. However, one can learn to improve and preserve one's health in about six months by studying the Six Healing Sounds. Learning how to defend oneself adequately might take a few years. The time required would be shorter than in most systems because the techniques are used exactly the way they are practiced in this system. http://carolezak.home.comcast.net/~carolezak/Interview.htm
**Interview with Master Mark - Classical versus Modern Kung Fu
ME: What was Kung Fu training like in the monasteries?
GFM: You had to have patience. In the beginning martial arts were never mentioned. First we trained all the senses. Long periods of meditation preceded and followed each training session. We were blindfolded for all the sensory exercises. We had to distinguish herbs, incense, animals and other material by smell.
ME: I suppose the martial art application was to detect an enemy by smell. Were there any other applications?
GFM: Monks could tell some of the ingredients in a herbal mixture by smelling it. There were no devices for telling time in many chambers in the temple. Different smelling incense sticks were lit each hour to tell the time.
ME: What were some of the hearing exercises?
GFM: We were blindfolded and sat in the center of a circle of monks. When a monk made a noise, we had to tell which direction it came from. A similar exercise was to tell the direction of an object from the noise it made when it dropped. We had to try and hear a grain of rice thrown in the air. A stick or sword was struck and we had to tell whether it was hit at the top, middle or bottom.
ME: The obvious martial art application of these last exercises is to detect a surprise or rear attack by hearing. Could you mention some other applications?
GFM: You can tell which part of the foe's sword you contact by the sound. The hearing exercises were helpful for avoiding bullets and shells while fighting in the Sino-Japanese War. Enemies could be detected in the dark.
ME: Although smelling and hearing training are useful, I don't think they account for your outstanding hand techniques. Did you practice any sort of yielding or sensitivity exercises?
GFM: Yes. We began by sitting in a chair opposite our partner. We were blindfolded. A simple beginning exercise was to hold your hand, palm up, in front of your body. Your partner would gently push down on your palm. You would try to move your hand in the direction of the force and turn it over, so that your palm was face down. You would try to remain in contact with your opponent's hand, as if they were glued together. Your opponent would now push up and you would try to move your hand upward and rotate it so that your palm faced up.
ME: I suppose that this exercise was designed to teach you to relax, offer no resistance and move in the direction of the opponent's as if your hands were pasted together?
GFM: Correct. After becoming proficient in the one-hand exercise both hands were used. Your partner could push either hand or both simultaneously. When both hands were pushed, each hand could be pushed in a different direction. After a while the hands could be pushed in any direction, not just vertically. Similar exercises were done for the legs. Later, other parts of the body were pushed.
ME: Were these exercises only practiced sitting down?
GFM: No. They were practiced sitting down initially so that you could relax more and not become tense because of a poor stance. After you became proficient in the sitting exercises they were practiced standing still. Later, they were practiced moving and other exercises were added. For example, we would bump into each other and practice neutralizing and using the oponent's force against him. Our feet were tied together and we had to move in unison in various ways using only feeling, since we were still blindfolded.
ME: Were practical applications of these sensitivity exercises discussed in this stage of your training?
GFM: Applications were not discussed until you became proficient in the sensory exercises. In general nothing was explained. Explanations are the American way or modern way in China. You were shown an exercise and told to practice it thousands of times. You would not be shown another technique until you mastered the previous one. You might finally understand a technique through your practice. Verbal explanations were not given.
ME: Did you practice self-defense after mastering the sensory exercises?
GFM: Even after passing through the sensitivity part of your training , you didn't learn to punch, kick or block. You had to practice exercises designed to loosen and relax every part of your body. You had to practice footwork and stances for a long time. Many hours were devoted to qigong and meditation exercises. You had to develop a great deal of power in single techniques before you were allowed to practice combination techniques.
ME: Did you study weapons?
GFM: Yes, we studied all the classical weapons, but only after mastering all the unarmed techniques. Nowadays, students learn weapons right away. How can someone with no power, a poor stance and footwork, use a weapon? Even many instructors look like they're performing a juggling act during a weapon's demonstration. They swing their weapons in large arcs; they don't have short power.
ME: Your system of Praying Mantis is famous for short power. How did you develop short power with weapons?
GFM: The only secret is patience and constant practice. I had to be very skilled and strong in unarmed techniques before I was allowed to practice weapons. My instructors made me practice single techniques, as cutting potatoes, melons, etc., for six years before learning any forms.
ME: I can see why your techniques are so powerful. Nowadays many students come to train once a week. In six years or in many situations much sooners, they think they are Masters and open their own clubs. People don't seem to use common sense when thinking about martial arts. No one would think that a PH.D in Physics, for example, could be obtained by attending a university once a week of an hour or two for six years.
GFM: I think that most of the old Masters were more skillful than most modern Masters. It is not because secret techniques were lost. Modern times are not conducive to learning Kung Fu. Many people have a lot of responsibilities such as their jobs, families etc., and there are many different forms of amusement to distract people. When I was a boy, there were no radios, televisions, movies or books in our village. People did not have a lot of responsibilities or a demanding job. Consequently, I could practice nearly the whole day. Besides, training was one of the few forms of amusement.
ME: Did you only study self-defense in the monasteries?
GFM: No. The monks realized that it could be dangerous to only practice the yang part of Kung Fu (self-defense), without practicing the remaining yin part (meditation, Chinese medicine, art, etc.). They wanted to produce a well-rounded human being, not a killing machine. Since the monasteries were isolated, it was important to know medicine to treat sick people as well injuries occurring during Kung Fu practice.
ME: I can attest to the fact that constant yang type training often leads to a hard mind ....
GFM: The students in monasteries were better than most students in modern, commercial Kung Fu schools. Monastic students had to have good character and aptitude to be admitted to the monastery. They couldn't pay to learn techniques and only learned new techniques when they had mastered the previous techniques to the satisfaction of the Master. They had to have a lot of patience and perserverance and were forced to train hard. Students were instilled with the love of learning. They realized that Kung Fu was a lifetime pursuit, since they saw that the Masters were still studying. They were not given a false sense of pride in their accomplishments, since there were no rankings, in the modern sense.
ME: You mean that there were no colored belts or sashes. Was there one Master for a system?
GFM: The students were classified as Student or Disciple. You didn't need a belt to know if you could do a technique. Wrestlers don't get belts. There was only one known Master. The other people trained because they liked it. When the Master retired he appointed a succesor. The existence of another Master was kept secret. No one ever saw him train. He never taught any students. The reason for this secrecy was that if the known Master was killed, then the system would not perish, since the other Master could take over.
ME: Did you study more than one style in the monastery?
GFM: No. In fact the style of Kung Fu was never mentioned. Learning one style takes a lifetime. Nowadays you often see commercial schools run by a teacher in his twenties purporting to teach a half a dozen styles. Many modern students want to learn a lot of styles. They remind me of the boy who wanted to fatten his cow. He took the cow up one mountain which had green pastures. No sooner had he got there, he noticed what seemed to be a greener pasture on another mountain. So he dragged the cow up the other mountain. After remaining there for a short time, he spotted what looked like a more lush pasture on another mountain. He dragged the cow to this new pasture. After repeating this process for awhile, he noticed that his cow had become skinnier.
ME: Do you think some styles might have some techniques not contained in other styles and so it might be advantageous to study them?
GFM: In the old days most styles were oriented to self-defense. The end result of their training was the same. The good fighters looked very similar when they fought. If modern students who are interested in self-defense could have seen these old Masters, they might change their mind about learning different styles.
ME: How did the old Masters train their students to fight?
GFM: Real fighting is continuous. You attack, your opponent counters, you counter his counter and so on. The advanced students were taught realistic, two-men fighting formulas emphasizing the continuity of real fighting. Thus, students could practice and learn timing, distancing, feeling, using the opponent's strength against him, etc. These types of training exercises can no longer be found in most modern versions of these old systems. I have devised such two-person formulas for each one-person formula in my system.
ME: Where did you study the sensitivity exercises you describe.
GFM: In the Hoi Jung Temple in Macao.
ME: Did you study Praying mantis there?
GFM: No, I studied a version of Tiger Claw. It doesn't resemble most modern versions of Tiger Claw that I have seen. I applied these ideas to Praying Mantis. That is why my hand movements are softer than my instructors.
ME: Why doesn't modern Tiger Claw resemble the system you were taught?
GFM: Perhaps this system was lost. Modern masters are not soley motivated by practicality in fighting. They like to pose and flex their muscles. Many of them have really not studied the animals they are trying to imitate. The monks kept many animals in the monastery.
ME: Did they keep the animals to learn to imitate their actions?
GFM: There were other reasons. Some were kept as pets. Others were trained to do useful tasks. Bears were trained to fetch water. We also fought the bears. This was good practice. The students became stronger from this training, but even the strongest student was not stronger than the bear. Thus, you had to learn proper timing and the correct angle of deflection to deflect the bear's cuff.
ME: What led to the decline of Kung Fu in China?
GFM: When the Communists came into power they tried to suppress Kung Fu, since it could be used against them. They persecuted Masters, especially those that were good fighters. For example, my uncle was a famous Kung Fu expert. When the Red soldiers came to his village, they tried to force my uncle to kneel. This was humiliating and insulting, since only criminals knelt in China. The villagers begged him to kneel. However, he refused saying that every one must die sometimes. My uncle had great inner power. The soldiers shot him more than twenty times before he died. The Masters who were not killed or imprisoned fled to Taiwan or went into hiding. The Communists thought that any form of religion was superstitious. Monks were also persecuted and monasteries were closed.
ME: In recent years the Chinese government has been encouraging the development of Wu-shu. Do you think that this will revitalize Kung Fu in China?
GFM: Wu-shu is designed to please spectators and judges. It consists of many large, exaggerated and acrobatic movements. The formulas are supposed to be based on classical formulas. However, the competitors are marked on originality and choreography. Thus, the old formulas are not preserved. Besides, I have never met any old Masters of any classical system who knew the whole system on my trips to China. Therefore, instead of preserving Kung Fu, encouranging the development of Wu-shu will further weaken classical Kung Fu.
ME: Have you me a lot of people who were good fighters on your trips?
GFM: Some of the wu-shu people, especially the younger, athletic ones, thought they could fight. However, they were mediocre in comparison to the old, classically trained fighters. The practical application of Kung Fu is still discouraged in China.
ME: Did you see any monasteries that were functioning as in olden times?
GFM: No. The government has reopened some monasteries as tourist attractions. They are filled with actors, not priests.
ME: Do you think that there are any Masters, in the classical sense, left anywhere in the world? By this I mean a person who knows his complete system and was appointed the sole successor of the system by the previous Master.
GFM: Very few. Even when I was a boy many of the older systems were incomplete. The Masters had died before passing on the whole system. Although some had retained the forms, the practical applications were often lost. Fortunately, there have only been four previous Masters in our system and none had died before passing on the complete system.
ME: Do you think it possible to bring Kung Fu to the level it was at when you were a small boy in China?
GFM: It would be very difficult. There are very few Masters alive today that know a complete system of Kung Fu. Students are not discriminating and don't seek out these people.
ME: Yes, it is very strange but parents don't investigate martial arts schools. However, if they were going to attend a university they would investigate the schools thoroughly.
GFM: Times and attitudes ase also different. As I mentioned previously, people don't have as much time for practicing. In the old days more people understood the virtues of hard work, respect of the ancient Masters, humility, loyality and respect of the teacher and his guidance.
ME: Similar difficulties are encountered in the educational system in the United States. Many students don't respect their teachers, want instant enlightenment and rarely do their homework. What do you think about tournaments?
GFM: Generally, they are detrimental to Kung Fu. Many judges are not expert in the style they are judging. Competitors don't do a classical form but a choreographed, shortened version. They are frequently judged on how flashy their form looks and how well they can act and not how closely their form resembles the original or on practicality or power.
ME: What about other aspects of Kung Fu which were taught in the monasteries?
GFM: There are very few teachers who have studied the treatment of injuries or Qigong for health. In the old days, the monasteries were isolated and medical help was not readily available. Thus, it was necessary to keep yourself healthy and be able to treat illnesses.
ME: Today many students think that western medicine is sufficient. They regard Chinese medicine and Qigong as unscientific and so they don't want to devote time to study these arts. There is a lot of empirical evidence that these methods work and there are already many scientific investigations explaining some aspects of Chinese medicine.
GFM: Some of the ancient Masters could perform amazing feats when they were aged. My Six Healing Sounds teacher was known as "Old Man" in China. At age ninety-eight, he looked half his age. Until his death, at about one hundred and five, he was very active and in excellent physical condition. He continued working for the government and travelled from province to province teaching Qigong. Lee Siem, the second Master of our system, was practicing Kung Fu and running around China building temples when he was over one hundred years old.
ME: Today most commercial don't teach Chinese painting or Lion dancing.
GFM: In spite of the limited time of many students, I still try to teach these subjects and other arts taught in the monasteries.
ME: We are fortunate to have a complete, classical system today. All that is necessary to preserve it are dedicated students who are willing to spend a lifetime studying and improving the system.
GFM: Yes. However, one can learn to improve and preserve one's health in about six months by studying the Six Healing Sounds. Learning how to defend oneself adequately might take a few years. The time required would be shorter than in most systems because the techniques are used exactly the way they are practiced in this system. http://carolezak.home.comcast.net/~carolezak/Interview.htm
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