Traditional Eagle Claw Kung Fu - Theory and Technique

PANAGIOTIS DERVENTIS

YING SHOU QUANWALKING ON THE ROADS OF THE EAGLE

YING SHOU QUAN / WALKING ON THE ROADS OF THE EAGLETraditional Eagle Claw Kung Fu – Theory and Technique

PANAGIOTIS DERVENTIS

Kondyli PressAthens 2012

Pinakates, Pilio, 370 10 Miliesinfo@kondyli.grwww.kondyli.grt / f: + 30 24230 86757

ISBN 978-960-9661-04-1

AUTHOR: Panagiotis DerventisTRANSLATION: Stephania PolakiDESIGN / ARTISTIC EDITOR: Pepi ZafeiriCOVER DESIGNER: Giorgos ZitisSTUDIO PHOTOGRAPHER: Chara VarsamidouPHOTO PROCESSING CH. 6: Popi Paila

© COPYRIGHT 2012 by Panagiotis Derventis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or means; electronic, mechanical, or recording by any information storage and retrieval system, without written authorization from the copyright holder and the publisher, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.

Disclaimer: Please note that the publisher and the author of this book are NOT RESPONSIBLE in any manner for any injury that may result from practicing the techniques and / or following the instructions given within. Martial arts training can be dangerous if not practiced safely. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature for some readers, it is also essential that a physician be consulted prior to training.

CONTENTS

Preface by Guo Xian He ............................................................................................................................................................. 10Preface ................................................................................................................................................................................... 12Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................... 16

PART ONEChapter 1: The History of Ying Shou Quan .............................................................................................................. 22Chapter 2: Biographies of Teachers of Ying Shou Quan .................................................................................... 24

PART TWOChapter 3: Principles and Characteristics of Ying Shou Quan ......................................................................... 38Chapter 4: Fundamental Elements of Ying Shou Quan ....................................................................................... 44 4.1. Stances ........................................................................................................................................................... 45 4.2. Steps ............................................................................................................................................................... 49 4.3. Basic Hand Techniques ............................................................................................................................. 54 4.4. Kicks .............................................................................................................................................................. 62Chapter 5: Cultivating Combat Skill / Quan Gong ................................................................................................ 64 5.1. Internal Training / Nei gong .................................................................................................................... 66 5.2. External Training / Wai gong .................................................................................................................. 68 5.3. Complementary Exercises ....................................................................................................................... 70

PART THREEChapter 6: The “Ten Roads of the Eagle” / Shi Lu Xing Quan ....................................................................... 75Chapter 7: Combat Techniques ..................................................................................................................................... 180 7.1. Applications of the Ten Roads .............................................................................................................. 180 7.2. Locking Techniques / Qin Na ............................................................................................................... 197Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................................. 202

KondyliPress

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2. The term “weapons” refers to those that do not require gunpowder, such as the sword, the spear, the pole, etc.3. IWUF - International Wushu Federation: It was established in October 1990 in Beijing and has 119 federations-members throughout the world, to date.4. In various phases of their evolution throughout Chinese history, martial arts were referred to in many different ways, such as: Jiao Di, Ji Ji, Xiang Pu, Xiang Bo, Zheng Jiao, Ma Shuo Pu, Jiao Li, Quan Fa, Quan Shu, San Shou, Bing Fa,Wu Gong, Wu Yi, Wushu, Guo Shu, Gong Fu (Kang, 1995).5. In the west, the phrase “gong fu” is usually written “kung fu”, which was the way it was spelled before the pin yin system of transcribing Chinese characters into Latin characters was established.

6. Xing quan means moving fist or walking fist and indicates the execution of techniques while moving, not stationary.photo: Nikos Mavrapostolos

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photo: Nikos Mavrapostolos

PART ONE

When you shoot an arrow to hit just a stone,you can easily hit your target.

When you shoot an arrow to gain a bronze ornament,you become restless.

And when you shoot an arrow to be rewarded with a fistful of gold,

you become so agitated that you miss your target.Your skill remains the same,

but you are influenced by the worth of the prize.The greater its worth on the outside,

the more it loses its worth inside

Zhuang Zi

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Chapter 1

7. According to tradition, these nine techniques include three that are for the upper body, four for the trunk and waist and two for the lower body.8. Logically, Li Quan lived in the era of the Qing Dynasty (1644 - 1911) and not during the Ming Dynasty, otherwise he could not have been Dao Ji’s teacher. This is evident due to the fact that the Ming Dynasty ended in 1644, while Liu Shi Jun must have been taught the eagle style system around 1840. Two hundred years is too long a period to justify a continuous suc-cession of teachers from Li Quan to the monks Dao Ji and Fa Cheng, and then Liu Shi Jun.9. Yue Fei was a prominent figure in Chinese history. Therefore, due to his reputation and his combat skills, in one way or another he is considered the father of a series of systems, such as Xing Yi Quan, Yue Jia Quan, Fan Zi Quan, etc, although no historical sources can support such theories.

GENEALOGICAL TREE

45F u n d a m e n t a l e l e m e n t s o F Y i n g s h o u Q u a n

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Chapter 6

1. ZuO DAN bIAN DAI DI SHI / Combat position. ( 1 - 7 )

2. bA FAN SHI TIAO DA / Execute “inverted 8” stance, lift and strike. ( 8 - 1 7 )

3. ZHA quAN / Punch with explosive power. ( 18 - 2 1 )

4. TIAO bu LIAO quAN / Jump forwards, strike upwards. ( 22 - 24 )

5. CHE bu KAO ZHOu / Step backwards, press the elbow. (25 - 26 )

6. TIAO DA DA HONG SHI / Lift and strike, execute the “grand stance”. ( 2 7 - 36 )

7. DIAO Lu JIN bu / Step forwards, grab with both hands. ( 3 7 - 4 1 )

8. HOu TAO bu CHAN ZHOu / Execute backward cross step, control by rotating forearm. ( 42 - 46 )

9. DIAO SHOu SHANG bu / Grab and step forwards. ( 4 7 - 49 )

10. HuI SHEN GuA DA SHOu SHI / Turn body, block and strike, return to combat position. ( 50 - 54 )

First Road / Yi Lu Xing quan

THE “TEN ROADS OF THE EAGLE” / SHI Lu XING quAN

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1. Attention stance (look straight ahead).

2. Make fists and bring them abruptly to your waist (look to the left).

3. Shift your left foot into a ma bu stance and execute a left punch.

4. Move into a left gong bu stance and execute a right punch to the stomach.

5. Bring your right foot next to your left (bing bu). Simultane-ously, block to the left using the inner side of your right forearm and bring your chest slightly in-ward (han xiong).

6. Pull down to the right and then backwards with your right hand to complete the block. At the same time, throw a left punch forwards and upwards (your left hand crosses over your right hand).

7. While completing the left punch to your opponent’s jaw (li quan / side punch), step for-wards with your left foot into a left xu bu stance. In martial arts, the final stance ( fig. 7) is called the ready or combat position. In our style, it is called dan bian shi, which means “one - sided stance”.

8. Move your left leg into a left gong bu stance and execute a left punch.

9. Bring your right foot next to your left (bing bu) and throw a right punch (the right fist passes diagonally underneath the left fist).

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79F I R S T R O A D

21. Pronation: turn of the forearm inwards. “The power of pronation movement in-creases when the forearm is extended” (Weineck, 1998, p. 132).Underpronation: turn of the forearm out-wards. “The power of the movement of un-derpronation is greatest when the elbow is lowered” (same, p. 134).

10. Turn your waist to the left and at the same time, while low-ering your two fists, bend and push your right elbow down-wards.

11. Flick your hands abruptly and strike with both your fists (tan strength, p. 41). When you strike, bend your wrists slightly outwards (strike with the back of your fist).

12. Extend your left foot and move into a right gong bu. At the same time, rotate your right forearm downwards, then in-wards and upwards in front of your chest.

13. Grab forwards with your right hand (zhi diao).

14. Pull backwards and then up-wards, turning your forearm in-wards (pronation)21 and throw a left punch (the grab takes place just above the head).

15. Rotate your left forearm downwards, then inwards and upwards

16. Grab forwards with your left hand (zhi diao).

17. Pull backwards and then upwards, turning your forearm inwards (pronation) and throw a right punch (the grab takes place just above the head). The aforementioned technique is called diao da, which means “grab and strike” and is a tech-nique we come across frequently in the “Ten Roads”. Hereinafter, the details will be omitted from the description.

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